February Round Up.....Akala, William Shakespeare, Caxton Press, Kasha Rae, Ed Sheeran, plus Boiler Room Fresh Sesh Underground Hip Hop Cypher...What more could you want!?

February has definitely lived up to its creative potential after the bleak wasteland of January this year; I was very excited to see that London's very own Akala has got himself a well deserved spot on acclaimed acedemic and intellectual lecture circuit run by TED.com. As a fan of Akala's raw, honest and intelligent music, it was great to hear him make some very interesting comparrisions and observations in relation to the works of fellow bard, William Shakespeare.



Caxton Press have been creating no small buzz for themselves on the London hip hop and wider music scene. A collective formed by extremely talented lyracists, this new video showcases thier positive and inventive styles....try to catch them live at a venue near you soon too.


I caught the then plain Kasha down at Nottinghill Arts Club at a very momorable gig. Although his tracks were extremely danceable there was a real passion for rocking the mic, lyracism and an empathetic flair so it's great to see his ground work starting to show dividends with this video alongside Brit smasher Ed Sheeran.


Long time Fat Gold Chain and Vocalswords affiliate Lozza deserves some major props for getting a bunch of talented emcees from the London underground scene together under one roof for some cypher action. A big shout to the Boiler Room crew for holding it down on the video shoot front, was a lot of fun. Enjoy!

Kasha - Black Rhyme Debut Video

Been hearing tracks by this cat round and about for a while; loving the smooth type flows and concious lyricism....get this ish on radio 1!! He's doing a show at Notting Hill Arts Club tommorow for all you London heads, check more info on Kasha here

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!

Kasha - Hustling

A bit of fresh UK sound for your ears, Kasha addresses the hustling theme with a real melodic guitar led track contemplating the struggles of making a life out of music rather than heading down a more nafarious route. The musicality of this release oozes quality and heralds a strong upcoming talent. Get 'Hustling' here, taken from his new album The Oracle.