Disco Scratch

A few months back my attention was drawn to a thread in the Diggers With Gratitude forum about a new release of an old record.  I can’t for the life of me think where the hell I first heard this (I’m usually wrong anyway!), but I was greeted with an awesome typically UK centric slice of late 80s/early 90s uptempo Hip Hop bomb.

The first thing that hit me was that it was a “name that sample” fest.  This track uses a lot of well known samples on top of each other, but the flip, “Woke With Nuthin’” really pushes the boat out, it’s like licking an ice cream with a dozen scoops of different flavours in one cone and naming the flavours as quickly as possible.  Sounds like an abomination right?  Actually both tracks work really well.

Centre stage uses samples from BT Express’s “The House Is Smokin” in the chorus (found on 3rd Bass’s “Triple Stage Darkness”), James Brown’s “Mind Power” making the main break, underpinned by the drums used in the BDP remix of Steady B’s “Serious”, The Turtles “I’m Chief Kamanawanalea (We’re the Royal Macadamia Nuts)”.  This is a heady mix of well used samples, but really works well.  There’s even a touch of Nautilus on the chorus, the same part used by Run DMC in “Beats to the Rhyme”.

Whirlwind D (Rhyme Traveller) drops heart felt verbals complimenting the track nicely.  The tracks were cleaned up and engineered by The Assembly Worker (of Crown Jewels fame), added some spice, a little 808 and made it a nice fat booming sound..  The rhymes are not over complicated, braggadocio and ride nicely and on tempo.  From the scene as I remember it back then, most UK stuff was slowing down by 1991 and this would have felt more “right” (?) around 1988 or 1989.  Certainly if you dropped this in a mix it would sound right at home amongst a mix of UK & US tunes from that time.  The track was originally released in 1991 on cassette and I was really chuffed that this has now had a proper release.

I know I’m a bit late on this, most forums would have picked this track to bits & reassembled it 6 months ago, but I got this fresh plastic in the post a couple of days ago courtesy of Rhyme Traveller and it simply can’t just float by without a full review.  Showing on the label as “Liberty Grooves 2 1/2″ this was originally going to be lib003.  You can see the LG discography here

Here’s the track on YouTube:

The flip is another mix of well known samples, working in harmony to give it a more elevated feel than the a side.  By that I mean it’s not as hard, but equally listenable.  Starting with the break used on the track “Black Woman” by the Jungle Brothers (Commodores, “Assembly Line” off the Machine Gun LP), then layered over the top after the first 8 bars is the classic UFO break by ESG with Dexter Wansel’s “Theme From The Planets” (Kid n Play’s “Last Night”) holding it together.  As if that concoction wasn’t enough, when Whirlwind D starts rhyming, we hear Isaac Hayes’ “Ike’s Mood” (most famously used in the classic Biz Markie track “Make The Music With Your Mouth”.  This seems to go hand in hand with the Commodores and gives the track a floaty feel.

Johnny F is on production and some nice reverse loop effects add to the ingenuity of this track.  Cuts on both tracks are basic but effective (reminding me of the section from the Bizzie Boys “Droppin’ It” where he says “Here is an example of a complicated cut” followed by a complex scratch, then the DJ drops a simple but funky cut and it feels far better.  The same is true on this 12 and  think Q Bert strength scratches would have fallen by the wayside.

The lyrical elements show Whirlwind being more diverse and shows a nice flex on the rhymes.  ”The rich 10% don’t know what it’s like” he rhymes as he flows about waking up with nothing.  He contemplates how people like to do things in life just to make them feel better, when they could probably do loads more if they could be arsed!  Speaking from the perspective of a guy on the street he completes the rhyme with “This morning boy I died with nothin”.  As my dear old mum used to say, “There are no pockets in shrouds”.

I was really refreshed with this 12 and I’ve rocked it several times, it will definitely become a stalwart on the radio show.  You get a vocal, instrumental and the demo version on each side.  If you’re interested in buying a copy there are still a few floating about, you could hit Rhyme Traveller up in the Disco Scratch forum, or get him on facebook.  Disorda may have some and as at the time of writing you can cop one at Rarekind.  I strongly recommend picking this up, cos when it’s gone it won’t be repressed, a wicked slice of UK history.

If you have anything you would like to submit for review, use the contact page give me some details and I’ll give you an address to send me your wax…

Nuff respect to Rhyme Traveller for the hook up, ta mate!

 Solid N Mind Snippet [2:32m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

New music from the Mighty Shiny Metal Man Chrome by way of this EP from the Son Records imprint that Chrome has been associated with for some years.

This is a solid EP, featuring 3 cuts, namely the title cut “Flow Man”, followed by Chrome’s cover version of one of the most complicated microphone deliveries by any MC EVER!!!  “Bring It On” was originally recorded by Organised Konfusion, featuring on the 1994 LP, “Stress”.  The original was a real banger, but mad slept on, and I’m glad Chrome has brought this to the forefront by breathing new life into it.

The last track is “Miles From Home” and features more lyrical dexterity from the man himself.  The title cut is produced by DISE BEATS and features cuttin’ by Dise & Chrome.  If you’ve ever seen Chrome live, you’ll know he can rhyme and scratch at the same time, something I only thought EDAN could do, well, Chrome’s proper at that and deserves his props!

Chrome produces the Bring It On track, featuring the heavy crowd response chorus, “Bring it on Motherfucker Bring it on!” which rocks the spot and has the feel of that early to mid 90s production with horn stabs and a synth nase, sounds like a fairly pure sine wave, just a few harmonics.  Chrome slays the mic with complicated delivery, but without dropping a single vowel or consonant!  I seriously doubt if there are many MCs on the planet that could have pulled this off, and Chrome does it with finesse.

On “Miles From Home”, a nice bassline courtesy of a fat bass introduces us to a simple but effective drum pattern with some decent intro lyrics that’ll get the crowd reciting the chorus when the track gets known.  The track flows from start to end showing the endless mic skills, with Chrome verbalising on the current state of Hip Hop (read between the lines).  Sir Beanz OBE on the boards, with copacetic cuts from Metal Man & Beanz both.

I know I’ve done this review arse about face as I’m now steaming into the Flow Man title cut… This is more of a laid back offering, but still delivers a wicked track, a proper Head nodder.  When I first heard this I really wasn’t sure about the instruments used, sounded too polished or something, but when the beat comes in with some cuttin’ and the bass drops, it all comes together.  This is what is missing in Hip Hop these days… a proper track with proper structure, and the track customised around the lyrics to emphasise Chrome’s voice, classic.

I especially loved the cuts at the end, off of one of my favourit all time tracks, Diamond D’s “Check One, Two”, wicked…

So, to cop yourself one of these go to http://sonrecords.com and order one up.  Below is a 4 minute montage I put together of the 3 tracks to give you an idea of what to expect… props to Alistair from Son for the heads up, remember, SUPPORT PROPER UK HIP HOP!

 Chrome - Flow Man EP: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download