So as usual the Police Service (when are you gonna go back to being a Force to be reckoned with) get it wrong again. Amy Winehouse, was caught on video smoking Crack. But because of a legal loophole she has been let off the hook. The police couldn't tell from the tape if Amy was doing Cocaine or Speed (which is Class B) so she wasn't charged. I have no problem with amy wasting her life away. If she wants to do that it's up to her. i do have a problem with the police for not actually charging her and the government for its appalling stance on drugs in this country. If using a class B drug is an offence, surely she would've been charged but she wasn't charged at all. My little girl sings Amy's songs & i'll be damned if i let her use Amy as a role model in life. But the supposed upholders of the law in this country should be setting an example for our kids by making an example of those in the public eye that openly flout the law.
SoulKlap is an artist that i hadn't heard hide nor hair about until i happened on to his myspace page. I almost didn't take advantage of the freeness until i saw that my man Kevin had a write up of the same huy on his blog. So I checked it out & I was very glad I did. Not only is SoulKlap the man on the mic but he is also the man behind the boards. He may not like the comparison but try to think of a gritty Kanye West circa The College Dropout & you'll be someway towards describing this guys sound. is style on the mic also is not too desimilar to ye as well.even when focusing on a serious subject he can't help but throw in some witty punch lines to lighten the mood. I was bumping my head all the way through this one. The beats are well constructed & most have a lot of depth. Just when you think the beat is at it's peak. Soul throws a new sample or flips the current one to keep things moving. The album, while cohesive, is varied enough to avoid the dreaded monotonous syndrome. SoulKlap also covers a lot of ground in the 15 tracks & wittiness aside is a very accomplished MC. Add to this the fact that the man is giving away this album for free & you have absolutely no excuse not to check this one out people. I suggest you do just that & i guarantee you won't be disappointed.
Hmmmmmmm. Sometimes we struggle to find a place for things. By that I mean we struggle to put things into a type, We'll think on it for quite a while. Weighing up all of the pros & cons of labelling something in a certain way. Trying to recognise the consequences, no matter how trivial, of the decision we are about to make. Yet we seldom stop to consider another possibility. Why should we be trying to put something into that metaphorical 'box' in the 1st place? I tend to title my ipod playlists according to the type of music it contains. Hip Hop or Nu Jazz or RnB etc. While listening to Replife's The Unclosed Mind (perfect title) via iTunes, I found myself trying to group different tracks on the album under different playlists. Until finally I came to the same conclusion I refer to above. The 1st & 2nd tracks on the album, Spirit & Change 4 A Dolla, are a perfect draw for the listener as they have enough of a Hip Hop element to keep the heads nodding while adding a Nu-Jazz-esq b lines & synths to proceedings. Then the uptempo Emerald City, uses its 'sharp' bass tones to great effect. From that to the heavy latin influence shown on Pangea with its nice bounce. Then tracks like Away, Elevation & Heavy Jazz/Trip Hop of Out of Soul (complete with spoken wordisms)only add to an already intriguing track list. As for my stand out on this one. The last track on the album, R U Ready, with it's smooth, almost Tony Dofatish (you must remember some of his beats for Heavy D)appeal is an unexpected end to an unexpected longplayer. This is definately my vote for most interesting Hip Hop album of the year so far. Now that may sound like i'm trying to find a nice way of saying it's rubbish. Well i'm not, it is a very refreshing album, which is sometimes needed even in Hip Hop. Rep is a talented MC, poet & muse & utilises his repertoire to great effect. So while i'm listening to my 2nd fav track on the album -The Left Side Of Things, which even if it's the most conventional track on the album still manages to flip an oft used sample- imma leave the good people a taster & say... 
I'm a sucker for live instrumentation. Which is why apart from Hip Hop, Nu Funk is always on heavy rotation on my Ipod & Stereo. The Dap Kings, The Hot 8 Brass Band, The Soul Investigators, Breakestra, The Bamboos, The Quantic Soul Orchestra etc are masters of their craft. In my experience The Roots live (obviously), The Chapter & Glue amongst others are about as close as Hip Hop has to this kind of musical brilliance. I now have another name to add to this cast list. ArtOfficial, Hailing out of Miami are, Ralf, Danny P, Manny & Keith with the sounds & Afterlogic & Newsense on the mics. Everything about the way this album is put together is superb. From the drum patterns to the ever evolving bass guitar to the sax & woodwind in the backgrounds to the positive message the MC's provide, the cohesiveness of the whole album is pure niceness. I cannot fault a single joint on this album & i dare any true Hip Hop fan to try. It's got Hip Hop funk, Anthemic instrumentation, great beat changes between intros, verses & hooks, plus an ill Shin Ski Remix too. At 13 tracks deep with ni filler this is an absolute must have. I can't big this up enough & i'm currently struggling to choose between these guys & Nicolay & Kay for my album of the year so far. Fist Fights & Foot Races, Superb.
What is it that some of you peeps don't like about 9th Wonder. Buck's universal appeal & entry into the Hip hop hall of fame was secured a long time ago. 9th was seemingly headed in the same direction but as usual, once he started to get some major shine some of his former trumpeteers turned on him. Apparently he'd fallen off & his beats were too similar. He was a 1 trick pony that wasn't able to adapt. The Minstrel show couldn't hold a candle to his work on The Listening (really?). When it comes to Hip Hop all the greats have a Formula they follow. Dr. Dre, Pete Rock, Primo, Timbaland, Kanye West, The Neptunes etc. The reason these guys are held in such esteem is beacause 90% of the time when 1 of their beats hits our ears we know it's them. Up to now 9th is no different so why the hate. I've made no secret of the fact that i'm a big 9th fan & I personally feel it's just a case of sour grapes from the supposed 'underground' heads that can longer claim to hold Hip Hops latest best kept secret. Thus his latest project, the 2nd joint outing with Buckshot, The Formula, finally graced my ears. Now, I was rather underwhelmed when the 1st single, No Doubt, reached my ears. But upon hearing the track in amongst the rest of the album i'm feeling it a lot more. As good as it was, I always felt that Chemistry had 9th (Subconciously or otherwise) pandering to Bucks aura. Hence the album had a Beatminerz (ish) feel (that dusty vinyl crackle & pop) to it. The Formula is a more polished affair that is much more of a meeting in the middle between the 2 of them. From the opening 2 tracks, Intro & Ready, you can hear the difference straight away with the former using a chopped kiddie choir sample to good effect while the latter borrows gentle trumpet & vocal samples for Buck to do his thing. And their isn't a moody snare used in either one. It's not until Be Cool that you'll here anything gritty & even then it's broken up by a songstress on the hook (which does the track no harm at all). Then No Doubt kicks in & by the time i've spun it for the 3rd time in a row, i'm a bit embarrased for myself that I wasn't feeling it in the 1st place. The album is a more soulful affair & it could be said that the original appeal of Chemistry is lost in translation. Personally I say The Formula has an appeal entirely seperate from the 1st joint. My fav track on the album, Only For You, is a perfect example. A very simple soulful vocal loop plus the faintest rimshot i've heard on any track plus Buck paying his respects to friends passed & my neck was gone. Another is my 2nd fav, Shinin' Y'all which follows the same approach with a meatier rim shot. Plus M1 Platoon do the reputations no harm with their bars on this track either. An honourable mention has to go to the final track on the album, Man Listen, which uses a emphatic string sample Just Blaze would be proud of. A more cohesive effort than it's predecessor, The Formula is a great addition to what i suspect may be a trilogy or even a quartet (I formally put forward The Catalyst as my vote of a title for the next installment) and a space has already been made for when my copy arrives.
SKANDAL is an emcee you can hate, revere and be astonished by. He isn’t afraid to bring raw, gutter hiphop back to the table, yet occasionally throw in a party joint, because lets face it, thugs need recreation time too. Helmed, honed and pushed by rising producer CHEMO (JOE BUDDEN / KOOL G RAP / ROYCE DA 5’9), and fresh from collaborating with HALAL BEATS powerhouses BEAT BUTCHA (ROOTS MANUVA / PLAN B / KLASHNEKOFF / GHETTO) and THE LAST SKEPTIK (MF GRIMM / SWAY / STIG OF THE DUMP), SKANDAL is bound to be beating the shit out of your ear drums in 2008.
In this his first EP, SKANDAL projects his views over uncompromising electronic production. A fusion of hiphop, dubstep and grime set the scene for a vivid depiction of growing up in poverty, and the perils of street life. Without an official solo release under his belt, SKANDAL has already had extensive support on KISS FM, and performed alongside SAIGON, STYLES P, IMMORTAL TECHNIQUE and FOREIGN BEGGARS with his former crew CHAIN OF COMMAND.
