"Prohibition Gangster."

Yea, i know i'm VERY late with an American Gangster remix, but i hate doing shit when everyone else is doing it.

The idea behind the project is basically American Gangster remixed with new beats sampling 40's jazz and with a more old school gangster feel.

I was going to remix the whole album but i've since changed my mind and decided just to do the tracks i really like. (I already cut out Nas' verse on Success)

So, yea. Just to let you know what's droppin soon.

Merry Freakin' Christmas!

Merry Christmas everyone, the blog hasn't really been going long enough for me to say 'thanks for the support' e.t.c but i will anyway. Thanks to anyone who has spread the word of Strictly Independant, to everyone who has sent me stuff and to anyone who has since added a link here to their own blog/website. Here's to another year of independant goodness!

The Earlier Escapades Of Willo Wispa

An early christmas present for you all. As a warm up for the Wot's Willo On!?!' LP, scheduled for release in early 2009; associated minds provide us with a much needed Wispa fix.

'The Earlier Escapades' is a great introduction to Willo's flow and style for those who are not familiar, and a reminder for those who are.

As one fourth of London's supergroup 'The Colony' alongside Sir Smurf Lil', Conspicuous The Coroner and Grimlok, Willo has formed his legendary rep over the years featuring on various acclaimed and sold out vinyl releases, as well as killer cameos on a few notable mixtapes.

Associated Minds have been digging around other peoples archives to pull out the roughs and rares of tracks that kinda deserved to get out there more - but are either sold out on vinyl or seemingly lost on peoples dead equipment. They describe The Earlier Escapades as 'tip of the iceberg stuff' but it gives the world the start of the experience that is listening to Willo Wispa.

Track Listing -

01. Mars To The Manor
02. Rider Music Freestyle (Featuring Cobane and Ophkea)
03. Cark
04. What Kind Of Girls
05. Razor Blades (Evil Ed Switchblade Remix) feat. Sir Smurf Lil, Ophkea, Dirty Kitchen & Conspicuous
06. Real Eyes Dub
07. Exalibah Dubstate
08. 2 Pounds
09. I Wanna

Get it HERE

Figment - Floor By Floor

So...FINALLY i get around to posting my album.

I finished it a few months ago but it took a long while to get to the point where i could say 'finished.'

It's 13 tracks, i made all the beats and wrote all the verses.

Featuring other local artists - Blokey Chinners and Skrabl.

Tracklisting -

1. Floor By Floor
2. Rumours And Lies Ft. Blokey
3. Trapped
4. It's All Over (Casanova)
5. To Be A Star Ft. Chinners
6. The 21
7. Love And Marriage Ft. Blokey and Tik-A-Tek
8. Grind
9. S.H.E Loves Me
10. Malice Ft. Skrabl
11. All About You
12. How You Living Ft. RTS
13. The 21 (Alternate Version)


Give it a download, give it a listen.

Get it HERE

***If you were having trouble downloading the album from this link - please try again as i have re upped it to a different server now***

Certified Banger Presents: On The Radar

Certified Banger, a blog (almost) dedicated to the art of Hip Hop in the UK proudly presents this 21 track compilation of some up-and-coming artists and their music. Taking in many different angles of UK Hip Hop 'On The Radar' attempts to bring some new music to your ears, all for the princely sum of nothing.

It features 'never heard befores,' 'heard before but hard to get hold ofs' and tracks already available on the respective artists own pieces of work. With 21 tracks, you're bound to find something you like, and for free, you can't go much wrong by downloading it and giving it at least one virtual spin.

Once you've heard it, be sure to check out www.certifiedbanger.blogspot.com for more features on, and free downloads from the artists involved. Check the 'comments' section in the song tags for the artists website addresses and give them a shout. Drop Certified Banger a line at certifiedbanger@gmail.com and let them know how you feel about this (wonderful) release.

Why are you still reading? Start clicking. HERE would be a good place to start. Still reading? Click HERE instead then.

Track Listing -

1. Queens English - Mind The Rap (produced by Skinnista aka Nu Balance)
2. Safron - Nightbreed remix ft. Kyza, Jehst & Klashnekoff
3. emceeKillah - The Guns of Britain (produced by Zoutr)
4. B'tol & Jagos - Finish This (Rassclat Rappers) ft. Da Herbalis of FDB
5. JVF Clique - Those Dudes (produced by Pappa Doc)
6. Spee 69 - Lemonade (produced by Jay Large)
7. Grimlok - Magic (produced by Shears)
8. Revilo - Mr. No Names
9. TLG - Let Me Be ft. Reggiimental, Ras Supa, Biggaman,S.C, Joe Gutta & Rukus
10. Skillit - Talk of the Town (produced by Cable)
11. Conman - Streets Unsafe (freestyle)
12. Loudmouth - Real Talk (produced by Loudmouth)
13. Manny Moscow - You Can't Tempt Me ft. Shepherd
14. Size8 - Watchin Me (freestyle)
15. Skandal - Venom (produced by Chemo)
16. Truth - Been a Long Time (produced by Prolifik)
17. Late - The Villain Man (freestyle)
18. Antmysta - Taste of Ink (produced by Shadowville)
19. Beit Nun - The Music (produced by Illskilz)
20. Reps - Spit ft. Jid Sames (produced by OSTR)
bonus track: Uncle Dicky - Neighbourhood Star remix ft. Witchdoctor Wise


Add Certified Banger on MySpace

Lowkey - In My Lifetime (Featuring Wretch32)

In My Lifetime is the first official single off Lowkey's new LP Dear Listener and features Wretch 32 of The Movement.

The track is produced by Quincey Tones one of the UK's most prominent Hip Hop producers, best known for his recent collaborations with US underground mainstays EMC (Masta Ace, Wordsworth etc…) and internet hit Ma Money feat L'il Wayne, Talib Kweli and Royce Da 5'9.

Lowkey and Wretch 32 are widely regarded as two of the UK's most gifted lyricists so sit back, relax and enjoy them telling you about their lifetimes and look out for the video coming at you sooner thank you think!

Also check out Wretch 32's current single Be Cool and his new album Wretchrospective.

Get the track HERE

His first official album, 'Dear Listener' is an extremely honest and distinctly fresh project, laden with world class production from SCRAM JONES (MARIAH CAREY / G UNIT), STYALZ FUEGO (CHAMILLIONAIRE / BUSTA RHYMES), Q-TONES (LIL WAYNE) and more. Lowkey's unique charisma acts as the saccharinely sweet delivery for the powerful, political messages that are delivered within many of the songs on the album. From the captivating story of 'Relatives' to the banging reggae tinged 'Tell Me Why', 'Dear Listener' is sure to be a late addition to be a classic. The incredible 'Revolution' hints at the collaborations to come, with an entirely beatboxed instrumental from FAITH SFX and guest vocals from JON McCLURE of REVEREND AND THE MAKERS.

You can buy the album 'Dear Listener' HERE

Keep your eyes peeled Lowkey's involvement in a supergroup band project named MONGREL. With Lowkey as the lead emcee, the band also includes members of the ARCTIC MONKEYS, BABYSHAMBLES and REVEREND AND THE MAKERS.

Chops - Chops Derby

Buy the 12" at Fat City Record Shop or Picadilly Records

MySpace HERE

Snappa and Savage

Snappa and Savage are two MC’s from the UK, hailing from one of the roughest areas of Huddersfield, West Yorkshire called Deighton.

There is no full product as such on offer here today, i.e. - an album/single/ep but i do have the link to ehir myspace, which should definitely be checked out.

They have attracted interest from several record companies and Savage has appeared on a track with ‘Natural One’ of the Troubleneck Brother’s from New York. Snappa has appeared on several tracks produced by L.A. based producers, although these tracks have yet to be released. They have appeared on a compilation album that was sold across Europe, USA and Japan. They have also featured on one of the biggest radio stations in Europe, BBC Radio 1 Unsigned and Pulse rated radio station broadcasting several of their songs on Sky satellite TV throughout Europe, one of which made tune of the week, they also featured in their exclusive section called hot trax where they pick the best 5 songs reviewed that week from all artists worldwide from all genre's.

Savage Says “Musical integrity means more to us than pound notes, people forget that we have to live with the music we put out, not just for that moment but forever. We don’t try to do the style of music that is trendy now because as soon as you try to mimic today’s music, you are already working on yesterdays”.

Snappa comments “In the past, people close to us tried to be helpful and tell us what type of tracks we should be making. We sometimes took that advice on board and although people liked those tracks, we were disappointed with ourselves, we felt unfulfilled and it just wasn’t us. Looking back it actually helped us because that was our learning curve. Everybody goes through that. Now, we only make tracks that we would like to hear, no compromise, hopefully there are people out there who feel the same as we do and can appreciate what we do for our own style. We can’t be like anybody else we only know how to be like us”.

As i said, there's no full product for me to review but the myspace is worth a look. I suggest you add them and keep your eyes peeled for anything they do.

Myspace HERE

Figment/Mash - Up Productions = Jay-z; The Motown Album

This post is one of my own projects which i did around the time that the internet was flooded with American Gangster mash ups and i decided to do a Black Album mash up since the onslaught of those had died down.

I sampled all tracks from the classic Motown label to create new beats for Jay's Black Album acapellas.

Semantik, administrator for the excellent website Crate Kings had this to say

"With all the American Gangster remix albums popping up lately; we tend to forget about all the previous joints that Hov blessed us with. Figment of Mash-Up Productions drops a gem on us with the release of The Motown Album, which combines Jay’s Black Album with classics such as “If I Were Your Woman”, “Neither One of Us”, and “Love Hangover.” It’s no doubt that the Figment was successfully able to take a handful of Motown joints and provide just enough grit to what I originally considered to originally be a lackluster and overproduced release. I have to admit that I was surprisingly impressed with his attention to detail, especially with the restyled organ sample featured in the remake of “Public Service Announcement."

Download it HERE

Amede & The Soundsmith - The Underground

The Underground is a new free digital release from London pair Amede and The Soundsmith described by the duo themselves as "a new phase of their musical journey pulling away from the soulful vocals for a while and exploring their unhealthy addiction to beats!"

Inspired by The London Underground system, and intended to give a sense of progression and journey into the future - it does just that with a mix of breakbeat style drums, a nice low bassline and some ghostly key chords which break up the digital sound nicely.

I found it a welcome change to see a group brave enough to release an instrumental single, but the track is good enough and as an insrumental in a musical world currently governed by pop parafenalia and one hit wonders it does well to hold the listeners attention for the whole 3 minutes and 44 seconds. From the minute i pressed play the edgy drum loop and sub bassline had me nodding my head and i could easily imagine an artist like Roots Manuva or Kano on it which displays a tremendous example of versatility, echoed again by the "about us" section on the website "We just want to make good music, whether it's short raw beats, vocal based, down-tempo, or hip hop soul."

In conclusion, the track is a heavy beat sure to break up the monotony of the tired contents of ones Ipod and get heads noddin straight away. I'm eager to hear more from Amede and The Soundsmith in the future and i highly recommend you download anything this pair offer - particularly as this one is FREE!

Download it at - www.amedethesoundsmith.co.uk/theunderground
MySpace at - www.myspace.com/amedethesoundsmith
Website at - www.amedethesoundsmith.co.uk

Evil Ed & Conspicuous "The get Together"

The dynamic duo that are Evil Ed & Conspicuous have blessed us with a the new album "The get Together" and let me be the first to start the standing ovation. Its what UK Hip Hop needs at this time...pure fire! Ed's is one of the most consistent producers for 15 years now and never lets the listener down when their looking for a proper Hip Hop beat. And Conspicuous spits the rawest like a bulimic after eating sushi.
With top notch guest spots from a fine aray of talent from all over the UK.
I really hope this doesnt get slept on like some of the other classics out over the last few years.
Check out the track BBQ and the youtube vids for a little taster of what i feel has just moved into the top ten UK albums of all time.

Check the track listing:

Evil Ed & Conspicuos "The get Together" (Ottomanelf Music):

1.81's Favourite Son
2. BBQ feat. Seanie T, Doc Brown, Konny Kon, T-Bear, Broke N English (vuts by K-Delight)
3. Marvelous feat. Ric Branson & Grimlok
4. Don't Worry
5. Big Headed feat. Willo Wispa, Mudmouth & Apollo (cuts by Evil Ed)
6. The Get Together
7. Ill-Out feat. Shabaam Sahdeeq, Jehst, Swave Sevah, Dubbledge & L.I.F.E. Long (cuts by Eddie Skratch)
8. Where Did We Go Wrong (skit)
9. You & Me (Never Could Happen)
10. Time After Time feat. Cobane, Shameless & Sir Smurf Lil
11. Sinister (synth by AH Fly)
12. The Night feat. Willo Wispa, Iceman & Yung Blud
13. Forgive & Forget feat. Cal-I
14. Outro (Goodbye)
15. BBQ (remix)


Taster tune BBQ - Grab it HERE
evil ed & conspicuous feat. willo wispa 'the night'




evil ed & conspicuous feat. cobane 'time after time'

Dr Syntax 'N' Elemental are The Menagerie – Wild Kingdom

Tom Caruana, Dr Syntax, Elemental and Nick Maxwell are The Menagerie and they want you to have and enjoy their acclaimed and fun packed debut album 'Wild Kingdom'from 2005.
The supa crew was made up of 3 emcees, 2 producers and a deejay..all head and shoulders abover most.
Please trust me on this...its one of the most solid albums i've ever heard!

Grab it for free HERE

Theres more freebies from Elementals myspace HERE

And Check out 'The Menagerie' HERE

Ozmosis - Wizard of Oz mixtape

For those who were having issues downloading from the original link in the previous post, here's the new link - Click here to download 'The Wizard of Oz' mixtape by Ozmosis

Ozmosis - The Wizard of Oz mixtape

Here's something new from UK emcee "Ozmosis," entitled - 'The Wizard of Oz mixtape.'

I first heard of Ozmosis a little while ago when he hit me up on Myspace for a beat (which features on this mixtape for the track 'We Get Em') and i was impressed by tracks on his MySpace - 'Imagine (the dreamer)' which sampled the John Lennon classic, and his remix to The Arctic Monkey's track - 'You Look Good On The Dancefloor.'

The mixtape does what it's supposed to. it's a dope mix of tracks over original and previously featured beats from the likes of Fort Minor, DJ Premier and..erm Blur and The Arctic Monkeys. In my eyes - a good mixtape shows an emcees versatility, adaptability and ability to shine on any type of beat, and Ozmosis does just that. Rhyming over The Arctic Monkey's 'you look good on the dancefloor' is enjoyable to listen to and a few pace changing bars over 'Zorba The Greek' are a small stroke of genius.The overall theme of the mixtape is well done and the short soundbytes from the movie throughout help to string each track together.

As i said - this does what it's supposed to, and it does it very well - it shows Ozmosis' lyrical capability and that he's comfortable on a wide assortment of beats.

My advice to you is to download it first - HERE

Then add Ozmosis on MySpace HERE

Video for 'Imagine (The Dreamer)' -

Gunshot - Mind Of A Razor (REMIX)

A personal favorite of mine..a tune i use to put on my walkman and do my badman bounce down the road to...TURN IT UP!

Check out this video: Mind Of A Razor (Video)

Hidden Identity ( Evil Ed ) - Blunted Bumpkin Buskers

Back in 93/94 i heard a tune played on Kiss FM that made me nod my head like the Churchill dog and smirk like chesser cat on lsd...it twas a tune by a group i had never heard of called Hidden Identity, i was hooked and needed to hear more.
Lets let Evil Ed tell you more...


As I was involved in this E.P. as one half of Hidden Identity (DJ & Producer) alongside MC Mistima I thought I'd add a few notes about the record...

This is the 2nd EP on the Pure Rudeness label. The first I don't even have a copy of anymore, but it featured MC Undercover from Hackney and Handsworth's MP Rawality (a female MC).

The Hidden identity E.P. was recorded and mixed in a few days back in 1993 in a studio in Oswestry where the Pure Rudeness label honcho Tee used to work. Me and Mistima had made very loose demo versions of the tracks and we had all our samples and cuts ready, Mistima brought his rhyme books and just pieced various lyrics together there and then in the mic booth.

It was fun getting Mistima to do the back-up's, there's one scream he did that me and Tee made him do around 20 times until he got it how we wanted.

It says on the label 'Produced by Tee' although I did the production, if you can call it that. Apart from 'Pure Rudeness' all the samples are jacked from other records. Pure Rudeness is my first proper production on wax ie. an original sample over a drum loop. We also used a sound bite from 'Made In Britain' as the intro to that track. Skinny man used the same film for vocal skits on his LP more recently.

I also rap on this track and regret that now as even though I was never the best MC out there I had really bad flu when we did it and it sounded very poor.

Tee engineered the tracks with me live. We sat for hours at the mixing desk experimenting with EQ & Efx and every time we made a mistake ie. forgot to drop the beat out or add delay we'd have to go back to the top of the track.

Before the vinyl was out the tracks "Big Hed 4 Da Dred" & "Return Ov Da Red Eye" were played by DJ 279 on Choice and Max & Dave on Kiss FM. They played it off a cassette tape every week for months before the vinyl was out and it eventually dropped on wax around May 1994.


This is a UK Hip Hop classic...


Tracklisting:
A1 Return Of Da Red Eye
A2 Big Head 4 Da Dread
B1 Pure Rudeness
B2 I Tink Were In Trubble

Get it Here (rapidshare link)
Or
Here (sendspace link)

Gatsby The Great - Falling Up

Gatsby The Great is a writer/director/emcee from South Jersey.



This album is incredible.

Although it sounds more like a collection of songs, more of a mixtape than an album - the lyrical quality and consistency of the rhymes alone prevent it from being labelled something as plain as a 'mixtape.'

Right from the intro, it's clear that Gatsby is a very talented and hungry emcee, spitting one verse over a head nodding beat that sounds like a hip hop version of Lawrence Of Arabia.

Although some of the beats, samples, or drum sounds sounded familiar it really is the lyrical precision and attention to detail which shine through especially on the title track 'Falling Up,' which also happens to be one of the albums best, in respect to both the beat and lyrics. The track is basically a list of contradictions, but done in a very clever way that has you rewinding every bar to double check.

Another thing i liked about the album was the variety of hip hop on display. A nice old school feel on 'The Rythm' with a catchy hook, pure underground ferocity on the Intro, and a more mainstream accessible track in the form of 'Feelin Good.'

'Falling Up,' definitely deserves a good couple of listens through and Gatsby desrves a Myspace add, so i suggest that if you don't have the album or you don't have Gatsby as a friend on Myspace, you solve both of those problems here and now -

Get the album HERE

Add Gatsby HERE

Gordon Bennet Records - Promo Mixtape

Gordon Bennett Records is an independent label based in East Anglia, in The U.K specialising in Hip Hop & Electronic music. The label was created in mid 2007, and as stated on the lables Myspace - "has been influenced by many labels & artists from the days when, not just Hip Hop but all music was striving, to today where Hip Hop is supposedly "dead." Many still push to keep music alive, others do not. GBR wishes to help bring it back & reignite the positive energy and provide lots of different sounds from different artists. With a positive yet comical outlook we hope to release some great music from some exceptional artists, with future plans to branch out to some other genres of music."

Up for download in todays post is the labels 12 track Promotional Mixtape, featuring tracks from resident artists -

Crow Stick, Raptilian, Purple Turkey, The Lounge Lizard, Chuck Dangerfield and Diagnostik.

Standout track for me is 'Take The Sun Away' by Diagnostik, a more than ample lyricist over a head nodding beat with a dope bassline and a free flowing hook.

Overall, the beats and general collection of tracks featured fuse nicely and yet are different enough to play to the label of 'mixtape.'

Instrumental tracks courtesy of Lounge Lizard break up vocal tracks nicely and leaves the listener waiting for what's coming next.

An impressive album showcasing this labels blatant talent, can't wait to hear more.

Get it HERE

Gordon Bennett Website

Gordon Bennett Myspace

Mi5 - Jargon, Prince Valiant and Dilligence

Mi5 are a team of professional spitmen made up of Jargon, Prince Valiant and Diligence.
All 3 emcees bring some of the best punchlines to the table...its criminal that their not bigger then they are.


Jargon is one half of Natural Born Spittaz alongside Mystro and when their tunes drop it gonna cause waves in the world of Hip Hop! I can honestly say i haven't been this excited about a groups LP since ... i don't even know when.
The first time i saw Prince Valiant was freestyling at Deal Real Records (the original one) and he SMASHED IT!!
Alas i've never met Dilligence and cant even find a picture of him!

But for now check out the 3 tracks from Mi5 Zshare link HERE

Massive shout to Jargon for blessing us with these tunes.


Jargons Myspace for more exclusives HERE




PLUS - Check out Max Thief featuring MI5 - 'Grimey'


PLUS - Prince Valiant Freestyle

London Posse - Live Like The Other Half Do (Live on MTV)

Oh my giddy aunt, this tune sums up my summer back in 1989 / 1990.
The tune still makes me nod me head and do that silly screw face grin.
From the plunky piano to Bionic chirping a little snigger laugh or hiccup on the first verse.

I chat to newbies who say they love UK Hip Hop but have never heard of London Posse - Hijack - Gunshot - Mc Mell'o before...shame on you.

Live and Learn.

DEAD RESIDENTS AND OPTIMAS PRIME 'BOOGALOO'

Whoop I Forgot to add this video to the Junior Disprol post...


Its the video for their banger tune 'BOOGALOO' from the Drop ep...directed by Ryan Andrews and it stands head and shoulders above most that i've seen!


We aim to add a video a day from a UK artist, maybe a old classic or a brand spanking new one.

If you've got any recommendations give us a shout.

But for now TURN UP YOUR SPEAKERS!!!

Firepower - Gunshot, Task Force, Bury Crew, Jhest and Evil Ed

Yet another rare posse cut this time from Disorda's Uk Hustlers Vol 6.
The story goes like this....i was over Mercury's (from Gunshot) house just for a chin wag with the rest of the Gunshot crew and i slipped in a cassette that Evil Ed had sent to me and this beat came on and stopped Mercury mid speech and asked 'Who's this?' i told him about Ed and how he had produced one of my favorite EPs (Blunted Bumpkin Buskers) in 1993, and while telling him Alkaline and Barry Blue both came in and asked the same question...they all wanted the beat! So i gave Mercury Eds number and he phoned him and Ed thought it was me on a wind up. Anyhoo they spoke a few more times and decided that they were gonna use it for the UK Hustlers tape for Disorda.
Then the idea to ask Task Force to jump on it too came up and they blessed it and added the Bury Crews Nocturnal for good measure!
When ED came down to record it he brought along a young man called Jehst, the only time i had heard of Jehst at that time was from a verse he had done on a tape for DJ Supra. I said to the Gunshot boys that they should get him on the track and because hes the bollox and they said ok and Jehst wrote the verse there and then and SMASHED IT!

Its still one on my favorite verses in Hip Hop!

And to top of the final track Farma got his son ( called Man Cub at the time) on the intro.

This tune will make you nod your head like a whore with parkinsons.

DOWNLOAD IT HERE

Junior Disprol & Evil Ed - Junq Waffle

Evil Ed, Junior Disprol, Jehst, Skelaton and Alkaline

Back in 1999 - 2000 in a flat in East London 5 true school Hip Hop artists got their heads together and (in my eyes and ears) made one of the best posse cuts to come out of the UK scene.

The beats were molded by Evil Ed and the lyrics crafted by Junior Disprol ( Dead Residents ) Alkaline ( Gunshot ) Jehst and Skelaton.

Only released on 7" vinyl and limited to only a few hundred...it was recorded in true low budget style with the mic being attacted to a clothes horse with a home made pop shield and put in the hall way for better sound, the over dubs were done in the living room with me holding the mic up in the circle of emcees!

Twas a good day.

Grab it HERE

Also give props to the artists : Junior Diprol myspace
Evil Ed myspace
Alkaline myspace
Jehst myspace
Skelaton via Designer Anoraks myspace

Dj Pager The Running Man Vol 2

Dj Pager hits us with another banger of a mix cd, part 2 of the Running Man collection is full to the brim with 100% full phat tunes and exclusives.
Check the line up then download this mofo then please leave feedback.



DJ PAGER THE RUNNING MAN MIX VOL: 2
Tracklisting:
1. RUNNING MAN INTRO
2. JIBBARISH – DO OUR THING *
3. STRANGE FRUIT PROJECT – MILK EM (Remix Instr)/ JAY DEE & PHAT KAT – GAME OVER (Acapella)
4. THE ROOTS – GET BUSY 5. KASHMERE – WHAT WOULD HAPPEN?
6. DJ PAGER FEAT: DJ TERROR – LIVE AND DIRECT
7. SKYZOO, COPYWRITE & PACEWON – INSIDE OUT
8. DJ SPINNA – GOAT (Instr)
9. BUSTA RYHMES – DILLAGENCE
10. TERMINOLOGY, ROYCE DA 5’9, CROOKED I, AKROBATIK & CONSEQUENCE – THE INDUSTRY (Remix)
11. BLACK MILK – SOUND OF THE CITY (Instr)
12. IRONBRIDGE – THE MISSION *
13. MR G – CHECK ONE TWO *
14. RZA FEAT: INSPECTAH DEK – YOU CAN’T STOP ME NOW
15. BIG BOI, RAEKWON & ANDRE 3000 – ROYAL FLUSH
16. J-LIVE FEAT: ODDISEE & POSDNOUS – THE UPGRADE
17. ILL-SON – BIGGA (Instr)/ AKROBATIK FEAT: TALIB KWELI – PUT YA STAMP ON IT (Acapella)
18. LMNO & KEV BROWN – THE CAUSE
19. VERB T & FLIPTRIX – ALTERNATE TAKES
20. JEHST & MICALL PARKNSON – THE MISSION

* Tracks 2, 12 and 13 Produced by DJ Pager

Download it HERE

Check out the Major Pager HERE

Evil Ed - The Enthusiast

Evil Ed is a producer, originally from Huddersfield in the U.K. Ed became interested in being a Hip Hop/scratch DJ in 1984 and started making Hip Hop tracks in 1985.

'The Enthusiast,' released in 2004 is flawless. The tracklisting reads like a who's who of the best of British Hip-Hop, with such names as Yungun, Jehst, Asaviour, Kyza, Tommy Evans, Microdisiacs and loads more.

The beats (all of which are made by Ed, who lends his scratching to a few tracks also) flow nicely, each one leading to the next smoothly and none sounding out of place - this really is a perfect album. Everyone involved has certainly done their job, from Ed's well structured and emotive beat for the Microdisiacs track ''Great Expectations,'' to Doc Browns reminiscing of days passed on ''Think Back,'' and The Colony's catchy hook on ''Branded.''

A fine example of a more than valid reason why British Hip-Hop should be out there, marketed, promoted and sold more, because this is music that people need to hear.

TRACKLIST -

01 - Intro (The Enthusiast) Ft. Eddie Scratch
02 - The Ed Zone Ft. Jehst
03 - Nico Suave Ft. Yungun aka Essa
04 - Warm Things Up (skit)
05 - A New Way Of Thinking Ft. Ricochet
06 - Black Stallions Ft. Kyza
07 - Sweeney Todd Ft. Ah Fly (Skit)
08 - Branded Ft. The Colony
09 - The Cavalry Ft. Tommy Evans, Ricochet, Yungun, Jibbarish, Doc Brown and D.Ablo
10 - Alive (Skit)
11 - Have You 4Gotten Ft. Lost Souls
12 - Captains Of... Ft. A-Love
13 - The Audio Obstacle Course Ft. Eddie Scratch and DJ Index
14 - Raw Spuds Ft. Probe Mantis and Junior Disprol
15 - Playin The Game Ft. Asavious
16 - Experts Ft. Mr Thing
17 - Think Back Ft. Doc Brown
18 - Lesson (Skit)
19 - Life's A Struggle Ft. Mic Assassin and Tommy Evans

Get it HERE

Iron Bridge - Toilet Humour

This album is by far my favourite album to come out of Essex and more importantly the UK.
That may sound like a strong statement, and i may be slightly biased towards Essex hip hop, but after a listen to 'Toilet Humour' i'm pretty sure you will share my view.

Produced mainly by fellow South East native, and regular Iron Bridge collaborator Ill-Son, and featuring DJ Pager, 'Ron Compost', Headzache, Tekneek, Blokey, and Shain Caw, The beats are like nothing else you've heard, the lyrics nasty and the concepts dope.

Download it HERE
Add Iron Bridge on MYSPACE

VIDEO FOR ''GET UP''

* Apologies for the poor scan of the album cover..i have no excuse, just - sorry.

Metabeats

Metabeats is a hip hop producer, (and an ill one at that) based in the unlikely hip hop stronghold of Cardiff, whose debut album Metaphysical is already being named as one of the hip hop albums of the year.

When asked how and when he got into production during an interview with Celtic Hip Hop, he had this to say -

''The production side of things woulda been around the start of the millennium. i had been djing for a while before that and wanted to get on the other side of the speakers...I had a broad musical upbringing as far as the music I was listening to is concerned.''

You can check out more of Metabeats on his Myspace page HERE

And, judging by the following quotes, you definitely need to stop by HERE and buy the album.

UKHH said - "a better name would've been “The Best EP”, as frankly this spanks other extended players until they’re redder than a sunburned arse."

Big Cheese Magazine said - “Metaphysical is a deep plunge into a creative pool that sees organic sounding drums and horn samples weave their way around stellar rhymes … (that) seep out of the speakers like syrup, a treat for the ears.”

Till you head over to your nearest audio product outlet, watch these videos...bitches.

''LIVE AND LET LIVE'' -

''FUCK WITH ME'' -

Jibbarish - Maggot Brain

If you havent done already then its time to add Jibbarish to your top 5 Emcee list. The fork tongued UK front runner and one half of the amazing Iron Bridge. Jibbarish blessed us with a new album the latter part of 2007 called 'Maggot Brain' and i'm not fronting when i say its the Bees Bollox!

Theres a whole host of talent on this too...but due to the fact that i've lost the cd cover at the mo i can't tell you everyone that's on there!

To get the free download of 'Maggot Brain' click Here

Plus check out the twisted mind of Jibbarish Here

Jibbarish 'Maggot Brain' Video

http://youtube.com/watch?v=3y_av_YETHo

Charlie Sloth - Its Hard Being Good

CHARLIE SLOTH - The Source magazine called him "One of UK's Finest" Jumpoff.tv said -"Potentially the biggest HipHop act ever to come out of UK" Charlie also Won "Most original Video" at the Cravefest awards in Canada Hip-Hop Connection call him "The big Smokes Truth Talker" Born in Central London Charlie Sloth has been bubbling on the underground scene in England in many different guises since he was 17.

Growing up in Camden Town, the closest London has to a ghetto, Sloth found himself in slightly more compromising situations than the average teenager. With a background deep rooted in criminal activity however, he breaks Rap music’s sometimes common association with gangs & crime choosing not to glamorize it. Age 10, Sloth ‘picked up’ NWA’s ‘Straight Outta Compton’ on cassette – it would be his first and most important taste of Rap music and Hip Hop culture. At 13, being the chubby kid who should have been put in goal, picked on for his lunch and always the last to run when in trouble, he soon earned the name ‘Sloth’ from his peers. Charlie began mimicking his favourite raps, giving him the confidence and presence to play down the taunts and embrace the name as his own. Influenced by many forms of music, Charlie became more known for his phase in the Garage scene as it swept the UK and was a member of Hype Squad, before forming a break-off Hip Hop group, Grimey Limeys.

Many of the UKs high-profile Hip Hop players will know Charlie Sloth from being victims of his Prank calls which became a feature of his pirate London radio show on RawFlex. With an uncanny Jay-Z-like ability to shun the pen & pad and construct songs completely in his head, Sloth tackles real life and real issues in his music. With emotional stories and chart topping sing-a-longs, his tracks are very visual, creating an audio-cinema like experience. Charlie Sloth isn’t your stereotypical rap artist; if he’s killed anyone, he’s not rapping about it. He doesn’t even want a bio and wasn’t very helpful in compiling this.

With sights set on more than Hip Hop music, Sloth has a natural ambition and talent to shift into presenting, TV shows and feature films. For bookings, to have Charlie-Sloth Feature on your project or if you're interested in having Charlie sloth produce a track for you, contact:

Mark@charliesloth.com

Free Download Is Here

Plus check out the Mighty Talented Charlie Sloths myspace Here for more exclusive tracks.

Crate Kings Dig CTI

Another entry for the fast growing Crate Kings catalog, this time me and some other very talented dudes over at Crate Kings.com decided to dedicate an album of beats to the legendary jazz label 'Creed Taylor Incorporated.'

The result is fantastic. More and more people seem to get involved with each of these projects we do and it makes for a better final product as everyone brings their own unique style and perspective.Mixed by fellow Crate Kings member Rafferty, with cover artwork by myself.

Download it HERE

Please feel free to also check out our previous effort, 'The Mancini Project,' consisting of beats sampling the work of conductor Henry Mancini.

Phonetics - EP#1

Phonetics are a 3 man group made up of two parts emcee, one part producer.

Full Creym and Verbal Mike are the Emcees, while Illson provides the beats.

EP#1 is british hip hop at it's very best. Obscure and gritty samples with rough drums give Full Creym and Verbal Mike the perfect oppurtunity to display their unique style.

Featuring guest spots by well known Essex duo Iron Bridge on the fantastically strange but highly addictive ''Essicks,'' and the similarly titled ''Essex Boys'' providing an alternative tour of the seaside resort of Southend On Sea.

Shain Caw makes an appearance on ''Guns By Numbers.'' A welcome criticism of rappers using Gun play in tracks.

The EP's highlight for me is ''Stealin' The Crown.'' With a medieval sounding sample of rising and falling piano keys setting the scene for an agressive sounding Full Creym to deliver my favourite verses of the EP and some nice work on the turntable, also courtesy of Illson - this is a welcome piece of something new that you're unlikely to hear anywhere else.

Put simply - DOWNLOAD IT NOW.

KUZ - Renaissance London

On offer today is the first album from London based Hip - Hop duo 'KUZ.'

'Renaissance London,' put out as ''a free tester to see how people feel us'' is a refreshing mix of smooth samples and bright synth sounds which merge nicely with the groups energetic lyrics and delivery.

Members Thai and Jae Quin describe themselves as ''having the focus of bringing a diverse array of skills to the table as individuals to create one collective whole.'' Renaissance London definitely echoes that sentiment, and comes highly recommended as a wonderful piece of fresh British Hip - Hop.

Get it here - http://www.fileden.com/files/2008/3/4/1796295/Kuz%20Album%20%28Final%20Version%29.zip

Add KUZ on Myspace too - http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=71223218

Welcome!!!

'Strictly Independant,' is a blog for independant hip hop artists and groups to share music and hopefully get a little more exposure. If this is you, email me a link to your album/mixtape/whatever and i'll post it up here. Let's start with my latest project, a series of Beat Sampler albums, each featuring 8 instrumentals all fitting a specific theme. Volume 1's theme is ''Lazy,'' lots of laid back, easy beats. My name is Figment, i am an emcee/beatmaker from the U.K, i make beats under the pseudonym Mash-Up Productions Get it here