Tuesday 18 August 2009

'Heavy Rotation Vol. 2' - VA - Crackhouse Recordings/Subterrania Studios (album review)

If you need an introduction to the hardest working Hip Hop label in Leeds then look no further than 'Heavy Rotation Vol. 2'. It features tracks from all the Crackhouse Recordings rappers - Instance, PCP, El-D, No Change and Ill Phil - over non-conformist beats from Subterrania Studio's Mike D.

The compilation features 23 tracks of the artists making light of their everyday lives over some big US influenced productions - it's like the illest after hours cypher between a bunch of mates only seeking to have a good time. 'Heavy Rotation Vol. 2' is a lot of fun without being silly and it's easy to tell that this has been made as a result of a love for the art.

Things can get pretty ig'nant as the boys rap about everything you'd expect them to - girls, sex (these two come up often), cash, Hip Hop and life stories all get covered in the forthright Crackhouse style. Despite there being a certain sound, each MC brings his own style - for example, Instance has his gravelly tone, No Change demonstrates the ability to rap with the melody and El-D has the tight multisyllabic rhymes. The tracks don't get boring either, each has it's own sound with neighbouring tracks, the rock infused 'Tour Bus' and sing-a-long ballad 'City Life' being a fine example of the variety Crackhouse Recordings is capable of.

'Heavy Rotation Vol. 2' is out now and can be bought from the Crackhouse Recordings website for £6. If you take a liking to what they have to offer head over to their downloads sections for free versions of their past releases.

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