Chima Anya Live, Ryan Turner, Demrick, Armani of York, Mellow Music and Orie Pierre New Hiphop

We kick off this time around with the live video version of "What Now" Chima's lively anthem with an healthy call to arms to live life to the full whilst questioning everything whilst still smiling for the camera. Real music as ever from the doctor.

Ryan Turner, producer from Norfolk, VA recently sent me this tasty beat tape through his 'Click N Spark' productions company that rolls along very smoothly, not suprising as he has recently worked with hiphop legends Nappy Roots for their 'Sh!t's Beautiful Mixtape. A real proponant of making good music organically, he is up for these beats to be taken and used as long as credit is properly given; as he says "You never know what could be a hit until it is created"; true indeed so emcees out there have a dig through and see what magic you can make (before I get off this blog and do it my damn self :D!! )

And now, I must admit my day job has been breaking my balls lately and as such a massive bag of mail has been accumulating leaving precious little time to listen to let along comment on some of the illness that has been coming through. Suffice to say hiphop is well and truly vibrant in the underground. Some efforts havent quite made the cut this time around; if you're an artist or company who has made a submission but not been featured please don't stop the sending music through, next time it may get a prominant feature! For now how could I not kick off with this ill track to my favourite colour (ever since I discovered it was the favoured ink of Roman Emporors; everyone has a little dictator complex hidden somewhere) 

@ArmaniofYork  

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!

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.

Brand New Heat! Fredro Starr produced by Audible Doctor "Made in the Streets"

Shopping Inferno plus Late Gifts from Dizraeili, Fountain of Youth, Granville Sessions and Anacron

Yo! Before we get into the hiphop realm I thought I'd just post this little image I threw together; I tweeted it and it's having an unusual amount of success so fingers crossed it sends a few interested readers this way; who knows it might even create a few new hiphop fans! Spot the Difference! Dante's version of Hell versus Boxing Day at Westfield!

And now to more familiar territory! Greetings all I hope this finds all hiphop heads around the world in a relaxed mood; here in blighty the Christmas spirit is fighting through despite some pretty grim weather and a plague of tonsilitus through Vocalswords Villas. Koaste picked up Dizraeli's christmas eve take on the Queen speech so to get your mind lubricated please get round the fire, roast some nuts and enjoy.....



Now the first full length present comes from thoses Boston whipper snappers 'Fountain of Youth' who have taken over thier local Chinatown to film their latest heater.



Next up is a real treat that I'm glad I checked out early from the mailbag, still have a ton of stuff to get through but for me this is a real hip hop classic, check it out from Anacron...



My brothers from the Granville Sessions recorded this a while back and I'm not sure how long its been roaming online but they posted it in an xmas tweet so I thought I'd spread the seasonal cheer...check the B-Boy poses at the end; not sure if Crazy Legs would co-sign but keeping the culture in the hearts and minds of the people is the main thing!!

Endemic, Dudley Perkins, Knightstalker, B.o.B, Chris Brown and more all getting busy

Dudley Perkins has just release his latest LP "Dr Stokely" and it's a 100% existential banger. Im about four tracks in listening via the Mello Music bandcamp page and already need to dip in the pockets for credit card to buy this bad boy! Great off the wall beats with incisive but mad imaginative lyrics; get involved! 

One of Deutschland's finest Nightstalker has just released an EP produced by Falling Down & Nasty who provide some heavyweight Shoalin inspired beats while NS and compadres get down to business spitting some very decent bars. "Times have Changed" is particularly heavy and notable as a bit of a Killarmy reunion; 9th Prince links with Wu affiliate Dark Skinned Assassain who both make  striking appearances with that classic flow. Get it free at the link above. 

Go crazy to this......B.O.B. looks to be making it into the bigtime nowadays; a phenomenam when I saw him back at Hiphop Kemp a good few years back; he's rocking to a hype jam, not particularly inspiring lyric wise but it's got that massive sound that might get people interested in checking out his body of work, where a lot of gems are hidden including the collab he recently did with Eminem. He does get down with a pretty funny number reference but other than that pure club!    http://mp3waxx.com/jobfolders/bobthrowback/index.html

And just through the inbox; Endemic is gearing up for the release of "Terminal Illness 2"....the first installment was definitely a classic so looking forward to this release, not sure how many UK features are on this one but will wait and see; in the meantime get an earful of this.....

Rap Beef smells good plus smashing tunes from UK & US

Eminem has stirred up a bit of excitement with his recent 'Rap God' track and has invoked the wrath of Casual, who's has responded with 'He Still think he Rap God' Some good barbs are made by the Hieroglyphics emcee who seems to have taken offense at Em's appropriation of his own 'Rap God' monika.....I'll I ve been thinking since is "What about Pusha T!?"....perhaps its OK to be just "The New God"....maybe the three of them need a group therapy session, some interesting God complexes could be ironed out. Either way, this current trend of real emcees putting a lot of time and thought into huge amounts of lyrical bars is fine with me and looking good for the rap game as a a whole.

In other rap release news; WANJA@Istillloveher has put me onto a lot of heavy jams recently; especially this track from Crew 54 featuring Showtyme is taken from upcoming Wyld Gentlemen project. Verse 2 smashes it for me, "Fighting for the jet black souls of mortal men". Let Freedom Ring!



Not sure how old this is but Logic comes with the big issues as ever, one to contemplate on alongside a heavy video directed by Logic himself.


Jman has hooked up with syllable smashing Dr Syntax for an incredible juggernaught of a tune with a nice hook from Eva Lazurus, this is a classic festival smasher check the video right now!



Finally this post, Cuda Brown drops a nice video for "Still Beast".....From the first few bars I thought this was going to be a bit of a standard braggadocio type flow but as Cuda gets into his stride rapping about small town claustrophobia and shaving Yeti's I starting getting into this cat's style. Heavy stream of concious flow backed up by hot tatooed women playing poker in Mexican Wrestling masks, this is a winner!

Xzibit, B-Real, Dizraeli & DownLow, Black Milk

"When everybody though I was insane, I stood tall after all of the pain"....."I left my mark on the game" If anyone can atest to that it's Xzibit and B-Real; who both lay down some hard lving verses on this guitar led joint. It might be a bit too consciously going for a pop market with Statick Selectah emplyoing a soaring vocal approach (curtousey of Demrick) but I'm not complaining as that hard core rap sound is clear enough, if it gets radio/club play I'll be first in the mosh pit.



Black Milk has a new album coming out that you can check over on Pitchfork as a stream before pre-release. Interpret Sabotage is a rapid fire track over some nice spacey synths with a luscious sounding hook from Mel; lyrics bringing that David & Goliath type feeling of trying to maintain and become successful.

Deoins house is a nice retrospective on the positive influence of matriachars in different situations; bringing hiphop for the family...one your gran could vibe out to.
Codes and Cab fare is a pretty slow burning spacey affair and features a Black Thought verse which I was excited to check but unfortunately underwhelms a little bit as being full of contradictory non-sequiters. Ive probably missed something there so will come back in a few years and re-evaluate!
Ghetto Demf features Quelle Chris and from a start point of not knowing what DEMF stands for it probably means I m not remotely qualified to write about it. Starts off with some thugged out gun talk but contextualises by describing the rough environment from which this stems. Vibing it out to it I realise this is not one to be over-analysed, its some thugged out pimp party shit that I wish I still loved as much as I used to; still wilding out though! Sonny Junior (Dreams) is a great piece of music production with some lovely sax rolling through a hypnotic heavy drum pattern. Sunday's Best is a real nice track to relax to; its a shame there isnt an extended version to play first thing of a morning, even though the critical stance it takes on religion and society means it may open up more of a debate than you'd bet on. Monday's Worse snaps us out of the good times to more sombre, sobre rhymes but the Motown sounding hook brings the track a classic sound. Perfected on Puritan Ave is one of my favourites with a reflective description of Milk's formative surroundings. Love the lyrics, just couldnt quite deal with the instrumental breakdown towards the end of the track. Dismal envokes the mood you might expect; very brooding and menacing, I got a bit freaked out and zoned out of this one to be honest. Parrallels ft Ab is one of the 'talking to the ladies' tracks; sounds good but I never feel I can comment on these as Im never a fan in general. X Chords is another nice instrumental that leads into the clattering  beat of Black Sabbath which features some haunting vocals from Tone Trezure; Money Bags brings back that hard hiphop swagger to an album that is very enjoyable and atmospheric. As a rap fiend I would have preffered more vocals but as a musical project its pretty great.

Menagerie member and show rocker alongside the Small Gods, Dizraeili has joined forces with Downlow for this new mixtape. First track Rise is an absolute belter. Do You is a family tree of influence though youth that leads into an impressive history of living for hiphop in the face of adversity whilst maintaining an inspirational amount of positivity. Minny the Moocher kicks off with some amaxing crowd hyping and DJ skill flexing, Dizraeli kicking rhymes making himself a new CV; "I am Cardinal Hume" in impressive style. I've been playing the Mixtape on rotation ever since, and rather delay any further just gonna post this up with one question....Can you dig it?  

Fountain of Youth, LDon The Cut ft Supernatural, AC MC & King Camil

Vocalswords has been recieving a whole heap of music recently, and one of picks of the bunch is a debut release from Boston outfit 'Fountain of Youth' is a classic posse cut with each emcee demonstrating great skill and love for hiphop. Dont sleep.


Somebody say "I Love Hip Hop!"....it is done; great fresh track celebrating the music we love from LDontheCut featuring Supernatural, this is the third single off LD's debut album Patiently Anxious out in November.



Shout outs to all the heads in the twittersphere; I read recently there are something like a billion tweets per second being sent now, and that number is growing exponentially.....so "@-ing" people is becoming a lot more important. Glad DnB emcee @ACtheMC did so I could check out these bars....love these flows with a showmanship flair not always present in the UK hiphop scene.....



Finally, I stumbled across this fine slice of country life while perusing my MP3Waxx emails. A lot of stuff coming from those guys is very much in the hustler/thuggin' vein so good to hear a more traditional bluesy sound from King Camil with a humorous, nicely flowing storytelling style track berating his relationship and himself. It follows with a freestyle where King's lyrical dexterity is also shown off; and the introduction of his herd of cows in the middle gives an authentic touch! Hip hop doesn't get realer than this, literally.

Edo G, The Book Thieves & Street Soul

Sometimes you just need a hug! Edo.G lays down a great track documenting that blue collar lifestyle that can grind you down; one for everyone out there who isn't trying to pimp or shoot for a living!



Meanwhile on the UK scene those cerebral fellows The Book Thieves have hooked up with German producer ..... to provide the bass heavy banging backdrop to Legoman & ......'s heavywight lyracism.



My man Vice from Birmingham has always been representing for the street level artists and here showcases a great mix of talent; a promo project to help get funding for a very worthwhile project. Click through to learn how to support.

http://www.mixcloud.com/BasementSessions/street-soul-kick-starter-mix-volume-1-by-joe-bird/

World Peace! Dizzy Wright, REKs, AF Rome, DJ Philly

Anyone who uses the hook "I represent World Peace" will get my attention; I heard the audio for this a few weeks ago and was blown away; now very pleased to get the heads up from Audible Treats that the visuals are here too........this guy gets my thumbs up all day long; throw your peace signs up and go download the mad tasty Mixtape "The Golden Age"  that dropped recently. Lyricism, dope beats and quality is returning to Hip Hop. 

Itch FM is putting the hiphop Trackside Burners from DJ Philly; this episode has a crazy tracklist including a dose of classic UK bangers, with 'Coz We Rebel' a blast from the past from classic London crew the 57th Dynasty. Check the show here. 


25th hour, bit of a throwback here but couldne belive I hadn't posted it before; pure ill bars as ever from Reks, check the third verse especially for some #hiphoped

Switching to party mode for a minute; this AF Rome dude got some charisma and knows how to throw a decent party; check the jam.

Fredro Starr, Granville Sessions, Audible Doctor, Professor Green

As a long time Onyx fan its great to see Fredro Starr bringing some New York perpsective to a haunting Audible Doctor banger. Fredro is introspective to an extent I'm not used to hearing as he's seperated from his Onyx brethren, though the hard street description means you're never spearated from the groups essence, built from a town where "You gotta have street smarts". Freddro paints a picture of his environment in which he is more than comfortable, tripling his cash through sports betting and coke dealing, atestamernt to a street life committed to getting paper running directly parrallel to the legitimised nexas of high finance "New York stand strong like that Bull on Wall Street" head nod shit for real. 

Repping the London scene on a regualr basis with ill shows accross the capital, with a contant thread of banging beats, introspective and entertaining lyrics delivered with razor shar precision reminicisnct of the best of the boom bap ere, the boys from Granville have delivered a great new album with the lead single presented here in a classic video, with fellow ill spitters Jester Jacobs and Oliver Sudden enhancing the vibe in thier inimitable style.



Audible Doctor is bringing the heat repping' 100 Mad but also is gearing up for his latest project the EP "Summer Tape"....showcasing Oddisee and Hassaan Mackey on "The Vibe" "Read between the raps to find the greater truth, within the lines"



After not checking Professor Green for a while, I was very impressed with track"Read all about it" which features Emile Sande in a track that is incredibly honest and powerful

 

Lunatic Rap Music, Trippy Beats and a Fantasy Throwback

New Releases

As part of the work for album debut "My Grandma's Basement", Jarren Benton has hooked up with label mates SwizZz and internet rap phenomenon Hopsin for a typical off the wall video featuring young Hop as a trailer park specimen slagging of hip hop as the intro. Since seeing Hop and his crew live in London a few months ago, and judging by the immediately huge you tube views this is already getting, looks like Jarren, Hopsin, crew and own brand of cartoon lunacy and indie style soul searching are about for the long haul....no bad thing in the VS opinion

  

HipHop institution Fat Beats Records just uploaded the video for "My First White Girl"  from The White Mandingos' (Murs, Darryl Jenifer of Bad Brains and Sacha Jenkins SHR) debut album, The Ghetto Is Tryna Kill Me. A quirky, tongue in cheek video featuring some slightly seedy middle aged groupie-ism provides the back drop to a great track reminiscing on an old relationship. Murs gives a thought provoking account with a chorus "Racist bullshit came from both sides, my first white girl, her first black guy." Personally I had to rewind the reference "She looked like Tapenga from Boy Meets World" and couldnt resist a quick google image search for the marvelous Maxim shot above! 

Beats

If after all that social commentary you need to chill out or refresh your head check out this from Beatoven, a deep bass sound combines with glitchy electronica to create a nice instrumental track accompanied by some mind melting trippy graphics. Courtesy of Another Music 

 

For something a little more rugged in terms of hip hop styalistics check this first single from Duke Westlake's upcoming instrumental project on Mellow Music Group. 

The Hip Hop Hunter - Fresh New Format ft All That Good Ish

So much hip hop, so little time. I've adopted a bit of a fresher posting style that I hope to continue, throwing in a lot more stuff into fewer posts. If you would like to contribute views or get material highlighted please email me solocypher@gmail.com or twitter @solocypher. The first section "New" might be a bit misleading as I often only catch up with tunes months after thier release; I hope this is forgivable. The first cut is from Statick Selectah which is a very encouraging example of how lyracism is still relevent....for me Black Thought absolutely tears the beat to pieces, and helps secure him in my personal "Top 5 Dead or Alive" rosta. It's a changebale and controversial list that everyone has their own opinions on, but for me (until I change my mind again!) its.......Rakim, Nas, Black Thought, 2Pac and Canibus......Get at me with your own!

New Releases



R-Jay ft G.M.I take the hiphop game 'Back to Basics' in this headnooder bought to life by an old school computer game styled video (somewhere between Atari and SNES graphics if my memory serves me well) Some great reflections on the old school aesthetics when emcees really concentrated on being fresh and being the best out of thier respective geographical areas.


Last post we bought you "Appertisers" from Bennydiction. It truly was a preparation for a main course, which Benny has released literally a few hours ago. I'm looking forward to digesting (poor pun sorry :) this, which comprises a selection of work the pair have written and composed between 2011 and 2012.....bringing in a posse of collaborators this is a diverse release with plenty of lyricism to enjoy. For me so far the life affirming "Holiday Snaps" and posse cut "Land & Sea" are getting the most pull ups. This EP itself is paving the way for thier "Life Moves" collaborative album, look out for that and in the meantime enjoy.

Got this short little banger from Stori in the mail. Initially I was a bit sceptical but after a couple of plays really got into this, ladies bringing that rawish.... Any track saluting anything that Method Man's ever done get the thumbs up from me.

Associated Minds are back with that heat provided by Metabeats, who in preparation for his second LP "Caviar Crackle" drops the joint "SLSBS" a sub sonic epic featuring vocals from Quelle Chris. Check it out


For a slightly slower summer vibe check out Chuck Inglish; one half of The Cool Kids who comes through with a slow-ass tour around his daily routine....listening in you can just imagine yourself sitting in one of those rediculous all American drop top whips as Chuck cruises around with his pager constantly blowing up....
Chuck is presenting this track alongside a freely downloadable EP inspired by a night cruising Austin Texas in drop tops; hence the cinematic feel...grab it here. 



For heads looking for a little more food for thought you should be interested in a track from Dan Status who keeps the sonics tasty but also provides some  interesting lyrics alongside  Marcus J. Higgins and Jon Blaq "Imagine if I had a son, intelligent and clever one his daddy where he get it from and anything he ever want his daddy where he get it from Mumma fine as hell drive a car, she get anyone" the hook keeps it all nicely together.




Hip Hop Radio

In this section I'm going to try and showcase HipHop shows, Radio Stations or Portals that are bringing the best rap and hiphop to the table; if you run or know of a great station (available online preferably) drop me a line at solocypher@gmail.com and I'll try to get it mentioned. So this time around......

Make sure you get your musical fix on a regular basis from the dons over at Itch FM The main site is constantly updated with new videos from US and UK, from live cyphers and freestyles to interviews and full videos its a constant stream of gems. The radio shows themselves also serve up some great blends, from classics mixed back to back to the most current in US, UK and Global hiphop and music. Recent shows I've been digging from Oli P, Thad Boogie and A.Gee check here

Bennydiction & Mnsr Frites - "Appetisers" Video

Feeling hungry? Slick video production outfit Idiot Village sets the scene producing a nice vid for this culinary banger served up with care in this collaboration from Punning Clan's Bennydiction and Granville Session's Mnsr Frites, trading bars over a smooth piano jam... follow the links in Vid for a download of the track and get up with all that Twitter info too; Tuck in!

New Killah Priest Animated Video...proper lyrics!

UKRA (UK Rap Anthem); Wu Tang's Mathematics, Wordsmith, and UK HipHop Documentary

Wu-Tang Clan's DJ Mathematics and his "Prelude To The Answer" mixtape. Wu-Tang Clan’s DJ Mathematics will has just released The Answer—an album that serves as the follow up to his 2005 album, The Problem.

Mathematics has also offered “Prelude To The Answer” as a free mixtape download. “I'm excited about the album and can't wait for it to drop,” Mathematics offered via written statement. “I put a lot of time, sweat and energy into this project and hope that overall my musical growth and development reflect in the finished product.” With 2013 marking the 20 year anniversary of Wu-Tang Clan’s collective debut, Enter The Wu-Tang: 36 Chambers, fans are anticipating more new music. And rumors of a reunion album and tour have only increased the demand for all things Wu. As both DJ Mathematics and Ghostface Killah prepare for April releases, fans can expect more material from the Staten Island crew. You can stream 'Men of Honour' and purchase via DJ Mathematics' Bandcamp page. or check the whole stream over at HipHopDX



This is the UKRA (UK Rap Anthem) bought to life by Charlie Sloth who has been on a mission around the UK to find the story of hiphop outside of the London scene. Although there are some glaring omissions (RumCom, EatGood, Associated Minds and many more come to mind) this is a pretty interesting watch, and Charlie's passion for the artfrom is pretty infectious. I hadn't heard of Byron before but judging by this thoughtful track dedicated to the next generation he is one to watch. 'For the Kids' highlights many ills of society but with a hopefull undertone. Changing the paradigm is an important theme, at one point urging us to remember we need water to live, not oil.
Just finally to wrap up; Wordsmith comes through with some bars straight from the lab, general musings on a pretty cool concious vibe. https://soundcloud.com/wordsmith/wordsmith-some-random-thoughts

Genesis Elijah Live, Jay Z "Open Letter" and Percy Filth New Banger ft Mylo Stone, Split Prophets & Serocee

Genesis Elijah brings his 'This is My Hustle' nationwide tour to London's 'Fat Gold Chain' an event not to be missed, especially due to the £100 open mic emcee competition that will be also taking place backed by an exciting new live band. More info from Fat Gold Chain FB Check out Genesis Elijah displaying why he is the 'Underground King' while you sign up, and if that wasn't enough check the GE Site for free goodness. Recent controversy piqued my interest as Jay Z's 'Open Letter' sent waves around the net. As hiphop is well known for its often dubious braggadocio, the fact that Jay Z has been welcomed at the White House makes Jigga's lines about chilling with Obama on the beach pretty poignant, if obviously false. His geopolitical views on China help put concerns in perspective, nice!

And finally, Brum Super Producer Percy Filth has been back at it and recruited Mylo Stone, Split Prophets and Serocee for an absolute bouncing riff led banger documenting the struggle alongside demonstrations in ill mic tearing, that classic UK sound. Buy it here.

Onoe Caponoe, Ill Bill & Preemo, Telemachus ft Roc Marciano

South Londoner Onoe Caponoe has been putting out a lot of funkadelic flavour as part of the Audio Doughnuts camp for a little while now with tripped out visuals and a wonky array of psychedelia laced lyrics to delve into. Check 'House of Funk' and 'Donnie Darkonoe' below, and if your in London this Friday make sure you check him live alongside HLI at this month's Fat Gold Chain. For the boombap crew out there too, a little treat courtesy of two legends, Ill Bill and DJ Premier who re-unite once again for a banger combining Ill Bill's tales of hiphop life with a boozy 'Preeeemoo' yelled hook... And last but not least a final gem that's just dropped through from Telemachus over at YNR; his 'Scarecrows' track featuring Roc Marciano has had a tasty remix from Harry Love...check the video and grab the free download from YNR Productions.

New tracks from Wise Intelligent, Sadat X, Pharaoh Monch and Phil G

Wise Intelligent comes back at the hiphop scene with another hard hitter "I Said It"...to be honest having watched it once and nodded along enthusiastically I have to admit I'm a bit confused as to the underlying message of the whole track and in particular how relevant the action of the video supports what the message is but will leave that to the viewer to analyse... Posse cuts are one of my most love elements of hiphop due to the vibe and versility different styles and voices bring to a track. This latests from Sadat X is no exception as he recruits Pharoe Monch for his always unique bars and Phil G for a solid rap hook. Taken from Sadat's forthcoming album and produced by Grant Parks.

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

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!

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 :)

Fat Gold Chain....Back around for the London posse!

https://www.facebook.com/events/294987000602697/

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!

Stop the War Coalition - Gaza Protest

Sometimes the political rhetoric present in many hip hop tracks and statements may be somewhat unsubstantiated; for those of you interested in making more of an impact please check the following information. The Stop the War coalition is unapologetically pro-Gaza; and from my understanding of the disproportionate use of force, my sympathies also lie primarily with Gaza, whilst also holding thoughts for those killed and injured on the Israeli side; support for Gaza is a position which for me has been generated by comparing statistics of civilian deaths on both sides; and re-confirmed after hearing talks from Israeli academics who vehemently oppose the aggressive actions of the Israeli state. Loss of life from any side is in my view always a calamity, and many of the actions of Hamas I also abhor; but still feel the plight of civilian Gazan's still needs to be presented much more prominantly.  I do not wish to be antagonistic; but this statisitc taken from the fact sheet included in the newsletter below illustrates my view starkly Total number of Israelis killed by rocket, mortar or anti-tank fire from Gaza since 2006- 47(Source: Wikipedia. This is disputed; another  Number of Palestinians in Gaza killed by Israeli fire from April 1st 2006 to July 21st 2012 - 2,879:  please contact/comment below if necessary.


1b Waterlow Road, London N19 5NJ

Newsletter #1261. 21 November 2012

www.stopwar.org.uk | office@stopwar.org.uk | 020 7561 9311twitter.com/STWuk | facebook.com/stopthewarcoalition

1) Campaign for Gaza: We need your help urgently2) Gaza: as the carnage escalates so do the protests
3) Gaza demo 24 November: Transport from across UK
4) Volunteers needed for Gaza campaign
5) Grotesque inversion of reality that makes Israel the victim

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1) Campaign for Gaza: We need your help

Stop the war is stretching its resources to the limit in the build-up to Saturday's national demonstration for Gaza. Many thanks to everyone who has donated to our Campaign for Gaza Emergency Appeal. The response has been magnificent. But we still urgently need funding to ensure that we can meet the challenge of mobilising for Gaza and sustain all our anti-war work. If you have not donated yet, please consider doing so now. We appreciate contributions of any size, big or small. GO HERE TO DONATE: http://bit.ly/XS9qhx

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2) Gaza: as the carnage escalates so do the protestsAt the time of writing the death toll in Gaza from Israel' brual assault was approaching 140, with at least 30 of them children. Close to 1000 people have been injured and hospitals are running out space and supplies. 1500 buildings have been hit by Israeli airstrikes. (See Fact Sheet: Grim statistics behind Gaza grief: http://bit.ly/Q7MtDG)

The global protests against Israel's endless barbarity has spread to hundreds of towns and cities, with many planning major demonstrations this weekend, like the national demonstration in London on Saturday 24 November (See:http://bit.ly/UzD4Br). 

In Britain, emergency meetings have been held across the country and plans made for transport to bring protesters from outside London to Saturday's demonstration (see http://bit.ly/10seyYw).

Examples of spontaneous action in solidarity with Gaza has seen students walk out of a Leeds school and students at SOAS in London occupy their university (see http://bit.ly/QunPhZ) .

The need for the national demonstration in London to be as large as possible was never clearer. First, to join the worldwide demand that Israel stop its war on Gaza and end its five year siege, which has brought such suffering to 1.7 million people. Second, to show the UK government that its support for Israel's assault on Gaza is not in our name. And most importantly, alongside all the other protests this weekend, to send a message to the people of Gaza under such horrific attack, that they are not alone.
5) Grotesque inversion of reality that makes Israel the victim

The media coverage of Gaza has been an outrage -- with the BBC most supine -- for the most part acting as a stenographer for the Israeli propaganda machine. One columnist in the mainstream media who can be relied on to portray reality is The Guardian's Seumas Milne. His latest article is a must-read. SEE It's Palestinians who have have the right to defend themselves:  http://bit.ly/Ujes27

The Stop the War website, which is getting tens of thousands of visitors every day, is updated regularly with news and comment about Gaza. For alerts when we post new articles on the website, join us on Twitter (http://bit.ly/yyKSFa) or Facebook (http://on.fb.me/hLUFGt).

Bump Casts, Videos, and New tracks from Associated Minds, 7even Thirty, Oddisee, Dag Sav

The crew at Associated Minds have been exceptionally busy as ever, thier latest newsletter is packed with illness including Ralph Ripshit Lemonface's Album release and this excellent 'Bump Cast' featuring some of raps current hardest hitters such as Action Bronsen on a Metabeats production, Kendrick Lamar, Reks, Nas, Homeboy Sandman, EL-P and many more. Very tasty and packaged with some mind bending artwork    from Hopfences (check the eyeball above!). DagSav has released a free mixtape for ya to download, and judging by the flows on this video should be worth checking out here.

7even Thirty has had album track 'Nightmare' remixed by Oddisee and has put the track up for free download. To be honest its a bit to glitchy sounding for me but the lyrics are pretty interesting, check the Mello Music Group pages for more.

Havent really got to grips with Soundcloud yet but DMH certainly has; his solid Westcoast sounds has got gangs of people commenting on the tracks he's uploaded.....anyways all pretty rugged and 'Who takes the Blame' is pretty soulful with some thoughtful lines....though not much other information; go make up your own minds at Here.