Review: Throughout is a new and exciting label out of Kyoto that impresses once more here with a brilliantly cool new collaboration between Jungle Brothers' Sensational and the producer Unbuilt. The former has laid down endless amounts of interesting sounds over the years and Poiesis now joins those hallowed ranks. It is aptly described as "a paranoid party-starter cast against a menacing greyscale backdrop of impressive dystopian grandeur." The production from Sensational is on point and a mix of basted and dubbed out while the bars remind of early underground rap greats - like Def Jux rewired through a more contemporary sound.
Review: Veteran French hip-hop producer Ugly Mac Beer ventures into synth-punk with this new album. A passion project conceived in his teens, this record embodies three decades of musical ambition and collides post-punk, electro-punk, darkwave and new wave with US hip-hop and rap rock. Influences like Beastie Boys, The Cure, Kraftwerk and Sleaford Mods resonate throughout and collaborations with Princess Superstar-whose hit 'Perfect' recently resurged on TikTok-French rapper Mynameisleonidas, Frustration's vocalist and longtime ally The Real Fake MC, Broken Ill is a bold trip. Ugly Mac Beer reinvents himself here by delivering a daring UK-inspired rap rock gem that defies convention.
A Chorus Line (feat Tim Dog - 12" version - bonus track) (6:05)
Traveling At The Speed Of Thought (Hip House club mix - bonus track) (4:23)
Ego Trippin' (bonus beats - bonus track) (1:11)
Mentally Mad (12" version - bonus track) (5:06)
Review: Ultramagnetic MC's released their influential debut album Critical Beatdown in 1988. The New York quartet, comprised of Ced-Gee, Kool Keith, Moe Luv and T.R. Love, created an enduring masterpiece in underground hip-hop, with the 1986 single "Ego Trippin" being one of the first tracks to make use of the E-MU SP1200 drum machine. This expanded edition courtesy of Music On Vinyl features the original tracks plus vinyl exclusives such as: the original 12" versions of "Funky", "Bait", "A Chorus Line" (featuring Tim Dog), "Mentally Mad", as well as "Traveling At The Speed Of Thought (Hip House Club Mix)" and "Ego Trippin (Bonus Beats)" plus a four page booklet included.
Review: Harkening back to some of the best and earliest hip-hop to grace the earth, 'Ced Gee and Kool Keith' from a reunited Ultramagnetic MCs is a paramount example of the rap game's early ideal of gregariousness and ostentation. A throwback to when it was baggy tracksuits and giant clocks; these two primordial rappers work through new funk samples, car bonnet-bumping thumps and dizzying lyricism on an EP that errs more on the playful side than the 'gangsta'.
Review: American hip-hop group Ultramagnetic MCs dropped their second album Funk Your Head Up in 1992. It was the group's second album and many of its tunes, at the request of the Mercury Records label execs, were remixes by outside producers. Hardcore fans of the group didn't like the results and neither was the album a particular commercial success, with the one hit was, ironically, a Beatminerz remix of 'Poppa Large' that never made the album. But the band's ever-reliable, clever lyrics and concrete breakbeats feature throughout with oodles of funk, helping to ensure you want to get down.
Review: US3's debut album Hand On The Torch was a landmark record when it dropped back in 1993. At a time when the world was getting to grips with sample culture, Blue Note reached out to the London-based crew and gave them access to the archives. With such a rich pool of source material, they got busy strapping iconic breaks and licks from one of the great jazz stables to crisp beats. There's a lot of ground covered, with hip-hop jams sidling up alongside funky beatdowns and plenty more besides. It's a stone cold classic given the reissue treatment, bringing the likes of 'Cantaloop (Flip Fantasia)' back to life for a new generation.
Review: Hydeout Productions continue their full comprehensive recataloguing of Nujabes' work, not only those of his immediate productions, but also the works of the lives of others whom he'd touched through collaboration. Saxophonist Uyama Hiroto was a frequent collaborator of Nujabes', appearing as early on in the latter's storied career as 1996's Modal Soul; it may be said that this mere fact was enough to launch Hiroto's career in his own right, and his debut record A Son Of The Sun is a testament to this fact, evidencing Hiroto's preoccupation with themes of freedom and heliophilia. This debut has Nujabes' unmistakable mix thumbprints all over it, but the headspace is decidedly polished and yet more expansive, and is all produced by Hiroto despite the association and similarity; his saxophone shines best and most brightly non-hip-hop cuts such as 'Climbed Mountain'.
Review: It's been seven years since Freeform Jazz was released as a new frontier for Uyama Hiroto. Now hearing Japanese label Roph return to the jazz and hip-hop artist receive a second round of recognition, we get a thorough reminder of the directions in which jazz can be taken when not mired neither sophistry nor overcomplexity; the liners on this one remind us, likewise, of the reversals and flip-sides of every substance on Earth, that "If there is no movement, there is no stillness, and on the flip side, if there is no stillness, there is no movement." Hiroto's last record, Freeform Jazz, was his obverse side to Breath Of Love; one is duskier than the other, but the works are inseparable - so make sure you listen to the former too. Here though, we hear Hiroto synergise with participating artists Substantial and J Soul, both based in Virginia, as well as Marter and Reinaria; all the artists reign supreme over one wax side each, casting a healthful vocal light over Hiroto's otherwise impeccable recordings, as though they were each happily-ever-after kingdoms anointed in sound.
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