Together they developed an overt political message in a scene dominated by Gangsta rap, inspired by Hip-Hop, Motown soul and traditional Irish music.
[3] However the album failed to generate significant sales in the US and Marxman left Talkin' Loud for the More Rockers label.
Despite working with a number of high-profile musicians, collaborating with James McNally of the Pogues and having Sinéad O'Connor as guest vocalist on the single "Ship Ahoy," the band was very much a rap group; their track "Drifting" was produced in New York by hip-hop legend DJ Premier of Gang Starr.
The band also worked with SD50, Dante Ross's production team, and Mike Mangini and Shane Faber (Brand Nubian, Digable Planets and many more) were producers on "The Cynic".
They are considered to have been forerunners of the trip hop genre, alongside bands such as Massive Attack and Portishead,[3] and contributed to the establishment of the "Bristol sound".