Dj b.bOy [TMP] - Lips

Principe Discos released "Tá Tipo Já Não Vamos Morrer" this past August. Since then Tia Maria Produções has been relatively quiet. LyCoOx, a.k.a. Dance Mamba, is the exception. The perpetually active LycOox might as well wear a 24 jersey because he seldom misses an opportunity to polish his skills on the playground. But rather than jump over any moving cars LycOox chooses instead to jump on somebody's, anybody's, track. The result is an extensive portfolio: diverse and free of gaps, to boot!

The rest TMP, though, has been quiet. It seems that by and large, the crew has been enjoyed the benefits of increased exposure. As a result, the rest TMP - Puto Marcio, DJ Télio, and Dj b.boy - continues to rack of the play count on its back catalog, expanding their fan-base in the process..

But the wise artist flexes a strong quality control muscle. An artist drunk on pride, though, is dissuaded from this premise by even stronger delusions. Yet the simple act of restraint - to resist clearing out the archives wholesale - makes any canon pleasant to revisit, as opposed to repetitive and mundane. Such is the case of Dj b.boy; last heard from two months ago with a tarraxo, followed by a change of pace (by his standards) kuduro remix three days later.

This latest release sees b.boy return to slower, familiar territory. On the surface, "Lips" is a tarraxinha track; the one-two, one-two-three-four beat is inescapable. Unfortunately genre classification is irrelevant right now. More than anything, this song shows the beatmaker moving forward. The structure for "Lips" may just be two interchanging sections; just as well as the transitions between them give off an air of predictability. More important, though, is the content of "Lips" itself. Rather than merely elevate the song's profile, "Lips" sees bboy use bass to the groove's advantage. Likewise, as was the case on "Ta Bonito," the beat is diverse. "Lips" is composed of two unique drum tracks: one for each section. Neither pattern relies solely on bboy's standard kick/snare combination. Vocal syncopation too appears to reside in the past. Djembe slaps, digital claps, and cymbals lead the charge of softer more extensive synth melodies almost reminiscent of EstraGaa.

- John Noggle