Remembering Brent T Liminal

After reading news of MF DOOM passing away on the last day of 2020, you’d think that we’d all have had our fill of sad news going into the new year. Hell, Brent, you shared the news on your Facebook page, because of course you did—you loved hip-hop as much as we all did. Probably more. I wasn’t even imagining that I’d end up seeing news of you passing away on Facebook roughly 24 hours later.

Brent T Liminal was one of the staples of the Stateside drum & bass scene. When heads came through North Carolina, they hit Brent T Liminal up. Hospitality, DJ SS…heavy hitters. He’d spent two-plus decades making a name for himself as a producer / DJ / dnb representer, landing tunes everywhere: Renegade Hardware, Formation, Audio Porn, Patrol the Skies, Flex, Flight Pattern, Abducted LTD, Machinist Music…the list truly goes on. Real ones know, and if you don’t…that’s what we’re here for, to spread his legacy.

See, Brent T Liminal and I had a 90+ minute Zoom call back in September. It’s one of the few unreleased interviews for HRDNZ that hasn’t materialized. Part of it was our schedules; I’d gotten extremely busy at my job about a week after we spoke (the end of September), and he wanted to make sure the piece came out perfect. We were going to time it with a specific release for around Thanksgiving, but then some unexpected things happened, which, coupled with procrastination (his words), we’d been in this weird state of limbo with, essentially, his thoughts and opinions on the current state of the scene and his place within it. He had the pedigree—anyone who knew him would tell you that—I think he just needed someone to put it into perspective. I’d even redone his bio this past June; I’m not even sure that saw the light of day.

I’ve always been a DJ who is more comfortable on stage than in the studio, so I collab frequently. [I’m] never one to be stuck to one name, idea or project.

Brent T Liminal

Over the years, Brent would send me tunes in varying stages of completion. Because of my past, I found that he trusted my ear. Over the summer of 2020, we would go back and forth via Facebook Messenger, me giving him some thoughts on some Rollin Bishop tunes he’d been working on, him breaking down this one ADDIXXX dubplate that I was hoping would see the light of day in 2020. Dude had the vision, and he was a man with many plans. Judging by the reaction the USDNB massive has had to news of his passing, I imagine some of those plans will matriculate in one way or another. My plan to drop an interview with him will be one of them. It’s roughly 40 pages in a Google Doc, but it has to be done. If we don’t tell our stories, represent our scenes, and pat ourselves on the back for our accomplishments, who will?

I’m gonna miss Brent. His love for music, his enthusiasm for film, and, honestly, the way he rode for his homies all stick out to me. I wasn’t even trying to write all of this, but Brent T Liminal was one of those people that deserved all of the love and respect he’s receiving currently. Rest easy, friend. #HRD

Phobik shared this Liminal tribute mix. It features collabs with DJ SS, NC-17, Dioptrics, and many others; full tracklist is below. Stream or download this one ASAP.

Tracklist:

01-Bengal, Liminal & DJ SS – Waavy [Formation]
02-Liminal – Soul Ting [Patrol The Skies Music]
03-Liminal Ft. Elijah Divine – Wide Eyed [Schedule One]
04-Liminal, DJ SS Ft. Ma Low – Heartbeat [Formation]
05-Liminal, NC-17 – Sunday Blues [Scientia]
06-Liminal – Back N Tha House [Cymbalism]
07-Dioptrics – Retaliate [Machinist Music]
08-Dioptrics, Liminal – Diagrams [Machinist Music]
09-Liminal – 420 [Abducted LTD]
10-Liminal – Thief’s Theme [Schedule One]
11-Liminal – Guest List [Rockers 175]
12-HXR (aka Liminal & Order Of Elim) – BlackTims LacedUp [Dub]
13-Liminal – Crazy Ways [Audioporn]
14-Klute – We R The Ones [Certificate 18]