As with any form of music, the underground sound is where you’ll find the real thing, the real message, the real level of artistry. After finding out how Bug-a-Boo is intertwined in our local community, including their involvement in youth developmental hip-hop workshops for organizations such as The Colorado Hip-Hop Coalition, The C.H.I.P. Youth Project, The Teen-Youth Summit and Denver Public Schools, it’s no surprise we discovered them when Babah “Fly” Jedi, the group’s MC and producer was DJing the holiday party thrown by Urban Renewal, Twisted Sol and Thrifty Stick (although we were all afraid Udo was going to pull something when he decided he could no longer resist the urge to break dance).
The balance between MCing and singing, funky tunes and subtler, more serious tracks keeps the album’s personality from becoming redundant and predictable. Numerous facets of Universal Devices flicker and ignite from track to track – from narrating the implications of sexual interactions along side poetic and heartfelt storytelling, sexy by the fire jazz vibes and video game samples, to big bites of deep bass beats and urban scratch licks. The result solidifies Bug-a-Boo as true blue players within this tight knit community.
Be on the look out for their live performances, including a show at Breakdown Books (1409 Ogden St) on Saturday, Jan 31. You can pick up the CD Independent Records, Wax Trax, Twist-N-Shout, Art n’ Sol, Bart’s CD Cellar, Angelo’s, and Root of the Hill.
