Beat Assailant and Braille

Just thought I'd shine a light on some random titbits of US made music for you on this good evening:

Beat Assailant had a great 12" out a few years ago entitled 'Hard Twelve - The Ante' (video). He's just released his second album which is called 'Imperial Pressure' and if something sounding like Lupe Fiasco meets The Roots meets Herb Alpert sounds like your particular thing then get yourself a copy. The songs go on a little too long with a quite an emphasis on the (well produced) real-live instrumentals. Beat Assailant has a funky rhyme style although sometimes you might wish he'd just throw off his hang-ups and rap about something else. Some tracks are a little Black Eyed Peasish for me ('Crash the Party') some are quite, nay very, NERDesque ('Payback'), so maybe you'll hear him on your radio soon. Check out 'The Good News' and 'Haterz'. My mind is not yet made up...

In 2004 Braille brought out his album 'Shades of Grey' - which isn't as boring as it sounds. Braille, a rapper well respected for his technicality is a born-again Christian although this isn't 'Christian Hip Hop' - it's normal Hip Hop by someone who is a Christian. There are loads of positive vibes on here although the album is not all sonically upbeat. A number of equally as hungry MCs join Braille including Pigeon John, Ohmega Watts, Othello, ManChild and Sharlok Poems. This is really for fans of real Hip Hop - shed your inhibitions and stereotypes and download 'Hip Hop Music' (featuring scratches from Rob Swift), 'Keep On' and '10 Years' (produced by 9th Wonder).

*Links dead - Download all tracks here*