Melodiq - Straight From The Soul (Beats by Terem)

Straight From The Soul features Enz, Nelace, Kohndo, Stacy Vickroy, Dj Atom, Elodie Rama, and Just Brea (of Deep Rooted) and is available now at Melodiq.com and Amazon and is coming soon to Itunes and Rapsody, or River City if your in Japan.

Before we get to my thoughts on the album, check out the preview below;



You may also recognise the following track which resulted from a beatmaking video by Hocus Pocus producer 20syl*



*Please note that this track is not featured on this album.

The first track after the intro 'This Is What We Do' opens with some rising and falling horns before the drums and bass drop along with melodiqs voice;

"Un-phased by any competition that presents itself."

It is this sentiment that you should keep in mind while listening to the album because the style that comes across is relaxed, comfortable and effortless. I couldn't imagine hearing any of this album on the radio - not because it's bad, contrarily because it is good and as we all know - good music just doesn't get played on radio! Melodiq's voice sits on Terem's beats perfectly and on 'Worldwide" it's refreshing to hear some international flavour in the form of French MC Kohndo, staying fully true to his roots by spitting the entire verse in French (personally i love French hip-hop, even if i can't understand a f*cking word of it!) The beat is one of my favourites on the album - some really nice flutes, strings and bass.

"The Overseers Ft Nelace" is easily my overall favourite on the album, a really nicely flowing loop of a sample and the flow exhibited by Melodiq and guest MC Nelace is perfect with some nice lyrics like;

"Me, Melodiq and Terem, look at the hole that we tear em' - they got guns, they got power; still we don't even fear em - why? We got heart all the way from the start, so if they breakin ya heart we gotta take em apart."

Possibly my only criticism would be the choice of sample for "Brand New" - in my opinion, a Stylistics track that shouldn't be sampled. But that being said - Terem flipped it in a way that is much better than i would have expected prior to hearing it and it's a nice concept track with some beautiful vocals from Elodie Rama.

That aside - there is nothing i can fault with this album. Take my word for it - you need this in your life.

Head to Melodiq's website to buy the full album from Itunes, Amazon or Rhapsody.

In the meantime, feel free to download one of the following tracks as a freebie courtesy of Melodiq and Terem being such nice chaps!

This Is What We Do

Searching (ft Just Brea)

Soul Patrol (ft Enz)

The Overseers (ft Nelace)

Jai - On My Jais, The Prelude

On My Jais - The Prelude is a 14 track precursor to Jai's upcoming album, too good to be called a mixtape though.

From South West London, Jai insists that it was her inquisitive nature and challenging childhood that brought about her passion for hip hop, as well as an evident love for a wide range of music.

"I grew up listening to anything from Tracy Chapman to The Pogues to Bob Marley, I loved it all!"

She began writing at a young age, moving on from poetry to rhymes, culminating in her participating in ciphers at the Deal Real record shop in London. The respect she gained from here led to her presenting her own show on Invincible Radio called 'The Sicka Selektion,' showing that her talents can stretch even further.

After an intro type track to start with, Stop, look Listen - sampling a version of the well known Diana Ross and Marvin Gaye track of the same name sees Jai on fine form - the flow is on point, lyrics are nice and it's a perfect way to introduce this young lady's obvious talent.

The only thing putting this in the mixtape category as opposed to it being an album - as it could easily be, in terms of content and quality. is that there are a few used beats here, most notably track 7 - "Brother From Another" which uses Jay-Z's "Soon You'll Understand" beat. As i said though, content wise - this could be an album track, the lyrics go deep such as -

"4 days in ICU, 4 angels surround you/ lost your fight and you rejected life - tell me why?"

Track number 4 - "Movin" shows Jai's versatility as she switches up the flow over a quicker beat - a good idea on Jai's part to put this track on the first half of the album and keep listener's guessing for what's to come.

Track 11 had me laughing - "Swagger Jacker skit" takin the piss out of Lil' Wayne which is always welcome on my speakers!

i'm looking forward to seeing what Jai does in the future - will be keeping my eyes and ears sharp for when the album drops but i was very, very impressed with 'The Prelude,' with such a lack of promising talent in hip hop at the moment, and new artists that are actually deserving of hype and attention - it's really refreshing to hear something to get excited about, and not to sound sexist but even more so when it's a female MC! Not only that, but she's reppin' U.K. What more do i need to say?

You can buy 'On My Jai's' from ITunes and i strongly suggest you do. At £8 it's more than worth it.

For info, bookings, media appointments and other enquiries, please contact flyfirlproductions@live.co.uk

J.R - “Get Gully” / “Major League”

London based recording artist J.R will be releasing a series of exclusive material, and hints over an upcoming project in the forthcoming weeks. To kick-start the campaign, the double single “Get Gully” / “Major League” is available for free download with immediate effect.

J.R is currently signed to “Class A Entertainment”, which has been the breeding ground for various musicians over the past couple of years. Unquestionably the label’s most prolific artist, J.R has been identified as an upcoming talent amongst the ears of Wandsworth, and interest has been growing from the likes of radio, and online publications.

“Get Gully” / “Major League” is the brand-new double sided single which will showcase J.R’s commercial viability, along with his tongue for lyricism. After spending months of fine-tuning his style, J.R has not only written and recorded the singles, but entirely produced the track as well. It’s clear to see why the nineteen-year old artist is clearly talented.

J.R’s previous mixtape “A Stroke of Genius” was well received amongst critiques, and was hosted on various websites including Hip-HopKings.Com. With countless downloads and physical copies distributed around South West London, fans have been itching for new material, which is promised to be J.R’s best work to date.

Get Gully
Major League

Catch J.R on MySpace HERE

Jay-Z at The Roundhouse Camden - 17.09.09

See below for some pictures and a video i took of Jay live back in September;

Jadakiss live at the 02 + Skinnyman, Stig, Alias, Lakeside and more!

On Tuesday 22nd September, see the legendary U.S. Hip Hop star LIVE, supported by none other than Skinnyman, Stig, Syntax, Alias, Lakeside & Darnel Swallow, Clement Marfo and the front liners, Makeida and KHY

Hosted by The Hott2Deff Squad of 89.1FM Big City Radio - Birmingham.

Tickets are available now from TicketMaster priced from £25 upwards and there is a £5 discount available for all tickets purchased before September 11th

Milkman - Apollo 2

Volume two of Apollo from beatmaker Milkman is up for download today. You can get volum one HERE.


Volume two kicks off with a smooth intro and a 'Life's a Bitch' remix which is extra nice. 'Blunted' featuring Selph Concious is excellent work. I can't say i've heard the original but the beat on this one fits perfect.

Alot of the work showcased here by Milkman is the right side of simplistic, it's nice and smooth, easy to listen to and follow and above all - is very good. Some nice chops exhibited, good sample choices and nice quality mix.

It's good that he's decided to mix up the format a little and include remix's as well as straight instrumentals, i feel that alot of beatmakers tend to get bogged down in making beat tapes 30 minutes long with just instrumental tracks - it's nice to see a switch up, especially one where the quality of each type of track is just as good.

'Have You' is very nice, really smooth and flows well - easy to listen to all day.

'So High' is a top class track featuring 'JayP' who spits a nice verse effortlessly. The beat and MC fit well together.

I'm struggling for things to write here as 'Apollo 2' is simply a very good BeatTape - solid work, a good follow up to volume one proving that Milkman is capable and focused.

Worth getting basically. HERE

Not dead yet

Hey everybody. Just a quick post to assure everyone that the blog is still very much alive. Please continue to send your material to mashupfigment@hotmail.co.uk i plan to start posting regularly once again just as soon as i have something to post (thats where you come in) peace!

Delusionists - The Prolusion

The Prolusion is a rather impressive, 7 track EP by The Delusionists.

"Trunk Rattle" is a wicked track, possibly my favourite, with a nice bassline and a rather catchy vocal sample which 'Ben Black' spits effortlessly on, displaying a wonderful flow and some nice lyrics ("you know the ones who was laughin freely when i told em i rapped, man that scarred me deeply/ but look at your life now - far from peachy, cos your so Primark, I'm so Maharishi//") The thing i like about 'Trunk Rattle' is that Black manages to create a rather accesible, probably radio friendly banger with lyrics of substance and worth - a more than difficult task amongst today's 'music.' Included at the end of the track is a funny voicemail message left by 'Patricia' from number 14, the apartment below Ben (whether it's real or not, i'm not sure - hope so) asking him to "turn his music off because it's 5 past 1." I love a good skit.

"Super Lyrical Excursion part 2" is 2 minutes of solid lyrical ability. It's not that the technique used is particularly extraordinary, it's a pretty basic flow but it's perfect. The words bounce along the beat comfortably, easy to follow and enjoyable - resulting in some notable quotes such as - "give me a mic and a crate of Corona and i'll give you something heavier than Kerry Catona."

"The Evil" is super laid back and easy. Vaguely on the subject of girls, sex and cheating but touching on other issues ranging from irresponsible fathers, making money, The Evil sounds like a generalisation of a majority of men and what women should look out for - wise words, basically. Aided by some lovely female vocals as Ben touches on some well known situations and habits i'm sure alot of blokes will recognise - "That's why we leave you at home, and got a load of numbers that we wont delete from our phone/ just in case we get an evening alone - we can call Lisa from the other week, if we're in need of a bone."

"Game Of Soldiers" finishes the EP off nicely. Wicked bassline and some nice string and vocal samples. A quicker flow gives a great sounding contrast to the sedated beat. It's a swift journey through a selection of life's commonly encountered problems with the general consensus in how to deal with them being - "fuck it."

After listening to this E.P, Mr Ben Black and The Delusionists go right up there on my U.K favourites list.

All i can say is if he wants to collab with me, or is ever in need of a beat - get at me.

Get the album HERE

Visit the home of The Delusionists, the fledgling but expanding 'Beats Laying About' blog HERE

DaVinChe - Riding For Love

To keep you all entertained until I post the review of The Delusionists album; 'The Prolusion' in the next few days, I thought I'd post the new video from Urban Music Award winner DaVinChe. The man behind Kano’s ‘Brown Eyes’ and ‘PS & QS’ – Tinchy Strider’s ‘Something About Your Smile’ and ‘Breathe.’ Tinie Tempah’s ‘Tears’ and Sadie Ama's Take You Away.’ DaVinChe is one of my favourite UK producers, P's and Q's is still a banger so it's good to hear from him again.

The video features Clea and Bashy and the single is released on the 8th June, or you can get it a day earlier on digital release.

Catch DaVinChe on MySpace HERE

Figment - Floor By Floor

I've posted this before but i consider the original post to be somewhat of an 'advanced release.'

This time around, i've trimmed up the start and finish points of the tracks, made sure that all the info tags were right and got some good artwork done.

For those that don't know - the album is my first, written and produced by me and featuring some excellent Essex talent. Please do download it, feel free to leave comments or e-mail me your opinion and by all means - post it on your blogs/forums.

Get it HERE