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.