Scorzayzee - War To The Puzzle

In preparation for his debut album, Peace To The Puzzle (which has been 'coming soon' for an eternity...), Scorz drops this 10 track EP, War To The Puzzle (see what he did there...) as an appetiser. Little pre-album warm-ups like this are often a little hit and miss, but this isn't too bad at all, and is a clear step up in class from the rather lacklustre free-download mixtapes he's dropped in the last year or so. A couple of tracks on here, such as the introspective opener Beastwick, are absolutely classic Scorz. Whilst on White Widow he details his fight to stay free from Drugs. My only real gripe here is occasionally with the production, as some of it strays quite far from the sort of hardcore Styly-Cee bangers that you may have been used to hearing Scorz spit over back in the day.

However, the prime purpose of this release is to make sure that we're all still aware that Scorzayzee is amongst the most fearsome spitters this country has to offer, and this is achieved with ease. The album, if and when it eventually drops, should be even better, so make sure you keep your eyes peeled for that... But for now, this is well worth a whole 3 of your hard earned.

Styly Cee - Notts Vintage EP

Thought I'd better bring this to everyone's attention pretty quickly, as it is a limited edition, with just 150 produced. This new 6 track 12" on Son Records from Nottingham's Styly Cee contains some previously unreleased gems from the archives that were recorded between 2000 and 2003. Featured on Styly's beats are fellow Nottingham legends Cappo, Scorzayzee, Lee Ramsey & Midnyte. If you buy the vinyl, then you also get a 14 track download, which includes the 6 tracks on the 12", plus 8 other previously released Styly Cee tracks featuring Nottingham MCs. The pick of these is probably Scorzayzee's excellent 'Want What's Yours'.

Tracklist for the extended 14 track download:

1. The Sound

2. Serpico Raps feat Cappo

3. Kofi's Night feat. Midnyte

4. Want What's Yours feat. Scorzayzee

5. Joyrider feat. C-Mone

6. The Test Match feat. Cappo

7. Times When It's Good feat. Midnyte

8. Not From Round Here feat. Scorzayzee

9. Hustle feat. Midnyte

10. All Stylz Anthem feat. Karizma & Midnyte

11. No Trust feat. Lee Ramsey

12. No Pain, No Gain feat. Cappo & Scorzayzee

13. No Pills, No Frills feat. Midnyte

14. In Ya Area feat. Midnyte & Cappo

Purchase the EP from Styly's bandcamp page:

notts-vintage

Recommended Listening: Scorzayzee, Jon Phonics, Blacastan, Abstract Soundz, Sandman, Screaming Soul, & Northern Hostility

Have been really busy of late with this and that, whatnot and stuff and as you can probably tell Certified Banger really took a back seat. Doesn't mean I haven't been listening to music though does it? No. Here's some stuff I've been listening to that you might want to turn your ears to:

Sandman's 'Code of the Road Runner' is some refreshing Dubstep/Dub/Reggae inspired UK Hip Hip which features Ghetto Priest, Farma G, Seanie T, Stig of the Dump and Skrein amongst others. The album is available for just £5 at Bandcamp.

Sandman is also a part of the Screaming Soul crew alongside Ghetto Priest (who has worked with Asian Dub Foundation). Screaming Soul is made up of a whole host of musicians (read more at Bandcamp) and their album 'Ghost In A Shell' is more of the Dub/Dancehall/Reggae/Hip Hop goodness (with less emphasis on the Hip Hop) that can be found on Sandman's LP. This album is also available for a fiver - a bargain as this is a superb collection of tracks suitable for the current weather.

What else have I been checking out? Oh yeah, Abstract Soundz (a producer) dropped an absolute gem from out of nowhere featuring a whole host of interesting MCs who I'll definitely be on the look out for. The release is just called 'Abstract Soundz presents...' and it features a whole host of accomplished and funky productions, rappers such as Brotherman, B'Tol, Chalk MC, Louis Vines, Equis (who's French), Skunkadelic, Tom Long, Kaos, A Kid and The Ruby Kid and the sublime vocals of Eva Lazarus - don't be put off if you don't recognise some of these names - they are all worth listening to. Download it for free here.

Over to the US now with Blacastan's 'The Master of Reality' mixtape - proof that decent artwork and packaging has a huge effect on a potential listener. Basically, the CD is presented as a mini vinyl LP in the cut and paste style of Black Sabbath's 'Master of Reality' album complete with a Vertigo style CD. The tracks are raw, gritty, street rap and the stand out tracks for me are 'If You Only Knew' which perfectly interpolates Henry Mancini's 'The Windmills of Your Mind' and 'Martyrs' which samples Simon and Garfunkel's 'The Boxer' - a track which I've been brought up on. Not sure how you'd get hold of one of these as they're limited edition but I'm pretty sure a quick internet search would turn up a download - try it now.

Jon Phonics has a new thing out, 'Half Past Calm 2' , which you can get for free by simply signing up to get mail outs from YNR Productions by clicking here. It's a fairly dark affair in the vein of the recent work of M9, Triple Darkness and the like and it features T-Bear, Nasheron, M9, Masikah, Verb T, Kashmere, Fliptrix, Cyrus Malachi, Micall Parknsun, Kosyne and newcomer/one to watch Kal Sereousz. Check Jon's exceptionally crafted, blazed-out beats.

I was rather excited to ear-peep Scorzayzee's mixtape 'Raging Bull' because he is such an engaging and entertaining MC and I really wasn't disappointed. Right from his 64 bar romp over De La's 'Babyphat' at the beginning I was hooked and you will be too. Download it for free now. Simples.

Lastly is yet more proof that Yorkshire, especially the West side of said county, is where it's at right now, especially if you're into heavy, unadulterated old school-influenced rap. Northern Hostility, the crew consisting of scores of MCs, producers, DJs and smaller crews, have put together their 'Bad Language Mixtape' and it's pretty good. Verbal Contact, Alphabetix and Defenders of Style all contribute to this free download.

'The Starter' - Scorzayzee (free download)

Man of the moment (if you haven't seen 'Le Donk and Scorzayzee' yet then watch it) Scorzayzee drops a free download, not really a mixtape, more a collection of dubs - but a better than average display of rhyme skill. Always engaging and entertaining, Scorz raps his way over a few well known beats with only one real clanger (DJ Ironik's Westlife-sampling 'Stay With Me'). He also makes a couple of this years worst Hip Hop songs more acceptable (Drake's 'Best I Ever Had' and Souljah Boy's 'Kiss Me Thru The Phone' - re-entitled as 'Diss Me On The Phone'). A must:

(For more Nottz based free music go to http://www.getnottz.co.uk/)

CRS Studios Ready To Blow (free downloads)

Nottingham is about to blow again on the UK Hip Hop scene. CRS studios has been working overtime with a bunch of talented MCs who have muchos material ready to drop on your ears. I have some of said music to drop on yo domes right now:

First up is the excellent Scorzayzee freestyle of Dre’s ‘The Watcher’ – it’s Scorz on top form rapping all the way through with loads of chuckle inducing and seemingly effortless rhymes.

Then there’s Jah Digga (not to be confused with Busta’s one time right hand woman). He did a track for Black History Month which was back in Octber entitled ‘Black And Proud’. It’s produced by Kirk Spencer (as heard on ‘OTR Vol. 5’) and it sees Digga get live as he discusses slavery and other black history based topics. Not sure what he considers to be “modern day slavery” though.

Then there’s Jay Eye, a young MC with his track ‘Warning’ which is produced by Nick Stez.

There’s also a free EP from Miz Red which features 7 tracks of poppy R'n'Bish sing song type stuff.

Look out for more from the likes of the above MCs, Shifty and Tempa on the 'Travelling True Time' compilation CD (out soon). Check out their youtube account for loads of videos of them doing their thing.

'The Digital Revolution Vol. 4' - VA (free download)

I'm criminally late with this one and most of you will probably already have heard this but I've gotta show support for this so will post it up.

As usual Tricksta does his thing and features artists Skandal, LATE, TB, Iron Braydz, Mr. Drastick, Scorzayzee, Big Cakes, Reload, Deadly and more.

Big Cakes hosts and you should also know that he has a free to download mixtape out right now too called 'Money Talks... So Listen'. It features production from the likes of Rainmayqah, Morfius, Kilinikal, Grade, VLM, K Nite, Asaviour, Micall Parknsun, Tricksta and Del Boy as well as collaborations with Dalmighty Ego, Raggo Zulu Rebel, Cocotone and TB.

(for 'Digital Revolution Vol. 4')

'Needle Drop' - Endemic & Cappo (EP review)

Most hardcorest producer from the UK – probably Endemic. One of the UK’s most legendary but underrated MCs – definitely Cappo. They’ve got together to create the ‘Needle Drop EP’ on No Cure Records.

Cappo goes solo over Endemics gritty, orchestral, solid and sometimes soulful boom bap beats on 3 tracks – ‘Intro’, ‘Crumbs’ and the title track. With strictly lyrical raps Cappo proves that going in hard doesn’t mean being offensive.

‘Hacksaw’ features Cyrus Malachi, Lee Ramsey and Ironbraydz – this comes off very much like a Triple Darkness track. Cyrus Malachi also features alongside another legendary Notts MC and man of the moment Scorzayzee on ‘Eagles’ – a concrete slab of Hip Hop.

This EP is nothing new – it’s just good, reliable Hip Hop designed for playing loud and admiring. It’s out soon on No Cure Records.

CRS Entertainment Freestyle Session

Scorzayzee in Shane Meadows film 'Le Donk'

'Spinning Round'/'Busy Road'/'That's Entertainment' - Scorzayzee (free downloads)

Scorzayzee's forthcoming LP must be a belter - these three tracks didn't make the final cut and they're blinders. Scorzayzee speaks so much sense on 'Spinning Round', 'That's Entertainment' and 'Busy Road (remix)' - in his dormant years he's really had his thinking cap on. Birth, life, death, God, creation, drugs, families, fame, riches - it's just so refreshing to hear these topics covered in style and without being preachy. This is some quality UK Hip Hop, I'm really feeling these tracks. All three tracks are produced by Nick Stez.

Scorzayzee - 'Spinning Round'
Scorzayzee - 'Busy Road (remix)'
Scorzayzee - 'That's Entertainment'

Free Scorz, Tempa, Shifty Spirit, Jah Digga tracks

Big Trev Notts at Nottingham's CRS Studios got in touch with a few tracks that he wants you lots to get playing in your ears:

Remember 'Bars on a Bass, Drum and Snare'? Well, Nick Stez has done a remix on which he replaces the very stripped back original beat with a sample heavy bounce-fest that suits the original vocals from Shifty Spirit, Tempa and Scorz to a T. The picture of Tempa on the left is taken from the shoot for the video to the track.

Scorz and Tempa have also got together along with Jah Digga to bring you 'Money Makes Me' and Scorz has dropped a verse over a grime track called 'Summertime' that he "downloaded from youtube".

7 UK Hip Hop Downloads...

It's been a long time, I shouldna... yeah you know it. I'm back just like all your favourite rappers everytime they bring out a new LP. Here's some dope stuff to step to:

Loudmouth Melvin's 'Summer Breeze' has a summery vibe (can you believe it?), a suitably silly chorus and some British Jay-Z type lyrics! It's taken from an E.P. he's putting out in August so watch for that.

I know I said I wasn't going to check any Jacko tributes but this is Sway, and 'The King Full Stop' is properly inspired - nice.

I'm loving the name of 'Bars on a Bass, Drum 'n' Snare' by Tempa, Shifty Spirit and Scorzayzee - it pretty much does what it says on the tin and it's nice. According to HHC it's produced by A.R. Mullah, it heads up a new compilation titled ‘CRS Entertainment’ which will drop in September featuring cats like Razor, Tayla Jade, Jah Digga and more.

A few heads on Twitter were all talking about this gem from back in the day: Marko Magik - 'Ladies Favourite' - go on have a massive chuckle!

Professor Green dropped the next track from 'The Lecture #2', it's called 'Open All Hours' and if you didn't catch it (because DMCA took down my post) then here's the first one: 'Ballers is Bouncin''.

If you missed that last one then your probably missed this too: Mystro's version of Drake's 'Best I Ever Had' entitled 'Mess I Ever Had'.