AMG Review of Beatology, Vol. 1 & 2

Johnny Loftus
All Music Guide

Shaman Work's Beatology comp features tracks from Count Bass D ("All In"), Dabrye ("Tell Dem"), Prince Paul with Newkirk ("Showdown at the Hoedown"), and Kev Brown ("Brown Liquor"), among others. The sound here is underground and broken instrumental hip-hop, with lots of unidentified or otherwise weird noises riding out over muted percussion that stops and starts in hitches. Exile's "Dirty Robots" has a DJ Krush feel, while the Prince Paul/Newkirk track cuts up twangy acoustics and slide guitars over a slight head nod and Dabrye works in his usual hip-hop/jazz abstraction. Great stuff throughout.