Five Tracks: The Spaceape Edition

It took a while for it to sink in that The Spaceape passed away. This is a man who's career—for many—is synonymous with not only what Kode9's been doing in the dubstep scene, but with Hyperdub's decade of forward-thinking bass music. He was the perfect voice for the bleek soundscapes that Kode9 was making, and the two churned out a number of highly recommended tunes together. It all came full circle with Killing Season, their recently-released EP. Spaceape was a unique individual, one that blended spoken-word and honesty over dub-wise electronic beats and created a lane many hadn't realized had existed. Instead of shutting down and mourning, we figured we'd dedicate this week's edition of Five Tracks to Spaceape's memory. Rest in peace.

It's kind of fitting that, in his time, The Spaceape saw Hyperdub begin with "Sine of the Dub," one of many collaborations with Kode9, especially when you consider that 10 years later, they were still putting material together. Everything that makes their union perfect is here, from Spaceape's memorable voice to the bass heavy riddim from Kode9. It almost shouldn't work, but that's why it worked so well.

There are a lot of seminal tunes in the dubstep scene, but there's something about "9 Samurai" that has kept it ahead of its time. It borrows a lot from the proper dub sound, and that horn loop that's thrown in is just so damn memorable. Spaceape didn't go ham on this, just dropped a hypnotic chant atop an already dizzying tune. Proper wheel and come again tune.

Spaceape's one of the only MCs who could go into some truly intergalactic alien talk, then come right back and tell you not to fuck with his crew. It's insane to think that he was the only feature on Burial's first album. This is moody, cold, and calculated. So intriguing.

You have to love how he dips into some truly deep thoughts here, but makes sure that a consistent flow is maintained on his verses. Spaceape was next level, and tracks like this show how creative he was with a craft in a scene where most MCs would just spout whatever bullocks hit their brain. Truly gifted.

Fierce track from their last project together. Kode9 crafts a steadier beat, one that seems to borrow some trap aesthetic, but still keeps things a little left, giving Spaceape the perfect bed to spit game to. Spaceape gets spiritual, and drops some gems that end up unfortunately being the last gems he drops on us.