We were lucky enough to get our hands on an early copy of Cyrus Malachi’s much anticipated second album ‘Black Athena’ released via the homies at First Son Records available to pre order with a release date of April 20th. So we threw our newest recruit to the team Adam De Leslie in at the deep end to review this UK heavyweight emcee’s upcoming release. Here’s his review…..

Hip hop is a funny game. Either you love it or loathe it, and if you love it you probably have your view on what ‘real  hip hop is’. One listener’s Heaven is another’s Hell. Then there are albums like this. You would struggle to find someone who would dislike such a natural sounding collection. Start to finish replay value.

17 tracks and not a single one you could call filler. I don’t mean to just lavish praise on this but as I say I can’t really see anyone disliking this.His flow is classic but with his own personality, which is what makes it so enjoyable to listen to. Not that this is a man who is here purely to entertain you, Cyrus has real messages. Yes, we’ve all heard ‘political’ or ‘conscious’ rap before but he doesn’t just preach in that angry manner that can really wear thin over a whole album. He just wants you to understand the things he sees as wrong. I love that kind of honesty, wins me every time. Drawing you in with lyricism this album asks a lot of you, it asks you to listen, to really listen.  But rewards you justly. A thinker, a reloader, one of those you show people who don’t listen to ‘this kind of thing’ to sway them. Standout track for me is track 10- Lions Den. Old skool storytelling style. Real personal subject matter . Again, honesty.

THE PRODUCTION IS HEAVY! Okay didn’t mean to get so rowdy but yeh, this is my shit. Boombap is an overly used term but rarely applies more than Black Athena. Each song kicks my subwoofer along the ground. With Production from the likes of 7thDan, Ringz Ov Saturn, Hellz Echo, Noize Thievery and more it felt like a complete work rather than a bunch of beats and bars. I dare you not to knod your head throughout.

Black Anthena is no imitation; Cyrus is not simply a man who wanted to be a rapper but quite clearly one who is at home on a mic. I screw faced A LOT.

Cyrus Malachi’s ‘Black Athena’ is available to order in CD version of the 17 track album with  hand painted illustrations by Gary Alford on the cover. A limited amount of pre-orders will ship with a limited edition copy of Cyrus Malachi’s “Isis Papers 3”  mixtape which is unavailable to buy anywhere. Release date is 20th April. Pre Orders will be shipped for the 15th of April Pre-order Now ₤12.99

Also available to Pre Order in digital format, with a FREE download of a track of your choice Pre-order Now ₤7.99

Download for FREE or stream the track ‘Contraband’ taken from the album here….

http://firstson.bandcamp.com/album/cyrus-malachi-black-athena

http://www.firstsonrecords.com

https://twitter.com/FirstSonRecords

https://twitter.com/Cyrusmalachi

After dropping their video for ‘Strangers’ the Australian duo have now officially released their full-length ‘Suburbs In The Sky’.

When I initially listened to these guys I wasn’t a hundred percent convinced on their sound. It was an interesting mix of the traditional clean vocals, and MCing, but it was a little bit too poppy in parts for me. I enjoyed it, but I wasn’t a huge fan from the very beginning. I wasn’t overly hyped to the point of hyperventilating, what? Yes, sometimes that does happen. Fear not though, if I still thought that you wouldn’t currently be reading this review, so there’s a happy ending to this (The first song alone gave me reason to be persuaded of my foley, yeah I said foley what? I’m English).

I did at first have a funny relationship with Droopy’s production. A 3rd of the tracks I was thinking, this is so weird and off-I love it! Then others I felt as though it was perhaps a bit too poppy. However after the first listen of the album I started to understand the reasoning behind some of Droopy’s production choices. Now I’m not sure if I’m right, I could be making it up as I go along. It seemed to me that it was all a conscious decision on Droopy’s part for some of it to correlate to Dox Phonic’s vocals, or content, whereas other parts of the production are at constant odds with the themes of the songs, and Dox’s vocal tone. Thus, both Droopy and Dox Phonic stand out in their own right, respectfully and it all makes sense both vocally and instrumentally.

Dox handles the vocals and MCing of the two, and has a great ability of changing up his vocal skill and tone, so much so that during a few verses I had to pause and make sure it wasn’t a guest rapper. To be able to achieve that in MCing and singing (especially rapping) is no easy feat, and Dox Phonic has that talent to throw his voice on to any instrumental and make it sound fresh and new. I was also really impressed with how good a storytelling he is, and manages to deal with common theme, and not so common with the same realist and honest approach. It’s my humble opinion a lot of bad rappers that want to jump on a fad, and claim indie status think that if they write songs about drug abuse, guns in schools, or freeing Palestine then it’s going to be an instant underground hit. No, that’s not how it works I’m afraid buddy. If it’s not sincere, and it’s not real then most people will spot you a mile off. With Deuce Kicks I get the feeling that the subjects and themes were discussed within this EP because they were either going through it themselves, or generally wanted to write a song about it. No pretention or fakery needed.

Now for some of you, you’ll love this straight away, and for others you might need a bit more time to come around, but for my part I suggest you give these guys a good chance at convincing you. For fans of Beautiful Eulogy, Lupe Fiasco, Yelawolf (NOT for his content, but for the vocal style. Disclaimer mate).

– Words: Aimee

For album links (free or paid, but don’t be a sucker) and the band’s website – http://deucekicks.com/suburbs-in-the-sky/

Twizzy and Ramson Badbonez have been steadily growing in recognition and attention over the last few years, and through hard work and dedication have built up a strong and loyal fanbase . They’ve both released solid EPs and albums respectfully, but in my mind have still managed to pass under the radar of a lot of people that just didn’t quite recognise their individual skills. Now yeah, yeah sure, sure we could say that about a million MCs right? Well of course, but that’s all swings and roundabouts; we’re talking about these two today, and in my humble opinion they still have not reached a high enough pinnacle in relation to attention from an wider audience.
It’s also my humble opinion that ‘The Good, The Bad & The Ugly’ is the album that could change that trend for a lot of people. When I talk of a wider audience, I don’t simply mean radio airplay, or getting on Charlie Sloth’s show-I mean more hip-hop heads respecting their diverse talents. The reason I think this new record changes that all for these two is because it finally showcases their range and technique when it comes to different styles within hip-hop. This album is going to appeal to the snottiest backpacker, roadman rap lover, golden era kid that’s stuck in 94, U.S lover, hardcore UKHH fan, and maybe even a few rap pop dudes. Well, maybe not the last one, but I stand by all the others for sure. The first track that shares the same name as the album alone is enough to get you hooked, and reminded me of early Wu-Tang and Snoop, just as much as Aspects, and I don’t say that lightly; that isn’t an easy task to take on at all.

They don’t give away all their cards in the first 3 songs however, and songs like ‘1st Come, 1st Served’ which features M.A.B and ‘Underdogz’ prove it’s a full ten songs, not just a few stand out tracks.
Talking of the features, M.A.B, Jinxsta Jx and J-Man all shine individually in their own right and add to the diversity of the overall sound of the record. Instrumentally and musicality-wise, Hutch who handled production, and Charlic Mac who took on mastering and cuts both really proved their talents on this one, and without them-it wouldn’t be half as good.

When it comes to Twizzy and Ramson Badbones themselves; they play off each other’s styles perfectly. Twizzy is the calm and collected of the two, whereas Ramson is the more relentless of the pair. They manage to not outdo each other, and I throughout the whole album I never wanted to skip one MC for the other, or wait for the other to step up. It felt natural, and balanced. Their content of course is far from shallow, and if you’re aware of these dudes anyway, you’ll know that at times, the subject matter is pretty introspective, and always firmly grounded in realism. Of course that doesn’t mean that all the subject matter of their song are discussing the finer points of the existence and the universe. It’s a healthy mix of pure rap jams, intelligent lyrics and clever wordplay. Proof that you don’t need to be stupid to write fun songs.

In any case, I really shouldn’t have to convince you to support this release; but if this review steered you towards copping it then it can’t be bad. (STARBUCKS DOESN’T NEED YOUR MONEY, THEY’VE ALREADY TAKEN YOUR TAX)

– Words: Aimee

Grade A (formerly known as A Blaze) has recently released his highly anticipated Beat Tape ‘My Journey’. The tape stays very true to its name, and is a definite show of progression and growth.