REVIEWS Hip-Hop
QUICKIES Neil Kul
Statik Selektah feat Styles P
& Talib Kweli Dagha Raekwon feat The
The Thrill Is Gone The Remedy
Game
K
ar
Show-Off/Brick Lewis Recordings Flashback Memories
N
EMI
i,
8
Told in junior school never to use the Acoustic guitar. Hmmm.
1 Cr
word ‘nice’ ’cos it “doesn’t mean any- Hackles on alert. Hold on Fabulous, lurid, neon-
osbie R
thing”. Wrong. This track is niiiice. Soul though. Edan really does smeared monster from
smuggled through technology, a great know his shit, don’t he? the Rae and whodathunk
oad, Co
Monk-style piano loop underscoring Vital echo saves it. Just The Game could actually
Kweli and Styles’ thoroughly on-point don’t let me catch you spit fire like this? Startled
v
entr
meditations on the disappearance of nodding. congratulations all round.
y
shock and surprise from rap’s lexicon. Don’t miss it.
, CV5 8FX
Bodes immensely well for the soon- Kanye West feat
come new album.
Young Jeezy
Kurious feat MC
Amazin’
Serch & Doom
Twista Good Benneton
Wetter Amalgam Digital
EMI Why is it always with new
rap superstars that the Great to hear Serch (who
Again, a track perfect for its season. In moment their arrogance now looks like Michael
winter you don’t want music that sounds goes stratospheric their Moore) breaking down his
liquid, as summer beckons ‘Wetter’ music takes a nosedive pedigree, and Doom and
makes way more sense — the crucial into mediocrity? This is Kurious are gonna demand
thing is that the title goes beyond meta- nowhere near as deep as attention all year. Keep
Mr Lif phor and actually applies to the very West thinks. But nothing listening.
The Sun texture of this choon. S’moist. Squelchy. can touch him now.
Bloodbot Tactical Oceanic. The autotune female vocal and
pristine loops are all gleamed into a
Lif’s ‘Heard It Today’ is perhaps relationships it underpins, the gorgeous gloopy mercurial sheen and it works as
thee essential hip-hop album shard of Russian piano that threads its sheer refreshment in the hottest car, the
of the year thus far — it’s a way through MRK1’s beats and bass. But steamiest suntrap backyard. Excellent.
whacked-out psyche-heavy gotta admit I flip straight to ‘Vibrator’
dirty-assed masterpiece that for the blinding blistering marshalling freestyle
doesn’t seem to have any obvious of one of the finest basslines you’ll hear Professors
MONE
Y
singles on it. Inevitable that ‘The all year, and the sheer seething doomy Confuse A Few
SHO
T!
Sun’ has been chosen — that energy that builds and bursts all over it. FP Records
weird ultra-phased sample that Fantastic plastic you should not miss.
pops off now and then is the Large Pro on the mix and my God, he’s
only thing close to a mainstream Cee Rock stirring some heavy-duty derange-
chorus — but this is clearly too Lyssynup! ment into FP’s flows. On the awesome
weird to chart, too deep and dark Handzup Records title track he keeps everything in this
and demented to cross over and heat haze, a distant shimmer in your
all the more essential for it. Awww man, one of the things I’ve peripheries, ‘We Won’t Stop’ and ‘Jump
always loved about hip-hop is how, way On It’ make progressively more menac-
quicker and clearer than the rest of pop, ing arcs through your headspace, before
Scrabull it reflects the changing seasons. The ‘Grit Dat Grime’ leaves you on a plateau
DJ VADIM
BBE RECORDS
Bad Boys winter twelves turn to spring twelves of drone gospel bliss you never wanna
Seventy turn to this — summer bottled, put on descend from. Damn essential.
01. BuSTa RhYMES ‘hustlers anthem’ Violator
“The return of one of my fave MCs of all-time.”
ice, popped with a crisp fizz and going
Against my better nature I kinda like down lovely with a gurgle and a burp. Method Man & Redman
02. GhOSTfaCE KiLLah & Mf DOOM ‘Chinatown Wars’ Def Jam
“Wu Tang! Wu Tang! Wu Tang! Ghost is still ripping it, over a crazy ‘Oh No’ beat.”
the backdrop to this precisely ’cos it’s Give it a few weeks and this is gonna A-Yo
not trying to hide its methods or means sound absolutely perfect. Def Jam
03. Mf DOOM ‘Born Like This’ Lex
“Another one of my fave MCs. No-one spits like Doom. Sick, sick, sick.”
— you can hear the machinery, see the
stitching that laces what sounds like a Lowkey Meth, Red and Pete Rock get in on ‘A-Yo’,
04. aBSTRaCT RuDE ‘Rejuvenation’ Rhymesayers
“One of the West Coast’s most slept on MCs coming through courtesy of indie label
demo track from a cheap ol’ synth to a In My Lifetime/License To Kill Saukrates pops round to drop a nicely giant Rhymesayers. Heavy.”
determinedly clean digi rhythm track.
myspace.co.uk/Lowkeyuk delay-laden chorus and though you do
05. PREaCh ‘Oh Yeh’ White
Scrabull’s verbals are fine and incisive — feel that everyone involved is working “Straight outta South Carolina via 4-Hero on the beat.”
I await the ‘True Brit Language’ album ‘In My Lifetime’ is the official release, to about half their capacity, it’s still
06. JOhn LEGEnD fEaT BuJu ‘Can’t Be My Lover’ Virgin
to check whether he can keep this up. a sumptuous rolling sweet-assed track one hell of an irresistible combo, the “I love John Legend and this is a killer re-version from the album.”
featuring Quincy Tones on the mix and a rippling keys and slick beats perfect for
07. YaRah BRaVO ‘Cocaine’ White
Virus Syndicate great cameo from Wretch 32 — seek out summer. On the flip, UGK give us ‘City Featuring Lil Ste on the keys. Very nice club banger.
Mosquito EP ‘License To Kill’ though for a coruscating Lights’ and Meth matches the dirty
08. JuLiEn DYnE ‘Stained Glass’ NA
Contagious look at the G20 protests and the fuck- south crunk-funk with one of his finest “Fresh frozen outta Aukland city, this kid is ill on the beats. Debut album is sick.”
ing pigs outrageous response. Timely vocals in years.
09. KRS-1 ‘hip-hop Lives’ Priority
Oh, I know I should applaud the greater and typically mindblowing stuff from “Kinda slept on this for a second but KRS is still killing it.”
maturity Virus Syndicate display on Lowkey, one of the UK’s most under-
10. fOREiGn BEGGaRS ‘united Colours of Beggatron’ Dented
‘Believe’ — the twisted tale of trustless rated hip-hop talents. The third LP and it’s their best. Sick beats and rhymes and true elevation all round.
132
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DJ474.hiphop.indd 132 6/5/09 09:56:05
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