Uk hip hop’s been going mad on a Halloween themed video tip this year. Few sick ones we ain’t even had time to post (Shouts Bill Shakes, In’ovative, and Mic… Reckless? Righteous? Not sure anymore). But here’s one last death-rattle from two names we think deserve more recognition. Jaydar and Flowtecs bossing bars here as per usual, plus they’ve gone in on a satanic narrative for ‘Mind Shackles’.
No more Halloween now. Roll on the Guy Fawkes themed visuals.
What is hip hop in 2019? You might think that’s an unnecessarily conceptual way to begin a review (and you might be right). But it’s something you can’t help but consider when you listen to Haller’s Orca, the latest LP from Elliot Fresh.
Sure, it features all the elements required to qualify as hip hop: slick bars, wavy instrumentals, moody beats. But it’s also an existential exploration of the human condition -the Haller of the title referring to the protagonist of an early 20th century novel on the nature of suffering, transcendence and healing. It’s precisely this willingness to push the envelope that makes you question where the boundaries of the genre begin and end.
The conflict between the selfish and selfless aspects of our personalities informs the basis of Haller’s Orca. If that sounds a bit heavy, you’d be right. But music only survives when artists are willing to take listeners outside of their comfort zone. Fresh and his Gold on the Mixer compadres thrive when doing just that.
‘H. Haller’ captures this approach perfectly; equal parts abstract wanderings and sonic fire. Who else could deliver bars like: “Ayahuasca rational, mastering abstraction of Sisyphean physics / Giving up the ghost, living free of limits” and make it work? In the hands of anyone else, these bars could sound like the beat poetry of a second-year philosophy student, but Fresh’s laser-focus and verbal dexterity carries it off.
That’s not to say Haller’s Orca is all philosophical contemplation. Tracks like ‘Sheikah & Yiga (Ft. Rawz)’ and ‘Notes (Ft. Benny Diction)’ follow a more familiar boom-bap formula. ‘Heart’, meanwhile, blends guest bars from Kaimbr, Deeq, Tha God Fahim, Flowtecs & Subtex with a simple soul riff to craft one of the tightest tracks of 2019. These songs feel almost like a novelty on Haller’s Orca, where hallucinatory soundscapes rub shoulders with obscure literary references like a Fresan fever dream.
That’s due in large part to the experimental nature of the beats. The rapper and producer has a knack for weaving an eclectic range of instrumentals into stark soundscapes, and Haller’s Orca is no different. Samples of psych-rock legend Arthur Lee sit alongside cosmic beats and smooth soul samples.
There aren’t many artists today willing to ask big questions in their work. But Fresh delights in exploring the human condition. Above all, it’s refreshing to be trusted with lyrics that don’t offer up an immediate answer. If you’re looking for big bars fuelled by braggadocio and traditional hip hop tropes, look elsewhere. But if you’re open to expanding your mind and exploring how far hip hop can go, then Haller’s Orca is a good place to start your journey.
Haller’s Orca is out now on Gold on the Mixer.
Happy August everyone… The end of civilisation is looming. Trump and Johnson are skipping gleefully hand-in-hand towards the abyss with the British Isles and civilisation as we know it inescapably shackled to them. Terrifying technological advances are amassing into a giant wave of AIs, automation, drones and behavioural recognition promising a future of redundancy and submission. Amid a unanimous insistence on continuing to arm dictators/oil barons, global temperatures are soaring to OHSHIT levels. Meanwhile in London it’s pissing it down.
So its probably time to give up right? Wrong. We’ve still got some Summer Sickness 2019 content up our sleeves. ALSO, New Guardz are throwing their fifth annual Summer Jam on Saturday and the line-up is heavy!
Where? Nambucca (Holloway). What time? 19.00 – 3.00. How Much? £5 adv tickets still available!
Who are these New Guardz?
A sizeable crew of lyricists and producers gracing radio and releases with hip hop and beyond. Members include K Zorro, Mas Law, Crickstar, Marv Radio, Aynzli Jones, Flowtecs and Ray Vendetta amongst others.
What do they want?
A fiver. And then to make you drink/dance/lose your shit. (Tickets more on the door).
What are they guarding?
Nobody knows. It’s a closely guarded secret.
Who’s guarding the secret?
New Guardz.
Anything Else?
Yes. To kick things up another gear, they have a live band providing back up on Saturday. Ominously named as The Direwolves, expect these long-time New Guardz collaborators to add another dimension to bangers from the crew’s discography.
Who else is on the bill for hip hop heads to get excited about?
P Nut:
Bringing bars, melodies and more sauce than a Tabasco factory, P Nut looks to be one to watch in the months and years to come. Late 2018 gave us the gloriously Jazzy release and Link Up TV debut ‘Problem’, plus an album CBT: Cognitive Behaviour Therapy with producer Carns Hill that mixed trap rhythmic elements and a disarming musical depth and vocal versatility for a first LP.
Ash The Author:
Reading native, Holdin’ Court host and general mic damager, Ash The Author, will also be about “looking scruffy like Oscar the Grouch with pure poison coming out of his mouth”. Fresh off the back of the recently released and consistently ill Apex collab album with producer Ded Tebiase, expect new material plus a couple curve-ball’s from yesteryear.
Jaydar:
If you haven’t already taken the time to listen to Jaydar‘s 2019 LP, Shadowz of Awareness, put that shit on your to do list. Think raw, cellar-dwelling Boom Bap that’s given an unholy driving pace via the kind of lyrical complexity and dexterity that’s typified the flows of some of the greatest underground UK hip hop emcees following in the footsteps of the likes of Task Force.
Anyone else?
Spanish speaking MC Lua Kosta will be repping España hard with some rapidly delivered fuego. Beyond all things rap focused, dancefloor filler Fresharda will be bringing his blend of dancehall and reggae to the stage and for more dancehall influenced music to wine to with an RnB edge Cici ATL will also be performing. Not to forget turntablism to keep the night moving throughout from DJs Cut Malina, Hector K and DJ Wicked.
For more info and links to tickets, check the events page here.
God is Dead, or at least he is if you believe Friedrich Nietzsche. And while rappers Flowtecs & Deeq aren’t exactly here to convince you otherwise, their new EP proves there’s still some truth in rituals of the past.
There’s an incense aroma of twisted celestial imagery throughout Seraphim & Apollyon, but Songs of Praise this ain’t. Religious iconography stands shoulder to shoulder with intricate bars of Hellbound blasphemy. Biblical allegory is employed as a vehicle to explore modern-day struggles like relationships, mental health and the creative process.
Flowtecs, of north London, and Deeq of Oxford, are a match made in Zion; the two emcees spin lyrical webs so effortlessly you wonder if they aren’t on some God-given mission. Tracks like ‘Katana Headsplash’ cut through you like, well, a katana, while the gut-punch hook behind ‘Devil Slang’ recalls early Task Force at their best.
Rapid fire bars and demonic hooks set Seraphim & Apollyon apart from the crowd, but it’s in the lyrics that Flowtecs & Deeq really excel. The prophetic imagery behind ‘Haunted Memoirs’ could sound gimmicky in the hands of lesser rappers, but when Flowtecs spits: “Reality scriptures // you man have twisted facts from the fiction // I spit that real shit in any instant” it works.
Of course, none of this works if the instrumentals aren’t up to scratch, but producer Palmer Eldritch hits every note. The boom-bap beats circle chopped up soul samples (with more than a whiff of Wu-Tang) and medieval-inspired instrumentals à la Jedi Mind Tricks.
OK, so the bars spat by Flowtecs & Deeq are far from angelic, but there’s no denying the power of religious iconography here. Like all religious texts, Seraphim & Apollyon works best when you don’t take it literally and recognise the deeper meaning behind it.
Seraphim & Apollyon drops May 1st on Gold on the Mixer. Pre-order it here.
Ten days ago we put up a list of ten of our favourite posse cuts and credited Leaf Dog and Eskar as jointly holding the record (of 19) for the most guest features on a UK hip-hop tune. We were aware that when the research strategy is three guys racking their brains over the course of a messy night that there’s a possibility we weren’t collectively aware of every tune ever released in the UK scene. Consequently, the article included an invitation for anyone to hit us up and let us know if there was a track that had more appearances on it. Almost instantly after the article going up, FlowTecs of New Guardz got in touch and pointed us in the direction of his 24 Verse Murder. Following shortly behind, Darren ‘Indi’ Fischer dropped us the link to DJ IQ‘s 8 Bars of Fire.
So in the name of fairness and accuracy, it seemed only right to put the tracks up and give them some props.
Artist: FlowTecs
Track Name: 24 Verse Murder
No. of Guests: 23!!
Guest Artists: Merciless, Emcee Killa, Valiant, Non Applicable, John Wesley, Ray Vendetta, Teslas Ghost, Stinkin Slumrok, Dr.Voodoo, Mongrel, Menace Mendoza, K.Zorro, Venomous Spitter, Mas Law, Marv Radio, Honours T, Kal Sereousz, Motman, Phyba optikz, Mavi Marx, Architech, Realityinzoom Syncromystics (Riz & Obidiah), Mike Kalle.
Boasting a ridiculous 23 guest MCs, 24 Verse Murder is one seriously rammed tune. The DJ Premier instrumental is nang and most of the contributing artists kill it. The 2015 album Verse Murder… Premier Flows which sees FlowTecs paying homage to the legendary Premo by lacing a prime selection of his beats with some savage spits is available for name your price on bandcamp.
Artist: DJ IQ
Track Name: 8 Bars of Fire
No. of Guests: 20
Guest Artists: Arrogance, Asaviour, Big Deal, Dramacide, Dubbledge, Iron Braydz, Jack Flash, Jehst, Kashmere, Kaspa Troy, Kyza, Metropolis, Mr. Ti2bs, Orifice Vulgatron, Pride, Sir Smurf Lil’, Stig Of The Dump, TB, The Dinner Lady P.I.M.P, Verb T.
Goodness gracious, 8 Bars of Fire! A few less heads than 24 Verse Murder but still narrowly (kind of on a technicality as the title artist is the DJ) pushes the guest counts of The Legacy and FluteJam into joint 3rd place. The talent on this one is silly. Strong contender against Dike and The Bluntskins for my personal favourite posse cut. The beat is heavy and IQ managed to draw a line up for this one with a very high ratio of UK legends. Not sure what The Dinner Lady P.I.M.P. is about, or who he is. The other 19 MCs set a very high bar. FIRE.
Still hungry for Posse? Other noteworthy mentions we’ve thought up or had brought to our attention since the first Posse Cuts piece include; B.O.M.B (Oliver Sudden & Luca Brazi) – Lucky Thirteen, The London Allstars – The London Convention, Res and Datkid – Gang-man Style, DJ IQ – Brain Food Allstars and Rodney P and company taking it way back with UK Rappers Delight.
Please nobody tell us we’ve missed an even bigger posse cut.
Lok’s back with his fortnightly Free podcast – part 19 of 2015 now in association with 4649 Worldwide Clothing. Check out the tracklist below, and don’t forget you can grab all of these from 2013, 2014 & 2015 Free here
Tracklist
1. Mystro – Kiss That Ass Goodnight
2. Verb T & Illinformed – Rolex Dreams ft Leaf Dog
3. Philly B ft Dirty Dike & Jam Baxter – Never
4. Big Toast – Unbelievable Krimewave ft Jack Diggs, Oliver Sudden, Ogre Drool, Gee Bag, Stinkin Slumrock & Flowtecs
5. Life MC & Badhabitz – Round The Corner
6. Dirty Dike – Me & You ft Jam Baxter
7. Dubbledge – L.O.V.E
8. Manage – Soul Root
9. Dead Players – Oh Well
10. Ghost Writerz – Wind Up Your Waist ft Shiffa Dan, RTKal & G.O.L.D