Task Force - MFTC Archives vol.1

Taskforce are starting a series of albums to celebrate a decade of pioneering music. The collections feature unrealesed gems from the past 10 years or so. Know one does it or has done it like Task Force so support your local legends and follow the player or click HERE to d/l the album, at a bluey you got no excuse to sleep on this. More coming very soon.....

Chester P - New Mic Order Part. 2, out now!

Decent! Part 2 of Chester P's New Mic Order mixtape is here, basically picking up straight where part 1 left off a couple of years ago. Digital version can be purchased from Chester's bandcamp page, and apparently a physical version will soon follow with a few extra tracks. Nice.

'The Skuff & Inja Show - Skuff & Inja (album review)

When heard in the context of a whole LP, Skuff and Inja’s new musical direction makes more than sense. I wasn’t a great fan of Inja’s ‘Hats Low’ but when the remix pops up at the end of ‘The Skuff & Inja Show’ all becomes clear.

Leaving behind the more familiar sounds of samples are the tracks that leave the biggest dent – the tunes that are designed to be played loud, preferably in the type of club I’d love to spend my weekends in. Tracks such as ‘Kickstart’, ‘Spark it Up’ and ‘Side Effects Remix’ fall into this category.

Where things are more traditional, dopeness abounds - ‘United Kingdom’ in its social and political seriousness, ‘Be Like You’, ‘Enter The Albatross’ and other tracks all sound more like Hip Hop as we know it. Mr. Thing’s ‘Witness’ and DJ Nappa’s ‘Ital Violence’ provide the MCs with the chance to show off their considerable double time skills.

‘The Skuff & Inja Show’ is full of innovative and creative Rap music and should be in your collection upon its release. CB’s favourite tracks ‘Famslam’ (featuring Farma G, Chester P, Ramson Badbonez & Remus) and the beautiful ‘Sunnicide’ can be heard on the pilot of the Certified Banger Podcast. It will be released by In Records/The Music on November 2nd 2009.

Certified Banger Podcast Pilot (free download)

Here is the first podcast from Certified Banger! The aim was to give you a taster of some forthcoming UK Hip Hop all in the space of an hour - hopefully I succeeded. Let me know your thoughts and ideas for the official #1 episode. Go here http://feeds.feedburner.com/certifiedbangerpodcast to subscribe in your itunes and other similar applications. If you just want to download the mp3 then right click here.

Tracklisting:

Famslam ft. Task Force Family - Skuff & Inja
Back Home - Yosh
Mic Check - One Wish & Stereotype
You Lot - Freyed Knot
In Due Time - J-Treole
Jamaica (Original) - Jimmy Screech
They Dont Know (Original) - J Simple
Sunday Service - Chief Wigz
Higher Higher - Juice Aleem
A.L.P.H.A. - Alphabetix
The London Convention ft. Funky DL, MCD, Skinnyman, Blak Twang, ESP, TY, Phoebe One, Kwes - London Allstars
Family Name - Bombadeal
It's Not Relevant - LDZ
Do Wah - Tactical Thinking
It's So Different Here - Tom Caruana
Sunnicide -Skuff & Inja

Certified Banger Podcast Pilot by Certifiedbanger on Mixcloud

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!

'The Official Mixtape Volume 1' - Ramson Badbonez & DJ Harry Love (mixtape review)

Coming up under the wing of Task Force can never be a bad thing. First appearing in 2002 on the ‘Mud Fam EP’ and then again in 2003 on ‘Music From The Corner Volume 2’, Ramson Badbonez has had a good start in UK rap life. Along with DJ Harry Love he now brings us an epic collection of verses and concepts over a load of beats from the greats (Premier, RZA, 9th Wonder, Alchemist, Madlib and more).

If Badbonez isn’t one of the most promising MCs on the scene right now then I don’t know who is. He’s interesting, clever and witty, he’s laidback, competent and lyrical - skills which could be generalised as ‘panache’.

Ramson displays a versatility that’s missing in most MCs only on their first mixtape. Concepts, hooks, lexis, on-point delivery, real talk, braggadocio and story telling are all present and correct in the most refreshing way.

Standout tracks for me are ‘Put The Mic Down’ (for the awesome reworking of the RZA’s ‘Liquid Swords’) and the British weather reality track ‘Out In The Rain’ but if you’ve got an hour and a bit you’ll find it’s all of high quality. Rounding off with his version of Slick Rick’s ‘Children’s Story’ is a perfect way to end a release which only leaves me hoping that, with a bunch of instrumentals specifically made for him, Ramson Badbonez will produce a storming debut album proper.

‘The Official Mixtape Volume 1’ also features tracks from various projects already released (aforementioned ‘MFTC 2’, DJ MK’s ‘Above Board’ and Ramson’s own 12 inchers). Buy it now, as usual, at Suspect Packages (and don’t download it).

'Survive Or Die Trying' - Chester P (mixtape review)

‘Survive Or Die Trying’ or ‘New Mic Order – The Mixtape Part 1’ is the latest release from Task Force’s Chester P. One of the great things about this CD is the fact that it is ‘part 1’ – it promises more, and more of this can only be a good thing.

The UK king of abstract but gritty concept rhymes is back after his ‘From The Ashes’ solo debut album. Over a range of suitable beats Chester P weaves his angst-charged and sometimes intangible lyrics with the dexterity only a veteran could possess. Don’t worry if you don’t understand though, immerse yourself in the ill imagery and marvel at the vocabulary amalgamations and the sheer depth of general knowledge.

When he’s in comprehensible mode he’s a master story teller on ‘Urban Jackanory’ whereas elsewhere conceptual tracks such as ‘Zodiac Killer’ and ‘Spoonerised Minds’ remind you of Chessmonster’s more playful side. If he’s not doing that then he’s telling true to life narratives and musings which are often personal, as on ‘Greatest Story Never Told’ and ‘Holocaust’.

If the Task Force back catalogue is anything to go by, you should buy this now because soon it’ll be pretty hard to get hold of. Every fan of UK Hip Hop needs this in their collection. Why? Because Chester P is UK Hip Hop. Buy it at Suspect Packages.

Farma Certifies 'On The Radar Volume 2'

Get on over to Farma G's Music From The Corner blog because he's totally dissected 'On The Radar Volume 2' in it's entirety and I have to say, it's more than favourable - which is good for me and all the guys and girls involved:

"I'm new to this blog thing but one thing I know is that Certified Banger is the top dog in this blogging phenomena... period! This is the second volume of 'On The Radar' and it is FREE!!! The artists are all on the come up and from all over the UK which for me is now a very important thing to be showcasing. The UK Hip Hop scene is not just a London thing anymore (not that it ever was, but it has been the general perception) and the local accents of my brothers and sisters from all over the UK are something to celebrate and enjoy."

Take Farma's advice and download yourself a copy!

'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.

'Edstrumentals Vol. 1' - Evil Ed (CD review)

If it's beats you're looking for then look no further than Evil Ed's 'Edstrumentals Vol. 1'. It's 20 tracks of Evil Ed's best knon instrumentals used by Yungun ('The Art of Celebration' and 'Nico Suave'), Task Force ('The Tournament'), Tommy Evans ('Alright/OK'), The Colony ('Back Up'), Asaviour ('Field Of Dreams') Conspicuous & Shameless ('Write A Song For Me'), Ricochet aka Ric Branson ('A New Way of Thinking' & 'No Pressure') and Jehst ('Alien').

As well as known beats there are a few bonus beats thrown in for good measure and the liner notes include Ed's thoughts and recollections of each beat.

If they're good enough for those MCs then surely they're good enough for you to spit to/juggle with on your CDJs/kick back with when no words are required. Its also pretty chilling background music for Hip Hop Heads to remax to. This is probably a release that will appeal more to existing fans of Evil Ed but any beatfreak should be feeling his classic production style.

Get yersen a copy from Suspect Packages or somewhere like that. If you've not already got it, buy 'The Get Together' too, the album he did with Conspicuous not a few months back.

Rare Task Force Tracks @ Music From The Corner

Farma G of infamous UK Hip Hop group Task Force is the latest rapper to join the wonderful world of blogging. He's kicked things of in a big way by dropping exclusive tracks that have been sleeping in the vaults up until now.

Here's one example, a track named 'Bang Bang', produced by Mic Skilla and Farma with vocals by Chester P, Mic Skilla, Farma G and Eno Redrum:



Click here to hear the rest!

We got it for Cheap - 'Lowlife is 40' & 'UK Takeover Vol. 4'

There's a bit of a Braintax track (possibly 'Monsoon Funk' off 'Panorama') where he says something about how he's mixed down half the UK classics. Well, it's true, it may be a slight underestimation when considering UK Hip Hop from at least the last 10 years.

This CD, that you can get for a ridiculously low price (59p, anyone?!) here on the wonderful Amazon marketplace features some great tracks from Braintax, Task Force, Jehst, Rodney P, Mystro, Asaviour, Kashmere, Skinnyman, Verb T and Lewis Parker. It was created to celebrate the 40th Lowlife release and it really helps to prove Joey's point although it's not an exhaustive list and there are plenty more classics where these came from. It also features what is becoming UK industry standard for packaging: Classy gatefold style cardboard, and that makes it nicer to own, OK not so good for keeping in the car if you want it to stay nice!

Whoever you are, where ever you're at, just get yourself a copy of this and enjoy. I've already copped 3 for me and my bro and my mate.

You wouldn't go far wrong either by ordering this: UK Takeover Volume 4, the soundtrack to the night. It's packed with classics ('Survival of the Hardest Working' by Blade), some personal favourites of mine (Baby J's 'Let it Go remix' and 'So You Want More' by Ty and Roots Manuva')and other tracks by great UK MC's (Yungun, Estelle etc) . You can pick this up for around the 50p mark too, awesome!