D„lek (pronounced die-a-lek), a three-piece experimental hip-hop crew from New Jersey, wants to punch you in the face with their music. They keep it loud-as-hell, raw, and intelligent, with a unique blend of traditional and experimental hip-hop. The trio’s first LP, From Filthy Tongue of Gods and Griots, superimposes elements of metal, jazz, psychedelia, and African music over strong bass beats and crushing percussion. Think Black Flag meets Public Enemy meets My Bloody Valentine.
D„lek consists of three main elements: D„lek, the group’s namesake and tortured emcee; Oktopus, the mind behind the mixers and samplers; and DJ Still, the unconventional manipulator of the turntable. D„lek himself spits a style that’s rhythmically steady and strong,like a freight train, starting slow and building in intensity, yet bordering on static monotony. The tone is serious, subtle, passionate, and socially conscious, and delivered nearly as spoken word. His rantings confront and confute. With lyrical commentary on race and responsibility, he reminisces on hip-hop culture and questions its current state. Take the hook from “Spiritual Healing” for example: “Who you pray to? my god, the black god / Who you pray to? my god, the brown god? / Who you pray to? my god, the white god? / You’re reaction’s kinda odd for a kid who loves to nod.” He comes across as dark, angry, and intelligent.
The soundscapes created by Oktopus and Still range from screaming distortion to layered, murky samples to ambient loops and electronic bleeps, cracks, and glitches. Layers of drums, synthesizers and strings build up, climax, and fall only to explode again. Lyrics and ambient textures fill in the gaps. Fueled by collaborations with artists such as Kid606, these boys provide the sonic backdrops that challenge the ear and are hard to digest.
The group put on its noisy display of avant-garde hip-hop last Tuesday, at the Hi Pointe Caf‚. D„lek’s set featured album tracks such as the hardcore “Spiritual Healing,” the noisy “Voices of the Ether,” and “Classical Homicide,” a track which ended with D„lek screaming “Amplify brainwaves to condense my thought / Bend the dark / Why question my art?” over screeching distortion.
The show begged for an adequate sound system. The Hi Pointe doesn’t really cater to acts that need quality at such a high volume, so much of the show was drowned in incomprehensible noise, screeching, and muddy vocals. Notwithstanding, everyone should witness the spectacle that is DJ Still. While I’m not entirely convinced of his skills, he certainly provides entertainment. He rarely scratched the record itself. Instead he slammed and scratched the needle on the record, blew on the needle, and talked into it. Um, right. Does anyone else do this? Yeah, it’s absurd, but more power to him. Furthermore, between beers, he got into furious bouts of head banging, slamming his enormous afro to within inches of his mixer, putting himself in constant risk of being knocked unconscious.
D„lek is new territory, people. Their music is deep and personal. They’re hardcore. They’re old school vs. experimental hip-hop. They sample Portishead and Massive Attack. Their sound is raw, dirty and pierced by strange noises. They alienate a lot of hip-hop fans by exploring new ground, but in the process welcome others. D„lek is nothing less than emotional satisfaction for metal and hip-hop fans alike. Their show may only have been C-worthy, but sometimes there’s nothing better than music that locks you in its room for improvement.

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