Kenn Starr, Blacktivity, Wordsworth, Supastition, Black Milk and more

Kenn Starr has reportedly gone back to the drawing board despite critical acclaim of his first release. Nothing wrong with keeping to the fundamentals and a posse cut has always been a classic move. Taken from his latest LP "Square One" Washington's finest bought a few friends along. 

Detroit is well known for it's high calibre of artists and Blacktivity is no exception; the crew have dropped thier first LP and it's a very nice slice of hip hop documenting a blue collar lifestyle full of reality, hopes, fears, dope beats and scratches. MC Ill Tone provides the on point lyrics (including a very nice nod to Wu Tang on Data Day) and the production is held done wonderfully by Shade Cobain. The creativity of this album is seriously impressive, it has been a while since I've heard something fresh with so many ideas and themes. "Photo Album" is a great concept, as it "Death of an Artist" which tells a familiar but sad tale of broken creative dreams, while "Wedding Crashers" goes on a joyfully mischeaveous jaunt of nonsense. The overall tone of the album is very nuanced but ultimately positive. I'm especially interested in the message delivered in the Outro about the effects of translation; however have no idea where it came from. I will investigate; in the meantime check out the whole album.


And finally....I meant to blog this incredible track a while ago as soon as I stumbled over it...Now this is what I call a collection of Emcees! 

DJLord 2MP, Olodo, De La Soul, Chuck D & Strange U

Who's down for freeing Human Beings? As ever the great Chuck D is on point urging us to "Eat the Rat" alongside DJ Lord who absolutely tears the track to pieces. Power Music.

An M.C. conducting a raging river? Check. An artist singing his own hook? Emotive bars to catch your attention that then cut off to want you fiendin' for more? Check Check it out! Ikey comes heavy with the refrain "they said I was Olodo" apparently translating as 'dumb'...no longer a suitable adjective yo.

And finally....this has been out for almost a year but in my terrible lack of keeping up to date with the Universe I've only just stumbled across it....essential for those interested in creativity.

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.

Turn Off the Machine & Trip Out : Minty Burns, Hey!zeus.i with Dudley Perkins plus Vinny Virgo Special

Shame on me, I hadn't checked for the legendary Soul Khan for a while so it was good to follow a twitter heads up to find he has released the Psalm EP, available here.

Minty Burns comes with some refreshment, a dude I've never heard of before but is coming nicely correct...



Dudley Perkins gets a wild stop motion video redux couretesy of Hey!Zeus.i here, the endearing character struggling to gain an optimistic view of the world ties beutifully with Perkin's desticntive narrative, enjoy!



And finally, a special shout to this dude. Having only just heard the name Vinny Virgo I'm still reeling from shockwaves of uber-lyracism; drenched in psycadelia there is a stream of pure rationalism throughout Virgo's raps; and the admission "Im a mother fucking Carl Saganist" is one that mainstram culture ought to take pretty fucking seriously.Not for the faint hearted, easily offended blah blah blah....enjoy!

Beat Creators - Instrumentals from Audible Doctor, Kosyne, Jas Beats, Pro P & Seattle Sans

A few hungry beat makers/producers/instrumentalists have sent through things for the blog recently, and I also get sent a lot of work from producers selling me their wares as part of their business promotion. Fair play all round, so thought I'd do a couple of posts highlighting some of these new school architects of hiphop music plus a couple of cats from the UK I've appreciated over the years. This is Part One so if anyone wants shine in Part Two holla at solocypher@gmail.com. To pay dues, gotta start off a post of this kind with the work of Audible Doctor; this tape from 2011 has some gems but dont forget to check out his more recent work too...I have no idea what his terms and conditions are but if you just want some great beats to freestyle over get familiar...

The Eat Good Family out of Birmingham, UK have been providing consistent quality over the years and stellar beats have emerged from the ingenious melting pot of Louis' Den. Eat Good's rhyming and beat producing heavyweight Kosyne, has been (excuse the pun) been instrumental in all this, however it was only in April this year that he released his own beat project. Some very creative and funky styles are given great exposure here, the dreamscape sonics of 'The God 'Shif a particular highlight.



And keeping to the shores of Albion, Manchester's Pro P has been pumping out classic headnod boom bap beats since at least 2009. Check out his catalogue of beats and collaborative projects here. In the meantime get some homies round for a cypher over the menacing vibes of 'Rep My Crew' from Volume 5 of his Boom Bap Tape series. PS Check the end of this post for a sneaky example of his work with emcees on board from yours truly and some of the illest UK spitters....



Jas Beats

16 Year old Jasmine Pope aka Jas Beats has got a pretty comprehensive Sound Cloud page showcasing her pretty impressive work. Some nice use of samples are made to get you in the mood with theme ready beats...




Seattle Sans 



Some deliciously dusty samples and production here, this one's definitely for the old school mellow heads although with the right emcee these could potentially be some classics...

 Maskerade Beats

Not a lot that immediately appealed to me as a lot on here has more of an RnB vibe so I ain't hating; Zoning out to 'See Through' beat though so worth checking out.

 Not my usual cup of tea but I guess in this day and age people may well be after some demented loony space age trap style music, and this is the sort of businiss DJ CPO seves up with aplomb.

Responses to Racist Brutality from Born I and Phenomenal Raps plus music and Spoken Word

The following is taken from the press release so not my words but puts it better than I can..."I Can't Breathe" is a song that may very well capture what it is to be black in America today. It is a song mixed with rage, sadness and hope. The song ends on a tone reflecting Born I Music's Buddhist roots (when not on stage, he volunteers locally as a mindfulness meditation instructor) and ideology: "All life is precious". Sentiments are shared by Phenomenal Raps, who begins his verse with references to Radio Raheem from the Spike Lee Movie "Do the Right Thing" which provides a poignant starting point to reflections on the deaths of young black men in America.

 Followed up by a strong slice of Spoken Word, XRV, from Gregory Jerome..




And finally, its always nice to hear some spittin that is the legendary Method Man, here M-Dot elists the Wu Swordsmen on this latest cut, unfortunately it pains me to say it but the meandering verse from Tical gets outrun by the spits of fellow track collaborators.

Like Tupac said....plus WhoSane transcends place and time, Hip Hop from The Khemist and TriPOTHREAT

First up, get listening to this and I guarantee you will be humming the hook when you are out and about, and then feel the need to come straight back to Vocalswords to replay this. Its that good, TriPOTHREAT certainly seems true to his name. 


WhoSane gets ill on a straightup headnodder filmed in the wonderful Bangkok, some tight flows with nods to the likes of Torae and Skyzoo, this is taken from the BurntBerry x Straight Path Jewlz Mixtape; cop that here....


And finally some hardcore visuals accompany some food for thought from The Khemist on Stigmata. A nice old school feel to his flow amidst a very modern vision of dystopia and lies of which he's trying to make sense; claustophobic and intriguing.

Mega Rap Post....SBTV Cypher Tabernacle Featuring Reveal, Tony D, Harry Shotta & Heavy UK Beasts plus T-Pain, Billy BanGer, Graves 33, Snow Goons, Earl Sweatshirt, Knucklehead & Modern Day Soulja

We're kicking off this varied post with a slew of mega heavy UK bars coming from some of the illest coming through London town at the moment. As a long time Poisonous Poet's fan I had the pleasure of meeting Reveal the other day, at the Hip Hip Education Society's inagural meeting at the former Institute of Education; a very wise, fun and intriguing guy I was please to stumble over him trading bars with Tony D and other in this rugged SBTV video....

An incredible amount of turmoil has been witnessed worldwide this year and as 2014 draws to a close it doesn't feel like many situations have been resolved. Graves 33 highlights police brutality and potential repercussions.






T-Pain come hard with an evocative description of his come up.....I'm not suprised the crowd is feelin' him!

To be honest starting a busy evening working and blogging I wanted to get through a pile of music but this lil EP got onto repeat and I got hypnotised into it; check it out my top track at the moment is Chio Chio; I need to get my google on and get a few of the titles translated. After that got very sidetracked I'm sorry to say; no time to write so go make your own minds up about new Snowgoons, Modern Day Soulja and Earl Sweatshirt; I reckon there's some dopeness in all of 'em....

How to Kill God...New Music from Apollo Brown & Rass Kass

A sure to be classic in the vein of Killer Priest's 'B.I.B.L.E', props to Rassy for laying it down in verses that take us right back to the mind shattering early days of his career.

Get your fangs into this, new music from Planet Asia, Tzarizm, Double Dragon & Crew 54

Planet Asia goes all out in this Vampire inspired period piece; the sets and costumes alone are worth the watch....throw in some sexy vampires and you are onto a winner. So when you get hooked into Planet Asia's always impeccable flows complemented  by the smooth sounds of Purple Cloud over a Tzarizm banger this is a perfect slice of entertainment, raw hiphop style.



This one is a mega smooth headnodder, music for the soul...."In the midst of putting the final touches on their long awaited "Wyld Gentlmen" LP produced by German beatsmith Dichter2 Productions, Crew54 took a bit of time to bring visuals to their 1-off "Soulclap" release. Taking the beat from Fabolous and adding a bit of brown liquor smoothness to it, watch them go back and forth in this throwback to vintage film cinematics."




Feeling the energy from this duo, "Double Dragon is Wakka the Hero and Drawko. Hailing from Ventura and Oxnard, California. They have been in thier local music scene for over ten years now. Starting out in punk/metal bands, they eventually clicked up and starting making Hiphop. Both of them were raised heavily on Hiphop, so it was a natural progression. They dabble in every genre, and bring that energy with us when we perform and write."

Critical Beatdown Show, New Diamond D & Buxaburn.....Real Hip Hop in the House

Critical Beatdown Hiphop show (104) Rapstation Radio by Mr Crf  (Critical Beatdown) on Mixcloud

Massive Shout to MR CRF, holding it down for years with his Critical Beatdown movement, Pedigree Chump tracks and paper zines. The man is still bringing the hardcore on his Rapstation Radio Show, tune in.



Two hefty new tracks this time round; time to enjoy some classic sounds...

This one is getting a few replays still......big tune!

Africa Stop Ebola awareness song....

Raising awareness of the need to go to a doctor as soon as symptoms occur. English translation and info below....

A collective of African musicians have come together to record a song to help raise awareness about Ebola in Africa. The song, entitled “Africa Stop Ebola”, features the singers Tiken Jah Fakoly, Amadou & Mariam, Salif Keita, Oumou Sangare, Kandia Kora, Mory Kante, Sia Tolno, Barbara Kanam and rappers Didier Awadi, Marcus (from the band Banlieuz'Arts) and Mokobe, and also includes the musicians Sékou Kouyaté (electric guitar, bass, electric kora) et Ludovic N’Holle (drums).

The song is a message to citizens about what they can do to help stop the spread of Ebola in Africa. The song is performed in French and vernacular languages widely spoken across the region to ensure that the message is understood regardless of the level of literacy and education of the population.

Thanks to Cheick Tidiane Seck for his active participation in this project.
LYRICS IN ENGLISH

Kandia Kora (Guinea / sings in French)
Africa is full of sadness
To see our families die
Do not touch the sick
Do not touch the bodies
Everyone is in danger
Young and old
We must act for our families

Chorus x 4
Ebola, Ebola
Invisible enemy

Tiken Jah Fakoly (Côte d’Ivoire / sings in French)
Ebola you are our enemy
If you feel sick the doctors will help you
I assure you, the doctors will help you
There is hope to stop Ebola
Have confidence in the doctors

Chorus x 4
Ebola, Ebola
Trust the doctors

Amadou & Mariam (Mali / sing in French)
Ebola is not good
You should see a doctor
Ebola is not good
You should see a doctor
Ebola hurts
You must see a doctor
Ebola is not good
You should see a doctor

Chorus x 4
Ebola, Ebola
Invisible enemy

Salif Keita (Mali / sings in Malinké)
Take Ebola seriously
This is a very serious disease
Once you have symptoms, please seek doctors
They can help you
Wash your hands and avoid shaking hands with others

Sia Tolno (Guinea / sings in Kissi)
Beg you, dear parents,
Follow the advice of medical authorities
Ebola came to hurt us
Respect their advices

Barbara Kanam (DRC / sings in Lingala)
Ebola you came to suffocate our people
You add pain
To the DRC
But we will overcome
Stay up
Sooner or later we will beat you

Mory Kante (Guinée / sings in Malinké and Soussou)
Get up, stand up
Ebola is a problem for us
We cannot greet someone
You cannot kiss someone
It does not mean that person makes you ashamed
It’s just a reality

Oumou Sangaré (Mali / sing in Bambara)
Ebola has become a problem for us today
I ask all the doctors in Africa to stand up
Ebola has really become a problem for us

Chorus x 4
Ebola, Ebola
Have confidence in doctors

Didier Awadi (Sénégal / sings in French)
Again we talk about tragedy
As a false note in the melody
Ebola we thought you were since abolished
You are walking around spreading disease
We will not flee from you we will not hide
Because we know we have the means to push you away
We will strike you, we are not a plague
We will get together and we will beat you

Marcus (Guinée / sings in Soussou)
Among them there are many who have access to hospitals
Those who are cured are no longer contagious
There are some who remain at home until the evil gets bigger
Oh my God
Mama Africa get up and stand united as we used to do before for other battles
Ebola you also shall be defeated

Mokobé (Mali / sings in French)
Another tragedy strikes the continent
Africa needs vaccine, medicine
Hope for them is permitted
Should we close our eyes and let them into oblivion? (not !)
Then unite for a good cause
Mobilize and break the closed doors,
Ebola I swear we will evict you
Africa needs vaccine and treatment

Ebola, Ebola
Invisible enemy
Ebola Ebola .....
Ebola, Ebola
Trust the doctors x2

Itch FM's Weekly Wind Up; Capone N Noreaga, Saddat X, Idris Elba and more!

Shout out to Eza, Shante and the whole Itch FM massive; they've been putting out a beacon for hip hop for a long time now and these Weekly Wind Ups are a great way to get your hiphop fix. Got inspired to blog up a couple of the items....though I don't think the Connousiours of Hip Hop show has the Chester P feature; keep updated on that one and all the banging shows on their Soundcloud page.

SKANDOUZ & Tom Foolery Beats - Connoisseurs Of Hip Hop 15 - ITCH FM (03-OCT-2014) by Itch Fm on Mixcloud

New Music from Saigon, Benny Diction & Mnsr Frites and Chima Anya

Had to celebrate Saigon's eagerly anticipated release "The Greatest Story Never Told Part 3" with a video, check the poweful track putting pay to the glamour of a street life that had him behind bars for a long stretch. Then buy the CD or digitally via Spotify or itunes check the album, a revalation for positive lyracism in hiphop these days....

Meanwhile in the relatively more sedate UK, Benny Diction has been getting together with Granville Session's Mnsr Frites (thats Mister Chips to you matey) to celebrate the life of a gourmet with a vibrant video in Bllomsbury Market. An audio tribute to MadLib's "Chitlin & Pepsi", "Rubicon & Pasties" is a gem in it's own right! "Shouts to all the ladies who don't skimp on the portions....." Also watch out for a cameo from Chief Quiche ;)


And finally the homeboy Chima Anya smacks it with a new track as part of a sequential release series you can check by hunting the man down here. In the meantime enjoy! And yes, you can enjoy Lil Wayne and Big Daddy Kane!

Golden Age Goodies

Can't believe I hadn't had the treats of these verses before, powerful video with clips from the Panther film.

Check the Piano lick on this one! The classic gravel voice of the Underground, Nine, hooks up with Smooth Da Hustler over some smooth jazz infused instrumental....

Killer Mike Special

Vibing off the Ghetto Gospel video after a promo tweet from legendary Poor Righteous Teacher, Wise Intelligent, I realised Vocalswords has not yet done much jutice to the big man with the social vision, skills and imagination behind the Classic R.A.P. Music and a score of other great albums and mixtapes. Check out in particular the incredible video for "Reagan" in which he which brings a sledge hammer blow to the Neo-Con society America, and increasingly in the UK find our selves wedged into.

SigNif comes to claim the game; meanwhile Chima gets introspective plus New MC Lyte, Common, 10 Beats, Has Lo & Castle !

 Signif has just droppedan incredible full length album....go get that on a loop here right after readin this post!







MC Lyte featuring Common and 10 Beats "Would you rather be fathers to your daughters?" Common absolutely smashes with the last line of a heavy verse....."Read a letter from the World and it said "Yes Y'all" ...MC Lytes' distinctive, conciously analytical and straight refreshing flow bookends this banger that is a welcome relief to to some of the more dubiously flossie material thats been submitted here lately...

And the guy who never puts out dubious business, Chima Anya come with some deep thinking on this ultra slow burner....


 And finally, fresh in the inbox comes a Cerebral Slammer from Has-Lo & Castle for you to vibe with, Peace!

Scottish Referendum Special! MOG, Kurly Hypa, Louie & Fliptrix & Rag N Bone Man....

So on the eve of a Historic decision to be made by the people of Scotland, I thought I might join the political excitment not with any analysis but just a couple slices of hip hop representing all over the map. Enjoy.  

First up bit of a lazy journalistic endeavour but by typing in 'Scottish Hip Hop' to a search engine this gem appeared. Rugged and raw and fairly apolitical, in terms of the referendum at least!



And if you managed to keep up with those speedy bars check out Louie's ode to the city of Glasgow....







Curly Hypa repps Leicester and goes in mad deep on this ill slice of real life lyracism

Last but not least the scientific funky cinematic styles of Fliptrix are given Anthem status by Rag N Bone man on this track while its visual existance rocks over the Molotov bumpin instrumental.

Audible Treats Podcast Flava plus King Sterlz, The Infamous Malcolm Tucker and other People of the World Today!

Holy Sound, I swear I'm blessed Featuiring Kool A.D. and DJ - I wasn't sure what to make of this joint when it first banged out the speakers but I was enjoying the sounds and got a bit amped off some of the lyrics..."Fuck hydro fracking, they making filthy water. Fuck Paul Ryan, he seems hella shady...Shout to Pussy Riot, those Russian bitches crazy" Check it! Shout to Audio Treats for putting together a banging new podcast featuring Deltron 3000 and many more...check the playlists the gang have created too, a lot of good stuff. Annnnnd finaly, a bit random but in the spirit of Vocalswords my mate on twitter@BenBrazier highligghted a series of posters on Inspirational sweary shit inspired by the one and only Malcom Tucker, check the posters here and check out the man himself if you have no clue about Mr Capaldi's skillz

Has Lo & Castle