Infinite Livez

b. Steven Henry, Bethnal Green, London, England. Former comic book illustrator and Gameboy graphic designer Infinite Livez offers a tangential take on UK hip-hop with bizarre and eccentric narratives on his 2004 debut Bush Meat. According to his official biography, the Shadowless crew member and Chelsea Art College-educated rapper enjoys visiting museums, was a punk for a while and is a fan of surrealist writer Andre Breton. Mammary glands have been a frequent obsession in hip-hop but on Bush Meat Infinite Livez offered an unexpected take on the subject. On ‘The Adventures Of The Lactating Man’, the rapper begins producing milk such that deliverymen are put out of business. The skit ‘Brown Nosh’ featured Bouncement Queen demanding a rim job as her fee for appearing on the album, while ‘Drilla Ape’ related the story of a man cheating on his partner for a simian. ‘Claati Bros’, meanwhile, spoofed Brit Art with the tale of a private view for an artist who ‘paints with elephant do-do... very post-modern... a bit smelly though’ (though Infinite Livez notably coupled this humour with a threat to walk into the British Museum with a shotgun and reclaim all the African art). Such daftness and absurdism did not render such creations mere novelty, with Infinite Livez backing his imaginative raps with cool and inventive sounds that made sense of the computer-game inspired moniker. Bush Meat, released via Big Dada, was heralded on release as one of the most distinctive hip-hop albums of the year.