'Graveyard Poets' - The Mantis Chapter (EP review)

The Mantis Chapter take it back 15 years sonically and 300 years topically. ‘Graveyard Poets’ is an EP wrapped in gothic imagery - it’s like a Hip Hop vampire film soundtrack, created in the UK, in 1992.

Vocal and production styles both ignore at least the last decade of progression in UK rap. As a result fast paced break-beats and lyrics ensue as in the Britcore days of yore. This isn’t a bad thing either; there’s no-one else currently peddling this sound so it does stand out.

The subject matter is influenced by all things archaic. Folklore, magic and mortality feature heavily but this is just their way of saying ‘I’m the illest’. The crew and their guests are all pretty eloquent and the album exposes yet another facet of UK Hip Hop.

‘Graveyard Poets’ is poles apart from much of the UK’s current output, it’s nothing like Sway, it’s nothing like Blak Twang, it’s nothing like Dizzee – it’s its own thing and if you’re into building a diverse but grounded-in-the-UK music collection, this has to be in it.