I feel the same, it's like the rain
I hear your name, I fall apart
This is the end, why do we start?
Adrian Nicholas Matthews Thaws (born 27 January 1968), better known by his stage name Tricky, is a British record producer, rapper, vocalist, and author known for his murky, layered production style and being a pioneer of the Trip Hop genre alongside fellow Bristol contemporaries Portishead and Massive Attack.
Born in the Knowle West area of Bristol, he experienced a tumultuous childhood, with his mother dying when he was very young and himself getting involved with crime and gang activity at an early age. He would set aside gang life in order to focus on music, penning lyrics and rapping in the mid-'80s. At first, he was a member of the Wild Bunch, a local rap crew that eventually became Massive Attack before the decade was out. He provided raps for the group's debut album, Blue Lines, before releasing his debut solo single, "Aftermath". Around this time, he also met a teenage vocalist named Martina Topley-Bird, who went on to become one of his most noted musical collaborators.
In 1994, Tricky signed with 4th & Broadway. The contract contained a clause that allowed him to release side projects under different names, in addition to regular Tricky releases. Tracks such as "Ponderosa" and "Overcome" were released over the course of 1994, and that same year, he was featured on Massive Attack's second studio album, Protection. The following spring of 1995, Tricky's debut album, Maxinquaye, was released. Not only did the album receive overwhelmingly positive reviews when it was released, but it also entered the U.K. charts at number two. He also released Tricky vs. the Gravediggaz, a collaboration with the American hardcore rap group of the same name, as well as a single called "I Be the Prophet", which was released under the name Starving Souls.
The following year, Tricky assumed the pseudonym of "Nearly God" to release an album of the same name, which contained what he called "a compilation of exceptional yet unfinished demos". Two months later, Tricky's official second album under his own name, Pre-Millennium Tension, was released. The album went on to become his second-best selling in the U.S. and his first to chart on the Billboard 200. In addition to his three releases of 1996, he remixed artists as diverse as Björk, Neneh Cherry, and Elvis Costello. Tricky's next full-length solo effort, Angels with Dirty Faces, would follow in 1998, followed a year later by Juxtapose, a collaboration with Cypress Hill's DJ Muggs and DMX's producer Dame Grease.
In 2001, Tricky returned with the Mission Accomplished EP, which was released by the Epitaph subsidiary label Anti. Blowback, his first record (seventh overall, counting Nearly God) for Hollywood Records, appeared later that June and included collaborations with the likes of artists such as Alanis Morissette, and John Frusciante. Increasingly aware of his dour personality in the media and irritated that popular music magazines had started labeling him "the Dark Prince", he made his eighth album, 2003's Vulnerable, in an attempt to re-expose himself as a pop artist. The same year, the Back to Mine label released an remix album that he compiled before he took a five-year hiatus from recording new material.
His next following records, Knowle West Boy and Mixed Face, respectively came out in 2008 and 2010. He subsequently left Domino Records to start up his own record label called False Idols, for which he would release a record of the same name in 2013. After a couple of years of touring and festival appearances, he announced his tenth album, Adrian Thaws, which was released that following year. His next album, Skilled Mechanics, was released in 2016; similar to Nearly God, it was a quasi-unofficial record under a different pseudonym.
His thirteenth official studio album, ununiform, was released on 22 September 2017, and featured collaborations with Asia Argento, Martina Topley-Bird, and Avalon Lurks, who contributed vocals to a cover of Hole's "Doll Parts".
Taking a break from music, Tricky penned an autobiography titled Hell Is Round the Corner, which was released in 2019. That same year, Mina Mazy, his daughter with Topley-Bird, died by suicide at the age of 24. In his grief, he turned back to music; the resulting EP, 20, 20, arrived early in 2020 and featured collaborations with Marta and Anika. More music from those sessions appeared later on his 14th full-length album Fall to Pieces.
Not to be confused with a certain psychotic clown, or "It's Tricky" by Run–D.M.C..
Discography:
- Maxinquaye (1995)
- Tricky Vs. Gravediggaz (with Gravediggaz)
- Nearly God (unofficial, under the pseudonym of "Nearly God") (1996)
- Pre-Millennium Tension (1996)
- Angels with Dirty Faces (1998)
- Juxtapose (with DJ Muggs and Dame Grease) (1999)
- Mission Accomplished (EP) (2001)
- Blowback (2001)
- Vulnerable (2003)
- Knowle West Boy (2008)
- Mixed Race (2010)
- False Idols (2013)
- Adrian Thaws (2014)
- Skilled Mechanics (2016)
- Ununiform (2017)
- 20, 20 (2020)
- Fall to Pieces (2020)
- Lonely Guest (2021, as Lonely Guest)
- Fifteen Days (2025, as Theis Thaws)
Suffocated Tropes:
- Broken Record: At the end of "Pumpkin":I can't see and I can't breathe
I can't see and I can't breathe
I can't see and I can't breathe
I can't see and I can't breathe - Concept Album: Although not in the traditional sense, Maxinquaye would be mired in lyrics revolving around psychological distress, paranoia, British drug culture, and decadence, with a weighty, calamitous atmosphere permeating the entire album.
- Epic Rocking: "Black Steel", "Aftermath" and "Strugglin'" are some of the longest tracks on Maxinquaye, with "Aftermath" being the longest at seven minutes.
- Grief Song: 20, 20 is a Grief EP dedicated to his daughter Mina Mazy who took her own life.
- Sampling: Maxinquaye would heavily utilize this with sample credits as diverse as "Rukkumani Rukkumani" by A. R. Rahman ("Black Steel") and "Ike's Rap II" by Isaac Hayes ("Hell is Round the Corner")note .
- Single Stanza Song: For a track that lasts over seven minutes, "Aftermath" is really just one verse, a chorus and a outro.
- Trip Hop: Maxinquaye would do much to define the genre with its unique use of sampling and layered production style, making the record something of a classic and a Trope Maker for the genre.
- Wretched Hive: "Hell is Round the Corner":We're hungry beware of our appetite
Distant drums bring the news of a kill tonight
The kill which I share with my passengers
We take our fill, take our fill, take our fill- In general, Maxinquaye's atmosphere seems to present a scene mired with detached youth whose fear of emotional intimacy and dependency on drugs and sex has led to psychological pain and a fragmented sense of identity.