AMG Review of Jhelli Beam

John Bush
All Music Guide

A little Busdriver goes a long way, which was clear on his excellent Temporary Forever LP and remains just as clear on Jhelli Beam, his ninth album overall and second for Anti-. There's a lot of Busdriver on Jhelli Beam, while his themes and lyrics have become even more dense, which makes for a challenging listen. Simply try to scan his opening lines: "The top-hatted Abrahams are shoveling the raisin brand/In eyeballs their bi-laws [sic] are leaping off the laser scan/Into your genotype telling you to deep throat pipe/If you don't do it, well these hoes might." The productions come from a varied cast, including impressive contributions from Nobody, Daedelus, and Busdriver himself, but occasionally the beats and effects are overwhelmed by Busdriver's verbal gymnastics.