Basehead
Template:Use American English Template:Short description Template:For Template:Good article Template:Use mdy dates Template:Infobox musical artist Basehead, also known as dc Basehead and Basehead 2.0, is an American alternative hip hop and rock group formed by Michael Ivey in 1992. Ivey serves as the group's songwriter and leader, performing vocals and various instruments. Basehead's 1992 debut album, Play with Toys, was recorded at Ivey's home with various studio musicians. Ivey formed a touring band for live performances, which contributed to Basehead's second album, Not in Kansas Anymore. The group's current lineup consists of Ivey, drummer Aaron Burroughs and bassist Brendan Ciotta.
Basehead has received praise for its distinctive sound and lyrics. The group's music incorporates elements of various genres, including blues, funk, hip hop and rock. The lyrics of Play with Toys and Not in Kansas Anymore focus on subjects such as alcohol and cannabis use, depression, philosophy, politics and relationships. Beginning with the 1996 release of Faith, the group's lyrics have focused primarily on Christian themes, which carried over to its albums In the Name of Jesus, dc Basehead and Rockalyptic Music.
HistoryEdit
Basehead released its debut album, Play with Toys, in 1992 on the small independent label Emigre.<ref name="Ehrlich" /> Vocalist Michael Ivey recorded much of the album at his home on a four-track with various friends.<ref name="Erlewine">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The album received favorable reviews and frequent airplay on college radio.<ref name="Erlewine" /> Rolling Stone reviewer Kevin Powell wrote that "Without being preachy, Basehead's unconventional style challenges listeners to get beyond their basic instincts and open their minds, search their souls."<ref name="Powell">Template:Cite magazine</ref> Assembling a five-member touring band, Ivey toured the United States and Europe, opening for the Beastie Boys, Stone Temple Pilots, and Ween.<ref name="Erlewine" /><ref name="Bio">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> After College Music Journal featured Basehead on its cover, the group received attention from major labels, and signed with Imago Records, a former subsidiary of BMG the following year,<ref name="Ehrlich" /> releasing its second studio album, Not in Kansas Anymore. Rolling Stone reviewer Danyel Smith called the album "an alternative to the benign bullshit music that floods the chain stores and commercial radio waves."<ref name="Smith" /> Stephen Thomas Erlewine wrote that "Although it retains many of the same qualities of their critically acclaimed debut [...] there's nothing that has the same sense of discovery that made Play with Toys an interesting record."<ref name="Erlewine-2">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
In April 1994, Basehead recorded its third studio album, Faith,<ref name="Kiviat">Template:Cite news</ref> which retained the musical elements of previous albums, but featured lyrics focusing on religious themes.<ref name="Bio" /><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> During this period, Ivey also formed a side project, Bastard Youth of Basehead, also known as B.Y.O.B.,<ref name="Erlewine" /><ref name="Kiviat" /> and founded I3Records, an imprint of Rykodisc Records focusing on alternative music aimed at and produced by African American musicians.<ref name="Ehrlich">Template:Cite journal</ref> In December 1994, Imago separated from BMG, and Faith was not released until two years later.<ref name="Kiviat" /> The album's release problems resulted in the cancellation of a planned tour between Basehead and B.Y.O.B.<ref name="Kiviat" /> Although some band members felt that they had not been given proper financial compensation for their work, Ivey stated that he took a smaller percentage of the songwriting credits than he was legally entitled to, and that the group's underpaid work would have "laid the groundwork" for future success if Faith did not have release problems.<ref name="Kiviat" />
In 1998, Basehead released its fourth studio album, In the Name of Jesus on the label Union of Vineyard Workers. In 2002 the group changed its name to dc Basehead,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> releasing their self-titled fifth album on November 19. Hamlin wrote that "the mastermind's [...] effective use of subtly shifting patterns inside a repeating framework, and his talented co-conspirators lift DC into distinction."<ref name="Hamlin-2">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Reforming as Basehead 2.0, the group released its sixth studio album, Rockalyptic Music in 2007.<ref name="Bio" />
Music and lyricsEdit
Basehead's musical style, which fuses elements of blues,<ref name="Powell" /><ref name="Davis">Template:Cite book</ref> funk,<ref name="Smith">Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref name="Kiviat" /> hip hop,<ref name="Erlewine" /> pop,<ref name="Erlewine" /> psychedelic,<ref name="Erlewine-2" /> reggae,<ref name="Larkin">Template:Cite book</ref> rock<ref name="Smith" /> and rhythm and blues,<ref name="Smith" /> is categorized as "black rock",<ref name="Kiviat" /> "alternative funk",<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> "alternative dance",<ref name=rhythmandblues>Template:Cite book</ref> "progressive rap",<ref name=rhythmandblues /> alternative hip hop<ref name="Kiviat" /> and alternative rock.<ref name="Erlewine" /> David Jeffries from Allmusic described Play with Toys as "slacker rap".<ref name="Jeffries">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> According to Michael Ivey, "There are hip-hop elements in there, but if a hardcore hip-hop fan bought it, they might be disappointed".<ref name="Larkin" /> Ivey also stated that Basehead's music "doesn't have the expected samples and sounds."<ref name="Morris" /> The lyrical themes of Play with Toys and Not in Kansas Anymore focus on diverse subjects, including alcohol and marijuana use,<ref name="Davis" /> depression,<ref name="Jeffries" /> philosophy,<ref name="Powell" /> politics,<ref name="Powell" /><ref name="Morris" /> racism,<ref name="Morris" /> and relationship breakups.<ref name="Powell" /> Francis Davis wrote that Ivey's lyrics "[subvert] both rock and gangsta-rap conventions."<ref name="Davis" /> Basehead's albums and performances feature live instrumentation, which differentiates the group's sound from that of mainstream hip hop artists who rely solely on sampled instrumentation.<ref name="Morris">Template:Cite magazine</ref> On the group's albums, vocals and instruments are altered with studio techniques for effect.<ref name="Davis" /><ref name="Morris" /> Ivey's vocals mix singing and rapping.<ref name="Powell" /> According to Ivey, Basehead's former DJ, Citizen Cope, "doesn't play music. He makes sounds—[he's] an instrument in his own self. He might scratch certain words for a special effect."<ref name="Morris" />
In 1994, the group's lyrics shifted to Christian themes, starting with the album Faith.<ref name="Kiviat" /> Andrew Hamlin describes the lyrics of Faith as having "caught Ivey mid-capitulation. He wanted Jesus in his life but he also wanted his beer, his pot, his television, and his lust."<ref name="Hamlin-1" /> During the release of Faith, Ivey stated that Basehead's fourth studio album, In the Name of Jesus, would feature even more Christian-oriented lyrics than Faith.<ref name="Kiviat" /> Regarding the lyrics of In the Name of Jesus, Hamlin writes that "chanting praises leaves the Basehead mastermind without his characteristic wit, and he lacks the energetic exhortations that often lift gospel performers above sameness in material."<ref name="Hamlin-1">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Regarding dc Basehead, Hamlin wrote that the album's lyrics were "miles in some direction or other from any stereotyped Christian rock bin."<ref name="Hamlin-2" />
During a performance in which the group received a request for early material, Ivey stated "I'm still trying to work it out—how to follow God and still give you the old shit"<ref name="Kiviat-2">Template:Cite news</ref> and introduced the group's Christian songs with self-deprecation, referring to the songs as "the new, reborn, love-God Basehead stuff."<ref name="Kiviat-2" /> In a 1998 interview, Ivey stated "I'm kind of wary of the Church. I know there's this whole Christian music market, but I don't think, theology-wise, I'm in agreement with a whole lot of Christians. [...] In fact, I don't know whether I like even being called a Christian."<ref name="Kiviat-2" />
Pop cultureEdit
Two Basehead songs, "Play with Toys" and "2000," were featured in the Union Wheels skateboarding video titled "Right to Skate", during the Alphonzo Rawls segment.Template:Citation needed
Band membersEdit
- Michael Ivey — guitar, vocals<ref name="Bio" />
- Aaron Burroughs — drums<ref name="Bio" />
- Brendan Ciotta — bass<ref name="Bio" />
Former
- Bill Conway — bass<ref name="Kiviat" />
- Keith "Lazy K" Lofton — guitar<ref name="Kiviat" />
- Clarence "Citizen Cope" Greenwood — turntables,<ref name="Kiviat" /> bass<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|CitationClass=web }}</ref>
- Brian Hendrix — drums<ref name="Davis" />
- Jay Nichols — drums<ref name="Kiviat" />
- Peter Van Allen, Jr — drums, programming / sampling
DiscographyEdit
- Play with Toys (1992)
- Not in Kansas Anymore (1993)
- Faith (1996)
- In the Name of Jesus (1998)
- dc Basehead (2002)
- Rockalyptic Music (2007)