'Benny Huge' - Dr. Syntax (album review)

Whilst the world's Hip Hop fans eagerly await Dr. Dre's long-awaited 'Detox', a few more in-the-know heads will be waiting for the UK's own doctor to drop his next LP. Dr. Syntax's 'Benny Huge' is on its way and it's one that all music fans should check out.

With a futuristic sound, mainly courtesy of Pete Cannon, and a comedic take on day-to-day (night) life, Dr. Syntax has created a very entertaining album. With an impeccable flow, hilarious punchlines and that semi-melodic rap style, Doc Synners really does deserve your hard earned.

'Jump Up!' is one of those tracks that you'd love to hear on a night out - it's one of those songs that tells you what to do and is definitely in the vein of Humpty Hump. Which is exactly what I thought on first listen; and then I heard Dr. Syntax mention the large-nosed one on 'This Fresh' - weird, but on the money. Sytax still has what it takes when it comes to story telling ('Cock Block') whilst holding it down on concept tracks ('Number One'). Topic of the hour seems to be the daily grind of everyday life and work ('Stress', 'Hire Me') combined with tales of the weekend (as demonstrated on the awesome D'n'B-laced 'There's Got To Be More'). Not that this MC can't put across a serious message, albeit in a rather tongue-in-cheek manner ('Big Business'). Oh yeah, and just so you don't got bored (not a chance of that anyway), Mr. Huge also nonchalantly throws in a bit of double-time, just 'cause he can ('Benny Huge').

'The Bird Has Flown' switches up the mood once more, and rounds things off perfectly, leaving the listener wondering if there was a bad track on the album they've just heard. No, there's not. The alvum is out 6th December, so you don't have to wait long. One of the best releases this year.

'Mood Swings' - Stig Of The Dump (review)

I really don't remember Stig Of The Dump being this offensive before. For most of you, that sentence will tell you everything you need to know - you'll either want to hear this, or you won't. Now, I've met the guy, had good conversation with him, and think he's a nice guy but his new music is different - it's aggressive and coarse. Yes, he's a great MC, he's witty and certainly has a way with words. Again, some of you right now will be salivating and rushing out to buy a copy of 'Mood Swings'.

The album is a weighty thing, with exceedingly heavy production from the likes of Beat Butcha, Jehst and Pete Cannon to match Stig's non-stop flow and the inclusion of Stig's track with R.A. The Rugged Man, 'Braindead'.

'What's Up' is more introspective and pushes the message that the masses need to hear: fame and money isn't everything, in fact, it's nothing. 'Planet Hollywood' pushes home the message later on in the album as Stig and Enlish role play a rich people with everything in ridiculous amounts. 'Big City Blues' is a perceptive take on life in the metropolis and the Pete Cannon beat is nothing short of excellent. 'I Know What You're Thinking' is a pretty funny slamming of pop culture which features Dr. Syntax.

'Mood Swings' was released on 11th October on Lewis Recordings and can be gotten from usual good places, including Bandcamp for your digital download.

'I Got Game' - Stig Of The Dump (review)

Stig of the Dump is back, big and more bolshy than ever. Coming somewhat like a battering ram Stig slams home his self-belief on 'I Got Game'. Pete Cannon provides the street fighter sample-littered pounding backdrop. Check the whole 38 second-long intro, it's just epic - there's no wonder Stig drops like he does on this one!

'I Got Game' is out on Monday 2nd August on Lewis Recordings and is taken from the forthcoming album 'Mood Swings'.

Bristol's Finest - Skateboarding + Hip Hop

Sidewalk magazine are featuring the best of skaters from the Bristol area in the December edition. The magazine will come with a FREE DVD of footage with the accompanied by a soundtrack of Bristol music artists. Artists included are Stig of the Dump, Tough Touch Productions, Lowercase, Jon Kennedy, Se Fire, K*Ners, Sir Beans O.B.E and Malakai. There will be 53,000 cover-mounted copies available with December’s edition of Sidewalk Magazine (the U.K’s leading Skate-culture magazine).

You should be able to pick up your copy from all good newsagents, 50-50 stores and Skate Cafes Nationwide. To order your copy on-line: http://sidewalkmag.com

Showing at the Watershed – Bristol – 12th December 2009

Bristol’s Finest a scene DVD from Fifty-Fifty, Bristol in Bloom and Skate cafe is premiering at Bristol’s Watershed Cinema on Saturday December 12th. With footage from Matt ‘Boyo’ Williams, Andy Makepeace, Nicky Howells, Korahn Gayle and many more from Bristol.

'Vulgar Eloquence' - Steg G Coming Soon ft. Royce Da 5'9 & Craig G

Scotch producer Steg G has a bit of a biggie in the works - his 'Vulgar Elegance' project is due to drop in one month's time and it features Royce Da 5'9, Craig G, Respek BA, Loki, Freestyle Master, Spee 69, Stig of the Dump and more mans! Peep the video above for snippets and more info.

'Ya Dad Knows About This One' - Chris L (review)

This one’s been around for a while now but if you’ve not checked it out yet you might want to reconsider your ignorant behaviour. Macc lad Chris L has jacked a hefty selection of beats and sprayed a boat load of tongue in cheek lyrics all over them. Productions previously heard on releases by Skinnyman, Dr. Syntax, Mark B, Foreign Beggars, Nas, Dirty Diggers and Baby J all get blessed with an equal amount of respect and impertinence from the mouth of Mr. Leese.

Stig of the Dump hosts ‘Ya Dad Knows About This One’ and if you’re after a bit of a giggle, some good rhymes and beats then buy yersen a copy. Top tracks are ‘Macc Town’ - a synical but loving assessment of Macclesfield, ‘Subcultures’ (which follows the original concept, watch for the D’n’B MCs bit – jokes) and ‘Mane-Stream’ is a scoffing take on poppy southern Hip Hop.

The CD features Ben B, Baron Samedi, EDXL, Antidote, Truth, Mic Dyson, Filthy Rich and more (apparently) and in the words of Doc Synners “bless him, he’s tried really hard with this one”! Some of the recording, EQing and mastering could be better (it was done in a “stinking bedroom in 2006/2007) but Chris promises better on the next CD. Hit Chris L up on myspace and get yourself a copy.

Stig and Syntax @ Disgracelands (photos)

Lunar C (aka Lunarc the eunuch) @ Disgracelands 3 last night

Stig of the Dump @ Disgracelands 3

Stig and Syntax - big up to Angry Nik for the photos - check all of them on facebook here.

Stig and Syntax Show, Bradford Tonight!

who's around the West Yorkshire area tonight? You are? Well get to the Polish club (bare Poles there for real) for some real Hip Hop from the likes of Stig of the Dump and Dr. Syntax - yup, Fatty and Specky are coming up for a cuppa Yorkshire Tea and some mic mangling. Lunar C, Wydeboi, Chief Wigz and Spida Lee will also be representing - big ups to Brutal Artistry and Don't Talk To Strangers for making this happen for us WY heads!

Best UK Hip Hop Video Ever - Neurosonics Audiomedical Labs Inc.

Crikey! Have I just witnessed the best UK Hip Hop video ever? I think so! Scratch Perverts, Shlomo, Foreign Beggars, Dr. Syntax and Stig of the Dump all feature on this groundbreaking short - more like this please!

Disgracelands #3 - Stig & Syntax

The next Disgracelands happens in September and the mighty Fatty and Specky show will be the main event. Stig and Syntax will no doubt tear down the place as will all the other guys on the bill - 'On The Radar' artist Lunar C and Wydeboi and hosts Chief Wigz and Spida Lee. This is real Hip Hop so get down and support!

Top Billin' in Plymouth

How about going to this if you're in or about Plymouth? Stig and Syntax are playing and Sleaze is hosting. I had an email from the Stig the other day with regards to an email I posted some time ago about the HHC anniversary tour being cancelled and he wanted me to let you know this:

"I just wanted to let you know that at no point did myself or Dr Syntax "pull out" of any shows... we are always professional when it comes to our shows - we live for this s**t and would never be arrogant enough to f**k around someone who is promoting us and in turn helping us pay our rent..."

'Elbow Grease' - Percy Filth (EP review)

Why should you buy ‘Elbow Grease’? Well it kicks off with a collaboration surely every UK Hip Hop head wanted to hear – SonnyJim and Foregin Beggars on the big and bouncy ‘Out To Getcha’ anybody? Percy Filth doesn’t let up in quality of production or guest calibre – next up it’s about-to-return Juice Aleem, Madflow and Lotek on ‘Electronic Music’ which somehow manages to use digital sounds on a track reminiscent of the 90s era.

It’s not just UK MCs and DJs who have been invited on board – ‘Livin’ Trife’ features Maylay Sparks, K-Skills, ‘That’s Why (Remix)’ features K-Skills and J-Sands and ‘Flesh n Blood’ features (the probably quite eccentric) Arsun F!st.

Over the remaining four tracks SonnyJim, Redbeard, English, Stig of the Dump, Dr. Syntax and Kosyne ensure that there is not a bad track on this EP. The wealth of DJs on this release take care of the very welcome cuts – props to DJ Cro, DJ Weetamix, DJ Roc-1 and DJ Jodo. Percy Filth has got the skills to pay the bills, your head won’t stop nodding for the duration and the skip button will be underused, so make sure you pick up a copy so that he actually can pay for gas and that.

‘Elbow Grease’ is out on Aerosolik/Eat Good and is available now from Suspect Packages.

'Elbow Grease' - Percy Filth (free downloads)

Aerosolik Records and Eat Good Records bring you their latest release, 'Elbow Grease', the EP from UK Hip Hop producer Percy Filth.

The EP features vocals from SonnyJim, Foreign Beggars, Stig of the Dump, English, Dr. Syntax, Redbeard, Kosyne and Juice Aleem all repping for the UK as well as a few American guests including Maylay Sparks and J-Sands.

The EP will be out on 22nd June on limited 12" vinyl, CD and digital download. If you can't wait 'til then then you can check out two leaked tracks and some snippets:

'Elbow Grease' ft. Stig of the Dump, SonnyJim, Dr. Syntax & DJ Weetamix

'That's Why (Remix)' ft. J-Sands & K-Skills

'Elbow Grease' snippets

'The Audio Workout' - Vee Kay (album review)

Vee Kay’s producer album ‘The Audio Workout’ is a perfectly cut gem. At 11 tracks and 34-ish minutes long it’s short but incredibly sweet. Vee Kay himself said “I don't listen to music to bring myself down, I listen to it to try to cheer myself up” – this album makes it evident he makes music to please himself; whilst in no way soft it’s cheery stuff.

The chosen samples are funky, soulful and uplifting. The productions don’t just fall back behind the voices of the MCs – they have their own presence (an area where producer albums often fall). It’s the pure musicality of this album that’s made it one of my most played in the last month or so.

The guests are a well selected mix of known names and the skilled up-and-comers. ‘Lok Dat Remix’ is just that, a version of Vee Kay’s track from Wordsmith’s forthcoming LP (Vee Kay has other beats on there too) and it features Dubbledge and Micall Parknsun – in my world that’s star studded! Stig and Syntax rear their double-time heads on ‘Goldwings’ and Dead Residents own ‘Bogey Homecide’ – a hilarious ode to flicking snot. Wordsmith features a second time on the tuneful ‘Bring Me Down’ – it gets me in sing-a-long mode!

Dialekt, Lowercase, Yosh and Cariz provide the other vocals, holding their own on the bangers courtesy of Vee Kay. Of the 7 MC-fronted tracks here there’s no stinker, it smells just rosy.

‘Third Child’ is an awesome demo of skill – a Hip Hop show tune if I ever heard one. The ‘Intro’ and ‘Outro’ are also worth a listen, they bookend the album nicely making the whole affair comprehensive.

‘The Audio Workout’ is one of my favourite releases this year and it’s released digitally on November 24th on Sweatbox Sounds.

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?

Click here to read more

'Why Oh Why?' ft. Yosh - Vee Kay (free download)

Vee Kay sent a copy of his new producer album my way today. I've listened to the whole thing and it's awesome. I'll be giving it a proper review soon but as a taster he's letting you all have a track for free.

The track features up and comer Yosh and is called 'Why Oh Why?'. Check it out.

Vee Kay has recently been at work on Wordsmith's forthcoming LP, which he assures me will be out soon. 'The Audio Workout' features Wordsmith, Dubbledge, Micall Parknsun, Stig of the Dump, Dr. Syntax and the Dead Residents amongst others. It's going to be available in a month's time on download only.

According to the press release "Vee Kay has been diligently working away in the background for a hot minute now. Having self-financed his first sold-out EP 'Mindless', he went on to put out the much sought-after 'Myster-Vee Tour' in 2004. He followed that up by producing the debut album for UK Hip Hop veterans, Beefeaterz, eating up the boards for their 'Badge of Honour' album and working with international acts, Arsonists, Dead Residents and Josh Martinez. This time, it’s all about Vee, and 'The Audio Workout' is his first full-length LP and he is hungry to finally push his sound to the forefront of the UK hip-hop scene."

'Scene Stealers' - Skreintax (album review)

Skreintax may not have been the most obvious collaboration. Dr Syntax and Skrein each have quite a unique take on Hip Hop but in no way is ‘Scene Stealers’ a mash-up of the two. Synners and Skrizzle have cooperated to create a joint stage for their skills.

Dr. Syntax and Skrein retain their identifiable timbres; you know when one MC stops and the other start – more than can be said for some collaborative efforts. The other MC’s complement this; Stig of the Dump, Farma G, Verb T, Sir Smurf Lil’ and Dubbledge all show up to rap. ‘Mine for the Taking’ showcases yet another Farma G style – that man is really experimenting right now. ‘Express Train’ and ‘T.E.T.M.D’ (The Evil That Men Do) both feature Stig, who seems to have all but lost the Geordie twang but still raps ferociously.

Lyrically there are many messages to be had here. On an overall positive vibe, words of advice and encouragement flow thoughtfully, especially on tracks like ‘Mothers’ and ‘Reach’. Other tracks follow concepts; ‘Express Train’ discusses getting away for a day, ‘Back Down’, a night on the pull with disappointing consequences. ‘Venus’ examines a woman who, despite her name, revolves around material things. Other tracks, like ‘6 Bitters’ (Sick Spitters….get it?), are all about the ill lyrics. As usual Dr. Syntax shines as he displays his awesome propensity to write amazing rhymes.

The production is perfect, not a bad beat in sight. Boom bap, a splash of jazz, a hint of reggae, all stirred in the sunshine is the order of the day here. The beats are courtesy of Nutty P, Kelakovski, Chemo, DJ Snips, Dag Nabbit and Tom Caruana among others. Graziella also provides her golden tones on some deliciously sung hooks.

If you’re already a fan of Dr. Syntax or Skrein then I can guarantee you will want this LP in your collection. It’s out on Dented Records on December 1st; one for your stocking then.

HHC Tour Leeds Cancelled

This will be going out tonight Blak Twang is 100% on and I'm working to bring some exciting acts up to Leeds for a Saturday night show at the end of Nov / Start December.

We tried, they failed!

So here you have it people, we've tried our damned hardest to bring Hip-Hop Connection and their 20th Anniversary celebrations to Leeds but, for a number of reasons that include a lack of communication, a lack of organisation and a lack of understanding from people who are in the game for only one thing, money. Being the kind of respectful trio we are and to appease others, we moved the date twice but it came to light that even this wasn't enough. So, as a final gentlemanly gesture we changed the date a third and last time (which again wasn't good enough).

We then received emails with threats of 'if I have to, I'll tell this artist and that artist not to play', below the belt childish bully tactics that did nothing but make us hungrier. So we started on a long journey down the winding road called hip-hop politics. Where the days of getting everyone together for a good old beat infused celebration seems to have been replaced with money hungry, self obsessed, child like people who enjoy talking out of their rear end.

Moving on now and we have the farce that is the Anniversary itself.

Just like all of you that kindly, and wisely, bought the event tickets in advance, we thought that this night was going to run rather smoothly. Oh, how wrong could we have been! The flyers have been re-designed twice & sent to print along with a mass of posters and other HHC related goodies.Then, we received an email that Baby J (who had arranged his album launch date to go off in London a good two months ago) was double booked and that Million Dan (who again had this planned a time before the HHC tour) was kickin' it with Baby J on the evening of the launch party which yes, you guessed it, was on the 17th October.

This would have put many a people's nose out of joint but we spoke to each other and decided to plough on through the turmoil and try work out the kinks, after all, we still had Stig of the Dump, Dr. Syntax, Jack Flash and the crowd puller that is Klashnekoff. So we made a trip out on Friday night to watch a good friend in Mr. Thing and his vocal partner Yungun. We gave out flyers to all that were interested and it has to be said, all who weren't. We left at 4am in a very positive frame of mind. Then we awoke to the final knife in the back, the one that has left a scar. We received an email that informed us that Stig and Syntax had pulled out of the Leeds date. Our feelings started with anger but quickly changed to disappointment.

So there you have it, we tried and they failed. We were like 3 hip-hop salmons swimming against the tide… out of pocket and out of patience.

We apologise to all who have been let down, we feel your dissatisfaction and we realise that you, like us, were really looking forward to this event. We have had to pull out now, we have spent so much time and money promoting something that was never meant to be that now we just want to get back to doing what we do best, staying in control and bringing you artists that really want to play for us and you.

Keep it real and watch this space,

Peace,
Leeds Hip-Hop Scene

'Hip-Hop Connection Presents Recognition...' - Various Artists (compilation review)

Reviewing a CD without listening to it isn’t standard procedure (for me anyway). But when it’s a compilation CD supposedly containing genre-defining tracks it’s a credit to the compilers that listening isn’t necessary. And what more would you expect from the worlds original rap magazine?

‘Hip-Hop Connection Presents Recognition 20 Years Of Fire-Starting UK Rap Anthems’ is 20 tracks of…well; the title is pretty self explanatory. In roughly chronological order, HHC curates the annals of the art form done Blighty’s way and succeeds in drawing together some of the most influential specimens. (Click here for tracklisting)

As I hinted before, anyone interested in the UK Rap scene will have heard the majority of what’s on offer here, meaning this serves perfectly as an introduction or education to the un-schooled. It also provides perfectly for that car journey when you forgot to burn off your favourite UK tracks onto a compilation CD.

There are one or two surprises; Blak Twang’s ‘08 album cut, ‘How Long’ fills the gap between ‘91’s ‘Son of Noise’ and ‘01’s ‘The Unknown’ by Mark B & Blade - a gap that Twang’s ‘Red Letters’ would have filled perfectly. Or with a little re-sequencing ‘So Rotton’ would have been more than fitting. The last tracks, although good, are probably not the best representatives of the evident creativity of UK Hip Hop’s last couple of years.

If I didn’t have this I’d probably get it, A) for lending to ignorant friends and B) for an effortless stroll through some of the masterpieces of my collection. It’ll be released on 8th of October on the Hip Hop Village label and there’s no doubt everywhere will be stocking this.

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.