Recommended Listening: Lewis Parker, Reggiimental, Fallacy & Ramson Badbonez

Lewis Parker is always going to be a UK Boom Bap fan's favourite. He's long gone from these shores but is still doing his thing. 'The Unseen Trap', which will be released on the HHV.DE label, continues his penchant for espionage-tinged beats and concepts with the title track seeing him team up with John Robinson, an American MC who is nowhere near as plain as his name sounds. 'International Hitmen' is a solo track (and I think, my favourite) and 'Super Scientific Weapons' features Eastkoast and Tah Born. IT's coming out on download and 10" vinyl - I highly recommend that you get it when it's out on 26th February.

Reggiimental's album 'Something For The Strive' has some really great tracks on it - my two favourites are 'For The Life' and 'Weighing My Brain' - two very different tracks. I love the former for its use of a favourite Paul Simon track ('Mother and Child Reunion') - Baby J (who also produces on this album) will be kicking himself for not getting his hands on this one - props to Swift 89 for the production. Not forgetting to mention that Reggii, SC and Brisko do the tune justice with their delivery. 'Weighing My Brain' features and is produced by Gadget, it also features Unfriendly Neighbours - a West Coast type beat with some chat about women and a silky sung chorus. 'Grown Ups' is an old favourite of mine and 'Family Life' featuring Cipher J.E.W.E.L.S. is a tune too - inspiration for a dad-to-be. You can download this album for free here.

Fallacy, another UK legend in my eyes (if you haven't before, check his album 'Blackmarket Boy') has dropped a little download-only EP 'Gracefull In Death' (spelling mistake artist's own) mainly produced by Strategy of Broke 'n' £nglish. On 'Once Upon A Time' he chats about his past and how he got to where he is now - a different story to most. 'One For One' is a dubstep-ish banger and the rest of the beats are the type of hybrids that Fallacy is used to riding. Fallacy sounds hungry - hopefully this won't actually be his last. Scratch up a few quid to buy this.

Another freebie now: I'm not sure when Ramson Badbonez and DJ Gone sleep - they are constantly putting out more music and videos and all of that. Their latest collaborative effort is a mixtape collecting together some of Raomsons recent freestyles: 'Bone Marrow Vol. 1'. If you've heard Ramson Badbonez spit before then you'll be clamouring to download this, if not, download it and check one of the UKs most entertaining MCs doing his thing.

Ty speaks on 'Special Kind Of Fool'

Those of you who know me will know that I'd consider Ty's 'Upwards' as one of the best albums there is - I recently included it in my Desert Island Ish on How We Do Radio. I'm really looking forward to Ty's fourth album 'Special Kind Of Fool' which is coming out on BBE. The first single will be 'Emotions' - look out for that.

Recommended Listening: Wu-Tang, Mathematics, Tom Caruana, Nas & Damian Marley, Phoenix The Renaissance Man & KingPin

First thing for today's installment is the recommendation of a purchase: Wu-Tang Clan's 'Return of the Wu (Mixed By Mathematics)'. It's released on 1st March 2010 on the Gold Dust label. It's full of good stuff and will keep your head bumping. You can download 'Clap 2010' featuring Raekwon, Ghostface, Method Man and U-God and 'Steppin' 2 Me' with GZA, Masta Killa and Inspectah Deck.

Then, still with the Wu, but with a bit of Beatles thrown into the mix is Tom Caruana's excellent 'Enter The Magical Mystery Chambers' which is free from Tea Sea Records. This is 27 tracks of shear genius. Check for tracks like ODB's 'Got Your Money' mashed up with 'She Never Gives Me Her Money' - brilliant! This one ahs being going down really well and it's giving TC the praise and props he deserves.

If you haven't heard it already you should listen to this new Nas and Damian Marley tune. They bounce off each other like a new school version of Run DMC with a Jamaican influence. For high-paced good times download 'As We Enter' now.

A new artist for you now: Phoenix the Renaissance Man – a Palestinian MC who spends 6 months in the UK and 6 months in the West Bank each year writing rhymes. His album should be out the next 3 months or so and his EP Sampler 'Rising from the Ashes' should be out as a free download even sooner. In the meantime listen to 'Life Is Tough'.

A few months ago I got an copy of an awesome album by a UK MC called KingPin entitled 'The Initiative'. That album has yet to be released but I've just got word of a mixtape that is to precede the LP: 'The Initiative Mixtape'. The mix kicks off with 'Fire' a track that features Kyza, Dubbledge, Manage and Stig of the Dump. The album is a top listen so get ready!

'More To Life' - The IRS (free download)

From Ed Strong:

"Some of you may of heard that IRS are to stop making music as a group. This is sad news but unfortunately true. We're all still good friends and the split is due to the fact we can't coordinate as a group anymore and don't have the time to compete in today's industry.

We will still be doing shows this year while we put out the rather large sum of music we have stored up for the last 2/3 years. Most of it will be free over the internet but we will also release our album digitally probably in the summer."

Sad news but I'm looking forward to the promised music. You can download this track for free here.

'2009 UK Rap Up' - Mystro (video)

Chief Wigz Interview

"...the time’s gotta be right for everything; recording, writing, practising, ciphering, timing of life -it ain’t luck, just good timing"

A legend on the Leeds scene, quiet for a while, is ready to rock again on a national stage. Certified Banger gets the lowdown from the man himself:

Certified Banger: Alright? How’s it going?

CW: I’m good; the glass is always half full! I got the 12” out, album on the way, all produced by ‘Brutal Artistry’ may I add, and I’m rolling with an ill label, ‘Don’t Talk To Strangers’ - things have never been better.

CB: Let’s talk about your 12” then. What’s it called? What’s the thinking behind the orange vinyl – why is it orange and why is it vinyl and not just download or CD?

CW: ‘Sunday Service’ is the name of the first release. The thinking behind the vinyl (let alone the vinyl being limited edition orange vinyl) was that a classic product. Since I was a teenager my dream was to have my own vinyl, I want more already, it’s like having you’re own comic book printed and the story board is about you. It’s just a classic, traditional method of releasing material. Me and Brutal Artistry and DTTS as a label all want to practise the art form traditionally; anyone can release a download, some people put one out each week and that’s fine but we want our product to be permanent, we want you to be able to pick it up and be fascinated with it, not just put it on your ipod and it fall into years of endless un-listened music. We want you to use it as it was designed to be used classically! Anyways, vinyl’s still the new cool - all the kids are getting back into it. Trust.

Read on here

Recommended listening: Congo Man Crew, Strong Arm Steady, Suspect Packages, Reps, DJ IQ & Joker Starr

My man over at Eclectic Hermit asked me if I’d ever heard any Swedish reggae and of course I hadn’t. I had a bit of a laugh at the idea then listened to it and realised it was pretty dope. Then we had more of a laugh about it when we rapped about typically Swedish things (like Ikea) in Jamaican accents over the dubs of the tracks. Go to his post for more info and the free download of their latest EP.

Some US Hip Hop I’m really feeling now: Strong Arm Steady’s ‘In Search of Stoney Jackson’. All the beats on this album are by Madlib and because of this they are all pure quality – trust. The MCs and their guests bring bags of lyrics and rhyming phrases with Krondon being a real standout on the mic. For a much better and more in depth review check out Sach-O’s paragraphs at Passion of the Weiss.

The latest Suspect Packages radio show is upon us and it features, as usual, all the latest and greatest Hip Hop from the UK – something on there for everyone. Download it from Mixcloud.

Reps, one of my favourite UK MCs has put out a free EP download. It’s called ‘So Much More’ and is entirely produced by Polish beatwhizz O.S.T.R. (who produced the remix of Reps' 'Park Ranger' - one of my favourite modern UK Rap tracks) there’s no point in saying anything but download it and bump it. Quality stuff.

Last of all, DJ IQ and Joker Starr having been working together on an EP and ‘Sunshine’ should warm up your snowy world for the moment. Taste this treat and treat this as a taste of what’s to come.

'The Return of the Boom Bap' - S.Kalibre (mixtape review)

Instead of choosing his favourite beats from the 90s S.Kalibre has chosen the best beats from the 90s for his 'The Return of the Boom Bap' mixtape. Then he's taken cues from the original subject matter and made his own piece of art from the original elements. 37 tracks deep, one verse per track, beats from tracks made famous by Outkast, Dre, Slick Rick, Pete Rock, Nas, Ice Cube, Das EFX and loads more (obviously). An amazing mixtape from a rapper who makes rapping sound effortless.

If you want more of S.Kalibre (and you should) then check his 'English Spitrapture' EP which came out last year. It's 6 tracks of classic-sounding, heavy beats from Mike-S and lyrics full of clarity, reality and quotables. 'English' featured on the 'On The Radar' series and 'Here Comes The Officer' features Big Cakes and Menace. 'Incoming' is a military-themed banger on which S.Kalibre weaves in many a war-based lyric - clever stuff.

Then, if you've got a few extra pence, you can name your own price on the S.Kalibre/Hard Livin' single 'Oh Girl'.

Reps EP Launch

Reps, the artist behind one of my favourite albums of 2008, is dropping a new EP sometime next week. It's called 'So Much More The Free EP' and Flash Fry are having a party in Bristol for its release next Wednesday. Get down to it!

'True or False' - Insight (single review)

The latest release from Tea Sea Records is US rapper Insight's single 'True or False'. It's a fast paced warning that everything might not be as it seems and the original is produced by Tom Caruana. The single also comes with six differing remixes. The funk of the Flevans remix, the flute and organ of the Savages remix and the sneaky sounding Evil Sun remix all do it for me and at 50p each you could spend £2 to get those three and the original. Or, for £2 you can buy them all - might as well eh? For an extra 50p you can get all the instrumentals and the acapella. It's a bargain. Get it here now.

Speaking of remixes, Tom Caruana is looking to get remixes done using acapellas from Tea Sea Records. The acapellas are available to download free from www.teasearecords.net/acapellas. If there is a song on Tea Sea that you want to remix but the acapella isn't available on that page, get in touch with them and they'll sort you out.

Recommended Listening: Charlie Sloth, D.Gritty & Souls of Mischief

Using only genuine business acumen Charlie Sloth has managed to build his name into a bit of a brand. All his hard work will surely pay off when he starts actually releasing music. His next single is 'One More Drink', out on 18th January on his own Grimey Limey label. It's produced by Dominic Owen who has produced for Notorious BIG, Lil Kim, Rakim and EPMD and is a tale of what happens if one drinks to excess. Typical Charlie cheekiness.

Once you've bumped that for a week you might fancy a change. D.Gritty drops his First Aid produced single 'Real Talk' on 27th January. Good to hear the Bradford/Leeds accent coming through on this down-tempo trackt hat does just what it does on the tin. He's got an album on the way ('No Struggle, No Progress') which features production from First Aid, Baby J, Metabeats and Jehst with guest appearances from SkinnyMan and Million Dan.

If you haven't picked up the Souls of Mischief album yet then sample it with the Prince Paul produced single 'Proper Aim'. It is backed with the tracks 'For Real Y'all' and 'Postal' and it's all good stuff! It's out on 25th January.

Recommended Listening: Mr. Chop, Kidkanevil, Spin Doctor, Stonephace, Del & Tame One

Time is short these days and I'm going to start experimenting with more time effective ways of posting up all the UK Hip Hop news you need. Today is a snow day so I've got time to work things out. You may see more posts like these:

First thing I'd like to tell you to listen to is Mr. Chop's 'For Pete's Sake'. It's basically instrumental reworkings of Pete Rock beats but the beauty of it is that you can play this to anyone and they'll groove to it and all the while you'll be smugly rapping along in your head to 'T.R.O.Y', 'The World Is Yours' and more classics like those. Watch out for the two 7" vinyls actually featuring CL Smooth. Go to www.nowagainrecords.com/mr-chop for more.

If you're feeling brave and adventurous get yourself a copy of Kidkanevil's third album 'Basho Basho'. Hot on the heels of 'Back Off Man, I'm a Scientist' Kid K takes his formula to its extremes and bashes the listener around the head with bass heavy glitch-hop beats of varying tempos that explode out of their calming intros and interludes. Very strange but very good. Keep your eyes on here for more news, it should be out on January 18th on First Word Records.



The self-titled album by Stonephace on Tru Thoughts is another great CD to share with your anti-Hip Hop friends and family. You'll all appreciate something here whether it be the epic melodies, musicianship or just the funky beats. If you like any other Tru Thoughts albums then you'll like this - they are a label you can be a fan of as they have honed their sound perfectly. Listen to them take you through the album on the Tru Thoughts podcast.

Del The Funky Homosapien has hooked up with Tame One and together they've put together 'Parallel Uni-verses' which is produced by Parallel Thought. I've only heard the album sampler, 5 tracks in all, but it's pretty dope if you fancy some decent US Hip Hop. Check 'Flashback' for some history lessons. It's out on Gold Dust Records.

Finally, try to get your hands on a copy of DJ Spin Doctor's 'Doctorin' Detroit'. It's basically just a mix of a load of really decent Motown music - 2 CDs worth of tracks from The Jackson 5, Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, Diana Ross, Rick James and loads more! Buy it here from Rap and Soul.

Free Downloads from No Pretense, Joker Starr & KI

No Pretense - 'Death of a Star' ft. Belinda Hards
To promote their forthcoming album 'Music & Mouthwords', No Pretense are giving away a free download of 'Death of a Star' featuring Knew Jeru'slum's Belinda Hards on guest vocals. The download is available until 11th of January.

Joker Starr - 'Freestyle Freeness'
Joker Starr thought it would be good to kick start the new year by giving away some archive freestyles DJ specials that he has done over the years. 'Freestyle Freeness' features Dark Angel, Bangie, Soliheen and Scankman. His 'Frazier Ali' E.P. is nearing completion - it will be a digital only release, more information to come in the following weeks.

KI - 'Style of the Phoenix'
Another bandcamp release for you with some nice beats. Also check out his video for 'The Ronin Technique' which can be bought at itunes and places like that.

'What's A Postcode?' - Cyclonius (video)

Dope Hip Hop. Sense talked. Out on Feb 27th on itunes.

'It Came From Across The Pond - VA (free download)

Supporters of all things UK Hip Hop, the good guys at BMX/Skate/Music/Art mag Style 43 have put together a compilation of UK Hip Hop niceness in collaboration with US based indy Hip Hop site aboveGround.

Peep the tracklist:

1. Sound of a Genius – Jack Flash
2. Strange Fruit – M9ine
3. Aquarius – Mystro
4. Kush115 – Squid Ninjaz
5. The Low – Delusionists
6. Take Time – Truth
7. Ground N Bump (Interlude) – Jon Phonics
8. Some Emcees – The IRS
9. Responsibilities – Farma G
10. Clash of the Titans – Shadowstar ft. Joker Starr
11. Do It For a Fee – DJ IQ ft. Micall Parknsun
12. I’m Doing It – Genesis Elijah
13. Now Look At Us – Revilo
14. Alternate Take – Jon Phonics ft. Verb T & Fliptrix

'Nothing To Lose' - Mr. Drastick (video)

'The Noughties (2000-2009)' - Dan Bull (video+free download)

Check Dan's take on world affairs over the last 10 years - not bad! Download the mp3 here.

Jack Flash 24 - Week 3

More Mr. Flash over 'Survival Skills' by Buckshot and KRS One - 24 bars to be precise. Not his best - some clever rhymes but some weak, resorting-to-cliches subject matter.

'Paper Up' - Klashnekoff

Brand new Klashnekoff! Big beat!

'First Lesson' - Juice Aleem (video)

Free Downloads from SonnyJim & Kelakovski, Genesis Elijah, Sam Khan, JPMD, Plan B, Deadly Hunta, DPF & Yogi

Keeping things going for 2010, on a quick tip thing:

Genesis Elijah - 'Power' (produced by Beezwax)
Taken from the forthcoming 'Civil Unrest' EP from Genesis Elijah and producer Beezwax. This is only gonna be free on Bandcamp for a limited time only so get over there now!

SonnyJim - 'The Purple Patch' (produced by Kelakovski)
Look out for more music coming soon from SonnyJim in 2010 with artists such as Illmind, Marco Polo, M-Phazes, Prince Po, AG and J-Zone. Also, SonnyJim's 'Trading Standards' remix project dropping in March 2010 with exclusive remixes by Lotek Hifi, Kosyne Jon Phonics and more.

Sam Kahn - 'Fall Back'
Modern sounding but I'm feeling the lyricism. Check the video too at youtube.

JPMD - 'So Hard'
This one is a new track fresh out of the cooker for 'Know What Time Rhyme 'N' Grind Vol 2'. It features Angry, Ramboss, Grievz and Big Dange. To find out more hit up these places: www.myspace.com/jahstproduction, www.myspace.com/darealrambossneckle and www.twitter.com/jpmd_uk.

Plan B - 'Welcome To Hell'
New direction for this lad, see what you think.

Chronic Redeye - 'Stand Up' ft. Deadly Hunta, DPF & Lyrical T
Taken from 'Ruffneck Intellect Volume One' - "a mixed CD that is set to drag listeners into a realm where no amount of ice or big rims can save the weak from getting crushed under the weight of some real skills. The criteria for the ‘Ruffneck Intellect’ mix series is simple; it’s got to bump hard for the sound systems and it’s got to have depth and lyrical content that goes beyond the standard ignorance that gets peddled by many major labels today. This is real music, this is Hip-Hop and this is something fresh!"

Yogi - 'Hidden Chapter'
Dope as usual Hip Hop from the Midlands.

'For The Love' - T.R.A.C. (video)

Produced by Marc Mac of 4Hero. Full album to follow.

'Young Forever' - Stylah (free download)

Stylah does the explaining during the intro, have a listen, have a download:

'2009 UK Rap Up' - Mystro (free download)

Here's Mystro's version of Skillz's yearly overview. Mys takes the UK angle and chats about things that have been going on in our country. If you wanna hear the original just search for it, all the the other blogs have it.

Jack Flash 24 - Week 2

Jack Flash is back again for the very second time (out of 24). Rhymes over a Charles Hamilton beat on a 2009 reflection tip.

'Beware' ft. Arfa Tunn - Dweller (video)

Like Jason and The Argonauts? Like Hip Hop? watch Dweller's latest concoction then. It's taken from his forthcoming mixtape 'Covered Up'.

'Jonathon's Beats and Pieces' - Jon Phonics (free download)

Jon Phonics has put together a bit of a mixtape for your ears in 2010. It's kind of a snippet mix a la J Dilla and you can check out a whole host of the tracks here on youtube before you use up some minutes downloading the thing for free. It's full of squelchy and fairly wonky Hip Hop inlcuding the strangely titled track above which apparently features YNR newbie Jyager - holla if you hear him because I can't!

'The Uprising' - Remus (Out Now)

UK Hip Hop and Grime flavours from the son of Task Force MC Farma G. Remus, who has been heard on the 'MFTC' series of mixtapes and even on an 'On The Radar' release, has just dropped 'The Uprising' which is available at Suspect Packages for only £4.99. Check this youtube channel for some more of the tracks - big up Specktakool.