“Beauty And The Beat” is the eclectic sophomore album by producer/emcee Edan. The album is characterized by a wide array of samples from genres not usually associated with hip hop, including psychedelic rock and folk music. Edan also handles a good portion of the emceeing and, surprisingly, he has a deep and commanding voice that is tailor made for rapping. “Beauty And The Beat” also features guest appearances from underground veteran Mr. Lif, Bronx legend Percee P, Insight and Dagha. Some may find fault in the length of this album, but I see it as a strong point, as most producers this ambitious create albums that are much too long and busy.

“Polite Meeting” kicks things off right with various vocal snippets and collages of processed guitar and keyboard samples drifting in and out of the mix. I have a ton of respect for the amount of time he spent in the crates, not to mention the time spent putting all these loops and snippets together. It adds another element to the song when he’s rapping and a vocal sample interrupts and finishes the sentence for him. “Fumbling Over Words That Rhyme” is an instant standout because of the awesome samples used during the chorus and Edan’s lesson on hip hop history that mentions everyone from Keith Cowboy to Nas (Who is one of the best out today). “Torture Chamber” features the rapid fire flow of Percee P, an emcee who has been around since the beginning (literally) and has incredible breath control and pace. Edan shows both a great knowledge of music and writing skill with “Rock And Roll” as he ties together a verse that references many classic groups and albums. Admittedly, I didn’t even pick up on this until the verse was almost done and I had to immediately rewind the verse to hear what I had missed the first time, haha.

“Beauty And The Beat” is a meticulously crafted and highly interesting album. As I mentioned earlier, I have a lot of respect for this approach to making music and also for the level of writing on tracks like “Beauty”. This will be a very welcome addition to any hip hop fan’s collection.

by Kyle