Hip-Hop
Grandmaster Flash – The Adventures Of Grandmaster Flash On The Wheels Of Steel
2nd November 2023 · 1980s, 1981, Hip-Hop, MusicThe Adventures Of Grandmaster Flash On The Wheels Of Steel was not the first hip-hop hit but it was a landmark in the emergence of rap upon its release in 1981 – and the first hit to use scratching.
Butcher Brown are a self-proclaimed “proud throwback to the progressive jazz-funk bands of the 1970s with a 21st century twist” – a phrase that would once have filled me with horror.
DJ Muggs x Kool Keith – Divinity 2 Infinity: The Odyssey
5th October 2023 · 2020s, 2023, Hip-Hop, MusicHere’s a nice thing by two of the great names in hip hop – DJ Muggs and Kool Keith. It’s the title track from the soundtrack of a new sci-fi film called Divinity by regular David Lynch composer Dean Hurley.
Here we are on the hottest day of the year and I’m reflecting on the hottest gigs I’ve ever attended. One of them, on a night like this, was by Nas at the 100 Club.
The Corner is the standout track on Gold Panda’s latest album The Work – a smooth summer groove with a nice video shot in Berlin. Now it gets a new dimension in his remix featuring not one, not two but three rappers: Open Mike Eagle, Infinite Livez and McKinley Dixon.
Here’s the mid-nineties classic by KRS-One that might well top the hip-hop hall of anti-cop fame were it not for a certain earlier song by NWA.
I have not closely followed the career of foodie rapper Loyle Carner but I’ve got time for anyone who makes his stage name a spoonerism of his real name (Benjamin Coyle-Larner).
Danger Mouse and Black Thought collaborate on the album Cheat Codes. This is one of its many standout tracks, featuring Michael Kiwanuka. (more…)
Antony Szmierek – The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Fallacy
7th August 2022 · 2020s, 2022, Hip-Hop, MusicAntony Szmierek comes from Manchester: he’s a rapper with a relaxed, conversational delivery and an emotional flow. Unlike a lot of spoken word music – and there’s loads around now – this one makes me want to listen again and again.
I was wondering what would be the perfect song to play on the hottest day we’ve ever had when I remembered this… a song that immediately conjures up a sweltering summer’s day in New York. (more…)