With the first two cyphers being a proven success, bringing together a nexus of talent, we now bring you Cypher 3, featuring the previously reviewed Dream Mclean (I told you he was one to watch!), Random Impulse, Griminal and Lioness.
I’ll forever cosign Dream Mclean as he is a raw talent with lyrical ability, flow plus a voice with a presence, more so he is himself and always trying to improve, which in my opinion are traits of a quality artist in this field. Random Impulse really took this opportunity to shine, with his charisma fuelled wordplay, definitely throwing a few standout bars, setting up Griminal, an artist who needs no introduction, he has been a prominent name within the scene for many years and we’re still far from seeing the best from him, potential is high as he spazzes out. Last but not least, Lioness represents for the strong minded ladies, proving some of the best emcees are not just males, controlling the tempo with added confidence, she rounds off yet another impressive cypher.
One of the ‘realest’ artists in the UK scene, continues to make his mark on a mainstream level with this new release:
Something different, as far as production, but Devlin manages to maintain his own style that fans will be pleased to hear, complete with complicated lyricism, Devlin shines on this polished underground-sounding crossover effort, I think it allows new fans to not judge his content on the intensity of the beat, therefore he will no doubt have all the attention on his lyrics, which will no doubt gain him more fans, an overall good song, no doubt, easing himself onto a higher platform as a more inspirational emcee, one the UK should definitely be proud of.
The video is good, it has an epic feel to it and introduces Devlin nicely, featuring cameos from Ghetto and Griminal, this video can do the Dagenham soldier no harm as he rises to further prominence.
While 2009 saw some positivity with many urban artists breaking through into the charts, it also saw the negative with many artists being blackballed, Giggs prevailed and recently signed a contract with XL recordings, so there is hope and nobody deserves some mainstream recognition than of the elite emcees in the Grime scene..Ghetts.
Here is the new video for Skadoosh ft. Maxsta & Dolla Da Dustman:
As a fan of Ghetts, you beleive in his talent and you cannot help but to expect nothing but the best, so at first instance this track deceives those expectations, however this strangely allows you to focus more on Ghetts and his flow really provides the track with much needed depth, Ghetts reaches out to up and coming emcee Maxsta (also from East London) as well as long time collaborator and friend Dolla, both features deliver, Maxsta (who is one of the artists I tipped last year after hearing one of his sets) has progressed well since, now working with some of the best in the scene, this track is an obvious example of his development thus far, with Dolla stepping up to lay down his opinions to those who feel he has fallen off. The video is a light hearted portrayal of the artists within a dark themed set, featuring a host of cameos including appearances from Mz Bratt, Devlin and Griminal, the video is directed by Digital Dan, who uses his abilities to capture the right vibe and offer the track a matching visual.
Skadoosh is taken from the forthcoming mixtape ‘Calm Before The Storm’, which will then set you up for the new album, ‘Rebel With A Cause’, so look out for more from Ghetts (aka Ghetto) as he looks set to start the year off his way.
Okay, so I’m tweeting away to the new followers and in coversation with some artists, when one of the artists Re-Tweets (RT) something, it was from @BlackTheRipper, if you don’t know who he is, then get to know, he is one of the most naturally gifted artists, coming out of North London, he has a style of his own, he can do Grime but pours more soul into Hip-Hop, he is definitely one to keep an ear out for, anyway, he retweets this:
Even fellow emcee Voltage saw what was about to happen..
Now, it could have ended there, however, Jammer responded, I can go into detail but you might as well check out their Twitters for yourself: (just click their names)
What is interesting about this, is that it pretty much stemmed from nowhere and now Black The Ripper aka Samson has even written a whole song to end his career before he even responded back on Twitter (quite funny if you think about it), everybody knows that Jammer is a different style of artist compared to Samson, so why there is talk of them being paired up at the legendary Lord Of The Mics3 (LOTM3), an event which recently had rising emcees Maxsta and Double S going against each other for a (now cancelled) emcee battle at LOTM3. This situation between Jammer and Black The Ripper, really makes no sense to me, because lyrically and delivery wise, Black The Ripper is one of the best in the country, his street cred is no weaker as nobody really has any issues and if they do they keep it to themselves, as much as I love the positivity that has been shown, this will provide much needed entertainment, its no Jay-Z V Nas but it has the possibility of becoming quite the talk as the likes of Lethal Bizzle and Griminal have all had issues with Jammer in the past, so who knows what comes of this, Will Jammer’s Boy Better Know comrades step in, or will this just be a pointless twitter squabble that will just simmer down and end as a laugh for all.
Look out for more to come on this, it could be quite the spectacle.
I would like to add, I am excited to see a clash but only in the musical sense, I want to see competition so long as it stays in music.
Black The Ripper aka Samson VS Jammer aka Murkleman
After Dizzee, Came Tinchy Stryder, following him was Chipmunk, all successfully topping the charts, stepping up next to continue this new tradition is UKs favourite bad boy Griminal, this is the first single, Invincible:
A lot of people have criticized Griminal for ‘going mainstream’, however even more people are supporting the move and feel that he has managed to maintain more of a Grime essence than the previous three’s chart topping records all together, so not only are old fans remaining ever loyal..he is gaining a whole new range of fans (100,000 views within 3 days).
I like the track, Its catchy in a raw sort of way, I really like the beat, its just got a nice vibe to it and its crisp quality balances with Griminal’s raw delivery, lyrically, the Narsty crew saviour is far more talented, thing is, if he was to get too lyrical on this record..it would just go over many people’s heads and if Griminal wants to walk through that mainstream door then he has to be smart about it, despite what people say, Chipmunk’s debut album ‘I Am Chipmunk’ had pop-glazed singles kept within an urban casing and a Grime core, it was responded to as Grime/Pop, genre-merging is essential in any chart, 50 Cent is set to release an album more violent than his debut Get Rich or Die Tryin’, however the first two singles are ‘Baby By Me ft. Ne-Yo’ and ‘Do You Think About Me’, so rather than losing faith, people should show support and spend a mere 79p on the single, it saves you time on finding a good quality version of the file too and you won’t go to hell (lol).
The video, directed by Carly Cusson, is a good look, it is not an amazing video but it is not a poor video either, I think it offers good visuals for the record, featuring a cameo from the beautiful and talented Mz Bratt (I think she should jump on the beat and do an official remix, although that would create even more rumours), the chemistry is good, both seem to be good actors so it seems music is not their only avenue, I love the fact that Griminal is allowed the freedom to be himself, it is a contrast to Chipmunk, who I guess many will pair up as rivals, but truthfully both are mature enough to use that to their advantage rather than develop issues off the mic, the future looks good for the scene as there is just so much talent, best of luck to Griminal, make sure you support him, because once we dominate the charts here, then we can spread the success globally ..UK Stand Up
The highly anticipated video for her second release is finally here:
Mz Bratt returns to our screen with another good track and video to go with it.
I Like You, featuring Sadie Ama (who proves that looks and talent run in the family), is another anthem for the ladies, so many songs about the ‘girl next door’ have been made, by women too, so here is a fresh new twist with this ‘boy next door’ number, the boy being played by everyone’s favourite bad boy (no not Diddy) rising emcee (or I should say artist) Griminal. This song has a lot of substance, Mz Bratt is being herself and it shows through her music, many female emcees feel the need to approach their music similar to the men and that leads them away from their real audience, this is not the case with Mz Bratt, this is one of the reasons (out of the long list of many) why she is so likeable. With Sadie on the feature, plus cameos by Tulisa (Ndubz) and Lady Ny, there is a strong sense of female unity, not to mention that they all are highly talented, as a whole this video has such a good vibe, it is surprisingly not just for the girls, I reckon the guys (who are not afraid) can watch and enjoy this too, plus the song is catchy and most of all, clean and light-hearted (Unlike many female emcees in the past).
Mz Bratt has impressed me so much in such a short space of time, more so because I know that she is capable of lyrically stepping up to the male emcees, however she is more about the music and fans and has been real and honest with her music, her mixtape was a good insight and I am looking forward to the album.
The East London duo are appearing stronger than ever as they continue to make their mark within the industry.
16 Year old Tiny is making big strides as he cements his place as one of (if not the) best emcee in his age bracket, to be honest, his raw ability is starting to put his status among some of the bigger names in the industry. With Griminal, the two have created a strong force in Grime, both equally talented, different yet blend well and this track clearly shows that.
I look out for a lot of talent, always eager to hear the ‘next best thing’ and I remember coming across a video of Tiny where he just stood out, only 15 at the time, you can see the progress he has made within a year, now at 16 he is on the verge of becoming an established artist, it is amazing to see the levels of improvement, the raw ability which he possesses at such a young age and still improving, the stratford star has a bright future as he continues to put East London back on the map as Grime central.
North London’s Marvell have released their second free downloadable mixtape ‘Marvell FM 2’ leading up the release of their debut The World Is Ours EP.
If you like Grime then you should definitely download this, if you do not like Grime then you should still definitely download Marvell FM 2!!
The trio are bringing something back to music, lyrical content is on another level, concepts are from their minds which represents ours so it does not sound manufacturerd for us but rather made by one of us. It is fun, it is youthful, for a free download they have given away some quality material.
From the intro (courtesty of the hilarious Shocka), the first track is ‘Lemme Av A Go’, listen carefully to Double S, his word play is seriously outstanding, more than once I find myself going back like “Did he just say that?!”, ‘Baby Its Ok’ is another up-tempo for the ladies that the guys will appreciate, They even remixed Jeremih’s smash ‘Birthday Sex’, personally I criticise these remixes but I actually like this one. On ‘Finally Time ft. Dot Rotten’, they display their desire and hunger to be successful amidst set backs, ‘Otherside of The Rainbow’ is similar, it highlights their ambition, with Vertex, Shocka and Double S equally shining. ‘Star In The Sky’, another one for the ladies, a potential next single even, leads up to the official UK remix for Drake – Successful ft. Trey Songz, that is the official remix. Next is ‘Going In 32 Part 2’ featuring Griminal, a beast of a beat on which they do not dissapoint. You also get to hear the remix for Aggro – Free Yard as well as an exclusive freestyle set with the Movement (Wretch 32 & Ghetts).
Marvell FM 2 is a successful improved sequel to Marvell FM. Marvell (consisting of Shocka, Double S & Vertex) bring unity, talent, desire and so much more as a total package, if the industry looks for talent then these three will be signed, but if the industry is looking for a group with a buzz that has hot singles for them to profit on then they still will get signed.
With a line up being called the England 10, Wiley returns to take some of the Grime scene’s finest back up with him.
The England 10 consists of J2K, Wrigley, Ice-Kid, Wretch 32, Ghetts, Bashy, Scorcher, Chipmunk & Griminal, 9 of the 10 are established artists, Wrigley is a new addition, representing Manchester (Wrigley is actually flying the flag for every artist outside of the London) and has one of the standout verses, J2K returns to the scene with his Wake Up EP and brings his witty flow to this up-tempo hit, Ice-Kid was always considered the future of Grime and so he brings that talent and charisma to the table with this verse, Wretch 32 is one of the best (if not the best) lyricist in the country (his previous album Wretchrospective is a OneFáris Classic), he provides a mature verse, Ghetts is in everybodies Top 3 artists and does not dissapoint, Bashy provides the comical verse, Scorcher (who also directed the video) gives a more fun, feel-good flow, Chipmunk provides yet another confident verse whilst Griminal scores the goal with his verse which is all about the vibe, the video represents this, you can see how everyone is getting along and enjoying themselves, most definitely a club banger and a big part of Grime history, UK music history even as these artists come together to make their mark, extremely unselfish of Wiley.
Artists have begun to understand that coming together and collaborating is what helps elevate the scene further, so expect to see more artists working together creating quality music.
You have most likely heard the original, Ghetts – Don’t Phone Me ft. Griminal:
The track featuring the comical intro by comedian on the rise Jazzie, tore down raves (literally), as Ghetts (an established artist) introduced a broader audience to the beast of an emcee ‘Griminal’, the track was on heavy rotation on Channel AKA and was one of the most asked for tracks during their request shows. Similar to the original, this remix brings Griminal’s younger brother Lil’ Narsty alongside one of East London’s finest (Newham to be exact) Fumin’.
Don’t Phone Me (Remix) ft. Lil’ Narsty & Fumin’:
One of the best things about the original is the fact that you had one of the best in the genre in the form of Ghetts alongside one of the new breeds destined for future success, this has been kept in the remix with Griminal’s younger brother Lil’ Narsty steps up with Fumin’ (famously heard on the mainstream breakthrough anthem that is Pow), emceeing since his teens, now at 23, Fumin’ is still considered too young to be considered a veteran but established and experienced he is. Both artists deliver quality, Lil’ Narsty shows glimpses of the potential that has everyone believing in him abilities and success in the near future. I’m a fan of Fumin’ so it was great to hear and see him at his best, sounding hungrier than ever, Fumin’ and Lil’ Narsty both do themselves and their reputations justice with this collaboration.
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ONE Fáris 