December 8, 2005

{ Behind the Beat }

Ever see the inner sleeve of the Main Ingredient will all those pictures of Pete Rock’s home studio? What about the inner sleeve of Washing Machine with that ill photo of Thurston’s record collection? How about that photo of a pre-weight loss Questlove on that rickety-ass ladder, dropping library science by all his shit in that big ass bookshelf? Or what about the beginning of the Netty’s Girl video with Mike D lounging back at G-Son with that crazy-ass painting of that dog? Man, I always loved that shit! Like pulling back the curtain on some Wizard of Oz shit, seeing where all the math gets down. I thought I was alone with this fascination, so imagine my surprise when I casually picked up a copy of Behind the Beat… it transformed my ass, Altered Beast-style ( I could almost here that motherfucker welcoming me to my doom). Its one of those jawdroppers where as soon as you start flipping through the pages, its considered money spent. Smackin your ass silly like a flower pot on your head. Gorgeous photography probing such legendary mythical lairs as Madlib’s Hideaway, Shadow’s Reconstruction (motherfucker has a Tempest machine!) and Automator’s Glue Factory… this shit goes on and on proving that somebody definitely did their homework on this joint. Premier, Cut Chemist and the Beatminerz all show-off the places we nobodies wish could get into if only we were somebodies. While I may have to skip a few meals due to the hefty price tag ($30), Behind the Beat reduced me back to being 12 years old, clocking Playboys in the back of Waldenbooks. Shit is krazy glue!

» I spent 30 but here's where you can spend 20

By Eric in Reading | Comments: