Chester P, one half of UK behemoths Taskforce, has released his new album "New Mic Order Part 2" via his bandcamp website. Its a real return to form (or rather, a return to the music scene, as he was never really "out of form" in the first place) and its very welcome in a UK rap scene that currently stands in a transitional period.
The veterans of the scene are slowly but surely dropping off and retiring one by one, and thus far, there have been very few artists or collectives coming through that can receive the baton and develop the scene further. Chester P has shown with this release, an album I've listened to for the past few hours and enjoyed thoroughly, that he's not ready to pass the torch. Especially not to those who aren't worthy.
The album is called "New Mic Order Pt.2", yet this isn't a New Mic Order at all. Its a return to the roots of Taskforce and UK rap. Its grit and grind sprinkled with inner-city verve and wordplay. Its a highly experienced british emcee (who should get a lot more plaudits and respect than he does) showing the new jacks how its done, and why its important that the UK rap sound stays entirely separate and individual to that of its parent US scene. Its an old mic order that continues to work... and I appreciate that.
The album is a meagre fiver, and for that you get one of the most solid UK rap albums so far this year, so preview the songs below, then head over to the site and get it bought.
Taskforce's Farma G released via bandcamp a track he'd recorded with Chester P back in September 2009 a few days ago, and its the last thing they've recorded together under the Taskforce name.
The track is superb, staying true to the gritty reality beats and rhymes that has made them so revered in the UK hip-hop scene. It would be very sad to see these two UK stalwarts stop making music together entirely, as some of the best moments of the scene since they joined it over 10 years ago have came from them.
One upside to this is, the bandcamp track does come with a short paragraph below stating that one last Taskforce album "Music From The Corner Vol. 5" is still due for release later this year. That gives us something to look forward to still from these two UK legends. Until then, allow "The Final Countdown" to whet your appetite, and continue playing everything from "The Butterfly Concerto" to "Grafdafuckup".
I was looking through my old CD collection for old tracks maybe to upload onto the site and came across this UK Hip-Hop compilation I made back in early 2003. It has just completely random tracks on it because at the time I only had dial-up internet and used Kazaa to dl tracks. It always took about 45 minutes to download one track!!! The wierd thing is, at the time that seemed really reasonable! So, forgive me if some of the tracks are better than others, but it does have a few gems on it. I skimmed over it on iTunes earlier today and some of the tracks aren't special, but I probably just put them on the compilation anyway because it took 45 mins to get it. I wasn't exactly just going to delete it after that much of a wait!
Northern Author Hip-Hop Ad's UK Hip-Hop Mix-Up (2003)
1. Rodney P - Murderer Style - I haven't changed the tracklist order that it originally was, and its no surprise I put this first. A true classic from a true hip-hop legend. 2. Iceberg Slimm - Bad Boy - A bit of an in-joke this one. It used to ALWAYS be on the telly back when Channel U first started out, and me and my mates have always just laughed and joked about how Channel U is the dumbest shit ever to be put on television. This song had an even ridiculous chorus and was fairly listenable. 3. MUD Family - Rich & Switch - A track from Skinnyman's group about how rappers lose their grounding once they get successful. Not a bad song at all. 4. Funky DL - The Music - The first of three Funky DL tracks on the mix. I have always been a fan of his brand of hip-hop, but a little sceptical of his rap accent. Why does he feel the need to put on an american one when he isn't from the USA? Still, he is a good rapper and a great producer. 5. Braintax - Deal With It - Some old Braintax here. I have no idea when this song was made or what LP/12" it was from, but it sounds very 90s to me. I suspect this may be quite old. Whatever it is, this is classic Braintax at his best. 6. Ricochet Klashnekoff - Daggo Mentality -I believe that this may have been one of Klashnekoff's first ever releases. He still hadn't dropped 'Ricochet' from his name, and (without actually checking) I think this might have been on a WordLab compilation. A very good intro song fro the man, stating his claim before the music even starts ('Come like Britney Spears ya get speared in the heart') 7. Funky DL - Soul Silhouette - More DL, this time sounding verry jazzy. This is almost Native Tongue jazzy in the way it is crafted. Great song. 8. Rodney P & Skinnyman - Worldwide - Two superstars on a Joe Budha beat that is seeped in reggae dub bassline and sound. Suits Rodney more than Skinny, but nice nonetheless. 9. Ricochet Klashnekoff - Jangkroville (Jehst Remix) - Another Klashnekoff early release, this time with Jehst providing a remix and a verse. 10. Taskforce & Braintax - Three Amigos - Thoughts of 'El Mariachi' come to mind as the song starts, but once the beat comes in and Braintax opens up, it gets much more darker, with the typical UK basslines coming into play. Taskforce & Braintax work very well together here. 11. Skinnyman - Chat 'Bout - Skinnyman on the solo tip with a dark backdrop for him to paint a picture of his neighborhood and lifestyle. 12. Funky DL - Everybody Rock On -The last of the DL songs, and this one is jazzy hip-hop done up proper. It uses the same horn sample that was used on a Tweet song produced by Missy Elliott not long ago. This came first though, as I think this song is about 7 or 8 years old. 13. Micro, Rodney P, Taskforce & Braintax - Controlo - I have no idea where this is from, but it seems to be a song by French rapper Micro featuring british artists. Not a bad effort by all. 14. Phi-Life Cypher & Taskforce - Want It So Bad - One of my personal favourite rappers of all time has to be Life from Phi-Life Cypher. NO-ONE, I repeat NO-ONE has a better flow than him. Not the best thing either group has been involved in but some good verses on display here over an anarchist's backdrop. 15. Tommy Evans - Natured Out - From the intro I can tell its an exclusive from Undercover magazine (a good read by the way). A nice if rather dull track. Tommy can do much better. 16. Blak Twang (feat. Lynden David Hall) - Perfect Love - One of Twang's more sensitive songs, featuring the sadly departed Lynden David Hall. Hall was a classy vocalist with some great tracks and it was a shame he died so early in his life. A good song here with Twang on top form interpolating Hall's classic 'Sexy Cinderella'. 17. Lewis Parker - Sunflight -What can you say about Lewis Parker. He is quite simply an incredible producer. Up with the greats on any shore in my opinion. This song is off 'Its All Happening Now' and has a typical Parker beat and some smooth lyrics. A good outro song.
Just as a Brucey Bonus: Watch this vid from British maestro DJ Format with Canadian emcee extraordinaire Abdominal on the vocals. If you don't already know this song you really should be ashamed of yourself (punish yourself accordingly), and it is canny well known, but...enjoy it for what it is. A straight up and down babyliss-hair-straighteners rap track with a great beat, a great video and some stellar rapping from Abs (no, not the one from 5ive).
