Skriblah Dangogh - Belly of the East (they live)

Skriblahs building momentum for the release of ''Little White Dot'' his first solo album proper. Global Faction provide another inspiring, stunningly shot paranoia infleunced video while Smasher delivers a more overground backdrop for Skribs to tear up. This track might not be the best youve heard from the former TF lyricist but itll keep you tied over till the album drops if you havent been there yet get over to www.skriblah.com one of the deepest hip hop sites Ive seen for a bit.

WTF Happened to TerraFirma - LWD trailer

Slademan posted a link to this promo trailer for Skriblah DanGogh's new album 'Little White Dot' over at MPC Forums. The video only has a snippet of album track 'Revalations' at the very end which was produced by Slademan as well as future single 'LWD' but what you get visually makes it worth the wait. Check out and explore Skriblah's website by clickin on the blueness above for more information and loads of dope music. Luckily we wont have to wait too long to find out "What is waiting at the end of the darkness…?'' as the album is due to drop in the summer so thats soon...ish in my opinion

'Back To The Sagas' - Klashnekoff (review)

As far as I'm concerned ‘Back To The Sagas’ doesn’t have its own ‘It’s Murda’ - let’s just clear that up before we begin this review. It’s all too easy for fans to force artists to live in the shadow of their greatest work but this shouldn’t be.

The fact is, Klashekoff has created a superior album which runs circles around most of the UK’s Hip Hop output. It’s his lyrical propensity that does it – Klash is a gifted MC possessing each gift needed for success: passion, delivery, lyricality… I could go on. Klash’s words are easy to tune into and because of this listening to any track is an entertaining thing.

Perhaps the track many Klash fans wanted to hear was the one which explains certain things that happened in the last few years – ‘Back To The Sagas Intro’, wisely Klash does this then gets on with things. ‘Tek Time’, ‘Music Game’, ‘Klash Anthem’ and the leaked ‘Paper Up’ all stand out although it’s much better to see this album as a whole; it’s more like one long track just with different rhythms, hooks, melodies and tempos.

‘Back To The Sagas’ is available now as a download and the CD will be out later on this month.

'Scratches' - DJ Slademan & Skriblah Dangogh (free download)

Not sure what the deal is with this but the Bandcamp release date is two days away?!

DJ Slademan has put together a mix of all Terra Firma's most underrated best verses and tracks. Skriblah Dangogh's verses from tracks by M9, Micall Parknsun, Triple Darkness and Terra Firma are brought together to prove that this MC has more than just a few skills. Solo tracks also crop up - mainly ones which have not seen a full release.

Go here to download it now for free.

Klashnekoff's 'Back To The Sagas' To Be Released in April

Amazon.co.uk and Play.com both have this eagerly-awaited UK Hip Hop album up for pre-order with the release date of April 12th (on Amazon). Play.com have a tracklist, although I guess this is porbably subject to some change. Anyway, it seems the album features alot of Skriblah (who stuck by Klash after the Terra Firma fallout a couple of years back), D.Ablo (who featured on Kyza's 'S.O.S.' recently), Wretch 32, Smasher, The Thirst and K9. I would love it if this is going to be as classic as some of the tracks that made up 'The Sagas...'.

Intro
Forever more (feat D.ABLO)
Piano (Feat THE THIRST)
Keep It Moving (Feat D.ABLO)
Hands Up (feat SMASHER amnd SKRIBLAH)
Skit
Ric O Chet K Lash Nek Off (Feat D.ABLO)
Tek Time (Feat SKRIBLAH and CAPITO)
Come Soon
Paper Up
Reppin Hard (Feat SKRIBLAH)
Raw (Feat CAPITO)
Cold World
Son Of Niya Pt. 2 (Feat K9)
Show Me The Way (Feat SKRIBLAH)
Get It Too
Feal Kuti (Feat SKRIBLAH and DIAM RUFF)
Somebody Tell Me (Feat WRETCH 32 and SMASHER)

'The DJ Sessions' - VA - Jabba Tha Kut (Mix CD review)

Blam! Jabba Tha Kut’s new double mix CD could be decribed with that one word. It’s terrific! Jabba has selected just under 20 of the best UK tunes and the same amount of US tunes and has mixed, cut and blended them together most expertly to create a pretty joyful listening experience.

I couldn’t have chosen a better play list myself – familiar and now-familiar tracks form a back-to-back wall of thumping Hip Hop. The opening tracks on both the UK and the US CD absolutely bang – Constant Creation’s anthem ‘Staying Hardcore’ and ‘Do It Now’ by Mos Def and Busta Rhymes are so heavy! English guests include Sir Smurf Lil, Triple Darkness, Skibadee, Brotherman, Jack Flash, Lowkey, Dirty Diggers and Kyza. On the US disc you get the aforementioned Busta and Mos, Sean Price, Marco Polo, O.C., CL Smooth and Reks. The underground is thouroughly represented on both CDs with the lesser known names providing absolute fire to rival the famous guys.

This one will definitely be returning to all manner of music players in my life and I can honestly say it has put me onto a few artists who I’ll be looking out for – Aboriginals for example, who appear to be a modern day Native Tongues – lovely. Thanks Jabba and HHB Radio!

It's being released on 23rd February 2009 and if I were you I'd go here to find out more and to buy it!

Triple Darkness - 'Anathema' review

Reviewing an album whose title you’re scared of wrongly pronouncing is a daunting task but here I am listening to ‘Anathema’ by Triple Darkness and writing some words about it. According to the wealth of all knowledge, Wikipedia, Anathema can mean any of a few things: “something lifted up as an offering to the gods”, “banished” or “set apart”. Any of those definitions could be the reason for the naming of this album.

It was whilst MC Cyrus Malachi was “banished” from society with what may have been just a dictionary and a book on ancient systems of religion, that he really sharpened his lyrical skills, leading eventually, post release, to the line up of him, Nasheron and M9 (aka Melanin9). – Triple Darkness.

The beats, provided entirely by Beat Butcher and Chemo, really hit hard (as you’d expect) – I don’t recommend listening to this quietly. The production is largely dark and haunting, suiting the lyrics to a T. The guest list features features some high profile names in UK Hip Hop: Kyza, Skriblah and Blind Alphabetz.

The intelligent rhymes are what really “set apart” this crew from the rest, whether commenting on today’s streets or civilizations of days bygone you can rely on them to provoke thought; even if it is ‘What on earth does that word mean?’. The MC’s are not only socially and historically minded; Triple Darkness boast spiritual awareness unrivalled in the UK scene. That’s not to say they’re religious nuts, it’s just that they think of more than the usual carnal delights associated with Hip Hop – the reason why they may consider this album to be an “offering to the gods”, not that it’s easy to tell which gods they believe in.

I really recommend picking up a copy of this well presented piece of work unless, that is, you’re scared of having to think a bit more than during the average Hip Hop listening session.

Certified Bangers: ‘Anathema’, ‘Pyramid Warz’ & ‘Guerilla Penmanship’
Top Lyric: “Certified mic veterans, codex adeptus//With no thoughts of penance, only steel vengeance” (Hook from ‘Anathema’)

K-lashed

Klashnekoff – Ocean Rooms, Brighton – Good Friday 2007

Should any one occurrence, object, person, or anything for that matter, be judged individually or in comparison to other similar occurrences, objects etc? There is no simple answer, in an ideal world I’m sure everything would be judged on its own merits and downfalls. In this world, however, we human beings tend to compare two or more occasions in order to rank our experiences. This is the only way I can approach reflection on the Klashnekoff gig.

I cannot divorce memories of other hip hop shows from recollections of last night. Saian Supa Crew were amazing, displaying tight knit cooperation combined with some superb visually and sonically stimulating beat boxing. 50 Cent brought everyone on G-unit, seeing Mobb Deep do Quiet Storm and Shook Ones pt. 2, M.O.P. do Ante Up and Cold as Ice and Ma$e do Mo Money, Mo problems were moments in my life that I never expected to happen (all on a free ticket too) and Jurassic 5’s show was just perfect in every single way (see my review here.) So how did K-lash measure up?

I would put Ricochet Klashnekoff on a par with aforementioned rappers and groups in that he has done as much for UK Hip Hop as SSC have for French Hip Hop, as 50 has done for commercialised, viable gangsta rap and as J5 have for bringing the golden era to the nineties and noughties. By no means has Klash been on the scene for the entire rise of UK Hip Hop but he has succeeded in becoming respected and recognisable and I’m sure has put in much hard work.

Klash took to the stage in some sort of drug induced trance. I say took to the stage, he was already on it really as the Ocean Rooms provides space only for the most intimate gigs, (no dressing rooms here) and almost immediately began to apologise for the absence of Kyza Smirnoff. Kyza seems to have really annoyed the remaining members of Terra Firma by notifying them via email of his departure, ouch, maybe he dumps girls by text too? Klashnekoff proceeded to dig himself into a hole about the whole saga and was met by comments like “Shut the F**k up and rap will you?”, so he did.

He rapped, he did a variety of tracks from ‘The Foundation’, ‘Focus Mode’ and ‘Lionheart: Tussle with the beast’. To be honest I don’t own The Foundation, a collective effort by Terra Firma and didn’t know those tracks but, I might buy it, I might not. I was surprised at the way some of the tracks from L:TWTB (Sounds like some sort of a gay organisation) went down, have people actually bought that CD yet? I am glad I went, it was worth it but I wasn’t impressed by his attitude (again, drug induced?) I felt sorry for ‘Bumberclart’ Skully and silently patient Skriblah for putting up with him, I’m not surprised Kyza left by email. Klash has a big ego manifested in his arrogance. He will remain a favourite MC but I wont be rushing out to witness him bumbling through what could loosely be called a set. Unless, that is, he takes a leaf out of a more mature artists book and finds out why people actually pay good money to see him.

I’ve been pretty harsh so far, and I’m sure he would hate me for pretty much everything I have to say. It seems he is not really friends with the internet community as too many people call him on there without actually ‘tess’ing’ him. I don’t want to test him, I love his recorded music, I continually to return to his tracks and enjoy them and I know that somewhere inside him there is more than just his knobbish front. Heartfelt songs such as My life, Son of Nia and Black rose show us that he is not all macho bravado-ness and this should come across more on stage. He should go see a Sway gig and see how he involves the crowd, how it’s possible to be friendly and successful as a rapper and how some things, especially things that are made for enjoyment (hip hop) should be light hearted and, well, just more happy.

All in all a good night out, if you like his tunes, go. Hearing them live is great, he has bangers mate, bare bangers, hearing Murda was brilliant, as was Sayonara (personal fave) and the Jamrock remix. Brap.