CMPND coming through bright and early with mad flames; ‘Flight 370’ just fell from the sky.
This heat is their second single release since the recent High Focus signing and it’s got us hyped for what’s to come.
Massive props to This and That Media on the visuals that just made my brain detonate.
The first single from High Focus’ newest signees CMPND, ‘Whatuplayin@’ provides a strong introduction to their newfound audience, with each member (Wundrop, Vitamin G and Kemastry) bringing straight heat back-to-back. Check out the video to catch some familiar faces from the Brighton scene, including Verbz, Hutch & Harvs le Toad – turning up in the comforting glow of a corner shop. We’ve all been there.
UltraSound packed out Green Door Store on the 20th of March for their debut event; the launch of Harvs Le Toad’s recently released album, Chicks N Tikka Naans. Some of the huge wealth of talent Brighton has to offer came through in what proved to be a belter, kicking off early with an open mic with Harvs and Hutch on the beats. Donut and Bushbee went back to back bringing the crowd a healthy dose of disco before Illiterate (representing Team Shoreditch) and Bo Bribery went savage against each other in a beat battle, getting the place riled up ready for the rest of the night. Yogocop resident Louis Loan (aka KLB) fought through the wrath of a savage bug and smashed his set before Kemastry and Vitamin G (2/3 of rising Brighton crew The CMPND) went hard in the form of Nubian Zombies. The night came to a close with the sounds of Harvs, Indira May and Hutch playing some golden tracks from the album sandwiched within other material the trio have been working on. Serious madness for their debut. Number two in the pipeline.
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As a very vague rule we’ve started using the ‘If You Didn’t Know’ tag to write on recent (or recent-ish) releases that have somehow flown under the radar and we think deserve more recognition… However, in the spirit of Christmas past, today we’re celebrating the 3 year anniversary of the release of Team Dreebs Advent Calendar!
To the best of our knowledge, this under-rated 25 track album is the first and only of its kind. Dropping on 25.12.2015, Advent Calendar boasted Yogocop crew and extended family putting down a tune for every day of December in a sacrilegiously ill countdown to Christmas.
Tracing its way from the spacey ‘F.A.B.U.L.O.U.S’ with Concept of Thought‘s Illiterate marking the 1st of the month over a Mr Slipz and Bo Bribery beat, to the chilled groove of final track ‘Floating’ featuring veteran Sonnyjim, Advent Calendar is packed full of winter heaters.
The LP Spawned 3 singles/videos in the month running up to its release, all of which dropped on the corresponding day to their track number on TD Advent Calendar. Following up from ‘F.A.B.U.L.O.U.S’, Dec 9th heralded the thoughtful ‘To Lend/Let Go’ from Slam the Prodigal (now Slam the Poet) followed by ‘Up With The Day’ from Wundrop on the 23rd. Lazy, dreamlike production on both by Hank Hiller.
The sheer volume of talent on the album in terms of MCs and producers is no mean feat. Sick verses from Team Dreebs familiar faces Benaddict, Illiterate, Awfer, Harvs Le Toad, Wundrop, Kemastry, NuphZed etc are relentlessly consistent. Likewise for production from every producer involved.
The already phat Christmas cake gets iced with a few exceptional guest spots. In addition to Sonny Jim’s aforementioned final track murkage, highlights come in the form of Edinburgh’s Onetzu on ‘Chrysanthemum’ and Pertrelli (now Pertrelli Purple) absolutely destroying his spot on ‘The Usual.’
Peppered with moments that amusingly reference the Christmas theme here and there; from conceptual lyricism on the the topic, to the raucous drunken carolling at the end of KLB, Sonny Mac and M.KOZI‘s ‘Voyage’, the whole album manages to be thematically and musically cohesive without straying into novelty territory that would give it a Christmas-only appeal. While Advent Calendar meanders between wavy, super-chill numbers to livelier, funkier moments, there’s something that gels the musical vibe from all contributing producers together into something that just sounds like hip hop to warm through winter in general. If you listened to TDAC without paying much attention to the lyrical content or skits, it’d be completely possible for its seasonal stuff to go right over your head. Which is part of what makes it ill, the shit stands up as a collection of 25 sick tunes regardless of its premise as a concept album.
To anyone who’s not heard before… Get this in your playlist this evening and Christmas futures!
Team Dreebs Advent Calendar is available to buy for name your price here.
Check out more IYDK from 2018:
IYDK: E.D.D.Y – Eddy x Kimi
IYDK: Osirus – Venture EP
IYDK: C.A.M – Persian Rugs EP
IYDK: Brotherman – Huckleberry EP
IYDK: Afro Sam – Baggie Eyes EP
IYDK: Doberman and Breathless – Tales From T’Dales
Inspired by jazz and soul infused hip hop, Brighton based MC, producer and Yogocop Records resident, Harvs Le Toad is definitely not one to sleep on.
Put the kettle on – Harvs & KLB ft. illiterate (Prod. M.KOZI)
One of the main reasons I’m drawn to Harvs is his flow, for some reason reminds me of early Braintax vibes but perhaps a little grittier. Coming from the Leanworks EP, released on Yogocop in 2016, Harvs and KLB made their imprint crafting quality bars back and forth over slick production. ‘Put the Kettle On’ is a personal favourite, with M.KOZI on the beat giving us a beautifully crafted, lazy head-nodder, featuring illiterate who, no surprise, kills it.
Snap your neck – Harvs & Vitamin G (Prod. Remulak)
‘Snap Your Neck’, does exactly what it says on the tin – hard not to with Vitamin G kicking things off – Harvs effortlessly comes in with the second verse, giving us a much welcomed taste of the less soppy side he’s is usually known for laying down. Bringing a playful flow on the quite frankly ridiculous beat from Remulak, Harvs defintiely makes his mark.
Rose Petals – ft. Kemastry (Prod. Harvs)
‘Rose Petals’ comes from the brand new EP by Harvs entitled Garlic Mayo vol. 1 – one of my main reasons not to sleep on him. This 9 track EP has no lyrics spat by him. Instead, it’s solely produced by Le Toad with features from; Kemastry, Bill Greene, Vitamin G and Louis Loan. Proving he is not short of ability when it comes to making music, ‘Rose Petals’ is the first release from this project. A beautiful, dreamy nod to the romantic style Harvs boasts, Kemastry vaunts a slick and unforced flow on this one complimenting the beat with perfect ease.
Harvs describes Garlic Mayo vol. 1 as the condiments on the table before your main course and teases us with talks of a solo album in the not too distant future – definitely hungry to hear more.
2018 has started with blizzard like weather, courtesy of the beast from the east. Now, though the storm may have quelled, the forecast shows something a lot more mighty is brewing. This time down south. Its a heavy downpour of break beats and a unrelenting gale force rhapsody of rhymes. Its thanks to a chilling audible attack from Wundrop and Kemastry. Yogocop presents: Frosty Raps – The tales of Huff Jenks and King Long.
The Brighton based label has put some bangers out in recent times. Like the recent release of Mr Slipz‘ record It Don’t Stop. Yogocop aren’t planning on easing up any time soon, with Frosty Raps dropping on March 24th. The duo’s creation has definitely been inspired by a purist hip-hop vibe. It contains, not a minimalist style, that would be an understatement not worthy of the record, but shows that creating hip hop in 2018 doesn’t need to be over done or over cooked. The simplicity of boom bap beats flirted together with crisp punchy lyrics does the job like the greats.
The album starts with ‘Word to da Frost’. Here the duo go back and forth to the next track ‘Bored + Wasted’, which expels the ideology of the album – having nothing, apart from being armed with your favourite hip hop records, a bottle of Frosty Jacks and a passion to change your situation. As you wade through the lyrical attack from Wundrop and Kemastry you get to ‘Bile Bukowski’. Paying homage to Charles Bukowski, even including a snippet of the late, great writer as the intro/outro, the short but ever powerful track resonates for a while after. The highlight of the album is ‘Gloom Terrapinz’ opening with Wundrop throwing light back to Biggie. With the opening lyrics “It was all a dream”. Then beginning to dictate his day to day, until passing the mic to Kemastry who only intensifies the situation. Tongue twisters and references to Mary Poppins galore. Deep bass beats flow throughout. With the lyrics and raps hitting with a cold punch to the dome.
Frosty Raps drops March 24th, be sure to get your copy here.
