Busdriver

RoadKillOvercoat (Epitaph/Anti-)

There’s a thin line between dance-floor antics and intelligent rap. Project Blowed alum Busdriver, né Regan Farquhar, blends the two without blinking. Blasting Boom Bip’s beats through Eighties synth creep to the delight of middle-class kids everywhere, the L.A. MC’s fifth solo disc is doused in political frustration and fueled by syncopated lyrics halfway between percussion and poetry. Like Mos Def on Adderall fronting TV on the Radio, Farquhar spits so fast his teeth sweat, but for every hippie-bashing (“Kill Your Employers”) and tongue-lashing (“Less Yes’s, More No’s”), there’s a goth-tinged burner (“Go Slow”) and an old-school beat (“The Troglodyte Wins”). Despite his outspokenness and obvious talent, Busdriver is cursed by shitty chorus syndrome, when the edge dulls and the singing just gets in the way. He’s a college-radio buffet that’s seriously considering its place beneath this heat lamp – equal parts indie rock, hip-hop, consumerism, and activism. (7:40pm, Stage 3)

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This article appears in November 2 • 2007.

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