The marriage of hip hop and psychedelic musics has been pushed forward primarily by the Stones Throw imprint. But apart from the left coast stalwart, there are innumerable producers out there working to define a music which might come off as equally appealing in any number of markets. Yeah, it’s kind of a race thing. But Edan attempts to transcend that.

Beginning his second album, the 2005 Beauty and the Beat, with a spate of samples from the Beatles sets forth something of a template for which the remainder of the album follows. And while the Beatles are probably one of the few sixties bands to so easily move past demographic, there’s a spate of more obscure stuff here  spun into something completely new.

Mr. Lif’s “Making Planets” even sports “Hey Joe” as its main sample. And while most would connect that track with Jimi Hendrix as his version is the best known, what’s used here is unquestionably a version included on the Nuggets boxed set by the Leaves. It’s debatable which version of the song’s better, but its use here is impeccable. Amping up its ability to be enjoyed is the track fading out into a brief portion of a track by the United States of America as the album moves on towards “Time Out (Segue).”

The combination of these two cut up pieces of music, though, points to Edan’s ability to merge interests and cultures in just about four minutes time. There’s probably music out there that’s better put together, but there can’t be too many producers thinking of working with these sources exactly – well, maybe the Nuggets stuff.

Anyway, apart from the startling use of samples, Edan’s ability to cop some of the underground’s strongest emcees makes the disc something of a role call for A-List rappers. Percee P’s appearance just prior to Lif showing up again serves to illustrate the respect Edan garners from top tier performers. What’s odd, though, is that the album’s producer doesn’t get on the mic of the course of Beauty and the Beat’s run time. Of course, that was probably predetermined, but it all might mean that Edan is more concerned with production work than anything else.

It’s been something like five years since this disc was issued. And in today’s accelerated media climate, that’s forever. But coupling the lapse in album releases and Edan’s reluctance to grip te mic here, there’s a strong chance that sooner or later – if we see another album come out – it’ll comprise only beats. But beautiful ones.