This is the third installment of my mixtapes column for Metro newspaper: its basic vibe is to represent some of the incredible talent and music on the underground, that struggles to get coverage beyond urban publications. What many people don't realise is this column, and 99% percent of album/single reviews and music interviews/profiles, runs in all editions of Metro - Bristol, Cardiff, Birmingham, Nottingham, Leeds, Sheffield, Manchester, Liverpool, Newcastle, Glasgow, Edinburgh and Dublin. Metro is far from just a London ting. Most of its 1million daily readers, are outside of London.
If anyone has any mixtapes or music to put forward for consideration for coverage, drop me a line. A version of this appears in today's Metro. A short summary would be - buy Ny's Split Endz Vol 2 and L.Man's New Age Army. If you like R'n'B and hip hop, and are into UK style realness and honesty, and tougher production than slick, glossy US R'n'B/rap, then I can guarantee you won't be disappointed. D
J Shortkut's a New Jack Swing Era Mix is beyond heavy. It's great fun and you can see how the sound evolved into today's R'n'B, though the mix is missing some classic New Jack Swing tracks.. what no Mary J's Real Love? or TLC Ain't Too Proud To Beg or Wreckx-N-Effect Rumpshaker or Juicy or any SWV??
Massive thanks to L.Man who hand delivered his mixtape to me, and the Truetiger (Ny's label) crew, who did the same. That's what can make working with underground UK artists so refreshing - there are fewer middle men and much less PR bullshit to negotiate, you just deal direct.
MUSIC EXTRA
Mixtapes
After guest appearances on tracks for Sway, The Streets and Plan B, Nyomi Gray aka Ny stars on Split Endz Volume 2. There’s a refreshing honesty and conscious feel to Ny’s R’n’B: Who Is She? Sees Ny reveal the impact of finding out (age 11) that ‘daddy’ isn’t her blood father; underground anthem Fire is a plea to avoid the flames of street life; Ny describes her-self as the ‘everyday girl at the bus stop and end of your road’ (In The Crowd). The 20-year-old’s commanding honey tones (rich, thick and sweet) capably handles typical R’n’B (men, relationships and heartache), however verses from rappers including Purple, L Man, Professor Green and JME reinforces the ‘real’ feel. The combination of Ny’s songwriting and distinctive production – think Timbaland-minimalism with more bounce, bump and edge – demonstrate she has the potential to follow in the footsteps of another Naomi (Ms Dynamite). Though Split Endz Vol 2 also suggests Ny’s blazing her own trail and won’t be following in anyone’s footsteps.
Honesty and ‘realness’ also looms large on South London rapper L.Man’s New Age Army mixtape: going by this mixtape and his high profile fans (Westwood, Dan Greenpeace, Logan Sama, Lady Sovereign, Semtex - Dizzee’s DJ who hosts New Age Army), L.Man’s destined for big things. ‘This isn’t rap or grime, this is true stories,’ says L Man of his music: we hear devastating tales of a violent bike robbery, the joy and hopes of impending fatherhood dashed by miscarriage and an abused friend’s spiral into drug addiction. We’re also privy to anguished conversations with god and an absent father. L Man’s angsty yet calm, rebellious yet sensitive and has a gift for perceptive, lucid storytelling that reaches far beyond his street corner.
DJ Shorkut’s New Jack Swing Era Mix transports you to the late 1980s/early 1990s and Wednesday evenings watching The Fresh Prince… and Dance Energy. However this is more than an exercise in nostalgia: new jack swing laid down the blueprint for modern R’n’B, bringing a hip-hop edge (raps, rougher rhythms, and scratches), to traditional R’n’B and soul. With jacking tracks from King of Swing Bobby Brown (Every Little Step, My Prerogative), Bell Biv Devoe (Poison) and Keith Sweat (I Want Her) slammed into the mix this sounds as fresh and funky as 15 years ago. You’ll struggle to find a more fun and sexy soundtrack to the summer, but dancing like Carlton’s optional...
Guitar wielding, angry young rapper, Plan B’s Paint In Blacker is a cheeky collection of reinterpreted album tracks, unreleased singles and skits from films. Plan B’s searing stories are mashed up with iconic songs by Rolling Stones, Nirvana, Radiohead and more. Opening track Paint In Blacker is the story of a manic depressive, backed by Rolling Stones’ broody Paint It Black. Who Needs Actions is re-imagined as a live performance with with Dave Grohl and Kurt Cobain’s completing Plan B’s fantasy line up. Suzanne, Plan B’s brutal vignette on a prostitute’s brutal murder by the Camden ripper, is delivered over Leanord Cohen’s eponymous song. His debut LP hinted at it, but PIB confirms Plan B’s a sick rapper in both senses of the word.
