E&Daniels is an 18 man UK Hip Hop Collective which features: Mr 13, DJ Bones, Tony D, Locksmyth, J.Matrix, Theme, Mystro, Wordplay, Gizmo, Ceezlin, Jae Moe, Theo, Flabz, Dr Psycho, Body Bagnall, RawWz, Micall Parknsun, & Shane (AMS). Due for release on Friday 13th of December; the début record Bar Crawl showcases the abilities of the 18 predominantly southern UK artists over an 8 track EP, featuring songs that provide thought-provoking sentiments alongside all out lyrical slaughters.
A sentimental piano accompanies the introductory track Ain’t This Something. E&Daniels and Poison Inc member Josiah Matrix reminiscently spits his deeply thought verses with a purposeful morality, going in solo for just over three minutes before Same Old Same. The beat takes a more optimistic turn but doesn’t hinder Josiah’s intelligent bars before Flabz, Mr 13 and Ceezlin feature to assertively spit lyrics. In this particularly catchy number the artists essentially boast their alpha-male persona’s with equally fine flows.
These guys know how to spit bars / They know how to drink juice / And more importantly / They know how to bun a good zoot
The funky What You Drinking track brings an inappropriately joyous atmosphere to the EP, for artists Tony D, Locksmyth, Mr 13, Ceezlin, Flabz, Jae Moe, Micall Parknsun, RawWz, Mystro, Gemini and Dr Psycho to slur self-satisfied references to alcohol. The 3 main connotations to take from the heavily collaborated showcase is that the E&Daniels family are hedonistic, lyrically versatile and to be avoided down dark alleyways. Gi3MO following his recent Gary Guttersnypes release features with fire in (track 4) Main Event. His trademark flow of immodesty goes in brilliantly to the beat. Contrastingly, Josiah Matrix kicks more metaphorical wordplay with realism to his rhymes before DJ Cosmo cuts out the track superbly to finish. Things take a twisted turn however in the hauntingly dark tune Halloween. After listening to a creepily discordant piano trickle over maniacal laughter, the crew dressed looking like Pennywise The Clown’s worst nightmare (see video) go in with ardently grim verses. Flabz begins with undoubtedly unnerving bars before Dr Psycho spits a scarring chorus. Josiah Matrix returns with a digression for the opposition before the famously dynamic Don’t Flop star Mr 13 spits a groaning, chilling rendition of words to finish the horror show.
Only Gi3MO can truly counter the prior track and in Slaughter he combats with furious lyricism before Theme kicks in with a vividly disturbing verse of his own. Josiah Matrix joins with his ever sardonic persona with deep bars before Flabz spits an all out syllable slaughter with psychopathic wordplay to finish. Despite the initial lullaby production in the following song I Can’t Keep, I assure that this is not a track to sleep on. Money Mitch touches hard with meaningful bars, speaking of a necessity to progress from “cooking wrong so I could eat right“. Josiah Matrix denounces the unpublicised social problems surrounding him before Locksmyth spits cynically sceptical lyrics with a depressively raw flow. The album finishes on a cleverly thought-provocative note, with RawWz spitting solo in an emotional stand-off denouncing mainly the corruptive authorities, the vastly divided social gap within society and a vigorous resentment for racism in Stereotype, over a tenderly affectionate instrumental produced by Last Resort.
Money money money makes the world turn round / It won’t be long ’til that money makes the world burn down
Review by Ethan Everton
Bar Crawl is out today 13/12/13 and available on Itunes