Hearin' Aid Presents D-Frost Beats: //dATA-BWoY
Eat Concrete

Committed to experimental and progressive sounds, Dutch electronic music label Eat Concrete (founded by Pete Concrete, hence the name) lives up to its rep with its latest 12-inch //dATA-BWoY, a five-track, fourteen-minute blast of hip-hop madness from D-Frost Beats aka Damon Frost of Swedish hip-hop duo Hearin' Aid (Aaron Phiri's the other member). Interestingly, though Frost has been performing as a beatmaker, rapper, and producer for over fifteen years, he's been a pro dancer for over twenty-five and has won international acclaim in the street dance community as the Rubberband Man (he also won the UK BBoy championships of 2006). Nevertheless, //dATA-BWoY obviously showcases his musical approach, specifically a brain-addling fusion of voice samples, filthy electro, and hip-hop. The title cut sets the stage by splintering funked-up electro into shredded vocals, grinding beats, and bleepy arcade sounds, after which “It's a Bwoy” serves up head-nodding funk-hop. Hard-hitting beats keep the slamming “Thee Shit” on course, despite the presence of voice and percussion interventions, a ringing phone, and a hailstorm of electro noises. Underneath Frost's sample-heavy deconstructions lie fresh beats (e.g., “I B Buc”) but they're more often than not waylaid by his unconstrained experimentalism. For listeners who like their instrumental hip-hop torn apart and rebuilt into cubistic configurations.

December 2008