BEANS PRESS QUOTES
Thorns is a record that toes a line in hip-hop between the comfortably recognizable beats, and the brutally confessional lyrics more familiar to Joni Mitchell fans. Five stars leave wide tolerance levels that don't account for all of the necessary variables. And as a result I'm often left to judge a great artist not on the same criteria as their peers, but on my expectations for their talent... Thorns is a terrific album from a talented artist.
- BRIAN HULL (OKAYPLAYER.COM)
After Antipop Consortium dissolved in 2003 (they recently re-formed), Beans strayed from the group's techno hip-hop sound to a futuristic B-boy sensibility -- a freaked-out homage to '80s iconoclasts Rammellzee and Schoolly D. Mostly self-produced, with key assists from Holy Fuck and Dabrye (who contributes the percussive boom of "Thundermouth"), his fourth album pushes those musical and lyrical concepts to thrilling extremes. On "Fingers," he boasts not of his rap-star omnipotence, but of his brash outsider status: "I stand out like a three-piece suit during an orgy." - SPIN
This is Beans universe now - we just live in it" - XLR8R
Bean's follow up abum Shock City Maverick ...finds him pushing complex rhyme schemes ever further into the future - TIME OUT NEW YORK
Right from the start, Beans' new album doesn't sound like your stereo typical hip-hop record. The results are refreshing, a hip-hop that is as risk-taking in its details as it is rewarding in it's flow...Beans' beats bump and his rhymes rock, but it's all on his own terms. - SOMA
This effort easily lives up to its predecessors' standard of excellence,and with it, Beans points the way for hip-hop to fully embrace the digital world while retaining the energy of its origins. - TIME OUT NEW YORK
...his excellent second album, Shock City Maverick, focuses specifically on run of the mill hip-hop subjects...Beans' themes may be everyday, but thankfully, his with isn't. - BLENDER
One of the funkiest, weirdest, most creative hiphop records of the year. - CMJ
With his second release since the dissolution of Anti-Pop Consortium, Beans again spills tongue-tying angularity over13 electro-informed breaks evocative of warps most palatable downtempo moments. - RESONANCE
Beans' latest finds him continuing to hone his form, delivering a knotty, dark and stiletto-sharp work, which encompasses all of the odd rhymes, contorted flow and clamorous, yet bumpin' production, without giving way to outright lunacy. - ROCKPILE
... "the Ornette Coleman of this rap shit" shows that the fire of hip-hop's history can only fan the flame of experimentation, whether lyrical or musical. - BPM CULTURE
Chrome-domed former Anti-Pop Consortium member Beans continues to push things forward with the soon-to-be-released Shock City Maverick, a thrillingjigsaw puzzle of hip-hop electro, funk, IDM and drop-dead coolness. If anything could sum up the sound of New YorkCity right now, it's this. - VILLAGE VOICE
Whether it's the slow sputter of "Light of the Damned", the cardboard box beating "Papercut" or "You're Dead, Let's Disco", you're bound by Beans' jutting, commanding voice and its messianic messages.
- CHORD
I realize that Beans comes from another planet: Planet Dope! Shock City Maverick spans multiple time lines and is just that good. - GHETTOBLASTER
Beans is the Henry Miller of hip hop. Shock City Maverick is as serious as a budget defecit, but it still turns out parties. - THE STRANGER (SEATTLE)
...I listened to Beans for the first time today and I'm with it. It's a bit avant, progressive, forward thinking and I met beans in a bar last week...he was cool as fuck. - VAPORS
His impressionistic approach is without a doubt refreshing and welcome, but it's in those instances when he strokes his imagery in razor sharp detail and communcates directly that he rightfully claims his maverick status. - SAN FRANCISCO BAY GUARDIAN
I'm looking forward to the day when I heard Beans on mainstream radio and watch as hip-hop futiley attempts to catch up. - ALIVE
Throbbing with sparse, alpha-male funk and next-level tones, Shock City Maverick is as serious as a budget deficit, but it still turns out parties. - THE STRANGER
Shock City Maverick, is just another bullet in the MC's lyrically explosive resume - MUGSHOT
Since disbanding Anti-Pop,Beans has taken a wildly creative solo path, releasing two albums to critical acclaim and running circles around hip-hop peers."
- FLAVORPILL
Shock City Maverick is his world, and we're just guests trying to jump into his conversation with himself.
- MIAMI NEW TIMES
...prepare for a torrential eargasm. - UR CHICAGO
...Beans spits lightning verse over whirring break beats and techno-chirps. - PITTSBURGH CITY PAPER