Ms Tempz - Silent Storm free mixtape

1st lady of da ville and Nottz legend Tempz dropped another  free project [SILENT STORM] to end the a successfull year thats seen her release a series of quality videos, a popular radio slot, a feature on charlie sloths ''fire in the booth'' and live performances including supporting the man with the master plan and many heads GOAT Rakim. Silent Storm has a blend of genres including Dubstep, DnB and Hip-Hop. For me Tempz shines brightest in her comfort zone tearin up bangers from Premo and Kanye West while ''In the mix'' shows off her range and a couple of snippets off her EP provide some anticipation for her next proper lp hopefully arriving sometime next year.

Lewis Parker - SHARK

Ya man with the golden sound is back with a new 12 The Puzzle episode 2 The Glass Ceiling. Shark is the usual SP dustyness you'd expect from Parker complete with cuts and that irrepressable delivery. Keep locked on King Underground for pre-orders of the new vinyl available in 2 forms one limited version on blue vinyl with a free EP poster and the other as standard black vinyl.

Rapper Tag UK - Mystro ---> Ramson ---> Tony D?...

Mystro's imported 3hree6ixty's Austrailian born 'Rapper Tag' concept to the UKs shores. Personally I wasnt aware of the phenomenon till I saw Mystro's video that kick starts the a virtual game of tag between MCs. The concept is (as Mys-diggy explains in the 1st video) a MC spits a verse or freestyle to camera and ends their bars by calling out another MC who intern responds with their bars and calls out the next name and so on. Mystro calls on fellow london stalwart Ransom Badbonez who calls out Tony D. As viewers we're encouraged to pester the next MC to up his video so go get your troll on at if you got Tony Ds fb or twitter ( I cant find one :( ) Both editions have been good so far and with the support of the community this series has the potential to bulid into a showcase for the UK heads and give the aussies a run for their money. Check out part one above and part 2 below hopefully Tony D will be through with part 3 soon....where you at? Keep updated at the officail site brought to you by Hoochinoo HERE

Ragz Sweet Jones & Tony Mahoney - Shark Fin Soup / Zombies Cant... D/L

Tony Mahoney and Ragz Sweet Jones team up again for another free project 'Zombies Cant Live by Flesh Alone'.check out the video for 'Shark Fin Soup' above. The duo return to that raw, traditional they delivered on their slept on 1st project 'No Budget Hip Hop'. After a spell inside Ragz hasnt lost any of his ability to roll through Mahoneys emotive beats the pair also keep up the varied vox FX and heavy adlibing giving a more personal presence not your typical uninventive drone-athon. Ragz' never fails to stir some dark imagery through his graphic content and delivery. Having also recently upped a new Big Ben video 'F.Y.I'  I was glad to see he passed through with some bars on the new project 'The Blues'. UK Overstood did good with the visusals on both tracks you can also find the instrumentals on Tonys Youtube Channel. Download 'Zombies Cant....' HERE for free right now and 'No Budget...' through the blueness above.

Gadget Presents The Dirty Thumbs Project

 

My man Gadget just dropped this collection of self produced head nod fodder. The man from Millenium Jazz ropes in a few of his usual collaborators such as Louis Unseen, Jabba tha Kut, EdXL, Emma Louise and Dan Bull as well as Beit Nun, 777, Joey Gzus and many others. Gadgets displays a range of styles but never strays too far from his typical jazz infleunced, dusty steeze being a MPC head you know hes got that classic boom bap edge to his production. Thats how its goin down, Sinners, Its not a good look and Light years stood out on my first listen. The project is well worth the £5 thisll set you back. Listen on the bandcamp player below and follow the links to support UK and buy the project.

Mr Flex - Nothin to Prove EP

Mr Flex of Chosen Spokesman released this free EP a week or 2 ago Hartigan posted the title track a couple months back and warned you keep 'em peeled, youve only got yourselves to blame. Flex gets a gaggle of the best producers in the UK on board to provide a solid backdrop for him to call out all those soft cats and explore the ills of his Londinium community. Chemo, Kelakovski and Beat Butcha deliver the goods as youd expect while Risk Beats does well to slip into the fold with such heavy hitters. Album closer 1000 Deaths features Iron Braydz and Ransom Badbonez on irrepressible form. The EP is easy on play back and holds up against the more prolific artists coming out of London at the moment its cut hooks and dark themes make for a cohesive listen with very few lapses in quality. Follow the player below to Flexs bandcamp page to D/L the EP for free

Dragon of an Ordinary Family snippets on SP and Amazon

Suspect Packages link to pre-order and some snippets

Amazon Uk snippets and Pre-Order

Unfortunately Im not as bigger cheese as alot of these other bloggers so I wish I could give it the old ''yeah Ive already heard Jehst's new album I got it for free....blah blah'' but sadly I cant I can however bring to your attention the snippets and artwork online to get you ready for its early June release date. From the teeny tiny bits Ive heard it sounds like the 5 or 6 year wait for a new LP proper from Jehst has been well worth it. Im a little dissapointed to see there are no features on the album as Jehst works so well with so many other MCs and it usually brings a more varied sound having said that the huddersfield to kent to london lyricist has a magnitude of incredible solo work and with producers like chemo, beat butcha and lg as well as himself theres very little chance of another nuke dropping. Keep em peeled cos thisll be out before you know it.

*edit not sure why but it appears that every link Ive posted to snippet sources have now been removed Ive switched it to Suspect Packages and Amazon now as I doubt theyll be taken down there....seems strange they dont want anyone to hear the album or parts of it, unless its a technically/web problem. Its a shame because itll only strenghthen anticipation and exposure for this album. Oh well if you dont want free promo taking down the links is the best way to loose it.

Free Eat Good Records Tracks From Compilation

I can only apologise for not having written about this CD sooner, but since it's only £4.99 from Suspect Packages you might as well buy it without my say so - I'm sure you do anyway. The compilation is absolutely banging, straight fire and this collective has some of today's most talented artists repping for them.

To ensure that you do buy it, the kind bods at Eat Good Records have decided to give away some free tracks via their facebook page:

SonnyJim & Kosyne - 'EG Professionals'

Taharka Feat RTillery & Professor D - 'Mr Officer'

TLG - 'What Lies Beneath'

The compilation is also available digitally if you want to finish off your mp3 collection at itunes, Amazon, HMV and Play.com.

'Distant Voices' - ScholarMan & Jonesy (free download)

ScholarMan, a MC from the US of A, must have a penchant for collaborations with UK artists. A few weeks ago he dropped a free 7 track EP with UK producer Jonesy and today SoloCypher revealed his track with the man.

'Distant Voices' demonstrates ScholarMan's diversity - 'Across Waters' is laid back but 'Well Suited' certainly smacks of Wu-Tang. Jonesy's beats are of that Golden Era survivalist style - y'know, it doesn't sound exactly like the 90s but the influence is there. ScholarMan's lyrics are credible and is his voice is gritty and commanding.

His hook up with SoloCypher, 'Change Thru The Rhyme', expresses a collective desire to use music to catalyse positive changes in the world and when this style of Hip Hop becomes fashionable, I'm sure we'll get there. At the moment, I feel we're in the tail end of the fashion for ignant rap.

'Shifty - The Mixtape' (free download)

Promoting a movie with a mixtape - now there's an idea eh? Shifty (which I didn't manage to get to last night) is out in cinemas on Friday and the crew have put together a mix of tracks and film dialogue for you to download.

It kicks of with the gorgeous strings of Roots Manuva's 'Dreamy Days' and then Burial kicks in - nice! On the UK Hip Hop side of things Riz MC, Sway, Plan B and Fallacy & Fusion feature. A fair few other genres are represented too by the likes of Bjork, Shy FX & T-Power and Toasty. Get it and bump it now for the general beats.

• Click here for more 'Shifty' related news

'Rebel Without Applause' - Elemental & Tom Caruana (album review)

I love it when Hip Hop isn’t taken too seriously but is still treated with respect. Elemental and Tom Caruana have put together an LP that is as silly as it is credible. In fact this sentiment, taken from ‘Cup of Brown Joy’, might just sum up the attitude: “So when times are hard and life is rough, you can stick the kettle on and find me a cup”.

The album is a patchwork of full tracks, actually funny skits (‘Hunting Season’ is about hunting hunters and mounting their heads) and short idea tunes (‘Patience’ and ‘Cartoon Baboon’) which makes listening easy and pleasurable, especially if you have ADHD. Tom’s production more than adds to the joyful feel of this album as he samples what can only by smiles and sunshine in audio form.

Tracks like ‘Town Called Nowhere’ and ‘Livin’ in the 90’s’ (awesome sample used here) will appeal to everyone who has lived in a town or in the 90s – that’s a lot of people and I hope they all hear this album. ‘Ye Old School’ has a great message and is similarly appealing – quite a few of us have similar fond memories of our days in education. ‘Pay Me A Visit’ features Hip Hop legend Count Bass D and is worth a mention in this review for that fact alone.

Elemental and Tom Caruana have the skill to evoke the “That’s so true!” reaction that a good stand up comedian draws from his audience. They are testament to the fact that the mundane things of life (like sick days) can be the funniest and that they make good subject matter for rap songs.

‘Rebel Without Applause’ is a breath of fresh air in our serious scene and whilst not everyone should be on this tip it’s a very good thing that Tom Caruana and Elemental are. It’s out now on Tom’s Tea Sea Records label and is available from their website. Check out the video for 'Cup of Brown Joy' below:

'Alternative Income' - JVF Clique (album review)

Kicking off with a ‘Shook Ones Pt 2’ vocal clip can’t be a bad thing, can it? Add to that a beat that’s only just a bit too light hearted for the official Queensbridge murderers to flow over and you’ve got the perfect way to begin an album. By the time the lyrics enter the fray of title track ‘Alternative Income’ you know that this is Hip Hop that you can get with.

So, Hinckley Town, Leicester may not strike you as a hotbed of Hip Hop but this art form is everywhere and JVF Clique are purveyors of a particularly fine version of it. Just like Havoc and Prodigy they rap about their environment (no, not the Midland's comprehensive rail and motorway network (apart from on ‘Where We’re From’!) or the fact that they live in the “Cradle of the Hosiery Industry”) taking in subject matter such as bored kids turning to drugs, earning pounds and pence and our Government. The realness continues as they chat about frustrating drivers on ‘On The Road’ (check the last verse for the cheeky ending) before substance abuse talk gets well abstract on ‘Brown Horses’.

The production is nicely varied with loads of plundered sound including a few plucked strings - something not heard all that often in Hip Hop. The LP does have a certain mood – one that’s not all that bright – and the lyrics contribute to that as much as the instrumentals. If you’re after happy times then buy something else but be sure to have this to hand when you need some UK real talk and original beats. It’s only £6.99 over at Suspect Packages - trust JVF to do their bit to make up for the countries financial cock-ups.

To check out tracks for free download the whole ‘On The Radar’ series for ‘Those Dudes’, ‘Drugs Need Kids’ and a Certified Banger exclusive!

Baron Von Alias

What do Detroit and Geordieland have in common? 'Here and Now' and 'P.H.O.N.E.Y.' - two tracks by UK rapper Baron Von Alias! OK, so how does Motor City fit in? Well 'Here and Now' features Guilty Simpson and 'P.H.O.N.E.Y.' features Frank 'N' Dank - who'da thunk it?

Each tune has its own vibe proving this mysterious figure to have diversity and creativity. 'Here and Now' is a jaunty, non-conformist but nevertheless very Hip Hop affair whereas 'P.H.O.N.E.Y.' is an electronic, double-time heater.

Both tracks are from his album 'Timepiece' which could possibly the biggest Newcastlian surprise since Keegan got United into the Premiership. An in-the-run-up mixtape by Baron Von Alias is available for free download (see the link below and thanks to Kevin Nottingham for this).

Free Tough Touch Tracks

I don't know whole lot about Tough Touch but rest assured I'll find out. What I do know is that they are 3 guys - Social Conscience, Kali Mist and Reggie Million$ who are most probably from Bristol. They sent three tracks for you to download for free: 'Ain't Got A Scene' which is produced by Kali Mist, 'Tomorrow' produced by DJ Fingafood and 'Still My Baby' produced by Matchstick. All three tracks are rooted in the classic 90s sound but have a modern edge that makes them fresh for '09, your suckers.

None of these excellent tracks will feature on 'The Big Band Theory EP' by Social Conscience and Kali Mist so consider them a bonus when you buy that later this year. Check those Reverbnation links above for more free stuff from these boys.

'Blood, Sweat & Tears' - Mr. Ti2bs (free download)

Mr. Ti2bs (pronounced Mister Tibbs!) is the latest UK artist to be throwing out a free download - 'Blood, Sweat & Tears' being the D/L in question. Perhaps the title pertains to the difficulty he and other artists experience when attempting to make a living from Rap.

If anything, the recession, blah and downloading has made artists up their game by making music available for free and making better albums and singles - Ti2bs has killed two birds with one stone here - quality and costing nothing to you, the listener.

The album's serious tone relaxes when our man takes on Mark Ronson's tongue-in-cheek version of Britney's 'Toxic' (with ODB's verse left in). 'Black Man Rise' features some comments on society over a nice laid back beat.

'Scarface'/'Please Listen' - Stylah (free download)

Ex-Poisonous Poets MC Stylah has been busy. Here are the two tracks that form his latest double A side single 'Scarface' and 'Please Listen'. I've already posted one version of 'Please Listen' which was produced by Show 'N' Prove but this new version is produced by Sivey. 'Scarface is produced by Australia's Styalz Fuego.

Stylah's debut album 'Treading Water' will be out soon. It features Grafh, Ghetts, Joell Ortiz, Immortal Technique and Sway. To check what Stylah's done before now on a solo tip check out these mixtapes he's done: 'Prince of Thieves', 'Crash Course' and 'The Dubs Mixtape'.

• Click here to read more about Stylah
• Click here to download 'On The Radar Vol. 3' which features Stylah's 'Fear The Future'.

'We Made You' - Dan Bull (video)

So up to date it's painful! Dan Bull rips off Eminem's latest pile of poo and talks current affairs over a montage of relevant video clips. It's a promotional track for his forthcoming album: 'Dan Bull Ruins The Classics'

3 Free Endemic Tracks

Endemic, the Nottingham producer whose album 'Terminal Illness' is currently being well recieved by fans of the featured MCs over the pond, has let a few bits and pieces go free:

'I'm Show You' features the oh-so-gully Sean Price and Ruste Juxx and it's a track from the album.

'Can't Stand To Wake Up' is also on the album but here's a free remix by Kevlaar 7.

'One Day' is another remix of an album cut which features Killah Priest, Timbo King and King David on spits. This time it's Endemic who's done the remix.

Buy the album here.