Leeds Hip Hop Scene » Music Reviews

Review: J-Simple – Late Night Theatre

Editor — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 19:45:57 +0000

For a debut release J-Simple’s “Late Night Theatre” proves he is far from inexperienced.

The album kicks off with 3 consecutive bangers perfect for a live performance. J displays his bravado in “Don’t F&*k With Me” and his hatred for people being over analytical of hip hop, a view I hypocritically agree with. The single form the album “They Don’t Know” is a fusion of 3 artists in perfect unison. Apa-Tight providing a beat suiting J-Simple perfectly and Thabo tying it all together with a catchy hook riding over the melody.

The stand out track of the album has to be “Reload”. As well as producing the track, Jack Flash accompanies J-Simple with an energetic performance showing the listener simply how its done. The icing on the cake for “Reload” is once again the incredible Thabo bringing more soul than footlocker to this masterpiece.

The albums core theme is as an expression of his anger at the hip hop scene and his desire for fame.

There are a few tracks where J tries to connect with and boggle the mind of the listener, such as “Speculation” and “All About You”. “Speculation” is a story of a guy and a girl meeting. The basis of the story might seem old hat, but J uses the situation to put a very good point across to women.

“All About You” is an intelligent, confusing, humble, crafty and soulful tune all rolled into one. A clever concept of switching the two words “me” and “you” which I admit, I found baffling. By swapping the two words it allows him to stray from the traditional cocky tracks and come across very thankful for the respect that he has received from his fans.

The album hosts a veritable feast of talent. An album definitely worth a purchase and a steal at £5.

Late Night Theatre is available from Bandcamp and iTunes.

Wu Massacre (Review)

Chris — Fri, 26 Mar 2010 14:06:32 +0000

After numerous setbacks to this project – the new album from Wu Tang members Ghostface, Raekwon, and Method Man “Wu Massacre” is set to drop next week on 30^th March 2010, and on the 5th April here in the UK. There have been a number of rumours surrounding the release of the album; most notably the future of the Wu Tang Clan as internet sources claimed Meth, Ghost and Rae were looking for fans to come up with a new name for the trio. These claims have since been refuted in recent weeks by Ghostface Killah in Rap Radar “We not a group. We already in Wu-Tang. So it’s not like we trying to start a group. We don’t need that” and further by Method Man in this month’s Source.

It is without question that Method Man, Ghostface Killah and Raekwon are the Wu Tang’s most successful members. Since the 2007 commercial failure of “8 Diagrams” there was no doubt, worries by many within the hip hop community that thought this album would never officially see the light of day. However with the numerous leaks on the net of exclusive artwork, track listings and videos it is safe to say the Def Jam machine has been in force to make sure this album is received well

The artwork by Marvel artist Chris Bachalo is great and there are 4 exclusive designs, the fist features all three artists and there are 3 covers with each of the individual artists on their own, I’m sure there will be a few Wu fans out there who will by this album 4 times just to own these exclusive copies. I’m sure “Ghostface Killah Doll” owners will be wanting a version of him in his Wu Massacre gear…

The lead single from the album is “Our Dreams” which samples Michael Jackson’s “We’re Almost There”. Method Man, Ghostface Killah and Raekwon tear into this track with their usual ferocity, if I have to pick a hole in this one I thought the transitions from the hooks to the verses were a little rough, but this is classic RZA production, and the only track he has contributed to the project. The video to the track is great and has clearly had a serious budget to give this lead single a touch of class.

My favourite tracks on the album have to be “Gun Showers”; this really is an Old Skool Wu Tang banger as the album’s trio are joined on the mic by Sun God and Inspektah Deck. All the emcee’s hold it down on this with Method Man leading the way with his usual swagger and the beats are your soul filled fodder that the Wu Tang Clan are well known for. My other personal favourite has to be “Miranda” with RZA’s protégé Allah Mathematics dropping a chilled out beat as Rae, Meth and Ghost get their story telling vibe on as they lay it down.

At times the album does seem a little patched together as there are tracks I’m sure were ear-marked for solo projects that have found their way onto here, but overall this is a solid album and a creatively superior album to “8 Diagrams”, definitely one for an avid hip hop head to own.

Ty – Special Kind Of Fool (Review)

Editor — Sun, 21 Mar 2010 18:52:44 +0000

When people ask me the question: “who is your favourite rapper?”, I usually reel off the the obvious choices – Q-Tip, Common, Big, Phonte, Mos Def. However; I never forget to mention this man’s name, and having had Special Kind of Fool for a week now, I have every reason to believe he deserves to be spoken about in the same vein as those great artists.

There is something incredibly unique about the music Ty makes – infectious, forward thinking and from the heart. You can never be too sure of what you’re going to get, but you can always count on it being better than anything you have ever heard before. He is a real man with real values that makes real music, which is very rare in this day and age; and I think this is reason why I admire him so much as a person and have so much respect for him as an artist. I remember him telling me last year ago that he would be baring his soul and giving everything he had to this album, and I can tell you now, he wasn’t lying.

From the outset this album gives you an overwhelming sense of happiness and helps you “leave your troubles behind you”. His flow is unquestionably one of the best out there and that runs true throughout the whole album, however I believe the lyrical content and the quality of beats are on a completely different level to anything he has done previously. Another aspect of his work which is special is the features on his albums – in the past he has drafted in the likes of De La Soul, Speech, Bahamadia and Zion I, which is a mind-blowing achievement for an artist from the UK. However, being a huge Soul fan, I personally think Special Kind of Fool has got his best features to date – one of my favourite male vocalists, Shaun Escoffery, even took some time out from being Mufasa to do his bit.

I would love to go into great depth and break down each and every song on the album, but sometimes I just feel it necessary to let the Music do the talking. There are three tracks which quite simply amazed me though and they are: ‘ME’, ‘Heart is Breaking’ and ‘Happiness’. ‘ME’ is genuinely one of the best songs I have heard in years – it has such a beautiful message and Erik Rico’s voice brings the track to life. ‘Heart is Breaking’ is pure genius – so happy to finally hear Ty and Sway on a track together proving why they are two of the best out there. ‘Happiness’ is the most beautiful song on the album – it really touched me and I have to say; Vula’s voice is sounding purer than ever. Although I would say that these are my 3 favourite tracks off the album; it’s very hard to pick out any song that didn’t blow me away.

2010 has been a brilliant year for Music so far and before hearing this album I thought I had heard two candidates for album of the year in ‘The Sea’ and ‘Plastic Beach’, but this album is absolutely perfect and is everything that a Hip-Hop album should be. I could talk all day about it, but I will leave you all to make your own judgement on it when it comes out on the 19th April.

He is one of the most genuine and honest people I have come into contact with and I wish him every success when the album drops. He deserves it.

“I just want to get to the sky and get far away from this madness”

Emotions: BUY

Special Kind of Fool: PRE-ORDER

About the Author: Thomas Coxhead, is a student at Leeds Metropolitan University and is an avid follower of UK Hip Hop and passionate about Underground music, you can check out some of his other posts at House of Coxhead. Thomas recently created a video highlighting Disability in Sport for his university course and used Ty’s “Me” as the soundtrack… check it here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Stcto9-vwsM – Ty loves it!!

Pat D & Lady Paradox – Kind of Peace (A Bridge Too Far Recordings)

‘Civil Unrest EP’ – Genesis Elijah & Beezwax (review)

Mr Certified Banger — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 18:43:57 +0000

EPs might be the way forward – a bite size slice of music for your lunch break. Genesis Elijah and Beezwax bring a perfect snack for Hip Hop heads with their ‘Civil Unrest’ EP. On a Hip Hop base Beezwax lays down toppings of Dub, Reggae and Grime with mainly synth-based flavours. Each track has something in common with another making this a nice, cohesive package.

Lyrically and stylistically Genesis Elijah has matured greatly since some of his earlier material with tighter flows and a real sense of rhyme construction. With a political agenda this MC has something to say beyond the usual claptrap rap that we’re used to and using traditional Reggae language and original concepts (especially ‘Bellyfull’) he makes this release a winner.

Buy it now at itunes.

‘Soulscapes & Jazz Breaks’ – Pat D & Lady Paradox (album review)

Mr Certified Banger — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 05:38:00 +0000

Pat D and Lady Paradox have returned with a brilliant LP by all accounts. Any one of this album’s elements on its own would have me championing the record but the fact is that everything I look at – beats, rhymes, content, guests etc – is all of such a high quality. It’s the album’s positivity that binds its essentials into a super-cohesive body of work.

Pat D’s ear for an accessible Jazz sample combined with his coordination of real life musicians makes for evocative, laid back yet heavy productions – and that goes for each of the 12 tracks – it’s all first-rate.

Lady P’s rhymes are insightful, thoughtful and thought provoking and in no way does she resort to clichés. ‘Dear Negativity’ paints negativity and positivity as people who appear in our lives and ‘Juicy Grub’ and ‘What’s It Worth’ celebrate music of all genres, displaying a real love and knowledge of music from Hi-Dialect, US MC Melodiq and Lady Paradox. Her flow is simple and clear and her voice is different to that of your average femcee. Her thoughts and way of expressing herself are in the same vein as Jehst and Lewis Parker.

The featured artists complement the overall feel and sound of the album with the standout guest being poetry/spoken word hero Benjamin Zephaniah on ‘New Dawn’, a story of love on which Zephaniah translates his poetry well over the trumpet-led production. Elsewhere Efeks, Izzy G, Shaheen, Praverb, Selone and Eva Lazarus feature.

‘Soulscapes & Jazz Breaks’, probably one of the most aptly-named albums ever, will be out soon and is sure to be album of whichever month it drops in (December 8th)! It’s being released on A Bridge Too Far Recordings. There will be a 12″ EP version and a CD version of the full LP. The album can be streamed here and now.

‘Literary Vices’ – Verbal Contact (EP review)

Mr Certified Banger — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 08:42:41 +0000

Don’t know about life in Leeds? Well, Matter and Prys are willing to be your tour guides for half an hour. Their debut EP is entitled ‘Literary Vices’ – a clue to the type of intelligence behind the lyrics of Verbal Contact.

Opener ‘First Impressions’ pulls no punches as the MCs introduce themselves over a seriously heavy beat. ‘Wasteland’ is a day in the life of and ‘Tourist Information’ follows – this is Leeds. ‘Likad 2nite’ features Mr. Ris (of label mates Alphabetix) and details the highs and lows of a typical night out (as does ‘Misadventures’) whereas ‘David’s Struggle’ takes a more serious tack – a cautionary tale about the life and times of a drug dealer.

Most of the EP is on a real boom bap Hip Hop tip but the final track ‘Mind The Gap’ showcases their doubletime flows and features Grime MC Devalish aka Dialect (who recently featured on Westwood TV alongside Asher Don) – proof that this crew aren’t close minded and do whatever it take to make good music.

‘Literary Vices’ is out on 30 Tonne Slug on 30th November.

‘MoreFire’ – Freyed Knot (album review)

Mr Certified Banger — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 11:21:37 +0000

‘MoreFire’ aka ‘The Best Album You Can Get For a Quid… Ever!’ is the sophomore album from Bradford Hip Hop band Freyed Knot.

Featuring real live instruments, two MCs and often a healthy smattering of beatboxing and cutting Freyed Knot combine Funk and Rock to a Hip Hop effect. Each track on ‘MoreFire’ contains a bag load of quotables and a whole host of good time feelings.

‘SM58s’ heads things up by way of introduction and ‘Who Got The Funk’ will have you singing along as ExP and JND continue to ensure you know what they’re all about. ‘FK! Charges For Photographs’ is a hilarious and original concept summed up here: “I cahrge for my image if you charge for the pictures”. ‘You Lot’ is probably my favourite track on the album – another sing-a-long extravaganza.

‘Wild West Yorkshire’ and ‘Shires Of York’ are sequenced perfectly to make sure you know where on the map the band are coming from. ‘What We’re About’, ‘Will To Live’ and ‘T’Urban’ serve to pinpoint where they’re coming from philosphically – the second track being a comedic take on the ‘urban’ music scene. ‘British Blues’ is “Freyed Knot minus the band” and sees ExP and JND drop sense about this country of ours. Dr.Dot’s ‘Discolexia’ featuring the Freyed Knot MCs finishes things off on a high.

With 40 minutes of music ‘MoreFire’ is a fast and furious and thoroughly enjoyable disc and at only £1 (£1.50 delivered) you’d be raving mad not to get a copy. It’s out now on Sinoptic Music – get yours here.

‘How To Cut & Paste: The 30s Edition’ – DJ Yoda (review)

Mr Certified Banger — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 09:52:11 +0000

I treated myself to DJ Yoda’s latest mixtape in the ‘How To Cut & Paste’ series: ‘The 30s Edition’ and now here I am, revving up to tell you all about it.

First off, ‘The 30s Edition’ is more bearable than ‘The 80s Edition’ (which was still dope) and it’s a real light listen, especially if you want to have a bit a laugh at the sort of jaunty music they used to make. Yoda makes for additional comedy as he scratches samples and drops ridiculous beats over the original tracks.

Stand-out selections are ‘Cheesecake’ by Louis Armstrong (pure hilarity) and Moondog’s ‘Lament 1, Bird’s Lament’ (the original sample from Mr Scruff’s ‘Get a Move On’). Speaking of sample sources, Thelonious Monk’s ‘Black and Tan Fantasy’ (of Wu-Tang Clan’s ‘Shame On A Nigga’) fame also crops up. You’ll also enjoy the one-two combo of Fats Waller’s ‘Reefer Song’ and Cab Calloway’s ‘Reefer Man’ for the possibly unintentional drug references.

DJ Yoda never fails to entertain, he also makes me want to buy all these records for myself. ‘How To Cut & Paste: The 30s Edition’ is out now and available on itunes and on CD.

‘Money’ – Danny Spice (single review)

Mr Certified Banger — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 08:37:30 +0000

DJ Juice’s production grooves along (in the way a modified premo joint might) as Danny Spice cruises vocally on his latest track ‘Money’. Mr. Spice tells us in no uncertain terms (“You see me, ain’t up in the game to be cool/ Or have MTV round to look at my pool/ I rap to because I have to…”) what he deems to be the state of realness in Hip Hop.

‘Sci Figh’ sees Juice switch up a little with a sound effect heavy, stripped back head nod beat. Danny rails against another type of MC this time – the type who rhyme for rhymes sake; the Hip Hop geeks. Danny Spice maintains that you have to have something to say if you’re gonna jump on the mic. The two tracks do leave you wondering exactly which kind of rappers Danny does like – I guess he himself does it how he thinks it should be done.

Both tracks are taken from Danny Spice’s debut album ‘Just For The Record’ which will be released towards the end of the year. ‘Money’/’Sci Figh’ will be available on 12” and download on August 3rd.

YNR’s – Feeding Time At The Zoo (Review)

Mr Certified Banger — Sat, 23 May 2009 09:00:15 +0000

Here’s my (un-edited) review of YNR‘s Feeding Time At The Zoo, originally written for and published in HHC Digital 002, it was their album of the month:

What with UK Rap and its Marmite status, this release will probably provoke one of two reactions: ‘Yawn, backpack rap – boring’ or ‘Finally some decent Hip Hop in this Grime-addled scene’. I’m going to imagine you’re of that second opinion: after all, you’re not reading this in Angling Times.

The new and improved roster of friends and family proves YNR have adapted and are managing to maintain their alpha male status – their music is testament to this. Jehst and co. have a renewed vigour and confidence (no, not swagger) that their wares are exactly the shot in the arm that UK Hip Hop needs. And it is, pretty much.

Beats come from the likes of Beat Butcha, Chemo and DJ IQ who all provide bumpy, progressive productions that still hark back to those beloved golden days and Kashmere, Sir Smurf Lil, Joker Starr, Mystro, Kyza, Micall Parknsun, Jack Flash and Cappo all feature over its 15 tracks.

The non-Londoners put in sterling work with SonnyJim and Kelakovski‘s Flying To The Moon proving to be a stand out and Double D Dagger‘s track being sure to appeal to Hip Hop and Grime fans alike. Dubbledge‘s Alphabets is comically maverick whereas Verb T‘s Overworked is on a serious tip. Each beast represents his own breed and it’s Feeding Time At The Zoo – these animals are hungry!

HHC also put up a free download of Micall Parknsun’s ‘Today’ so if you’ve not bagged that yet, then do! ‘Feeding Time At The Zoo’ will be released on 25th May on the YNR Productions label.