Buck 65 - Talkin' Honky Blues

YOURZ

Buck 65 (real name Richard Terfry) is a Canadian MC/DJ known for his both his lyrical and musical articulateness.  His samples are often obscure and characterise his production, as do his beat poetry-like lyrics.  Experimental and unforgiving, Buck 65 follows similar roads to artists such as Tom Waits. 

Talkin' Honky Blues, winner of a Juno Award for Best Alternative Album in 2004, came to me via the song Wicked & Weird, which was all over local alternative radio when it first came out.  Unusually, the samples Buck 65 has used are blues (hence the title - a reference to a blues style called Talkin' Blues).  I tried to find his sources but failed miserably (the small print on the CD sleeve proved impossible to read - why do they do that?)

There are some absolutely brilliant tracks on Talkin' Honky Blues, but, like a lot of what Mr Waits does, this is not for the casual listener.  It's not the sort of hip hop you will hear blaring out of overly-loud car speakers nor is it likely to be filling the dance floor at a local RnB club.  This demands attention and, to those who pay it what it deserves, they will be well rewarded.

VERDICT: TURN IT UP

MINE

I think he thinks I wouldn't like it.  (YourZ sez: yep, I really did but in this case, I'm glad I'm wrong)  But I did.  As YourZ says, it's not for the casual listener, and as such, I'm not going to be putting any Buck65 songs on my gymPod any time soon.  But damn, the guy's intelligent!  This is what I think more hip-hop and rap artists ought to be doing.   I mean, where else are you going to find someone talking about the real emotions he felt when he cheated on his girlfriend?  More often they're boasting about how many hos they've had or how many baby mamas they're paying for.

Maybe it's because he's Canadian....

VERDICT: TURN IT UP

For more information: http://buck65.com/

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