George the Poet - About It

Big Up SBTV for this one; George the Poet 'goes in' as we rappers say over a great acoustic version of Tupac's 'Thugz Mansion' tune. One hell of a lot of quotable's and ideas in here; find yours.

Mystro Rap Up, Mr Ben ft Serocee,Big Issue Vendors tribute...and Tin Tin

Pretty late with this one; but here it is in all it's glory and for me a good way to improve any tainted memories of 2012; Mys diggy really goes for it on a positive tip with this one so big ups. Some great sounds coming from Mr Ben featuring Serocee on first single from his album. Rising Star is perfectly mellow with a great video, watch out for the album. The year started on a terribly sad note from the city that has been one of my old haunts; Birmingham. Two Big Issue sellers were brutally murdered in two acts of senseless violence. I remember Big Issue vendors in Brum always being particularly chipper and friendly when I was on my early shifts as a student, sandwhich maker and trainee teacher. This tribute song by Ian Hoare was recordered in their memory, may they rest in peace.

..............and finally, Tintin finally breaks down. Alexander King is an excellent graphic designer/animtor/creative badman and had me chuckling when he sent me his take on the classic crime fighting adventurer; enjoy!

New Vast Aire, T-Rocc and Scholarman Music

Vast Aire of Cannibal Ox has been working alongside new rap record lable heavyweights man Bites Dog to release 'A Space Illiad EP' an extension of OX 2010: A Street Odyssey, and from the sounds of 'Royal Purple Bag' it's going to be pretty special. I think when Cannible Ox first smashed craniums in the rap world I was more interested in Ruff Ryders and the big shiny money, power, respect rap so this re-emergence is perfectly timed to be appreciated by generations old and new!

Big shouts to T-Rocc who hooks up with Jammy to produce this wonderful piano led tune 'End of the Day' taken from new EP 'Here Now'; a melancholic track pondering on the struggles of making a mark in the music scene that works well as the beats and rhymes complement each other; hailing from my hometown of Ipswich T-Rocc's accent comes across nicely and makes a refreshing change on the old lugholes...his positive take on hip hop is also good to hear. You can download the EP 'Here Now'...Vocalswords still doesnt have the tech access to check it out yet! (Still broadcasting live from Newington Library in Elephant)Holla @T_RoccBeats on Twitter to show love.

Scholarman kicks off 2013 with a beattape showcasing his production skills with a nice variety of mellow and headnodding beats and styles. 'Euphonious' is available for a limited time for free from Scholarman's Bandcamp.

Farewell 2012...What have we learnt? Skillz, Kendrick Lamar , Lefty and Styxmen

So 2012 is behind us now and as the first days of 13 ripple past we can look back having survived up till now the apocalypse and what looks to be a triple dip recession in the UK...our hatches seem pretty well battened down so bring it on. Last year was apparantly been a bit of a good one for hip hop here and abroad, and although work has kept me fairly well cocooned from it all albums from Ab Soul, the rise of Kendrick Lamar, seeing Hopsin and Crew smash live sets in London has kept alive my hopes of the US scene keeping it rugged and real, meanwhile the unstopable force of LeeN's London Lyracist Lounge has been supercharging the hiphop scene in London, while its been good to see Chima Anya getting some of the shine he deserves (hope you've already checked his masterpiece 'The Doctor's Note'), plus Bennydiction and the Punning Clan steadily making some big moves...all round it has all been pretty positive. Below I'm gonna throw down a few bits and pieces that either tie last year together or give a taste of what is to come in the Twenny One Trey..... Skillz Rap up of 2012...Not feeling the beat at all and as usual can't really catch a lot of the references as they are so US-Centric...however gotta show love as ever, and there are quite a few gems hidden in there...however more importantly eagerly awaiting the Mystro version Man of the year according to many and I couldn't agree more, I'm feeling Kendrick Lamar but seeing as the main exposure is given to him for moaning about bitches killing his vibes and drinking him getting vibes back again or not, I've been more interested in the heavyweight stuff like High Power...tell me this aint dope! Meanwhile back in London Lefty smacked me round the face with this visual feast of a video, with a tight flow and great stage presence at live shows with his crew the Legionarres he's putting in excellent work for hip hop. Plenty more where this came from too, find out yourself or watch this space. A load of Newness from the Christmas Stocking of Gmail has come through recently but I've had no internet at Vocalswords Towers so having to digitise live from the local library.....Thanks to everyone sending submissions for consideration, keep 'em coming to solocypher@gmail.com In the meantime..... Styxmen and Mogul have joined forces with Whitekey for this analysis on War 'Kachina Doll'...I'm really feeling the track but have a feeling the vocals need some sort of sound editing (or I just need to listen harder) either way good stuff, and I've left the link for all of Whitekey's stuff cause the dude has some absolute gems... https://soundcloud.com/rotten-forest