Tenchoo - Fire in the Booth

Listen to Tenchoo absolutely smash it on BBC 1xtra last night.
You can stream it here and it starts at 1 hour 26 minutes and keep your eyes and ears peeled for his debut album Scary Movie on Haji's Yard/First Son Records mid-april.
You can also download The Promo ep for free here
and become a fan here

'Where Did It Go?' ft. Black the Ripper - Charlie Sloth (video)

Charlie Sloth is an unlikely star but, nevertheless, he is. And he's probably only going to get bigger the way that Prof Green has - mark my words. Obviously I've been rating Charlie since 2008 when he dropped the uber-confident 'It's Hard Being Good' (which HHC's reviewer pretty much rubbished, by the way) so it'll be good to see him do well. He's already done tracks with some of the most respected people in the game including Farma G and Rodney P, and that's not bad.

Mystro & Nathan 'Flutebox' Lee on 1Xtra

'Not Like You' ft. Farma G & Black The Ripper - Charlie Sloth (video)

Track taken from the 'Black Book' CD which is available for free download from 1st March 2010 from WWW.CHARLIESLOTH.COM.

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.

'Dusk Til Dawn' ft. Mystro & Malik - Charlies Sloth

When Charlie Sloth drops his next album, best believe it's gonna be big and it won't get bad reviews (I didn't give his debut a bad review). He's already done a track with Rodney P, now he's got Mystro and Malik on board - the TV show thing defo paid off - business man!

Souls of Mischief Live In London!

Are you mad? You don't wanna go to this? I do but probably won't be able too - so why don't you go for me? The legendary Souls of Mischief, lyrical beast Skandal, the much-hyped Charlie Sloth, ex-Scratch Pervert Mr. Thing and hostage by Mystro and more - sounds like a good do to me. Monday 9th November is the date (definitely can't make it!) and the Carhartt Store is the place - drinks on the house apparently. Click on the flyer to see the full thing.

'Run Everything' ft. Rodney P & Killa Benz - Charlie Sloth

Didn't think I'd see these two together but obviously it's happened - Charlie Sloth is becoming an influential man! Just gotta love his bounce and sense of having a good time...

Being Charlie Sloth #32

Yeah I know I'm really late on Charlie Sloth's videos but now I'm on it OK? Check this one out anyway, you get to see Prof Green's big ol' neck slash - ouch.

'Sin City' - DJ Gone (mix CD review)

The tracklist for DJ Gone's 'Sin City', out now on Kung Fu, kinda speaks for itself to any UKHH head. Featuring the cream of the scene and in the vein of Kung Fu's showcasing 'Sin City' is over an hour's worth of exclusive freestyles and tracks - it's basically a must for those fans who strive for more than an artist's album and single output. It's also pretty essential for anyone who just wants to bump quality Hip Hop for an hour.

Poisonous Poets, Mystro, TB, M9, Charlie Sloth, Million Dan, Mr Ti2bs, Sincere, Mr. Drastick, Task Force, Ramson Badbonez, Teef, Harry Love and Wretch 32 all pop up here.

Lesser known artists drop just as credibly - check Kulture's 'Whoops' or 'Big Deal's 'Sun Up To Sun Down' for perfect examples of my statement.

Check out DJ Gone at his myspace, go to his myspace blog for the full tracklisting and a link to buy it for only £6.99. Check out Kung Fu's myspace too.

Oasis bring it!

Oasis have rewritten their classic 'Wonderwall' to diss Jay-Z. OK so it isn't really Oasis, it's Charlie Sloth and some cleverly matched up concert footage! Awesome!

Charlie Sloth - 'It's Hard Being Good' review

With a title like that I expected two things. One was ‘I’m not going to like it because the kid is big headed’ and the other was ‘I bet it’s not actually good anyway’. It’s so annoying to be proved wrong. To be fair, the reason why I got in contact with Mr. Sloth was because I’d heard his verses on Teef’s latest and because I loved the tracks on his Myspace page.

It’s surprising that The Source should rate this MC as the UK’s finest; in my experience the average US resident who likes rap absolutely hates UK rappers and Charlie Sloth hasn’t exactly the most likeable voice. But his voice is half his charm and I soon tuned into it; it wouldn’t be as good if he had a generic, boring rap voice.

‘It's Hard Being Good’ has a great range of themes meaning it never gets boring – dealers, travelling, crime, honest living, his come up, youth and truth all get touched on – this is rap with substance.

4 tracks will stick in your head: ‘Can’t Forget About UK’ name checks everyone who made the UK rap scene, I’m always admiring when people do this kind of track. ‘Mr Rapman’ is based around a sample of The Cure’s ‘Love Cats’ and is a funny tale about lying rappers. ‘Guided Tour of Camden’ will have you singing along and makes even more sense with the excellent video. ‘Come on Back To Me’ is a brilliant metaphorical love story, I guessed the twist at the beginning but I wont spoil it for you, I strongly recommend you check this track.

Go and download this, you can even order a hard copy for a measly sum, find a way to support this guy; he really deserves it.

Certified Bangers: ‘Mr Rapman’, ‘Guided Tour of Camden’ & ‘Come on Back To Me’
Top Lyric: “And like to brag about the stuff that you sorta got//Cos all your stuff is financed, with massive APR’s//Just give me my chips you bitch, and make ‘em large!” (from 'Mr Rapman)

Click here to download it for free!

Teef - Honour Amongst Teef Vol. 3

I'm kinda late onto the Teef tube train but chances are, you're not on it either yet. Let me tell you why you need to embark at the next station on it's journey. 'Honour Among Teef Volume 3' is where brakes will squeal and you'll feel that warm rush of wind as the train pulls in.

Recently I've been reassessing the definitions and limitations of my musical tastes. It's been a long time since liking Hip Hop has sufficed, now it's come to the point where I realise I have to be more discerning when it comes to my primary musical love; UK Hip Hop. The scene in the UK has got so big that it's now easier to separate the good from the bad. The main bit of badness in the UK is that there is alot of bland, un-innovative Hip Hop. More personally, I enjoy music that is upbeat, positive, funny but has something important to say or is skilfull. I don't really enjoy the 'dark' beats that some people are using and I don't like the aggresive posturing some rappers adopt. Basically I like that aesthetic that the first to do it achieved through sampling Disco breaks: wholesome audio fun!

You'll be glad then to hear that Teef falls into my 'good' category (I know that's a boring category name, but it is what it is). The main thing about Teefs latest offering is that it is a joy to listen to. Not only is it a joy, there are more than just a couple of stand out moments. Teef has draughted in a few different producers and to good effect, the beat selection suits Teef down to a T. The production brings Teef's wordplay to life and in a many cases I'm sure the beats greatly influenced Teef's flow, everything fits so well that I'd be surprised to hear otherwise.

There is something about Teef's delivery that I can't quite put my finger on, whatever it is it's there and it makes him stylistically unique. It's something in the rhyme patterns; he seems to rhyme in triplets leaving a bar every 4 bars for his words to really sink in. Teef's topics are diverse - a good start for any long player. Inevitably, there are tracks about himself (this is rap you know) but 'Off the Bench', 'Anonomous', 'Teef The Stampede Part 1' and 'My Belt' all serve, through varied concepts, to get you acquainted with him so he can continue to communicate with you.

Cultural roots are explored on 'Homeground' which is a tribute to Fela Kuti. If you don't know about Fela Kuti then check out his mad life story on wikipedia, it's an entertaining read. 'Homeground', I can only assume, uses samples from a couple of Fela Kuti tracks.

There are tracks that outline Teef's views on others: 'The Facade' is produced by up-and-comer Jon E Phonics and is a cryptically written track about people being who they're not. 'Congestion' and 'No Rush to Flush' (produced by Irn Mnky) echo Teef's opinions on the amount of wannabe artists in the scene. Hip Hop itself also comes under Teef's lyrical magnifying glass on 'Perfect Fit'.

'Where's the Fun' features Charlie Sloth, an MC whose voice is the total opposite of Teefs. Charlie's voice is high-pitched and frantic, similar to that of Prof Green, whereas Teef's is low and smooth. The two voices complement each other more than you would expect on this track that calls for enjoyment on nights out. Charlie Sloth produces 'A-State of Mind', competently created melancholy beat that allows Teef to outline his sadness about British ghetto living. Charlie also features alongside the legendary MC Duke on 'The Underground', a funny track about, yes you guessed, London Underground.

In summary: Excellently cheerful beats + Inventively significant rhymes = Pure enjoyment

Get your hands on a copy of this (it comes with a 20 page 'Brainbook' that illustrates the tracks) when it's released on the 13th of this month and try get yourself along to this: