Iron Braydz : Verbal Swardz

Since he made waves with his lyrically athletic Devil May Cry mixtape, London MC and producer Iron Braydz has worked hard on his craft to become one of the capital’s most vital voices. Hang was rougher than cement shoes, with topics most rappers shy away from, and his collaboration with Melanin 9 on the Devils Death Day remix was a sweeping samurai saga with more esoteric lessons than the Library of Alexandria. His recent addition to the Triple Darkness crew’s collective of razor sharp MCs has seen him bless the powerful posse cuts  Reanimation and Knuckledust, now with a slew of solo projects set to drop throughout the year; Braydz begins his one-man auricular onslaught on 2014 with Verbal sWARdz.

As the intro’s medley of villainous cackles and shaolin finger jabs builds into Scorpion Sting‘s dissonant guitar loops; Kyza provides a heavy chorus between impassioned verses with more venom than a pit of vipers. Crowbar Head Topper comes through just as menacing as it did on Ray Vendetta’s last EP; with Braydz denouncing the ignorance of racism over a banger from Ringz Ov Saturn, before Solar Black steps in and unleashes lines like shurikens; leaving Vendetta’s steadfast bars to finish the track off strong. Organized Konfusion’s Prince Po decimates Daniel Taylor’s apocalyptic instrumental on Millenium. While Braydz spits nothing but rawness that hangs like a dark cloud, unmoved until melancholy string melodies pierce it’s grim shroud to shine a speck of light through the gloom; ‘The truth shall be told through the fruits of our labour, ignoring many signs of the return of our saviour, the skies turn black and the planets draw closer, divine law appears and he declares it’s all over’.

For Braydz to not rely on the established sound TD have cultivated and self-produce the majority of his music shows vision, and his unorthodox and exciting production style pushes boundaries no one else seem to be aware of. His distinct phonic fingerprint is most prevalent on Dredd; with old school heavy metal samples that tear through the track as solo licks and cascading guitar runs rise in waves. His use of rock riffs to structure unorthodox choruses is challenging at first, but becomes just another ill aspect of this heavy single once you acclimatize to it’s experimental methods.

Rambo bulldozes it’s way onto the EP and sees Braydz dropping aggressive bars laced with war-like tactics over a more straight forward beat. Kyza fits his rhyme schemes into inimitable patterns as he asserts his dominance on the mic once again, and his former TerraFirma team-mate Skriblah delivers lightning-fast lines to leave the track in tatters. Sean Price immediately makes his presence felt with a forceful flow on Firey Red, inspiring Braydz to pen one of the best choruses on the EP and adapt his flow, slowing his cadence to a quiet creep following Price’s imposing intonations; then raising his volume to unleash his verse at terminal velocity. Agor builds the barest of beats on Dobermans, stacking sparse snare rolls against sharp, laser-like jolts. Long-time Kiss Hip Hop show resident DJ Shortee Blitz adds some swift cuts for the chorus, and Detroit legend Phat Kat completes the track with a mean guest verse. Rambo Relapse gets some fresh stanzas from Black Cripton and TD member Solar Black, before the title track provides the EP’s apex as Braydz builds an epic boom bap beat to accommodate Cyrus Malachi’s striking stanzas, as the TD MC’s trade verses between another catchy hook that holds strength in it’s simplicity.

Verbal sWARdz is an exciting omen of what’s to come from the newest member of Triple Darkness. The features he obtained from some of the most respected names in the States along with his ability to form cohesive songs ensures whatever Braydz will accomplish next can only further his ascension. Despite a lack of sociological insight that was present on his earlier work, he still packs a formidable punch with a pen. If you’ve been playing Bacdafucup and The War Report wondering where that real Hip Hop went you can find it alive and well right here.

Verbal sWARdz comes out on Brayd’z Unorthostract label this Monday, April 14th.

Cop it here.

3/5

Peace.

Endemic : Terminal Illness Part 2

The work Endemic has put in in the UK over the last few years has cemented his name as a synonym for quality, hard-hitting production with a keen ear for melody. His first instalment in the Terminal Illness series was a landmark for UK Hip Hop; receiving a rare overseas distribution deal from Money Maker/EMI Music that garnered him attention from internationally-renowned Hip Hop artists, and lead to his début featuring MC’s such as Sean Price, Planet Asia, Hell Razah and Killah Priest. In the years following his impressive initial release, he went on to establish No Cure Records, release a modern classic in Cyrus Malachi’s Ancient Future LP, collaborate with Ruste Juxx for their Adamantine release through label heavyweights Duck Down records and relocated to Brooklyn. With this sterling sequel to the album that made his name, the producer has now come full circle.

Once again his tracks have been blessed by some of the most talented names in underground Hip Hop, the list of features reads like a guided tour of intellectual rap talent that reaches from London to New York; all spittin’ that Knowledge, Wisdom and Understanding over the cinematic instrumentals Endemic manifests on Terminal Illness Part 2. Shabazz The Disciple, Killah Priest, Planet Asia, Roc Marciano, Afu Ra, Melanin 9, Tragedy Khadafi and more share their insight over 15 essential tracks, crowned by some fierce cuts from three-time DMC World Champion, DJ Switch. Switch slowly builds momentum with skribbles and orbits over a mid-paced yet menacing intro that culminates in an ominous sample before King’s Indian Attack begins the onslaught. Upon hearing Masta Killa’s opening greeting of ‘yes yes y’all‘ you know you’re in the right place; it’s straight up, head-nod Hip Hop at it’s best, the title’s chess reference befitting the meticulous approach Wu-Tang affiliates Masta Killa, Cappadonna and Bronze Nazareth bring to the energized track.

High Society is the british producer at his most polished, the beat demonstrating his progression as he steps away from the sound he had perfected previously to progress into full, multi-layered orchestration and a new-found scope that makes the dramatic element to his sound seem all the more urgent. Tragedy Khadafi’s verse is as deep and lyrically witty as anything he wrote back in the day as Intelligent Hoodlum; Ruste Juxx spits that stylish flow with so much hunger your stomach might start rumbling just listening to him, and Afu Ra holds his own on an LP replete with intellectual heavyweights despite his content remaining much the same. Brothers Kevlaar 7 and Bronze Nazareth reunite with their Wisemen counterpart Salute Da Kidd for Purple Heart’s slick string soliloquy, and the serving up of soul-samples that come as a staple of any producer’s palette are as fresh as they come.

Royal Flush has one of the best uses of sample I’ve heard in a chorus since Primo perfected the art form, DJ Switch’s scratches giving the song an incendiary start that’ll make you wana scream ‘bomb first‘ at whoever next steps into your line of sight. Planet Asia’s allusion to the supreme mathematics, fly rhymes full of self-assured style and tales of bar-fighting hillbillies are dope, and once again Juxx brings more than enough steez to make up for the knowledge his rhymes sometimes lack. 

Capos sees more solid bars from Kevlaar 7 and PR Terrorist get his first opportunity to flow, which he doesn’t waste, coming with a style thats loose and natural with some interesting ideas in his bars. The song’s highlight was always guna be Roc Marc; the melody accommodating Marciano’s liquid flow as it trickles over  plucked string arrangements with his trademark cool. Although it might seem that the classical-influenced, latin tones of the interlude might serve to calm things down; it’s real purpose is to act as a mental oasis before the oncoming lyrical storm lashes in the LP’s second half. Babylon Reload speaks upon the American in-Justice system through three of the underground’s most beloved sons. The original Sunz Of Man reunite and all bring the heat, unfortunately the track is too lightweight considering the calibre of the rappers. Killah Priest’s verse is the highlight; his words as cryptic and steeped in esoteric interpretations of ancient mythology and contemporary cabals as they were when he originally joined the clique in the 90’s, but ultimately a harder beat could have turned this overdue collaboration into a golden opportunity, rather than leaving the listener searching for a silver lining.

Political Criminals 2013 immediately sets the album back on it’s previously pristine path with one of the best beats on the album; from the deep intro from Jordan Maxwell to Cyrus Malachi’s verse that aptly ends the song with words too deep for any MC to follow, it’s a powerful track that defines the type of modern Hip Hop the original intent of the music has grown into. PR terrorist and Bugsy Da God have strong verses, but Malachi’s rhymes are unfuckwithable over a beat like this discussing the topics he knows best, his ‘Pouring white phosphorus over a dying populace’ line made me cringe and shake my head to simultaneously, admiring the skill and bitter truth contained within his words. It’s no coincidence that when considering the album’s lyrical highlights his dominant verse is only matched by his Triple Darkness contemporary Melanin 9. Staying within the UK’s most undeniably insightful camp on Circle Makers; TD’s Ray Vendetta and Tesla’s Ghost collaborate to create a barrage of rhymes that coast over one of Endemic’s most grandiose beats to date. The song is beyond the capabilities of most, an unmeasurable amount of verbal  craftsmanship that exudes effortlessly from the combination the contemporaneous MC’s bring forth.

Calisthenics needs no psuedo-intellectual interpretation from me to clarify it’s bold, battering-ram approach. The beat slays, and the MC’s hold it down to the fullest, Bugsy Da God especially using his pen to pour prolifically over the page and spit a mean verse that holds it’s own next to Tragedy Khadafi’s titanic ability. The last interlude Elite is a smooth blend of loops and drum rolls complete with another sound-byte of Maxwell orating on the propaganda methods employed by the control system, adding further context to the album’s content.

Before I read the list of MC’s featured on Terminal Illness Part 2 and bought the album without hesitation; Cardinal had drawn my attention with it’s clever use of a few loops and simple drum patterns over groovy basslines that Darkim be Allah and Supreme spit heavy verses on. Both MC’s flow thick with 5% rhetoric and ill wordplay, and DJ Switch once again stays on point providing more tightly-knit chops on the ones and twos. The serious tone gets a lift on 20/20 Vision as Endemic’s production takes on a more major key and Tragedy Khadafi’s bars get an uplifting overhaul, the legend singing Sinead ‘O Connor and quoting Obama before referencing the 120. Skyzoo’s verse is as honest and solid as expected, the guy has been on his grind the last few years and built himself a deservedly large following through his work in BK’s underground, and both Kevlaar 7’s concise chorus and Salute Da Kidd’s smooth sixteen are two more reasons the song stands out.

Closing anti-masonic epic Diamond Knights is a holy war of it’s own as Sunz Of Man founder and cousin to the RZA Prodigal Sunn spits flames on another of Endemic’s street sagas. His verse is as impenetrable to the uninitiated as the bars from William Cooper and M9 are; all three men using this opportunity to speak on only the most thoughtful of topics, collectively covering Haille Sellasie, micro-chipping, the Knights Templar, Operation Trident and the souls of dead Pharoahs. Melanin 9’s verse is untouchable, and takes repeated listens to decipher based on overstanding the words he’s using alone; to spend time beginning to learn of the subject matter he’s so well versed in is more of an active decision to change your worldview and expand your consciousness than it is a casual effort to work out some bars. The album is brimming with brilliant vocal deliveries that breathe new life into the scene; every MC penning nothing but critical verses that belong in the memory banks of any serious head’s extensive back catalogue of bars. If you’re into this Hip Hop thing for more than simple entertainment or shallow distraction from your day to day, and prefer MC’s that drop knowledge not name-brands, Terminal Illness Part 2 album is a literal gift from the gods; and with his technically brilliant and viscerally exciting production on this essential sequel, Endemic deservedly takes his place amongst that pantheon.

Buy it straight from the man himself here, or get it at your regular digital vendors.

5/5.

Peace.

Ray Vendetta : 7 Swordz Ov Light

North London MC Ray Vendetta comes out spittin like he’s got something to prove on his first official Triple Darkness release. MKD’s 7th Dan handles production for the most part, and creates a darkly brooding atmosphere that sets off the EP’s ominous tone from the get-go. Every song’s a street anthem and a thought-provoking zoner in one. As with every TD member, Ray’s lyrics are deeply interwoven with mysticism and esoteric knowledge that immediately impresses; while his contextually relevant rhymes possess a depth that allows the listener to return as his or her’s wealth of knowledge increases, and find deeper meaning within the lines. Thematically every MC to feature on 7 Swordz Ov Light covers a wide array of important topics; each verse serving as a potential catalyst to spur the listener onto their own path toward wisdom if listened to with open ears and mind. Ray wastes no words on trivialities, and there’s not a bar on the whole EP that isn’t potentially career-threatening for Britain’s lazier MCs; on Seven Swordz Ov Light not only has he firmly announced his arrival within the TD camp; but has stepped up his whole lyrical game to mark the occasion.

The Grand Opening lets you know from the start. This is no easy-going club rap for the deaf, dumb and blind; this is righteous rhymes from the heart. His mid-paced flow is confident and well-informed over the melodic beat, as he layers tight lines heavily laden with style. In my view, before this EP his verse on Cyrus Malachi’s Papercuts was his best work; after listening to this there’s too many standout verses to even call it. The title track is exactly why I back UK Hip Hop so heavily, 7th Dan needs to calm down before he takes his own headtop off with snares that hard; every beat smacks like a backhand from God, which is apt considering the Supreme Mathematics encoded in the EP’s title. I suspect the choice for the title’s numerology to correspond to the alphabet’s Seventh letter, the 7 days of creation in Genesis, the notes on the musical scale, the chakra system, and the representation of perfection in ancient Kemet was an0ther intentionally occult move on Ray’s part. Fire In The Pen is nothin’ but warfare on the mic with no apologies; and keeps things moving at a speed that barely gives you time to chill between each songs heavy attack, with the verses from Ray and Cyrus Malachi providing a deep listen, both rhyming as uncompromising and captivating as ever.

Addictions is the first real variation in beat and tone on 7 Swordz so far; and relaxes things slightly despite the continuation of the weighty content. Ray takes a sombre and thoughtful look back on his past vices through a lens uncoloured by shame or regret; instead sounding humbled by his previous shortcomings and grateful for the lessons he was given. His words warning of over-indulgence in women and herb, and his ability to recant his more youthful assertions on how to live are wise; and should be commended for their power to positively influence the younger generation listening. God knows there’s more than enough voices promoting the opposite over the airwaves these days. Tesla’s verse on Genuine Cuts is one of his most solid, amongst a back catalogue of bars harder and denser than neutron stars; Ray’s long-time collaborator and comrade keeps getting better with every guest verse I hear, hopefully 2014 will see the Two MC’s releasing many more collaborations along with a Tesla’s Ghost solo LP. 

 Take any MC from TD and put them on a track with Cyrus Malachi & M9 and you’ve got a trinity capable of some serious verbal contusions. Take the pair and add Ray Vendetta and you get one of the best songs on this already outstanding EP. 3 Strike Kill holds some serious wisdom, M9 in particular showing his dexterity as he drops lines that could have easily nestled amongst his best-to-date on his Magna Carta LP that dropped a year ago. Director and film-maker Jimmy Chiba expands his cache of dope music videos with another edition to the already interesting content on his youtube channel; and Malachi and Vendetta’s verses serve up some more of that fire in the pen they brought to the table earlier. 7th Dan creates some seriously epic melody behind the Three dreamscapes Ray writes on Reality’s Dream, the second verse in particular stands out for it’s vivid descriptions; “In dream Two I’m shivering, chains ’round my ankles, I’m feeling seasickness, the slave ship rammed full, up to the brim no space for me to move, my inside eating itself from lack of food, desperation, I can hear it in my brother’s cries, old dad got his back lashed, I saw him die.” He does what only a few MCs can do and turns past events such as slavery into contemporary source material without sounding contrived or forlorn. It took a while for impartial information to be published concerning slaves that stood up and took their freedom by force; which makes songs like this important for upcoming generations more likely to blast a mixtape than sit and read the ‘Narrative Of The Life Of Fredrick Douglass’ or be Googling Nat Turner & Denmark Vesey.  

Bodyshotz is where the EP needed to go after the heavyness of the last track; Ringz Ov Saturn slows the pace to a crawl and lightens the tone as his beat prowls through dense string melodies and Phoenix Da Icefire flows cool and calm as his TD alias Solar Black, his darts sharp and on point as always. Ray Vendetta presides over the track with authority on a strong chorus and another hard sixteen from his brimming back catalogue of bars; his ability to adapt to a slower style of spittin adds a definitively strong presence to tracks like this one and on the subsequent track That Gang. As the EP continues it’s unstoppable momentum, Iron Braydz and Vendetta give the system’s enforcers a piece of their mind and weigh in on the heavy police presence and racial profiling rife both globally, and closer to home in London on another slammin Ringz Ov Saturn beat.

It doesn’t take Hideous Ugly’s chorus to tell you that the kick and snare is dusty; the beat is one of 7th Dan’s roughest with heaps of swagger and flare. The song’s a creeper that seeps into your veins with every repeated listen, and the content Ray’s bringing is tight as ever; his more reserved flow winds it’s course through the track with purpose, and the video from Chiba Visuals uses the colour palette of the EP cover well to create a warm tone; along with GlobalFaction, Chiba is quickly becoming one of my favourite videographers in the country. There isn’t a dull track on the whole release; its just banger after banger until the end, and when that end is brought about it’s with trademark TD venom and verbal dexterity on Crowbar HeadTopper. Ringz Ov Saturn pulls another savage beat out the bag that defines the clique’s sound and gets bodied by Iron Braydz, Solar Black and Ray Vendetta; every MC spits nothin’ but flames, as Braydz slaps up a racist, Solar Black pens a mean verse that leaves your head spinning, and Vendetta drops another career highlight with his last bars on the EP. “You see the scarab on my torso and scratch your head, I resurrect the type of verses that could wake the dead, send a tremor through the ground, watch it break your legs, spin ya premises around, back to bakin’ bread.” 

 Seven Swordz Ov Light is flat out one of the best releases of last year; if you like your Hip Hop underground, rugged, intelligent and righteous you owe it to yourself to cop this EP; Vendetta’s honest portrayal of the environment he sees on the daily is modern Hip Hop in Britain at it’s most lyrically prolific and accomplished. When he adds to that already deadly concoction a heavy dose of knowledge, love for the culture and the raw hunger that exalts all members of Triple Darkness; he elevates to levels unattainable by so many of the crew’s somnambulist contemporaries on these grey shores. 

Buy it here.

5/5.

Peace.

Cyrus Malachi : Expressions

“My easel open’s vortexes, in cerebral cortex’s”

From the first look at the cover for the London MC’s new EP, it’s evident that Cyrus Malachi is approaching his music from a different direction. His choice to hit up Chicago-based abstract artist Marcellous Lovelace to create the vibrant, socially relevant cover art should come as no surprise given his previous lyrical allusions to the admiration of artists such as Jean-Michel Basquiat and writers like Chancellor Williams. Sonically he has expanded his palette to include new rhyme schemes and flow patterns, which at times border on the politically charged spoken word of originators like Gil-Scott Heron, who incidentally, is sampled on the EP’s inaugural track Melanite Children. 

There aren’t many rappers who can start rhyming remedial with congenial as casually and unpretentiously as Cyrus Malachi.  The simple piano loop and boom bap drums set the mood excellently, his bars delivered calmly against a more relaxed beat make for much easier listening than tracks like Brave New World or Contraband have in the past. On his last release Black Athena, he balanced the dense weight of his content with some slightly lighter beats, finding a formula that works well for both the casual and involved listener, and it’s one that pays off from it’s continuation on Melanite Children. Evil Ed’s cuts are well put together and add to the narrative well, his vocal chops drawing from the Premier school of chorus structure in a way that contributes towards the man’s legacy rather than being derivative of it.  Lyrically Cyrus Malachi is as articulate and thematically diverse as ever, paraphrasing Black Star’s classic Respiration, painting vivid pictures of life in Britain’s inner cities, and expounding upon every aspect of the repressive society we live in; while keeping his roots firmly planted in the pre- eurocentric dynasties he draws inspiration from.

“To MC’s my verses are unretrievable, lost in the memory bank, the threat of an enemy shank, moving through the hood, paranoia. Zombie workforce, the beast is your employer. Non affordable housing, millionares browsing, while blacks are packed into tenements and derelict housing, poverty we drown in”.

From there the EP doesn’t stay in any one place for too long, Astro Blacksmith‘s production takes you through the different mental dwellings the Triple Darkness general resides in and writes from. Root Of Evil employs contrasting sounds to create a divergent sound. Earthy, wooden pipes linger over harsh, futuristic beats that crank and whir like cogs in the machine Cyrus Malachi’s venomous darts are aimed against. It’s a harsh slap back to reality after the misleadingly calm beginning, but one that isn’t without purpose; deriding obsession with money and the constant clamor for material wealth with clever wordplay and pertinent observations. “Paper idols, financial deities keep us stifled”.

The Reckoning continues the bleak barrage; and finds the self-styled street griot writing again from an unblinkered, prescient perspective that touches on the side of society that is most frequently mis-represented by the media.  “Single parents in hysterics, cuz their child’s letting off pellets across the terrace, shred ya cabbage like lettuce. A Colonial collage of custodial bollards, burners turn your brain to fromage, to dead soldiers I pay homage.” In a minute and a half he drops more knowledge on a track than a lot of rappers do in a career; then without pausing for breath kicks into the Second half of the song, berating weak MC’s on a stripped back, echoing drum break; his tone resonating a far cry from the sombre lines he conveyed on the EP’s intro. When he says ‘I’m Mike Tyson at 19‘, you believe him, he sounds hungry, and at his best.

The overt seriousness and go-for-your-throat approach of the last two songs again mislead the listener into believing they can anticipate the direction Expressions will move next.  Papaya flips things 180 as the EP turns another corner. Despite the change in mood offering a break from the verbal assault and dark subject matter; after mentally occupying yourself with societal ills for the previous three tracks it is difficult to fully get into the ‘life’s a carousel‘ refrain of the chorus and the glitzy, sunshine vibes that the beat brings, but it’s still exciting in it’s bold difference. The experimentation is taken back to a murkier place through jazzy cymbal swells and spacious musical landscapes on the EP’s epilogue Solomon’s Temple 2. The original provided the swan song on his classic Ancient Future album, and was a head-mangling concoction of esoteric ideas that I am still yet to fully digest. The sequel is as arcane; and without a basic grasp of the content, is hard to decipher. If you were inclined to take the last minute of the song, and after each subject or name he mentions, pause it, and go and look up the ideas being put forth; I guarantee you’d lose a month. His critical eye moves though centuries, discussing global politics, astrological alignment, the underbelly of the music industry, and the diasporic status of a people that once ruled continents. His words are important in their scope and message, whether to serve as an introduction to critical thinking or as an accompaniment to someone already delving into any of the topics being discussed.

Ultimately Expressions is an insight into global politics and world history that other MC’s are incapable of delivering. Once again the new Cyrus Malachi is akin to being presented with a well written, comprehensive lecture on the state of the world from an alternative perspective; but in under 20 minutes, with some seriously accomplished rhyming, ill beats, and enjoyable songs.

Buy it for just £3 here.

4/5.

Peace.