Beit Nun And IllSkillz – Colours CD [Innit Records]

Beit Nun has had a very good year and he wants you to know about it. His third release Colours a 9 track E.P. produced by scratching Dutch-man IllSkillz is packed with positive lyrics and upbeat rhymes without being sickly sanitised providing the perfect antidote for the credit crunch blues devouring the nation.

Hailing from Macclesfield Beit Nun has a number of releases already under his belt with the 2005 collaboration E.P. with Menace (now known as Just:Mills) titled ‘Cheap As Chips‘ followed by his first solo project in December 2007 a 14-track compilation of previously recorded demo tracks and collaborations with artists such as Doctor Freud, 777, Dan Bull, Filthy Rich, Gouki Productions and more titled ‘Where The Art Is (Volume 1)‘.

Coming out of his success in turning his life around which brought with it a new outlook on life Beit Nun found the tracks of Colours “wrote themselves – just good vibes from start to finish” and that is a pretty fitting description of the E.P.

Colours opens aptly with an instrumental whirlwind entitled Rainbows which fully demonstrates IllSkillz talents as a producer and Jabba Tha Kut a turntabalist. Samples collide with beats over scratches evoking Dilla or MF Doom – it’s just a pity it’s not longer.

This short sharp into leads straight into A Good Year the first and most obvious of the feel good tracks on the E.P. Here Beit Nun teams up with a whole host of underground MC’s including Dan Bull, Suicyde, 777, Joe Gutta, Old Owl, JND & Chris L. The tune has the feel of a pass the mic party even down to the production and each verse shows off the variety of styles and the wealth of talent. The lyrical content is pure jokes from start to finish and this is definitely one of the standout tracks on the E.P.

Painting the Town Red caries on the party as Beit Nun details a usual night in Macclesfield drinking with his mates over a great beat and then it’s onto more serious matters. Detailing the problems in UK hip hop As It Is remains optimistic even though it highlights how hard it is to make it as a British rapper. The tune ends with a thank you to all the people who bought the CD proving that Beit Nun not only appreciates his supporters but knows that without them the fragile underground industry would be nothing.

Chromatics follows and is stand alone IllSkillz and just as good as the opening track. A journey through samples and cuts by SDSK (aka Esyoube from Text Offenders), this tune leaves you wishing the guy had an instrumental album of his own. Sadly this leads to the worst track on the album Summertime. Beit Nun tries to inject some originality into the over used and trite summer tune but sadly fails party due to the jarring inappropriate grime-esque beat he is rapping over which sounds more like a dark winter night in south central L.A than a sunny barbeque fun in the park.

The Music sees IllSkillz returning to the jazzy production he is best at and Beit Nun detailing his love of hip hop. With a catchy chorus and some great rhymes it’s a solid track and leads straight into another Leave Me Here. As the other half of Hip-Hop duo Amass Hegemony with Beit Nun fellow MC 777 fires off lyrics with ease on this track which details the ladies in their life and their collaborative chemistry is evident throughout.

The E.P. ends with In Black And White a cathartic conclusion to Colours rocking into a fade out with some Santana guitar licks and a final freestyle before finishing. Beit Nun’s refreshing take on life is good to hear not only in contrast to the current economical climate but because it bypasses the macho posturing and money obsession of certain rappers for something more positive yet still real.

At 23 minutes long this really is a taster of what both Beit Nun and IllSkillz are capable of and lets hope there is more to come.

By: Alex Humphrey

• http://www.myspace.com/mrbeitnun