Windy Music Ent’s Sho Shallow and Ard Adz release the visuals to Get Drowned off the G.H.E.T.T.O EP.
January 4, 2013
MTV The Wrap Up – UK Rap Rundown: The 2012 Round Up
It’s been a good year, especially for UK rap – we have seen it grow and reach some great heights. I have only been writing The Wrap Up’s UK Rap Rundown for six months, starting in July when I reported for you from L.A for the BET Awards. Now that it’s the last UK Rap Rundown of 2012, I guess I should do what everyone else is doing and give you guys a wrap up of the year. But I’m not going to do that; I’m going to give you some of my personal highlights – you may or may not agree, but this is what is what caught my attention and went down for me…
A female that has really impressed me this year is Shystie; from working with Azealia Banks to her videos and mixtape ‘Gold Dust 2’. This lady has really been putting in the work, proving even though she’s been in it for a while she’s still strong and here to stay.
South London’s windy music duo Ard Adz and Sho Shallow really caught my eye this year. Releasing their ‘P.U.S.H’ mixtape, putting out many videos and also being nominated for MTV’s Unsigned for 2013, these two are destined for big things.
Genesis Elijah has also had an outstanding year. Being a more established name in the game and one many look up to, he just keeps evolving and getting better. He released a few mixtapes such as ‘I Ain’t Even Charging Bruv 2’ and ‘An Emcees Worst Enemy’ – a standout track for me was ‘Underground King’.
Let’s look at some other mixtapes that deserve a mention. K. Koke’s ‘Pure Koke 3’ is the last in the ‘Pure Koke’ series which started with Vol 1 in 2010. Vol 3 saw a mixture of new and old tracks, with a standout track for me being ‘I’m Nice’. We also have the ‘I Ain’t Perfect’ album to look forward to from Koke next year.
Political Peak’s ‘Dreams 2 Reality’ caused quite a stir when it was released. He also put out many visuals to some of the tracks, including ‘Times Have Changed’, ‘Tables Have Turnt’ and ‘Tears In The Rain’.
Dru Blu has had a good year, releasing his street album ‘ This Is Don Strapzy’ and recently releasing a mixtape ‘Best Of Dru Blu’ – along with a flurry of videos and tracks to keep us entertained throughout the year.
Margate rapper Mic Righteous is definitely destined for big things in 2013. At the beginning of the year he released his second mixtape ‘Kampain’ which thoroughly impressed me. He also had the infamous beef with Tim Westwood, releasing a diss track to him called ‘Sack City’. Look out for the ‘Open Mic’ EP, coming early next year.
‘Wretchercise’ was definitely a big one this year, with Wretch 32 being many people’s favourite rapper. He definitely showed us why he was worthy of this title, as he gave us a first class 17-track deep tape.
Ratlin’s ‘Crown Me’ mixtape which was released in December and had a heavy buzz; with a solid two years in the game, Ratlin has quickly cemented his position in the UK rap game. Squeeks ‘Call Me Squeeko’ caught my attention from the beginning till the end, with ‘I Got You’ being my favourite track refixing The Weeknd’s ‘Rolling Stone’.
Melanin 9 aka M9’s album ‘Magna Carta’ is one we can’t miss; the album is a firm favourite for UK hip-hop heads. Mystro’s ‘Mystrogen’ was a cleverly crafted, witty debut album from the emcee that reflected his full range of skills, including wordplay and social commentary.
Blade Brown’s ‘Bags & Boxes 2’ made it high in the iTunes charts, as an independent artist this showed Blade’s progression and for me, he became the king of UK trap. Skepta’s ‘Blacklisted’ is another one we can’t miss out, with standout tracks ‘Ace Hood Flow’ and ‘Castles’.
There we go guys – my personal highlights of the year. Unfortunately I couldn’t mention all of them, but regardless I hope you have enjoyed my updates in UK rap for the past six months. Happy New Year – I’ll see you on the other side!
November 13, 2012
MTV The Wrap Up: UK Rap Rundown
This week was an extremely busy week as on Tuesday myself and The Wrap Up’s editor Maz went to Paris to review No Doubt’s private comeback show; it may not be rap, but it was quality! Look out for the review coming soon. As soon as I hit the U.K I dashed to Wembley Arena for the Red Bull Culture Clash. Although I was shattered, the music and the vibes of the night kept me dancing and hyped at the exciting clash of four sound systems. Shouts to Example, P Money, Lethal B, Chip and Ms Dynamite, just some of the brilliant special guests – and of course a big congrats to Boy Better Know who won the clash…
Jump Off TV had a debate on Monday with the subject revolving around one question; ‘Have the MOBO Awards Lost Touch with its Origins’? Many topics were touched upon, such as why two different genres, grime and hip-hop, were placed under the same category. Being two different types of music, some found it quite offensive that they have been put together. What did you think of the 2012 MOBO’s? Let us know on our Twitter page.
The youngest member of USG, Geko, teamed up with Windy Music’s Ard Adz and Sho Shallow to bring us the visuals to street track ‘Hate On Me’. Sho Shallow also dropped his remix to Kendrick Lamar’s ‘Poetic Justice’, showing his lyrical skill as he discussed his background, his friends, his girl and the haters, adding; ‘rhyming without punchlines to me is just nothing.’
Mic Righteous showed us his light-hearted side when he dropped his ‘Hold It Down’ video which sees him dressed up as an elephant messing about around London – it also has a cameo from a cat as well. This will be on Mic’s new EP ‘Open Mic’.
Fresh out of prison, veteran Skinnyman dropped some fresh, hot bars in his ‘2013’ exclusive freestyle with UK Rap TV. This is the first we have seen of him all year, but in true Skinnyman style he is still on his A-game, spitting lyrics fresh out of his brain there and then.
Blade Brown showed us a life of luxury and how he ‘did it all myself no manager’ as he headed to Dubai for video ‘Life Of Mine’. The track is gearing us up for his new mixtape ‘Bags & Boxes 2’ which will be out on November 30. Blade Brown also featured on G FrSH’s ‘Tell Em’ recently – be sure to check it out.
November 5, 2012
Geko (USG) ft Ard Adz & Sho Shallow – Hate on Me [Music Video]
USG’s Geko teams up with duo Ard Adz and Sho Shallow to bring us the visuals to street track Hate On Me.
October 25, 2012
Young Don ft Stylo G,Ard Adz n Shallow – Bad ( Wicked ) [Audio]
Young Don gives us a track for the clubs Bad (Wicked) features Stylo G, Ard Adz and Sho Shallow and is produced by Rowntree.
October 22, 2012
Ard Adz & Gheezy – My Moment [Music Video]
South London’s Ard Adz hooks up with North West London’s Gheezy for new track My Moment.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yLiDrKm-1NM&feature=player_embedded
October 2, 2012
Political Peak – Wise Up ft. Ard Adz & Blacker [Audio]
Political Peak drops Wise Up featuring Ard Adz and Blacker a track taken from his Dreams 2 Reality mixtape giving us a taste of whats to come.
September 24, 2012
MTV Wrap Up – UK Rap Rundown [News]
Hey guys. It looks like winter is back; hopefully my news will cheer you up on this gloomy day! On Saturday night (22nd) I went to the East Ender Festival in Shoreditch where newbies such as the Bakery Boys, XO Man and Joel Culpepper joined some old-school heads like Blak Twang, Mystro and TY. I had a chat with TY about why events like these are important to the scene… He said: “Hip-hop events like this are important because in a time when mainstream pop-rap is so readily accessible in the charts, you need somewhere where the real lovers of all forms of hip-hop music can see artists from all over the world on the same stage.”
Saturday’s co-hosts Supa Dupa Fly said: “It’s important to put out quality hip-hop from the UK. Having legends TY and Blak Twang on the line-up made it really special for us. We plan to do more events like this – watch out for the Jazzy Jeff show at Jazz Cafe on October 15!
The booking of Doom had nothing to do with us, but its big shame and let down for the audience that he did a no-show. This just makes us want to support British music even more – TY, Blak Twang, Big Ted and Emily Rawson saved the day!”
I also picked up Mystro’s debut album ‘Mystrogen’ from him on Saturday night. The album reflects the set of skills he is renowned for; it is witty, humorous and has a great mix of wordplay, punch lines and social commentary – I think it is set to be a classic. It’s now available from all good digital outlets and includes features and production from Si Spex, Show N Prove, Mr Thing, Big Al and Homeboy Sandman.
Let’s take a look at tracks and videos of the week now. Genesis Elijah released ‘Underground King’, an honest and hard-hitting track where he spits his views on the music industry. Klashnekoff alsoreleased his highly-anticipated album ‘F**k The Long Talk’ last month and last week he gave us one of the tracks ‘Got To Be Right’ produced by Show N Prove to stream.
Ard Adz and Sho Shallow were due to open up for the Maybach Music Tour earlier this month; sadly, it was postponed. However, the pair covered their track ‘Actin Up’ with a version of their own in true Windy Music style. The duo also visited Link-Up TV for a session, giving us some deep and honest bars.
Melanin 9 released a video to his second track ‘Organized Democracy’, which is also a trailer for his ‘Magna Carta’ album which will be out on December 3.
Lastly, USG’s boss Squingy released the video to ‘Deeper’ from his ‘Wrighty’s 1st Son Part 2’ mixtape. I was a part of the video shoot so see if you can spot me in the visuals…
Until next week!
August 8, 2012
MTV Wrap Up – The UK Rap Rundown
Last week I informed you that Tim Westwood had put in a complaint to YouTube to have the Mic Righteous ‘Sack City’ audio track removed. Mic didn’t let this bother him, because on July 31, he released the music video he had filmed whilst out in Ayia Napa for Fire On The Beach. The ‘Sack City’ video was filmed by SB.TV and included cameos from Wiley, Mz Bratt, Sneakbo and more. The video has now been made private; now the question is – is this due to another complaint from Westwood…
Now it’s time to look at the standout tracks and videos from last week. The first thing to catch my eye was Haze’s ‘Freedom Writers’ featuring Renee Soul, Mike GLC, Logic, and Cerose. The track is a powerful one and comes from the ‘Loyalty. Honor. Respect’ mixtape from Haze.
Ard Adz and Sho Shallow really are putting in the work, as I’m seeing a lot of new tracks and visuals from them. Their recent one ‘Love Live Life’ is a reflective and thoughtful track from the South London rappers.
London Ivy worked with respected producer Nutty P for his brand new track ‘Do You Wanna Ride’, which will be on the rapper’s forthcoming free project ‘C.A.R.C.D’ (The Conquer and Rule CD).
UK rap maestro Sneakbo joined Vybz Kartel to provide the first remix of Orange Hill’s new single ‘Pon Time’, giving the track a homegrown flavour.
North London rapper Squeeks is the second person on the GRM Daily website to release a Daily Duppy. He uses the numbers 1 to 10 in some of his first bars, showing off his lyrical skills. Meanwhile, Young Spray talks us through how he has become the man he is today on the new track ‘Came Up’ which is the first release from his forthcoming album ‘Hard 2 Kill part 2’, set to come out on August 27.
Influential artists Akala and English Frank have joined together for ‘Educated Tug S**t’. The message behind the track? If you’re not educated and have no principles, street reputation and living a gangster life means nothing. The video shows clips of the ‘Spartan Fam’ exercise group in the background, with the rest kept simple.
Lastly this collaboration is the one that’s been on many peoples lips for the last couple of months. Was it going to happen? It seems the answer is yes as a 17-second teaser was released on the Benny Banks official channel. ‘Who’s The Daddy’ featuring Dappy should be released in full in the next few weeks – keep your eyes and ears peeled!
July 31, 2012
Ard Adz & Sho Shallow – Love Live Life
South London rappers Ard Adz and Sho Shallow bring us this thoughtful, reflective track Love Live Life, motivating us to live life to the fullest because life is too short.
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