For all who may have been suspicious or confused - T. Bear is TB and Tuberculosis. His new mix CD ‘Beast from the East’, mixed by DJ MK, is out now on Ottomanelf Music and this is what I think of it:

There is one thing you must do on inserting this CD into your player - turn it up. This CD does not work quietly. Despite the cuddly name, T. Bear may be one of the UK’s gulliest MCs - overall the 29 tracks are face contorting although he does take time out on some more chilled tracks. The instrumentals add their contribution to the audio assault with production from Farma G, P*Nut and Chemo as well as others.

Lyrically TB is pretty dope: ‘I imagine I’ma die like John Lennon, but believe, I’ma leave a prettier widow than Yoko Ono’, you get the impression that he’ll say anything. Flow-wise he doesn’t miss a beat, he’s tight with the snares. Tuberculosis credibly walks the Hip Hop / Grime line, ‘Bang this Out’ demonstrating his double time flow well. This CD contains concept tracks like ‘Off 2 Work’, a topic touched on by a few rappers recently but Mr. Ti2bs and TB contribute a catchy hook and some good lyrics to the collection. On the funky ‘Freestlye’ you get a glimpse of TB’s sense of humour as he sings ‘La-di-da-di-da’ - sing along.

TB must be hard working; more than an hour’s worth of music spread over 29 tracks is impressive although it’s probably best listened to in two halves. Skills and charisma are evident but I’m more a fan of proper albums, I’d like to see him focus on say, 10 tracks, that contain everything he is capable of. As it stands though, the mix CD format serves it purpose.

By: Certified Banger | http://certifiedbanger.blogspot.com

• http://www.myspace.com/tbworldwide

Track List:

01. Intro
02. Who's The Beast?
03. Wagwarn
04. Dublstow
05. Bang This Out
06. Off 2 Work
07. Charged
08. TB's The Question
09. I'm Back
10. Freestyle
11. Oldskool
12. Anyday
13. Envogue
14. Freestyle
15. Monkey Nutz
16. Naive
17. Where I'm From
18. Ghetto Life
19. TB Medley
20. Sittin On A Wall
21. MJ Vibes
22. Bless U (part 2)
23. Say What?
24. Suck Poo
25. Top 5
26. Where Do We Go?
27. I Think Of U
28. Doin My Best
29. Outro

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