Tricky - Nearly God (1996)

Previously on OPIUM HUM:

Tricky & Gravediggaz - The Hell E.P. (1995)

Dark, impressionistic, trip-hop-adjacent magic from one of the true geniuses of the genre. The strangest and most abstract entry in Tricky's discography, Nearly God has been relegated to relative obscurity, due in part to the aforementioned strangeness, and because as far as I can tell it hasn't been reissued in any form, including on digital/streaming platforms. It also probably didn't help that he chose to release it under the moniker Nearly God instead of Tricky. I'm hoping that its lack of commercial availability means that no one's gonna bother lodging a copyright complaint because no one's actively making money off of it. Guest collaborators/vocalists include Björk, Neneh Cherry, Terry Hall, and, as always, Martina Topley-Bird.

Track listing:

1. Tattoo

2. Poems

3. Together Now

4. Keep Your Mouth Shut

5. I Be the Prophet

6. Make a Change

7. Black Coffee

8. Bubbles

9. I Sing for You

10. Yoga

11. Judas [bonus]

11. Children's Story [bonus]

I can vibe to anything

So I have to hide from everything

More along these lines:

Laika - Sounds of the Satellites (1997)

Anja Garbarek - Smiling & Waving (2002)

Tricky & Gravediggaz - The Hell E.P. (1995)

Previously on OPIUM HUM:
Gravediggaz - Nightmares in A-Minor (2001)

Collaborative EP by Tricky and Gravediggaz, neither of whom should need any introduction. In actuality, only the second half of The Hell E.P. is truly collaborative, as "Hell Is Round the Corner" -- one of two classic trip-hop tracks to sample "Ike's Rap II" by Isaac Hayes -- and its hella-tight remix are all Tricky.

Just gonna use this space to point out that, despite his icon status, Tricky is horrifically undervalued as an artist. He's one of those artists whose entire catalogue tends to get compared unfavorably to a legendary (and deservedly so) debut album. This is particularly true in the case of Angels with Dirty Faces, one of the most singularly misunderstood and brilliant records of its time, which I'd definitely dedicate a whole post to if I weren't sure that it'd get hit with a copyright claim faster than you can say "unfairly maligned piece of brilliance."

Track listing:
1. Hell Is Round the Corner (Original Mix)
2. Hell Is Round the Corner (The Hell and Water Mix)
3. Psychosis
4. Tonite Is a Special Nite (Chaos Mass Confusion Mix)

Are you someone else?

You'd also like:

Killah Priest -
Heavy Mental (1998)

David Holmes - David Holmes
Presents The Free Association (2002)