Although Pink Navel, the solo project of smooth poet Devin Bee, released his full length album Raw Navel over a year ago, the rapper/beatmaker deserves some current recognition. Bee’s particular brand of oddball hip-hop is heavily driven by a stream-of-conscious and absurdist flow of spoken word poetry, highlighted by crunchy lofi beats swaddled in background noise and quirky synth patches. Bee’s poetic content bares a stark similarity to Mike Doughty’s, the mythic voice behind cult group Soul Coughing, while his delivery resembles the smooth confidence of 2000s alt-hip groups like Aesop Rock and Blue Scholars. Raw Navel, in all of its warped obscurity, is a clever and compelling release, and a much needed breath of life in New England’s alternative hip hop scene. You can stream Raw Navel below. -Charley Ruddell
