Postcard from the Outer Reaches

I was awoken this morning by a cable channeled straight from the outer reaches of the hip-hop universe – specifically the cosmically trippy galactic-dust jam Mannequin Hand Trapdoor by Boom Bip & Dose One. Since then I’ve been spiraling out of control, hurtling through experimental anti-gravity hip-hop sun spots and space ice. Out here light-years away from the glowing orb of mainstream hip hop there is a surprising quantity and diversity of life forms thriving at near zero-degrees Kelvin, and the name DoseOne keeps showing up again and again.

DoseOne, otherwise known as Idaho-native Adam Drucker, seems to be collaborating with just about everyone out here in addition to prolifically generating his own music, poetry, artwork, online animated cartoons and yes, participating in old-school rhyme battles with prominent emcees. Some hip hop “purists” say that this isn’t even hip hop, and its true: due to the low-density radio waves of deep space, the beats can tend to be a little mushy, the lyrics a little incomprehensible, time bends and curves and vocal delivery can warp and twist in the process – but this is the front line of the hip hop avant garde and each step in the expansion process is ultimately an important one. I’m reminded of when “they” said that Charlie Parker and Ornette Coleman weren’t even playing jazz, or when “they” said that hip hop wasn’t even music. Check out a few gems that I’ve found so far, each featuring the lyrical stylings of DoseOne.