The early 2000s were a time of upheaval for hip-hop. The underground
and mainstream divide that had defined so much of the previous
decade was showing the first signs of irrelevance. Timbaland and The
Neptunes made radio rappers sound futuristic while independent
artists struggled in a quagmire of backpacks and misguided claims to
keep it real. Away from this, in a misunderstood middle ground
between hip-hop and electronic music, a new generation of artists
were busy imagining a new sound for hip-hop.
Instrmntl is a continuation of the beat experiments Dabrye began with
One/Three and a bridge to the diverse textures that would define
Two/Three four years later. About half of its nine tracks (ten if you
lived in Japan) were created at the same time as One/Three while the
rest were newer or made specifically for the album. Once again
Mullinix looked outside of hip-hop to techno, house, and drum & bass
for stylistic and technical ideas while embracing the blissful minimalism
of a good hip-hop instrumental and the rhythmic nuance of
Detroit.
