'The 140 Show' - Franko Fraize (review)

Franko Fraize is an MC I've been supporting for a couple of years now. I featured him on the 'On The Radar' series and have seen him go from strength to strength.

His latest release is the free download 'The 140 Show'. Franko has never hidden his love for both Hip Hop and Grime and this release sees him perform both styles admirably. Mosttracks are a fusion of both styles whilst many tracks stray into Dubstep territory, with a general slant towards electronica. All tracks are produced by long-time collaborator DJ I.C.

Tracks like 'Locking It Down' display pure skill from all involved, as well as a potential for mass appeal (without any watering down as is usual). 'Grinding Forever' has a West Coast feel to it, without sounding anything like something, say Dr. Dre, would produce. 'Spar With The Master' is the perfect combination of MC and Dubstep, the sword sound effects sound awesome too!

'The 140 Show' is available for free now at Bandcamp.

'On The Radar Vol. 5' Artist Profile - Franko Fraize (+ free download)

Name: Franko Fraize

Age: 24

From: Thetford

Track on ‘On The Radar’: 'Blood of the Earth'

Tell us the story behind the track: The track was a little track we made for Chronicredeye’s up coming project ‘Ruffneck Interlect’. DJ IC made the beat and me and Lyrical T went in on a Wu vibe. The tracks got a nice rugged Hip Hop vibe that gets a good reaction when we perform it live.

Record label: I'm currently putting out releases via an Independent Label called ‘Hoodlem’.

Who you roll with: I roll with the main DJ/producer DJ IC. He is the man who runs Coldbeatz studio in Thetford. Lyrical T is my main partner in crime. TBone is another prodcer/singer in the camp and is gonna do a lot in 2010. I also roll with people like Chronicredeye and DPF, DJ Scotty as well as people we are bringing through on the Label like Trackz, Kid dot T, Happy. Also people like Grayz and Azza B id defiantly call family.

Favourite album: My favourite album is probably 'Council Estate Of Mind' by Skinnyman. This is an album that really inspired me, both lyrically and as a full album. It’s a complete package. I cant say many other albums have been as important to me as this one.

Describe your style in three words: Tempo, Specialist, Barer

Past/Present/Future projects: I am currently working on a free download which I’m planning to release at the end of 2009/start of 2010. This is to go hand in hand with my radio show that I do with DJ IC called ‘The 140 show’. After that I plan to record a full length album which I don’t want to rush out. That’s slowly coming together.

At the moment I have a release called ‘Something In The Making’ which features Lyrical T. this has been out a few months and is selling really well. You can cop it from Suspect Packages.

Links –
140 show – www.livestream.com/dddnb
www.myspace.com/frankofraize

'Heavyweights of the Hip Hop Division' - T.S.K. & VA (free download)

Check out Thetford's T.S.K. as he reps a cross-section of the UK Hip Hop scene covering artists as diverse as Wretch 32 and Tom Caruana. Also featured are battlers Arkaic and Kulez, producer Jon Phonics, Thetford heads Franko Fraize, Lyrical T and Red Eye, UK legend Wordsmith as well as AC and Terra, 'On The Radar' artist Reain, T Leevz, Wazlee, Jabba Tha Kut, Forbidden Tongues and Mr. Drastick - see I told you it was diverse.

This is available at Datpiff so go download, burn a CD and support the cause.

Task Force, Kashmere, Verb T, Inja Live at Rapsloitation Sessions!

Make sure you can make it for this big big line up! So many heads and all for only £6! Big up Truth!

'Something In The Making' - Franko Fraize & Lyrical T (EP review)

Thetford's Franko Fraize and Lyrical T first EP is here - 'Something in the Making'. Kicking off with a couple of string-laden Hip Hop tracks before a Grime excursion on 'MCs Don't Know'. Then you get 2 more slabs of Hip Hop until the Shakedown sampling dubstep haunter that is 'Seems I Can't Deny' wobbles speakers. Dubby Reggae comes next followed by some Bassline-ish Dubstep whilst some Electro-Dub finishes things off. You get the picture - when Fraize raps "I'm not straight Hip Hop, I crossover" on 'Something in the Making', he meant it.

This approach certainly keeps things interesting and DJ I.C, Redeye and Dillijence have done a good job of production. The two MCs have clearly waited for the right moment to record material - there is a quality to their all round mic skills no matter what style they're attempting.

Surprisingly, their Hip Hop approach to other genres has resulted in my favourite tracks being 'MCs Don't Know', 'Seems I Can't Deny', 'Herb Man Husslin'' and 'Everyday Thing' - their willingness to step out, to break the mould is a blessing - it means these two MCs stand out in this saturated market.

'Something In The Making' is out now on Hoodlem and is available at Suspect Packages now.

'Gutter Streets' - Franko Fraize (free download)

Got a couple of nice tracks from Thetford MC Franko Fraize whose EP with rhyming partner Lyrical T will be out soon. Franko Fraize is cast in the classic MC mould and UK Hip Hop courses through his veins - something evident in his lyrics and delivery.

'Gutter Street' is extremely reminiscent of Phi-Life Cypher, which by all accounts is a good thing. On this track Franko spits frenetically about life and death over a hypnotic beat.

The second track is by Forbidden Tongues and is entitled 'Life' - Franko Fraize features on it. 'Life' is in a similar vein to 'Gutter Street' but check out his myspace for a more diverse view of this MC.

'Knowledge is King' - Chronic Redeye (album review)

Don’t let image issues fool you (emcee Redeye is one of those white Rasta types), ‘Knowledge is King’ is actually a pretty good representation of that Hip Hop meets Jungle meets Reggae type sound.

Don’t let the Norwich accent or the slightly slurpy delivery put you off either. Redeye’s recognisable voice sets him apart from other MC’s simply because no-one else sounds like him. Aside from that, the lyrics are well written and appealing. Almost crew members Franko Fraize and Lyrical T show up pretty often and surprise American guests are Main Flow and Bronze Nazereth.

The production is typically either a stripped away 90’s-ish boom bap or a blunted dub flavoured with a couple of nice outside influences (‘Nothing Lasts’, ‘STR8 Rugged’). Most of the production is handled by DJ Chronic although Mr. Laws, Dillijence, Fudalwokit and Wolftown’s Tricksta provide a few of the rhythms.

As a whole the album is quite primitive sounding although it’s evidently designed for their beloved sound systems and when you let the volume rip, the bass fills any vacuum you thought was previously present; this is sub-woofer music. Chronic Redeye have some distance to go where polished product is concerned but this is a fair few steps in the right direction.