From The Land Of Smog

Passed to me by fellow hip-hop fan Ronathon, here is an exclusive download for the UK hip-hop heads from Teesside emcee BLUNT.

I've always written rhymes myself but with my unapologetic north-east accent never really got anything recorded as I never thought it would ever translate into success. However, this silly notion has been blown out of the water by fellow north-east success stories such as Stig Of The Dump for example. BLUNT is another from the area below Hadrian's Wall to put his pen to paper and drop a great LP.

Having no history on the man, I was going into the listening process blind, but was pleasantly surprised with the flow and the beat selection. As soon as I started 'Lyrical Venting' and I heard 9th Wonder's 'Dollarz Circulate' beat from his J.U.S.T.U.S. League beat tapes from back in the day I knew it was going to be a good experience.

Kick back, light one up and enjoy.



BLUNT - Allow Me To Be....BLUNT! (2010)

1. Lyrical Venting
2. An Ode To Skunk
3. Bitches
4. C.H.A.V.S.
5. Lyrical Venting Part II
6. Recurring Dreams
7. Underground King (Freeverse)
8. Bitches Part II (Sloppy Seconds)
9. Deeper Underground
10. Mic Check

For more, check out his Myspace Page:

www.myspace.com/boroBLUNT69

Shut Da Lights Off!

Just a little smidgin to tide you over till the next few posts (we've got some great downloads coming up soon by the way). A small shoutout to the UK drum & bass and Dubstep scenes that are currently doing it big these days (especially dubstep). Here's DnB legend Adam F's most recent hip-hop foray in the same vain as his 'Anti-Acoustic Warfare' material.

He and Horx have roped in Redman for a re-working of the 'Smash Sumthin' track from years ago. Essentially its an entire new song with a completely different beat and hook with modified verses. Any excuse to put Redman up really, with him being one of my personal favourite emcees, especially when it involves a UK hip-hop link so its relevant to the site.

Check out the Adam F remix for some drum 'n' bass styling and the Caspa dub mix for some dubstep. Both are excellent.

Adam F & Horx (feat. Redman) - Shut The Lights Off EP

1. Shut The Lights Off (Radio Edit)
2. Shut The Lights Off (In Da Club Edit)
3. Shut The Lights Off (Adam F & Sigma DnB Remix)
4. Shut The Lights Off (Caspa & TrollySnatcher Dubstep Mix)

And here's the official video:

Lie Low

New Flesh were always a fascinating group. Still rocking today, with their last album probably acting as their most critically acclaimed from early last year, theyve enjoyed a career of low-key cult hits in the UK without ever quite cracking the surface and getting nationwide recognition.

Due to the slightly off-kilter beats provided by Part 2, the unorthodox rhymes by Juice Aleem and manic style of Toastie Taylor, theyve laid down a sound so individual that it both sets them apart and endears.

Big Dada Recordings have always been a record label that have pushed the envelope in alternative hip-hop - their hip-hop roster includes mentalist Infinite Livez, avantgarde instrumentalists CloudDEAD, and UK legend Roots Manuva. New Flesh were a perfect group for them to sign, with the now almost prerequisite Caribbean dub sounds prevalent in a massive portion of UK trad. rap.

Here are their first two albums. The first while they were still called 'New Flesh For Old' before they dropped the suffix was a much overlooked rare album that didnt get much shine but set down their blueprint sound beautifully. The second..."Understanding" was their big break, with some hot singles such as "Communication" featuring Blackalicious emcee Gift Of Gab, "Stick N Move" featuring longtime collaborator Robotic E.B.U. and "Mack Facts".

Enjoy both and check out both their third album from last year and Juice Aleem's recent solo effort. They will not disappoint.

New Flesh For Old - Equilibrium

01 00.00.00
02 Invisible Ink
03 Addration of Kings
04 Eye of The Hurricane
05 A World In Satan’s Ear
06 186000 Miles
07 Mutatis
08 Answer of Action
09 Quantum Mechanix
10 Minutes Less
11 Song for San Susi
12 Isoteleportation
13 Ego Evident
14 Heaven & Earth
15 Thetawaves
16 01.01.00

New Flesh - Understanding

01 Move Slow feat. Beans (Anti-Pop Consortium)
02 Zero Gravity
03 More Fire
04 Norbert & Cecil feat. Roots Manuva as Cecil Pimpernel
05 Stick & Move feat. Robotic E.B.U. (Gamma)
06 Real Child Soldier
07 Communicate feat. Gift of Gab (Blackalicious)
08 Bound
09 Transition feat. Gwen Esty
10 His-Stories Crockery feat. Ramm:ell:zee
11 Aspirations
12 Mack Facts feat. Ramm:ell:zee
13 Do You Understand? (What Will Be...)

Welcome To The World Of Dusty Vinyl

Lewis Parker. Arguably Britain’s greatest ever beatmaker. He has consistently stuck to his guns throughout his career since the release of Jedi Antiks back in the mid 90s. Crackling feedback, organic beatloops, an ear for finding the perfect sample - Parker has, in my opinion, laid down the blueprint for the perfect song.

It came as no surprise to me that he was eventually picked up and contacted by some prominent US artists, most notably Ghostface Killah for the song ‘Shakey Dog’ from his LP Fishscale, to create some audible gold.

Parker has a career spanning over 15 years at the top of his game, with each album brilliant in its own right (even his mixtapes and beat CDs are a joy to listen to), and its great to see the man succeed on his own terms.

Its very rare in this current climate of hip hop (read: ringtones outselling albums, Soulja Boy outselling everyone (!) and musicianship out the window) that a producer from Parker’s mould would succeed without changing his sound. You won’t find any Swizz Beatz casio sounds here, no sir.

Anyway, posturing aside, and me declaring all out love for the fellow, this guy is basically incredible on the beats. Other british producers such as Jehst and Dirty Diggers have undoubtedly been heavily influenced by his style and he's got new material coming out in 2010 in the form of the full-length 'The Puzzle', which was initially earmarked for late 2009 but seems to have been pushed back somewhat. I've enclosed a vid from his new LP here also, but lets go back to union square.

The Mixtape Vol. 1 was released late 2006 as a collection of rare and unreleased tracks, remixes and just select songs spanning his career so far from 1996-2006. Its just chock-full of big songs and even though it doesnt even touch any of his full-length album material, still has a quality second to none.

Lewis Parker - The Mixtape Vol. 1

01. Intro
02. Rise
03. Fake Charades
04. Parker's Siesta
05. New York Skit
06. Don't Forget About Ya Boy
07. International Heat (feat. iTruth)
08. Gettin' Funky (Funky Trouble Pt.1) (feat. Trez)
09. Funky Trouble Pt.2 (feat. Tah Born)
10. Get Ya Hustle On (feat. Tah Born)
11. Love Is Blue(Johnny Johnson & His Bandwagon)
12. Dirt Off Your Shoulder (LP Remix) (feat. Jay-Z)
13. Shakey Dog (feat. Ghostface Killah)
14. Smith Bros. (LP Remix) (feat. Raekwon)
15. Never Gonna Stop(feat. Dynas)
16. Static (feat. Jacky Danz)
17. Incognito (Dirty Card Remix)
18. Sky High (feat. Dynas)
19. End Of The Day(feat. River Nelson & Vex Davortex of The B
20. Anybody (feat. Mr Pressure)
21. Soon 2 B (feat. Mr Pressure)
22. Beautiful Life (feat. River Nelson)
23. What The Ancients Say (Remix)
24. Intensity (feat. T.R.A.C. aka Terry Nickels)

And finally, here is that vid from the fortcoming LP 'The Puzzle'. Lets hope its released soon.

F**k it okay, I'll put a few classic Parker tracks up aswell. You've twisted my arm.

Skull Candy

I'll be using this blog a bit more from time to time just to vent and write witty or not so witty diatribes aswell as dropping some links. Its odd really. The reason I stopped updating here in the first place was mainly just because I got a full-time job with less than desirable working hours and it just took up most of my time.

As I've gone on in that job I've just got more and more bored with it, leading me to hate the job and subsequently give me the thirst for writing again. Always a silver lining to everything I suppose....

Anyway, for now lets just get a few albums up to get things back on track. Back to the UK business, here's two albums/mixtapes by respected british vinyl-spinner DJ Skully.

The first, a collaborative effort released back in about 2005 to showcase some new material from K-Lash Your Raasclaat-Neck-Off.

Ricochet Klashnekoff released this album between 'Sagas Of...' and the Joe Budha-produced 'Lionheart' as a stop gap to keep his creativity flowing. I present the mixtape to you now in anticipation of K-Lash's new material which is due out mid-2010. I wait with baited breath personally, as I see him as one of the leading lights of our culture and possibly one of the strongest emcees the UK has to offer. Lionheart would probably sneak into my top 10 favourite UK rap albums of all time aswell.

"Focus Mode" is a mixtures of new tracks interspersed with some freestyles and beat-jacking, and its entertaining from beginning to end.

DJ Skully Presents...Klashnekoff - Focus Mode (2005)
1. Intro
2. Focus mode
3. Ya Wrong (Special)
4. McWaffle Presents..
5. Mr K-Lash
6. Jamrock Takeover
7. Get Down
8. Zero 2005
9. No Games
10. Black Rose Revisited
11. Son Of Niya - Featuring Sizzla (Dub Special)
12. Channel K...
13. Jankroville 2005
14. Smack Down Dub
15. Revolution
16. Raw Tings
17. No Escape
18. Back In The Game
19. Let It Go
20. You
21. F** The Long Talk
22. Jah Bles
23. Traces
24. Nightbreed/Outro

The second Skully effort is Champion Sounds, a 2003 release showcasing his skills and the collection of various hot songs from the period. Skully doesn't limit himself to one style, with a couple of stateside tracks from the likes of Canibus and Celph Titled mixed in with UK stalwarts like Jehst, Tommy Evans, Lewis Parker and so on. The album serves as a compilation as much as a solo DJ set, with a lot of the tracks fully created for the album exclusively. However, its Skully's finishing touches that add to the groove both musically and through turntablism.

DJ Skully - Champion Sounds (2003)

1. Intro - Skully
2. Components Of Competition - Unleashed By Science & Skully
3. Champion Sounds Special - Headkrack
4. Take Risks - Maylay Sparks
5. Word Play - Royalty & Mikey Starr
6. Ay Yo (I'm Here Now) - Skriblah & Lewis Parker
7. Escape To Victory - Canibus
8. Turntable Science - Celph Titled & Skully
9. Moving Target - ARE & Headkrack
10. B 4 U Die (The Burial) - Joe Buhdha & Terrafirma
11. Feelings - Est'elle
12. It Feels Good - Harmonic 33 & MCM
13. Junkie For Beatz - Danny Breaks
14. Good To Know - Divine Mind & BI/Loose Kannon/Mikchek/DT
15. This Life - LPD
16. Nouveau Riche - Jehst & Tommy Evans

Apache: An Obituary

Less of an obituary, more just an homage to his great solo release following his passing away on January 22, 2010. Usually this is a strictly UK hip-hop site (or at least it was until I stopped posting on it over a year ago - more on me trying to get this running again in a bit) but when events like these occur I can make some exceptions.

I always loved the seminal track 'Gangsta Bitch' from when I was a youth and when the blog boom hit and sites all over the net became great suppliers of rare and old hip-hop albums I found his album about a decade ago.

Sure, the single was a standout, but its amazing how much Apache's album (from 1991 believe it or not) has stood the test of time. The horns on the single, the cuts and blasts on the album track 'Apache Ain't Shit', the bass on 'Make Money'. Its all classic 90s.

The former Flavor Unit emcee succumbed to an illness earlier this month but his music will live on at least on my stereo. I won't try and patronise the visitors to this site in going back through his life's work as I'm sure most people who have got this far may already have snatched this from much more note-worthy blogs. For those that slept though...here it is. RIP Apache.

Apache - Apache Ain't Shit (1991)

1. The Beginning 1:20
2. Tonto 4:16
3. Do Fa Self 3:19
4. Gangsta Bitch 4:45
5. A Fight 3:31
6. Kill D'White People 0:17
7. Hey Girl 3:38
8. Apache Ain't Shit 3:40
9. Blunted Snap Session 2:43
10. Who Freaked Who 3:42
11. Get Ya Weight Up 3:55
12. Woodchuck 4:23
13. Make Money 3:01
14. Wayz Of A Murderahh 3:16

Download

American Exchange

I've talked and talked in the past about Baby J's production credentials on this site since day one, and highlighted the modern UK classics he's already created with countless british emcees.

He has three solid producer albums under his belt, all of which have been well-recieved. He's helped Blade craft arguably one of his best albums a couple of years back in 'Guerilla Tactics' and he is about to unleash new material very soon. One thing Baby J doesn't get credited for is his work with US emcees.

Even on his debut album 'Birth' he had songs with Shabaam Sahdeeq of the late 90s indie label Rawkus fame. In fact, one of his best ever songs was with revolutionary, at times quite racist but always entertaining 'dead prez' on his song 'Scattered People'.

One US group that have been a permanent fixture on Baby J albums is the A-Alikes. They are a duo who are loosely affiliated with dead prez and Tahir (Hedrush) and they make some hard-hitting tracks. Whilst not the MOST talented duo, they certainly know their way around a hook and a beat. Also, with Baby J producing every track on this album, they couldn't really fail.

'Kill The Middleman' is a solid if not spectacular that showcases J as notjust a one trick pony. Although he does rely on soul samples a lot of the time, he has proved that he has other weapons in his arsenal.

A-Alikes - Kill The Middleman (2005)

1. Intro
2. Pop Off
3. Young Buk to OG (feat. I.G.)
4. Love Is Love
5. Why? (feat. Laurissa)
6. Freedom
7. Treeman
8. Keep It Funky
9. What Niggaz Do
10. Throw Ya Gunz
11. I'll Probably Wind Up
12. If I Get On (feat. Teresa)
13. The Babies
14. Some Of Us
15. Snitch
16. Eenie Meanie (feat. Teresa)
17. Strategy
18. Grey Skies

Wreck The House

Let's go back to the very turn of the century. Its 2000, there is a certain smell in the air. Some man is fishing on a dock and he notices the ripples of the sea are quickly increasing in size. He looks into the distance and sees a wave of monumental proportions heading his way. He drops in rod and desperatly tries to escape its clutches. However, its too late. The man gets swallowed up by the wave in double-quick time. Only its not a wave. Something in the water caused that wave and he's surfaced to wreak havoc on decks nationwide. It's Agzilla!!!!!

Sadly, in this album there are no excerpts from Matthew Broderick or Hank Azaria. There are no smaller agzilla's hatching in the bowels of Madison Square Garden. But there are a ridiculous amount of heavy beats interspersed with large doses of scratching & film quotes.

Deckwrecka (aka Agzilla) came out with his debut full-length album 'V...For Vengeance' in 2000, a rip-roaring hour of nothing but beats and breaks that would put a smile on any b-boy Brit's face.

Wrecka's LP was incidentally the first ever release from UK label Ronin Records, famous pretty much only for being the label that released the classic 'COuntryman' by Skitz. But more on him later. This album makes up with great scratching and quotables what it loses from a lack of vocalists, and its the type of CD you can just put on and listen to all the way through as a full piece of music. Sit back, light a blunt (or in my case put the kettle on and make a cup of tea cos I don't smoke that sh*t) and enjoy some proper turntablism.

Deckwrecka - V... For Vengeance (2000)

1. Intro
2. The Big Up
3. Assassin's Road
4. Secret Warz
5. My Thesis
6. Furious Styles
7. 23 Forever
8. Sever The Wicked
9. Dedication
10. Change The Style (interlude)
11. Scores On The Doors
12. Sycosis
13. Double Zero Zero
14. Ogami's way
15. Live @ Visage
16. Catch Wrecka
17. Deleted Files (Bonus Beats)
18. Mind Control
19. Tsik Wei Step
20. Bayou Boogie
21. Zilla's Theme
22. Rough Winds
23. The Return
24. Ghetto Princess
25. Rice Cakes
26. Hah Breakdown
27. 5 Door Finale
28. Outro - Deckwrecka Theme

Skitz & Pieces

I did say in the last post 'more on Skitz later', and this is what I meant. Daddy Skitz released a series of mixtapes in the past few years (I say a series, I mean err...two volumes) engineered to mix the best talent from UK, intersperse their music with a couple of choice tracks from overseas and bring the fans some exclusives along the way.

'Homegrown Vol. 1' kind of went under the radar when it came out and the second one didnt do much better, but don't let their lack of sales take away from the fact that they are brilliant compilations. To be honest though, hardly any UK hip-hop albums get good sales figures unless you're called Dizzee so no-one on our shores should really worry about that anyway.

The album is less mixtape more track selection, coming off just like Skitz himself was in his front room picking tracks he likes at the time on his iTunes just to listen to. Believe me, this is a good thing, because this man has been there and done it all and probably knows more about UK hip-hop than anyone else in the game.

He's released a classic album I still listen to religiously to this day, he's had a very succesful 1Xtra show with Rodney P, he's produced countless tracks for pretty much anyone who is anyone in our genre and he's still got a lot left in his tank.

The album is from 2004, and its like a small time capsule of hot tracks from the time, featuring Million Dan's SEMINAL monster hit 'Dogz & Sledgez', Pharoahe Monch's brilliant political attack 'Agent Orange', Canadian rapper-who-has-just-sold-out-and-is-just-about-to-blow-up-because-of-it Kardinal Offishall with arguably his best ever song 'Bakardi Slang' (if you don't know or haven't heard this song, the beat is pretty astounding).

Great artists like Seanie T, Rodney P, Taskforce, Braintax, Phi Life Cypher, Skinnyman, Roots Manuva, actually pretty much every big name in UK rap are on here, and the album itself shines because of it. Great selection, great DJ, great download.

Skitz - Homegrown Vol. 1 (2004)

1. Skitz & Solomon - Intro
2. Million Dan - Dogz & Sledgez
3. Keith Lawrence (feat. Seanie T) - Muzik Ed Special
4. Life & Nappa of Phi Life Cypher - Soldiers
5. Kardinal Offishall - Bakardi Slang
6. The Extremists - Revolution
7. Pursuit & Taskforce - Norse Code
8. Terra Firma - Sionara (Skitz Xclusive Mix)
9. Braintax - Just Me
10. Karl Hinds (feat Seanie T & Toyin) - You Done Know (Live-O)
11. Skibadee - The Greatest Show
12. Dynamite MC - Bubble
13. Pharoahe Monch - Agent Orange
14. Roots Manuva - Check It
15. Skitz, MC D & 2Ice - Champion Sound
16. Rascalz (feat. Notch) - Warrior (Dirty Version)
17. Ty (feat. Roots Manuva) - So U Want More? (Revox)
18. Beyond There (feat. Yungun & Jehst) - Slumber (Skitz Xclusive Mix)
19. Rodney P - Big Black Boots
20. Sterling Collat (feat. Skeme, Dirt T & Big P) - What Goin On
21. The Sea & Mr Ti2bs - Introducing Mr Tibbs
22. Skinnyman - What's My Life Like

New Events & Videos

Just while I'm away from my music collection for a week, here's a word from the sponsors:

Hip-Hop Connection magazine are celebrating their 20th anniversary this Autumn. For the first time ever, the world's longest running hip-hop magazine Hip-Hop Connection will go on tour. With a line-up designed to attract all spectrum's of hip-hop fans, this tour is set to be one of the most historically important events in British Hip-Hop.

Leeds Hip Hop Scene have teamed up with the longest hip hop magazine in the world to bring a special one off gig at the Wardrobe in Leeds on 4th October 2008.The night will feature an all-star team of UK Hip-Hop artists,Million Dan, Jehst, Stig Of The Dump, Dr Syntax, Klashnekoff and hosted by Baby J.

The night is guaranteed to have crowd participation, featuring an open mic emcee battle hosted by Million Dan and product giveaways (free artist merchandise, free copies of Hip-Hop Connection, free CDs, free Puma goodies, free LHHS gear and much much more).

50 Special Advanced Tickets for £10 from http://www.leedshiphop.co.uk/ will be available from 9am Monday 8th September 2008.

Further Tickets will go on sale later in the month via Jumbo Records in Leeds, & if that wasn't enough for you we have Blak Twang performing at the Wardrobe in Leeds November 2008 look out for more info!!

To tide you over till the next post, here's some brand new videos you might enjoy:

ROOTS MANUVA - again & again


BLAK TWANG - champagne lifestyle