In October 2005 Beat Assailant introduced his debut album Hard Twelve, a twelve-track project that presented an urban artist blending Southern United States rhythms with the Parisian music environment. The release enabled the Miami-born rapper and his associates to open for Kanye West and DJ Premier, which in turn generated further collaborative projects. Before settling in Paris in 2001 the artist had lived in Atlanta, GA; there he immersed himself in the European hip-hop circuit and encountered producer Danny Wild, who shaped Hard Twelve. After years of touring and a return to the United States, Beat Assailant resurfaced in February 2008 with the follow-up album Imperial Pressure and its single “Better Than Us.” That record continued to stretch hip-hop conventions by merging jazz, funk, soul, rock, world influences, and touches of electro with established urban beats. Live performances feature a saxophonist, a trumpet player, a pianist, additional musicians, and the MC himself. “Better Than Us” also contains vocal contributions from José Reis Fontao, lead singer of Stuck in the Sound, and Mani Hoffman of Supermen Lovers’ global dancefloor anthem “Starlight,” adding another entry to Beat Assailant’s extensive catalog of collaborations.
