Search - Busdriver :: Temporary Forever

Masterpiece

taogoat | the mothership | 08/17/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Busdriver is rapidly becoming one of the greatest mc's of all time. I rank him up there with the members of Freestyle Fellowship. All of Busdriver's albums -- "This Machine Kills Fascists," "Memoirs of the Elephant Man," "Temporary Forever," and "The Weather" -- are classics. This album in particular is probably the best introduction to Busdriver for those that haven't heard him before. Check the opening track where he keeps pace with a hiphop version of the popular cellphone ring "Badinerie" by Johann Sebastian Bach. He doesn't just rap, he creates melodies. As he said, "I have a trained ear, I'm a jazz man."Busdriver was influenced by jazz/scat singer Jon Hendricks (of Hendricks, Lambert and Ross -- whose song "Everybody's Boppin'" he rapped over in "Everybody's Stylin'") and swing guitarist Django Reinhardt -- basically, his ear appreciates fast, difficult music with lightning-quick changes in tempo and tone. This album is sick. If you have any appreciation for music whatsoever you will love this stuff. And if you like fast, jazz-inspired rap delivery of the Project Blowed/Freestyle Fellowship variety, you will really really love this. What other mc could freestyle while ordering at a drive through? "Give me a personburger cause eating a hamburger's worse than murder..."This album is produced mainly by Paris Zax with some tracks by Daddy Kev and OD (Omid). It's got several interludes, skits, & an a cappella, with cameos by Radioinactive, Rhetoric, 2mex, and Xololanxinxo. Aceyalone pairs up with Busdriver for the first time on the OD produced "Jazz Fingers" (the instrumental of which can be found on OD's "Afterwords II"). I listened to this album and nothing else for a month straight after I got it. 'Nuff said."

The wheels on this bus go round and round

taogoat | 04/04/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"After first hearing "Imaginary Places" in the Tony Hawk Underground video game, I was blown out of my fragile little mind. I spent so much time trying to transcribe the lyrics right, but it was like ten minutes of words packed into a ninety-second section. My frustration equaled my amazement and I bought the CD.Temporary Places is by far one of the best hip-hop albums to be released in the last three years, simply because it brings forth every element of hip-hop together so beautifully. First, take the nonconformist one-of-a-kind beats with unexpected but truly dazzling sample and instumental cameos (Check out "Somethingness" and "The Truth of Spontaneous Human Combustion"). Second, the uncompromising and impressive scratching of D-Styles on beats like "Imaginary Places", "Along Came A Rider" and "Mindcrossings" cannot be missed. And third and best of all is the great Busdriver himself with his sprinting flows and unmatched part-singing, part-rapping that takes every track by storm. His ability to rhyme words like "oligarchy" with "Paul McCartney" and freestyle at a fast food drive-thru window in "Stylin' Under Pressure"("I'd like a medium Sprite as I'm exceeding new heights...") separates him from the one-trick emcees radio constantly wields at us. I put him on the same echelon with the Gift of Gab from Blackalicious, Chali 2na from Jurassic 5, and Nas as far as intelligent, unique, mic-ripping emcees go. I'm not saying this album is perfect as a whole (The second half is not as strong in my opinion as the first), but for wacky, tongue-twistingly fast lyrics with beats to back it up, this gem is one of only a few albums widening the wingspan of good hip-hop. Everything opposite to this you can throw under the bus."

Great Underground Album...Point Blank

J. McQueen | 06/20/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"(insert the title here.)
Underground, LA MC- Busdriver really has put together a great album.His lyrics come at you with a furry - speeding up and slowing down like a battle rapper or spoken word artist.The beats are really good. A lot of jazz samples - flutes, saxes, oboes (yes, oboes), etc. It sounds like a masterpiece of instruments and beats.
Also, DJ- D-Styles does a great job of scratching it up on this one.Busdriver is a very entertaining lyricist, but don't expect an education from his lyrics. He is entertaining, not educational. (Not an insult, just the truth.)Also, his collaboration with 2Mex on the track "Truth of Spontaneous Human Combustion" was spectacular. I wish that he was one more than 1 verse on the album.
(But if you like 2Mex and Busdriver, than check out 2Mex's album - SWEAT LODGE INFINITE. Busdriver is all over it.) Finally, the cool artwork is done by the famous graffiti artist - Mear One, who has also done artwork for DJ Hive, Freestyle Fellowship, Abstract Rude, Limp Bizkit (:( ), etc."