'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.

'Grime' - VA - Mixed and Compiled by Lunatrix & DJ Vokal (compilation review)

There are certain Grime artists who have matured the genre into something listenable. Some of those artists (Wiley, Asher D, Wretch 32, Bashy, Virus Syndicate and Skepta) are assembled on HHB Radio’s ‘Grime’ mix CD. Other artist on this CD generally fit into the mature mould although there are a couple of Channel U moments, ya get me?

Primarily, I’m a Hip Hop fan but there are many Grime artists who have crossed into my consciousness as the boundaries between the two genres have blurred. This does mean that I’m not up to speed with everything on this CD, but to my ears it sounds pretty fresh.

Stand out track is the massive ‘Punctuation Remix’ and the mix into ‘Streets on Lock’ by Nasty Jack is nice. ‘Badder Dan Dem’ by Lady Lykes, ‘The Formula’ by W.A.R. Material and Fr3e’s ‘I Got This’ could have been left on the cutting room floor but overall the track selection is educated.

If you’re a Grime fan then buy this, if you’re curious, buy it because it could change your mind. It’s ideal for your car’s subwoofer or for getting hyped up to before you hit the town in your cris new creps. It's out now on OYM records.