London Hip Hop Treats from Kotodama, Adventures of...Bernard James and the good Doctor Chima Anya

So much talent, so much energy....all the following artists have this in abundance! Unfortunately it takes a while for me to keep up hence having to smash a whole heap of great content into one little post.....Going to Inner Peace Records nights over the past 18 months or so I getting increasingly amped by the quality, focus and energy of their work....will have to do a full blog post just on them soon but in the meantime enjoy a little live performance from...(X)....and check out the "Glyphs" album from Kotodama (Tang the Pilgrim & (X) which I literally listened to 7 times on repeat when I first got it! One of my favourite tracks (though a difficult task to choose one) Is "Zanshin"(Japanese: 残心) which is is a state of awareness, of relaxed alertness, in Japanese martial arts. A literal translation of is "remaining mind". In several martial arts, refers more narrowly to the body's posture after a technique is executed.

                                         


Next up my fantastic homies from Preciptoman Records Bernard James and Kooper Nut have go their video game on smash for the downtempo banger "Down"....a nice visual representation of thier live style; incredible dance moves and beautiful commaraderie, and accompaniying two great new releases, a remix project of three tracks from thier "Feel Cool Forever" LP by the excellent Flytip,  these really got my headbanging!

Hot of the press! Happy Birthday to Bernard James, he has literally just posted up and a brand new EP reflecting on Family, Friends and Strangers....Enjoy it as I do too!

           

                                



                                

And finally.....Chima Anya & Slone have linked up again (check the above stunning video) and are soon to release thier full album. If you are a London head get down to see Chima performing live and bringing the energy (a taste of which you can see in the little video above, taken when he was performing Biggie's classic Ready to Die  as part of the Re: Imagine Orchestral Project at XOYO the other day (an incredible show by the way, make sure you check it out the next time they are performing!) For more info check the flyer or show love at... http://thegrid.ai/chimaanya/

             

And couldn't leave without a little throwback to Chima's great MC Hammer remix, bringing the pain to politicians 4 years ago....message still supremely relevant!!



          
                                           Check Out Chima in the Papers Too!! 

Stormzy, Brother Ali and Phoenix Da Icefire bringing all angles of Grime & Hiphop together!

In homage to the incredible switch ups I had the pleasure of watching Stormzy perform last night in Brixton, thought I would bring a little contrast to this post...So for starters relax and gaze in wonder at the visuals, dance and atmosphere of this New Brother Ali next level video, then switch gears for some wilding out fire from Phoenix the Icefire who is outhere breaking necks with an incredible heavy Boom Bap banger....and finish off with the absolute banger that is Big For Your Boots! Enjoy

Domineko, Chima Anya and Nas Mixtape

Chima Anya is a creative beast and you can never quite tell what he's going to hit you up with next. Seeing the title of a track "Smoke it, Drink it" I was looking forward to a bit of a mindless banger (Chima is occaisionally capable of these) but had my mind seriously challenged with a hard hitting reflection on the perils of hardcore drug addiction; a topic Chima is well qualified to discuss after working closely with addicts. Well worth a watch, a cartoon sterotype this aint.



Domeniko comes correct with a great mini video for an uplifting and lyrically concious track. This is taken from his new album "Wood Floors" about which he writes "It’s the audio summary of the lessons and bits of inspirations that helped me achieve the long fight of getting back to who I know I want to become as an artist.  I've realized the only person you have to beat is yourself."




And finally, if you happen to be feeling a little nostalgic or just fancy a good blast of Nasty Nas, DJ Reminise has put together a great overview of the legend's progression through life....possibly could have done with a few more early bangers but overall this is well worth a listen....love the intro track as Nas waxes lyrical about going full circle through the medium of Cognac!

Eliza Shaddad premieres with Wonderland Magazine "Waters"

Eliza Shaddad is going to be a big name very soon as her incredible talent, writing skills and work ethic are coming to the fore. She has recently been working and touring with Clean Bandit but her solo material is culminating in a 4 track EP; the lead track 'Waters' is being Premiered by Wonderland Magazine....quickly followed by Vocalswords and hopefully many other blogs and sites! Spread the word :)

Pharoe Monch hosts Brand New Mixtape plus DJ Dister and Mr Composition

If you feel like your lyric tanks is running a bit empty fill up on this hard hitting heavy dose of rap music, a New Years present in the form of a mix tape hosted by Pharoahe brining some of his best tracks alongside a slew of new comers, established artists and more. Bought to us by Tha Advocate this is almost 3 hours of straight up ill hiphop, with a few knowing nods such as the feature of "The Trash Bin" a great little snippet of a more mainstream styled current track getting boo'd off....ah sweet hate helps purity! 

Got a big back log of heat to get through over next few weeks but this banger from Mr Composition smacked me in the face the other day so needed to bang this one out. Grown people lyrics and lovely production, check it!



Wanja from I Still Love H.E.R. consistently hits Vocalswords up with treats and the recent offerings from DJ Dister have got my vertebrae's clicking out of shape. Check the vids then check Dister's latest album, it bangs rediculous.