Month: December 2010

In typical fashion, Bekay addresses the highlights and lowlights of another year gone by. To close out the decade, the Brooklyn MC spits over J. Cole's "Who Dat" instrumental, making this his 7th consecutive year in review... and quite possibly his best!

Huddersfield based female producer Miss Tofelees has been making a name for herself over the last few years working with some of the UK’s best underground MC’s such as Dabbla from London Zoo, Big Cakes and Manny Moscow as well as her production has featured on mixtapes from UK Runnings, Certified Banger and DJ Ames. Miss Tofelees is definitely a producer to be looking out for in 2011 with a barrage of releases planned for the UK Hip-Hop scene.

UK Runnings is one of the leading mixtape companies from the UK. They have done mixtapes with various underground artists as well as mixtapes with some of the scene’s names, as well as being responsible for the infamous ‘Grimewatch UK’ mixtape series. Earlier this year they released ‘UK Rap Chronicles Chapter One’ which was well received by press and media.

Well, I guess your all familiar with Lewis Parker? If your not, Lewis Parker is no doubt one of the best UK producers, he also does his thing on the mic too. Now living in New York but originally from Canterbury, the UK producer started his Hip Hop career while still only a teenager and released "B Boy Antiks" and "Rise" through Trevor Jackson's Bite It! label. The EP and 12" featured some of the finest production to come out of the UK hiphop scene.

If you havent already heard the whispers around town since they supported Fat Freddys Drop on their European Tour, The Electric are a fresh new group spearheaded by the renowned beat-taster DJ Vadim. Known for travelling the globe in search of the best musical influences, Daddy Vad has united superb artists, UK soulstress Sabira Jade and lyrical marvel MC Pugs Atomz, to make a truly international collective, saturated with harmony and flavour.

For almost a decade Southside Queens native, Lloyd Banks, has been revered as line-for-line one of the most preeminent emcees in hip-hop. Banks aka The Punch Line King returns with H.F.M. 2 (Hunger For More 2), a sequel to his 2004 classic debut.

UK rap legend Dr Syntax is back with Benny Huge, his long-awaited second solo album on Dented Records. From the massive fanfare opener Standard Procedure through to the epic prog rock-sampling finale The Bird Has Flown, its clear that Syntax has delivered a phenomenal sophomore release easily worthy of its predecessor, 2007's critically acclaimed Self Taught (named one of Hip Hop Connection's top 50 UK albums of all time).

Since late in 2009, Emcee / Producer tandem Statik Selektah and Termanology have been hard at work on their landmark collaborative album 1982. Now New York transplants, Statik and Termonology are Massachusetts natives and have worked together frequently throughout the last five years, yet 1982 marks their first full-length project together.

Before he developed into a star composer and arranger, Tom Scott was an ambitious 19 year-old saxophonist looking for his big break in 1967. The opportunity came when legendary jazz label Impulse paired Scott with 9-piece vocal group The California Dreamers and allowed the young musician to take the helm as a band leader, with The Honeysuckle Breeze as the spectacular result.

Whether accidental or intentional comedy, the iTunes tags that accompany Ghostface Killah’s ninth album classify “Apollo Kids” as country music. Of course, Dennis Coles isn’t pulling a Nelly and enlisting Tim McGraw to croon the hook on “Handcuffing Them Ho’s”, but in its rigorous devotion to genre standards, it resembles a triumph from a veteran Nashville musician.