Here we have an hour of UK Hip Hop with 21 bitingly honest tracks assembled produced loved and nurtured by veteran turntablist and DJ EVIL ED. The featured underground and emerging artists run to: Eddie Skratch; Yungun; Dupa Styles; Ricochet; Kyza; AH Fly; Tommy Evans; Jibbarish; Doc Brown & Diablo; Microdisiacs;. Lost Souls; A-Love; Eddi; DJ Index;Probe Mantis & Junior Disprol; Mr Thing; Mic Assassin; and Asaviour.
The range is astonishing. If you thought for a second that Hip Hop was a narrow furrow, go buy this album. The chunks that Ed takes from his Oxfam vinyl collections, the scratches, beats and attitudes make it a massive cultural mix of UK and Hollywood, TV and comedy, chill out, funked up and euphoric moods. I can’t help but compare its richness and vitality to the one-track mindset of The Streets. But The Streets isn’t a bad cultural starting point if (like me) Hip Hop isn’t your normal diet. Listen in to RICOCHET's working class story for daily truth … but lift yourself with the huge bass sound and the sparky musical inflection of the rap track. It really is a treat. It tells how things are but it never forgets that joy is there in the act of creation.
The cheerful optimism is the best surprise. EVIL ED is no bling-crazed no-brainer. He struggles to keep his music going on the back of a day job and his 20 years of musical contacts - from Brighton in the South to Leeds and Manchester in the North. The album is as much a testimony to Ed's artistic contacts as it is to the long struggle to keep the music going. Struggle is a theme that weaves its way through several of the tracks – not least in Tommy Evans and Mic Assassin's penultimate tune "Life's a Struggle". The important thing is that, like the best blues music It doesn't come over as morbid or victimised. It’s life affirming, strong and emotionally articulate.
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I specially like Kyza's easy jazzed-over tune. As severe contrast there's a big battleground thing called "The Cavalry" with a queue of contributors. Elsewhere there are jokey extracts and tempo changers that keep the diversity hanging together, making the whole experience a real pleasure. "Raw Spuds" featuring Probe Mantis and Junior Disprol could be an Anglo morph of Jurassic Five – huge fun.
Ed's pres blurb quotes him saying "it’s supposed to be an album for people who love hip-hop by someone who loves hip-hop". I'd say it’s an album that will bring music lovers from outside hip-hop closer into the fold. There are 21 bites at the cherry here and every one's a tasty morsel with something to offer.
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