It’s been 12 months since the release of the Leeds By Example compilation album, which if you haven’t got a copy yet then why not? The project was set up by the Leeds By Example people in conjunction with various studios and record shops both physical and online, and its here to showcase the hip-hop scene in
Leeds. If you didn’t know anything about hip-hop or in particular Leeds hip-hop then this is probably a good place if not the best place to start. From here you could follow the individual artists involved with the albums slim, concise and compact 12 tracks, or you could wait for volume 2 which is to follow shortly or both.
The centrepiece of the album is the graffiti and graphics strewn hip-hop collective Junkyard Tactics and a remix of their track ‘Takin Ova’, (key lyric: ‘we’re rhyme flowers here to make your mind sober/ we’re takin ova’) which if you haven’t heard its squelching beats and sing a long lyrics and vibes yet or seen their pretty spectacular video then where have you been? On the track they’re just as visual with their lyrics as they are with their animations. They also provide another track, the walloping beats of ‘On Road’ which kicks the album off and sets the albums tone, particularly with eye opening breath taking tight lyrics such as ‘the national curriculum could never teach us about our lives’ and ‘from London to Leeds we need to see beyond the fakeness, and rise to the realness and get shot of the lifeless.’ Its central line and question ‘some might say these streets are tough?’ seems to be the central theme throughout the album.
There’s the swinging rock and rap band Breaking The Illusion who provide 2 tracks on this album ‘A Simple Plan’ about a botched heist, but could also be about 
someone having a simple plan to escape boredom and monotony of everyday life but not, seemingly, being able to achieve it. As they want to get to the point where they can ‘live life to the full under skies of blue’ but instead they get as far as and make do with playing on various games consoles and ‘watch porn on the internet’ and ‘singing a sad sad song.’ They also provide the punch to the stomach simplicity of the rocky ‘DMMK’ aka ‘Drugs Money Murder Kill’ the 4 vices in life it seems. Then there’s the 80’s retro reggae feel of Haiku on ‘On The Road’, and the leftfield rhymes and off kilter rhythms of the brilliant Eliphino whose disconnected and disjointed beats really draw you in, particularly on ‘Strange Days’, which is then followed by the relatively lighter track of the aforementioned ‘DMMK’ which includes the genius line ‘Tony Blair cares like he cares for mice.’
The highlight of the album is Big Ben’s ‘L.E.E.D.S Man’ a harrowing and murky look at the place called L double E D S, and its windswept, rainy, and haunting, with some extra sharp lyrics with hooks on, name checking and detailing the often overlooked boroughs of Leeds including Harehills, and Beeston as well as area’s of the city centre such as Briggate and in this so called ‘super super Leeds needs to keep united.’
B.T.I crop up again on the albums final track Peacewise & Homestyles bouncy and beatific ‘Stuck.’
So if you want hip-hop with a conscience, and to find out more about what life in Leeds is like, for these guys in particular, then get Leeds By Example and enjoy these 12 quality tracks. Roll on volume 2.
Ben Bradford.
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