'Audible Amelioration EP' - Audible Amelioration (free download)

No, I can't pronounce the name either but Audible Amelioration have named their EP after themselves so you'll have to get used to it! This is another bandcamp drop (stream the EP there) and is available to download for free from their myspace site.

The EP features a few nice UK guests who you'll be familiar with - Farma G and Brad Strut as well as DJ Para and Billy Butler Yeats (whose 'BounceBackAbility' Album is on its way). Most of the tracks are helmed by American MC Coherent Motion (or C-Motion) and the beats by Odious Din, Abject Theory and Relent are three things - quality, heavy and varied.

Relent's 'I Sit Alone' displays a hungry-as-ever Farma G alongside Billy Butler Yeats, C-Motion and DJ Para and Abject Theory's 'Stage is Set (alos with C-Motion) will smack you round the face - for real.

To download it there are three separate zip files on the left hand site of their myspace page.

'Tales From The Staircase Chapter 1' - Ramson Badbonez

If you're not yet up on Ramson Badbonez then you've no excuse not to be now. He's just dropped a download mixtape on the increasingly popular bandcamp website. It's called 'Tales From The Staircase Chapter 1' - suggesting there will be more, as if his weekly free freestyles weren't enough for you all.

Remember Ramson Badbonez came up under the wings of Chester P and Farma G of Task Force so there is classic UK Hip Hop blood running right through his veins. In fact, had his rap upbringing been different the same still could be said - this boy is a beast with the lyrics. Head on over and get in on the action.

'Cookout' (M-Phazes remix) - Nine High (free download)

I don't think I've ever heard a bad track concerning BBQs and UK Hip Hop group Nine High take things a few step further - it's basically a song about the joys of being a carnivore. Chicken, Steak, Lamb all get a look in on this track produced by Australia's most excellent M-Phazes. "I'd watch out if you're a beef stew, because if I meet you, I'm gonna eat you" - goofy but great!

If you've forgotten who Nine High are then click here to check my previous posting about them including the brilliant 'Fugs Need Hugs' track they did earlier this year.

'Too Many Rappers' ft. Nas - Beastie Boys

So last week Adam Yauch of the Beastie Boys announced he has a form of cancer (see video below) and that the tour and the album release is on hold for the moment. I wish him a speedy recovery.

They also dropped their first single from 'Hot Sauce Committee Pt. 1'; 'Too Many Rappers' which features Nas. I've ordered my 12" (which drops tomorrow) and will get my mp3 version when I get the power cable back for my own laptop! Check out the track on these youtube 'videos':

Here are some other tracks supposedly taken from 'Hot Sauce Committee Pt. 1' - the punk influenced 'Lee Majors Come Again':

The classic old skool Hip Hop sounding 'B-Boys in the Cut':

'The Digital Revolution Vol. 3' - VA - Tricksta (free download)

Tricksta's back with his third volume of 'The Digital Revolution'. This time it's hosted by the beast from the east, TB aka Tuberculosis and it features a whole host of Hip Hop from the UK streets. TB, Manny Moscow, Skandal, LATE, Tricksta, Jay Full Stop V, Stylah, Yogi, Suparnovar, Wordsmith, Mr Drastick, Lowkey, London Zoo, S.A.S, Streetz, Kyza Smirnoff, The Last Skeptik, Tricksta, Show N Prove and Mr. Ti2bs all feature.

This is a great chance to get your hands on tracks like The Last Skeptik and Lowkey's latest BNP protest track 'We Don't Want Them' and Mr. Drastick's latest mixtape taster 'So Many Devils'. The track selection once again reflects the new age of UK music that is still Hip Hop.

'Take 'Im Out' - Teef vs. FrankMusik (video)

A little electro-hop something here for you courtesy of Teef and FrankMusik. Who's he talking about? Himself? Could be.

SubSpecies Interview - Fresh New Streetwear

I'd begun to notice some nice SubSpecies threads around and about so imagine my delight when they got in touch with me with some information and the offer of 'samples'. I didn't hesitate in replying and pretty soon after I was rocking a high quality T-shirt and cap. Then, I just had to do the interview so that you lot can get up on these awesome garms:

Certified Banger: Yo! This is a first for me… tell the people why:

Chris Hughes: We are SubSpecies, an urban/streetwear label that was formed by a troop of talented designers who were tired of the poor quality that mainstream brands were banging out and selling out to the sheep of society.

CB: So tell us about your product a bit more. What did you set out to achieve with it?

CH: We want to create something that is a little different from the rest of the brands that are out there, using good graphics on quality fabrics. All our tees are limited edition and there are only 450 of them per style/colour worldwide, so if you’re in a club with someone wearing a Sub tee the same as you... that's just fate!

• Click here for the rest of the interview to find out their UK Hip Hop connections
  
• Check their websites: http://www.subspecies.co.uk/ and http://www.subspecies.bigcartel.com/

'Hot Sauce Committee' Artwork!

Really looking forward to this one!

Top Billin' in Plymouth

How about going to this if you're in or about Plymouth? Stig and Syntax are playing and Sleaze is hosting. I had an email from the Stig the other day with regards to an email I posted some time ago about the HHC anniversary tour being cancelled and he wanted me to let you know this:

"I just wanted to let you know that at no point did myself or Dr Syntax "pull out" of any shows... we are always professional when it comes to our shows - we live for this s**t and would never be arrogant enough to f**k around someone who is promoting us and in turn helping us pay our rent..."

Free Eat Good Records Tracks From Compilation

I can only apologise for not having written about this CD sooner, but since it's only £4.99 from Suspect Packages you might as well buy it without my say so - I'm sure you do anyway. The compilation is absolutely banging, straight fire and this collective has some of today's most talented artists repping for them.

To ensure that you do buy it, the kind bods at Eat Good Records have decided to give away some free tracks via their facebook page:

SonnyJim & Kosyne - 'EG Professionals'

Taharka Feat RTillery & Professor D - 'Mr Officer'

TLG - 'What Lies Beneath'

The compilation is also available digitally if you want to finish off your mp3 collection at itunes, Amazon, HMV and Play.com.

Organix #1: 'Summer Holidays'

This is Organix, set up by Simple Samples boys Dweller and Scrabble, and who better to explain Organix than Dweller himself?

"Basically, I want to let MCs download a beat from my site, and they are given a certain amount of time to write lyrics over a topic decided by us. For example, write so many bars about where in the UK you are from and what it is like.

There will be a scoreboard up and points will be given for sick stuff, when all the rhymes are in we will film a vid of them and people in the room will listen to it etc. All entries will be available as a mixed mp3 avaibly shortly after for free download."

Nice concept eh? Well check the vid and see whose verse you think is best. Choose between Mal, Beit Nun, 777, Dweller, Suicyde, Joe D, Trick and Scrabble and then head on over to the Organix myspace to cast your vote and to check out the beat for the second installment - you could even get involved!

'Something In The Making' - Franko Fraize & Lyrical T (EP review)

Thetford's Franko Fraize and Lyrical T first EP is here - 'Something in the Making'. Kicking off with a couple of string-laden Hip Hop tracks before a Grime excursion on 'MCs Don't Know'. Then you get 2 more slabs of Hip Hop until the Shakedown sampling dubstep haunter that is 'Seems I Can't Deny' wobbles speakers. Dubby Reggae comes next followed by some Bassline-ish Dubstep whilst some Electro-Dub finishes things off. You get the picture - when Fraize raps "I'm not straight Hip Hop, I crossover" on 'Something in the Making', he meant it.

This approach certainly keeps things interesting and DJ I.C, Redeye and Dillijence have done a good job of production. The two MCs have clearly waited for the right moment to record material - there is a quality to their all round mic skills no matter what style they're attempting.

Surprisingly, their Hip Hop approach to other genres has resulted in my favourite tracks being 'MCs Don't Know', 'Seems I Can't Deny', 'Herb Man Husslin'' and 'Everyday Thing' - their willingness to step out, to break the mould is a blessing - it means these two MCs stand out in this saturated market.

'Something In The Making' is out now on Hoodlem and is available at Suspect Packages now.

'Hat Low' ft. SkinnyMan & Fallacy - Inja (EP review)

I always thought of Inja (or on myspace) as a pretty traditional MC but his 'Hat Low' EP put an end to that. This new track sees him, SkinnyMan and Fallacy go in over a well executed Grime style beat. Whether or not he's trying to cash in on the fact that Grime is a better-selling genre right now (just check any HMV), it can't be ignored that these 3 MCs actually really put it down on this.

I can't say I'm a fan, not even a Mr. Thing remix does it for me (it's still pretty grimey) although the Dubstep remix by Chimpo and BioViolence's Drum & Bass remix are pretty nice. Loads of people are gonna be feeling this one though and Inja will no doubt appeal to a different audience.

'Police Don't Like Me' and 'Deep Within' are again in the Grime vein with the latter vibing in a more mellow, melodic way. 'Hat Low' will be out on 20th July on In Records.

Jehst Freestyle on DJGone.TV

'Death of L.O.L.' - Farma G (free download)

Couldn't agree more with Farma on this one - LOL is something I can actually say I've never typed, or even worse - said! People actually say it now, but they don't even say the acronym, they just say it as a word!

Not sure if 'Death of L.O.L.' will have a worldwide impact but it might make a few people think! Still loving the 'D.O.A.' instrumental and always appreciate Farma's jokes.

Street Hero Bus Jump

This is insane, one of the best and maddest things I've ever seen! A guy climbs a lamppost, jumps onto a building, then onto a double decker bus, then onto another moving double decker bus and then off onto the road - all in about 30 seconds! Check the second vid for the headcam:

'MasterSystem EP' - MasterSystem (free download)

My apologies go to the MasterSystem boys for not writing about their new free-to-download EP sooner - 5 tracks of quality Scottish Hip Hop done in their own firmly rooted style.

The EP kicks off with the fast-paced ‘Verbal Goldmine’, utilising on old skool bass break to great effect whilst the crew spit tongue twisters with playful panache. Making the Scots (and Lancashire) accent work for English folk the MCs spit clearly on ‘Little Fingers’ whilst Anneke sings the chorus in style not unlike that of Lily Allen. You will recognise ‘See I Realise’ from my own ‘On The Radar’ series (Vol. 4 coming soon) and ‘It’s Time’ finally answers the question “What would Jurassic 5 sound like if they were Scottish/Lancastrian?”, and as a J5 fan, I like that. ‘Out of Luck’ is a very experimental instrumental track which is probably left best without raps – Ronin does his own thing here.

Download this for yourself and be entertained for 20 minutes. Look out for the forthcoming ‘Certified Celtic Connection’ for more Scottish goodness.

'Elbow Grease' - Percy Filth (EP review)

Why should you buy ‘Elbow Grease’? Well it kicks off with a collaboration surely every UK Hip Hop head wanted to hear – SonnyJim and Foregin Beggars on the big and bouncy ‘Out To Getcha’ anybody? Percy Filth doesn’t let up in quality of production or guest calibre – next up it’s about-to-return Juice Aleem, Madflow and Lotek on ‘Electronic Music’ which somehow manages to use digital sounds on a track reminiscent of the 90s era.

It’s not just UK MCs and DJs who have been invited on board – ‘Livin’ Trife’ features Maylay Sparks, K-Skills, ‘That’s Why (Remix)’ features K-Skills and J-Sands and ‘Flesh n Blood’ features (the probably quite eccentric) Arsun F!st.

Over the remaining four tracks SonnyJim, Redbeard, English, Stig of the Dump, Dr. Syntax and Kosyne ensure that there is not a bad track on this EP. The wealth of DJs on this release take care of the very welcome cuts – props to DJ Cro, DJ Weetamix, DJ Roc-1 and DJ Jodo. Percy Filth has got the skills to pay the bills, your head won’t stop nodding for the duration and the skip button will be underused, so make sure you pick up a copy so that he actually can pay for gas and that.

‘Elbow Grease’ is out on Aerosolik/Eat Good and is available now from Suspect Packages.

'Fallout Shelter' - Brad Strut (EP review)

The Australian Hip Hop scene is more closely related to ours than it is to the US scene. The main reason for this is the automatic hard work that has to be put in to be respected above our American brothers and the attention to detail in the lyrics - Brad Strut, an Australian now living in London, is at home here.

His ‘Fallout Shelter’ EP dropped last month and with its 6 tracks being produced by Beat Butcha there is all the more reason for it to be on Certified Banger. As you would expect, the production holds weight and Brad Strut pours his triple distilled lyrics perfectly over the beats. With a positive outlook (considering the name and the concept), I find this EP to be just how I want Hip Hop to be. ‘NO!’ is a harpsichord based apocalyptic thriller – if it’s possible, this is the stand out track. The EP’s pinnacle, the beautiful but banging ‘Believe’, is blissful and flawlessly created. ‘Looking At You’, the closing track, appears to deal with some very personal issues with cryptic lyricism (check the lyrics here) being the order of the day.

As if an excellent EP wasn’t enough the EP comes packaged with a remixes LP featuring versions of Brad’s past tracks by M-Phazes, Chemo, Beat Butcha, Jehst and The Last Skeptik amongst other (possibly Aussie) producers. With 13 extra tracks this is more than an incentive to buy this excellent package.

‘Fallout Shelter’ EP/ ‘Rejuvenation’ is out now and can be gotten at Suspect Packages.

Comedian Bigs Up Opponent in Rap Battle

Check out this Australian comedian entering a rap battle - jokes! He even uses props! Check out the end of the video for when to catch him at the Edinburgh festival.

'Keep It Unreal' - Mr. Scruff (free mix)

I've been a fan of Mr. Scruff for as long as I can remember (a lie, but for as long as I've been really getting into music) and it was this album that started it all off. It's 10 years old now (hence the 10th Anniversary re-release) and it still sounds as good as it used to.

I would recommend that you buy all of Scruff's albums, including the mix ones because they contain nuff heavy Hip Hop and other shenans. You should go see him live because you'll have fun and if you get to meet him I'm sure he'll be lovely; he's from Stockport like me Nana (and my Grandad, Mum and Auntie).

To celebrate, those Ninja's have put together a mix that over just 20 minutes is top listening - you gots a bit of comedy, a bit of Roots Manuva and lot of beats. Download it below and then head over to somewhere that sells the re-released album.

Current UK Hip Hop itunes Releases

So what can you guys and girls get for yourself this week on itunes? Well, there's a whole host of stuff:

Micall Parknsun - 'All 4 Hip Hop' (also at Amazon and HMV)

Roots Manuva - 'Do Nah Bodda Mi' (Preview at Ninja Tune and buy the 12")

Elemental & Tom Caruana - 'Rebel Without Applause' (read my review here or pop over to the Tea Sea website to buy the actual CD)

Million Dan - 'Acceleration' (it includes remixes from Baby J and versions of 'Hip Hop U Don't Stop' from Jay Large and DJ Firstaid)

Killa Kela - 'Built Like An Amplifier' (Not Hip Hop really but it does feature a Sway remix. Watch the official video here)

Kyza - 'Sin City'/'Go' & 'Love & Music'/'Dirty' (His two singles from the forthcoming 'Shots Of Smirnoff')

YNR Productions - 'Feeding Time At The Zoo' (or here on CD)

Lowkey - 'We Don't Want Them' (produced by The Last Skeptik and all for a good cause)

Sleaze - Theolovision (or here on CD)

Homecut - No Freedom Without Sacrifice (go to First Word for the CD)

That should do ya for now...let me know if this is a worthwhile thing to do, whether I post up what's available on itunes or elsewhere.

'On The Radar Volume 4' Coming Soon!

Hold tight for the release of the audio spectacle that will be Certified Banger Presents: 'On The Radar Volume 4'. I've currently got over 40 tracks of UK Hip Hop sitting in a folder as part of the selection process - that's enough for volumes 4 and 5 and the quality suggests that will be the case!

So far I've got exclusive tracks from the likes of 10Shott, Joker Starr, Delusionists, Nutty P, Vee-Kay, Rapskallions and loads more artists soon to be on your radar. I've really pushed for the exclusivity this time and there will be alot of never-heard-before, not-available-elsewhere material on the next two releases. I hope you're looking forward to them, I am!

'Theolovision' - Sleaze (album review)

Sleaze aka Hermes Trismegistus (Who? Whut?!) can be easily contrasted with Nas: whereas Nas notoriously picks bad beats, Sleaze has picked a set of bangers on this, his ‘Theolovision’ long player. Ghost, Beat Butcha, Wizard, Endemic, Reklews, Hey!Zeus, Madskillz and Skank all pitch in with awesomely heavy beats – this LP’s strong point.

Sleaze, a Bromwich boy transplanted to the south, retains his accent as he raps frenetically on tracks such as ‘Wild Sumerian’ and ‘Bembine Triad’ – which frankly, aren’t as deep and thinky as I think Sleaze would like them to be. Mr. Trismegistus does stand out from the pack but mainly because of the fact that his rap style will not be to most people’s taste - something he's aware of as the press release states "13 tracks of how Hip Hop should not be flavour of the week". ‘Theolovision’ claims to be the brainchild of a theologist and historian amongst other things – I’d like to see those influences shine brighter, I’d like some real light bulb moments and I’d like some more insightful lyrics.

Sleaze has reeled in a list of likeminded MCs such as Ruffstylz, Lee Scott, Gramma Marksman, Super Dertie to vibe alongside this likeable but hard-to-swallow MC (No homo!). Stand out tracks are ‘Wild Sumerian’ featuring T-Bone and Illmystic and ‘Success (Worked My Whole Life For This)’.

‘Theolovision’ is out now and available at Suspect Packages and who knows, you might really feel this.

'Never' (Father Jack Remix) - Jee4ce & Riddlah (free download)

Keep your peelers peeled for a project compiled by Jee4ce and brought to you in association with Certified Banger entitled 'Certified Celtic Connection'. Jee4ce has mustered his Celtic troops from Ireland, Scotland and Wales and put together yet another compilation of tracks repping the unsung areas of the UK.

The mix will feature Skamma, Mudmowth, Ral & Gambit, Ralph Rip S**t and Dead Residents repping for Wales, DJ Flip, Freeze, Richie Filth, Marc Stretch, (the late) Lunitic, Nucentz, The RubberBandits, Rhymes Vital, Jonny boy, AJ, Sert One and Jee4ce doing it for Ireland and Riddlah, Show N Prove, U-turn, Dandy, Holmes, Madhat, Mog, The Riddlah, Werd, Steg G, Respek BA, Catchklick Emceez, Scatabrainz, Depths and Perfect Practice showing their skills for Scotland. There's also a track produced by The Last Skeptik.

To get a taste of what to expect, go download Jee4ce & Riddlah - 'Never' (Father Jack Remix) for free! It has sleigh bells, funky samples and top notch celtic lyrics from Ireland and Scotland. UNITED Kingdom - stand up!

'Money' - Danny Spice (single review)

DJ Juice’s production grooves along (in the way a modified premo joint might) as Danny Spice cruises vocally on his latest track ‘Money’. Mr. Spice tells us in no uncertain terms (“You see me, ain’t up in the game to be cool/ Or have MTV round to look at my pool/ I rap to because I have to…”) what he deems to be the state of realness in Hip Hop.

‘Sci Figh’ sees Juice switch up a little with a sound effect heavy, stripped back head nod beat. Danny rails against another type of MC this time – the type who rhyme for rhymes sake; the Hip Hop geeks. Danny Spice maintains that you have to have something to say if you’re gonna jump on the mic. The two tracks do leave you wondering exactly which kind of rappers Danny does like – I guess he himself does it how he thinks it should be done.

Both tracks are taken from Danny Spice’s debut album ‘Just For The Record’ which will be released towards the end of the year. ‘Money’/’Sci Figh’ will be available on 12” and download on August 3rd.

‘Superstars B/W Dust til Dawn’ - Tactical Thinking (single review)

I’ve been onto the Tactical Thinking crew for a few years now and have been waiting for their first proper release. The time has come, well it will have late August. Not content with fitting into any mould TT have opted to break onto the scene with some dirty electronica styled Hip Hop. Don’t let that put you off though - the crew consists of some of the most classically trained MC in the country – you should see them freestyle.

Lead track ‘Superstars’ laughs in the face of heat magazine and its unsecure, obsessive readership - check the vocoder (way better than autotune). Crew members Naïve and Mr. Dick bring the glitchy ruckus on ‘T.A.C.T.I.C.A.L.’ (which features Kid Genius, Deadline, Derogatory and Mr Dick on raps) and ‘That’s Right Move’ (that features Jim Raygun, Deadline, Assa, Derogatory, Mr Dick and Jay Madden).

‘Dusk Til Dawn’ proves they’re not just on the electro hip hop vibe with it’s Mexican, double timed, grime-esque madness – ariba! The gang (this time Derogatory, Kid Genius, Jim Raygun, Mr Dick, Deadline and Assa) spit tongue twisters about just how good they are.

This double sided single is some of the freshest Hip Hop around at the moment – throw away your misconceptions and prejudices and get your hands on this digital download and prepare for the album ‘Too Broke to Go Solo’. ‘Superstars B/W Dust til Dawn’ is out on 24th August.

'What's Urban?' ft. Neon Hitch - Wan-Cee (video)

Thanks to Supar Novar at Explosive Muzik for alerting me to this one. This is the new video by Wan-Cee; 'What's Urban?' It features Neon Hitch on the chorus and the video also features Ayanna Whitter Johnson & the Urban Philharmonic Orchestra. The Single will be released 27th July on Prodigal Son Entertainment 2009.

'Ain't Nuttin' Changed' - Blaq Poet (video)

Maaaaaan. This beat is sooooo nice - Preemo still has it - he's got it, he has!!! Love this track! And that's why it gets on this predominantly UK Hip Hop blog. Go check out some other DJ Premier/Blaq Poet tracks on youtube.

Suspect Packages Radio Show July

Bit late on this and probs none of you are cos it's Supect Packages radio show innit and where else would you be hearing all the next stuff before you can get your mitts on it? Nowhere, that's where.

So as usual Disorda packs a lot of UK Hip Hop into his allotted time - and mroe than usual cos there are no live shenanigans. Anyways, there's loadsa good stuff as you would expect from all of the best current UK artists including Kyza, Micall Parknsun, Delusionists, Elemental and Tom Caruana, Danny Spice, Dialect, Truth and loads more MCs who you read about regularly at Certified Banger. Check it out yo.

'Control The Game' - Kyza (free download)

Not content with dropping a mixtape better than most albums Kyza has returned to dropping freestyles on the regular. The first in his reloaded arsenal is 'Control The Game' (click the track name to download) and it's free for you to download. Apparently 'Shots Of Smirnoff' is out on 20th July so go cop that, it's, like I said, better than most proper LPs coming out right now!

Click here to read more about Kyza, including recent mixtape and single reviews

The Procrastinat(K)ing - Truth Interview

"I think a lot of artists in England are too desperate to make it a career instead of taking time out to build a fan base..."

I've not been up on my interview game in the last few weeks so I thought it was about time I brought you some more words from a few rappers and the like. Hopefully you already clocked the ABD interview and if you're reading this, you're about to check out the words of another MC - Truth:

Certified Banger: Yo Truth! For the peeps who don’t know, who are you and what do you do with your time?

Truth: I refresh a lot of internet pages whilst looking for a job. Ain’t NOBODY hiring right now. I’m also an MC, an inactive beat maker since my MPC broke and I promote the Rapsploitation Sessions nights in Ipswich.

• Click here to read on about why Ipswich is good for Hip Hop heads and how he got all those guys roped in on his 'Procrastinat(K)ing' EP
  
  
• Click here to download Truth's EP and to find out more about the boy

Photograph by Brendan Baker

'We Don't Want Them' - Lowkey (single review)

"Can't blame immigrants for the state of the economy, some come here from former British Colonies/ Some come here to escape British foreign policy/ You make a mockery of democracy and equality" - no guesses who Lowkey is talking about on his latest single, 'We Don't Want Them'.

Yup, it's the BNP and he gets it pretty spot on - apart from the name of the track and this: "They scream freedom of speech but I won't let these cowards..." - if we want freedom of speech then they must have it too, it's just sad that people like the British 'Nazi' Party exist in the first place.

The track is awesome, The Last Skeptik's production is menacingly funky and futuristic, and Lowkey's brand of politics is accessible to all. The track is being released in association with Love Music Hate Racism and Lowkey will be donating all profits from the single to LMHR. The track is out on Monday 6th July and LMHR is a very worthy cause - people of the same mind of Lowkey need to make their voice heard and LMHR really does that in a positive way. Get involved - there's power in numbers - something the BNP does not have. Download it now from itunes.

Tea Sea Records CDs Available!

Big ups to Tom Caruana, UK producer and boss of Tea Sea Records. I've just got home to a fat pack of CDs from him, 7 in all, so thought I'd big them up a little (if that isn't a contradiction?).

He's sent me, in no particular order, 'The Rough Versions: Bootleg remixes by Tom Caruana' (which features tracks from D.I.T.C, J-Live and Busta), 'Tom Caruana Instrumentals Vol. Two' (which features beats from Dr. Syntax's 'Off The Radar' and Wordsmith's 'The Roadman Showcase'), 'Boiler Room Collective: The Mixtape' (with tracks from Dr. Syntax, Wordsmith, SkinnyMan, Genesis Elijah, Supar Novar and loads more), Longusto's 'Back In The Bad Books', 'Tom Caruana Instrumentals Volume 3', 'Boiler Room Collective: The Album' and his own 'Welcome Aboard'.

All of these CDs are available to you from Suspect Packages (just click on the CD names above) for the very reasonable price of £4.99 or less! There are also other bits and pieces available over at SP from TC's stable. I'll be working my way through these and keeping you updated on my progress!

Golden Mic Challenge Winner ABD Interview

ABD has been on the West Yorkshire Hip Hop scene for a while now and dues are beginning to be paid. Without fail he rocks the show and gets the crowd involved and partying without resorting to nonesense. He has dope flows, a very likeable timbre and he's taken time to answer some questions for me:

Certified Banger: Yo ABD, congratulations on the Golden Mic Challenge win! Before we get into this, let us know about yourself, give us all the info we need:

ABD: Ok I’m 23 and been rhyming since I was 14, so 9 years at some point this year. My main crew is Alphabetix, I’m also in Northern Hostility, and I usually have the odd live band side project here and there (not at the mo!) I come from York but I've been living in Leeds about 4 years. Alphabetix have our own label – 30Tonne Slug on which we plan to release our own stuff. We put out a 12” of my old crew 118SoundSystem in 2006.

• Click here to read his tips on rocking a show, his suggested reading list and his thoughts on religion

• Click here to download some free tracks by ABD and Alphabetix

'The Beat Tape 2' - Illskilz (free download)

Producer Illskilz has put together another nice beat tape for peeps to listen to and it's a free download. Check out his wares and if you're a rapper who wants to use one of these get at him on isrbeats@live.nl - that's right he's Netherlandian, or Dutch for those in the know.

This is a really nice varied set of beats with a whole load of samples and influences. There are some of those swingy, wonky beats that are cool right now (and I'm totally loving that style), then there's straight bangers and some pretty soulful slices of stuff too.

Check him out on www.myspace.com/illskilzrecordz or http://www.illskilzrecordz.nl/ and don't forget these are his and not yours to pilfer!

'What If Dilla Produced The Blueprint?' - Jimmy Green (free download)

If the rumour that one of Dilla's infamous beat CDs had made its way into Jay-Z's hands was true, then what might that collaboration sound like? Well Jimmy Green, the UK producer/DJ has put together a little something to give you an idea.

'What If Dilla Produced The Blueprint?' is not one of those car crash mashups that some amateurs attempt - this is done by someone with skills. Dilla's minimalistic and moody signature sound really suits Jay's early days lyrics. Fans of Dilla and Hova alike should really be able to get with this and I have to say, as I'm sitting in my yard with the sun, this is fitting music for the weather we're experiencing.

Go to rapsploitationsessions.wordpress.com/ or www.myspace.com/stupidfreshmain for more!

'Ghost Town' - 10Shott (video)

A fan-made video of 10Shott's version of 'Ghost Town' by The Specials - top stuff, really loving this - more rappers should get a hold of this guy and get him to do some official vids!