Cool Hunting

Hailing from the very heart of hip-hop culture (Ann Arbor, Michigan) Tadd Mullinix aka Dabrye is back on the shelves at your local record store (if you are lucky enough to still have one) with his third full-length release Two/Three. The enigmatic and fractional title is the follow up to his 2001 debut One/Three and 2002 sophomore release Instrmntl.

Mullinix, who is quite the busy beaver, also makes house, techno, and industrial music under other monikers. So it’s not surprising that his brand of hip-hop is a little bit left of center. A Dabrye album is as likely to feature white noise, sawbuzz analog synths, and found sounds, as its title is to include numbers or consonants, it seems.

Inspired by Dabrye’s collabo with hip-hop’s latest fallen hero, and the godfather of the Detroit underground scene, J Dilla, on “Game Over” (the first cut recorded for the album), Two/Three is replete with guest appearances, and Ann Arbor’s sister city represents heavily with Phat Kat, Ta’Raach, and Platinum Pied Pipers’ beatsmith Waajeed, among others. Non-Detroit emcees Wildchild and AG (of Showbiz and AG) round out the crew. And what producer-driven hip-hop album would be complete these days without a cameo from the hardest working MF in show business? Doom. His gritty scowling flow pleases as usual, though—so nobody’s complaining. Get it from Turntable Lab or Amazon.

by DJ Scribe