Basehead - Music and Lyrics

Music and Lyrics

Basehead's musical style, which fuses elements of blues, funk, hip hop, pop, psychedelic, reggae, rock and rhythm and blues, is often regarded as alternative hip hop and alternative rock. David Jeffries from Allmusic described Play with Toys as "slacker rap". According to Michael Ivey, "There are hip-hop elements in there, but if a hardcore hip-hop fan bought it, they might be disappointed". Ivey also stated that Basehead's music "doesn't have the expected samples and sounds." The lyrical themes of Play with Toys and Not in Kansas Anymore focus on diverse subjects, including alcohol and marijuana use, depression, philosophy, politics, racism, and relationship breakups. Francis Davis wrote that Ivey's lyrics " both rock and gangsta-rap conventions." 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. On the group's albums, vocals and instruments are altered with studio techniques for effect. Ivey's vocals mix singing and rapping. According to Ivey, Basehead's former DJ, Citizen Cope, "doesn't play music. He makes sounds— an instrument in his own self. He might scratch certain words for a special effect."

In 1994, the group's lyrics shifted to Christian themes, starting with the album Faith. 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." 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. 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." Regarding dc Basehead, Hamlin wrote that the album's lyrics were "miles in some direction or other from any stereotyped Christian rock bin."

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" and introduced the group's Christian songs with self-deprecation, referring to the songs as "the new, reborn, love-God Basehead stuff." 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."