May I?

First post in May, a month that has proven itself to be beautiful (weather-wise) so far, so I'm in that sunny mood despite the fact my car is intent on terminating its own existence and that someone I had a lot of love for passed away (Rest With God Baby Ali).

A couple of tunes that I happen to have been sent at just the right time really fit my feelings at this time. Analogic & Rashid Hadee have a long player named 'Serenade For The Moment' coming and if this pair of tracks are anything to go then it's going to be a real solid record. I'm quite a fan of tracks reminiscing of good times, they remind me of summer and make me feel good (even though the memories are usually nothing like mine!) and 'Memory Lane' is a tip top Hip Hop example. 'Explode' has a slightly sadder feel to it, a close your eyes and lie back type vibe, it's a thing of some beauty.

Hero have another nice track too featuring Sage, it's called 'What We Gonna Do'. It's got a funky but lazy summertime kick to it and is basically a track about a special lady. Defo one for the discerning BBQ head.

Last month's HHC cover CD was a BBE Records sampler mixed and scratched by Mr Thing (ex of Scratch Perverts) and where Yungun is involved, I'm down. He features on 2 tracks, one by Aaron Jerome ('The Bump') and one by Katalyst ('All You've Got'). Both are awesome and I really should buy both albums. The other main artist on there is J-Live and I also really need to get into him some more too!

On Friday night I had the pleasure of witnessing Roots Manuva perform live at The Faversham in Leeds. He was as brilliant as you'd expect him to be; kicking off with 'Join The Dots' and pretending to end on 'Witness' (WOW!) but returning to stage to perform the always lovely 'Dreamy Days'. On Monday I happened across the Limited Edition CD of 'Awfully Deep' (I only had it on vinyl). It has an extra CD of live tracks, demos and versions played by a band and it was only £3 at HMV. The £3 for the whole album plus the extra tracks is great value but the tracks are priceless, they really are something special - I might just have to upload the whole thing.

Roots Manuva - 'Rebel Heart (Manuvadelics Version)', 'The Falling (Demo Version)', 'Chin High (Manuvadelics Version)' & 'This World is Mine (Demo Version)'

Another CD I picked up recently and again for a bargain price was 'Mark B Presents Delta The Lostralian'. It's flippin' brill. I can't recommend it enough. Before I listened to this I was never sure whether or not I liked Australian rappers but now I know I do. Delta is a real pro at making intelligent rhymes accesible and entertaining. 'One Less Gun' features Skinnyman and is his anti-gun track (no surprises there) and cleverly utilises a perfect sample in the chorus. 'Mayday (This is It)' kicks off with some of my favourite lyrics for a long time - 'Let's start Mark B, this beat is raw//Seems more like a B-Boy theme for Jaws//Freestyle, 3 miles from the beach or shore//Can't swim, one fin was all you saw'. Awesome. Murs features elsewhere on the album.