Hometown: Bristol, England
Debut: 1993

Members:
Tricky -vocals
Street Dog -vocals
DJ Muggs -vocals
D'na -vocals
Kioka Williams -vocals
Adam 7 -guitar
Inner Circle -guitar
Reggie Stewart -keyboards
Reggie House -bass, guitar
Flo -drums

Bands in the family :
Portishead, Massive Attack, The Wild Bunch, Neneh Cherry, Smith and Mighty, Björk, Cypress Hill, DMX

Notes:
Tricky began his career as a part of the Bristol-based hip-hop ensemble, the Wild Bunch, which developed into Massive Attack. Their 1991 debut, Blue Lines, gave birth to trip hop, and soon Tricky went solo, releasing his first single, "Aftermath," in 1993, and his debut album, Maxinquaye, which made him the face of the genre. Tricky continued to reinvent himself through remixes and collaborations with artists such as Björk, RZA of the Wu-Tang Clan, and Luscious Jackson. Tricky has since made three official full-length albums, Pre-Millennium Tension and Nearly God in 1996 and Angels with Dirty Faces in 1998, in addition to various singles and Eps. He now prefers to make music and lead a clandestine lifestyle in New York.

Links:
Tricky Mothership
Tricky Photo Gallery
We Love Tricky

OK, so he's brought in Bone Thugs N Harmony's British cousin, Street Dog (Grrrrrrrr) to help out on the mic, and female vocalists who are NOT Martina Topley-Bird (Grrrrrrrrrrrr). Anyway, let's try not to be close minded, kids, because if there's one thing Tricky hates, it's doing what's expected of him.

Juxtapose has a strong American hip-hop vibe, probably due to the production involvement of Cypress Hill's DJ Muggs and DMX producer, Grease. Yet unlike the worldwide spread of McDonald's, the American influence on Tricky has some refreshing results, e.g., the light strumming on "For Real," which sounds like some good old head noddin' acoustic pop.

However, Juxtapose isn't just fun and games. "For Real" is a direct slam against pop stars and begin-boy pretenders, and Tricky takes his shots with barbed cheekiness: "Some of these people have to live their lives for real/ I don't have to/ I've got a record deal." Tricky also puts a new spin on things on the Muggs-collaboration "Contradiction," and the track's slow, sauntering Latin rhythm has a mesmerizing, hypnotic effect. "Call Me" shines softly with lush, quiet guitars and D'na's voice is both sad and appealing, proving that Tricky can still make loneliness attractive.

While the melodic hush of acoustic guitars creates an intimate, compelling sound different from any of Tricky's previous work, some of the American influences have made potentially cool tracks take a wrong turn. "Bom Bom Diggy," "Hot Like A Sauna" and "I Like the Girls" come dangerously close to the vapid rap music that currently infesting MTV and radio. But Tricky never makes the same record twice, so rest assured his next effort will stay far away from any missteps.