Suspekt - Dead Men Walking (Suspekt Records - 2008)

It is a very special and rare occurrence indeed when a veteran hip hop group delivers new material some 10-15 years after their “glory days” and that new material is AS GOOD as their old classic music was. That is exactly what Suspekt have done with their 2nd album “Dead Men Walking”.

The title track “Dead Men Walking” is the opener here. Musically it’s layered wonderfully with a mid-tempo snappy beat, topped for the most part with a “Nautilus” sample and dark ominous sounding violins and old school Run DMC type cowbells dropping in and out of the track as well. Even better than the music here are the two MC’s, the deep precise voiced Lennie and the higher toned rougher Pride, who both combine the form the Yin Yang balance of MC duo perfection that is right up there with the likes of Run and DMC or Erick and Parish. It is really interesting that the song is setup as somewhat of an intro to both rappers as Lennie delivers verse one, Pride gets the second verse and then for the last verse they throw the mic back and forth sharing mic duties in classic old school style. Brilliant opener.

With an even more brilliant 2nd track which is “Suspekt Jumpin”. True story - the first time I heard this song I listened to it 7 or 8 times before moving on to the next track, I could not stop playing it! Lennie’s daughter Lauren starts off the track with some sweet singing (there's talent in those bloodlines) before the most banging and lively of all head nodding beats kicks in. It’s the kind of beat that would make the even laziest person leap out of their comfy recliner and jump around the room like a psycho. Adding to the beat is a chopped sample of what could be keys or a guitar with a very reggae feel, which is an appropriate sample as one of the track's features is the ragga chatting skills of Pride. Lauren appears again for the chorus singing with a slight Jamaican accent too which is way, way cool. It's Kriss Kross "Jump" or House of Pain "Jump Around" done far better in UK hardcore style !

The first of 3 older tracks appears next, the first one being “Another Witness” which is basically a new version of Pride’s “Witness” track from the mid 90's which now features Lennie. This is a harder track which sounds somewhat like slowed down classic PE with it’s expansive wailing sirens and wicked scratching throughout from DJ Prime Suspekt, at times sitting rhythmically beneath the track and other times at the forefront in showcase style. I love the original with Pride alone but with Lennie on this now it completes the package … “we’re all Suspekts but you need a witness”.

Another remake of an even earlier Suspekt track follows ie. “Look Like A Rapper”. In fact,it's a track which appeared on their very first EP. It’s less hardcore (but no less dope) than “Another Witness” and more of a funky but pacey headnodder with simple and catchy beats topped with some stabs of screechy sounds. An interesting feature here is the appearance of the one and only Websta (from Heroes of UK Hip Hop fame) who sounds rougher on the mic than I’ve ever heard him, and that’s “rough” in the best, hardcore way possible.

The next couple tracks are solo efforts from Pride and Lennie. Lennie gives us “Stayed Up Late” which is not too much more than him dropping a couple lovely flow and flow and flow non-stop verses over a straight-forward bassline and drum track (with some great DJ work from Prime in the breaks cutting up some Guru). The beauty of this track is in its sparsity and, as the name of it suggests, it successfully gives off the vibe of Lennie alone in his room dropping verses at 2am. On the other hand “Fuck Pride” is a far more aggressive sounding track by Pride yet it sits very well alongside the prior track. It’s dark and stripped back, with a neck snapping beat with dramatic keys and ominous undertones behind it. Again in accordance with the song title Pride delivers lyrics which sum up to a stiff middle finger to all his detractors.

“Elektra’s Whisper” is another Lennie solo track which shares a similar late night chill feel to “Stayed Up Late” although it seems a bit busier musically. It’s a pretty short song with one nice long verse delivered by Lennie and probably the highlight of this one is some SMOOTH and deft DJ work by Prime Suspekt after Len’s verse. There is something really addictive about this song and it’s one of my favourites here actually.

Admittedly, more often than not, a song like “Son of a Preacher Man” would be FFWD material for me with its sung chorus and slow moody tempo, however this song is DIFFERENT. The lyrics here are the definite stand out with Lennie giving a summary of various aspects of Suspekt’s history and discussing their resurgence in amongst today’s stale hip hop scene. In a lot of ways this track is somewhat a big tribute to their supporters as Len gives shoutouts to many that inspired the group to come back and keep going strong. All that aside, it’s a really nice track to listen to which i'm assuming borrows musically from it's namesake. There's some LOVELY singing from Lennie’s daughter once again and it’s a great little cool down track before the mostly hardcore rugged onslaught of the 2nd half of the album.

Hardcore and rugged is exactly what “Stand Strong” is too with its rapid rhyming and reasonably fast BPM. At the forefront of the track are blaring horns, a fat very hard-hitting beat provides the rhythm and dramatic looped violins and piano keys are kicked in every now and then for effect. A bonus here is an extra special guest appearance from ex-Suspekt member Blue Eyes who drops a great verse and it’s really cool to hear his voice again (although taking nothing away from Blue Eyes, it has to be said that between him and Pride I do prefer Pride as I think he gives the group a rawer edge). This track is top notch aggressive bliss.

First album Suspekt flavour is evident with “Style Unorthodox” as there’s something about the bassline that has me thinking of their first LP each time I hear it. It is a prominent, rapid and catchy bassline and once again solid drums compliment it perfectly and a few little screechy type sounds throughout the soundtrack with strong DJ work again keep the hard and raw styles flowing here. Lennie's verse is especially impressive here and he's flowing a bit faster than usual and doing it superbly.

A slight change in feel comes with “Flows of the Cho-Jin Shinobi”. As the title suggests, martial arts is the theme here and all sorts of references are made to the ancient art-form in the lyrics. Thankfully they haven’t gone the typical route with a song like this of trying to bite the Wu Tang Clan musically, instead choosing to use the same, or least very similar, sample that my favourite MC in the world Del used on “Virus” (although it feels slightly more dark and raw than the more futuristic vibe of the Deltron track). I love Del, I love Suspekt, I love martial arts, I love this song.

“Lyrics Plenty 93” is, as implied by the “93”, another old song that appears here anew. A strong bassline with funky, funky drums carries this one. Most appealing about this track for me are two aspects. One - is the chorus with the guys chanting “Lyrics, lyrics, lyrics plenty” coupled with a beautifully scratched in sample saying the same thing. Two – Pride – he steps into the phone booth and comes out with his ragga superhero outfit on again and absolutely sounds wonderful chatting away sounding totally natural, not at all forced and most importantly DOPE and you can tell he’s been doing ragga styles for a long time. NICE.

“Mic Murders”, above all tracks here, is the definitive proof that Lennie and Pride are an MC combo match made in heaven. They go back and forth, verse for verse, for the whole song in such a brilliant way that hasn’t been heard since the days of Run and DMC and I would love to see them on stage performing this in classic tag team style. Musically it’s a mid tempo snappy drumbeat with the most addictive horns imaginable totally drawing you into the zone of the song and you can’t help but being hooked by them. Again the DJ work tops this off wonderfully.

The very different sounding and very funny “Fuckers” comes along next. Appropriately to the name of the song Lennie, Pride and guest MC, Scenes14, give out a little “anti” tribute to all the fuckers of the world. It’s a pretty cruisy track with nothing much more than a mellow beat and bassline driving it (with loud horns providing a lift to it all in the breaks) which probably intentionally leaves the main focus on the lyrical content such as … Pride with “who the fucking hell wants to know about big bro or see some sad fuckers in the jungle with thick hoes, reality TV full of twats with no life, the same fuckers trying to be celebrity lowlifes” or Lennie and "Mothers, sometimes i hate those fuckers, when they bring the crying babies into crowded places just so every else fucker suffers like they do" LOL! This is a very different song for Suspekt but they pull it off well and crewmate Scenes 14 is a good addition to this one.

The penultimate track here is the one that any britcore fiend would be going totally nuts over. “The Usual Suspekts” features the brilliant Warped Ethics (a.k.a. the modern day Gunshot) and I couldn’t think of a 2008 UK hip hop collab that I’d rather have than Suspekt and Warped Ethics on a track together! The track is everything I’d want it to be as well. Starting off with a fear inducing roaring lion, the music then kicks in with dramatic violins, then the rapid and strong bassline takes off and finally the beat drops in and becomes a frenzy of snare and hi-hat lovely madness. Each MC gets a verse here and I cannot pick the best verse amongst the 4 of them, to me each MC here is a current day UK hip hop champion and simply cannot be fucked with. Of course, the breaks are filled by busy scratching and a few old movie samples also thrown in to top off the classic UK hardcore hip hop package.

The last track and outro is “Prime Directive” a DJ showcase piece by Prime Suspekt. It’s a brilliant way to close the album as this type of track is something that’s sorely missing in hip hop these days. Amongst other things, he cuts up … “Let’s be realistic, the UK runs that and no one can stop that”. Indeed !

Honestly this is one of the best albums I have heard since the turn of the century and probably longer than that and in fact I will go so far as to say that I like it even better than the first Suspekt album. I would have never imagined in my wildest dreams that any 2008 “comeback” album by a golden era artist would even come close to something they released 10-15 years prior but Suspekt have managed to match and even eclipse some of their earlier work with this album. Something that would have a lot to do with that is proven by the fact that the 3 old re-vamped songs on here actually sit perfectly in amongst the new tracks, or more so vice versa which suggests that this album sits right in the pocket of the classic early 90’s UK sound – and that’s exactly what I want from my UK hip hop. Thank you very much Suspekt.

The Mantis Chapter - Graveyard Poets EP (Prophet and Sound Recordings - 2008)

There are not that many hip hop artists around these days from the UK (or anywhere else) that appeal to me but thankfully The Mantis Chapter (beatsmith Acas13 and MC TS One) are one group that (along with a select few others) are an exception. The name of this release (their second EP) is “Graveyard Poets” and it is quite a fitting name as sonically and lyrically the EP is a gothic trip through the haunted underworld of darkness, demons and shadows.

Musically there are a couple main influences apparent and the majority of the tracks can be roughly described as taking the production of early Jedi Mind Tricks or Wu albums, giving them undertones of the golden era hardcore UK feel and topping them off with small doses of horrorcore. There are however a couple tracks that lean more heavily towards one particular side of those influences. One such track being “Dice With Death” which features Germany’s legendary Hideouz Newcome and is a track which would sit nicely on the shelf next to any britcore track from the early 90’s with it’s fast rhyming, alarm sounds and urgent beat. DJ Psychopath’s cutting on the track rounds out the hardcore package nicely.

For something slightly different we have “The Casebook of Terrors” which sounds very much like a UK version of the Lost Children of Babylon (once upon a time Jedi Mind Tricks cohorts) with haunting, dramatic and almost ethereal production at its backbone. It also contains one of my favourite lines on the EP by TS One ie. “… path of the night hawker, TS One the deer stalker, investigate the disappearance of a sleepwalker …”. Similarly the following track “Escape from the Mausoleum” (featuring Bandog and Remark) is another great track seemingly built on the moody and dark old Lost Children of Babylon/JMT looped foundations and lyrically it could be a suitable track for the next Mummy soundtrack with tales of fleeing the deep crypts of the netherworld. The highlight of this one is Bandog and I’m probably saying it every time I write about him but he once again steals the show however all three MC’s compliment each other well here with their individual and unique styles.

Then we have the tracks that sit right in the melting pot of the aforementioned styles. “Alchemist in the Mist” has a solid, sharp, midtempo almost military beat topped with loops from dramatic violins, which for me invokes thoughts of the WuTang Forever album yet at the same time we are reminded of the Mantis crew’s hardcore UK origins with DJ Highfly cutting up beautifully throughout the track and TS One spitting his rough rhymes in no nonsense, rough and vicious britcore style. “The Graveyard Poet” comes at us with similar elements to the “Alchemist …” (including another quality appearance from DJ Highfly) but instead of violins there are church organs looped behind the beat and also sounds of windstorms, all combined to great haunting effect.

It’s well worth mentioning the other guest appearances on here as they are excellent. Probably the darkest track on this EP and perhaps my favourite if I had to choose one is “Eastern Lights” with more church organs and all manner of haunting loops, some of which remind me of “Ghost and Goblins” from my Commodore 64 gaming days ! The two guests on this one are Inzaine and Ill Inspired who deliver terrific verses (as of course does TS One very consistently throughout the whole EP). Inzaine has a fantastically dry, raspy and rough voice (something like Nine) yet at the same time he actually flows as fluidly as Smooth B which doesn't always happen for MC's with voices like his - it's pretty special. Ill Inspired comes with a totally different style which is uncannily reminiscent of some of the styles found on old Deliverance and First Down tracks – I don’t know if he ever had anything to do with either group but he may as well have. Regardless of his background, it’s a great mic technique.

I'd think this EP would appeal equally to fans of older hard UK hip hop and/or darker US hip hop alike. It’s britcore, it’s horrorcore, better yet it’s simply hardcore ! I strongly recommend you go and grab it at :

www.themantischapter.co.uk

or

www.prophetandsound.com

SON OF NOISE - ACCESS DENIED: BULLSHIT & POLITICS PT. 1 (Little Rascool - 1996)

Compared to their debut, the 2nd album from UK legends Son Of Noise is a mixed bag of mostly good songs, a little bad and just a slight touch of ugly.

“Sons Of The Noise” is the opening track which has the main MC, Curoc bringing us his views on the hip hop scene, whites holding back black acts, record companies, fake MC’s and the like. He’s pretty peeved in this song and it has a banging beat behind it with ominous sounds which add to the feel, although the BPM’s and his rhyme style are somewhat slower than you’d remember if you were familiar with the group's earlier material. The most endearing feature of this song to me is the Bob Marley "don't let them fool ya ..." sample in the break which adds to the feel of the song nicely.

“Young Offender” picks up the pace and sounds like it would’ve fit well onto their first LP. It has one of those classic funky, prominent basslines, a great horn sample that runs in and out behind the track and a slight double tracking to the vocals which adds to the song. A Guru vocal sample gets cut up nicely in the break of this track by the DJ (well one of them – Mada or Renegade).

“Crazy Mad Flow” is an interesting one and presents me with an appreciation dilemma. On one hand I really like the track as it’s catchy, funky and dope and Curoc and guest MC Nilo (aka Kobalt60) come really rough on it. On the other hand there some influences from the US musically with a bit too much Onyx style yelling going on and it even has a little G-Funk keyboard effect in the break. I remember hearing this song for the first time thinking “gee they’ve really changed their style” and was somewhat concerned at the lack of unique UK feel to it. Anyway taking the song on its own merits, without thinking too deeply about outside influences, it's still pretty damn good.

The next two songs introduce the less positive aspects of this album:
“Cherokee Outlaw” is a shortish interlude which is simply a slow dark beat with what I’m assuming is a Cherokee Indian talking about the White man’s treatment of his people. No argument from me with what he’s saying but I really have no idea why this track appeared on this album? There is not anything alluding to the situation of American Indians on the rest of album at all and it just seems out of place here.
Confusing the relevance of the previous track even further is the fact that it’s immediately followed up by the musically lightweight sounding track “Family”. Bringing a vital, if somewhat idealistic, message to the listener I cannot be mad at the topic behind this one (families sticking together through thick and thin) but musically it’s getting towards fairy floss territory and it was quite a shock to hear the man who was once a Gunshot member making a track like this. It features a female singer who appears at the start of the track, in the chorus and pretty much takes over the song for the last 2 minutes of it. If that wasn’t bad enough, the music on this one would've been perfectly suited to Monie Love. Sorry Curoc and friends, I love ya but this one is not for me.

Much redemption is earnt however with “Here The Cop” possessing what I see as the classic Kold Sweat sound. Midtempo, sparse, slightly scattered offbeat drums with a busy bassline and a raw, dusty, jazzy break create a very enjoyable soundscape. Curoc brings a casual yet purposeful delivery on this track discussing the ills of the world such as governments, drugs and racism. NICE TRACK.

Unfortunately proceedings take a strange turn with “Pedro’s Return” for no other reason than the recording quality of the track itself. The vocals are really low and very muffled, the music has no bass or kick to it and the whole track sounds like the quality control of the recording was totally overlooked and it’s a bit of a mess. Perhaps it’s my CD that’s at fault as I’ve never heard this song elsewhere for comparison. Shame too coz it’s actually quite a raw song with some deft DJ work in evidence.

The fantastic posse cut “Keep It Going Pt2” comes up next (in better sound quality). It’s a rough, hard track with explosive deep end bass crashing around behind it. It’s the sequel to the Part 1 posse track that appeared on their first LP. Whilst this sequel features lesser known MC’s compared to the first part it is just as good and I perhaps like this one ever so slightly more than Part 1. Standout here is Nilo/Kobalt60 and an added bonus for me is the appearance of the Scientists of Sound who are criminally underrated by the UK scene and happen to be one of my favourite groups. Razor sharp DJ cutting is a major bonus on this track too.

The next three tracks put another dent in proceedings:
“Down With Son Of Noise” has a pretty boring, overused and simple slightly old school “clap your hands” type beat and another female recruited for chorus duties, none of which ring of hardcore, raw hip hop.
“Ad Astra” is a relatively plain and dark instrumental which features a dude yelling “Superhuman Interstellar” and a couple other vocal samples about New Mexico or something – ummmm ok.
“White Trash” presents itself as a bit of a strange song next. Lyrically and topically Curoc is on point attacking racists with a semi-whispered yet rapid vocal delivery – which is cool. However it has a pretty weak chorus with a rather irritating female songstress singing something like “blah, blah, blah, all humans were created equal” and similarly to the “Family” track she gets the last minute of the song all to herself. I don’t know if the guys were giving their girlfriends a shot at fame on this album but a much more subdued presence from these ladies, or even a total disappearance by them, would’ve been preferred by this listener. Some goofy sound effects behind our singing friend don't help it either.

“A+Rse Hole” thankfully brings us back again to the rougher rapid sounds of their earlier album and is probably the most classic “britcore” sounding track on the album. No prizes for guessing what this song is about. “You sign your cousin and your boys but couldn’t give a flyin f*** about Son of Noise”. The second verse of the song pays a nice tribute to lots of old school artists with Curoc giving shoutouts to his contemporaries such as Powerlords, Mello, No Remorze, MCD, Standing Ovation etc. etc. This is more like it !

A remix of “Crazy Mad Flow” pops up next. Quite different from the original with it’s old school soul sounding horns and 70’s funk disco sound (reminiscent of Camp Lo). I do prefer the original version of this song but it’s not bad and I'm glad it’s a genuine remix with a new sound and not just a slight alteration from the original as some remixes are.

The epic “Scratch It At Your Own Risk” kicks in next. This monster of a DJ track features FIVE DEEJAYS – Shorty Blitz, Big Ted, Son, Renegade and Mada. Each has turns cutting up dem tingz in a ballistic manner over an old electro track and Curoc announces each DJ by dropping each DJ's name before they start their round of talent exhibition. As far as DJ tracks go this is one of my favourites of all time and the fact that the DJ’s keep rotating from one to the next keeps the interest up for the entire track.

“Pressure” is the last of the female singer driven tracks and once again the little miss on this song gets way too much time to show her abilities. She actually opens the song with her vocals and sings for one and a half minutes, before a word is heard from Curoc, which may have you checking that your CD changer hasn't skipped to an R&B album. In fact she gets roughly 3 minutes of the 6min song all to herself and even stays moaning on the track behind Curoc as he rhymes. By this late point of the album the singing thing really becomes too much and I don’t even care what the song is about.

Although I am stopped from pressing eject when the “Here The Cop” remix drops ! Again it’s another remix that sounds quite different from its parent track. This track is driven by a very stripped back and hard beat which is perfection in its raw simplicity. The straightforward yet precise DJ work in the chorus tops this one off magnificently. It’s pretty much exactly what hip hop should sound like in my opinion.

The album closes out with some guy named Paul Ryan talking about the music industry and the UK hip hop scene over a very dark and pretty dope beat. Although Paul’s views are totally on point, from an entertainment standpoint it’s not the kind of track you’re going to play over and over and get much out of after the first couple listens. Maybe it would’ve been a bit better just to close the album on a major high with the “Here The Cop” remix and have this last track as the intro ?

Reading back my review I don’t know how much I like this album? There is some pretty harsh criticism yet a lot of glowing praise as well. In summary perhaps it’s best put as saying there was too much of what I didn’t want (the R&B laced softer tracks) and not enough of what I was expecting and hoping for (the rougher hardcore sounds of their first album). Additionally a few different themes and styles were thrown around the album leaving me somewhat confused at the lack of coherence in the overall feel of the album. Having said that i'd still recommend it as an essential part of any UK hip hop lovers collection, the top tracks are worth the price of admission alone !

RUTHLESS RAP ASSASSINS - THINK! IT AIN'T ILLEGAL YET (Murdertone/EMI - 1991)

Haven't listened to this one for a while now but i think it deserves some airtime via a small review.

During an era where there weren't all that many UK groups with more than one album I remember being quite happy to see a follow-up effort from the Ruthless Rap Assassins. Whilst it doesn't quite live up to their debut there was some class on this album.

It starts off nicely with "What did you say your name was ?", an almost 8min long track which serves as a re-introduction to the crew with the two Dangerous fellas (C and Hinds) on the mic. The track is interlaced with all sorts of vocal samples from the likes of everyone from Chuck Chillout to Awesome Dre and has "that" Public Enemy whistle thing running throughout. As far as i recall DJ Dangerous C wasn't picking up the mic on the first LP as much as he does on this one and it is an added bonus to hear rhymes from him. "Killer on wax is back to attack ..."

Next up comes the awesome "Listen to the Hit". The track starts of nicely with a little section that sounds like an excerpt from a live show with Hinds ragga chatting over a sparse beat, and then the real beat kicks in with the funkiest guitar sample that you're likely to ever hear behind a beat and it wouldn't sound out of place on an Ice T album. Great classic vocal sample for the chorus (Ice Cube this time) - which seems to be a fantastic trademark of the RRA sound since the first LP. Great track. "We're gonna play another ruthless hit coz we're sick of that pop s**t" - word up!

Kermit brings us a solo effort with "Why Me?". The guy has a few things to say in this track to haters and whilst I like his mic style the track is not particularly stunning compared to others on here and is somewhat messy.

Another track of epic duration (close to 9mins) follows ie. the title track "Think". In accordance to the song-title, the song is deep on the knowledge tip and discusses the British Govt, slavery and the plight of the black man in the UK. Despite the length of the song and the all too familiar beat (Rakim's "Paid in Full") it doesn't get boring as once again there's some nice samples throughout (The D.O.C this time amongst others) and towards the end of the song you find african rhythms riding along nicely with the beat.

"Hard and Direct" greets us next. Basically this track is all about the history of RRA and how they came up through the old school UK scene with the track appropriately fuelled by old school electro beats. I'd be breakdancing to this one ...... if i could.

The rather hard to listen to "I Got No Time" shows up next. This track is basically RRA's attempt at rap/rock and this personally does nothing for me and the half-sung Hendrix attempt in the chorus just sounds terrible ! A message to all MC's - please leave the singing to the real singers !!! (Websta on X-Ray Eyes being the only exception).

Thankfully we have the "Radio" track to somewhat brings things back to normal next. Although this track ALSO adopts rock guitars they are certainly more subtle than the last track. It doesn't take a brain surgeon to guess that this track is about lack of radio airplay and selling out. Nice use of a Chuck D sample in this one.

"Down and Dirty" takes us into the minds of dirty old men and perverted types. Whilst the attempt to diss these lowlifes is admirable the track is very slow and plodding and just plain boring and I don't know if anyone would want to listen to this track repeatedly and enjoy it.

"No Tale, No Twist" brings it's mellow self to us next. It's a reflective song about ghetto life which once again has the right idea thematically but the jazzy, girl singing vibe doesn't do much for my hardcore craving ears other than making me skip to the next track ...

... which is "Pick up the Pace" and just so happens to be my favourite track on this album ! Simply a rough, rugged, braggadocious track with the guys flowing nicely and aggressively on what happens to be the shortest track on the album at 4mins 24secs, which would qualify as a long track on most other albums.

"(I try to) Flow It Out" comes next. Another message laden track which once again doesn't have an interesting enough musical composition behind it. In fact it's a painfully boring "electro meets bongo drums" beat which kinds sounds like an MC Tunes track slowed to 70BPM.

"Less Mellow" closes out the LP. I guess it's sort of a Part2/remix of their "Just Mellow" track from LP numero uno. Again the rock guitar is picked up for this one with a slightly grating on the nerves effect and 70% of the track seems to be just music without rhymes. Personally i prefer the orginal "Just Mellow" 100 times more than this.

So i guess this album is hit and miss for me - some gems, some sub-par efforts. Full marks for lyrical content and wisdom dropped but unfortunately some of the music couldn't match the quaility of the lyrical content. Great use of audio samples within and between tracks and overall not a bad follow-up effort which i probably rate 7/10. They should've left the guitars at home though .

WARPED ETHICS EP - PROMO (2006)

People like myself who love the old days when UK hip hop was fast, noisy and hardcore have been frustrated for too many years hoping for a new artist to appear and deliver that exact style that we long for and have been missing for close enough to 12-15 years. Sure there have been a few artists like Eastborn and Dead Residents who have a big influence from the old days in their sounds but no one in the current era has really stepped on the scene with that exact 1991 UK sound. I had really lost all hope of ever hearing that sound again until 2006 when my dreams of britcore resurrection were finally realised with the emergence of Warped Ethics (MC/DJ Exile and MC Phet) and their absolutely incredible 7 track demo EP.

The EP starts with “From the Underground Up” which is the type of intro that you’d hear on old albums from Gunshot, PE or Ice T. The first thing you hear is a horror movie type extract which ends with a “now it beings” quote and then the beat starts, and what a beat it is ! It sounds like Gunshot meets Killa Instinct, with pounding drums, ominous classical music samples and all sorts of screams and howls. To top it off Exile drops some sharp cuts over the track to complete the package of a great hardcore hip hop intro. It sets the tone for the EP perfectly and it's the kind of intro that would have any britcore fan of old going weak at the knees in excited anticipation of what is to come ...

... and "Attack Ya Whole Format” is exactly the opening track you'd be hoping for ! It starts off with more horror movie type excerpts, sticking to the aura set by the intro (an aura which continues for the whole EP), and then the music kicks in and Exile’s DJ skills immediately take centre stage in the form of frenetic scratching over a hyper beat and we haven’t even heard him on the mic yet. After a minute of so of amazing buildup we hear Phet rip the mic in a rather impressive manner and I would say that his performance on this track is probably his best of the whole EP as he absolutely tears the track to shreds with his somewhat rough and rugged tones. We also get to hear Exile grab the mic here and as good as Phet is, his partner Exile is probably even better. To me he sounds like the almighty MC Iceski from The Criminal Minds with a slight Ad Rock aspect to his voice at times and he also possesses a lovely pronounced drawn out ending to each line he spits. Whoever he sounds like, he and Phet are perfectly suited to these fast, hard beats and they’d be right at home as alternate MC’s on Gunshot’s Patriot Games LP. Speaking of beats, this track has wonderful drums which hit hard and pacey and an underlying ominous sounding dramatic soundtrack which all combine to make an awesome hectic, noisy and hard track. Exile multi-tasks beautifully on this track with even more of his rapid scratching in the breaks.

Howling werewolves and a “terror stalks with the stealthy steps of death” quote bring in “The Beast Must Die Part II”. Picking up right where the previous track left off this is another fast paced song which will leave you breathless with its relentless yet perfect musical mayhem and rapid fire verbal attacks. Very noticeable on this track is the tag team relationship between Phet and Exile on the microphones with rapid blasts of lyrical attack coming equally from both MC’s as they take turn upon turn of slaying the track as if the beat was the werewolf that’s being tracked down by our dope duo of underworld hunters. Musically we are presented with another rapid beat with dramatic type strings and other effects to give that horror movie on wax feel. The tension and drama actually builds as the song progresses and you almost feel like you are out there with them closing in on their metaphorical beastly prey. "Endeavour to rock hardcore whatever the weather", lyrics penned in this fan's hip hop heaven !

UK hip hop legends Bandog and Remark feature on “Maniacal Strengths”. Whilst the tempo is still right up there with the prior songs this one has somewhat of a funkiness to it with a catchy use of piano keys giving the track a bit of a bounce (in the most hardcore way possible of course) but at the same time there's a lot of Gunshot in this track. All 4 MC’s shine on here and whilst I can’t really pick a clear standout I would choose Bandog as the highlight (if ordered to choose the best at gunpoint). His classic, natural and amazing flow is on show in all its glory here (which it always is on ANY song which he is part of). Taking nothing away from Phet and Exile though who stand equally dope alongside their legendary brethren on the track.

If you've read this far you won't be surprised to find out that “Fire and Brimstone” brings us more of that fantastic ominous darkness. It’s a bit more stripped back than the first couple tracks which actually brings the dark horror feel of the track to the forefront. It’s the kind of song that if it came up on your Ipod whilst walking alone through dark streets late at night, well you’d hide out and wait for daylight. Again the guys are controlling the mics in modern day RunDMC back and forth manner and I really couldn’t imagine one without the other, their interaction is perfect in it’s execution. At almost five and half minutes the song or the MC’s do not lose steam at all and they rhyme for almost the entirety of the song with only ONE break halfway through for a chorus (which is something I never noticed before writing this review). It’s a marathon effort of hardcore hip hop bliss and is truly amazing.

“Turn’in The Backs” is probably the least “busy” song on the EP with more of simple production style on display (horns stabs off and on over a mid tempo break) but in no way is that detrimental. Musically it might actually be the sort of song that would convert those new school fans unfamiliar with the old sounds towards the britcore style as to me the sound sits somewhere between “1991 britcore” and “2007 head nodder”. However despite the slightly different sound the MC's are still on high speed overdrive, and that's a good thing in my books. Interestingly the chorus is slightly different with the rappers verbalising the chorus this time instead of cutting which may also lend itself to the idea that the track may appeal to "standard" hip hop fans as well as the UK old school massive (plus this track is giving Exile’s hands a well deserved rest from the DJ cutting work). Significant in this song are the shoutouts to other current britcore groups towards the end of the track – such as Sonz of Hardcore, Dark Craftsmen, MonkeySons and Sharpshooterz who are all artists that any britcore fan should be listening to and supporting. I certainly won't be turning my back on these groups or this style of hip hop.

The final track is “Schizophrenic Epidemic” and to my ears seems as somewhat of a Part 2 to “Maniacal Strengths”. Bandog and Remark are on board once again but this time they are joined by their mate Aleon and the very distinctively voiced Rage from another great UK crew of old, Deliverance. Nice little flutes and horns throughout, a fast tapping hi hat and less darkness give this song a slightly lighter feel although again not to the extent that the pace and feel of the EP lets up – because it doesn’t. Again the whole collective of MC’s are dope here but Rage is particularly impressive with his incredibly clear and strong verbal diction, which has me thinking back to the days of listening to old Deliverance EP’s and how he stood out there. Overall it's a brilliant all star posse cut and a great combination of new and old britcore torchbearers. This track is the Ying Yang of the EP where the old meet the new and combine in perfect harmony.

Well in fact everything about this EP is in perfect balance. I do not exaggerate when I say that in all honestly this is the BEST hip hop release I have heard for many, many years and it is EXACTLY what I want my hip hop to sound like and when I first heard it I was actually awestruck that someone came out of the blue with music like this (which is something I always wanted to happen but never really thought would). I cannot fault even one tiny aspect of this EP. It's as if someone jumped into a time machine, went back the early 90's and the heydays of the britcore era and returned to the present day with this EP (and for the naysayers who think that hip hop needs to sound progressive, experimental or modern to be good, screw you because many of us live and breathe to hear music like this again). As Phet said they might be "coming from the land that time forgot" but I for one have never forgotten this sound and never will and I am so glad and overjoyed that Warped Ethics now exist in this modern era !

X POSSEE - PROJECT X (Mango Records - 1989)

X marks the spot and in this case X also identifies the Overlord and his incorrectly spelt "Possee" with their "X Project" compilation showcase ...

"X Possee Theme" is the intro to this collection of tracks. Although listed as an Overlord X track it is really just an instrumental intro which i guess was produced by the man himself. It's a quite enjoyable intro, if slightly too long, which is simply a heavy beat with PE type whistles over the top, dramatic horns stabs and the Overlord X in "Lord V" disguise chanting "X Possee" which sets the scene for the album ...

"Kickin it Live" by the Freshski Dames comes in as the first vocal track. I've never been a big fan of female MC's but these two dames do bring it FRESH enough. Imagine the harder side of Cookie Crew mixed with PE and you'd have a good idea what this one sounds like. The PE whistle runs throughout this one as do sirens and some nice DJ work. In all honesty the girls are not great MC's and in fact at times they sound closer to talking than rapping on the mic but the dopeness of the music behind them really carries this one.

The king of the Posse, Overlord X, brings us a solo effort next in "The X and the V". In fact to be totally correct it's actually a "duo" effort as he rhymes along with his deep voiced alter ego Lord Vader in the background. As i've written elsewhere the Lord V thing didn't always sit too well with me but it's not too overdone here. The track itself has a pretty simplistic yet dope sparse drum break driving it and the Overlord comes with his usual rugged vocal perfection on the mic. The kind of track that could've easily sat on his first solo LP.

The raw, rather hardcore "X Army" by Dark Heart spins next. Driven by rather fast drum machine programming, alarm sounds in the chorus and speedy MC delivery this one is quite rugged and rough in the best possible way. For some reason some of the tracks on this compilation sound more like 85, 86 old school style hip hop but this actually sounds a lot more like 1990-91 hardcore UK Kold Sweat style. Must mention that DJ Vietnam "works the wax" beautifully in this one as well. Great track.

Female MC Kandy comes at us next with her "Ain't Got the Time". This one is an example of going back towards the mid 80's sound i mentioned above, probably mostly due to the fact that the song uses a sped up Spoonie G bassline, basic drum programming and a lot of words echo and fade themselves out old school style ie. "i ain't got the time time time time ....". It's a pretty good song though and Kandy (or Kandie as she spells it out on the track - different from the album cover) is a much better MC than the Freshski girls.

Super T and Sir Preme T hit us next with their DJ only track "Return of the Breaks". Not too much elaboration needed on this one aside from the fact that the DJ's go to work nicely over an instrumental version of Kane's "Raw". At 6 minutes long, it does get a bit boring after 3 or 4 of those minutes but that's the only weak factor of an otherwise decent DJ track.

The rough voiced Stingray delivers the "Project X" track next which is a very raw and funky James Brown laced effort. The curious thing about this one is that Stingray actually sounds a lot like "Overlord X standing 3 metres away from the mic" or to put it differently Stingray sounds like X except that his voice doesn't boom and resonate through the mic as clearly or loud as the Overlord's does. Anyway the similarity is a definite bonus and i really like this guy. The familiar and very funky bassline (from Stetsasonic's "In Full Gear") doesn't hurt the appeal of this track either.

Midrange (R.I.P.) has talent to tell you about on his "I Got Talent" song. This one rocks very hard on a deep, heavy, funk beat beat on the slow and low tip. Midrange actually has a very interesting touch to his voice where he seems to drift between many sytles and accents - touches of a Silver Bullet "almost" growl roughness and then back to more clear clarity and then slightly into other varied emphasis on various pronounciations - it's quite weird. Whether it's talent or not can be left up to the individual listener but it's not a bad effort really.

After hearing Stingray and now the "Suckers" effort from Magnificent Sam i'm starting to think that Overlord X has been letting his alter ego's run wild and that the Derek B/Easy Q split personality phenomenon has a lot to answer for ! Magnificent Sam sounds 98% like the Overlord with the only slight difference being that Sam is marginally less clean with his articulation of words on the mic. Anyway the track itself is solid, if not somewhat 1987 generic sounding with it's beat and funky soul horns. If i could stop thinking of him trying to sound like X i'd probably be more into this track.

"X Possee Reprisal" is the outro and is nothing more than a re-run of the Intro.

There's a news broadcast message at the start of this album which states that "The X Posse could single-handedly change the face of music as we know it today." ... unfortunately that ambitious claim wasn't anywhere near the truth. However it is a solid little compilation with a couple outstanding tracks and certainly nothing wack or weak. None of them come close to the Overlord X himself though (even if a couple of them did their best to sound like him!) ...

KATCH 22 - DIARY OF A BLACKMAN LIVING IN THE LAND OF THE LOST (Kold Sweat - 1991)

Deep, intelligent, conscious, afrocentric lyrics.
Hardcore, raw, funky beats.
Articulate, aggressive, wisdom possessing, unique MC...

... that is Katch22 and this is their debut album "Diary of a Blackman Living in the Land of the Lost".

The album starts out with short excerpt from a live show, a few words from an old Louis Farrakhan speech and then you are greeted by the track "Ghetto Child". This track sets the scene for the whole album topically with black consciousness in full glorious effect (and it stands as one of the most afrocentrically aware LP's to come out of the UK scene at the time along with Black Radical's "Blackman's Leviathan"). The MC of the group, HuntKillBuryFinn, is easily one of my top rappers of all time - he comes with a clear, commanding, strong voice - intelligent, thought provoking lyrics - yet rough and rugged enough to give his flow the necessary hardcore street appeal. Musically this track comes raw yet funky enough with the "often used but never over used" Apache beat quite well concealed beneath a solid bassline and spicks and specks of horns and keyboards throughout.

"Katch Mission" brings you a somewhat abstract use of what sounds like a screechy trumpet or saxophone screaming constantly over nice guitar licks and beats. It actually sounds quite like a less structured PE track. HuntFinn tears this track to sheds with his commanding tones laying out his description of Katch22's mission statement.
"UK rap can't excel if we copy the US" - indeed!

"Cynical World" comes with a very different sound to the prior track as this track is far less urgent and more laidback but far from being mellow as it is very raw in a sparse sense - a simplish beat with dirty horn samples at much lower levels behind the main track. HuntFinn also rhymes somewhat differently and at times stylistically here he reminds me of KRS on "Criminally Minded" - interestingly enough the Teacher earns himself a sample on this track as well.

"Service with a smile" is probably one of the harder tracks for me to write about as it is one of my favourite rap songs of all time and once i start praising it i won't know where to stop ! Anyway here it goes in a few words - booming, rocking, uptempo, smash your head in beat ... HuntFinn aggressive and threatening as you'd ever hear him but at the SAME TIME crystal clear and 100% perfect vocal execution and amazing lyrical complexity ... and to top it off THREE DEEJAYS ON ONE TRACK - each with his own turn at cutting up s**t in the chorus breaks - one with the brilliant name of DJ Kill-A-Man-Twice. That's it i'll say no more ... u just gotta hear this !

"Son of Shem" gives the listener a chance to catch their breath and think for a little bit after the last head banger. This is basically an interlude with a jazzy track topped with various samples from mostly Farrakhan with a bit of Malcolm X and some UK people along the black awareness lines. It's not the kind of track that's really possible to rate as dope or wack as such - it's just "there" and seems to fit the theme of the album perfectly in fact.

Keeping things at a mellower pace is "Mindfield". Not normally my style with it's jazzy, laidback stylings and sung chorus however it has great drums and HuntFinn can really make most tracks exciting and interesting with that voice of his. Obviously the title indicates it's another knowledge dropper of a song - this album is certainly not for those who like nonsense babbling talking loud but saying nothing freestyle MC's, the man HKFinn comes with wisdom for the uneducated masses ...

... and he will "slap you with the truth from his microphone" as he does on "Diary of a Blackman". This gem comes full circle back to the harder sounds found in the earlier LP tracks - rugged and busy beats, dramatic horn stabs, nice DJ cutting, it's all here. No prizes for guessing that he gives Chuck D a run for his afrocentric knowledge in this one and yes he does it WELL. Farrakhan gets sample airtime once again as does Richard Pryor amongst others. Great, great, great song.

The jazzy side of HuntFinn shows itself again on "State of Meditation" - a side which seemed to come more to the forefront as his career evolved. Rhyming quite slowly almost to the point of being a spoken word track this one won't have you waving your fist in the air but will have you kickin, back, chillin to the smooth sounds and expanding your grey matter with this knowledge laden meditation track.

The scales tip to the hardcore side once again with "Who's Business". Featuring a soundtrack that sounds like someone adjusted a 33RPM reggae loop to 45 this one is really raw and rugged with HuntFinn dropping a style akin to a rougher Mike J with just a small touch of "rapping down a telephone" 75% recording quality to his voice - and it comes off something lovely.

"Stalag 22" actually brings us reggae dub style at normal speed this time. Not too much i can say about this track as it is a rather token "rap over reggae" track but without doubt he sounds much better over beats like this than a lot of US MC's with their fake Jamaican wannabe attempts in the past.

The quality posse cut "Rogues Gallery" is next batter up and features label mates Dynametrix and the always superb Shaka Shazam (i always wanted a solo album from him to be made!). A very funky bassline sitting behind a pretty simple uptempo beat drives this one but the definite highlight here are the MC's. The Dynametrix guys sound almost better than on their own stuff (the Busta Rhymes syndrome?), Shaka Shazam delivers his booming aggressive messy style and HuntFinn closes out things above them all with a nice verse at the end. Not the posse cut to beat all but very, very solid and Shaka and HKFinn together on another track is what my UK hip hop dreams are made of (also heard on Hijack's 10/10 hardcore perfection "The Contract").

Once again the now slightly strange speed it up/slow it down pattern continues with "The Brown Clown". This has another very slow pace to it with a kind of plodding drum programming with a flute behind it. I can't hate on it as it is nice for what it is and the flute is somewhat hypnotic and HKFinn again "keeps em eager to listen" with his voice and message but it's not the sort of thing you'd want to be playing on a long drive if you're half asleep behind the steering wheel of your car !

Busy drums welcome you to "Get Together Now". The track has that James Brown funky soul feel to it and is basically the instrumental outro to the album with only 20 seconds or so of rhymes from HKFinn. Pretty good way to close out the album but it would probably be a better 1 minute track than a 3 minute one (i tend to stop it halfway through).

Despite the somewhat confusing 2nd half of the album structure with extreme tempo/style changes from track to track this is overall a superb album (thanks mostly to HuntKillBuryFinn's vocal and lyrical presence). It goes down in my personal music listening history as one of the albums that made my love for UK hip hop what it was and is to this very day and for that i'm ever grateful to the sounds of Katch22 with their hardcore tracks of knowledge.

MC DUKE - Organised Rhyme (Music Of Life 1989)

MC Duke was one of those UK rap artists that was hard to pigeonhole into a typical sound and style. He was not as blatantly commercial as Monie Love, not as hardcore and fast paced as Gunshot and not as militantly political as Black Radical – although listening to his “Organised Rhyme” album (produced by Mr Music of Life, Simon Harris) makes me think somewhat of all the aforementioned artists as there’s a little bit of everything on it.

My favourite Duke persona on this album is the afrocentric one who comes through on tracks like the funky and rough opener “Organised Rhyme”, the James Brown “Black and Proud” sample laced “Free” and one my favourite album tracks “I’m Riffin” drops some knowledge within also. In fact “I’m Riffin” is close to my top Duke track ever with Duke really sounding fresh and lively on the mic and he does “riff s**t up” on the track and his flow combined with an upper tempo rhythm track with solid drums and drumrolls plus a nice dose of DJ cuts (courtesy of DJ Leader One) makes it a sure fire winner.

Then there’s the more commercial leanings, for example “Miracles” which is Duke's take on the Jackson Sisters song 'I Believe In Miracles'. It’s not a bad song actually and Duke sounds pretty raw on the mic with some nice cuts sampling Chuck D and others throughout the track but I just can’t help thinking of a similarity between this and that damn annoying S-Express track when hearing this song. Keeping things pretty lightweight are “For The Girls” and “Throw Your Hands in the Air” which both have New Jack Swing touches to them and sound like they could’ve been Teddy Riley tracks produced for Heavy D (with Guy samples thrown in) and haven’t aged too well at all but are pretty typical of what was popular then. They are certainly far more tolerable than the Blingy's and Chingy's of today.

There's a few of middle of the road tracks here too that aren't particularly memorable such as "We Go to Work" (with some BAD singing in the break), "Gotta Get Your Own" and "The Alternative Argument". None of which are wack or terrible but just don't have much replay value.

On a more positive note, he brings us a couple true old school styles towards the end of the album (in the form of bonus tracks on the CD version of the album). “I Don’t Care Anymore” uses the Spoonie G “You Ain’t a Fool …” beat and funky, funky, funky bassline to great effect and presents us with a nice, simple stripped back track which is really addictive. Totally different yet also sounding like it’s from the mid 80's (well coz it is) is “Jus Dis” which is full of programmed 808 style beats and UTFO style DJ stabs. It was originally released in 1987 and Duke suits that style pretty well. “There ain’t no law there’s only just dis”.

As i mentioned earlier there's quite a variety of styles within the tracks here but nothing too extreme in one direction or the other and they do all sound like Duke tracks (maybe that's only coz i've owned this album for close enough to 18 years and know it too well). If i was going to compare him to anyone from the same era it would be Derek B but there are some differences between them. Vocally and lyrically he probably wouldn't make many people's all time greats list but in my books he had the voice and skills to simply get the job done well which was more than enough with musical accompaniment like "I'm Riffin" and "Free". Not a wonderful album overall but it's been in my collection for some time so it is nonetheless significant in my little collection of UK hip hop history.

OVERLORD X - WEAPON IS MY LYRIC (1989)

One of my favourite albums of all time from one of my favourite rappers ever. The voice, the beats, even the album cover - everything about this album is close to superb. You won't hear any soft, R&B, jazzy, for the ladies tracks on this ...

"Rough in Hackney" starts things out exactly as it says - it's damn rough ! Rough as in beautifully hard and raw. The track is your intro to Mr X and it's the perfect way to open this album up. Straight away his voice is magnetising - it's aggressive, raspy, raw and whilst listening to the album you can't help but be in awe of the way he's rapping with such a passion and intensity as if to save his life every time he's grabbing the mic.

"Kick Bag" continues in the same vein as the album opener except this song is even more rugged with a huge beat that has what sounds like a 200 galloon empty tin drum that's being belted to death - and it plain rocks. Nice horns in the chorus as well. Pure power, pure hard rhymes from the Overlord in this one - "They knowledge to my rhyme and the power that i give em ..."

Things slow down slightly with the more funky/less aggressive sounding "2 Bad". Lovely use of horns in this one as well as a choice bassline and some nice cutting. A similar sound is delivered to the eager listener on the next song "Go! It's Like World War 3" with a constant funky horn stab throughout and some fresh DJ work again. He drops some racially conscious rhymes in this one as well. A sorely missed aspect of current hip hop !

"Clap Your Hands" is a short'ish funky yet hard hitting track which drops tidbits of knowledge again despite the simplistic nothingness party feel of the track name. It also bring forth his alter ego, Lord V, who is basically Overlord X slowed to 15RPM on a record player. In all honestly i could've done without the Lord V gimmick (and he appears a LOT on the 2nd LP) but i like Overlord so much that this schizophrenic tendency never detracted from his music.

Lord V starts to make more of his presence known on the title track "Weapon Is My Lyric" and admittedly he works quite well alongside the Overlord on this one. Fast'ish paced track with a very familiar sample and has Overlord delivering smooth, rapid rhymes once again. DJ Supreme T puts in some good work on this one. "The Earth is Moving" is next cab off the rank and continues the vibe of the last track nicely (minus Lord V).

"Now My Day Begins" is one of my top choice tracks on here. It has a surprisingly addictive Wild West "Gunfight at the O.K. Corral" type sample which would probably be corny if used differently but it's perfect here. Chopped up Public Enemy sounding horns give this track a hard, head-noddingly funky edge and the chorus vocal sample cutting up LL Cool J saying "notorious" is brilliant. Overlord delivers the goods vocally once again as he has done on every track.

"Brutal Bass" is this album's rap/metal attempt and it works a lot better for me than some other tracks of parallel breeding. It's somewhat along the lines of Mix-A-Lot's "Ironman" but the metal aspect of this one is less overdone. X sounds especially rough on this song and yes in case you were wondering the BASS is quite BRUTAL - it does bang hard.

Choppy, funky horns and a snappy, sprase, break your neck beat are the foundations of "Visa to Rock". X's voice is loud and clear on this gem at the forefront way above the beat and all you can do it sit back, let your head move back and forth and enjoy a supreme MC at work.

"14 days in Hell" closes the album out with a bang. Somewhat of a busier track than the previous one and it concludes the album with a taste of the style that opened it on the first couple tracks. In fact this track is almost a taste of what to expect on his 2nd LP which brings more of a busier Bomb Squad-esque sound. Lord V pops up to remind you of his existence again but he's just a slight background accessory here.

All in all a great mix of hard and aggressive tracks with a dose of funkiness thrown in for good measure. The great thing about Overlord X is i could never find a similar comparison in another rapper to him - US or UK - he always stood unique to me. "Rough in Hackney" - you bet he is. He'd still be just as rough after a sand and polish.

GMP (GANXTA MAI-DAE PRODUCTIONS) - (Kold Sweat - 1993)

“Street rap is the still the real deal
Hardcore 1, Commercial Nil.
The hardcore wins again”

The above lines from “Hardcore Wins Again” by GMP pretty much sum up golden era UK hip hop for me. It was hardcore - raw, rough, rugged, noisy, pure, intense and there was little concern by the artists for commercial acceptance and favour. Sure there were some artists from the UK making hip hop aimed at the charts at the time but the majority of rappers from the UK just made the music they loved with no conforming to what was happening on the pop charts and no trying to copy any watered down styles that were coming from the USA. It was truly straight from the heart British hip hop where the focus was on skills and making hard beats with aggressive, knowledgeable, talented MC’s and DJ’s getting busy on the wheels. Commercial hip hop never stood a chance against it as the movement against all things commercial was strong (although this changed over time as the mainstream took over). This is basically the school of thought behind GMP’s one and only release, the self titled GMP “Ganxta Mai-Dae Productions” EP.

Track one is the brilliant aforementioned “Hardcore Wins Again”. Musically it’s a raw affair. It has a simple yet effective head nodder of a mid tempo beat with an undertone of a constant piano driven rhythm, more prominent being Public Enemy siren type noises sitting imposingly over the beat. The track features two dope rough and similar sounding MC’s who seem to go under the blanket name “Horsemen of the Apocalypse”. They have a verse each where they each take a turn at verbally tearing commercial hip hop and sellouts to shreds. Lines such as “making a track like Monie in the Middle, f*** that s**t it’s commercial dribble” and “once upon a time British rap started to climb but now everybody wanna sound like Busta Rhymes” leave the listener in no doubt as to where these guys are coming from. In fact almost every line in this song is memorable and worth quoting. All sonic admiration of this track aside, I personally worship what this track stands for and to me it epitomises what hardcore rap is all about and what I have stood for as a fan of hardcore hip hop above all other musical styles for many years.

The quality does not drop off in the slightest with “Give Em Some Airplay”. This track comes rougher than the opener with a busy hard hitting beat that seems to be attacking the speakers like bullets are being fired at them – it’s glorious - with some screeching type sounds added to it for extra sonic noise effect. It features more MC’s than the first track (i'm guessing it's the whole of the GMP crew) and most significantly welcomes the incredible female MC of the group Deena Dee to grab the mic (who I will elaborate on shortly). The wasabi spicing up this raw sushi of a track though is that the rhymes are all delivered with that Beastie Boys “Check the Mic” rapping “over the phone” slightly distorted style which I absolutely love every time I hear it. The message on this track is quite clear, exactly as the title suggests, with the crew expressing their gripes of not having their brand of hip hop heard on the airwaves and it comes as no surprise to me really that 15 years later there’s still no underground hip hop being played on the radio. As Deena so perfectly states - “do we have to water down just to get some airplay ? Well me, Deena Dee says no way. Sorry to diss but some are just asslickers, they lick the asses of the major’s artists. Pop rap equals crap, money rules the fools so now I gotta fight back.” Says it all really.

The B-Side of the EP starts off with the wonderful “The Arrival”. Leaning more towards the funkier side of things this song has a few aspects to it that combine to make a dope package. For a start the rapping (performed by Timebomb) has a double or triple tracked effect to it which is really fantastic and Timebomb’s fast tempo rhyming adds to that. Secondly there’s that very familiar clown music from Smokey Robinson’s “Tears of a Clown” that basically acts as the chorus for the track and is so, so, so catchy and fits perfectly in here. There’s quite a bit going on with the beat as well with a pacey drum track, subliminal ghostly howling in parts and a tingling bell keeping rhythm throughout. There’s even a bit of DJ work here (which is strangely a rarity on this EP). I really dig this song.

Okay so now we get “Down to Business” with Deena Dee on the solo tip. Honestly in all my time listening to hip hop I could count the number of female MC’s I’ve liked on one hand and even then I can’t remember the last time I played a female rapper’s album. They either try too hard to sound like males or they go the “sex sells” cheap slut route or are just plain wack and weird (anyone remember Jay Z’s girl Amil ?). That’s what makes Deena Dee stand out to me – she’s raw and hardcore on the mic but still sounds like a normal woman and isn’t talking about how many men wanna get into her pants. Above all that she has SKILLS. Okay enough qualifying statements of admiration, let’s get to the track. It starts off with a “1,2,3” sampled from Flavour Flav and significantly so as the track features the trademark PE whistles ripped straight from the Nation of Millions album, which I’m not mad at because it suits the track. The rest of the makeup of the track consists of a middle of the road sorta beat with a strong funky bassline with subtle “woos” and various squealy sounds throughout. Deena’s skills totally carry this song though and make it what it is ie. a brilliant solo showcase of her braggadocious skills. A nice little novelty occurs towards the end of the track too where she starts giggling at the end of her shoutouts to various people. She’s simply a real woman on the mic with real talent. My favourite female MC ever, yes I’m in love.

The dope and rather hilarious “Simpleton” closes out this project. It’s hilarious due to the childish yet funny chorus chant of “it’s simple like popping a pimple” with various other screams going on as well from the crew. Dope because they all get a chance to shine on this track and they do not disappoint. Quite a dubby bassline with a strong and steady hi-hat toppped beat drives this track along nicely. It has somewhat of a freestyle, party feel to the track yet it still retains that rugged enough feel that has been evident throughout this whole EP.

This is one of my favourite EP’s of all time. If I had to fault anything about it, the almost total absence of a DJ aside from a quick bit of scratching in “The Arrival” is a bit unusual for a release during the UK golden era. However it’s not particularly detrimental as the songs carry themselves with immense strength on all other aspects. Perhaps the lack of identity of the male MC’s is something else that could’ve been better, not that they are bad by any means but none of them really stand out as amazing or unique or at least don’t leave enough lasting presence. Deena Dee however rocks non stop and let’s everyone know who she is. Most importantly the message delivered by “Hardcore Wins Again” is of the utmost importance and relevance to my hip hop fan ideology and is something that’s sadly been forgotten for the most part by today’s hip hop generation. For me though it’s always going to be “Hardcore 2, Commercial Nil” so "commercial motherfuckers there's the door, get the hell out!"

DEF WISH CAST - MAD AS A HATTER EP (Random Records - 1992)

As soon as you drop the needle on the wax you hear the track "Papertrack Novel". This track could probably be best described as a template for the Def Wish sound for the 90's. Each MC - Sir Wrek, Die C and Def Wish get a chance to showcase their skills on this track and they do not disappoint. Admittedly at the time i found Sir Wrek and Die C similar in sound and style but equally as dope as well (although i was able to distinguish them after some time) - they possess rough and rugged flows in unashamedly Aussie accents but without "exaggerating" their accents to the point of emphasising their country of origin (which was a very irritating and offputting tactic that some Aussie acts would adopt in later times). Above the other two though any hip hop fan would have to be blown away by Def Wish on the mic. Rapid, rapid, rapid fire almost ragga flows very much in a similar vain to Killa Instinct's Bandog. Sure Def Wish sounds young (even more so listening to him now years later)- and i think he was only in his teens when this EP came out - but geez the voice is just something to behold. The track itself has nice beat changeups throughout and any fan of the UK hardcore sound would surely love this track.

Next up we have "Daily Nightmare". Slightly slower track (by the group's usual standards) but still rocks hard. Somewhat reflective, message laden track discussing the struggles of every day life living on the streets. Highlight of this track would have to be DJ Vame cutting up s**t something lovely in the chrous breaks - and this happens throughout the whole EP (and most other things Vame touched after that as well). It also showed that the group had something to say.

Flip to Side B and you are greeted by the booming, foundation shaking, head nodding beat driving the "Mad as a Hatter" track. It has a "crushers of the wildstyle" sub track name and it certainly lives up to that as it is a rather old school sounding track with the MC's rhyming in a somewhat updated, less simplistic "Treacherous 3 taking britcore tablets" style. Again the DJ skills are in total effect on this one --- the likes of which are NEVER heard to that extent in 2006 and anyone under 18 would probably think it sounds dated - but we love it.

Last and DEFINITELY NOT LEAST is "Proppa Ragga". This is probably one of the most loved and admired Def Wish Cast songs ever and it's all thanks to the incredible display of skills by Def Wish. The song is basically broken up into three sections, each with their own distinct different "ragga yet hardcore" beat and Def Wish shows you how he can drop his rhymes in 3 totally different ragga'infused styles - but without coming off corny or contrived as "Mr. Informer" Snow. Part 1 and 2 roll along at nicely at mid tempo over reggae flavoured beats but the absolute pinnacle of this track is Part 3 of this song which kicks in after someone yells out "faster" - and that's exactly what happens - the beat and Def Wish go absolutely rapid fire breathlessly ballistic and it remains to this day as one of my favourite 1 minute sections of any song of all time and any fan of britcore sounding high BPM hip hop would be salivating listening to this. I've never heard a song before or since sucessfully pull of this concept of different beats and styles within one song so perfectly.

So there you have it - one of the earliest Aussie hip hop releases and even more special was the fact it was one of the first pieces of hip hop vinyl created in this country at a time when there was mostly only low quality demo type cassettes available within Aussie hip hop circles. Plus, despite some talk that Def Wish Cast themselves not wanting to be labelled as such, it sounded very UK hardcore/britcore hip hop influenced to me and i was very glad that the early Aussie product had such influences behind it.

DEMON BOYZ - ORIGINAL GUIDANCE (Tribal Bass - 1992)

Demon Boyz, Hijack, Silver Bullet, Gunshot - arguably the most well known artists from the older school UK hip hop era (to the average underground hip hop head with decent taste). Their early singles and albums were all near perfect gems and rightfully earnt them legendary status in the UK scene.

Followup and later material from these artists was not always quite up to the very high standards set by their earlier work but the Demonz "Original Guidance" is an example of coming close to their best work but suffering a couple letdowns ...

It does starts off very, very impressively with what is one of my all time favourite Demonz songs in the form of the title track "Original Guidance". The track begins with church bells and a horror movie "Omen" type vocal sample which sets the scene for a very dark, hard track discussing satan, god and religion and the fact that the Demon Boyz are not lucifer's disciples despite their group name possibly suggesting so - "True we're called the Demonz people get the wrong idea, get the wrong information think we deal with fear ...". The song is a very rugged affair driven by a hard hitting beat and a strong, heavy, menacing bassline with the church bells continuing off and on throughout. Mike J and Demon D get one verse each and switch nicely between ragga and non-ragga flows and complement each other very well and some wicked cutting by DJ Pogo (i think?) makes the track quite complete and is 10/10 for me.

"Law Abiding Citizen" is basically their version of "f*** the Police" and their middle finger to the mistreatment, racism and brutality by the cops against the black man in the UK. Musically it's somewhat of a throwback to the sound of their first album mixed with something that NWA or Cube would've created in their heydays. Mid tempo raw drums, groovy guitar strumming and basslines dropping in and out with some subtle yet almost gorgeous DJ work kicking in for the last minute of the track makes it another top notch song with a justifiably angry message to the piggies out there.

"Element of Speed" starts off with some reggae tinged singing over a dubby type bassline and a totally funky neck cracking beat and this beat carries the song. Another heavy bassline is evident as is the "Slow Down" Brand Nubian sample as are various horn sounds. The track has the rather unique to hip hop theme of slowing down whilst behind the wheel of your car whilst driving ! Sorta aimed more at high rollers, drug pushers and the like though to basically check themselves before they wreck themselves. In an alternate universe where hardcore hip hop tracks were used for commericals this song would be great for a government anti-speeding on the roads campaign.

A Lalo Schafrin styled 70's movie soundtrack guitar sample kicks off the very nice "Outer National Karate" jammy. This addictive sample sits behind the whole track along with rather rapid beats and even faster rhymes from Mike J and Demon D - both of them are on high speed rhyme attack here and it is truly something to behold - especially Mike J who proves on this track why I personally consider him as one of the greater MC's of all time and he actually picks up the pace vocally with ease as the song progresses. An afro centrically themed track which has that "classic hardcore UK sound" that wouldn't be out of place on Hijack's "Horns ..." LP.

Unfortunately the Gold Medal album quest loses steam drastically for me with the next two tracks "Junglist" and "Jungle Dett". Both are instrumental Jungle tracks (for those who don't know "Jungle" is a music combining high BPM techno/dance and ragga/dub styles). Jungle always sat too closely to dance music for my liking and therefore both these tracks always earnt the FFWD treatment from me. 15 years later I must admit I can somewhat tolerate these tracks and this style of music and although I'd be the last person in the world to make excuses for lesser tracks on someone's album, Jungle was starting to make waves in the UK at the time of this album and they were on Rebel MC's mostly jungle Tribal Bass label so I guess that had something to do with it ... anyway back to the hip hop ...

... which we do happily hear again with "Glimity Glamity". A song which borrows a very familiar bassline, early 90's Lords of the Underground horns and Das Efx's (and many others) "They want EFX" often used funky, funky, funky guitar sample. Nothing too original about this one musically but at least it's 100% unashamedly hip hop and Mike J and Demon D give us their always impressive ragga/non-ragga vocal gymnastics and I am even more amazed by the DJ work on this one. Simply a solid track without being as outstanding as a couple earlier album highlights.

"Sweet Sweet Jamaica" however pitches another curveball towards this listener. It's a 100% Mike J ragga chatted track and hard to even call the beat on this one "hip hop". It's far from wack, it's somewhat enjoyable to listen to and Mike J shows us another side of his vocal abilities but well it's not really what I want to hear on a "golden era" UK hip hop album.

If the next song "Junglist" (which is now the vocal version of the earlier instrumental) has you thinking you have accidentally skipped to a Rebel MC album in your six CD changer you wouldn't be blamed for thinking so. As mentioned before this album was released on the Rebel's label and this song may as well have been ripped directly off one of the Rebel's later LPs (and yes it was produced by him). In fact I'm expecting to hear Tenor Fly drop a verse on this track at any time. I won't deny liking it as I really dig the vocal style on this track of Mike J as he is beautifully going absolutely hell for leather hyperspeed on the mic (whilst Demon D can't quite keep up with the speed of this beat and was probably glad the whole album wasn't like this!). As it does remind me of Rebel MC's work which I am a fan of I can't complain although once again from a purists point of view it doesn't quite suit a hip hop album.

However "Hocus Pocus" DOES suit a hip hop album and it is one of the top choice jams on this album with a hardcore sound and feel not unlike the opening title track. In fact this would be another perfect song to play to someone as an example of a classic hardcore UK track. Rough and rugged rhymes and beats are in full effect on this one and the MC's are on the mic in full braggadocious battle stance telling you how good they are and not to f*** with them - and yes they are GOOD and no you cannot f*** with them coz you'll come off 2nd best ! Classic DJ "cutting up s**t in the chorus" work is on show here again and just tops off a track of hip hop brilliance. "Pure roughneck business ..."

"Dett" finds us with another track that Rebel MC would've loved to have rhymed over circa "Rebel Music" era. This one is far less on the jungle tip musically though as it's simply the kind of high speed funky breakbeat you'd hear in 1988 with a pronounced 1-2-3-4 dub type bassline and horn stabs throughout. The mic controllers both drop rapid fire ragga rhymes on this one and furious DJ mastery adds to the appeal of this one. No great depth of creative genius involved with this track but it's simply a rapid, rugged showcase of the Demonz combined talents and as Mike J professes in the track it is indeed WICKED !

"Meditation" - this is THIRD of the instro's on this album. It is a lot better than the jungle ones though as it is 100% raw head nodding hip hop beats this time and is actually crying out for an MC to bless it - it actually reminds me of the beats on Mobb Deep's "Hell on Earth" album or a 2nd or 3rd Cypress Hill album DJ Muggs production. However no MC’s to be heard here. I really like this one and am not mad at all with it closing out the album but it's a shame that only 9 of 12 tracks on this album came with vocals.

If i was scoring this album i'd be close to giving it 9/10 as the good songs are almost incredible but it's such a crying shame that the jungle instrumental material made an appearance here which tarnished the flow of an otherwise superb LP. Get it by all means anyway as there is no doubt that it is a UK hip hop essential ...

CASH CREW - WILL IT MAKE MY BROWN EYES BLUE? (Scream - 1991)

Cash Crew - when you hear the group's name you might be misled into thinking they are all about cashing large cheques, but no, they are far from it ...

... because you should pay more attention to the name of their debut album "Will It Make My Brown Eyes Blue?" as issues of race and afro-centricity are much closer to where they are at - although in much smaller doses than a PE or Black Radical as this group brings a range of styles and themes to the turntable.

"Tables Have Turned" starts things off in a nice way. A very funky track with underlying scratching providing as much rhythm to the track as the rolling bassline and guitars do. Topically the song is nothing much more than a great intro to the group with some typical bragging from the MC's Trim and Champain who both have quite heavy UK accents with words like "mate" being used often which obviously adds to the distinctive and natural unique UK sound of the MC's (and something which aussies like myself can identify with as well).

The rather skippable "Back for More" comes next. Generic terrible "R&B female oversung chorus" laces a track all about the chasing the ladies. The sort of track that has been done 1000 times in hip hop and i've probably hated 999 of those attempts and this one sits in amongst those 999. Some people might be able to accept this type of song but it's nothing more than a pet hip hop dislike of mine.

The smile comes back to my face though with "Lay Low Lickin". Another funky, funky track in the vein of the opener. Basslines and guitar stabs run and jump all over this one in a messy yet catchy style. Braggadocious battle type lyrics are the feature here and, as he does in the first track, DJ Loose is quite busy yet again.

Believe it or not "i'm in the mood for food glorious food" is a lyric and the theme of the very appropriately titled "Munchies" jammy. Next time someone tells you that hip hop is all about bitches, blunts, cars and cash just play them this track. The DJ even cuts up the word "hungry" in the breaks ! Food imagery aside this is a top notch track musically with truly addictive head nodding busy beats and catchy funk samples in charge of things with DJ Loose again living up to his name on the cuts. The Fat Boys would've been jealous of a song like this !

The lightweight comedy of the last track is quickly forgotten as we are finally given the promise suggested by the album cover (the crew in native African clothing staring at silhouetted versions of themselves in modern day suits) and it's title with the black knowledge laden "Ghetto Circumstances". Probably the most hardcore track on the album and is rather reminiscent of Katch 22 in themes and sound. Heavy drums, rapid fire MC deliveries, DJ Loose burning holes in the vinyl and of course justifiably angry and intense lyrics focusing on the concealment of black history throughout the education system and other ill, evil treatment by the white man - "of course you'll start taxing only taught the good old white history, where they hid the black history remains a mystery ...". Another highlight of this track is the MC's working together at times on the mics in a RunDMC back and forth style (albeit in an infrequent subtle way).

Harder edged sounds continue with the rough, rugged and dramatic ragga infused "Ting Called Crack". The lyrics here stand true to the title with the message being that crack will screw you up. I've always had a love/hate relationship with ragga styles in hip hop and thankfully i'd give this track red roses on Valentines Day as i am very fond of it. Purely four and half minutes of hardcore ragga handled well by the MC's who don't actually press the ragga button elsewhere on the album. As Melle Mel famously rapped (and Cash Crew in the liner notes) in reference to crack, "Don't Do It".

My equal numero uno song on this LP erupts here in the form of "Bouquet of Barbed Wire". Another rapid, hard track that Katch 22 or Son of Noise would be proud of, this one is an aggressive diss, battle track which this time goes to the extent of calling out various other groups such as Tribe Called Quest, Dream Warriors and SNAP. Not sure whether the mentioned groups ever knew of Cash Crew but I wouldn't disagree with the need to diss their wackness. Of greater note is the very impressive performance of the MC's on this one, especially Champain. Both speed up their flows and really deliver their pinnacle of mic performances on this one. Very interesting that angry, diss track often brings out the best from MC's. Love when the fire within is released.

"Make us realise that mother nature is angry and vexed with us, man sabotaged the gifts that thorugh her god gave us" is the heart of the mellow, reflective and moody "Green Grass". A rare environmentally focused track which is one of those "sit back and listen" type songs. A far more "tolerable and subtle" female singer appears on this one and the sample scientists out there would be able to recognise the lovely "what can i do" soul sample used throughout this one. A very nice song with a meaningful and vital theme which adds to the diversity of this album.

You'd be unlikely to find a song called "Mates" on an Amercian album but there's one here on this UK gem. Although mates are not friends on this track, in fact his "mate" is his jimmy hat and the track is a tale about how he didn't bother with one and ended up burnt for it. Another familiar sample runs through the background of this mellow track (it's another of those frustrating "where do i know this sample from?" tracks). KRS's "Jimmy" vocal sample in the chorus is instantly apparent to me though. Not a particularly exciting or interesting track with sporadic and annoying touches of 1980's electric guitar amongst it all but i've heard worse.

These guys certainly won't lose marks for lack of topic creativity as "Taxi" brings us the plight of the black man simply trying to catch a cab but getting overlooked for his colour of skin. A slightly dark menacing bassline mixed with very funky strings (that make me think of BDP for some reason) brings a mixed feel to this one although it leans more towards harder sounds. With subject matter that is 100% on point in it's frustration created by prejudice there's no way to deny the appeal and importance of this track. The Kane chorus sample states "taxi cabs don't even come my way" and it's nice to see the end of the song delivers a f*** you to those racist scum drivers with Cash Crew chanting "black cab, why don't you wait, now you stopped at the lights, we win, checkmate".

"Freestyle's Pumping" attacks us next with a fast tempo freestyle posse type cut. A simple bassline and beat drives this one smoothly and nicely. I have no idea who the other MC's are and if they were of any significance in the UK scene but they are all solid without being outstanding. Interesting is the sound of the people in the background cheering em on as if they're all standing in a cipher on a street corner dropping their rhymes. Nice, nice, nice.

My second number one track (if a 2nd winner is possible) "You're Forgiven" closes out the album. A 100% no holes barred angry afro centric track running us through the history of black people's plight and torment through slavery right to the narcotic epidemic of more recent history. The song has an absolutely huge earth-shaking beat, which is almost slightly double tracked at times for greater effect, and there's a dirty handclappy funk feel to it which in some ways makes me think of a rougher "Steady Mobbin" by Ice Cube (or it might just me be clutching at straws in search of a good point of reference to describe the track). Anyway it's certainly a classic track and one of the most passionate afro centrically themed tracks i've heard from British shores - "you're in debt, you're forgiven but we'll never forget".

Overall an excellent album (minus one corny R&B induced hiccup) with the diversity in topics and sounds shining through as a significant standout. Musically - hardcore, ragga, funk - it's all here. Lyrically - knowledge, humour, bragging - it's all here. Solid MC's, busy DJ with skils - indeed. Nothing missing really is there ?

JOINING FORCES (Sellout Records / Mzee - 1993)

I've never been a big fan of compilations or EP length "albums" as they always left me wanting more. Whilst the Joining Forces compilation from Germany falls into both tease inducing categories, i've always rated it as one of the better items in my music collection.

Early 90's German hip hop was, for the most part, raw, fast, aggressive, hardcore and often more "britcore" sounding than the product from the UK itself. Just the way i like my rap music and just why this release is mostly fantastic.

Right from the outset the high speed rhyme attack begins with the legendary No Remorze and their first offering on this collection "Complaint to those who sold out hip hop". The title is exactly what the song is about and "no sellout" is almost the number 1 slogan for the hardcore hip hop fraternity and the message has great significance to those of us who can't stand the nasty commercialism that exists in hip hop. The song kicks off straight away with a sped up Hijack style beat and absolutely lovely frenzied scratching by DJ Stylewarz and DJ Kaos (yes 2 of them!). Crak's rhymes are rapid fire and he has a great rrrrolling sound to his letter "R" which seemed to be a rather common trait of quite a few German MC's at the time - whether the result of their English pronounciation or intentionally done i'm not sure - but damn, it sounds good. Anyway pretty much a perfect track and one of my classic all time cuts.

Up next we have Fast Forward with "Dark Dawn". The intro of the track creates a feeling of being out in a dark forest in the middle of the night with sounds of crickets/cicadas buzzing away (which is certainly not the kind of thing you'd normally hear sampled for a rap track) and horror movie sounds and this continues throughout the song and adds the perfect dark ambience to the song. The song itself is another high tempo track with pretty much a simple breakbeat played at upper BPM's coupled with some nice DJ work and the MC going for broke on top of it. If i'm honest he's not up to the standards of Crak at this pace and i have to listen very carefully to understand a lot of his lyrics but the voice itself does sound good (and he's far from the only MC i struggled to comprehend over the years haha).

Holding down spot three is F.E.W.D with "Retaliation". Can't say i ever heard of these guys before or after this compilation but they bring it nicely here. With a slower tempo and catchy rolling bassline this one leans slightly more towards the funky side of things but still rocks hardcore enough. Decent MC's and interestingly enough the second MC on this track sounds very British and actually sounds like a non-ragga Rebel MC. Politically tinged track touching on subjects of poverty, governments etc. "It's never too late to retaliate".

The German language (which i can't understand) track "Amazoon Chainsaw Massacre" from Rude Poets kicks off next. I guess they meant "Amazon" instead of spelling it "Amazoon" ? From what i can tell by the few English spoken samples throughout this it's actually an environmentally themed song discussing the devastation caused by deforestation and logging - top marks to them, if this is the case, for delivering such a unique and important concept in a rap song. Anyway all lyrical content guessing aside, it's a brilliant track musically with alarm sounds, fast and busy dramatic beats and beat changeups with the MC's dropping rugged rhymes in German. The great MC Scope is featured on this track.

A total change of pace comes at us next with F.E.W.D's "Mr Brown" which relies heavily on the Bob Marley track of the same name. Although i always found this track to be somewhat out of place on this compilation i really can't front on liking it because it is catchy as hell and i love the original Marley song that it takes from. Again the UK sounding MC shows off his English skills very nicely and the rhyme is basically a tale about a shady anonymous character named "Mr Brown" and that he could be you, me or your next door neighbour.

Back to the hardcore attack and we find the 2nd track from Fast Forward being "Punitive Expediton". Another raw, reasonably pacey beat with the MC flowing and flowing for 5 minutes with only short pauses between verses. Overall rather similar to the "Dark Dawn" track - which is not a bad thing because a whole album of tracks like these would've been great (unfortunately the later Fast Foward full LP was rather patchy and disappointing).

No Remorze bring forth some guitar sounds on their well known "Dark Malice" cut. I can't remember for sure but i think the guitars sampled in this one are from Led Zeppelin and they suit Crak and No Remorze's style very well. Add to these guitars the Funky Drummer break, Crak's aggressive angry rhymes, air raid type sirens, the DJ's cutting up s**t and you have one of the classic hardcore rap songs - no more, no less.

Finishing out this collection is a group known as The Musical Punishment with "Pass the Judgement" (and it's instrumental). A rather messy song with softly recorded vocals sitting behind a bluesy guitar sample resting far too offbeat behind the break. Some might find this song creative, abstract and clever but for me this doesn't really work. The MC is quite capable but i'd love to hear him over a more well structured track.

So aside from the finale this album/EP is a great combo of mostly hardcore German tracks and would definitely serve as a great introduction to those looking to get a taste of how "hardcore UK influenced German hip hop" sounds.