El-P

Overview

Brooklyn's El-P is one of the most prolific voices in hip-hop in both senses of the word. He's contributed productions and guest rhymes to albums by everyone from Dizzee Rascal and Das Racist to Beck and Cat Power, and as a rapper he eschews the commercial to the extent that you hesitate to even call him a rapper.

Many of his tracks are marked not by blatant lyrics but by future-dystopian Philip K. Dick post-9/11 themes. He's also a white guy of Irish-Cajun-Lithuanian descent, and doesn't try to pretend he's anything else.

El-P's latest release is the labyrinthine Cancer 4 Cure. "The Full Retard" (a reference to Tropic Thunder) is one of the album's catchier songs, but you can't call it simple. Other tracks you can't describe as anything other than a convoluted mix of militant vocals, Gameboy-era lo-fi aesthetics and heavily distorted beats. Things that are smart aren't usually easy to unravel.

Nevertheless, El-P inspires motion. You might not be rhythmically gyrating but you certainly won't be sitting still if you're luckily enough to be in his audience this festival season.