P Money – Money Over Everyone – Review !

Back in July, I made a bet. I  promised that “Money Over Everyone” would be this year’s best CD. A stupid bet in hindsight, because you never know what’s coming out afterwards. But for now, we’ll say I’ve won the bet.

The angry intro sets an expected tone for the CD, transferred over into “Single Words”, a tune with a powerful hook and improved production input from Mastermind. An explosive ending to that song is made to look puny put next to “Left The Room” . Dubstepping genius Sukh Knight’s mind blowing production is backed up forcefully by P’s repetitive but effective rhymes. Up and coming producer Royal-T has done a lot of late and his two productions on this CD are fantastic. The 1st of those is “1 Up” which is essentially, a father Christmas sized bag of HYPE. The 2nd tune is far from as hyped, “Danger” features top vocalist Craigg and his vocals go well with P’s smooth flow.

For untold amounts of grime fans, a collaboration between P Money, Wiley & Frisco would be gold. “Cash In My Pocket” remix brings the 3 artists together, keeping Wiley’s original verse, with the added flare of Frisco and the witty lines from P.

For those listeners who love a good concept then sink your teeth into “Fruits and Veg” (see what I did there..no ?).  It works well as a theme but is scarred by previous tunes P has done of similar theme (Grime Dictionary, Sounds and Gimmicks). “Hot Ones” is an interesting concept as well, Little Dee and Blacks feature on the tune, where each MC takes turns to spit each others lines. It’s one of the CD’s strongest tunes conducted over Silencer’s “Hotheads”.

The gritty, intense and rather sinister tunes you normally hear from P aren’t far from reach, “Cool Safe” provides features from Drifter and Lady Leshurr, who both rip the track to pieces. Of course it’s the main man that shines, and he continues the greeze through tunes such as “If Mans Talking”, “Or What” and the speaker tearing “Man Wanna Know”.

The wide range of topics and concepts is taken to a deeper level with the brilliant “Don’t Understand” featuring musical chum Little Dee. “Crazy” fits perfectly into the sub-genre “Rhythm and Grime”, whilst the real hardcore grime fans would be appreciative of “Gameover” and “Nobody” with there real grimey bass sound (production from Maniac and Dreamer, respectively.)

In conclusion, this CD is fantastic, sprinting miles ahead of the majority of CD’s this year. Many liked P Money Is Power yet doubted it’s strength in productions, but that complaint is pretty laughable on this CD. Best CD of this year ??

YES.

Now Get Your Wallet Out !!

Uptown Records (Recommended) – UK Record Shop – HMV – Avalanche Music Hut - Boomkat – Play.com – Rhythm Division – Amazon

About P Money

Myspace – Facebook – Grime Forum Interview – Discography

Another Year…Another Fuck Grime Message From The MOBO’s…..

Dear oh bloddy dear. They just don’t learn do they. I gues the MOBO’s just HATE Grime.

BEST UK ACT
Alesha Dixon
Bashy
Beverly Knight
Chipmunk
Dizzee Rascal
DJ Ironik
Donae’o
Mr. Hudson
N-Dubz
Tinchy Stryder

Tinchy must deserve this one surely ? If the voters really were real musical fans, they’d appreciate the fact that the boy from bow has managed to grab himself 3 top 10 singles (2 of which at number 1), a number two album whilst still maintaing a respectable image amongst proper grime fans. I’d like to see Bashy win something as well, Catch Me If You Can wasn’t a bad album and deserves some sort of recognition (check my review here). Does Chipmunk desrve it ? Nope. (Cue to AKA watching chav “Oh your jus a hater”). I look at the potential the kid once had, back in the days of Bless Beats and Manaic productions, and then I look at Chip Diddy Chip. Such a shame.

BEST HIP HOP ACT
Chipmunk
Dizzee Rascal
Drake
Eminem
Kanye West

A kick in the teeth for not grime as such, but UK music as a whole. America has enough award cermemony’s of their own, why the fuck are they trying to take ours now ?!!? Eminem’s album was a pile of crap anyways (Review here). Bashy deserves this category more than probably anyone I can think of right now.

BEST DJ
Manny Norte
Masterstepz
Mistajam
Ras Kwame
Rickie & Melvin
Sarah Love
Semtex
Shortee Blitz
Steve Sutherland
DJ Target
Tim Westwood
Trevor Nelson

This is just disgusting. Where’s Logan Sama ????? Maybe they were annoyed about his own comments on the awards, but for goodness sake, just ARGHH. Still, at least Target & Westwood are there, watch out for Aim High Volume 4 arriving October 14th.

But anyways, to the point I’m trying to make, the MOBO organisers have always maintained that their target is to promote and push forward black music, so tell me where above, do you see grime. Grime is now apart of our society, whether it be a kid blasting it out of his phone at the back of a bus in Newham or in the daily tabloids (shouts to the more than ever patronising Sun newspaper and their “Braaappp Pack). Up above where’s Wiley ? Where’s Skepta ? In all honesty, where’s J2K oe the Newham Generals ? So this is just my chance to say well done, and give my round of applause to the organiser’s of the MOBO’s for sucessfully cocking it up for another year ! Woii.

Frankie.

“They Don’t Stalk Their Kids But They Stalk Ours”

First things first. I’m not writing this as a kid from South East London. I am writing as the honest grime buying fan who has walked into the HMV in Charlton, to purchase a CD. So all accusations of bias, cleared up there. Looking back at my reviews, they’re not really balanced, they are either negative or positive. So in advance, the latter applies here.

The CD is opened with a soft Flukes production, for an intro it’s quite strong and sets a good tone for the rest of the CD. Next up we have “Electric Love” featuring self-proclaimed godfather Wiley. The two names on paper show Dee’s journey in the scene, two years ago he was on Wiley’s hits. Now it’s the other way around, and this Rude Kid gem is backed up by witty lines and a catchy Eskiboy chorus. A video should be coming soon, but for now onto “Deep Blue Sea”. DJ’s have been battering this one for a matter of months now, Dee keeps his flow going strong with a showcase of familiar rhymes and yet another catchy chorus.

The other day, Dee told Grimeforum that this CD was more versatile then his previous work. This is demonstrated perfectly by “Funny World”. It’s more rap then grime, but it sounds good. Target’s production allows both Littles and long time musician friend P Money to flow brilliantly.

“I ain’t got the time on my chest, I ain’t Flava Flav”.

“Should Of Known” really is a banger. Foot’s production is intense enough to allow Dee to get his angry message across. I have my own thoughts on who the song is about, as will everyone else, but for now let’s embark on what we have. “Don’t Understand” is one of my favourite tunes at the moment. A joint venture, again between Dee and P Money.

Dot Rottens production is good. Very good. The tune is an insight into the lives of both MC’s:

“Ca we’re proud to look at the stars above South East London and see our names in it“

“Skit” does what it says on the tin. An excerpt from Guy Ritchie’s “Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels” if memory serves correct. Not many CD’s are perfect these days, and “Numbers” starts a 3-tune string of songs that really shouldn’t have been used. Futureboy has probably the most annoying voice I’ve heard, and Slic Vic’s beat is just a complete jar. “Numbers” over and over again makes me want to empty the nurofen opposite, and I assumed Little Dee had ditched them 2007 bars. “There For You” introduces us to Ruby, who has a simply amazing voice. Littles actually isn’t bad either, I’m just really not feeling the whole thing together, the prodcution’s just too slow and the songs boring.

“Missed Calls” just isn’t getting played really. Most Wanted is one of my favourite producers these days (See: Jammer – Figures and co-incidently Little Dee – Deep Blue Sea) but the prodcution here is just awful. An attempt to make something up-beat just doesn’t go well with Dee’s flow here. The chorus semi-saves it, but overall the tune really shouldn’t have been on this CD. After that 3-tune blitz, the CD’s in need of a ressurection and “Talking” steps up to the challenge. Another Dee-Money collaboration is fantastic, both do well on Maniac’s classic production. “Passing Thru” is an OG’s group effort.

Minus Dot Rotten unfortunatly.

Every MC smashes up SNK’s beat, Black’s pretty much destroys it. The man in question done well with some witty lines, and if you’re looking for more of such bars, “Hummer Freestye” is for you. One of my favourite versions of Danny Weed’s hummer series, with some jabs at Dot Rotten in there. But now for one of the CD’s best songs. I do think this may be my own favourite, “Where I’m Coming From”. Hand’s prodcution is fantastic, this tune is almost anthem like… I’m feeling this A LOT. Of course that tune being labelled as my favourite was a hard choice after then hearing “Millionaire”. Only back in may Littles proclaimed that producer Slic Vic was a cannon, and for this one he certainly is. The tune is quite frankly a masterpiece, and I’m comfortable to play it anywhere.

“Say Something I Don’t Like” is a real banger from O.T producer Shotz, and also has P Money and Blacks on vocals. I can’t lie. Made me want to kick my trainers across the room, Alex Ferguson style. To finsih off affairs we have Dee’s freestyle over DaVinche’s “Rider”. It’s my favourite version to be released, think of it as a sort of summary.

So there we have it. That was a very good CD. A clear improvement has been made since 2007’s “Don’t Let The Name Trick You” with better rhymes, a more perfected flow, and a much better professional feel. Let down slightly perhaps by the strength of some productions, but made up for by tunes such as “Once In A Blue”, “Where I’m Coming From” and “Millionaire”. I don’t do ratings anymore, as one persons opinion can’t be used in a parameter of numbers. Just know this CD is good, in fact, Outstanding.

Big up Matt B of BNTL for the pictures, buy the mixtape from these places:

HMV – Uptown Records - UK Recordshop - Hard To Find Records – Avalanche Music Hut – Rhythm Division.

All details including Production Credits and Artwork can be found at Grimepedia.co.uk

Lee Brasco – Drastic Measures Vol.2 – Review

1st things 1st, I wanna apoligise to Brasco himself for taking extra-ordinarily long with this review. Now, all negativity aside let’s get on and review Brasco’s latest free promo: Drastic Measures Vol.2.

Volume 1 Of The 'Drastic Measures' Saga

Volume 1 of this series was actually quite good as well, ‘Shower Kids’ & ‘Garage DVD’s’ being the highlights there.

So what’s up with the latest installment you wonder ?

The proceedings start with ‘Maximum Profit’, a tune where Dirty Danger’s production is met halfway with Brasco’s rather catchy chorus, and a smooth flow. The 3rd verse is actually f’d ! Next up we have yet another version of Danny Weed’s popular ‘Activity Riddim’. Brasco’s is quite good, with a beat like this you have to find somewhere to impress and there are some stand out lines:

“I’m on N Dubz activity / better not waste my time /no / liberty “

“I got a girl but she’s nuttin like Billie Jean / I ain’t scared Mike Jack can’t thriller me“

‘Not Like You’ is the obligatory catchy chorus tune. Simple tune really, Brasco done well, flow moves nicely. The promo’s going well, until we stumble onto ‘Sky’. An attempt to Rap from Brasco did not go down well, and the production really is annoying. ‘We Don’t Roll’ is one of my favorites. It’s a slightly more hard hitting tune than what we’re used to from Brasco, but this one is defiantly a banger. The flow smashes up the dirty production, with some hard lines in there.

‘Paranoid’ is on a complete different direction from the previous two tunes. Brasco holds up quite well on the beat, my friend described it as “one of them new grime sub-genres: Rhythm and Grime”. The tune is good, and so is the singer on the chorus. Continuing with different sounds we have ‘Extra’. It’s explosive beat sounds quite Rock influenced and it works wonderfully with Brasco’s flow.

Next up we’ve got ‘Rider Rally’, a version of Davinche’s popular ‘Rider’ beat. Brasco’s one is quite good, some funny and clever lines in there and the “Errgh” noises towards the end of the song prompted a frankly un-needed feud with South London MC M.I.K, who claimed the “Errgh” noise was his, all of which overshadowing a nice song.’Wanna Blow’ appears like another attempt to Rap but this time Brasco manages to pull it of. The production is good, and this tune is actually F’d up !

Wrapping up proceedings we have ‘This Way’ ft Dirty Dangerous. It’s a deep tune, the chorus backs that up, the production is slow and hard ! Dirty’s feature is good, but he doesn’t upstage Brasco, who holds up well.

So with all that wrapped up, what we have here is a great promo. Clever, catchy and original music all in one little promo !! I’m gonna go the whole 9 yards and say that this little project embarrasses certain released CD’s this year. Them important statistics:

Originality: 8/10

Lyrics: 8/10

Productions: 6/10

Overall: 22/30.

3 Out Of 5 Mic Ratings !! A good little project, let down slightly by some of the prodcutions, but for a FREE promo, fantastic !

Download at these links

http://www.zshare.net/download/62041346e6b67fad/

http://www.mediafire.com/?tujmcjmmwyw

Peace

J2K – Wake Up EP – Review

Are you sleeping ?

This isn’t going to be one of my longer reviews. Detailed yeah, but not long. Let me start by letting you know, that the version I bought is from iTunes. So I will have this tracklisting:

1. Wake up
2. Landlords ft. Flowdan and Manga
3. Danger
4. Lights, Camera, Action
5. Talk Of The Town Ft. Frisco and Jammer
6. Big Brother
7. Vacation Things
8. We Do Ft. Tex and Alex Mills
9. Xtra (Bonus – iTunes)
10. Kick Off Da Hinges (Bonus – iTunes)

So if you want the extra tracks head to iTunes or Amazon Mp3.

I’m gonna kick things off by complementing the artwork. It’s simple yet stylishly effective.

“Wake Up” opens the EP with a bang. An alarm clock leads up to J2K’s frankly superb flow. The production is also quality, complements J2K’s flow nicely. Much the same for “Landlords”.

J2K is rather unfortunatly overshadowed on his own track here. Manga completely destroyed it. Flow Dan’s verse was OK but the tune was ruined by the strange 2-part like chorus. “Danger” is a fantastic track. I played it several times, in a non-corny type of way, it’s almost a “James Bond” sounding type of track. (E-Mail me if you can’t get to grips with that description). The chorus is nice and smooth with the “Danger, Dangerrr” samples.

“Lights, Camera, Action” starts with a rather disturbing “Ooo-Ooo” noise but once J2K’s flowing again that’s all forgotten. In the 2nd and 3rd verses the flow is banana’s !! The beat could’ve been better but it still blends well. “Talk Of The Town” has been battered by Logan Sama so I knew what to expect. Frisc’s feature is good, but I’m yet to be convinced by Jammer’s input. But it’s the man himself who shines. The cool, smooth flow is a lot !

“Big Brother” is another banger ! I like the chorus a lot on this one actually, very catchy. I keep banging on about the flow but holy shit, wow. The bars are actually good on this EP as well.

“It’s a par though / more cameras up in here than a pornstar’s asshole”.

“Vacation Things” has the potential to be a great song but the production just really doesn’t catch the vibe. Maybe I caught the wrong vibe altogether. Just not feeling it anyways, the hook’s a bit of a jar as well. Shame as I was struggling to find many flaws so far. “We Do” darkens the mood even more. There’s something cruely sinister abut it, but it’s good, mind. A welcomed return for Tex (Formelly Vortex) he does well and Alex Mills’ vocals add that extra dark touch, J2K done well here.

*Bonus Tracks*

“Xtra” is a good song with a simple starting beat butit deepens later on and allows both J2K and Managa to bury it. “Kick Of Da Hinges” was good, it could’ve worked on the EP itself rather than the just digital option.

I didn’t detail on the bonuses too much ‘cos not everyone has them. Overall, I liked this EP alot. Earlier in the day I was insisting a 5/5 rating, but after a few listens back, It’s fair to say that the production let’s it down at points .

FINAL RATING

Originality: 8/10

Lyris: 8/10

Productions 6/10

Total 22/30

4 OUT OF 5 MIC RATING !! STILL IMPRESSIVE.

BUY HERE

http://www.play.com/Music/CD/4-/9593…p/Product.html

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Wake-Up-J2K/…7480389&sr=8-2

http://www.ukrecordshop.com/item/j2k-wake-up.html

I Listen To NEW AGE G.R.I.M.E

Do You Know About NEW AGE GRIME ?

It’s already been a good year for DJ’s and aspring MC’s, with a ton of instrumental CD’s and vinyl being released frequently throughout the year so far. But for many, including myself, this is the one we’ve all been waiting for. But is it going to live up to all the hype, like the promos and mixes have rather teased.

We start of with the familiar sounding intro of “Ugly”, vocally used by Tinchy Stryder (with Delusion and Roachee on different versions). It sounds good, almost fresh, my headphones allow the bass to deafen me before we move on to “Slap In The Face”. It’s not as bass heavy as “Ugly” but the epic hook flows nicely. I wasn’t overwhelmed by “Wobbly” nor “Ouch”, I’m surely forgiven for saying they sound a bit more dubstep-ish and headache giving.

“G.R.I.M.E” comes out as the strongest beat so far, with an almost out-of-this-world sci-fi style sound, and a beat you’d certainly feel comfortable bopping your head to. “Captain” strikes me as another hot beat, the explosive epic-like hook is fantastic listening, it’s rare I find an instrumental that takes you on a journey.

“Boiler” is a different level. It’s fast, dark and very much grimey. I could go further, but calling a beat “the scum of the earth” is ludicrous. Right ? That 6th gear continues on with “Gunslap”, and “Evil Dead” takes you to a dark little room, with padded walls and safety double-sided mirrors.

I’m starting to sound a bit weird, but believe me, this CD captures an emotion that not even the best of the world Physcologists could explain. That continues with “Skeng’d Out”. It sounds a little to “samey” as some of the previous beats, but it’s cold, and not in a britsh winter’s way. “Grinding” becomes very repetitive and boring yet maintains an impacting hook, very very much like “Oxygen”, or Chipmunk’s “Muhammed Ali”.

“Headshot” is one hell of a beat. Skepta’s “Go On Then” & “What Dya Mean” are sampled throughout and with the background sirens and jingles the beat is complete. Recently vocalled by Ghetts and Brutal, but to be fair, sounds better on it’s own. To finish off, we have “Thug”. It’s a highly addictive beat, very bassy and almost dubstep like. Tinchy Stryders vocal doesn’t compare to the beat alone, this has been sublime listening,

SO there you have it. 14 beats, from one of the grime scenes most recognised and celebrated producers, despite his un-foreseen absence from the scene at the moment. And, to be brutally honest, I’m going to run naked in the rain and say this has been the best to come from the instrumental market so far this year. Nocturnal is the only producer to perhaps scratch this monstrosity of beats and bass. Hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I did writing it , Frankie. (P.S apparently, the description of “like a PIMP cockslapping a virgin in the face” was dis-tasteful.)

A rating ? Hmm…4.5/5. (Shouts to JJ for putting the CD together and distributing it).

Buy from these places

UK Record Shop

Play.com (Hard Copy)

Play.com (MP3 Download)

Boomkat Digital (They have this as Funky, this ain’t Funky)

*Manaic Discography*

• Stryder Vs Maniac
• Earth 616 “Saltfish E.P”

“My Whole Borough’s Got My Back, ‘Ca I’m The Best Thing Out Of Lewisham Since Ian Wright”

If you havn’t heard ANY vocalled versions of Davinche’s “Rider” beat yet, then you must’ve been living in an igloo. In deep, deep Antartica. The beat has had tons and tons of vocals,  not all of which made the offcial mixtape (Unlucky Maxwell), however the ones that did have done more than impress me. Here’s a quick bit on each:

Version Featuring Keedo, Ghetts, JME & Steelo. Well this was the very 1st version we heard and it’s been stuck in my head for a long time. Keedo’s snappy flow, Ghetts eternally clever lyrics and catchy beat riding both combine well with Steelo’s all so smooth and gentle hook. Wasn’t feeling JME too much, the bars were a little less hyped then the ones we previously heard.

Version Feauturing Wiley. Another example of why Eskiboy sits on that throne. Catchy bars, catchy flow, he absolutly smashes this one. You heard this one as the intro on “See Clear Now” with bars like “Mic wars I’ll never retreat one, You see one you’ll never defeat one” & “So cold, after me the heat’s done”. Not the CD’s best, but a contender all the same.

Version Feauturing Tinchy Stryder. Proves why Tinchy is one of the scenes most promising MC’s, providing he doesn’t leave Grime to choke on the dust. Nigh-on perfect timing and a catchy chorus. Best version at this stage.

Version Featuring Tinie Tempah. I’ve never really been imprseed by Tinie, with the exception of songs “Tears” & “South East Of The Thames” (co-incdently produced by Davinche also) and I wasn’t over impressed by this either. A very, very irritating hook ruins something that started promisingly.

Version Featuring Skepta. Despite the fantastic flow and bars from the self proclaimed champion, the Tim Westwood show rip consits of gaps and mixed out words. You don’t get to experience the full potential. If this had been a studio song, it would’ve worked a whole lot better. At this point Tinchy’s still winning.

Version Featuring Clea & Bashy (Riding For Love). Clea’s beautiful vocals flow easy on the listener and it’s all going well until Bashy gets on the mic and starts making silly noises, over emphasizing the end of every rhyme. Clea does manage to recover it towards the end with the hook and her smooth but powerful voice.

Version Featuring Ny. Ny has a truly beautiful voice and is showcased wonderfully on this song.I loved the bit at 1:00 when the song just stops and starts again with Ny banging out a wonderful song.

Version Feauturing Little Dee. The best on the CD, no doubt. The whole flow just makes love with the beat (yes no homo or whatever) and shows how much Little Dee has improved in every department (see earlier bracketd comment). The flow, the content and the general sound. I love the way during certain parts of the song it’s stoppped and sound effects play e.g during the “Ian Wright” bit the crowd cheers in the background. Definatly a tune I’ll be rinsing daily. So many different parts I could just grab and go “look, there, that’s the best part .”

Version Featuring Keedo. I did like this version also, the auto-tune hook did sound frightfully worng however. Keedo does need to make music a lot more and if this is anything to go by then let’s pray.

Version Featuring Wretch 32. The best behind Little Dee’s. Wrecth yet again proving why he’s in a lot of people’s top 3 or top 5, and in almost everyone’s top 10. A very clever man providing pherhaps the most “technical” version.

Version Featuring Big Rem. Not feeling this one really. It all sounded very clashy, the timing was off a lot and I say that only because it was so noticeable. The hook couldn’t save it neither, Rem choosing a Nigerian accent which doesn’t accompany the tune very well at all.

So there you have it. Not entirely perfect, but defiantly a nice mixtape. We need to see more production-specific CD’s in grime, I’d love to see one done for all of Danny Weeds “Activity” vocals. Davinche has done himself proud with this, I am defiantly looking forward to his album “Open Minded”.

Purchase the mixtape from UK Record Shop.

“I Told You We Should’ve Linked Them Ministry Links”

We’re edging closesr and closer to the 1st of June, when Grime’s very own Rumble In The Jungle takes place between Wiley and Skepta. The most hardcore of Grime fans would’ve pre-ordered there copies of Race Against Time & Microphone Champion already and would have no doubtly notcied their is one tune in common on both albums: Too Many Man. It’s been available digitally for a short while now, however all you CD collectors can finally get your hands on it ! I like the tune a lot, it just instantly gives off that “skanking” vibe and makes you want to jump all around the gaffe. Frisco absolutely buries his part, you can catch that live performance here. Also, the single contains Skepta’s “Sticks & Stones”, the extremely catchy tune from “Microphone Champion”.

Buy the single now:

Uk Record Shop (Hard Copy CD)

Play.com (Digital)

iTunes

More Info

See Ya!

Saturday Tune Round Up (23/05/2009)

Before I hit you all with a blizzard of seriously overdue reviews, a round up off the weeks music, courtesy of the guys down at Grime Daily !

The collaboration from The Streets Mike Skinner adds an excellent touch to the emotional Giggs tune.

The intro track from Wooly At Heart, with Crayzee Banditt on production. Go and get that mixtape now it’s completely fucked !

Not one of the weeks best tunes but it’s a step up from Chip Diddy Chip I suppose.

Taken from Money Over Everyone, this is the latest to come from P Money. It works well with the Pro2jay prodcution but doesn’t work as well as previous concept tunes i.e Talking To Trainers & The Grime Scene.

Little Dee said on Monday’s Logan Sama show that new producer Slick Vic was a cannon and he wasn’t far wrong. Taken from Once In A Blue this is destined to be a hit !

Also finnaly big up to DJ Score 5 who had his very 1st show on Rinse Fm this week. Download Here. (Warning: contains highly explosive Revolver – Wiley Diss)

So that’s it the best for this weeks Grime & Rap tunes and remmber, let’s keep grime movng !!

GrimeDaily

GrimeForum

GrimePedia

Skepta – Microphone Champion

June 1st !!

01 – Reflecting,
02 – Are You Ready ?
03 – Oh My Gosh
04 – Look Out ft Giggs
05 – Sticks and Stones
06 – Too Many Man ft Boy Better Know
07 – Lush ft Jay Sean
08 – My Emotions
09 – Skepta
10 – Amsterdam Skit
11 – Disguise
12 – Gingerbread Man
13 – Ed Hardy Party ft Tinchy Stryder
14 – Madness ft Dubz and Paper Pablo
15 – Over The Top
16 – Dark ft Trigga

BONUS TRACKS

17 – Sunglasses at Night
18 – Rolex Sweep

I’ve wrote two articles regarding forthcoming albums recently, both of which coming from pillar-artists of the grime scene. So I sense it to be my duty to write about this one as well. Another pinnacle of the Grime scene, Skepta has been in deep from every aspect. Whether it was spinning decks as DJ Off-Key, producing classics like “DTI” & “Private Caller” or trying to hit the mainstream with chart-friendly tunes like “Rolex Sweep” and “Sunglasses At Night”, Skepta’s name has been on everyone’s lips, from North London goons, to writers at the Independent.

The album itself is to be released on the 1st of June, the same day as Wiley’s “Race Against Time” & Bashy’s “Catch Me If You Can”. Initially, I was insistent that Eskiboy’s would be the very 1st I picked up. But after a considerable amount of pondering, combined with potential this CD boasts, I think my mind has been swayed.

One thing that immediatly grabs my attention: the features. Included guests are Jay Sean, Tinchy Stryder, Giggs, Dubz, Paper Pablo & Trigga. Something tells me that versatility will be something this album shouts. Smooth Jay Sean vocals, intense Trigga hooks, hard-hitting deliveries from Giggs and Dubz plus Tinchy & Pablo verses make for intriguing listening, especially on some more “Grimier” beats then what we’ve seen of recent times.

The bonus tracks are a bit of a let down really, nobody wants to hear Rolex Sweep in 2009 and the inclusion of a skit is just a ploy to make the tracklisting look slightly bigger. But all in all, the CD looks to be one of 2009’s most promising so far.

Pre-order here: UK Record Shop

Peace.

Frisco – Back 2 The Lab Vol.3

Big

Big

It’s been a very productive year thus far for the Grime scene, with a catalog of strong releases behind it merely 4 months into the year (See Revolver – Grime’s Son, Desperado – Gryhme Bangers). I have said for a very long while now that “Big Fris” is one of this scene best MC’s and defiantly makes my top 10. This series of mixtapes was interupted last year by the release of “Peng Food” but I think it’s fair to say the mixtape acted more as a showcase for the “Always Recordings” team as opposed to boasting Frisco’s own attirbutes.

That’s why I am most pleased to present the latest addition to the “Back 2 The Lab series”, available now for pre-order. Unlike Volume 2 from the series, we get to see more of Frisco’s production credentials, on tracks such as “Say My Name” and heavily DJ rotated “Ignorant Remix” feauturing south-london outfit Roadside G’s. Support comes from the likes of Jammer, Tempa T, J2K and JME, with fellow Boy Better Know chums Wiley & C Gritz on productive support.

Looking at the tracklist and judging by the previous installments, this is one mixtape not to be missed, on ANY account. Pre Order it now in time for May 4th.If your not too sure on this CD, get down to this:

Official Launch Party

For more details on the launch party check out http://www.grimeforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=24738 && to pre-order your copy of the CD head over to

UK Record Shop or Uptown Records.

Peace.

(Previous Frisco Discography)

• Back 2 The Lab Vol.1
• Back 2 The Lab Vol.2
• Peng Food
• Murder Mixtape Vol.1 & Vol.2

Wiley – Race Against Time

Too simple ? Or just effecitve ?

Waiting for the dust to settle after dropping grime-abandoned album “See Clear Now”, Wiley made the announcement that come the 1st of July, we would be holding in our hands, a very much 99% Grime album. With the exception of Summer anthem “She’s Glowing” of course. So, here be the proposed tracklisitng given to us by play.com

Race Against Time Tracklisting

01. She’s Glowing

02. Livin’ It Up

03. Eyes Of The Lord

04. Hummer Activity Freestyle

05. Off The Radar

06. The Olly

07. I Was Like You

08. Race Against Time

09. Too Many Man

10. Where’s My Brother

11. Out Of The Game

12. Bang

13. Zip It Up (W/ Giggs & Trigger)

14. Average Worker

15. Time Flies By

16. Music I Like

After seeing this, I felt a little stung. Despite not having this CD yet, the effects of being ripped off still lingered amongst me. We have a 16 track album here, 11 of the tracks, I’ve got sitting on my hard drive. A problem, which even the biggest Wiley fan cannot  ignore. “Where’s My Brother”, as much a masterpiece as it is, has been battered by every Dj and listener since it’s emergence in mid 2008. Much like “Out Of The Game”, “Off The Radar” & “Hummer Activity.” Maybe a fault of my own production for playing these tunes on repeat, but, was I at fault for expecting something new from Wiley ? “See Clear Now” did provide something new in the form of different genres, but even then, “Wearing My Rolex”, “Cash In My Pocket” & “Summertime” had quenched most peoples thirst. Am I wrong here ? Are you still looking forward to Race Against Time ? Vote Below or Leave a comment. Peace.

Lee’s edit: I would also like to add, as we all thought this was a grime album as Frankz stated, why on earth is ‘Livin It Up’ on here? The fact he gave it away for free download on his MySpace makes me feel that he should of left that off for sure. I don’t mind the inclusion of Too Many Man, but I definately feel that ‘Livin It Up’ and ‘Shes Glowing’ shouldn’t be on there. At least make it the remix anyways. I also liked that ‘Hello People’ tune he had on MySpace with Kano and Ice Kid. it wasn’t the grimest tune, but was better than some of this other stuff. I hope that this is simply ‘Play’ tryna jump the gun and take a guess.