‘This album pushes the boundaries of creativity’ http://www.PureHipHopHeat.com
‘One of our favourite albums to come from these shores this year’ HipHop4Days.com
‘Higher level Hip-Hop full of great wordplay and concepts’ http://www.TrickstasWorld.com
‘When music is this good it’s nice to sit back and know its home-grown’ RuggedAndRaw.com
‘This release has proven to the world that Conscious Route can hold his own’ TheHipHopMafia.com
Conscious Route has been making a name for himself the last year with some really strong releases. The CCF Mixtape that he released was really on point and this new album with producer Sean El is just as good, if not better in the way it’s been creatively put together as an album. Some artists have that consistency and longevity to keep impressing and he is one of those rappers.
A lot of our followers and readers will know about him before as we have supported him before, but when we say ‘please take note’ it should actually be written in capitol letters. The beats, the songs, the whole vibe here is banging and the track featuring Big Dutty Deeze and Dillah from B-iLLA is so tight. I really like this project and feel that its one of his best releases to date. Conscious Route doesn’t need novelty ideas or massive name collobo’s to do this, this release has proven to the world that Conscious Route can hold his own. Well recommended.
The brand new album from Lost Alliance is now on Dat Piff as well as their Bandcamp
Lost Alliance ‘Life Cycle’ (Track-listing)
01. Beneath The Surface
02. Change
03. Take Action Feat. Barnett
04. Stalemate
05. Rhyme & Reason Feat. Big Dutty Deeze
06. Pressure
07. Make It
08. Push On
09. Fight Of Life
10. If You Feel Feat. Sipher
‘Beyond hip-hop. 8/10′ Clash Magazine
‘Incredible’ Ally Mccrae, BBC Radio One
‘Pitched somewhere between J Dilla, The Avalanches and Ennio Morricone. It’s a many splendored trip, testament to a fertile imagination’ 4/5 – MOJO Magazine
‘Imaginative, rich, folky textures with echoes of DJ Shadow’ Q Magazine
‘Its a Must Buy’ – Sway
Following in a long line of BBE’s hip-hop honed instrumental classics by the likes of Pete Rock, Madlib and J Dilla, DJ and producer The Last Skeptik takes instrumental hip-hop one hundred steps or so to the left.
This album is truly something special. Sounding like a tormented journey through a Tim Burton film, Thanks For Trying dips and nosedives through emotive live orchestration and banging, true-to-form hip-hop drums. Composed entirely by Skeptik, this is undoubtedly his most personal release to date. The opener ‘Those Ones’ starts proceedings with live flute and shaking synths. The chops of ‘The Best Part’ nods to the heads, but where this album comes alive is on truly unique songs like ‘Hero Mask’ where cello ekes out drama on top of jaggedly crisp drums. The closer ‘Well Well’ sees a live horn section go back to back with violin and electric guitar on a storyboard epic of a track.
Equally as influenced by the soundtrack sounds of Mark Mothersburgh, Jon Brion and Ennio Morricone, as he is DJ Premier and J Dilla, Skeptik has created a modern masterpiece honouring the legacy of beats based albums like Donuts and meeting it with the live musicality of the movie music he grew up in awe of.
While one vocal track appears on the album, ‘Lullaby’ featuring rapper Jehst, the album remains cohesive and structured to build to a point and drive listeners to be patient with their music consumption. You are rewarded with every extra second you spend focused on this record.
Lauded for 2012’s collaborative album with rapper Rewd Adams, Skeptik was critically heralded across the board for his eclectic production, with BBC Radio One, The Metro, and Q Magazine among the many supporters. Add to that scene stealing DJ sets around the globe, from touring the Middle East, and DJaying for Lowkey, Jehst and Guru from Gangstarr. Guest DJ mixes for everyone from BBC 1xtra, & BBC 6 Music, to Fabric, Clash and Vice Magazine, and opening up shows for 2Chainz, Childish Gambino, Method Man, Zero 7, Just Blaze, Raekwon and host of others then followed. As a producer, to date, Skeptik has worked with everyone from Sway, S.A.S and Lowkey to The King Blues to name a few. As a DJ and host, Skeptik has shared performed with an eclectic selection of modern greats such as Damon Albarn, Flea (Red Hot Chill Peppers), Hudson Mohawke, DOOM, Wu Tang Clan, Danny Brown, Babyshambles and Tony Allen among many others, and hosts London’s Best hip-hop night Livin Proof monthly at XOYO.
‘Life Cycle’ is the new album from Midland’s rappers & producers Lost Alliance who have been making moves and in the last year have shared stages with some of the best acts in the UK game like Genesis Elijah, Iron Braydz, Rodney P, Mystro, Blak Twang, Ty, Moorish Delta 7 and more. The album produced by both Pact & Rox is a concise release and gets straight to the point with a real tight view on the beat selection and song concepts. To be honest it was the perfect length too, just means that I have time to listen to it time and again. Its only a matter of time for these boys, if they can keep to this standard then I think we have an act that is going to be round for a long time. Lost Alliance have created an album that makes you proud to be British.
London emcee and rapper Twissman has been doing his damn thing for years but this collection of music has to be his best release to date. Why? I think it’s down to the pure diverseness of it. From the off you get a great sense that not only is this release really relevant but also it musically pushes boundaries. As well as killer solo tracks he has got a string of well known names on board with Sway, Pound Sterling, Johnny Gunz, Aggro Santos, Jaja Soze and G-frsh featuring amongst others. In a nut nutshell is post grime, slightly trap infused and above all it says something. Something worth hearing with concepts coming in an original format that is instantly adorable. Twissman has dropped a classic collection that is a must for any urban music fan. Make sure you get this now.
Twissman “Twisstory” Track-listing
01 – Twissman – Fade Away Feat. Big Cro & J. Martins
02 – Twissman – Got P’s Feat. Aggro Twissman
03 – Twissman – Hell Of A Night Feat. Tenny Tenn
04 – Twissman – Rumours Feat. J. Martins & Little Dee
05 – Twissman – Boss Life Feat. Pound Sterling & Jai Martin
06 – Twissman – Ladies Round The World
07 – Twissman – She Likes It Feat. Teezy & Tigger
08 – Twissman – Dayum Feat. Johnny Gunz
09 – Twissman – Phonecall Feat. Tenny Ten
10 – Twissman – Go Crazy Feat. G-Frsh
11 – Twissman – Hysteria Feat. Sway
12 – Twissman – Drama Feat. Jaja Soze
13 – Twissman – Link Up TV Live Freestyle Feat. Emmanuel Stanleys
14 – Twissman – Dear Friend (The Letter)
15 – Twissman – The 1 4 Me
You can almost feel the hunger coming through as Innuendo delivers every bar with accuracy with all the punch-lines to go with it! This album is one of those collections that is totally on-point. Here he steps up and shows us a deeper side to him and we learn more about his journey. The wonderful thing about this album is defies the rules, here is an artist proud to be from his city as pays homage to his home city of Liverpool though out the LP. This album features a few notable guests like Genesis Elijah and Tony D, but on a real, its all about the solo tracks. Heart felt music from a complicated character that has a real talent to entice a listener well. With this album Innuendo has put Liverpool firmly on the UK Hip-Hop map. Quality release, make sure you support.
Track-listing:
01. Scally Chic
02. Bottles Up (Radio Edit)
03. See You, See Me
04. Never Buy The Sun Feat. Jamie Broad & Joey Seary
05. Let Go
06. I’m On A High Feat. Neil Noah Davies
07. Bird Brain
08. Not A Love Song Feat. Tony D
09. Colour & Sound
10. Bottles Up Remix Feat. Sprungy
11. The Butterfly Effect
12. Back To Basics Feat. Genesis Elijah & AC
13. Spilt Ink
Here is the brand new album from B’ham crew Night Movements. Its a fifteen track UK Hip-Hop album that has everything you would expect. Quality bars, killer flows and beats that make your head snap! The emcees’s Exa, Hyksos, Kams, Wize One & Rasp One really do excel and the beats from Exacist, Tim Page & Mac Real are dope.
01. Role Models
02. Double Threat
03. Waste Of Space
04. Frustrated
05. Everyday Bullshit
06. Alone In My Room
07. No Love
08. Ma Dukes
09. Body Is A Cage
10. What You Doing Out
11. Lost World (Re-Visited)
12. Feel Like Giving Up
13. Suicide Death Tips
14. If Your Heart Stops
15. Night Movement Shit (Bonus Track)
