Showing posts with label UK Hip Hop. Show all posts
Showing posts with label UK Hip Hop. Show all posts

Friday, September 04, 2015

Great new music from Stig of the Dump, Jehst, Ackurate & Divine Suns

What an absolute stormer! I say that even though the track is relatively laid back tempo and beat wise but the precision of wordplay of Stig and infectious hook from Jehst make this a paradoxically hypnotic yet lyrically super satisfying tour de force. I've played this on repeat many times without the video and it's an absolute banger. Watching the video almost makes it too incredible; the attention to detail and incredible homage to Stanley Kubrick deserves serious respect and attention. Stig's interpretations of leading characters whilst still delivering parts of himself through his bars is very impressive; and the surreal glimpses of Jehst depicting iconic scenes from Kubrick's work makes the whole video a proper classic.



This track should be an absolute classic. It suffers slightly from a lack of consistent engineering and though the beat is hella dope it should be slamming in harder. Aside these criticisms this really shows hiphop in it's most incredibly positive social light; some ill spitting helps deliver a profound message of solidarity and hope whilst gently calling out some of the more mainstream artist who are "ignorant to civil rights like it aint they fight". The incorporation of many people and generations in the video help cement this as a great focal point for positive, collaborative and hopeful music.




Ackurate's new joint describes him as a "Soul Misfit" but in reality the precision of beats and points of view he expresses should have him fitting well into the ears of those appreciative of intelligent and progressive hiphop. No surprise his work is tagged with "90's" and "Underground" on his Bandcamp page; it is indeed a strange state affairs that such non-mainstream tags still need to be applied to what is in fact great quality music that, in the humble opinion of Vocalswords, should actually be getting that big ol' mainstream spotlight. Highlights include The Excursion giving a nice intro to the poetically inspired styles of Ackurate and his world view while 'Vibes' produced by Capo is a smoothly rolling track oozing positivity.









Wednesday, January 07, 2015

Eat Good 2015 Cypher, UK Music Industry Event Plus New Music Out of Washington DC from Gerreddi

Very pleased to hear that Birmingham city will be hosting an event to get the UK rap scene together to develop a more coherent industry. DJ Miss C Brown has put together a lively selection of videos from classic and new UK artists as a showcase for the event on 24th January. Hard to say exactly how a more cohesive scene could be made, especially as music seems increasingly to be seen as something that should be available for free, or at the very least at a much lower monetary value than yesteryear. How successful different approaches can be is up for debate, and especially in rap and hip hop there's inevitably lots of cliques and differences of styles and opinion going on; one set of 'like minds' do not always see eye to eye with another set so will be interesting to see if answers come out of this.....I know Malik from MD7 does a whole heap of work in this area so those attending will be in a privileged position to hear him.




Very fitting that this event is coming to Birmingham, as the ever heavy Brum collective Eat Good have just released this banging cypher featuring RedBeard, Kosyne, Gen Uchiha and representing good Ol' East Anglia new recruit Booda French. Check this out, then head to the Eat Good website for a prime example of a business model built from the ground up with a very clear focus on style and quality product.



Finally, back to the global Inbox and Washington native Gerreddi delivers a track pushing a positive frame of mind in the face of hate and the ills of society, with the "Black Lives Matter" featuring heavily in the video. Not entirely cohesive lyrically I reckon but it stands out from the generice bling trap music that continues to jam up the Vocalswords PO Box.




Thursday, January 16, 2014

Boom Bap Professionals present Benny Diction & Able 8 feat Cappo

Hot off the press, London based label Boom Bap Professionals bring some box fresh heat from UK wordsmith Benny Diction with this the second single taken from his and Aussie producer Able 8's heavyweight album 'Life Moves'....bringing in Punning Clan's Ro Jista and ill Notts Veteran Cappo for the guest verses this is a fresh homegrown treat, prepare to get your noggin nodding!

Wednesday, December 26, 2012

Oliver Sudden - Phenomenal Steaz

Oliver Sudden's realistic humourous and distinctly british yet authentic hiphop styles have been on regular rotation at Vocalswords Towers and recent project 'The Shutdown' with Steady of the Boom Bap Professionals was a mainstay. Latest project Phenomenal Steaz features production from Suddz himself and a slew of other talents, this project is another slice of banging hiphop takes its place on the apple cores....download for free from the generous Cronx Don geez!

Saturday, December 22, 2012

Ro Jista - Still Here

New illness from Ro Jista, lyrical linchpin from those wordplay wunderkind the Punning Clan; this is a triumphal slice of a track sticking two fingers up to those panic mongers predicting the end of the world....obviously Ro is, and still will be here for a long time to come if he is going to continue to bring quality product like this to the table "Like Barak's kids coming outta Michelle"...loads more too for the eagle eared :)

Thursday, November 22, 2012

Kingdom of Fear, Chima Anya and Dee-1 Video Roll

My man Chima Anya drops some brilliant visuals to track 'Astro Thoughts' from brand new album (for more check here)while YNR's Kingdom of Fear go into drunken comic book mode with 'Sir Digny Chicken Caeser' a great take on the gonzo stylings of Hunter S Thompson....both UK videos styalsiticly pushing the boundaries, a very good look for these shores; from over the pond comes slightly more rough and ready new video from New Orleans Dee-1, however (sorry to be all redblooded ladies but) it wins in the smoking hot girl stakes and Dee-1 comes over pretty nicely in the story based track so I've thrown in into this little mid-winter video reel selection. Enjoy!

Tuesday, November 06, 2012

Benny Diction - Over Here

Filmed right in the heart of Vocalswords territory, the man making big moves as part of Punning Clan and Fat Gold Chain, Bennydiction teams up with incredible Aussie beatsmith Able for this party rocker 'Over Here' Benny as always comes mad clever with the lyrics so tune in closely!

Tuesday, December 27, 2011

Bennydiction "Beer Goggles and Rose Tinted Specs" New Video

Check out my brother Bennydiction getting some pretty rough treatment from a series of femme fatales in this heavy new video...the latest track from highly anticipated Long Player 'Hard Graft, Arts & Crafts and Hearty Laughs....I love it and it also get the thumbs up from my girlfriend who rates it as Fantastic! Check it ouuuut!!

Monday, May 02, 2011

Chima Anya 'What Now'

The big man Chima is back with a very impressive video to the stomping track 'What Now'; something to meditate a little on for you all...

Monday, January 24, 2011

Tuesday, May 04, 2010

Solocypher - Wheres My Cash.mp3

Just a quick self promo; check the topical tune and think about it before casting your votes come election day...screws everyone a little bit really but I wanted to put it out there! Let me know what you reckon...safe!

Solocypher - Wheres My Cash.mp3

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

Just in time for the election, Solo poses a few difficult questions for himself, and more importantly for the men attempting to run our country...produced by T.Twigg

See what you reckon, pass it on to those you think might dig it!! :)

Wednesday, February 03, 2010

Chima world domination tactics!

Yes yes the homeboy Chima just dropped this brand new video to me, gotta love it with his trademark swagger and afropick, your mother's favourite rapper makes some crotch grabbing drunk Spaniards famous whilst forgetting what year it is...classic!

Dubbledge & Conspiracy


Props to HHC digital for heads up on the latest freebies...gotta love Dubbledge; a heavy spitter, live performer and thoroughly nice guy who didnt bat an eyelid when my then girlfriend ran up to him and started chatting to him like they were best mates (she thought I knew him previously and got a bit star struck!)anyway here’s a couple of fresh Dubbledge downloads: ‘Choices Choices’ (produced by Ghosttown) and ‘The Trilogy’ (produced by DJ IQ and hosted by Asaviour). Enjoy! and again!

In other general prop giving I've got to give a bit of a bigger mention to Montana and Menace and their incredible friday night live Conspiracy Radio show. These guys play stupidly dope hip hop and manage to get amazing artist interviews with some of the best in the game week in week out. Ive been a bit slack over the last year so I've been downloading some old shows and some of the guys they get on well worth listening to...(even when they arn't that great Montana's acerbic analysis is often entertaining enough)

What I really love about the show is the depth of research and questioning, giving artists not only a chance to promote thier music and explain their artisitc visions, but also to expand on their beliefs, political positions and opinions on current events. From listening to Lowkey and Immortal Technique discuss global politics, Bronze Nazareth and Apathy talking beats and life and Homeboy Sandman on veganism and spirituality the show is a window into a host of interesting lives coupled with some of the dopest hip hop you could expect to hear. Support of artists such as Cappo and Endemic is also great evidence of their efforts to back quality product. Go ituning the podcasts or check them out here.

Sunday, June 21, 2009

Ghostface and what makes a great emcee?


I Was privileged to catch Ghostface Killah live in Auckland, New Zealand the other night and found out how unfit I am after a load of jumping; along with my girlfriend throwing up W's. It was a great show with a lot of love shown from both views of the stage. At one point it made me think as Ghost stated his confusion within rap at the ridiculous proliferation of substance less music from rappers swamping the market with garbage pop rap. Listening to the classic verses and tracks Ghost smashed through in a great show, and his explanation of how a story rhyme might be constructed intricately over a matter of weeks, made me wonder about the exact composition of artists who truly excel in the field of hip hop. Here is my plea for you, if you love hip hop, to help go someway towards answering this question.

What makes a great emcee?

Rappers, emcees and hip hop artists are constantly being judged, analyzed, scandalized, derided, despised and idolized respectively depending on who you speak to. So what makes 'good' hip hop music? For many the negative aspects of hip hop are a major talking point. Why are hip hop lyrics often overwhelmingly violent, misogynist and nihilistic; is this having such a negative impact on society as some claim, or is it, as is often stated in rebuttal, a reflection of a harsh street life and environment that is apparently created around a group or individual by forces out of their control. Either way, does your opinion over such matters then get taken into consideration of the artistic skill of narratives by artists such as Mobb Deep. How does the music and beats affect how a rapper is rated what about the arrangement of hooks, bars, singing, scratches? How do live instruments, a DJ, beat boxers etc influence how heavy an emcee is, live or recorded. And from other artistic perspectives, what sort of categories could be made for the skills involved in rapping and does the 'image' of the particular emcee affect how relevant or artistic the lyrics are? Does the ultra complexity and advanced subject matter of Canibus make him a more intelligent rapper than Rakim? How does KRS One match up to Cannibul Ox, or Roots Manuva to Lil Wayne, Bahamdia to Fiddy Cent, Immortal Technique to Jay Z, Aesop Rock to Scarface, Biggie to Killah Priest or Big L to Eminem. Is Location, Political, Gender, Race or Religion specific rap or sub genres such as 'geek core' rap more or less important when talk of 'keeping it real or true to yourself' in light of many stereotype fulfilling fabricated characters? The debate could go on infedinitely. Hopefully it will, please join the debate add your comments here or on the Vocalswords discussion boards. Cheers!

Friday, January 23, 2009

It's all 10's for 777 "Septimal"

Yo!…Yeah that’s what the feck I said to myself as my head began boppin’ out fresh to this niceness. "Septimal" is one for those lyrical fiends who love nothing else but zoning out to many many syllables and twist up punchlines. Not that this is the extent of 777’s style, its just he’s pretty damn good at it; plus the appearance of Baron Samedi is well welcome early into the set on heavy ‘Swordz’.

Quotables over classic head nod beats come lovely in the ubercynical “The Man” with delicacies such as “God is an evil free speaking beast of a comedy genius” getting the cerebral wired in. ‘Masked’ is a furious chest beater attacking haters, emcees and anyone with any slight doubt as to treb’s status. The deluge of verbal assault does however calm down, and the album benefits greatly from the more reflective cuts of ‘Keep me Awake’ and moving into the brilliant parody of ‘Britain’. Honestly this should replace the national anthem so we can all go foxhunting in a Kappa tops! Justly disgusted, the lampooning strikes a rawer cord describing a scenario of the Home Office explaining to Dr Kelly's kids why their Dad's dead...I'm glad at least someone else hasn't forgotton about that travesty.

Septimal is a solid 17 tracks and is packed full of various styles, features from a who's who of underground UK spitters (Beit Nun, Joe Kobi, Baron Samedi, Redmaster, Esyoube, SonnyJim, Respeck-BA and Labal-S) and a variety of heavy beats from the likes of Zaheer, Bare Beats, Samedi, Redmaster, Esyoube and Wizard. A definitely solid set, make an effort to check for this. http://www.myspace.com/777uk