The Quiet Man

For a man that’s one of hip hop’s most verbose performers, talking to former Anti-Pop Consortium lynch-pin Beans is like trying to get blood from a stone.

A wide-ranging question involving three or more clauses will be met with an answer as blunt as “Old school…” or “Techno? S’cool.” And then silence. Be it the fact that it was 7pm on a Friday night in New York and there were more important conversations to be had with pals in the background, or that it was midnight our time (zzzzzz), it was clear Beans had his mind on other matters.
Nevertheless, hotpress – with its admittedly lazy eye on hip hop – rates Beans as one of the most interesting artists around today, both within and slightly outside of the genre. ‘Within’ because his work references the old school of hip hop without being a pastiche and ‘Slightly outside’ because Beans knows his musical, er, beans.
His new LP – Shock City Maverick – falls within the traditional hip hop bracket, but moves into electronica and elements of, yup, techno with ease. How much of a reference point are the likes of (obvious examples, but one must tread carefully) Autechre and Boards Of Canada to what you do?
“Well, I know about English electronic music, but the most important artist to me is Mantronix.” Really? “Yeah (Silence).” Uh. OK. Why? “Well for me, that’s the golden era of hip hop. (Silence).”
Anyway, as we said, Beans is a man of few words on the blower, but lyrically, he’s a walking dictionary. Coming from (as far as we know) a beat poetry background, his songs are a dense jungle of words and phrases that would put Websters to shame. Ja Rule this ain’t. How does he come up with the subject matter? “It starts with a title.” A title? “Yeah.” Right. And how long does it take to get from brain to paper? “About two months.” Beans talks like he raps – in short, flat, deadpan bursts. And even though he makes us feel like Pat Kenny, there is something about the way he delivers his words that makes us know there’s something more going on here.
The NYC native first rose to prominence as one-third of the genuinely excellent Anti-Pop Consortium – an avant-hip hop act that released two LPs before splitting up in July 2002. How does he feel about that now?
“I thought it was a bit premature, but when there is three people in a group, it isn’t the same as one. There are other forces working there.”
It’s a shame – trust us – as hotpress saw the trio perform an incredible semi-improvised, drum machine-heavy gig at Sonar in Barcelona in 2002. The band split a month later – and Beans delivered his first solo LP just three months later. Why so soon?
“Well, I had been working on that record – and had been offered a solo deal – so when it finished, that’s what happened.”
What does he think of contemporary hip hop? “It’s cool. I like Nas, the new De La Soul … Kanye … you know…”
Does the fact that so many mediocre artists have achieved such incredible success, while he – though pushing the boundaries – remains ‘underground’ bother him?
“Not to the point where it stagnates me.””
Beans has just delivered his third solo LP in as many years. Shake City Maverick is a diverse and devastating musical stew. Is he happy with it?
“I am happy with it, but it’s not the music I want to make yet. It’s not what I’m capable of making. It’s not what I hear in my head.” Wow. Your head must be an interesting place to be. “…”
Ladies and gentlemen, we give you Beans. Hard work but worth it. Now if you’ll excuse us, that stone over there looks ready to part with some blood…

Shock City Maverick is out now on Warp. You can also catch Beans and Mike Ladd in Crawdaddy, Dublin, on November 21