'Certified Celtic Connection' - VA (free download)

In collaboration with Northern Ireland's hardest working Jee4ce Certified Banger presents 'Certified Celtic Connection' (click the title to stream the album). It features varied styles of Hip Hop music from all the Celtic parts of the UK - Ireland, Scotland and Wales. The tracklist says it all really:

01. Skamma - 'Bomber' (Wales)
02. DJ Flip & Freeze ft. Richie Filth & Marc Stretch - 'On The Line' (Ireland)
03. I vs. Nature ft. Riddlah - 'Rollin'' (Scotland)
04. Mudmowth - 'Skullcrackology' - (Last Skeptik Remix) (Wales) *
05. Show N Prove ft. U-turn, Dandy, Holmes, Madhat - 'Down' (Scotland) *
06. Lunitic - 'Stacy's Story' (Ireland)
07. Ral & Gambit - Last House on the left (Wales)*
08. Mog - 'A Scum First' (Scotland)
09. Nucentz - 'Bad Man' (Ireland)
10. Ralph Rip S**t - 'Disco Louts' (Wales)
11. Jee4ce & The Riddlah - 'Never' (Father Jack Remix) (Scotland/Ireland) *
12. Werd - 'The Internet' (Scotland)
13. The RubberBandits - 'Bags Of Glue' (Ireland)
14. Dead Residents - 'Different Times' (Wales)
15. Rhymes Vital - 'Gaza' (Father Jack Remix) (Ireland) *
16. Steg G & Respek BA - 'The Show' (Scotland)
17. Jonny boy & Intox - 'Keep It Movin'' (Ireland)
18. Catchklick Emceez - 'Seek Balance' (Scotland)
19. AJ - 'Hands Up' - Produced by Sert One (Ireland)
20. Scatabrainz ft. Depths - 'We On It' (Scotland)
21. Perfect Practice - 'That's Life' (Scotland)

*=exclusive

A big thanks goes to Jee4ce from Certified Banger and from the Hip Hop scene in aforementioned places - we need more heads like him! For more info on any of the tracks or artists on this download contact Jee4ce@gmail.com.

'On The Radar Volume 4' Out Now! (free download)

So, it's here - for all of you who were waiting! 'On The Radar Volume 4' is available for your downloading pleasure and with over a dozen exclusives, Volume 4 proves that the series is going from strength to strength.

Volume 4 features 20 tracks of strictly British Hip Hop from rappers and producers from around the Kingdom. Certified Banger’s now cemented reputation in the underground and online UK rap scene means that UK artists , who are not yet on the radar, have a platform for their music – so long as it’s decent! Judging by the subsequent success of previous ‘OTR’ artists you can expect to hear much more from these names in the near future:

1. Delusionists: Parallel Worldz feat. Invizible Frenz (CB Exclusive)
2. Chosen Spokesmen: Mad Real (Prod. by Chemo) (CB Exclusive)
3. C-Froo: Financial Times

4. S.Kalibre: English (Prod. by Mike S)
5. Instance: Can't Get Down (Prod. by Mike D) (CB Exclusive)
6. Vee Kay: Backroad ft. Dead Residents (CB Exclusive)
7. Rapskallions: Battleslang (Mr. Loop Remix) (CB Exclusive)
8. Runamuk: No Gimmicks ft. Unfriendly Neighbours & Blaze (Prod. by Terror) (CB Exclusive)
9. Lunar C: Stop Stressin’ (Prod. by Ant Orange) (CB Exclusive)
10. Uncle Dicky: Running On Fumes ft. Nozeeny (Prod. by Lazyb0nes) (CB Exclusive)
11. Nutty P: Why So Serious? (CB Exclusive)
12. Leady: Travelling Man (Prod. by Irn Mnky)
13. Joker Starr: Get Up (CB Exclusive)
14. EdXL: Crocodile Smile (Prod. by Cranky Fatso)
15. 10Shott: Soldier Salute
16. Skinnista & Gadget: Get Away ft. Dvas & Reggiimental (CB Exclusive)
17. The Riddlah: Mind Right (Prod. by Nasty P)
18. Knew Jeru’slum: Dreamcatchers ft. JND (Prod. by Eliphino) (CB Exclusive)
19. 30KB: Crewd Sons (Ghost in the Machine) (CB Exclusive)
20. JVF Clique: Lose The Chains (CB Exclusive)
Bonus Track: Zion I: Legacy ft. Ty

Here's what the UK Hip Hop internet community have been saying:

Joker Starr @ jibbajabbajoker.blogspot.com:

"Certified Banger who, in my opinion has the best Hip Hop blog period has put together the 4th in the 'On The Radar' series."

Truth @ rapsploitationsessions.wordpress.com/:

"Certified Banger is one of the most important blogs in the UK and they’ve been putting out these free download compilations of some the dopest up coming Hip Hop artists in the country for a minute now."

Solo Cypher @ vocalswords.blogspot.com:

"Mad props to the ever ready heavy Certified Banger blog, coming back with yet another ridiculous free compilation of quality tunes from the UK shores. 'On
The Radar Volume 4' is available for free download as usual, and this one is, in my opinion, the freshest and most consistent yet. Having only listened through a couple of times, the whole project struck me with the high quality high temp beats that proved a wicked accompaniment to a high octane workout. The lyricism was well above UK par and really showcased how UK emcees are embracing their own identities and putting in verses of a calibre worthy of international recognition. The fact that most of them are still under the radar is fairly ridiculous but proves how needed this sort of compilation is. There are enough quality bars in this release to literally bury the mainstream 'hip hop/grime/pop/autotune' garbage currently being bandied about by mainstream outlets. Go cop it now, its free so no excuses, and then go support the artists involved."

No Frillz @ cantstopfanatics.blogspot.com:

"The ever improving 'On the Radar' series should now be a staple in most peoples diets. In case the rest of the world doesn’t know, the UK has an abundance of top notch beatsmiths and MCs. The amount of exclusives alone should get you started. Don’t underestimate the work my man puts into this series. This latest volume has been a staple in my ears since it arrived in my inbox."

Disorda @ suspect-packages.com:

"Here's some freeness from the Certified Banger blog, 'On The Radar Vol. 4' featuring the likes of Delusionists, Vee-Kay, Nutty P, Joker Starr, JVF Clique, Rapskallions, Chosen Spokesmen and many more... "

Tomasz @ lifejustbounces.blogspot.com :

"So the day we got back from Kendal, we also got an email from head-of-the-pack UK hip-hop blogger Certified Banger to tell us that 30KB are one of 21 artists featured on the forthcoming fourth instalment of his winning On the Radar compilation series.

We're completely thrilled to feature on UK rap's premier contemporary showcase alongside people whose music we listen to regularly. Previous volumes of 'OTR' have featured the likes of B'tol & Jagos, Grimlok, Skillit, Skandal, JVF Clique, The Three Amigos, Baron Samedi, Mr Loop, Dialect, Stylah and Delegates of Culture, as well as appearances from, among others, Sonny Jim, Kyza, Klashnekoff, Witchdoctor Wise, Ramson Badbonez and the mighty Jehst. Not a roster to be sneezed at in any way, I think you'll agree.

If you've previously missed out on On the Radar volumes 1—3, you'll be pleased to know they are all still available to grab: just click the album covers above or hit up the CB rapidshare here for links to all three. You are well advised to cop 'em."

'Never' (Father Jack Remix) - Jee4ce & Riddlah (free download)

Keep your peelers peeled for a project compiled by Jee4ce and brought to you in association with Certified Banger entitled 'Certified Celtic Connection'. Jee4ce has mustered his Celtic troops from Ireland, Scotland and Wales and put together yet another compilation of tracks repping the unsung areas of the UK.

The mix will feature Skamma, Mudmowth, Ral & Gambit, Ralph Rip S**t and Dead Residents repping for Wales, DJ Flip, Freeze, Richie Filth, Marc Stretch, (the late) Lunitic, Nucentz, The RubberBandits, Rhymes Vital, Jonny boy, AJ, Sert One and Jee4ce doing it for Ireland and Riddlah, Show N Prove, U-turn, Dandy, Holmes, Madhat, Mog, The Riddlah, Werd, Steg G, Respek BA, Catchklick Emceez, Scatabrainz, Depths and Perfect Practice showing their skills for Scotland. There's also a track produced by The Last Skeptik.

To get a taste of what to expect, go download Jee4ce & Riddlah - 'Never' (Father Jack Remix) for free! It has sleigh bells, funky samples and top notch celtic lyrics from Ireland and Scotland. UNITED Kingdom - stand up!

Some Welsh Rarebits

If you're at all into Hip Hop then you should check this out:

The boys over at Chrome Kids have put together a very comprehensive selection of Welsh Hip Hop tracks. What's even better is that a mix of the tracks was played live on Rob Da Bank's Radio 1 show (listen now on iplayer).

Loads of the individual tracks are on their blog for free download which is just brilliant - there's no excuse not listen and get into it. Artists included are Metabeats, Blaktrix, Mudmowth, Willo Wispa and Dead Residents amongst many other Welsh names (some more Welsh than others - Y Diwygiad). No Goldie Lookin' Chain though - only pulling your... legs, lads!

Hip Hop Producers - Vee Kay interview

After producer Vee Kay sent me a copy of his forthcoming album 'The Audio Workout' I had to know more. The LP is excellent, full of good vibe boom bap rap and a few little surprises too. We hooked up an interview to let you know exactly what he's all about:

Certified Banger: Yo Vee Kay! How are you today?

VK: All good thanks fella.

CB: Let’s get things cracking, I’ll switch things round a bit: Tell us about your latest piece of work: ‘The Audio Workout’.

VK: Well, the record is a long time coming, it's been 4 years since my last solo release, in that time I've been busy, but I decided that it was time to have my name at the front again, rather than in the liner notes, haha. It's a collection of songs that have been recorded at my Studio over the last year or so, well, the best ones anyway, so there's a variety of tracks on there, from the classic sounding hip hop to the more up tempo double time type tracks. Listening back to my last release, the whole sound of it was similar to that golden age hip hop, and that was pretty much it, so this one's tracked my maturity in production. There's still the classic hip hop sound on it, but I've peppered it with other bits and pieces too.

CB: Your instrumentals, certainly on this album, are top quality – I’m a big fan. What do you aim for when making a beat? What sound do you look for?

VK: Cheers mate, appreciate it! Without a doubt, the most important thing when making a beat is that it catches you straight away, ‘cause no one's gonna want to use a track that sounds s**t or doesn't grab you. The drums gotta bang too, I'm a complete sucker for big drums, I listened to nothing but boom bap for years, so I was immediately grabbed by big heavy drums and breaks. It's also gotta sound as original as possible, because when sampling, you're already taking something that’s been finished, so now you've got to try to mould it into something completely different, so that the first thing someone hears isn't the track you've sampled, but the track you made, using bits from other songs.

CB: What inspired you to make your first ever beat? Can you remember it? Tell us more!

VK: I started off as a rapper, and I worked with another Producer, who had been in the business for years, so we went ahead and made a demo, this was way back when, probably about 10 or so years ago...anyway, didn't work out, so I started learning how to make beats. I went to college to do a course, but it was s**t, and I left after about 9 months after showing the tutor how to MIDI up a sampler, I'd been going to studios for a few years to record, plus I read every magazine and book I could, so I just learnt by listening and watching. From there I just started collecting bits of kit, trying to find out what worked best for me, and the end result is the Sweatbox Studio. So I guess, back onto track, my inspiration was just so that I could have something to rap over, that didn't come off the latest Ja Rule 12"

I think I made my first ever beat on a cracked copy of some weird sequencer that Roland made, it came with a sound canvas, and it was so s**t, there was a massive latency problem and the sounds were your horrible generic MIDI sounds. I had an Akai S20, but really couldn't figure out how to use it for ages, I remember making my first 2 bar loop on it, but not figuring out how to save it, so I left that bad boy on for about a week straight, until I got bored and wanted to make another loop, so I just deleted it.

CB: So you sample? What, in a typical digging session, do you go for? What makes for good Hip Hop?

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