Trip-hop would sound very different without Tricky's gravelly rasp. His purred rhymes brought lyrical focus to Massive Attack's debut album, 1991's Blue Lines. His solo debut, 1995's Maxinquaye, forged a darkly dramatic style linking the cool sensuality of songs like "Overcome" to the fiery rage of "Black Steel", a searing Public Enemy cover. From there his music grew even more intense: "Christiansands" balances dread and desire over desolate blues and warped-tape sonics, while "Wash My Soul" stretches his sandpapered whisper to the breaking point over a skeletal beat and a bed of sighs.