Tricky – Knowle West Boy

Label: Domino
Rating: 3.5 Guns

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Written By: White Chicks On Rap

I know this is going to seem redundant, but every review lately starts with me saying that this is the album I have been waiting for…so don’t be shocked when I say that this is an album I have been waiting for.

Tricky is a trip-hop legend and if you don’t know what trip-hop is, it is a style of music that originated from Bristol, England that blends electronica, jazz, hip hop and dub. Tricky for a time collaborated with Massive Attack (one of the original trip-hop groups) and then later became a solo artist.

Tricky’s first album Maxinquaye is considered legendary in the genre and his albums since have followed suit.

Tricky represents his hometown roots on his ninth album Knowle West Boy. The album is named after the counsel estate he grew up in. (In the UK, counsel estates are the equivalent of the projects in the US).

So many styles are on this album…jazz, rock and dancehall. What impresses me is that Tricky covers Kylie Minogue’s Slow. Originally a dance song, Tricky turns it into a dirty, scary seductive rock song.

Counsel Estates, a ska style song, samples Portishead’s 1994 song Roads. The songs shows how Tricky rose above the negativity and the image of what a counsel estate is by singing “Remember boy, you’re a superstar”.

Puppy Toy is a funny duet with singer Alex Mills (a female) about a night out and a guy having drinks with a girl that is just obsessed with money and really couldn’t love anyone. I think the line from Tricky “Yeah, I wish/Wish you’d cough up a lung/Girl, you seem insecure” is funny, but Alex’s response “There’s nothing wrong with me innit?” is the classic clueless response from someone who can’t see who they really are.

Past Mistake is a love song about someone realizing that they truly hurt the person they loved because they were distant and cold, but know wants to make things right. The sound on this track is icy and dark. Classic Tricky.

If you like Tricky, I think you will enjoy these artists…Portishead, Massive Attack, Bjork, DJ Shadow and Unkle.