That UK business... New Stylah,Task Force and Skinny Man plus new Mowgli video

After listening to Westwood on 1xtra (I was doing the washing up) reading out the BET list of greatest Hip Hop stars of the last decade I was left with a dissapointing feeling of hollowness in my guts....the list read like some sort of blinged out thuggy autotune crooning jizz fest; even Jay Z wasnt included. However after racking my brains I realised that the list was actually a reasonably fair representation of 'Mainstream' hip hop. Goddamn shame but there it is...and have now just found out that the Canibus man has pulled out of doing his London show due to visa issues....Shiiiiiiit!!

Anyway to cheer myself up I did a bit of Youtube surfing and was rewarded with the UK Hip Hop documentary posted below (Check the first one, then find the consecutive ones up to 10, worth checking all out) Chester P and Farma G dropping some serious science, insights and important reflections on the state of the game, including a break down of their own respective acronyms for you hip hop factophiles.


After watching this I have been re-motivated on my hip hop grizzly and so present some of the other little gems that have found their way to Vocalswords Towers...

Mowgli's incredible '93' album has been rightly lauded by critics and is indeed a fine epic of cerebral, intricate hip hop for those with a pallete inclined to enjoy in depth lyracism. An unknown US fan has created the following video which sets off the tunes ambiguously warped storyline perfectly. Various claims as to the origin of the visuals but its for promo use only and works a treat; more info at www.mowglihiphop.com...enjoy!


For a slightly different perspective, check Charlie Sloth getting upset by people shouting 'Par' at him on the golf course on his 1xtra hip hop show...joker with some banging tunes on rotation. Some pretty raw stuff keeps the show pumpin; Sloth's shouty style and constant glass smash sounds might get a bit too hectic at times, some of the tunes are just that little bit too retardedly gangsta and a couple o' shots of more uplifting ish wouldn't go amiss, however the boy knows and loves his stuff so its worth checking as the BBC's last bastion of some form of underground lyracism....

Nuff Beeb talk anyway, until they put some words in for this man and this first single off his latest project 'Treading Water"; incredible video! Big up www.grimedaily.com for this one!


Extra treats and leaks...Soul Khan ft Akie Bermiss tearing it up http://usershare.net/q66y3b9jh01k look out for video coming soon...

Krate Krusaders - Free Download

If top notch production, gritty heart felt lyrics and mad concepts is your thing get your media players tuned into the Krate Krusadas 'Volume 1' selection, a great showcase of their considerable talents proving a sound board for some of the cream of UK talent.

Nowadays feat Ahmas reflects on the dismal situations of many of the UKs youth, viewing situations as he's "been there 24/7 like kids in care." A beautiful beat with slick piano and subtle background vocals complement the emcee for a very enjoyable tune despite the raw, bleak verses.

Pscience ft Clarity, Farma G and Cappo features a great academic intro that puts us in the mindframe for the oncoming verbal assault. All 3 emcees smash the track but when Cappo says his flow is developed in a hyperbolic time chamber in a pitch black cell, you can't help but believe him. On 'Life's a grind' Fenetik informs us he stays high like a giraffs sternum, and the hip hop loving metaphores keep coming over a nice floppy piano loop interspersed with some wicked cuts.

Concept tunes don't always float my boat but Saga Sphinks's dive into insanity is well worth analysis...taking pictures of tourists, I'm a figment of my own imagination, my mind's got a mind of it's own...give you a taste of the nicely documented of the mania over a simple piano driven track reminiscent of classic Marly Marl.

The whole set is packed with gems that need to be chewed on and digested, so I won't go on, form your own opinions although gotta particularly big up the monumentally ironic greatness of 'Respect your Elders'with Remus and of course The Krusaders themselves truly show their mettle with a wicked wicked MPC set. Check it and enjoy.

Also check www.tkkhiphop.blogspot.com for the Krate Krusader's blog, including info on Akil the emcees world tour dates that they are managing...big tings I can testify to the show in Ipswich was heeaaavvyy!

Behind the Beat

Just copped this lovingly created photo book by Raph, documenting the home studios of some of the Hip Hop elite's home studios. Some great shots of the cribs and equipment of some of the best, and is worth a look (check ya local library folks!) just to see the Beano covered walls of Farma G's setup. Also you get a dope Limited Edition Mix CD with some heavy cuts of remixed bangers.

Ramson Badbones deserving the hype non lyrical fools!

Right Here Right now...one of the heaviest spitting talents to grip mic for a long time coupled with the late great J Dilla's finest beats, absolutely no excuses to get this downloaded and bumped right now. Also look out for his new mixtape and anything else you can get ya grubby little hands on. Props once again to Aiden for heads up on this.