“Making More Heart Than Brains was one of the most super intense experiences of my musical career,” states Nova Scotia raised, Toronto residing rapper Buck 65, “Doing this record with Joëlle (Joëlle Phuong Minh Lê of Greetings From Tuskan) has really changed the way I look at making music.
The best things in life are all about timing. With Buck 65’s newest project, a collaboration with Belgian-based electronic producer Greetings From Tuscan (G.F.T.) called Bike For Three!, the timing was just right.
“It all started when I stumbled across Joelle’s Myspace Music page,” recalls Buck 65. “I remember hearing a track on her music player, ‘The Fourth of Never’. It blew me away. I sent her a comment telling her how much I liked her stuff. She sent me one back saying she liked my stuff. Shortly after, we began making More Heart Than Brains.”
Throughout making More Heart Than Brains, the duo never met in person. “The way we made this record was really new for me ” says Buck 65, “ Joelle would see a piece of music to completion. And then almost as if she was saying ‘this is my gift to you,’ she’d send me these amazing songs via email. Then it would be up to me to add the lyrics.”
When listening to More Heart Than Brains, which was be released by Anticon on May 26th, you get a feeling that this is much more than an electronic record or a rap album. It feels like a conversation between two people.
“The whole process became slightly agonizing for me,” adds Buck 65. “I felt like I had to meet Joelle at least half way with my lyrics to maintain the beauty of the music. At times that seemed like an impossible task, but I couldn’t be happier with the end result.”
This fifteen track record is a highly unconventional take on the world of hip hop, even for a guy like Buck 65, who is at the forefront of the experimental rap frontier. The most stand out element of the album is its highly ambient, composer-esqe electronic nature, which is a signature of G.F.T.’s work; constantly shifting intensity, tempo, and mood.
The most impressive aspect of this record is Buck 65’s ability to deliverer lyrics that flow effortlessly with the unconventional beats. And beyond that, Buck 65 has taken his stylistic approach to rap and kicked it up to a new level, delivering thought provoking introspective spoken word- like lyrics worthy of Def Jam acclaim.
In order to be fully appreciated, More Heart Than Brains needs to be listened to multiple times. Due to the highly unorthodox sound it presents, it might fool unfamiliar listeners into thinking it’s simply a dark and depressed record. However, once the newness has been absorbed, the tone and feeling of the album drastically brighten as new aspects are revealed.
Musical highpoints include “All There is to Say About Love”, “No Idea How”, “Always I Will Miss You. Always You”, “The Departure”, “Can Feel Love” and “One More Time Forever.” “MC Space” is one of the more interesting tracks because of its more conventional hip hop nature. “It’s a tribute to one of my childhood favorites, MC Sham,” points out Buck 65.
Preexisting fans for both Buck 65 and G.F.T. will most likely embrace Bike For Three! and More Heart Than Brains. But as for listeners new to experimental hip hop and ambient electronic music, a.k.a. the top forty radio listener, it might be the type of music that doesn’t fully make sense on account of complexity of themes and composition.
“I’ve been in hip hop for twenty years,” says Buck 65. “I know that my brand of hip hop isn’t widely popular. I’ll never be huge or sell a ton of records. But for me, that was never the goal. The only thing that matters to me is the music.”
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EMOzo_vBgCY&feature=player_embedded[/youtube]
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