Tricky—once a founding force behind Bristol’s Massive Attack—always bristled at the “trip-hop” label. Teaming up with Martina Topley-Bird, he fused soul, dub reggae and downtempo hip-hop into something dark, paranoid and beautifully claustrophobic. His 1995 debut Maxinquaye, born from trauma, addiction and a restless melancholy, not only earned Bowie comparisons and praise but also rewrote what British hip-hop could sound like.
New British Canon’s rundown takes you from Tricky’s early Bristol days through the album’s creation and release, spotlighting the Martina-Tricky chemistry and the aftermath of mainstream radio sanitizing his raw edge. It’s a concise, informal deep-dive into how Maxinquaye turned a haunted personal vision into a genre-defining landmark.
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