Chima Anya & SoulChef - The Magic Forest (ft Tahn Solo)

Chima Anya returns with long time collaborator Soul Chef with a brilliant homage to trees and the natural environment. This is the sort of amazing music that everyone should here and the very reason for which hip hop was created! If Greta Thunberg were a fan of rap music I am sure she would be bopping along enthusiastically! 

Breis brings the Goods to keep Jazz Re:freshed

Wonderful to see the great talent of Breis in his element with a smooth Jazz outfit as he performs his lyrically hitting latest single 'Stay Dilligent' alongside tribute to the sorely missed talents of Ty and Tony Allan, "Right Here in Front of You". Breis rocks a full set with further tracks and got me nodding along in appreciation of the sentiments behind 'Wahalla' Check it out and enjoy! #BrotherReachEachInnerSoul #BrilliantRappersEducateIntelligentStudents

Shane Kidd - Ink of a Scholar (@Shanekidd86)

Pure Lyrics! This jumped out of my inbox - so many poetic & cultural references in this with some dope scratches - Just wish it was longer, watch out for Shane Kidd! 

"Everybody has a story to tell, will you listen to the story they tell" Shane Kidd's latest song "Ink of Scholar" begins with those words. "Ink of a Scholar" is the lead single off Shane's Double single EP the "Prologue". In a world of deferred dreams and broken promises, Shane shares his story and the under-told stories of others who are looking for freedom in this chaotic world. With more awareness of society being fractured, voice being marginalized, and what's truthful isn't always trendy Shane Kidd wants to say there's freedom.

"Renewing minds and Redeeming Dreams" in a world full of brokenness and uncertainty, Shane Kidd chooses to live by this philosophy fight for something different. Dallas native and Atlanta resident while being raised in the south, Shane gravitated towards Hip Hop's home New York for his listening choice. As he heard more and he gained an affinity for the artist like Nas, Mos Def, and The Roots. Eventually, he picked up a pen and pad desiring to be an emcee conscious of the world around him. Intersecting conscious thought, everyday struggles, and persevering faith, Shane Kidd uses his music to inspire people to explore the world outside and understand the world within.

Twitter: Shanekidd86

Instagram: Shanekidd86

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/shanekidd86

Oak Dreams - Benny Diction brings the Nature Vibes

One of the best things about rap and hiphop music is that if you get involved, you might be lucky enough to end up being great mates with some seriously talented people. Bennydiction is one of those gems, and I remember first hearing him perform the lyrics to Oak Dreams as an accapella and thinking 1) Damn, this is amazing, what a sick concept, 3) Wow, that hook is brilliant and 3) Argh, I wish I had written this! 

Well I'm so glad Benny did, and then put it to such a brilliant, core shuddering beat from Beatsmith Extrodinarre Able 8...and then got this epic one-take video (nicely handled by One Shot Sweets) shot at North London's Alexandra Palace where some beautiful trees in the twilight serve to accentuate Benny's striking nature-based thoughts and ideas with an outstanding metaphore of the mind. 

The Beat - Stay relaxed and gently sway to it

The Philosophy - Stay Rooted!

Oak Dreams - The Mind sows seeds, with time and Energy these ideas develop into tall trees.

Now go and get handy with a spear or a watering can!!

Caspar Grant - Snake Oil

Caspar Grant teams up with High Focus artist Kashmere (Strange U) for And What's fourth release. This hypnotic banger showcases Caspar's intricate flow with an incredible adeptness at conjuring up surreal yet poignantly specific imagery embedded in the chaos of reality over Kashmere's lush production. "Snake Oil is the story of one man attempting to find a sliver of meaningful truth in a world gone mad. As right wing demagogues, corrupt lawmakers and unprincipled media tycoons distort and manipulate the global narrative an ordinary citizen attempts to do right by his loved ones and positively contribute to society. Immersed in the backdrop of Kashmere's pulsating, apocalyptic rhythms Caspar Grant does his best to make sense of wholly illogical circumstances."

Chima Anya & Soulchef - Kings

Need inspiration? Need some quality music? Need some good ol' Boom Bap? Chima Anya has linked up with Soul Chef to create yet another brilliant track. As a hiphop head this slams, but with the video this is a piece of art to inspire everyone to look after their mind, body and soul and claim the royalty that is inside each and every one of us! Salute the Commander in Chief, and bow to the King in the Mirror! 

Sonnyjim x Giallo Point - No Vi$able Means of Income

I was pretty excited to get a note through on this one, I've been a huge fan of Sonny's DIY approach since appreciating his aesthetic in Brum in the early noughties where witnessing his freestyle and performance skills blew my mind. From excited to completely gassed, this album is a banger.

Sonny's are always incredibly creative and imaginative; and his real life in which he clearly makes major, although admittedly smoke screened, moves makes this artistic work in particular incredibly compelling. Sit and try sifting fact from fiction through all these tracks - and if you are struggling to make your mind up look closely at this incredible album cover, especially if you know anything about Coutts. In the vein of Planet Asia the wordplay, super-smooth samples, laid-back flow and casual humour makes this release a true Hip Hop classic.

 Quotables abound "Bread maker, man aint wearing no Ted Baker,  Im Making moves like a chess player,  my door swinging like Will & Jada my connect come from Venezuela, he's carrying around the pump like a Ventolin inhaler"...."I know about food and  stages of vegetation, my girl knows about Yoga and Meditation" SONNYJIM - Belgravia

Scran Cartel

Scran Cartel come with a debut album featuring 12 bangers to get you mashing out! Exploring all things food related, culinary bars are served up with variety and passion by lyriacists Bennydiction & MNSR Frites. Their debut album launch party was epic and the energy is reflected in this powerhouse of a record. Check the video below for the tune 'Dundee' and support the album by purchasing through the Bandcamp link!

Out here living my best life...

Hardy Caprio and One Acen are bringing a smooth positive flow to this banger "Best Life" that I've just tuned into on the "Rap UK" Spotify Playlist.

Looks like the scene is in rude health...a lot of the artists being sent my Spotiway I have to say I ain't heard of, but the wifey (yes it's official, all thanks and praises due to God, Jah, Universe and/or any other forces you want to mention!) is nodding along in appreciation. Gotta love it. "Litness" by Mostack has got me even more pumped to be honest so have a lil tune into this; mans feeling Creme de la Creme...haha you can't front; mans been looking for positive vibes for a while and this joint is dripping with it, God be my witness!

So that's what the algorithms be saying...gonna jump in the Googleinbox to see what its been saying...
Some smoothness from SWSHR...Well worth tuning into, the lyrics and beats are really working on me into some cohesive goodness!




Sophia taking Britain to task through encouraging us all to keep our little lights shining! When your bank account is laughing in your face..; have the strength to laugh right back at it!

A sister standing up to the system in a very positive way; get on it!



Bit more hardcore but this joint jams nicely with an IPA in my hotel room...



So when man was looking for the visuals Hardy and One Acen, the algorithym led me to this tune; having heard it banging out the Camberwell & Brixton ends it was mad nice to see how clean and fresh the vid was. Not3s keeping it popping with "Aladdin"....

Motivation & Inspiration Music from Joey BadaSS Yasiin Bey, Narcy & Black Bear plus Cormega, Full Force, Kid N Play, Michael Franti & More!

I have been putting off writing this post for such a long time as there are so many quotables, inspirational music and incredibly deep themes I felt overwhelmed at the prospect of writing about them all. Finally decided to forget all that noise and let the music do the talking. This spotify playlist and following videos were curated as a result of some excellent heads who helped me out via Facebook. Every track on here is well worth checking. Some are slow burners that I did'nt really 'get' initially but that is the beauty of hiphop; the really great stuff creeps up on you slowly! Please enjoy and share with those for whom you care. Peace for now! Special shouts to Rich Hearn, Jen Hazel, Richard Wilkins, Aseea Mahmood,Stuart Anderson, Joel Wilson, Pete Greenwood and Mat Conway!

Mental Health, Masculinity & Hip Hop - The Hidden Lyric with Solocypher

I was recently privileged to take part in a probing interview with Brendan from the Preciptoman crew as part of the podcast series "The Hidden Lyric" Click Here to Dive In... We go deep into my love of hip-hop, my recent bout of depression, teaching and education and how CBT and Hip Hop has helped me and many others.

The Hidden Lyric returns with episode 3. We discuss the cathartic aspect of writing lyrics, CBT, positive mental health, the expectations of a performing artist and the male ideal. We are joined by Solo Cypher, a rapper, permaculture-ist and entrepreneur. Get in touch with us @preciptoman 

Chima Anya & Slone - Coffee

Check out brand new percolation from the man like Chima Anya...The good doctor gets trippy in love in this caffinated trip outfor some kind of love! 

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!! 

Black Thought, Empowerment & Education in Hip Hop....is this the best Freestyle ever!?

This a mega power post, first up check the amazing story of Consensus and his journey through music into particle physics the large hadron collider, breaking down his come up and successes with the "End of the Weak" high level hip hop community. Courtesy of No Budget Entertainment's "Shoreal" films, they have some great other content so subscribe to their channel! Next I had to drop the latest Black Thought free....pure flames and blew up the internet (although ludicrously for some of the wrong reasons but I aint going there right now!) Anyways enjoy both videos, we bringing that good stuff!

Watch TV and Do Nothing! Tip Top Advice from Lee Scott and Dr Chima Anya

Good to chat with my big home the Doctor recently, his life is going from excellent to incredible at a nicely consistant pace as his lyrical skills continue to flourish, his video game is on point and he's keeping hiphop at the centre of London Love music with sell out shows at The Jazz Cafe, XOYO and smashing the DJ skills running BEspoke with Chidi Ubani in Brixton. Chima kindly sent me a little exclusive photo for all you rap fans putting posters on ya walls print it out haha!

His most recent tune and video has been gaining some hype recently and the excellent "de-clyutter, de-stress and value you're time more" certainy resonates with me...so sit back, relax and enjoy...

Just don't relax for too long, or you may need to listen extremely closely to Lee Scott who smashes down a devastaing critique of the modern obsession with watching and consuming content. Two valuable life lessons there, right I'm off to meditate (hmm or maybe one more beer....!)

Mr. Ekow, illiterate, Trigz & Vitamin G / Open Mic / DJ Sarah Love & Mys...

There is a great vibe to this cypher bought to you from the incredible Fubar Crew (shout out Mys Diggi and Sarah Love!) Some excellent bars with lots of lyrical dexterity and positive content with a great chemistry between the four emcees. This is that real live hiphop right here!

Eliot Fresh & Fish, London Live, Hip Hop bubbling with DJ Sugai, CW Jones & Bennydiction

Listen to this and enjoy. You will love it, so then go and find out more and buy the vinyl from http://boombappro.com/album/mirrors 

It has felt great getting out and about recently to enjoy a little taste of the ever present music scene. Got to know where the good ish is at and my man DJ Sugai was kind enough to introduce me to the Nomadic Gardens where the incredibly talented CW Jones went down a storm with an electrifying performance. Check "Morphine" below and then head to the Bone Dry Records Bandcamp page for a multitude of more treats including the album "Half Ill, Half Lazy"....

 

The Nomadic Gardens is hidden off Brick Lane (the Bagel Shop end) go check it out for yourself for a heap of DIY inspiration and incredible artwork. Cultural revolution in a highly positive manifestation. Another ace slice of live hiphop goodness was found at "Root Down" hosted by the inimitable Poet Curious. Was great to jump on an open mic backed by a live band (including the very talented gent Rob Grundel on keys), catch up with Eliot Fresh and my brother Bennydiction and chat briefly to the Hip Hop Classroom in human form, Darren Chetty. It was also great to be introduced to the poetical talents of Ghetto Geek and Benny who smashed the acappella with some goodness about the growth of an Oak Tree, watch out for that one soon. 

Finally got to give thanks and shout out Benny Diction for the excellent collection of Nas Albums and DJ Sugai for the incredible "Food and Drink Volume 1" Mixtape hosted by Mnsr Frites and Benny Diction (all getting a bit incestuous this post innit eh!?) It was all in honour of my birthday....just turned 17 again yeah. Peace to the Scran Cartel; Enjoy suckers! 

South London Smashing Music....Inspirational hiphop from DEGIHEUGI, Chima Anya, Consensus, Ty, Phoenix Da Icefire and Cormega

He's a doctor so you can quote from his lectures...the force of nature that is Chima Anya is featured on DEGIHEUGI's beautiful classical sounding rhythms. Chima brings the listener in with a pretty chilled introduction but quickly gets mad deep with some intricate reflections on art, maths, science, algorithms and lyricism that needs more than a few re-winds to even catch let alone appraciate....a playlist certainty and the visuals are just spectacular, big ups to Jeremy Bleunven of Abyss Media and the wonderful Sarah Le Ray and Fanny Lego!



With Brixton just down the road from Vocalswords Towers its great to see amazing videos of the locals set to incredible music so have been loving "Brixton Baby from Ty, very inspirational as ever as is the dope collaboration between two guys who feature in high playlist rotation in my cans...the New York legend Cormega and incredibly talented Phoenix Da Icefire.





Not content with surfing the bleeding edge of particle physics research in recent album ConCERNed, Consenus rounds out the summer with a belter teaming up with Shumba Youth reminding us that life is a test until we puff, puff, past it....creative dopeness as ever!

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

Particle Physics gets broken down by Consensus....Album Launch in Brixton 25th May

Vocalswords is very excited to reveal the upcoming launch of an album from a superb Emcee who is taking an Iron Man/Elon Musk approach not only to music, but to the world of Science and Education as well.

Having been personally part of intimidating ciphers in which Cons has torn apart beats with jaw dropping flows of incredibly intricate complexity and ingenuity Vocalswords will be waiting eagerly for this project to drop. Catching up briefly with the man recently, it was great to hear that he had been spending the last two years back and forth between London and Geneva crafting the "ConCERNed" Album; having gained privileged access to the world famous CERN facility and the Scientists that are conducting ground breaking research.

If you are UK based, get down to Brixton for what promises to be a great night. In the meantime, get to know more about the project reading The Voice Newspaper's recent article and interview by Amandla Thomas-Johnson here;or below, and check out first cut from the album "Method to the Madness" with Dr Koul....

First Published by The Voice Newspaper....

AN UNDERGROUND rapper from south London has performed and delivered workshops at the world famous European Centre for Nuclear Research (CERN), near Geneva, Switzerland.

Antoine Gittens-Jackson, known as Consensus, was invited to the laboratory after spending two years writing an album which translates complex particle physics into grime and rap. As well as performing songs from the album to a group of scientists, the 27-year-old delivered a rap workshop to a group of school children visiting CERN from Austria who then performed their creations in front of the Austrian ambassador. One track on Consensus’ latest album tries to explain the pure energy released when matter collides with anti-matter by drawing a parallel to the societal harmony that would come if two opposing gangs were to resolve their differences. Another uses a word-play on the standard model – the equivalent of the periodic table but for subatomic particles – by exploring what it means to be a fashion model and the fundamentals of beauty.

Speaking of his two-year immersion in particle physics, Consensus said: “It was exhausting in terms of how deep some of this stuff goes. “You’re visiting the limitations of all reality and what we know. You get really close to this edge of what is important in general, in life, and all this crazy existential stuff. It’s heavy on the brain.” Based at a sprawling campus that straddles the border of France and Switzerland, CERN is best-known as the place where British scientist Sir Tim Berners-Lee invented the World Wide Web.As well as this, the elusive Higgs boson or ‘God-Particle’ – thought to be the fundamental building block of the universe – was said to have been discovered there in 2012 thanks to a hi-tech particle collider housed in a 27km circumference underground tunnel.

 Consensus visited CERN as a guest lecturer and was hosted by Art@CMS, a science outreach programme named after the CMS particle detector which records and analyses the high-speed collisions of subatomic particles. Started in 2012, the programme tries to bring together artists and scientists through concerts, exhibitions and concerts. Consensus has performed, recorded a music video and taught CERN scientists how to rap as part of the programme. Dr. Michael Hoch, the Austrian scientist who founded and heads Art@CMS, told The Voice: “I do not limit any art expression, painting, digital, photo, sculpture, music, performance – it just has to generate a serious discussion and dialogue between our worldwide science community and the artists.” Dr. Hoch, a photographer who pieced together the famous image of the CMS reactor from 200 individual photos he took, added that bringing artists and scientists into direct contact allows “the artist to create a unique interpretation of the world of particle physics”.

Consensus set out to achieve just this with the help of Sudarshan Paramesvaran, a British scientist at CERN who introduced him to the complex theories that underpin particle physics. “He wanted his music to truly represent what we do here, and the physics we study,” Paramesvaran said. Brought up by a single mother in Lewisham, south-east London, Consensus told The Voice that music was an outlet from local gang violence where “people were getting stabbed for the sake of a postcode”. At the same time as grime was taking off in the early 2000s, Consensus began to make and sell his own mixtapes in Leicester Square, as well as square off with other artists. “Generally a lot of MCs at the time were chatting rubbish – guns this and guns that. I used to battle them and say you don’t really have guns,” he said. From his local state school he won a scholarship to Dulwich College, an independent school in south London. He stopped music to complete a degree in aeronautical engineering at Bristol University, but after a restless two years he headed down to the closest open session in Bristol and picked up the mic again. “I think I was born then,” he said as he recalled how he dedicated himself to his art. He added: “My overall personal mission as an artist is to make people open-minded. I’m not here to inspire, I just want to show people that rapping about science can be done.”