Prefuse 73

Bicycle. Cyclical drum loop patterns. And doves.

This is my attempt to catalogue a Prefuse 73 album, in this case Vocal Studies + Uprock Narratives. I will attempt to transcode the scattered beats and vocal samples into a coherent article. Success cannot be guaranteed.

Radio Attack

P-r-r-r-efuse. Prefuse. 73. Breakbeat. Break-glitch-beat-pop. 73. Pre-fuse. Cymbal. Ride cymbal. "Nas is like" Cut up vocal samples. James Brown? No. Prefuse 73. Record label? Re-cord-scratch. Really? Prefuse 73. Like Aphex-DJ Shadow-Twin. Breakbeat. 1. 1. 1 2 3 4. Not like Philip Glass. Just kidding. Really. Oh no. He is. What? Breakbeat. Likes to-scratch. Prefuse 73. 37. 73. Fuck-take.

It's got programmable-beats. Python meets an 808 and speaks. Beats for weeks and days. 365 and 1 days. A maze? Prefuse 73.

A Song Called 'Quest'

You say-breakbeat. Amen Break? Amen. Zanziphones? Harpsichords? Prefuse 73. Hide ya face. "Sleep" and "stressed" Guitar fades. Cross-fades. Some dude who can't sing is singing... what the fuck? Word. Wo-wo-wo-word. Is that a piano? No, that's Prefuse 73. Not like Philip Glass. OK, I give up, it is. But it's got drums. And beats. Breakbeats. Hi-hat. What's that? Hi-hat. What's that? Prefuse 73.

Da-da-dun-tish, da-da-da, da-da-dun-tish. Can't believe you read this. Da-da-dun-tish. Is that Wilde Style? Word. It's got rap songs. Oh no. Jazz songs. Rip rip rap. Jizz jizz jazz. Did I just--jizz jizz jazz. Wazz. It's got a 1, 2, breakbeat. See? 3. Four? 4. Ka ka ka ka ka ka ka ka.

Ka.

Atmospherics

Prefuse 73. Ghostly aethereal. Watercolor dream and some sort of Bear?

Not Atmosphere. Not on record label. Ants and slugs, got turntables. Gramophone? Telephone? Rat-a-tat-tat. Brr.

Brr.

Bang. Bang the drums. Not adored. Like a style or something. Contextualize. Oh no. Hi-hat. Glitch. Not ambient. Not Brian Eno. Roxy Music? Yes, it's got music. Music? Prefuse 73. And some other dudes.

Stream of consciousness? In name only. More like digga-digga-digga. Rapper. Nas again. Like what? Is that a typewriter? No, it's Prefuse 73.

Keyboard. Key-bored. Edan the Chef. Raekwon the Ghostface Killah. Another piano? Fucking Billy Joel. People talking. Stop talking; it's Prefuse 73.

There are vocal samples here. And a maramba. Dropping science. MF Doom. Motherfucking doom. Aesop Rock? Misnomer. Is that a chime?

Is that a chime? No, it's a dinosaur. Oh no, it's Prefuse 73. 1, to villain. What'chu drillin'? Top 'billin? The Audio-Two? The two-audio? Got a domino. And a hi-hat. Siffa siffa siffa. Wiffa.

Nasally Flow

Dude's got a nasal flow. Adrock on snow? B-Real on a TV show? No. Bip-bop. Boom-bip. Not Boom-Bip, Prefuse 73. Not Philip Glass either, philistine. Philly-willy-willy, what's the dilly-o? Or the "deal yo"? Oboe. Cello. Ossification.

Sort of tonal and atonal, at the same time. The fuck? Oh no. It's got a piano. And drums. And some scratchy thing. No, not that.

But mainly it's got Prefuse 73. And drums. Da-da-da-da-da-da-dun.

Like this. Like that. Wall of sound. Stream of sound. Drowns. Bach would be shocked, though he can't breakdance. Acid Pro. Fruit Loops. Lap-pop. Two-bit buzzwords, name-drop.

Drums or Dead

Going back in time. To kitty's.

Drums of Death. DJ Shadow. Not this album. More like Girl Talk. But you don't know that. And it has more drum-hats, hi-hats. Did it like that? Dr-dr-dr-dr-dr-um.

Looping effects. Tape effects. Fade out.

Fade in: looping stereophonics like Heaven's heralds making themselves known, announcing the Resurrection and proclaiming the Glory of God's Kingdom on High. Or something like that. I am the Resurrection. Plus some other guy raps. A journey through mind. Of a madman. Mysterious stakes. Mindscapes. Oh no.

Upright bass. It's probably sad. Uptight bass. Earth rotates on a 23 degree axis. St-ro-ke. Ro-ro-ro-ro-roke. Rake.

All in Technicolor. Faded out like an old t-shirt. Prefuse 73. Scott Herren. Beats. Glitches. Prefuse 73.

Fin.