Freedom Of Press - Cypher ft M.A.B , Oshea , Ramson Badbonez , Blammer , Tenchoo and JabbaThaKut

Freedom Of Press let go of the first song since their "Yet To Verify" ep last year.
Featuring MAB, Oshea,Ramson Badbonez,Blammer and Tenchoo,with Jabba tha Kut on turntable duties.
Produced by Henrytha8th from Freedom Of Press,look out for the "Verified" ep dropping soon on First Son Records

Ramson Badbonez - Dilla Tribute Mix Part 2 (Free download)

Yet another mixtape from Ramson Badbonez. The concept here is pretty straightforward, Badbonez spitting over Dilla instrumentals. Don't expect any carefully crafted songs here, not one of the tracks even reaches as far as 2 minutes long. That said, Badbonez over beats as good as this for free, can't be a bad thing now can it?...

M.A.B - Walk Alone ***Official Video*** (Free Mixtape)

MAB is back after his recent forthnightly free download songs with a new video and mixtape featuring Jabba Tha Kut,Charlie Mac,Ramson Badbonez,Diligent Fingers and more.
Download it here and see why MAB and his Abnoxshuz fam are the ones to watch

Ramson Badbonez - Give Badbonez A Break (review)

Ramson Badbonez absolutely loves a mixtape. On top of this release, there are 2 volumes of 'The Official', Tales From The Staircase, Bone Marrow and Dilla and BIG tribute tapes in the last couple of years. At least. There could easily be a couple more that I've overlooked. Yet, no album, although The Official Vol. 2 was basically an album in all but name, containing entirely original production. Currently scheduled for a release sometime next year, here's hoping the debut LP will be worth the wait.

This level of output is both a good and a bad thing. Clearly, you can't knock the former Taskforce protégé's work rate, especially when you take his large number of guest slots into account. However, I can't escape the feeling that once you've heard one Badbonez mixtape, you've heard them all. The material is largely Badbonez attacking whatever beats are put in front of him with a rapid-fire burst of punchlines and battle rhymes. Enough to convince you of his talent, no doubt, but not the sort of high quality album he has been threatening to produce for the last half decade.

At least this tape has brought a fresh concept. As the title suggests, a bunch of well known breaks have been looped up by DJ IQ, ready for Badbonez to do his thing. You're bound to recognise some, if not all the loops. There is also a heavyweight line-up of guests, all of whom are given the first verse on the tracks they feature on. These guest verses vary in quality from some of the best in the country like Jehst, Kyza and Verb T, whose bars live up to expectations, down to Big Deal whose pedestrian flow makes 'What Is This?' a skippable track ("I want a space ship/fully equiped with space shit/red lazers my favorite'). The clear standout guest verse is that provided by Kashmere. The Iguana Man brings his usual energy to another show stealing appearance on 'Another Day Is Dawning':

In the flesh I manifest, raw lyrics to your chest/
So when you hear the god coming, genuflect like bless/
My mind is in the heavens, though my body is a weapon/
Genetic specimin, let's begin, here's the medicin/
The shape-shifter, baked for days, haze-twister/
Just chilling, on the d-low, just building/
Invisible to the naked, his bloodline is scared, a Neo of The Matrix/
The anomaly, possibly they spotted me/
Must have been the locks, or the chaos chain, logically/
Or ill sound coming through the speaker/
The loop is so ill, his head spun into a seisure/
Got him in a higher state of mind, he was bugging/
No thought, no discussion, just the force of percussion/
Light-speed times a million, immortal, his soul now resides in oblivion/

Badbonez probably sticks to the title a little more, taking us through a typical day, including an unlikely spot of early-morning inner-city fox hunting… With one of the funkier loops on display, this track is a clear high point. Another highlight is one of the few Badbonez solo tracks, 'Black Smog', which closes out the tape. The break, memorably used by Havoc on The Infamous is blessed with another dark portrayal of the capital city. Half the fun of this tape is trying to work out exactly where you've heard all the loops before, and it's refreshing to hear them in an unadulterated form. It's probably a good thing that the music keeps things interesting, because it disguises a few generic verses, that although they're not weak, Badbonez probably rustled them up in 3 minutes flat.

DJ IQ's efforts, along with the long and varied guest list elevates this above the usual mediocre mixtape fare. Give Badbonez A Break is an entertaining outing that will keep fans ticking over, presumably until the next mixtape in a couple months… But the question remians, where is your album?

6.5/10

Give Badbonez A Break is available now, on download from King Kong Holding Company's bandcamp page:
http://kingkongholdingco.bandcamp.com/album/give-badbonez-a-break

Or… there is CD version (apparently limited to 150 copies) available from Suspect Packages:
http://www.suspect-packages.com/artists/r-t/RAMSON_BADBONEZ.php?aid=13583#13583

If you missed it when it dropped a couple of weeks ago, here's a sort-of-video for the Jehst featuring Back Wit Da Heat:

Ramson Badbonez ft Kyza Smirnoff - Paperhunt

the latest song from Ramson Badbones "Give Badbonez A Break" featuring Kyza Smirnoff. You can get it here and its chopped and looped by DJ GONE and DJ IQ.

'Terrorist City: Beta Version' - Kal Sereousz (review)

Sounding like a veteran Kal Sereousz bursts onto the underground scene with much confidence. 'Terrorist City: Beta Version' has been in my inbox and on my ipod for a while now but it seems like it's just surfacing now.

With his swagger, street commentary, forceful delivery and penchant for militarily heavy beats (courtesy of Chemo, Jon Phonics, Kelakovski and others) fans of the likes of Klashnekoff won't be disappointed by this new artist. If my recommendation isn't enough then maybe the fact that Mystro and Ramson Badbonez both feature on the same track on this album will. 'Tired' sees each MC do their thing with Kal bridging the gap between the styles of Mys and Ramson.

If you want to get hold of a copy Suspect Packages are stocking it on CD and Datpiff are offering it as a free download (not sure if this is official or not so I'll let you search for the link!).

Ramson Badbonez 'The Official Part 2' Coming Soon

It seems there's always someone who's not yet heard of Ramson Badbonez. If you're that person, don't worry, there's still time to get to know what he's all about.

My impression of what he's all about is that he's all about writing witty, jaw-dropping rhymes that then drip effortlessly from his lips.

Boot Records are about to put out 'The Official Part 2' (I say about, but it won't be 'til September') and to get you in the mood they're being kind enough to let you have 4 radio edits from the CD:

'I Just Don't Care' ft. Remus (Produced by Nutty P)

'Knock Knock' (Produced by Zygote & Jazz T)

'I Got Dat Sting' (Produced by Jetsun Beats)

'Follow My Lead' (Produced by Wizard)

'Half Past Calm 2' - Jon Phonics - Coming Soon!

Here's the blurb, no point in me re-hashing it (there usually is):

Jon Phonics' debut album for YNR Productions, Half Past Calm 2, will be available exclusively from Monday 3rd May via the brand new YNR Productions website. Produced entirely by Jon Phonics and featuring exclusive tracks with YNR artists Jehst, Kashmere, Verb T & Micall Parknsun, plus extended fam Melanin 9, Cyrus Malachi & Nasheron of Triple Darkness, Obba Supa, 9 Planets, SonnyJim, Kosyne, Ramson Badbonez, T-Bear, Fliptrix & More.

The album will be available in a limited edition run of 300 x hand printed 4-ply fold out covers, screen printed by Brixton Basement Press (Some of the process can be seen in the video trailer below) and also a free download from the YNR website for a limited time only.

Take some time to check out this trailer an prepare yourself for what's to come from one of the countries illest producers doing it:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hSpylJXegWs

Recommended Listening: Lewis Parker, Reggiimental, Fallacy & Ramson Badbonez

Lewis Parker is always going to be a UK Boom Bap fan's favourite. He's long gone from these shores but is still doing his thing. 'The Unseen Trap', which will be released on the HHV.DE label, continues his penchant for espionage-tinged beats and concepts with the title track seeing him team up with John Robinson, an American MC who is nowhere near as plain as his name sounds. 'International Hitmen' is a solo track (and I think, my favourite) and 'Super Scientific Weapons' features Eastkoast and Tah Born. IT's coming out on download and 10" vinyl - I highly recommend that you get it when it's out on 26th February.

Reggiimental's album 'Something For The Strive' has some really great tracks on it - my two favourites are 'For The Life' and 'Weighing My Brain' - two very different tracks. I love the former for its use of a favourite Paul Simon track ('Mother and Child Reunion') - Baby J (who also produces on this album) will be kicking himself for not getting his hands on this one - props to Swift 89 for the production. Not forgetting to mention that Reggii, SC and Brisko do the tune justice with their delivery. 'Weighing My Brain' features and is produced by Gadget, it also features Unfriendly Neighbours - a West Coast type beat with some chat about women and a silky sung chorus. 'Grown Ups' is an old favourite of mine and 'Family Life' featuring Cipher J.E.W.E.L.S. is a tune too - inspiration for a dad-to-be. You can download this album for free here.

Fallacy, another UK legend in my eyes (if you haven't before, check his album 'Blackmarket Boy') has dropped a little download-only EP 'Gracefull In Death' (spelling mistake artist's own) mainly produced by Strategy of Broke 'n' £nglish. On 'Once Upon A Time' he chats about his past and how he got to where he is now - a different story to most. 'One For One' is a dubstep-ish banger and the rest of the beats are the type of hybrids that Fallacy is used to riding. Fallacy sounds hungry - hopefully this won't actually be his last. Scratch up a few quid to buy this.

Another freebie now: I'm not sure when Ramson Badbonez and DJ Gone sleep - they are constantly putting out more music and videos and all of that. Their latest collaborative effort is a mixtape collecting together some of Raomsons recent freestyles: 'Bone Marrow Vol. 1'. If you've heard Ramson Badbonez spit before then you'll be clamouring to download this, if not, download it and check one of the UKs most entertaining MCs doing his thing.

'Flashing Lights' - DJ IQ (mixtape review)

One part cream of the crop UK MCs, one part lefty beats of the wonky/dubstep variety = DJ IQ's 'Flashing Lights' mixtape. IQ has facilitated a mixtape the likes of which have never been heard before. His vision is clear - create a dope, new, futuristic version of UK Hip Hop. The clarity of his intention has led to the production of one of the most compelling mixtapes of the year.

With beats from Samiyam, Tiago, Dabyre, Floating Points, Hudson Mohawke and more, the more cutting edge of you will know what to expect production-wise. DJ IQ mucks in with a couple of productions which, in my humble opinion, are the best on there with the Micall Parknsun-fronted 'Do It For A Fee' being the overall standout track. TB gets clever on his dub of 'Overnight' by spelling out rude words in radio alphabet. Jehst's space-based wordplay on his dub of Floating Points' 'For You' is another top track.

Eva Lazarus and Stac provide non-rapped vocals whereas the likes of Asaviour, Ramson Badbonez, SonnyJim, Kashmere and Prof Green bring the lyricality. Fresh faces Gen and Pride showcase unorthodox styles - ones to watch for.

'Flashing Lights' is available now and is well worth your hard earned moolah. Get it from DJ IQ's website if you want.

'Ghetto Mentality' - Ramson Badbonez

Check this Badbonez track - it's taken from the limited edition CD version of his 'Tales From The Staircase Vol. 1'. King Kong Holding Company have kicked off their series of limited edition mixtapes and releases with this release which can be bought now at Suspect Packages.

Kyza, Ramson Badbonez, DJ MK and Sarah Love live at Scenario this weekend!

Don't forget this is happening this Saturday - Soundcrash presents...Scenario featuring a whole host of UK Hip Hop goodness including Kyza and his live band Focused Few, DJs Sarah Love, Gone,MK and Charlee Brown, Ramson Badbonez, D Gritty, Danny Spice and Dysu. Big ups to Chris who won two tickets for this event - hope he enjoys it!

'Hunger Pains' - Skandal (mixtape review)

Even from the cleverly put together 15 minute mini-mix it's obvious that Skandal’s new ‘Hunger Pains’ mixtape is of a high calibre. Each verse exhibits this MCs ability to twist and wreck words – bending them into his own configuration to serve his purposes. Roast dinners, films and actors and play with different root words all contribute to the overall dopeness and listenability of Skandal’s product.

DJ MK does the cutting honours and the beat selection is solid – guaranteed to keep you moving in your chosen way. The CD features Little Dee and Ramson Badbonez and it seems some real heads are already in support – Shortee Blitz, Huw Stephens (Radio 1) and DJ 279. Big.

‘Hunger Pains’ is available on 26th October and is exclusive to UK Record Shop.

'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.

'Seize The Moment' - VA - DJ Thor (free download)

Hit up the download link for DJ Thor's latest mixtape narrated by Mystro. It features a right ol' mix up of US and UK artists such as Ramson Badbonez, Kyza, Nathan 'Flutebox' Lee, Recordkingz, Skandal, Mystro, Endemic, Mr. Scruff, SonnyJim and Roots Manuva. On the American side of things you get Slaughterhouse, Red and Meth, 50 Cent, Ghostface and MF Doom. For the full tracklisting clickedy here. If you didn't catch volume one then you can download that here and now.

Ty, Wizard, Foreign Beggars, Diversion Tactics - Links and News

Ty is featuring all over the shop these days, and his latest feature is on The Beatmonkey's 'For The People' (which you can hear here at youtube). You can also buy it here with its lovely remixes at itunes.

Check out the new Cappo and Endemic track from Endemic's 'Needle Drop' EP out soon - it's on youtube.

Someone's also whacked up a whole host of rips from Wizard's 'Ear To The Beat' (Ramson Badbonez's 'Jammin On The Street' for example) on youtube - go listen then cop the CD from Suspect Packages - it's well worth your cash. Wizard also has just dropped his 'Spare Time Remixes Vol. 2' as a free download here.

Also on the itunes front: you can now get hold of Diversion Tactics' new single 'Can't Swim'/'Back To School' which features production from J-Zone.

Also on the Suspect Packages front (support them, they support our scene more than anyone): you can pre-order 'White Noize' by Orphans of Cush, 'United Colours of Beggatron' by Foreign Beggars and 'Alphabetix Anonymous' by Alphabetix - all worth gambling on for sure. LDZ's 'The Puppa Murc EP' is now available there too. Disorda also has news of a Dubbledge mixtape coming soon called 'One Inch Punch!' - sounds good.

Kyza Show Saturday 14th November

Get to this show if you can: Kyza, J2K, Ramson Badbones, Rahel, D Gritty, Sarah Love, DJ MK at The Rhthym Factory on 14th November. Also be aware that Dead Prez, Klashnekoff and DJ MK are playing at KOKO on 6th November.

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

'Ear To The Beat' - Wizard (album review)

Producer Wizard’s latest offering is something he should be proud of. Over 22 self produced tracks he’s gathered 30 MCs from both the UK and the US. I don’t know how long Wizard has been making beats but he’s naturally gifted and it’s no surprise that all these artists want to spit over his varied but always immense productions.

Farma G drops in with a split persona on the heavy ‘The Anthem’, Micall Parknsun raps as hungrily as ever on ‘The Land Of The Lost’, Verb T rocks over the jazzy but hard ‘The Dungeon’ and Jack Flash examines himself on the piano-led ‘Sound Of A Genius’. Ramson Badbonez brings golden bars as usual on the punchy ‘Jammin’ On The Street’ and SonnyJim and Conflix wrap the album up with ‘King’ – sure to give you a long-lasting screwface. Other UK MCs who appear on equally as awesome tracks are Baron Samedi, 777, Unfriendly Neighbours, Ed Strong, Enlish (on the very true to life ‘Jealous Type’), Rup, Influx and Vecks and Scizzahz.

Tragic Allies, Erg One and Singapore Kane kick things off for the Americans on the threatening ‘Run For Cover’ (a joint production with Kelakovski) and Random gives one of the best lyrical performances on ‘New World’ as he tells the story of an African being taken into slavery. Verbal Kent and Wizard keep heads moving with ‘Fast Forward’, the album’s non-cheesy love song. Other US rappers to feature are Lil E, J-Black, Mike Mass and Altruisms.

'Ear To The Beat' will be available soon at Suspect Packages.

'...Present Volume 1' - The Krate Krusaders (free download)

The creators of two of 'On The Radar's best recieved tracks, Krate Krusaders, have yet another free giveaway for you.

The first volume kicks off with an excellent live MPC megamix of recognisable tracks which is followed by Remus and his track 'Respect Ur Elders' (from 'OTR Vol. 2) and then newcomer Vex takes over the mic for the bouncy, scratchy 'Vex is Dead'.

The ominous 'Pscience' features Clarity, Farma G and Cappo - each one dropping thrilling rhymes right on point.

Kasha, Logic, Ramson Badbonez (with 'OTR Vol. 3' track 'Incredible'), Fenetik, Saga Sphinx, Crucifix, Devi and Ahmos all get a piece of the beat action too. Download this and Krate Krusaders will keep your nead nodding, and all for the price of a five finger discount - top notchness this is.