Busdriver – “RoadKillOvercoat ” – [Epitaph Records]

Busdriver returns with 12 tracks of vibrant hip hop goodness, including the recently added “Kill Your Employer”. Busdriver lists John Hendricks of the jazz group Lambert, Hendricks & Ross as his primary influence, and it becomes clear as the songs carry a rhyming and rhythmic complexity far beyond that of the average hip hop release. The songs have plenty of variance in their styling, and they’re all good stuff. Primary targets are the government and the music industry, but Busdriver spreads his attention around, even to himself. the focus is more on the flow than the invectives, and he delivers fast, precise rhymes of intricate rhythms, including a weave through Yes’ “I Get Up, I Get Down”, in which the new lyrics intertwine with the old. The music is more upbeat song than typical hip hop beat, so this record should have appeal even to those who ordinarily eschew hip hop titles. This is an endearing and infectious release that gets better with each listen. The tracks have all been pre-cleaned, except for track 2, which still has “shitfaced” audible. Highly recommended.