Tickle Your Taint Eclectic Music Reviews: McKinley Dixon, Beloved! Paradise! Jazz? (2023)

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Thursday, May 9, 2024

McKinley Dixon, Beloved! Paradise! Jazz? (2023)

By Jack Rafferty

Beloved! Paradise! Jazz? kicks off with a reading from a stark passage of Toni Morrison, which really sets the tone going forward. I wasn’t aware of McKinley Dixon’s first album, but I am looking forward to delving into it after listening to this one. Jazz rap can be pretty hit or miss for me, often because I just end up comparing it to Kendrick Lamar, and that’s a hard act to follow. However, with Beloved! Paradise! Jazz?, McKinley is clearly an immense talent with an amazing voice. The beats and instrumentation here are especially powerful and varied. Even though each track, and the album itself, is quite short, they build worlds with the time they have. McKinley’s rapping and lyrics are deep, emotional, and intricate. This albim is meaningful, dense, diverse, and excellent.