'Something For The Strive' - ReggiiMental (free download)

Allow me to recommend to you a free download - I know I do that a lot but I just thought I'd come polite. Certified Banger favourite Reggiimental has dropped a little freebie - well, not that little actually - this is a vast body of work.

It kicks off with the funky freshness of the 4th Front remix of 'Grimy Ill' - defo a good way to set things off. Things get a little more meloncholy for a few tracks before getting a bit Wu-ish on 'Study Of Business' (another 4th Front remix). 'Coolin'' featuring SonnyJim is really mellow but in a big way - it's like the chill out room in a club. Y'already know the track 'Get Away' from 'On The Radar Vol. 4' and it sounds just as good here. Reggii also has a go at Baby J's 'I'll Be Surprised' and 'Young, Gifted and Black' and things get beautiful with Kelakovski's beat on 'Thoughts'. Things continue with Reggiimental rocking over a variety of vibes - there's something for every mood here - a really great mixtape.

The mixtape features loads of his fellow Midlanders including Unfriendly Neighbours, T.L.G, Ras Supa, Gadget, Devas, Percy Filth and R2ThaBeats.

'You Gotta Go' - Alex Blood (single review)

Over Baby J's new signature stripped back live instrumentation sound (which is getting better) Alex Blood does a sing song rap making light of a bad situation that most of us can probably relate to in some way. It's a funky but simple track that requires no effort on the listeners part.

'You Gotta Go' is the first single of Alex's forthcoming album which as yet seems to be titleless. The single will be released in May.

On the Alex Blood website you can also get your hands on free downloads of 'Little Dean', 'Goin' Mad' and 'Beats and Feats', the latter being a selection of tracks rather like a mixtape that features Kof, Rukus, Yogi, Fallacy, Ty and Genesis Elijah.

'Flying the Flag' - VA - Tricksta & Lunatrix (album review)

When Tricksta and Lunatrix are ‘Flying the Flag’ you’re guaranteed that your tastes will be catered for. Whether you like Hip Hop flavoured Grime, Boom Bap flavoured Hip Hop or Rap flavoured Ragga it’s all here – providing its origins are in the UK. This does mean that probably not every track will be to your liking – some of the Grime tracks I still can’t get with, mainly based on the daft lyrics (Spitta raps about Slimline PS’s and DS Lites).

On the Hip Hop side of things there are loads of artists on here to make this more than worth a purchase: Wordsmith, Kashmere, Jehst, 10Shott, Sir Smurf Lil, Ramson Badbonez, Dr. Syntax, SkinnyMan… I could go on but instead, go check the tracklist. Some of the tracks are little dated but it’s still great to have them alongside newer and more exclusive material.

This is a significant release – it’s the first time Grime and Hip Hop have been mixed together on one release - a good sign of some unity between the two scenes. The music from both sides is of high quality and Tricksta and Lunatrix do nice job of mixing it and making it flow.

‘Flying the Flag’ is out now on RGS Entertainment on 2xCD or mp3 download. UK Record Shop have it in stock now.

'Ashley Walters' - Ashley Walters (album review)

February 23rd 2009 sees the release of the latest album from Ashley Walters. The self titled release is his first under this moniker having previously gone under the (stolen) name Asher D.

Walking a line that is surely intended to draw fans from his garage days, the Grime and Hip Hop scenes and the radio listeners Ashley has invited relevant guests along for the ride: Chipmunk, Sway, Durrty Goodz, Ghetts (Ghetto) and Nolay provide verses, Joe Buhdah, Baby J, Scandalous, Maniac, Terror Danjah, Swindle and others supply beats and Mutya Buena, Ebru and Elrae provide sung vocals. Even Ashley’s two sons and daughters pitch in for the sympathy vote!

Most tracks sit well together but tracks like ‘Whoa pt. 2’ seem incongruous – the downside to trying to appeal to everyone. ‘Stress Filled Days’ and ‘Generations’ are an example of a more mature and responsible outlook.

The better tracks lie at each end of the album, sandwiching a few weaker tracks. However, someone reading this will probably only enjoy those four tracks so the wide target audience stunt may be a successful ploy.

Change to HHC Tour in Leeds - 17th October

Changes have been made to the Leeds leg of the Hip-Hop Connection 20th Anniversary Tour. The changes are mainly due to a Leeds promoter (who shall remain nameless) who threw a bit of a wobbly when he discovered what promises to be an amazing night of UK Hip Hop clashed with his night; a Belleruche gig. As a result, the date has changed t0 the 17th of Octoberbut stay tuned to get that confirmation.

Also, Jehst has pulled out of the night due to complications but will be performing at New Bohemia on the 11th of October.

So now, there is no Jehst performance, but in his place Jack Flash is playing alongside Million Dan, Stig of the Dump & Dr. Syntax, Klashnekoff and Baby J is playing host for the night.

Go here to see my original post on this event. Click on the artist's names below to get a taster of what you can expect from this night.

'Baby Food' - Baby J (album review)

From the opening out-of-tune bars of ‘If I Could Do It All Again’ through to the rambling ‘Midlands Anthem’ one can’t help feeling disappointed with ‘Baby Food’. Sure, the album has its good moments, but for someone considered a pro, it’s awfully amateurish.

The ‘100% Sample Free’ approach was an admirable idea but, you know, if it aint broke, don’t fix it. Some of Baby J’s usual vibe is captured on this new record; his ear for a catchy tune and his ability to attract good guests are the evident remainders of his past work.

Singles ‘Lies’ and ‘Wake Up’ have obvious crossover appeal and are the more polished fruits of Baby J’s labour. ‘Love and Peace’ featuring Task Force’s Farma G and some school kids suit the low level production whereas other tracks come off at best as sounding ‘homemade’. Belfast MC Jun Tzu provides a welcome stroke of genius madness with ‘Wee Jonny’.

Had Baby J stuck to sampling for this release, whilst refining his new formula for future ventures, I’m sure my words would have differed. As it stands, traditional ingredients are out of the window leaving not a sour taste, but one lacking in flavour.

Event - 17th October 2008 - HHC 20th Anniversary Tour, Leeds

Hip-Hop Connection magazine are celebrating their 20th anniversary this Autumn.

For the first time ever, the world's longest running hip-hop magazine Hip-Hop Connection will go on tour. With a line-up designed to attract all spectrum's of hip-hop fans, this tour is set to be one of the most historically important events in British Hip-Hop. Leeds Hip Hop Scene have teamed up with the longest hip hop magazine in the world to bring a special one off gig at the Wardrobe in Leeds on 17th October 2008.

The night will feature an all-star team of UK Hip-Hop artists, Million Dan, Jehst, Stig Of The Dump, Dr Syntax, Klashnekoff and hosted by Baby J.

The night is guaranteed to have crowd participation, featuring an open mic emcee battle hosted by Million Dan and product giveaways (free artist merchandise, free copies of Hip-Hop Connection, free CDs, free Puma goodies, free LHHS gear and much much more).

50 Special Advanced Tickets for £10 from here will be available from 9am Monday 8th September 2008.

Further Tickets will go on sale later in the month via Jumbo Records in Leeds, and if that wasn't enough for you we have Blak Twang performing at the Wardrobe in Leeds November 2008 look out for more info!!

See you there!!

Hip Hop Producers - Baby J Interview

Seasoned UK producer Baby J took time out of his busy, pre album launch schedule to answer a few questions for Certified Banger:

Certified Banger: Your new album, ‘Baby Food’ is out towards the end of this year, in a couple of months. What can we all expect from that? What are you most excited about with respect to its release?

Baby J: It’s just nice to have my s**t coming out, I love letting people hear my stuff and seeing what feedback it gets. I always feel lucky just to be able to be releasing music, it’s what I’ve always wanted to do so every time is an honour.

CB: You’ve had loads of attention from the sphere of UK Hip Hop and I’ve heard your tracks on Radio 1 nuff times, especially ‘Young, Gifted and Black’. You’ve made moves with big names in the pop world like Mark Ronson. What are your hopes and expectations for the success of ‘Baby Food’?

Baby J: I think I’d just like to get my stuff heard outside of the UK hip hop arena, I feel like I got my stripes there, I’d like to be known as a producer not just a hip hop producer, I’m always gonna make hip hop cause that’s my heart but id like to be able to try some other stuff to.

CB: There are going to be loads of guests on ‘Baby Food’, as usual. Who have you had a chance to work with this time that you have never worked with before? How important are the guest singers and rappers to your work?

Baby J: Farma G and Million Dan were big ones for me, just cause they’re both legends. The artists on my albums make the albums, I provide the landscape but they make it what it is.

CB: What do you look for in an artist when doing collaboration? Are there any MC’s or singers who you would really like to have on your productions in the future?

Baby J: Just someone that stands out. And someone that’s about their business, I’m getting too old to be chasing rappers! I’d like to do something with Dizzee, and Rodney P and Lilly Allen and Adele

CB: Let’s talk about your production sound now. You seem to have a knack when it comes to picking samples; your beats are always so catchy whether they have a happy or a darker vibe. What’s your sample finding process?

Baby J: 2 things, firstly its got to be sonically nice, there’s gotta be something nice about the texture of the sound, the way it was recorded, the instruments used. Secondly the original music’s gotta be hot. I’m usually into a track before I sample it.

CB: Lots of people read my interviews with producers to get tips. What tips would you give to an aspiring producer? Are the any little secrets you can let us into?

Baby J: When you’re working with samples you’re the last musician in the room, so try and add instruments and playing styles that are sympathetic to the music that’s already down, don’t just add some generic boom bap drums over the top. And… EZ Drummer, vintage rock, insider info.

CB: Does the production on ‘Baby Food’ follow the traditional sampling method or have you started from scratch on any of the tracks?

Baby J: There are no samples on the new album. All the tracks have been made from scratch. A couple of tracks have been inspired by other tracks id heard and id got musicians to come and replay things but everything else was from scratch. It was a conscious decision, I felt id done the sample thing and I wanted to challenge myself with a new way of working, so I bought a piano of ebay for £40 and a bass and a guitar.

CB: Who and what inspires you to make music? What got you into producing in the first place?

Baby J: I first started making music because that way I didn’t have to wait for new records to come out to have new music, in some ways it’s the same thing now, I make music when I want to create a certain vibe or feel.

CB: As a fan of Blade, I’ve got to ask, as you produced his last ever album, how did you feel when he said he was going into retirement? Did you know he was going to do that when you were working on ‘Guerrilla Tactics’?

Baby J: To be honest I don’t think I really believed him, I thought it was talk. When we did the album and it came out it was on the tale end of records actually selling and I think he just got disheartened with the sales from the project. We new it was a good album, and it got the critical acclaim but that just didn’t manifest into sales cause people just weren’t buying music in the same way they were 5 years ago.

CB: A lot of prominent people in all walks of life feel a certain amount of responsibility. What’s your role in UK Hip Hop besides making dope beats? Is hard being the one behind the ones with the voice or is that good for you?

Baby J: I get to choose which artists I work with, so they get to speak for me in a sense. I look at music as propaganda. its a tool to talk to the youth so we all have a responsibility to use it accordingly, if you aint got nothing worth saying put the mic down. Recently I was at an anti BNP rally outside their national festival, you see these guys pushing their pro-white racist bulls**t and it suddenly occurred to me, I bet most of their kids listened to black music, they damn sure aint listening to morris dancing.

CB: Thanks for your time. Are there any last words, anything you’d like to add that we’ve not covered? Any interesting insights that you’ve been thinking about over the last couple of weeks?!

Baby J: Check my blog http://babyjbiz.blogspot.com to hear my rants about life. FTP (oh, and buy my album, please)

Mark Ronson - 'Valerie' ft. Amy Winehouse (Baby J Remix)

Skinnyman - 'I'll Be Surprised' (Produced by Baby J and taken from the album 'Council Estate of Mind)

Rukus - 'Let It Go' ft. Ty, Klashnekoff & Yogi (Taken from Baby J's album 'F.T.P.')

Blade - 'UK Hip Hop' (Produced by Baby J and featuring on Blade's last album 'Guerrilla Tactics')

Yogi - 'Black or White' (Produced by Baby J, taken from 'F.T.P. 2: Fight The Power')

Dynamite MC - 'Young, Gifted and Black' (Produced by Baby J, taken from 'F.T.P. 2: Fight The Power')

'Baby Food' - Baby J (free sampler download)

Anyone who either reads my blog or generally knows stuff about UK Hip Hop will know in October Baby J's new album, 'Baby Food', is coming out.

I've already reviewed one of the singles from it ('Lies' ft. Asher D and Nathan) and will be reviewing the next one ('Ruffnek Set The Trend' ft. Million Dan and Tawiah) very soon.

Whilst you wait with breath baited for my wonderful review (and also an interview with the man himself) you yourself can get a piece of the action by downloading this short sampler of a few of the tracks. I'm sure you'll agree it sounds to showcase an eclectic mix of tunes making this album one to look forward to.

Baby J's 'Fix The Problem' mixtape and forthcoming single 'Lies'

Baby J has rapidly become well known in Hip Hop, mainly in the UK but as a result of working with Wu-Affiliate Shabazz the Disciple, Brand Nubian and Dead Prez and others there are some in the US who will also know his name. His knack for sampling already insanely catchy songs and matching them up to MC's and singers who are actually decent has seen him score a few successes. 'Young, Gifted & Black' featuring Dynamite MC got loads of Radio 1 airplay, he produced a good few tracks on Skinnyman's album debut 'Council Estate of Mind' and entirely produced Blade's last ever album 'Guerrilla Tactics'. He has had two great 'Mixtapes' (F.T.P. & FTP2: Fight The Power) that are really more like production albums featuring the likes of Fallacy, Mr Ti2bs, Rukus, Yogi, Ty, Klashnekoff, A-Alikes and Moorish Delta 7 as well as others.

Now, Baby J has 'Fix The Problem: FTP The Mixtape pt.2' which slightly confused me because I didn't even know the first one existed (it does, it's called 'For The People: FTP The Mixtape' and if anyone wants to send me a copy, be my guest). Anyway, 'Fix The Problem' seems to follow along the lines of the first mixtape in that it's got hundreds of tracks, each one a verse from a different rapper.

Actually it's got 'MORE THEN 60 OF THE WORLDS BEST BLACK MUSIC ARTISTS, PERFORMING OVER BABY J'S GREATEST INSTRUMENTALS' - and this is where I take my only issue with this CD. In that one sentence, emblazoned (well not quite, but it's there) across the front there are 2 errors that annoy me and something else that just nags me. First, 'MORE THEN' - it's 'More than' and secondly, 'WORLDS BEST' when it should have an apostrophe - 'World's best'. Now I know that sounds fussy but if you want to be professional, spelling and grammar is important. The third thing that gets my goat is 'BLACK MUSIC ARTISTS'. I don't like that as an umbrella name for Hip Hop, Grime, R'n'B and whatever else it encompasses, especially when half of the folks on here are white! Gripe done.

It's a great collection of guest verses (there are 65 tracks/verses) from the likes of Million Dan, Jehst, Shameless, Brotherman, Asher D, Young Max, Yungun and Dynamite MC and obviously, a flippin' truckload more. Consider this a starter course for Baby J's 'Baby Food' album, scheduled to drop in October.

The big single off 'Baby Food' is 'Lies', a simplistic track that features Asher D (going by his real name - Ashley Walters - trying to shake off the old So Solid/jailed for gun crime associations?). For you Americans, he's the guy who played one of Marcus's mates in 50 Cent's 'Get Rich or Try Dying' film (y'know he got shot and was in hospital and that). It also features UK R'nB 'sensation' Nathan. It's a really catchy,insanely radio friendly, modern sounding piece of slick UK Hip Hop; it's destined to attract teenyboppers/radio listeners and props to Baby for that! It's got a nice, light summery vibe to it too; it'll be unoffensive to your ears as you sit back in your hammock this August.

Check back here in the autumn/fall for a review of 'Baby Food'. As a fan who has actually bought his previous work (Gasp! People buy music?!), I'm really looking forward to it especially since I know it's going to feature guests old and new: Million Dan and Farma G (of Task Force) being my most anticipated collaborations!

Recent Listening Habits Part 1

Right y'all! Right y'all? Right Y'all.

It's right about that time when I share some of my recent listening habits with you since all reviews are out of the way for the moment. Of late I've taken (as I'm sure regulars might have noticed) to scouring Amazon for really good offers, i.e. I've not been spending more than a matter of pence per CD. As a result of this I've been listening to some not-so-fresh-but-new-to-me music and I'd like to share it, chances are there will be something here that you've never heard.

First up, because it's first on my hastily made pile, is DJ MK's 'Above Board' (4p anyone?). Released in 2006 by Roots Manuva's current tour DJ, this album has all the guests a UK Hip Hop fan could possibly want. Seriously, I'm not going to even mention names, you ask me if someone's on there and I'll tell you. A couple of tracks stuck in my mind from this one, both from the less steller end of the cast. The first track is 'Sudoku' by Loudmouth; this is concept rap at it's best. Some MC's might dream this up but none of them would get to actually executing it, none except Loudmouth ("The concept of this song is to say 9 numbers 9 times"). 'Taking Medication' by Ramson Badbonez and Harry Love has some of that spell-out-yer-name type stuff on the chorus that is a staple of Hip Hop, the beat is brooding but bouncy and the lyrics are a paronoid stoner's conspiracies (as you'd expect from someone associated with Task Force).

Let's see, what's next? Skuff. Skuff of the Delegates of Culture crew, Cambridge's finest Hip Hop makers. The album is 'The End of the World News' and it's from 2005, so I'm way out of date with this one. 'Patch Tunin'' is a self produced slice of soul and Skuff's earnest delivery of his well thought out lyrics complements the sound beautifully. 'Ladies & Gentlemen' features the Delegates of Culture - Bee 109, Inja and S-Class and its a real good posse cut. Again the lyrics are intelligent but hard and Bee's words are nicely northern, it's good to hear North and South together (Is Cambridge South?).

Then we've got Asaviour. Now, I've been on him for a while but only just got round to actually buying 'The Borrowed Ladder CD' and I'm so glad I did. From the dope throwback mural artwork through the top notch production (Evil Ed, Braintax, Mr Thing, Jehst, DJ IQ, Ghost and Apa-Tight as well as Asaviours own) to the brilliant lyrics you get a real real rap album. I was absolutely amazed at how insightful A's writing is and despite his nasal, northern (Huddersfield) delivery he comes totally crystal clear. I actually consider this to be a modern UK rap classic. Best believe. Since I got the 12", a firm favourite of mine has been 'Money in the Bank' (remix) featuring Kyza and Yungun and produced by Jehst but it's not really representative of the album as a whole. On 'Bangers and Mash' Asaviour hooks up with Micall Parknsun for a furious IQ produced banger that also doesn't represent the album as a whole. Man, this album is diverse, no one song is gonna do the trick. You just gots to get it.

Baby J is a great producer, you can rely on him to give you some uplifting, well sampled but simple Hip Hop. You can also rely on his well chosen guests for some quality raps too. Yogi, of Derby, does a fine job on 'Black or White' - you just gotta sing along to the chorus on this one. It's taken from 'FTP2' which also featured the UK Hip Hop track to have the most radio play in the last couple of years, 'Young, Gifted & Black', vocalled by all-rounder Dynamite MC. Pick up both the FTP albums for a couple of enjoyable hours of listening (obviously, if you listen to them more, you'll get more hours enjoyment).

Travis Blaque somehow seemed to escape my UK Hip Hop radar in '06 either because a) HHC don't like him, or b) his name suggests an american R'n'B singer. Anyways, I saw it cheap, listened to a sample, bought it, took delivery and bumped it part way to Birmingham. This is, to use a recently coined phrase, grown man rap with a penchant for story telling. This album (The Many Facets of...) is a collection of tales about Travis Blaque and the people he sees around him. I'm a big fan of old fashioned family values and 'Home' is the second track I've heard recently that uphold my belief that family works. 'Al is Dead' is a funky, classic story about a greedy person who never has enough, it's based on 'Freddie's Dead' by Curits Mayfield. Just concentrate though, you could get confused between the characters. Also check out how much like Sweeny Todd Travis sounds at the beginning!

I'm tired now and I'm not even halfway through my stack so you'll have to wait until tomorrow for that. Peace out... bring the war in (not really).

Collabo Connections #2 - Skinnyman

Skinnyman featured on Mark B & Blade’s ‘The Unknown’ in ’01 on the track ‘The long awaited’, a banger for sure. Skinnyman, considered by many to be a UK Hip Hop veteran, spent his childhood in Chapeltown, Leeds, moving to Stoke Newington when he was 10. These two locations schooled him in the art of toasting lyrics at reggae sound system clashes and after Malcolm Mclarens ‘Buffalo Girls’ introduced him to Hip Hop it was inevitable that the two styles intertwined.

The year before Baby J dropped ‘F.T.P.’ he produced 3 tracks on Skinnyman’s long awaited debut album. The two big tracks were ‘I’ll be surprised’ and the Bobby Byrd sampling ‘No big Ting’. This led to Skinnyman having the first track on F.T.P. – ‘None of them (ft. Laurissa)’. Also producing on ‘Council estate of mind’ were DJ Flip (producing the title track), DJ Noize, Stone and Adam M. ‘Council estate of mind’ was released on the number 1 UK Hip Hop label – Low Life Records (owned by Braintax whos Biro Funk set featured Skinnyman on ‘Opening Titles’).

Taking it back Skinnyman was, and still is, a member of Mud Family who released, most famously, ‘Itchy Town’. Mud Family at the time comprised of Skinny himself, Chester P (Now of Taskforce) and (Blak Twang hater) Mongo. The changing line up of Mud Fam meant that Skinny also worked with SupaNovar, Mr. Ti2bbs, Farma G (Chester P’s Brother/other half of Taskforce) and others. Before Mud Family, in the mid 80’s, Skinny was a member of the Bury Crew also with Chester P and Mongo as well as Intenz, Mike Skilla, Keith and Sparks.

In 2000 Skinny appeared on ‘Twilight of the Gods’, a Skitz track which also featured Rodney P, Wildflower, Riddla and Prime Cuts. Skinnyman was on Westwood’s second compilation (2002) holding up the UK’s tiny section (2 tracks) at the end of the 2nd CD was ‘Straight Outta Jail’, a song probably written straight after Skinny got out of jail (“I ain’t sayin’ what I do//I ain’t gettin’ catched”). Skinnyman also featured on a track with Mystro and Jargon called ‘Put the word out’.

2003 brought a teaming up with Foreign Beggars on ‘Asylum Speakers’ and 2004 saw a couple of collaborations with Karl Hinds; ‘Have Patience’ and ‘Let’s av it’.

In ’05 Skinnyman (along with Blade) featured on First Rate’s album ‘Walky Talkyz’. His track Barfight is a song all about…well you know…over a wobbly piano led beat. In the same year he featured on a remix of Sway’s ‘Up your speed’ with Pyrelli, Triple Threat, Bruza and Bigz. Skinny also worked with Life (of Phi-Life Cypher) and Sway on ‘The whole nine’ in this year.

Skinny’s latest track is ‘Live Right’ featuring Monkane, an ex-label mate at Gilles Peterson’s Talkin’ Loud records before it folded.

There are plenty more leads to take here as well as the ones from the post on Blade, this is just gonna get bigger peeps!

(There are so many collabos, for a full list of appearances check out Wikipedia)

Skinnyman - Ill be surprised.mp3
Mark B & Blade - The long awaited ft. Lewis Parker &.mp3
Mud Family - Itchy Town.mp3
Skinnyman - Straight Outta Jail.mp3
Skinnyman & Baby J - none of them ft. Laurissa.mp3
Skinnyman - No big ting.mp3
First Rate - Barfight ft. Skinnyman.mp3
Skinnyman - Council Estate of Mind.mp3

Collabo Connections #1 - Blade

Here begins a series which after some thought I realise could run for a long time. Collaborations and rap go hand in hand. There are few rap albums out there that don’t feature a cameo from another rapper or group. Some artists rely on paying a bigger rapper to help them either launch or revive their career. Other artists have the insight that fans want to hear two (or more) of their favourite MCs together on one track. Often collaborations are frowned upon for the first of the above reasons but I would be so bold to say that without them the rap world would be slightly boring at times.

There is no reason for starting this thread off with this artist other than I wanted to write a post on him anyway. Whilst meditating a post on Blade I realised he had worked with many other artists who in turn have worked with other artists, and so on. Then (slightly influenced also by ‘Comedy Connections’ off the telly and maybe my mums obsession with family trees) I came up with the idea of creating a string of posts that map out who’s worked with who and how hip hop eventually links up into one big family.

Growing up in Yorkshire and being born in 1984 means I missed out on all of Blade’s earlier work. I haven’t yet had a chance to familiarise myself with his back catalogue it so most of this post will be focussing on his work following Mark B and Blade fame.

In 1989 Blade released ‘Lyrical Maniac’, his first official single (go here for more info). In 1997 during depression he released ‘Rhyme Bomb’ (go here for more info).

2001 saw Mark B and Blade being played on Radio 1 with their track ‘The Unknown’ and then ‘Ya don’t see the signs’. The former was released with, amongst others, a remix featuring France’s premier rap collective; Saian Supa Crew. The latter hit the airwaves in the form of a rocky remix by Grant Nicholas of Feeder and frankly rock and rap rarely sounds this good together. The album, also entitled ‘The Unknown’ featured collaborations with Rodney P, Lewis Parker, Skinnyman, Chester P and Westwood (!).

In 2002 Blade reared his head on Lewis Parker’s ‘It’s all Happening Now’ on ‘The Chase pt. 1’.

Blade’s next big move was in 2004 with the release of ‘Storms are Brewing’, an album on which he collaborated with only session musicians and DJ’s, he produced and wrote it all himself. The flip to the single ‘Reflection’ was ‘Soldiers’, a track featuring Life (of Phi-Life Cypher) and Respek BA.

2005 was Baby J’s year in the UK and Blade was making moves with this modern superproducer. He appeared on J’s excellent album F.T.P. on Mumps (also featuring Laurissa). This hook up obviously worked so well that Blade decided Baby J would produce his entire second album, my personal favourite being the excellent ‘UK Hip Hop’, a track with which Blade hopes to educate people about the roots of rap in Great Britain simply by name checking all the greats (note – I’m not going to use that fact to make tenuous links to all and sundry in Brit Hop!).

2005 also brought us a solo album from The Scratch Perverts DJ First Rate. Blade cooked up a feast on the tasty ‘Hamburger’; a semi-hilarious ode to eating fast food on tour.

Blade has worked hard for decades now so please go buy some of his music if you do like what you have heard. Visit his website and go to the store.

I’m sure you’ll agree there are many roads I can now take and I shall endeavour to explore all of them. I’m pretty sure I’ll get quite confused on the way and we’ll see how truly intertwined the web of the hip hop spider is.

If, during any of this series, you have tracks and collabos to add then feel free to leave comments or drop me a line. I’ll gladly add them to expand the wealth of knowledge available here!

Blade - Lyrical maniac.mp3
Blade - Rhyme bomb.mp3
First Rate - Hamburger ft. Blade.mp3
Blade - Soldiers ft. Life & Respek BA.mp3
Lewis Parker - The Chase pt.1 ft. Blade.mp3
Mark B and Blade - The Unknown ft .Saian Supa Crew.mp3
Blade - UK Hip Hop.mp3