Steve 'Flash' JuonThe first thing I learned about deadxbeat when looking into him is that he’s quite outspoken — in a good way. Hey if you’re going to retweet Rashida fighting for musicians to make a fair living, I fucks with you. We’re on the same wavelength. He also apparently sued his landlord over some bullshit and WON, which deserves a round of applause all unto itself. Other than the bird app my best source of info on him came from his bio on the College Music Records website, which states simply that “he’s a producer and beatmaker based in Philadelphia, PA.” That’s it. That’s all I’ve got to go on.
Based on “Sky Deluxe” from “Perennial Hill” though I’m going to assert that musically he’s a pretty chill dude. He might be on a side of the political spectrum that I identify with, but there’s nothing political about tracks like this. This is a pure expression of lo-fi rap music, as warm and comforting as a hot mug of cocoa while listening to throwaway J Dilla beats. This is the best kind of background music. This is that “I want to play an indie game with this soundtrack” music. “Sweet Dreams” has nothing to do with Eurythmics, but I don’t think Annie Lennox would be insulted the songs share the name. It sounds like freestyle jazz and lo-fi had a baby together and it grew up to be a stunner.
While titles like “Beam Me Up” may put EPMD lyrics in your head if you’re my age, this song is far removed from Spock or the Boondox. The whistling notes do have a bit of the outer space aesthetic, or maybe that’s Hearts of Space. Growing up in a place with no cable television and a limited selection of radio stations to listen to, the “transmissions” from Stephen Hill were the closest thing to an alternative I could find — at least until I could buy rap albums by mail from Upstairs Records. You can best believe I unintentionally owned a lot of censored versions of shit until I could drive to a mall and buy the real deal. I’m getting off track here but that’s the mood songs like “Path Less Traveled” put me in. This is chill music that makes you contemplate your life in a pleasant way.
You’ll finish “Perennial Hill” in under a half hour, but you’ll immediately want to listen to it a second time, which is just one more reason I can say I fucks with deadxbeat and his dead-ass beats. With a worldview not dissimilar to The Coup and some of the most relaxing music to ever come out of Philly, you owe it to yourself to give him a listen.