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Fliptrix ‘Light Work’ Review

November 10, 2020 by Theo Specone

London born, Brighton based High Focus linchpin Fliptrix, releases his eighth solo album ‘Light Work’ on the record label he founded back in 2010. This 16 track project adds to what is already a weighty body of solo work from the adept old pro, not including his additional contributions as a quarter of the acclaimed Four Owls, an impressive feat that few could rival in the UK Hip Hop scene in it’s current state. Notable works by Fliptrix include ‘The Road to Interdimensional Piff Highway‘ and ‘Patterns of Escapism‘, releases which some would call pioneering, they also helped launch global tours and a dedicated fanbase from around the globe. The new album addresses some deep-rooted issues, especially the current state of the covid world but has an overarching message of peace, openess and optimism mixed in with the hard-hitting narrative. It features a variety of producers, a dusting of guest artists and a broad range of lyricism, which Fliptrix states as being “…the culmination of years of experience, emotion, research and love. Crafted to heal, fulfil my desire to create and further raise vibrations..”, helping to fashion an open forum where he can talk about his mind-altering experiences, spirituality and dedication to the exploration of consciousness. This is an album forged in the upper echelons of rap but what was the end result?.. we sampled some of the elixir..

The album opens with the titular ‘Light Work’, some tight production from Drae Da Skimask is topped with a bombardment of word play from Flip where he eats up the track without taking a breath, smoothly assembled keys, strings and rimshots blend together nicely. Doctor Zygote produces ‘Holy Kush’, piano chords mix with briskly paced drum patterns and comes accompanied with a fantastic looking video filmed by Loudhouse, in the outskirts of London. Controversial single ‘Problem, Reaction, Solution’ starts with a sombre sentiment ‘..it’s 2020, the end of the world as we know it..’, which everyone can relate to I’m sure, however this track has certainly created a state of disagreement, all you need do is read the comments on the video to see that. Fliptrix creates a whirlwind of politically charged lyrics and conspiracy talk, using terms like ‘scam-demic’ and ‘plan-demic’ which has clearly split opinions but is still expertly presented on some slick sounding Illinformed beats, classical strings build and interlace with vocal samples on snappy drums, one where you need to properly listen to the lyrics, go do that.

Cleverly broken bars are layered across ‘multicolour’, which features a haunting vocal sample permeating throughout the swift production by DEDWS, lyrics are kept flush to the beat and drums kick. ‘Shoe Laces’ and ‘Powerizm’ are both produced by Yabu, some curious, futuristic beat choices to hallucinate to, the video for Powerizm also includes a dedication to graffiti writer POW (RIP), worth checking out. There is some Leaf Dog goodness on ‘C4’ where Fliptrix is joined by the rest of the parliament of owls, clearly a stand out track on the album but it’s too action packed not to be, the track is decorated with cuts by ukhh veteran DJ Jazz T… “..you got a crew you better tell ’em..”. ‘Alignment’ also features cuts by DJ Thor, all great authentic works. The final track off the release ‘Vibes’ is a untroubled smooth sign off with beat work from Chemo, it has positive energy, a great hook and a beautifully shot video on the Sussex Downs, as well as Brighton Marina, lovely song. Other tracks worth mentioning are ‘Stethoscope’, the brooding ‘Broken Glass’ and ‘The Realisation Part 2’, some really vivid story telling here. There are a tonne of songs on the album, way too many to mention but a wide array to choose from, so most should be spoilt for choice.

After querying the nature of the unusual album artwork (and the singles), it was confirmed that they are heavily influenced by sacred geometry, something Fliptrix has been into since 2012 and started implementing into a lot of his designs. The album doesn’t specifically have sacred geometry within it, however it is all geometrical so it’s heavily influenced by it. The cover represents light work, peace, love, unity, going back to the source, finding yourself, finding tranquillity within and recentering. At the bottom there are nine dots, five above, four below, they represent the titles to spell out Light Work. The purple is significant of the pineal gland, the third eye chakra, the yellow is the crown, the opening of the crown chakra, the blue represents finding the source and the light blue represents a heart, pretty fascinating stuff.

“…You can’t grin when there’s blood in your teeth, or even run when you tough the defeat, truth will come you can’t cover deceit, love the sun, when its summoned from the East, that’s the summer solstice where I find peace. Sometimes I feel like I’m lost in this world, then I realise that I’m flying on a rock through space..and I giggle cos it’s weird, off my face but I’m wasted in a way I can’t explain, it’s not clear, still I keep my head up and I look to the sky and walk forth cos I got to persevere..”

“… coming with the sickest scandals, twisted rituals make sonic sacrifice, depopulate make room for the appetite blood on their hands, as they hand cuff your ankles, swab your mouth and take DNA samples, install the app on the phone so they track you, mark of the beast, they’ll plant chips in your hand soon…”

Some may prefer Fliptrix’s slower story driven narratives to the hype man, grimey double time bars but this is all down to personal preference, either way the delivery is sharp and deliberate and thoroughly enjoyable.

This is a formidable eighth outing from the High Focus player manager, the big owl does it again adding to what is an already huge repertoire of songs, great mix of producers and raising some eyebrows in the process.

‘Light Work’ is out now on all digital channels, CD, cassette tape and limited edition turquoise vinyl, grab yours now. There is also a fantastic looking yellow/red 7″ vinyl single of ‘Powerism’ and ‘Holy Kush’ that crate diggers will love, as well as hoodies and tees, so merch it up people!

Did you like the Fliptrix album, what else are you listening to? Tweet me your thoughts.

Words by Theo Specone

Verbz & Mr Slipz – My Wonders ft Fliptrix

October 29, 2020 by Kieron Sullivan

Verbz & Mr Slipz adding another offering to the pile of pure fire they’ve been dropping en-route to their debut High Focus LP Radio Waves. ‘My Wonders’ features HF bossman Fliptrix along for the ride and some steezy dreamscapes in the video from Parallel Media. The album drops on Friday the 13th of November. Cop the pre-order HERE.

Added as a late addition to our new monthly playlist IYDK: The UK Hip Hop List. Hit follow for regularly updated fire!

Phoenix Da Icefire & Strange Neighbour – Expendables ft. Logic, Verb T, Fliptrix, Kyza, Cappo & More

September 1, 2020 by Kieron Sullivan

Phoenix Da Icefire & The Strange Neighbour ‘Expendables’ Lifted from Cinematic out now and available HERE.
Featuring: Manage, eMCee Killa, Tesla’s Ghost, Da Flyy Hooligan, Genesis Elijah, Big Cakes, Logic, Fliptrix, Verb T, Mic Assassin, Big Toast, Jack Diggs, Kyza & Cappo.
Starring: Alfie Green from Global Movement Agency LTD & DaddyMakesDoh Directed by Dfacer.

Fliptrix – Powerizm

August 7, 2020 by dylan

High Focus frontman Fliptrix drops a dedication to his late friend, graffiti writer POW in the form of ‘Powerizm’ available on 7″ limited edition vinyl, visual by This and That Media.

The Four Owls – ‘Nocturnal Instinct’ Review

April 16, 2020 by Ben Graham

Let’s be honest, the world has taken a nosedive. We’ve swapped spring days outside for watching the first sunlight in six months spill onto empty streets. We’ve gone from absolute abundance to hoarding toilet paper. More importantly, we’ve gone from Friday night pub sessions to Friday night TV.

So when you hear The Four Owls are dropping a new album, it’s almost a shock. You remember there’s still worlds beyond our own horizon. There are still people doing things. More importantly, there are still people pushing out world-class hip hop. It might be the end of the world but most of us don’t even know what day of the week it is. Nocturnal Instinct is confirmation that there’s light at the end of the tunnel.

With skills honed from almost ten years spitting bars together (and over a decade repping strong solo careers), The Owls have found that golden ground – garnering critical acclaim without burning the bridges that got them there. It’s not an understatement to say they’re probably the sharpest group in hip hop today.

Their status in the scene is backed up by the calibre of artist clamouring for a collab. Gang Starr legend DJ Premier returns to lay down some solid scratching on ‘100%’ while scene veteran Kool G Rap drops some obscenely smart bars on the aptly named ‘Pioneer’. Most fitting of all is Masta Killa’s guest spot on ‘Deadly Movements’. It makes sense; Wu-Tang planted so many of the seeds that would grow into The Owls hunting ground; from the simultaneous solo & group process to the classic soul samples now a bedrock of the Owls sound.

Opener ‘Sound the Alarm’ has some of the tightest bars of any UK release in the past decade. Whether it’s BVA’s talon grip on the bars, Verb’s hypnotic flow, Leaf’s razor-sharp staccato delivery or Fliptrix’s wise lyrical turns, the whole thing fits together like feathers on a wing. That’s not just down to delivery – it’s also thanks to the immaculate beats crafted by Leaf.

OK, so Nocturnal Instinct won’t make everything alright. It won’t save the NHS or keep your nan from being lonely (unless she’s bang into UK hip hop). But it feels like a moment of calm in the absolute shitstorm that is 2020. The world might have descended into a really dull version of 28 Days Later, but, Nocturnal Instinct proves some things will never change. Now wash your hands.

Nocturnal Instinct drops April 17th on High Focus Records.

The Four Owls – 100% ft DJ Premier

March 26, 2020 by Kieron Sullivan

YESSS! Marking the second collaboration between The Four Owls and the legendary DJ Premier, ‘100%’ is all the fire you would expect from the link up. Anticipation is high for the incoming Nocturnal Instinct LP, dropping April 17th.

10 UK Hip Hop Tunes To Self Isolate To

March 14, 2020 by Kieron Sullivan

In an era where various apocalypses have been steadily coming to the boil for a while and world powers have been successfully employing an ignore-them-and-hope-they-go-away strategy, some gully underdog virus has just sneaked up repping Wuhan Scran and put global governments and economies in a chokehold. We’re all just starting to realise a little too late that this might actually be serious and people far and wide are understandably shook. UKHH.com has no solutions for this fuckry, but someone with no medical knowledge whatsoever once said that music heals all. So here’s 10 selections to weather the shitstorm to…

Kyza – The Cure

While a potentially deadly virus that’s storming unwantedly into personal spaces worldwide like an ugly guy at an orgy and crashing the global economy in the process is fully grim… We’re trying to find positives. Example: Sat at home instead of going corona-networking in Brixton this evening, I wandered aimlessly though Spotify and found an entire Tron inspired LP by UK heavyweight Kyza that for some reason I never knew existed. Fittingly the final tune is titled ‘The Cure’. Cue more digging for unheard gems and rewatching the Tron films during the inevitable nationwide lockdown.

Fliptrix – Survival

“Panic Panic, Time to hit the shop and loot it!”….
This one is dedicated to the dude spotted in Bath wearing full camo hazmat gear carrying 27 rolls of super soft bog tissue. Also honourable shout outs to…
1. All the people who, I shit you not, actually panic bought all the crates of Corona in Dagenham Lidl yesterday.
2. Anyone who has stockpiled a gallon of hand sanitiser while intending to stay at home where they have running water and soap.
3. Anyone who goes for a cheeky riot/loot once we hit week 2 of martial law.

Also very underrated Fliptrix banger.

Genesis Elijah – Roni Rap aka The Coronavirus Rap

Finger on the pulse as ever, Genesis Elijah hits the nail firmly on the head and then sanitises the hammer. General Levy seems to have grabbed the accolade of first fully corona themed anthem with the rough version of ‘Corona Crisis Dub’ appearing in January (DnB fans check the Selecta JMan Refix which has surfaced a few days back). As far as we know though, our Gen gets the credit for first COVID-19 focused hip hop bars.

Any tune by Dr Syntax.

The guy’s a doctor. Duh. So logically it follows that if you listen to his full discography while quarantined or tripping out with a heavy fever, there’s probably something in there resembling useful medical advice. Plus, as the well-spoken gent of the UK hip hop scene, his bedside manner is impeccable.

Dr Zygote…

Also a doctor. Realise I’m stretching this at this point. For any who don’t know, Zy is the physician behind a long list of bangers with production credits for names from Cult of The Damned to Harleighblu and most famously as a long time King Kashmere collaborator and one half of Strange U. He has no cure for your lurgy.

Virus Syndicate ft Document One – Cold World

Feel like this one needs little to zero explanation. The whole world is currently succumbing to the red hulk of all colds. Pathogen experts Virus Syndicate saw this shit coming way back in 2013. Admittedly this tune gets pretty dubstep for a supposedly hip hop themed list, but the genre straddling crew always had hip hop as a core element to the style, which means we kind of think of them as one of our own.

MysDiggi – Mystrogen

The title track off the thoroughly ill 2012 album from MysDiggi. Since there is perplexingly no Wikipedia article on this miracle drug, team UKHH can offer no information of its exact chemical make-up. We do know that it cures blindness, depression, hair loss and heroin addiction, tames wild animals and gives Stellas their groove back. So fairly confident it makes corona virus it’s bitch. Not available at standard retailers but shout Mys for some of his stockpile.

Vinyl Dialect – Lock this down

Want to feel triumphant about preparations when the inevitable day comes when we’re all told to lock ourselves in our houses and ride out the bat-flu storm? Ignore your powerless reality, put on this old school diamond and bop around cataloguing your tinned food with the air of someone who’s doing it because you want to.

Verb T & Pitch 92 – Cold Case Feat. TrueMendous

This one seems appropriate on a few levels. Aside from the obvious fact that this list is mostly composed of tracks with names that can be loosely linked to the viral issue at hand… It also features a beat by Pitch 92 that sounds appropriately tense for the current culture of fear and a video with Verb T and TrueMendous demonstrating how to make people not want to stand next to you on the tube.

Herma Puma – Space to Breathe ft Rider Shafique

Stuck with daily public transport during the pandemic? Fuck a facemask. Get a boombox instead and loudly play the hook from Herma Puma’s ‘Space to Breathe’. For extra space-clearing whammy; convincingly fake a cough and sweat profusely.

DISCLAIMER: If you think you have contracted corona virus, please do not rely on rappers. Call 111 from the isolated safety of your home and they will give you better advice.

The Four Owls – Sound The Alarm ft Smellington Piff

March 6, 2020 by Kieron Sullivan

The Four Owls swooping in with another banger featuring RLD Records’ Smellington Piff killing a feature spot. The highly anticipated Nocturnal Instinct is incoming soon!!

Summer Sickness 2020: Outlook Origins

March 2, 2020 by Kieron Sullivan

July 30th – 3rd August 2020. Limited early bird tickets are still available here.

Now February has finally done one… We might still be a stretch away from T-shirt weather but since winter is almost dead we’re already getting hyped for summer and getting in sweaty crowds full of waved festival goers to some of the best hip hop the UK scene has to offer. With that sentiment in mind, we’re very happy to announce Outlook Origins as the first of our 2020 festival selections.

Last time we went, back in 2018, was an absolute madness. The Outlook experience was unique. The combination of Croatian sun, loved up crowds, a tonne of sick hip hop, insane boat parties and rib-cage-shaking soundsystems playing the full spectrum of bass music made for an experience different to any festival we’ve been to before.

Part of what has made Outlook iconic amongst festivals is undeniably the massive abandoned stone fort at Punta Cristo that’s been it’s home for the last decade. While Outlook regulars have been understandably sad to say goodbye to the Fort, this year’s Outlook Origins is promising to be something very special…

As the name implies, Outlook Origins is about taking the festival back to its roots. The first ever Outlook in 2008 took place at The Garden, originally located in Petrcane, but now relocated to Tisno. Fittingly this year the festival returns to its Garden beginnings and is hosting a more intimate event with its capacity greatly reduced. Embracing the spirit of returning to its core elements, this year’s event has got sourcing music for the heads on lock with 12 curators made up of true legends from their respective scenes. As last years event featured a bit of a dip in hip hop acts we were hyped to see that High Focus founder Fliptrix is amongst the Origins curators to fly the flag for the UK hip hop scene in 2020!

In addition to the man himself, the first line up announcements already promise performances from Children of Zeus, Black Josh and Coops plus a host of sick spitters across other genres including DRS, P Money, Flowdan and Lady Lykez. With the next line up announcement imminent we’re excited to see the other acts that Fliptrix has invited to the Croatian coastline.

There are still a limited number of early bird tickets available. To secure a place in the sun this year cop one here.

The Four Owls – Honour Codes

February 14, 2020 by dylan

The Four Owls mark their return with their first crew release since 2015, the Leaf Dog produced ‘Honour Codes’. Sick animated video courtesy of Gary Motion.

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