Beauty and the Beat (Edan album)

Beauty and the Beat
Studio album by Edan
Released	March 29, 2005 (2005-03-29)
Genre	Hip hop psychedelic rap[1]
Length	34:00
Label	Lewis Recordings
Producer	Edan
Edan chronology
Primitive Plus (2002) Beauty and the Beat (2005) Echo Party (2009)
Singles from Beauty and the Beat
"I See Colours" Released: 2004 "Fumbling Over Words That Rhyme" / "Beauty" Released: 2005

Beauty and the Beat is the second studio album by American hip hop musician Edan.[2] It was released via Lewis Recordings on March 29, 2005.[3] It features guest appearances from Insight, Percee P, Mr. Lif, and Dagha.[4] It peaked at number 40 on the UK Independent Albums Chart,[5] as well as number 37 on the UK R&B Albums Chart.[6]

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	85/100[7]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[4]
Entertainment Weekly	A−[8]
HipHopDX	4.5/5[9]
Mojo	[10]
NME	8/10[11]
Pitchfork	8.8/10[12]
Q	[13]
Stylus Magazine	A−[14]
Uncut	[15]
URB	[16]

At Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average score out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, Beauty and the Beat received an average score of 85, based on 18 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim".[7]

Peter Macia of Pitchfork commented that "The gravity of Edan's lyrics and voice on Beauty and the Beat is perhaps its most surprising element" and "[Edan has] gone from a brainiac prankster to the Borges of rap."[12] Nathan Rabin of The A.V. Club said, "the album's brevity is just another old-fashioned value from a rapper-producer-visionary who doesn't need a whole lot of space to make a big statement."[17] Nick Follett of XLR8R called it "one of the best and most original records to come out this decade."[18]

In 2013, NME placed it at number 392 on the "500 Greatest Albums of All Time" list.[19] In 2015, Fact placed it at number 30 on the "100 Best Indie Hip-Hop Records of All Time" list.[20]

Cover

The album cover is based on that of 1968 single "Io Per Lei" by Italian band I Camaleonti, with the various faces and record company logo covering the ones seen on the original cover.

Track listing

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Polite Meeting (Intro)"	2:16
2.	"Funky Voltron" (featuring Insight)	2:16
3.	"I See Colours"	2:30
4.	"Fumbling Over Words That Rhyme"	2:55
5.	"Murder Mystery"	2:02
6.	"Torture Chamber" (featuring Percee P)	3:12
7.	"Making Planets" (featuring Mr. Lif)	2:54
8.	"Time Out (Segue)"	1:07
9.	"Rock and Roll" (featuring Dagha)	3:16
10.	"Beauty"	3:20
11.	"The Science of the Two" (featuring Insight)	3:33
12.	"Smile"	2:15
13.	"Promised Land"	2:24
Total length:		34:00

Japanese edition bonus track

No.	Title	Length
14.	"Bonus Rehearsal"	19:27

Charts

Chart (2005)	Peak position
UK Independent Albums (OCC)[5]	40
UK R&B Albums (OCC)[6]	37

References

1. Harris, Casey (September 13, 2019). "ALBUM OPERATOR'S CRATE CLASSICS: EDAN'S 'BEATY AND THE BEAT'". Mini Music Critic. Retrieved 2023-08-17.
2. Serwer, Jesse (April 19, 2005). "Edan: Psychic Out". XLR8R. Archived from the original on June 13, 2018. Retrieved April 3, 2019.
3. Rashbaum, Alyssa (March 28, 2005). "New Releases: Beanie Sigel, Will Smith, Game, Beck, The Bravery, Thrice & More". MTV. Archived from the original on March 9, 2018. Retrieved April 13, 2016.
4. Glazer, Joshua. "Beauty and the Beat – Edan". AllMusic. Archived from the original on May 8, 2017. Retrieved April 3, 2019.
5. "Official Independent Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved April 3, 2019.
6. "Official R&B Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved April 3, 2019.
7. "Reviews for Beauty And The Beat by Edan". Metacritic. Archived from the original on March 5, 2016. Retrieved April 3, 2019.
8. Endelman, Michael (March 28, 2005). "Beauty and the Beat". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on April 3, 2019. Retrieved April 3, 2019.
9. J-23 (March 22, 2005). "Edan – Beauty & The Beat". HipHopDX. Archived from the original on May 13, 2017. Retrieved April 3, 2019.
10. "Edan: Beauty and the Beat". Mojo (137): 102. April 2005.
11. "Edan: Beauty and the Beat". NME: 51. March 26, 2005.
12. Macia, Peter (April 18, 2005). "Edan: Beauty and the Beat". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on May 13, 2017. Retrieved April 3, 2019.
13. "Edan: Beauty and the Beat". Q (225): 121. April 2005.
14. Pemberton, Rollie (January 25, 2005). "Edan – The Beauty And The Beat – Review". Stylus Magazine. Archived from the original on January 29, 2013. Retrieved January 24, 2015.
15. "Edan: Beauty and the Beat". Uncut (97): 110. June 2005.
16. Smith, Craig (April 2005). "Edan – Beauty and the Beat". URB (125): 101. Archived from the original on March 13, 2006. Retrieved January 24, 2015.
17. Rabin, Nathan (April 5, 2005). "Edan: Beauty And The Beat". The A.V. Club. Archived from the original on September 5, 2017. Retrieved April 3, 2019.
18. Follett, Nick (March 29, 2005). "Edan – Beauty and the Beat". XLR8R. Archived from the original on April 3, 2019. Retrieved April 3, 2019.
19. "The 500 Greatest Albums Of All Time: 400–301". NME. October 23, 2013. Archived from the original on May 26, 2018. Retrieved April 3, 2019.
20. "The 100 best indie hip-hop records of all time (page 72 of 101)". Fact. February 25, 2018. Archived from the original on June 22, 2018. Retrieved April 3, 2019.

Further reading

• Purdom, Clayton (July 14, 2005). "Edan". Cokemachineglow. Archived from the original on April 3, 2019. Retrieved April 3, 2019.
• Jones, Lucy (March 27, 2015). "Edan's Cult 'Beauty And The Beat' Is 10: The Story Of A Magical Mystery Tour". NME. Retrieved April 3, 2019.

External links

• Beauty and the Beat at Discogs (list of releases)