Blade - The Lion Goes From Strength to Strength (691 Influential - 1993)

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.