The Humble Magnificent
July 13, 2012 5:37 AM Subscribe
Edan, "The Humble Magnificent" is a rapper. He's a producer. He's a DJ. He's the complete package. He can cut, scratch, and rock the mic. Oh, did I mention he can do all of those things at once?
Edan's first official release, 2002's Primitive Plus is marked by equal parts reverence for old school hip hop and childish humor. But his sophmore effort, 2004's Beauty and the Beat was a huge leap forward. The lo-fi aesthetic remained, but the chunky, sometimes very recognizable beats of the first album were replaced by sweeping psychedelic samples and liberal use of analog tape delay. Edan describes his style as an attempt to "put Syd Barrett's face on Biz Markie's body" with "Kool G Rap's brain."
Edan has yet to release a follow up to Beauty and the Beat as an MC (though he has made a few notable guest appearances), but he has released a couple of mixtapes as a DJ. In 2009, Traffic Entertainment Group (a music distribution company that holds the rights to classic hip hop record labels such as B-Boy Records, Delicious Vinyl, Threshold Recordings, Chocolate Industries, Cold Chillin, and many more) gave Edan access to its entire back catalog to create a mixtape. The result was a sprawling 30 minute epic called Echo Party.
He regularly tours europe, dazzling his audiences with his famous "Johnny the Fox" routine.
Edan's first official release, 2002's Primitive Plus is marked by equal parts reverence for old school hip hop and childish humor. But his sophmore effort, 2004's Beauty and the Beat was a huge leap forward. The lo-fi aesthetic remained, but the chunky, sometimes very recognizable beats of the first album were replaced by sweeping psychedelic samples and liberal use of analog tape delay. Edan describes his style as an attempt to "put Syd Barrett's face on Biz Markie's body" with "Kool G Rap's brain."
Edan has yet to release a follow up to Beauty and the Beat as an MC (though he has made a few notable guest appearances), but he has released a couple of mixtapes as a DJ. In 2009, Traffic Entertainment Group (a music distribution company that holds the rights to classic hip hop record labels such as B-Boy Records, Delicious Vinyl, Threshold Recordings, Chocolate Industries, Cold Chillin, and many more) gave Edan access to its entire back catalog to create a mixtape. The result was a sprawling 30 minute epic called Echo Party.
He regularly tours europe, dazzling his audiences with his famous "Johnny the Fox" routine.
Edan was the gateway for my psych-rock obsessed self to get into rap some years back. The production on Beauty and the Beat is just unreal. I've been eagerly awaiting a followup for years.
posted by One Second Before Awakening at 6:59 AM on July 13, 2012
posted by One Second Before Awakening at 6:59 AM on July 13, 2012
Count Bass D + Edan = How We Met Edan is super creative on the M.I.C on this one, way to short tho
posted by 12bits at 7:06 AM on July 13, 2012
posted by 12bits at 7:06 AM on July 13, 2012
Edan is amazing. Be sure to check out his earlier work:
Architecture
Sprain Your Tape Deck
and, well... this.
posted by Grimp0teuthis at 7:56 AM on July 13, 2012
Architecture
Sprain Your Tape Deck
and, well... this.
posted by Grimp0teuthis at 7:56 AM on July 13, 2012
god, I love Edan. I recall reading somewhere that the reason he raps over his own beats and turntable work is because when he started he couldn't find any good mcs to work with. So he just became sort of a Hassil Adkins of hip hop. Beauty and the Beat is one of my favorite hip hop albums of all time.
posted by shmegegge at 8:02 AM on July 13, 2012
posted by shmegegge at 8:02 AM on July 13, 2012
Thanks, To Sir, I was previously unaware of Echo Party. I've been waiting for a new Edan album for so long that I forgot all about him, which is a scandalous thing. Beauty and The Beat is really one of my favorite albums, period.
posted by Edgewise at 8:30 AM on July 13, 2012
posted by Edgewise at 8:30 AM on July 13, 2012
I also really enjoyed Beauty and the Beat! Who knew that so many Edan fans would come out of the MetaFilter woodwork?
posted by semaphore at 9:13 AM on July 13, 2012
posted by semaphore at 9:13 AM on July 13, 2012
Yeah, nthing that Beauty and the Beat is a great album. Really trippy.
posted by daHIFI at 10:30 AM on July 13, 2012
posted by daHIFI at 10:30 AM on July 13, 2012
I love the 2:57 history of hip-hop lesson that is Fumbling Over Words that Rhyme.
posted by whir at 9:41 PM on July 13, 2012
posted by whir at 9:41 PM on July 13, 2012
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posted by PHINC at 6:48 AM on July 13, 2012 [2 favorites]