Edan Beauty And The Beat CD

Boston's Edan has scored the hip-hop triple crown, rapping, programming and sampling at a masters level on his second full-length. As an MC, he bows down while hyping himself up on the wink-nudge titled "Fumbling Over Words That Rhyme," giving extended shout-outs to the history of hip-hop, from Afrika Bambaataa and Grandmaster Flash through to Ultramagnetic MC's and Prince Po, all over a break as dusty and faded as an episode of Carnivale. "Polite Meeting" offers a beat and sample collage on par with the current work of DJ Shadow and RJD2, and one is left to really ponder at the possibility of Edan trying to perform the beats and vocals live. Def Jux bright star Mr. Lif makes a guest appearance on the heavily psychedelic "Making Planets," which leads into a full-on Hendrix-inspired freaky-blues interlude. Percee P and Insight also drop by to flow over some of Edan's time and space warping musical beds (to call these "beats" would be an immense oversimplification) but Dagha guests on the grittiest rocker, "Rock'N'Roll" which manages a full-on Marshall stack set to ten, and a guitar assault that somehow avoids all of the failings of rap-rock. If hip-hop had existed in the days of the Filmore, Woodstock and the Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test, Edan would have been right on the bus. ~ Joshua Glazer

While Edan's critically acclaimed debut, 'Primitive Plus', was a celebration of Hip-hop's golden age and a true throwback, his sophomore album, 'Beauty And The Beat', is a vast musical collage that includes many different influences; Hip-hop, rock, pop, dusty breaks, hazy loops, luxurious off-kilter samples and curveball tempo changes that are all crafted into one cohesive piece of art. Edan's vast lyrical imagination and technical wizardry (he also self-produced every track) alone make 'Beauty And The Beat' a standout. The album's lead-single 'Fumbling Over Words That Rhyme', a track which true Hip-hop enthusiasts and historians will not only appreciate, but ultimately debate is a perfect sample of what 'Beauty And The Beat' has to offer.

Personnel: Edan; Mr. Lif, Percee P (vocals); Insight, Dagha.

Recording information: Dubb Defcon Studios, LA, CA; Studio 54, Boston, MA.

Entertainment Weekly (No. 813, p.67) - "[N]ot just a lo-fi lark, BEAUTY deftly flies between ego-boosting boasts and vibrant surrealism..." - Grade: B+
Uncut (p.110) - 4 stars out of 5 - "[I]mpressive, taking a decidedly psychedelic, sample-stacked tack in its freewheeling 35-minute dash through pop, rock and hip hop history."
The Wire (p.41) - Included in The Wire's "2005 Rewind: 50 Records Of The Year."
Mojo (Publisher) (p.60) - Ranked #1 in Mojo's "Top Ten Urban Albums Of 2005."
Mojo (Publisher) (p.102) - 4 stars out of 5 - "[R]elentlessly innovative music....Edan's genius is schizophrenic..."