Organix Part 8 - 'Freespit'

Probably my favourite episode of Organix so far with a really bouncy beat from Pro P and verses from 16 MCs - 777, Diligent Fingers, Ed-Xl, Gadget, Terawrizt, Dweller, Milc, Inferno, Evil Eyez, Mal, Trick, Day Two, Arfa Tunn, Stiks, DFG & Baron Samedi. Is it me or is there some beef going on with 777 and Pez who previously featured side by side on Organix projects?

'Punches' ft. Baron Samedi, Dweller & 777 - Wizard & Scizzahs

If you wanna get involved as an MC in the next Organix track then check this:

'Pet Hates' - Organix (video)

The Organix videos are coming thick and fast now - this one features a beat from Wizard (probably my new producer man of the moment) and all the usual Organix names - plus a few more, all on the topic of 'Pet Hates'.

'Now You Know' ft. Pace Won by Amass Hegemony Coming Soon!

Just been previewing some new music by some of the UK's hardest working artists - Beit Nun and 777, collectively known as Amass Hegemony. Their next release is going to be a Maxi-Single (remember those?) called 'Now You Know' and it features Pace Won from The Outsidaz (y'know, they're affiliated to Eminem and Bizzarre somehow).

Title track 'Now You Know' is pure hungriness over a heavy, no-nonsense beat. Jabba The Kut remixes it with more of a soulful, bouncy feel - nice.

The release will feature cuts from Jabba Tha Kut and Irn Mnky and production from Wizard, Defftone, IllSkilz and Jabba Tha Kut and the following album will feature Pace Won, No Pretense and Dan Bull. Stay tuned for more.

'Further Into The Wood' - Tom Bombadeal (album review)

Fresh from Tea Sea Records is Tom Bombadeal’s follow up to 2007's 'Songs From The Wood'. ‘Further Into The Woods’ is a far as a magical mythical character from middle earth gets to releasing a mixtape. It’s a prequel to Bombadeal’s main album (which is as yet untitled) which will tell a story in sequence and will feature some familiar characters from ‘Songs From The Wood’ and ‘Further Into The Woods’.

At 35 tracks, yet only 50 minutes long, this is like a collection of snapshots giving insights into the world of Tom Bombadeal. What strikes me is that, despite this being set in an imaginary world, this album really captures many aspects of modern day life – and it makes me glad to be alive.

As you saunter through The Shire with Tom you meet the Sun, the Moon, trees, a witchdoctor, a troll and many more characters some voiced by rappers Elemental, 777, Dizraeli and Teej. Tom’s production is beautifully folksy making this as un-Hip Hop as Hip Hop gets – it’s extremely refreshing and in the short time I’ve owned this album I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve listened to it.

‘Further Into The Woods’ is out now on Tea Sea Records and I can’t urge you enough to go pick this up from them or Suspect Packages. But be warned, if you do buy it; be ready to be stripped of all your rap inhibitions. Play this one for yer kids.

Organix #4: Punchlines

Organix again. This time Dweller, Day Two, Jay Madden (of SK Crew/Tactical Thinking, check their single which is out this week), Scrabble, Mal, Sherbet, Gadget, Baron, Pez and 777. Check out www.myspace.com/organixhiphop for more! Here is the vid of Wizard and Scizzahs deciding on the winners:

'Ear To The Beat' - Wizard (album review)

Producer Wizard’s latest offering is something he should be proud of. Over 22 self produced tracks he’s gathered 30 MCs from both the UK and the US. I don’t know how long Wizard has been making beats but he’s naturally gifted and it’s no surprise that all these artists want to spit over his varied but always immense productions.

Farma G drops in with a split persona on the heavy ‘The Anthem’, Micall Parknsun raps as hungrily as ever on ‘The Land Of The Lost’, Verb T rocks over the jazzy but hard ‘The Dungeon’ and Jack Flash examines himself on the piano-led ‘Sound Of A Genius’. Ramson Badbonez brings golden bars as usual on the punchy ‘Jammin’ On The Street’ and SonnyJim and Conflix wrap the album up with ‘King’ – sure to give you a long-lasting screwface. Other UK MCs who appear on equally as awesome tracks are Baron Samedi, 777, Unfriendly Neighbours, Ed Strong, Enlish (on the very true to life ‘Jealous Type’), Rup, Influx and Vecks and Scizzahz.

Tragic Allies, Erg One and Singapore Kane kick things off for the Americans on the threatening ‘Run For Cover’ (a joint production with Kelakovski) and Random gives one of the best lyrical performances on ‘New World’ as he tells the story of an African being taken into slavery. Verbal Kent and Wizard keep heads moving with ‘Fast Forward’, the album’s non-cheesy love song. Other US rappers to feature are Lil E, J-Black, Mike Mass and Altruisms.

'Ear To The Beat' will be available soon at Suspect Packages.

'Into The Wild' - Organix Part 3

Organix part 3 is here and Day 2, Mal, Trick, Pez, Dweller, Scrabble, 777, Figure Of Speech, T.A.D, Diligent, Fingers and Baron all provide verses on the topic 'Into The Wild'. If you want to get involved with part 4 go see what Wiz and Scizz have to say - it's all about the punchlines next time!

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!

'Septimal Volume 1' - 777 (album review)

Featuring a who’s who of a rising and powerful network of underground UK artists 777’s ‘Septimal Volume 1’ is a fine spread of dark and lyrical victuals. With verbal imagery splashed over every track it sure is tasty – providing you’re not used to watered down poppy rap.

The beats weigh more than the average and some are highly original, ‘5 Dimensions’ for example. Aforementioned guests come in the form of Beserk, Baron Samedi, Beit Nun, Dan Bull, Joe Kobi, SonnyJim, Respek BA, Labal-S, Esyoube and Redmaster. This release is a testament to the fact that major labels are unnecessary when it comes to dropping an album – it’s top quality.

‘Septimal Volume 1’ is out now on Innit Records and can be gotten at www.lala.com/album/2306124485460124196 or on CD at www.myspace.com/777uk.

'The Bury All' - Mr Loop (album review)

Mr Loop’s ‘The Bury All’ is the second release from Sweatbox Sounds, a label shaping up to be one that only brings quality to the crowded table of UK Hip Hop. So far their less-is-more approach suits me to a T; 40 minutes is a perfect length for an album. You still get 11 tracks of goodness wrapped in great artwork so let’s explore it more:

Mr Loop is the producer and he’s brought along a truck load of guest artists for the ride; no less than 15 (including Wordsmith and Mudmowth) if my counting skills are up to scratch. A few appear multiple times – Zoo Mark and Slippa of RapSkallions and Yosh all hold down multiple mic duties.

Mr Loop’s production is wide-ranging, his sample pool is wide and deep – he steals from medieval England’s lute-strumming bards, slices up whole orchestras, mugs jazz bassists for their dusty low frequency goodness, sneaks easy listening breaks from under relaxed musicians noses and swipes 60’s pop and all for his own gain – and yours. This CD really is a treat – the sounds are so diverse and so obviously the produce of a crate digging whiz kid.

The MCs offer a largely cheery body of work and things get rowdy on both parts of ‘Satisfaction’ as 13 MCs vie for mic time. Yosh, Slippa and Zoo Mark explore both sides of drinking to excess on ‘Out on the Razz’ and ‘the Middle Path’ and B’Tol’s Eva Lazarus assisted ‘Try Again’ is sure to allow you to sink into its gently ebbing waters. ‘The Infamous Baron Spittswell’ is made to have a video – although Yosh paints a more than vivid picture of this maverick character, this is a lyrical imagination at its best!

‘The Bury All’ will be out on 12th January 2009 on Sweatbox Sounds and will be available on CD (you can get one now direct from the man himself for £5) or as a digital download. Visit his myspace page for more info.

'Colours' - Beit Nun & Illskilz (EP review)

The first thing that struck me about ‘Colours’ by Beit Nun and Illskilz is a new-found positivity. This 9 track release really lives up to its title and as it’s playing time is just shy of 25 minutes, it’s an ideal blast of optimism for anyone.

‘A Good Year’ features a whole host of like-minded MCs and is a perfect tune for this time of year. ‘Summertime’ is not your average summer track – Beit chats hilariously about the ups and downs of the season over a west coast style laidback banger – “It’s the hottest day since records began, We getting’ a tan, But us Brits reckon that if you’re puttin’ on lotion you’re less of a man, And so we burn and turn red, peel and blister but it’s worth it, ‘til it hurts ya to get in the bath”.

Love song ‘Leave me Here’ features partner in rhyme 777 and is an honest walk through the minds of men devoted to living life with his partner through the peaks and the troughs – there are not many rappers brave enough to be this truthful (without making us all feel sick!).

We mustn’t forget the man behind the boards on this lovely little piece of work – dutch producer, Illskilz. His very professional sounding, largely cheery production really suits Beit’s new outlook on life – this boy has skills, watch out for him.

‘Colours' was released digitally on 29th December 2008 and the limited edition CD release date is 26 January 2009. You can get it from Amazon.