Check the visual for ‘Train of Thought’ from Coventry, UK rapper Shakezpeare linking up with Detroit rapper/producer and Wu Tang affiliate Bronze Nazareth, the track also features cuts from DJ TMB.
The track is lifted from the upcoming ‘New Golden Era (NGE)’ EP by Shakezpeare & Bronze Nazareth that will be released by NGE Records on all online records stores from Sept 1st 2016!
DJ Shadow has unveiled the music video for the song “Nobody Speak” featuring Run The Jewels, a standout track from his latest album ‘The Mountain Will Fall,’ out now on Mass Appeal Records. The video depicts a meeting of leaders that quickly descends into chaos, a scene not unlike what is unfolding in governments around the globe. It also features appearances by DJ Shadow and Run The Jewels.
Says DJ Shadow: “We wanted to make a positive, life-affirming video that captures politicians at their election-year best. We got this instead.”
Says Run The Jewels’ Killer Mike: “It’s such a dope video. It’s what I really wish Trump and Hillary would just do and get it over with…And even in that fight I think Hillary would win – and that’s not an endorsement.”
The video was directed by Sam Pilling and produced by Pulse Films, stars Igor Tsyshkevych and Ian Bailey, and was shot in NYC, London and Ukraine.
DOPE!!! Emerging from the late 90’s, early 00’s battle scene, Woody, Tigerstyle and Dopey went up against each other countless times, collectively they took 7 major World titles at arguably the fiercest, most creative period in DJ battle history.
Taken from DJ Woody’s debut album ‘The Point Of Contact’, the track ‘Get Down’ channels that battle mentality with a spirit of camaraderie as these battle veterans prove that their cuts are still as sharp as ever.
Battle Stats:
(DJ Woody)
2001 ITF World Champion
2002 Vestax World Champion
(DJ Tigerstyle)
2003 DMC Supremacy World Champion
2003 ITF World Champion
2003 Allies Allstar Beatdown World Champion
(DJ Dopey)
2001 Allies Allstar Beatdown World Champion
2003 DMC World Champion
‘The Point Of Contact’ is available now to preorder on double vinyl and digital and is due for release in October
Check the Official music video for the first single ‘My Addiction’ from the forthcoming Novar FLIP album ‘Damaged’. I’m not usually a fan of trap sounding music, but when the music has content like this track then I’m more open to it. Salute to Novar for his honesty and showing a side many rappers would shy away from.
We original shared this video to our FB and Twitter page when this powerful song ‘Ahmed’ from Lowkey featuring Mai Khalil and produced by Agent of Change was released at the end of July, but its only right we rep it on the site too!
Lowkey’s music and social commentary has been missed, however with this new music and visual from GlobalFaction here is his first release in a few years and it’s as thought provoking as ever.
The long awaited debut album ‘Hastility (H1)’ from the UK/US duo consisting of producer Configa and Queens, NYC emcee HaStyle drops tomorrow (Mon 29th August) and boy it’s been worth the wait!
I’ve been a fan of Configa’s dope Boom Bap production style and repped his music in the past and knew of his love for the Golden Era sound that is evident in his music. Then he hooked up with the like minded creative NYC lyricist and storyteller HaStyle. They introduced themselves swiftly as a duo to watch out for with two well received EP’s during 2015, ‘The Calm Before HaStility’ and the aptly named ‘A Good Combination’
A year later we now have the full length debut album from this talented duo. After previously whetting our appetites with the fore mentioned EP’s, Configa and HaStyle come with deeper content and a darker, heavier vibe with this banger of an LP with features from El Da Sensei, Prince Po, Chino XL, Rashan and dope cuts from UK turntablist DJ Madhandz.
We are living in times of great social injustice, racism is still prevalent, Police act with impunity, the use of propaganda and media manipulation is rife, more and more areas of our world are engulfed in conflict and war and people like you and I are fed up, disillusioned and angry with our governments not just in the States or here in the UK it’s a global issue. ‘Hastility (H1)’ hits on and encompasses those thoughts and feelings as HaStyle draws on that anger and address the issues waxing lyrical with an effortless flow over the musical canvas Configa provides with his characteristic neck snapping beats that come with a grittier, moody edge to them.
There really isn’t a weak joint on this album all the guest features deliver to the standards you’d expect, but Configa and HaStyle are not over shadowed in the slightest and obviously the talent and creativity from the pair of them is what makes this such a DOPE album. Here’s a few joints that caught my attention.
The record starts with the Dr Configa Intro (Configa really is a Doctor on Hip Hop ya know, man has a PhD!) this concept sets the scene for the direction in which ‘Hastility (H1)’ is going to take us.
‘Mind Control’ sees HaStyle address how history can and HAS been manipulated and encourages the listener to seek knowledge for yourself whilst at the same time warning our governments can control, watch and invade citizens privacy at any given moment and features a dope verse from El Da Sensei.
With heavy boom bap drums from Configa ‘Channel Zero’ examines peoples dependency on TV and its ability to brainwash the masses with constant 24 hour news ramming negativity and fear in to our living rooms.
HaStyle examines his dreams in the joint ‘Nightmares’ whether they are his dreams or a reality, accompained by Configa’s head nodding beat and Madhandz dope cuts. The track comes with a newly released visual today, Shot by Peter Clark (Attic Studios) and the Video Edited by Nate Pommer. Check it out here
‘Hastility’ was the first single and title track taken from ‘Hastility (H1)’. Rather than me tell you how dope it is, check out the video directed by Nick Light here
The track ‘Substance Abuse’ speaks for itself there aren’t too many towns and cities across the globe that aren’t touched by the scourge of substance abuse, whether it be alcohol or drugs. I myself still have my own demons that I fight and have lost friends to both drink and drugs. HaStyle doesn’t come across all preachy however, just offering pearls of wisdom to those that may be in that spiral or advising family and friends to look for the signs, this track resonated with me.
‘This World’ featuring Rashan is a more laid back vibe with HaStyle exploring finding your way in life, trying to stay on the right path whilst acknowledging the traps, pitfalls, stereotypes and prejudices that we can encounter on our journeys through this often unpredictable life.
We then jump pace again with the sick joint ‘World War Rap (Remix)’ featuring the legendary Prince Po, i’ll let the music do the talking for itself……
As I previously mentioned there really isn’t a weak joint, if I haven’t mentioned a track it’s not that I didn’t like it, I just didn’t want to bore you with my ramblings! ‘Hastility (H1)’ flows seamlessly with cleverly worked samples and cuts that compliment the music without over powering.
There is also a clear chemistry between both Configa and HaStyle which shines throughout the album. A lot of time and effort of travelling between the UK and New York has gone on to create this great piece of music and I think it’s that personal interaction between the producer and emcee which makes this stand out above a lot of submissions we get.
I have said in the past it’s almost criminal the amount of UK rappers that sleep on Configa’s production, but its their loss, and where many rappers can rap, many can’t story tell like HaStyle so it’s a win win for the pair of them and also for us as fans of Hip Hop.
It’s far too easy these days to buy a selection of beats of a handful of producers and throw a project together, but the real craft and art is building something together from the bottom up and that is what Configa and HaStyle have accomplished with ‘Hastility (H1)’, a record that oozes the Golden Era Sound, whilst commenting on the issues that face us today.
Words; Stix
You can Pre-Order Configa and HaStyle’s debut album ‘Hastility (H1)’ digitally and on CD but it is released and available to purchase tomorrow (Mon 29th August)
If you’re a regular follower of HHLAT you will know we’re big fans of Three Headed Beast the talented emcee trio of Twizzy, M.A.B and Jinxsta JX. At the end of July they dropped their highly anticipated debut album ‘Time To Feast’, we had a reviewer in place to get something up in the week building up before release, but we were let down by said reviewer.
However with the help of Adam sharing my FB post looking for reliable reviewers, rapper Intuitive offered his help and Big Ups to him for stepping up and taking on the review and getting it back to me in quick time. Here’s what Intuitive thought about the album…..
When I discovered that my first ever album review was going to be a Three Headed Beast release, I smiled.
I’ve been following these dudes ever since I came across Twizzy’s solo release ‘Done With All The Bull’ (which is fucking excellent, by the way) and discovered that he also operated as part of a neck-snapping super-trio alongside fellow emcees M.A.B and Jinxsta JX. They are all certainly not new to the game – one listen to their practiced flows will tell you that – but recently, they took a 2-year hiatus from their group music to focus on solo work. ‘Time to Feast’ is their latest contribution to the UK hip-hop history books – a 15-track boombap album with features and production from heads that are such household names, if you haven’t heard of them then you have probably reached this site accidentally. Seriously, it’s like a UK bedroom rapper’s wet dream. Features from guys like Genesis Elijah and Task Force associate Remus, and production by man like Farma G, Diligent Fingers, Charlie Mac and Chester P?! Fuck off!
Having respected heads featuring on your shit doesn’t make your tracks good, however. I’ve heard plenty of upcoming artists ruin their own tracks that have big names on (and probably throw away a week’s wage at the same time) because of silly little things like song composition and structure, or by selecting an awkward or shitty concept for your feature to have to try and work around. 3HB (I’m putting that from now on, it’s easier to type and I’m lazy) have circumnavigated this problem excellently in this release and have really made full use of every single feature that they have collated, by creating really inventive musical hooks that break up the monotony of verses and add soul and character – a perfect example is Javeon’s absolutely stellar effort on ‘Control’ – a solid song in its own right, the hook transforms it into a really powerful and truly musical piece. I was also slightly shocked to hear Genesis Elijah on the hook for his feature on ‘Marching’ but actually it works really well – I was just disappointed I didn’t get to hear another of his legendary verses!
I don’t care how weird this sounds. The production is sexy. Crisp drum loops and melancholy samples make for an album of instrumentals that not only make you worry about the structural integrity of your vertebrae, but also have a definite consistent feel, which I think is always a positive thing. It was really hard to pick out any stand-out beats but I think Hutch’s effort on ‘Be Careful’ deserves a special mention – this is definitely one of my favourite beats from the album and also one of my favourite tracks.
Speaking of favourite tracks – I feel as though we need to talk about ‘The Return’ as well. Because it’s fucking great. What a way to kick off an album! I LOVE the wordplay on the hook – a veritable waterfall of ‘3/free’ prefixed language – it takes a couple plays to catch every word, but it’s a really clever way of making a hook sound and flow smoothly. Plus, it takes some brains and musical/lyrical awareness to do it properly, and I always appreciate that kind of technical ability. Another way that this song is really clever is in how each of the 3 verses has the same two adlibs (‘what you REP?’ ‘so break it DOWN!’) in them which structures each verse, gives them some continuity and unifies the song, and sounds ace at the same time. Even as I’m writing this, I’ve got “it’s the return of the three headed BEAST!” going round and round my head, like a baby in a washing machine. Or a wheel, or something.
In conclusion (GCSE English essay style) this is an absolutely solid piece of music that deserves real support and praise from the underground scene. Every single aspect of it has been carefully considered and finished to a high quality – from delivery, to complex doubletime flows, to song structure, to adlibs, to production, even the fucking album artwork is slick! In terms of vibe, the album is quite consistent – it echoes that kind of dark, moody feel that many rappers who excel at multisyllabic lyricism tend to project. The language used is intelligent and spans a wide range of vocabulary, and is arranged around imaginative and creative track concepts. It is charged with emotion in many places, but is also fun – a great example is ‘It’s Abnoxshuz’. I think what differentiates this (and 3HB in general) from most other UKHH rappers is the fantastic chemistry between the 3 emcees and their memorable and musical hooks. Each song had me bobbing in that unconscious way any good hip hop song does. You know the one – the one where your chin jabs in and out like it’s fucking an invisible chin-vagina right in front of you. Pretend you don’t understand because I know you all do.
If I had to make any criticism, and considering this is a review I probably do, I would say that after 15 back to back tracks of solid multisyllabics, the themes and formats can get slightly repetitive. This doesn’t mean anything in regards to the individual quality of each of those tracks – but as a whole, they do follow on from each other in a very similar fashion. If you guys read this (and I hope you do) my only advice would be to try some more unique, experimental crazy stuff. But then what the fuck do I know? I wish I could make an album like this!!
Words by Intuitive
‘Time To Feast’ is out now digitally as a ‘Name Your Price’ download, don’t be a cheap skate and go for the free option this release deserves your money. There are a limited number of CD’s left if you wanna cop a physical copy on the bandcamp page, Stream and download Three Headed Beast ‘Time To Feast’ LP here….
hiphoplifeandtimes 