For many reasons Blade is undoubtedly one of the legends of UK hip hop. Due to his longevity, due to his “do for self” attitude in getting his music out there by all means possible at the grassroots level, due to the respect from his fans and peers and of course due to his skills in making unique and raw dope music. A prime showcase of his skills are on display on his debut album, “The Lion goes From Strength to Strength” (which was released on his OWN label, 691 Influential) which finally saw the light of day after a few years of releasing impressive EP’s and 12's.
With 21 tracks totalling almost 77 minutes long you couldn’t complain that he wasn’t giving his fans what they wanted. Even if you discarded the 4 or 5 interlude tracks you’d still be left with close enough to 70 minutes worth of “real” songs (which was immense by 1993 standards) and with only one guest artist on one track (where have those days gone?) you’re really getting a Bladefest with this album.
So if you’ve never heard Blade before what can you expect from him as an MC ? I can’t name anybody that sounds similar to him, but for a very loose comparison (we’re talking Paris Hilton loose here) there is a somewhat UK version of Chuck D’esque aspect to his voice – at least in the powerful, commanding and booming delivery and resonance it projects – but Blade’s overall delivery is probably slower and clearer and he’s more deliberate in the way he ends each line he spits. Lyrically he’s pretty angry. He’s angry with the British government, angry with the anti hip hop record industry, angry with wickety wack weak rappers and all of that produces an aggressive, fiery MC which is an MC perfectly made for hardcore hip hop. As Blade says “When I get madder than mad I get hyper” – words from hardcore rap heaven! Yet despite his obvious frustration and anger Blade remains well grounded and focused and seems totally in control of his mic presence and presents a really strong MC demeanour. There is also a nice dose of humour, sarcasm and wit to his rhymes which is always a good thing and “keeps em eager to listen”.
As you can probably tell from the above described microphone stance, Blade is likely to have some rough, raw and hard music to back his vocal style up and thankfully he does have such music in abundance, but there is some variety in his soundscapes also …
The hardest tracks here are almost brutal, especially “God Give Me Strength”. It has a rapid, pile driving, hammer of a beat which just keep thumping away at your chest with its underlying screams, whilst Blade delivers powerful and poignant lines like “… where’s the books about Armenia ? Africa you don’t see in the media …”. “Dark and Sinister” sounds exactly as the title implies with another pounding drum track laced with horns and underlying scratching and features another UK legend, MC Mell’o, in my favourite all-time Mell’o mic performance, I don’t think he ever brought it harder than this. “Take it to the Edge” also keeps it mean and hard and is carried for the most part by metal guitars and various screechy effects and Blade’s voice booming on top of it all is simply fantastic. Other tracks such as “100%” and “Heads are Forever Boppin’” don’t let up on the hardcore side of things either.
The variety comes in the way of less aggressive tracks with funky, head-nodding leanings instead but by no means are these tracks less raw. Examples of this would be “No Compromise”, “Bedroom Demo”, “… or Get Crushed Like a Pumpkin” and “Suck On My Electric Guitar” which all are somewhat in the regions of an early Cypress Hill funky feel, albeit not entirely so with Blades vocals and the raw sparsity of the tracks retaining that harder UK feel. Interestingly the title track of the album, “The Lion Goes …” is most unique in amongst the other tracks with a slow and low feel not too distant from classic old Rap-A-Lot Texas funk, but obviously Blade and Willie D & co. are worlds apart on so many levels.
If there’s any complaint from me then I’d aim it solely at the interludes. There is a track/interlude called “Silence Is Better than Bullshit” which is just that, 2 minutes of almost total silence (with only the distant sound of Blade or someone munching away on a packet of chips and having a drink?). Okay there’s probably a point to it - or maybe there’s not? – but come on Blade you could’ve given us 2 minutes more of “God Give Me Strength” or something instead of this! I do like the “Survival Prelude” interlude with its Farrakhan (?) speech which is very reminiscent of an old Cube or PE song intro. However, traditionally skits/interludes on albums are no friends of mine and especially those where the artists are just talking some nonsense in the studio and decide to record it on the final product, as is the case with a couple of the interlude bits on this album. Interlude business aside, there's not one actual proper song on this album that i don't like.
Another great thing about this album in general is that the production feels slightly rough around the edges, and I mean that in a major positive sense. As with many other UK hip hop releases from that era it doesn’t sound heavily polished, over produced or too clean and is all the better for it’s lack of gloss. Straight up raw, underground and pure UK hip hop is what the legendary Blade delivers with this effort and it is one of the best albums from the golden era of UK hip hop from one of the UK's best.
Saturday, October 25, 2008
Monday, October 13, 2008
No Remorze - The End (MZEE 1995)
Germans loved hardcore UK hip hop. Well some at least did (and still do). They loved it so much that they took the classic sounds of Silver Bullet and Gunshot and made those sounds harder, faster, angrier and noisier. No Remorze were a perfect example of this and their “The End” album is a case in point of Germans taking britcore and putting their own stamp on it. Look no further than the album cover and you know you’re not getting sweet ballads from these guys ie. three mean looking hooded hombres gazing at you with nothing but a cold, dead, barren wasteland as their backdrop.
In fact, very reflective of album cover is the title track “The End” which sits appropriately as the last proper track of the album and has a great sample of Busta circa LONS era stating “you’d better beware coz the end is near”. Accordingly it’s a very dark, apocalyptic track with the malicious mic slaying vocal talents of MC Crak proclaiming eminent doom for humanity due to their own actions throughout history leading to their self destruction. The song is very angry, highly political, message laden and very much exemplifies No Remorze’s mission statement throughout most of their tracks – musically and lyrically. Significantly the track runs directly into the albums Outro which quotes Gravediggaz “nowhere to hide, nowhere to run” over an absolutely huge earth shaking beat which all comes to a halt after a minute or so with the sound of nothing but a heart beat monitor “dead line” ie. death, the end. It’s actually one of the best album finales I have ever heard (which is why I mentioned it first here).
Not everything was new at the time of this album though as 4 tracks were released prior to this album but had slight re-workings and given a “95” suffix for inclusion in it. Without a doubt two of those re-worked tracks, “Condemned to Death” and “Dark Malice”, were classic No Remorze tracks in their original forms and still are here. I’ve already spoken on “Dark Malice” on my Joining Forces review and “Dark Malice 95” (thankfully) hasn’t been altered for this album very much, if at all. “Condemned to Death” is a classic too and is a far more sparse production than "Dark Malice" with mid tempo punchy beats sitting over the dramatic rhythm sample taken from Rakim’s “Let the Rhythm Hit Em”. This newer version does however have far too prominent church organ keys in the chorus as an “add on” which doesn’t really work that well for me.
“Killa Squad 95” and “No Justice 95” could be twin sister songs as they are quite similar and are both absolutely breakneck speed sonic assaults with screams, sirens, high BPM’s and manic DJ work in full effect. Especially “Killa Squad 95” which is probably the fastest I’ve ever heard Crak rhyme and it’s truly something to behold (I’m sure teenagers into their mellow, lightweight, moody hip hop these days wouldn’t be able to comprehend an MC bringing it like this). None of these “old come new” tracks are really that different to their original incarnations but for some reason the recording/playback quality is somewhat “muddy” and Crak’s vocals are buried far lower in mix than they were on the old versions. Therefore they don’t blend in all that well with the new songs which are noticeably cleaner recordings. Having said that, it's a fact that some of my favourite hip hop albums of all time were recorded in dubious quality and I've learnt to live with it.
The majority of those new tracks are pretty wicked. “Slaughter of the Lambs” gives Crak a chance to catch his breath with its more laidback pace and presents us with relatively crisp and busy drums over the lovely “Nautilus” sample cruising below. “Remorse? No!” sounds like it could easily be a track from the first Def Wish Cast album and is britcore to the nth degree. It has ominous, dramatic and crisp production and fantastic DJ work from the legendary DJ Style Warz with cutting that’s cannot be described as anything but scythe like ! “Hunted” shares a similar blueprint but bumps up the noise, drama and darkness.
Not all is perfect here though. Although they are both very hard and aggressive tracks, “Pros and Cons” and “Fascists Must Burn” do very much sound like the left and right arm of “Dark Malice” as they are both structured almost too similarly to it using heavy guitar riffs as their main driving forces. No denying Crak sounds rough and rugged on both though. Not so on “Bitches” however, which threw me a real curveball the first time I heard it, and it still does. Yes it’s a noble message bigging up women but a soft R&B female crooned track in the middle of a hardcore hip hop album just does not sit right for me at all (especially wedged between Killa Squad and an interlude stating “hardcore we’re giving you more and more”!) and it’s something I wouldn’t have ever expected from a group like this.
A couple little curios to finish off with, one strange and one cool. Strange - the Intro is listed as having a run time of 1.62 (1min 62 seconds - huh ???). Cool - there are lyrics provided in the CD booklet for each song in their original English and ALSO translated into German – now that’s a nice touch. It is bit of a shame though that Crak never rhymed in German, which would've been pretty cool and potentially added to the hard sounds (some German language MC's sound wonderfully MENACING), but i guess the English rhyming let his message be known to wider audience outside Germany (especially the UK crowd) which may have been part of the reason why.
Any fan of the old UK hardcore sound or anyone interested in hearing one of the best groups of all time from Germany should track this down.
In fact, very reflective of album cover is the title track “The End” which sits appropriately as the last proper track of the album and has a great sample of Busta circa LONS era stating “you’d better beware coz the end is near”. Accordingly it’s a very dark, apocalyptic track with the malicious mic slaying vocal talents of MC Crak proclaiming eminent doom for humanity due to their own actions throughout history leading to their self destruction. The song is very angry, highly political, message laden and very much exemplifies No Remorze’s mission statement throughout most of their tracks – musically and lyrically. Significantly the track runs directly into the albums Outro which quotes Gravediggaz “nowhere to hide, nowhere to run” over an absolutely huge earth shaking beat which all comes to a halt after a minute or so with the sound of nothing but a heart beat monitor “dead line” ie. death, the end. It’s actually one of the best album finales I have ever heard (which is why I mentioned it first here).
Not everything was new at the time of this album though as 4 tracks were released prior to this album but had slight re-workings and given a “95” suffix for inclusion in it. Without a doubt two of those re-worked tracks, “Condemned to Death” and “Dark Malice”, were classic No Remorze tracks in their original forms and still are here. I’ve already spoken on “Dark Malice” on my Joining Forces review and “Dark Malice 95” (thankfully) hasn’t been altered for this album very much, if at all. “Condemned to Death” is a classic too and is a far more sparse production than "Dark Malice" with mid tempo punchy beats sitting over the dramatic rhythm sample taken from Rakim’s “Let the Rhythm Hit Em”. This newer version does however have far too prominent church organ keys in the chorus as an “add on” which doesn’t really work that well for me.
“Killa Squad 95” and “No Justice 95” could be twin sister songs as they are quite similar and are both absolutely breakneck speed sonic assaults with screams, sirens, high BPM’s and manic DJ work in full effect. Especially “Killa Squad 95” which is probably the fastest I’ve ever heard Crak rhyme and it’s truly something to behold (I’m sure teenagers into their mellow, lightweight, moody hip hop these days wouldn’t be able to comprehend an MC bringing it like this). None of these “old come new” tracks are really that different to their original incarnations but for some reason the recording/playback quality is somewhat “muddy” and Crak’s vocals are buried far lower in mix than they were on the old versions. Therefore they don’t blend in all that well with the new songs which are noticeably cleaner recordings. Having said that, it's a fact that some of my favourite hip hop albums of all time were recorded in dubious quality and I've learnt to live with it.
The majority of those new tracks are pretty wicked. “Slaughter of the Lambs” gives Crak a chance to catch his breath with its more laidback pace and presents us with relatively crisp and busy drums over the lovely “Nautilus” sample cruising below. “Remorse? No!” sounds like it could easily be a track from the first Def Wish Cast album and is britcore to the nth degree. It has ominous, dramatic and crisp production and fantastic DJ work from the legendary DJ Style Warz with cutting that’s cannot be described as anything but scythe like ! “Hunted” shares a similar blueprint but bumps up the noise, drama and darkness.
Not all is perfect here though. Although they are both very hard and aggressive tracks, “Pros and Cons” and “Fascists Must Burn” do very much sound like the left and right arm of “Dark Malice” as they are both structured almost too similarly to it using heavy guitar riffs as their main driving forces. No denying Crak sounds rough and rugged on both though. Not so on “Bitches” however, which threw me a real curveball the first time I heard it, and it still does. Yes it’s a noble message bigging up women but a soft R&B female crooned track in the middle of a hardcore hip hop album just does not sit right for me at all (especially wedged between Killa Squad and an interlude stating “hardcore we’re giving you more and more”!) and it’s something I wouldn’t have ever expected from a group like this.
A couple little curios to finish off with, one strange and one cool. Strange - the Intro is listed as having a run time of 1.62 (1min 62 seconds - huh ???). Cool - there are lyrics provided in the CD booklet for each song in their original English and ALSO translated into German – now that’s a nice touch. It is bit of a shame though that Crak never rhymed in German, which would've been pretty cool and potentially added to the hard sounds (some German language MC's sound wonderfully MENACING), but i guess the English rhyming let his message be known to wider audience outside Germany (especially the UK crowd) which may have been part of the reason why.
Any fan of the old UK hardcore sound or anyone interested in hearing one of the best groups of all time from Germany should track this down.
Saturday, October 11, 2008
Derek B - Bullet From a Gun (Polygram 1988)
Okay, yes I know this album is not particularly “britcore” in the Hijack, Gunshot, Killa Instinct sense (ie. relentless hardcore barrages of hyper beats and aggressive rhymes) BUT I have to give it some words here as it was the first
I have to start off by saying that there’s not all that much that signifies the album’s British origins and sets it apart from releases by notable
Musically, at times, the production swims around in the pool of Def Jam artists like PE, Run DMC, Beasties and Cool J circa 1987/88, reinforced by the fact that samples are used throughout the LP from some of those artists. I can’t help feeling that the goal of Derek and his label cohorts at the time was to sit alongside his US Def Jam idols rather than come out with a unique new style heavily rooted in UK influence, as London Posse did soon after. Although Derek himself may want to dispute that, as one his lyrics from the punchy beat attack of “All City” states “don’t copy Run DMC or LL Cool J, be original you’ll go further that way”. Somewhat fair enough words for him to say I suppose as he’s not 100% directly copying anyone but the aforementioned influences are very strong, which is probably understandable given that
The best tracks here are pretty damn good and they rock solid in good old 808 kick drum way and yes they do allude to the Def Jam influences. “Bullet From a Gun” hits slow, low and hard over a booming beat coupled with handclaps with sounds of bullets added for maximum effect. It’s actually quite similar to Cool J’s “I’m Bad”, albeit a slower and more simplistic version of it. 1st album Public Enemy sound comes into total E F F E C T on “Power Move” which even has Flavor Flav and Chuck saying a few words about Derek at the start of the track. Imagine a different MC over “Public Enemy No. 1” or one of those tracks and you have “Power Move”. The Funky Drummer driven “Human Time Bomb” could also sit on the same PE album and even has a Professor Griff soundalike providing backup on the track. No diss though, they’re all dope tracks despite their obvious forefathers of influence.
There are also a couple nice tracks which sizzle with a more unique flavour. “Bad Young Brother” ups the overall tempo with heavy pacey drum programming and wicked transformer scratching throughout and Derek going hell for leather on the mic in probably his best vocal performance on the album. “All City” has some banging and reasonably rapid drums hitting behind the rhymes but suffers a bit from the cheesy familiar heavy metal riff in the chorus. The most commercial track here is “Good Groove” which surprisingly sits pretty nicely with me as I love anything to do with the The Jackson 5 as “ABC” is sampled for the chorus and the James Brown funk woven through “Get Down” also has pianos from “The Love You Save”. Wonder if/how he cleared those samples?
One thing that needs to be mentioned before this review is done. Derek B actually appears as his DJ, Easy Q, on this album and it seems that Easy Q is sometimes the alter-ego that's rhyming at times also ?!?! In fact Derek rhymes about Easy Q (and vice versa) as if they were two different people but well he's really talking to himself. It’s all very confusing and slightly bizarre in a split personality schizophrenic sort of way. Derek B actually takes on the role of MC, DJ AND producer ! Very one man band Prince Rogers Nelson isn’t it.
Sunday, October 5, 2008
The Criminal Minds - Tales from the Wasteland 12" EP (TCM Recordings 1991)
“Tales from the Wasteland” seems to be one of the most revered and sought after of all hardcore golden era UK releases, at least in recent years, and it’s no wonder why as it is pretty amazing (in fact I’m reviewing this from mp3’s as I’ve always struggled to find the original and if you can find it, it costs a fortune nowadays).
“Systems Overload” is the first track here and it opens with a very applicable spoken sample stating “what they’re getting this time is even harder and heavier and it’s gonna blow their brains out”. The rapid, thundering beats then drop and DJ Halo gets to work instantly cutting up “fuck your system”. We then hear one of the greatest MC’s of all time grab the mic, ie. MC Iceski. He has such a unique voice which actually seems to echo and resonate with every word delivered thanks to what could be double or triple tracking of his voice but it may just be the natural power in his voice and the way it drops, whatever it is I just can’t get enough of it. Delivering a nice contrast to Iceski here is Safe D with a slight ragga touch to his deep tones and the combination of these two is really something special. The dark and dramatic production on this track reminds me of Silver Bullet’s “20 Seconds to Comply” and that is a very, very good thing. As the lyrics here describe, the goal of this song is to make your “Systems Overload” from the sonic speaker smashing barrage of noise and it is most definitely “mission accomplished”. More simply, it’s classic britcore – no more, no less.
“Illegal Procedure” starts off with very much in the vain of PE “Nations of Millions” album (albeit a shorter scaled down version) with TCM taking an excerpt from a live gig of theirs and using it to intro the track. Once the song starts it’s another noisy, hyper britcore assault with cool almost Hendrix sounding electric guitars sitting at some depth beneath the more apparent rapid beats. Iceski is rapping at top speed on this one and is impressive as always and he also shares mic duties with another MC on this track, this time it’s CMD instead of Safe D. I quite like the roughness and fast pace to CMD’s flow and after they get a verse each, the 3rd verse sees CMD and Iceski put on a great display of my much loved line for line, back and forth, mic passing. There’s also some stunning DJ skills on show here again from Halo with an especially catchy section where he cuts up the “C to the R to the I M” and also the last minute of the track is an awesome display of DJ prowess.
The very dramatic sounding “Tales from the Wasteland” appears next. It’s has a dramatic, epic intro which starts with ominous sounding violin strings which get boosted after 30 seconds when hard punchy beats kick in which are backed by absolutely tremendous DJ cutting. Iceski then comes into the song with his deliciously raw rhyme style which sits on top of booming breaks with undertones of the dark strings from the intro continuing throughout. Actually I REALLY LOVE the drums on this, they really HIT, attack and wack you right in the chest and listening to them is probably somewhat akin to being in the ring taking fists from Ali in his heyday – the way they hit left, hit right, jab and uppercut is phenomenal and there is nothing in hip hop these days like this. Iceski is pretty much solo here (aside from a brief interjection from one of the other guys) and I don’t even need to mention again that he rides the track superbly!
“Prepare for the Holocaust” closes things out and somewhat accordingly brings a different sound to the table, a sound which can almost be described as “electro reggae” or perhaps “slowed down jungle”. It’s probably not so different for TCM though as they did dabble in this sound from time to time and it’s not a bad thing as I quite dig this style, although structurally it’s a less complex track than others and is my least fav on the EP. No different however is Iceski’s flow as he brings his relentless rhyming yet again and he seems to rip any type of track he’s on with ballistic ease and there seems to be no 2nd gear for him, it’s go all out or nothing.
As is I wrote at the outset, this is one of UK hip hop’s rarest and most wanted classics and hopefully I’ve given some indication as to why. Iceski is really the star of the show here and thankfully the production, co-MC’s and DJ work aren’t left behind by his amazing skills, instead they add up to make a perfect hardcore hip hop package. It’s a shame that artists like this never had the chance (or inclination?) to release full albums during the glory days of UK hip hop as a full album of material like this from 1991 by TCM would have been something truly incredible. As Safe D said “some people call it wicked, you can call it hardcore”. WORD.
“Systems Overload” is the first track here and it opens with a very applicable spoken sample stating “what they’re getting this time is even harder and heavier and it’s gonna blow their brains out”. The rapid, thundering beats then drop and DJ Halo gets to work instantly cutting up “fuck your system”. We then hear one of the greatest MC’s of all time grab the mic, ie. MC Iceski. He has such a unique voice which actually seems to echo and resonate with every word delivered thanks to what could be double or triple tracking of his voice but it may just be the natural power in his voice and the way it drops, whatever it is I just can’t get enough of it. Delivering a nice contrast to Iceski here is Safe D with a slight ragga touch to his deep tones and the combination of these two is really something special. The dark and dramatic production on this track reminds me of Silver Bullet’s “20 Seconds to Comply” and that is a very, very good thing. As the lyrics here describe, the goal of this song is to make your “Systems Overload” from the sonic speaker smashing barrage of noise and it is most definitely “mission accomplished”. More simply, it’s classic britcore – no more, no less.
“Illegal Procedure” starts off with very much in the vain of PE “Nations of Millions” album (albeit a shorter scaled down version) with TCM taking an excerpt from a live gig of theirs and using it to intro the track. Once the song starts it’s another noisy, hyper britcore assault with cool almost Hendrix sounding electric guitars sitting at some depth beneath the more apparent rapid beats. Iceski is rapping at top speed on this one and is impressive as always and he also shares mic duties with another MC on this track, this time it’s CMD instead of Safe D. I quite like the roughness and fast pace to CMD’s flow and after they get a verse each, the 3rd verse sees CMD and Iceski put on a great display of my much loved line for line, back and forth, mic passing. There’s also some stunning DJ skills on show here again from Halo with an especially catchy section where he cuts up the “C to the R to the I M” and also the last minute of the track is an awesome display of DJ prowess.
The very dramatic sounding “Tales from the Wasteland” appears next. It’s has a dramatic, epic intro which starts with ominous sounding violin strings which get boosted after 30 seconds when hard punchy beats kick in which are backed by absolutely tremendous DJ cutting. Iceski then comes into the song with his deliciously raw rhyme style which sits on top of booming breaks with undertones of the dark strings from the intro continuing throughout. Actually I REALLY LOVE the drums on this, they really HIT, attack and wack you right in the chest and listening to them is probably somewhat akin to being in the ring taking fists from Ali in his heyday – the way they hit left, hit right, jab and uppercut is phenomenal and there is nothing in hip hop these days like this. Iceski is pretty much solo here (aside from a brief interjection from one of the other guys) and I don’t even need to mention again that he rides the track superbly!
“Prepare for the Holocaust” closes things out and somewhat accordingly brings a different sound to the table, a sound which can almost be described as “electro reggae” or perhaps “slowed down jungle”. It’s probably not so different for TCM though as they did dabble in this sound from time to time and it’s not a bad thing as I quite dig this style, although structurally it’s a less complex track than others and is my least fav on the EP. No different however is Iceski’s flow as he brings his relentless rhyming yet again and he seems to rip any type of track he’s on with ballistic ease and there seems to be no 2nd gear for him, it’s go all out or nothing.
As is I wrote at the outset, this is one of UK hip hop’s rarest and most wanted classics and hopefully I’ve given some indication as to why. Iceski is really the star of the show here and thankfully the production, co-MC’s and DJ work aren’t left behind by his amazing skills, instead they add up to make a perfect hardcore hip hop package. It’s a shame that artists like this never had the chance (or inclination?) to release full albums during the glory days of UK hip hop as a full album of material like this from 1991 by TCM would have been something truly incredible. As Safe D said “some people call it wicked, you can call it hardcore”. WORD.
Saturday, October 4, 2008
Blue Eyes - Straight from the UK (Buback 1994)
“Straight from the UK” is for the most part a good little EP from sometime Suspekt crew member Blue Eyes.
The title track kicks things off and it might as well be the anthem of golden era UK hip hop as it’s one of the most pro UK hip hop tracks you’re ever likely to hear. The themes are purely support and make genuine UK hip hop, be true to who you are and what you are and stop the fake US, fake gangsta pretentious wack bullshit. Lyrics like “…UK rapper, American speaking, check the profile the UK weakens, overloaded with fake MC’s …” pretty much tell you where Blue Eyes is coming from and he’s pretty pissed at the fakers – and rightly so. Musically it’s a wonderfully rugged gritty track with heavy rough drums and some beautifully slightly muffled screechy horn stabs throughout. Overall the track sits alongside some of the classic Kold Sweat releases with perhaps a slight touch of classic DITC sound to it as well with the horn usage. DJ Prime Suspekt provides some nice turntable work here as always and a nice Blade sample provides a most appropriate chorus. Simply one of the great tracks of the era - musically, lyrically and topically.
“That’s Not Freestyle” is another attack on fakers and this time our main man is calling out MC’s who are pretenders on the freestyle tip. Horns are at the forefront of this track and they sit over a mid-tempo head nodding beat. It’s a great track but I’d cut it back to 3 or 4 minutes after the points are made as the last couple minutes have Blue Eyes nattering on only half audibly and laughing over the instrumental and that does takes away from it a bit.
“Soul Tip” carries on well from the first track carrying similar production values with horns and rough noisy beats although it’s most distinct feature is a lovely hard prominent bassline (one which you’d surely recognise if you’ve been around hip hop since the golden era). Once again Blue Eyes takes shots at wack and weak MC’s and cuts them down with his as always precise eloquent voice, a voice which really stands out due to its clarity. In fact, it’s just occurred to me after all these years that he sounds somewhat like the legendary Blade but there’s something different there too which sets them distinctly apart.
There’s not too much to say about the 2nd half of the EP. There’s an accapella of “That’s Not Freestyle” and the instro for the title track. Last and probably least there is also a rather silly track called “Do the Frank” which is Blue Eyes and some of his buddies laughing, talking shit and carrying on over a goofy circus sounding instrumental. I can really do without comedy interlude nonsense things like this on hip hop releases and I imagine they’d only be enjoyed by those who made them. I hate you Prince Paul or whoever started this skit business!
So there you have it. The first three tracks here are pretty awesome and in fact the first track "Straight from the UK" is worth the price of admission alone. A great thing about this release too is that it is still available online at various places rather cheaply, despite its age and the usual rarity of similar releases from the era.
The title track kicks things off and it might as well be the anthem of golden era UK hip hop as it’s one of the most pro UK hip hop tracks you’re ever likely to hear. The themes are purely support and make genuine UK hip hop, be true to who you are and what you are and stop the fake US, fake gangsta pretentious wack bullshit. Lyrics like “…UK rapper, American speaking, check the profile the UK weakens, overloaded with fake MC’s …” pretty much tell you where Blue Eyes is coming from and he’s pretty pissed at the fakers – and rightly so. Musically it’s a wonderfully rugged gritty track with heavy rough drums and some beautifully slightly muffled screechy horn stabs throughout. Overall the track sits alongside some of the classic Kold Sweat releases with perhaps a slight touch of classic DITC sound to it as well with the horn usage. DJ Prime Suspekt provides some nice turntable work here as always and a nice Blade sample provides a most appropriate chorus. Simply one of the great tracks of the era - musically, lyrically and topically.
“That’s Not Freestyle” is another attack on fakers and this time our main man is calling out MC’s who are pretenders on the freestyle tip. Horns are at the forefront of this track and they sit over a mid-tempo head nodding beat. It’s a great track but I’d cut it back to 3 or 4 minutes after the points are made as the last couple minutes have Blue Eyes nattering on only half audibly and laughing over the instrumental and that does takes away from it a bit.
“Soul Tip” carries on well from the first track carrying similar production values with horns and rough noisy beats although it’s most distinct feature is a lovely hard prominent bassline (one which you’d surely recognise if you’ve been around hip hop since the golden era). Once again Blue Eyes takes shots at wack and weak MC’s and cuts them down with his as always precise eloquent voice, a voice which really stands out due to its clarity. In fact, it’s just occurred to me after all these years that he sounds somewhat like the legendary Blade but there’s something different there too which sets them distinctly apart.
There’s not too much to say about the 2nd half of the EP. There’s an accapella of “That’s Not Freestyle” and the instro for the title track. Last and probably least there is also a rather silly track called “Do the Frank” which is Blue Eyes and some of his buddies laughing, talking shit and carrying on over a goofy circus sounding instrumental. I can really do without comedy interlude nonsense things like this on hip hop releases and I imagine they’d only be enjoyed by those who made them. I hate you Prince Paul or whoever started this skit business!
So there you have it. The first three tracks here are pretty awesome and in fact the first track "Straight from the UK" is worth the price of admission alone. A great thing about this release too is that it is still available online at various places rather cheaply, despite its age and the usual rarity of similar releases from the era.
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