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BVA – ‘Lex Neville’ Review

May 27, 2021 by Ben Graham

The last 14 months have been weird. No pubs, no festivals, no shows. Thankfully, some things have stayed the same. British weather is still shit, Piers Morgan is still a blethering bellend, and BVA is still one of the sharpest emcees in the UK today.

For the uninitiated, the Beav established his impeccable credentials through his time in 3 Amigos, Brothers Of The Stone and Four Owls. But despite over a decade in the game, Lex Neville is only his second solo LP. Thankfully for BVA (and hip hop heads everywhere), it’s quality over quantity.

That’s not to say the album is low on tunes. The sixteen tracks zip by so quick you’d be forgiven for thinking it’s just a ten-track album. Lyrically, there’s more of what made Be Very Aware slap so hard; the righteous anger, puerile petulance and endlessly quotable slogans.

‘Bring It Back’ is BVA at his best, painting vivid visuals with a liquid-smooth flow. Like his fellow RLD labelmates, he excels in mixing late the effortless vibe of ‘90s East Coast classics with a quintessentially British no-fucks-given attitude.Likewise, ‘Role Model’ twists a nifty little bassline around a Greek lyre that works as surprisingly well as Ouzo and energy drink (trust me, try it).

BVA is joined by the cream of UK hip hop, with guest spots from Datkid, Smellington Piff and, of course, Leaf Dog. Jack Jetson and King Kashmere join BVA to usher in the apocalypse in ‘End of Days’, while fellow Owl Verb T graces the instant classic ‘Rolling’. That oh so sweet mix of chopped up soul, obscure jazz and classic ’90s boom bap is still present. But the beats (courtesy of Leaf and brother IllInformed) throw up a few surprises too. The G-funk inspired ‘Groundhog Day’, wouldn’t sound out of place on a GTA soundtrack. Jazz T also drops in to provide some sublime cuts on several tracks, most notably ‘Carving Tablets’.

But this is BVA’s moment. OK, so there’s not exactly anything new in Lex Neville. But the Beav is very much living by the “if it ain’t broke” mantra.

After a year and a half of bewildering change, it’s nice to know some things are exactly as good as you remember them.

Lex Neville drops 28th May 2021 on RLD Records.

Joe Burn – Hillsides

February 4, 2021 by Kieron Sullivan

Long awaited Joe Burn movements with the Green Brick click. The versatile MC makes light work of this more classicly hip hop vibe than his previous releases. ‘Hillsides’ boasts a glorious instrumental by the one and only Leaf Dog and cuts by DJ Rogue. Shouts also to Sudders on the cam. Lifted from the incoming Green Brick Records’ Brick Top Vol.1 LP.

Bronze Nazareth & Leaf Dog – Lisbon Dinners

January 10, 2021 by Kieron Sullivan

Leaf Dog continuing to build his portfolio of impressive US collabs along with his reputation as a formidable producer. ‘Lisbon Dinners’ is the second track to emerge from the Leaf produced album for Michigan rapper and Wu affiliate Bronze Nazareth. The LP titled Bundle Raps is landing on RLD Records on January 29th. Another strong look for the label and the UK scene in general.

Check the first drop ‘J My Man (Claymores)’ below…

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.

Voodoo Black – ‘Sitting At The Table’ Review

March 27, 2020 by Kieron Sullivan

Arguably the most viable crew in the UK hip hop scene to have yet reached the heights they’re due (we’ve been ranting about this for a while), Voodoo Black are not playing with their long awaited debut LP. Collectively Sparkz, Dubbul O, Ellis Meade and DJ Cutterz have been some of the hardest working humans in the game for close to a decade. On top of dope solo efforts from all of them that are well worth checking with spare COVID isolation time, the three spitters have massively contributed to highly regarded and lucrative releases by The Mouse Outfit and have been putting out music under the guise of Voodoo Black since their first self titled EP back in 2013.

If you were to try and differentiate the sound of Voodoo Black versus Mouse Outfit up to this new decade, to massively oversimplify; you could say that efforts with the mouse mob were more funk, jazz and soul influenced and Voodoo Black have been more concerned with crafting hard tunes for hip hop purists. Sitting At The Table sees the lines blur to a middle ground that’s sublime.

Everything that has made the collective dope since day is alive and well on Sitting At The Table. There’s a new edge to SATT though. Cutterz and crew steer the production more in the direction of the kind of funky, mellow melodies underpinning rhythmic grooves that catapulted tracks featuring the VB roster to a wide following in collaboration with the Mouse Outfit. All while still staying true to the Voodoo sound. Manchester’s unique hip hop influence is in full effect alongside stylistic nods to US golden era sounds. Flows from all 3 MCs throughout are flawlessly on point. Both warm and hard hitting, what’s most striking about verses from all 3 is the fact that there is literally no weak link. For 3 artists with their own unique sounds, the level of stylistic cohesion that maintains a distinctive soundscape on all tracks is something that can only be built though a creative partnership and friendship over years. Flows blur into one another on every track in a way that’s barely noticeable.

Singles ‘Know Broke’ and ‘Fizzy’ are exemplary of the kind of consistent sickness found permeating through tracks 1 to 10. ‘Fizzy’ sounds like an after hours lock in at a jazz club. ‘Know Broke’ edges in with similar dulcet musical stylings, followed by hook from Sparkz phasing in seamlessly to a trap-esque drum line that instantly converts the track to a certified head-nodder peppered with effortlessly complex rhyme schemes on every bar.

The calibre of the sparing features on the project is telling in regards to the standing in the scene that the crew deserves. The group’s Manchester home ground is represented in style with soul-hop queen LayFullStop‘s appearance on the super smooth ‘In The Mood’ and under-hyped mistress of melody EVABEE on ‘My Medicine’. As the LP has lyrical talent in abundance from the crew, its not surprising that its not heavy on the guest spots. The two remaining spaces go to UK heavyweights Leaf Dog and Jehst. Banger ‘Abracadamting’ features the ever-returning drifter bringing his A game. Likewise Boom Bap anthem ‘Fall Back’ has Leaf coming equally hard on the first verse. The fact that both MCs drop Voodoo Black tributes in their bars is testament to the fact that whether or not VB have still to reach legend status among parts of the hip hop fanbase, they already hold that accolade among the scene’s leading names.

Formerly members of the Room2 family, Voodoo Black have transitioned to Village Live for this project. As cross pollination to different demographics can be advantageous for acts trying to get their name out to new heads and the Village have their own dedicated following (and exclusively release fire), this could prove to be a smart move. DJs: Cop this shit on vinyl for guaranteed smooth party grooves. Everyone else: Cop the format of your preference HERE.