Hip-Hop

New Music: Freddie Gibbs / Young Thug / A$AP Ferg – Old English
‘Old English’ really shouldn’t work. A track which features such disparate vocal talents – Gibbs’ guttural gangsta rap growl, Young Thug’s unhinged yelp and A$AP Ferg’s demented bark – with such different approaches in their own music – it’s hard to imagine that hip-hop traditionalist thinks much of Young Thug’s ‘Picacho‘ – shouldn’t work, but …

Track: Frankenstein feat. Luminous release The Roughtalk from reissue – “The Science of Sound”
Taken from the golden era of hip-hop, Hillside, New Jersey label Ill Adrenaline Recordshas jumped on possibly Canada‘s finest Rapper Frankenstein back catalogue. for their new release ‘The Science Of Sound’. First stepping into the underground scene with his partner AZ, and known as the Delphi Oracle in 1994 with the release of …
Video: Ratking featuring King Krule – So Sick Stories
A slower slice of troubling hip-hop, following the paranoid claustrophobia of “100”. NYC’s new rap heroes mix it up with London’s King Krule. The video for “So Sick Stories” puts Ratking and their British guest in a set of nondescript, alienating, brutalistic urban locales. Their cross to bear is one of sadness, anger, listlessness, lived …

Track: Ty – Kick Snare and an Idea Part 3
New year, new music from Ty. And it’s something we’re looking forward to a lot, following parts 1 & 2 of the London rappers ‘Kick Snare and an Idea’ series. It’s been heightened further by the inclusion of a remix from the NYC DJ and producer DJ Spinna. Out on 20th January on Tru Thoughts, …

Track: Blitz the Ambassador – Bisa ft. Nneka, Ty
So today was September. and here in Sheffield, it was like they switched off the Summer and switched on the Autumn. As i ventured out this morning, I had to wander straight back inside to get a jumper, and, however much I tried to stay out in the garden this afternoon, the wind blowing in …

Track: Rizzle Kicks – Lost Generation remix, plus new video
Alright then. We’re going to take this in reverse order. First up, DJs and studio partners Max Sanna and Steve Pitron have remixed Rizzle Kicks’ latest single “Lost Generation”, working their usual “club mix” magic (as purveyed for the likes of Jessie J, Sugababes, Robbie Williams and The Wanted) turning a “poppy hip-hop summer jam …

New Music: Youngblood Brass Band – Ain’t Nobody
Cover versions have always been the staple in Jazz. It’s always been a case of let’s take a song, and make it REALLY swing now. Ten piece stellar Jazz/Brass//Hip-Hop ensemble the Youngblood Brass Band are old hands at taking tunes, whether that be their own or someone else’s and making it really swing. For the …
Track: Rizzle Kicks reveal new single, Lost Generation
Those cheeky scamps the Rizzle Kicks have released details of their new single, fresh from their appearance at the Glastonbury festival, where they played the BBC introducing stage. ‘Lost Generation’ will come out on August 26th, ahead of the release of their new album ‘Roaring 20’s’ which is out on Island records on September 2nd. …

Track: M.I.A. Releases new brilliant single, Bring The Noize
M.I.A. a.k.a. Mathangi ‘Maya’ Arulpragasam is one of those born wanderers, travellers I think (clearly, not knowing her, I couldn’t say for sure but it sort of fits my point, therefore I’ll shoehorn it in anyway). Growing up between London and Sri Lanka (her father was a Sri Lankan political activist) she made her first …

EP: Ty – A Kick Snare and an Idea part. 2
We like Ty here on Backseat Mafia. We loved A kick snare and an idea part.1, and he was an entertaining and engaging subject when we interviewed him earlier in the year. Now, just out, is part two. For those people who have passed him by, the important information you need to know is that …