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Spin

He's more grounded... and his evasive, abstract beats underpin his vocals less randomly. [Dec 2004, p.124]

Mojo

The sound of Beans returning to the hip hop that hatched him, remaking it in his image. [Dec 2004, p.100]

Blender

Beans's themes may be everyday, but thankfully his wit isn't. [Nov 2004, p.129]

Stylus Magazine

Beans has yet to learn, however, that we’re paying the price of admission to hear him wrap his tongue around the mic, not screw around with his drum machine.

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Urb

This time, he's truly on some next shit instrumentally and vocally. [Nov 2004, p.98]

Splendid

His machinegun flow is as cerebral as ever, but too much of the album's production slides by in a dignified haze of twinkling clips and clacks, devoid of real grime or grizzled substance.

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New Musical Express

[A] groovily electronic, acid-addled collection of throat-tickling, Venusian rhyme formations. [23 Oct 2004, p.51]

Pitchfork

Maverick has a more consistent tone than either of Beans' previous records, but it also lacks the stand-outs of its predecessors, settling into bland production strokes that recede behind his always fascinating rhymes.

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Uncut

Here, Beans returns to his roots. [Nov 2004, p.106]

Billboard

If parts of "Shock City" shudder under the weight of seeming too cool for school, much credit is due Beans for being one of the producer/MCs desperate to stretch out the rubbery boundaries of the genre.

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Junkmedia

As hit-and-miss as its 2003 predecessor.

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Playlouder

It’s stripped down, tough and raw, but a world away from any gangsta pose – this is more inward facing, an attempt to expand the horizons of hip-hop, striving for a new rap language, with a free flow sprawl of image and polemic.

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All Music Guide

Nothing scrambles the brain like Tomorrow Right Now's "Hot Venom," and no track has lyrics that hit as hard as Now, Soon, Someday's "Win or Lose You Lose," but the album maintains a consistency that neither of those releases can claim.

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The Wire

This album does suffer a mysterious drop in its energy levels midway in. [#249, p.50]

PopMatters

His beats continue to be hypnotically bare-boned, old skool synth assault platforms, over which he then reels you in with his ceaseless syllabic slurry, his lyrics almost irrelevant as his ridiculous flow blurs everything into an inescapable rhythm. At top speed this approach yields irresistible amounts of adrenaline, the downside being that slower tracks lose the listener in drifts of abstraction.

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cokemachineglow

The album fails mainly in its inability to set itself apart; for a Warp release it’s dull, Beans isn’t enough of a rapper to carry the show by himself, and the beats feel like they would have been interesting if they didn’t just remain stagnant through pretty much every track.

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Q Magazine

His reluctance to engage, ego issues and occasional sexism speak of a vanity as large as any of the major-label players he opposes. [Nov 2004, p.117]

Magnet

Where the smart rap of Antipop Consortium came off as quick and cutting, Maverick just seems remote. [#66, p.86]

What Our Users Said

The average user rating for this album is 9.5 (out of 10) based on 4 User Votes

Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Matt D gave it a10:
look guys...this album's getting mediocre ratings from magazines, but that doesn't mean shit. this is easily one of the hottest albums i've ever heard. some articles talked bad about his ego and everything, but caan you think of a rapper who doesn't have an ego? the lyrics here are top-notch

david g gave it a10:
beans is amazing, shock city maverick is an instant classic

Chris gave it a9:
I Liked it alot. This was a nice album by the Former Anti Pop Consortium MC Beans. IT is very fresh and he does great on almost every track.

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