Featured Album
- FEB 20, 1995
- 49 Songs
- We Will Always Love You · 2020
- Blowback · 2001
- Maxinquaye (Deluxe Edition) · 1995
- Maxinquaye (Deluxe Edition) · 1975
- Pre-Millennium Tension · 1996
- Pre-Millennium Tension · 1996
- Maxinquaye (Deluxe Edition) · 1994
- False Idols (Bonus Track Version) · 2013
- Maxinquaye (Deluxe Edition) · 1995
- We Will Always Love You · 2020
Essential Albums
- By the time Adrian Thaws began working on his second album as Tricky, the languid electronic soul of his debut, Maxinquaye, was being polished by other artists into something even more palatable at dinner parties. Eager to shake the “trip-hop” tag, Tricky made his own music increasingly unsettling: “Can hardly breathe”, he utters in a smoke-damaged drawl against backward guitars and rumbling beats on “Vent”, heralding a murky, claustrophobic and fractious 45 minutes. His fusion of rap, punk, dub and, on “Piano”, the sound of a respirator, is as hypnotic (“Christiansands”) as it is abrasive (“My Evil Is Strong”)—and consistently inventive. Pre-Millennium Tension restated the possibilities for British hip-hop, its influence creeping as far and wide as Burial and Radiohead.
- If unease were an art form, then Maxinquaye would be its Sistine Chapel. Thanks to its unhurried hush, the album is a make-out must, but it's the pervading sense of danger that makes it so sensually sinister. Tricky and Martina Topley-Bird play devil and angel on your shoulders, trading gravelly raps with cool, crystalline delivery. Despite the claustrophobic atmospheres, there's something for every mood, from the sultry whispers of "Overcome" to a thrilling Public Enemy cover, "Black Steel." Listen loud—and, preferably, late at night.
- 2021
- 2020
- 2017
- 2016
- 2014
Music Videos
- 2018
- 2010
- 2008
- 2008
Artist Playlists
- Let the trip-hop Tricky Kid live in your headphones.
- The dark visionaries and funky geniuses who taught the trip-hop maverick his tricks.
Compilations
More To Hear
- An eclectic mix, from Sly & The Family Stone to Soundgarden.
- The season finale, with freestyles from Fix Dot'M, Tricky & Youngs Teflon
About Tricky
Trip-hop pioneer Tricky got his start with fellow Bristol icons Massive Attack before branching out on his own as a solo artist. With his distinctive raspy vocals and hypnotic production style, he became a fixture in the electronic scene of the '90s, earning critical acclaim with his seminal 1995 debut Maxinquaye and notable efforts like 1996's Pre-Millennium Tension and 1998's Angels with Dirty Faces. He continued to release music into the 21st century, occasionally bubbling up the charts with albums such as Blowback (2001), Knowle West Boy (2008), and False Idols (2013). In addition to songwriting and production, he is also an actor and author.
- HOMETOWN
- Bristol, England
- BORN
- January 27, 1968