Category: Rap
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Lil Pump: Harverd Dropout
Ah the States: first they give us Donald Trump, now it’s Lil Pump. All our scatological dreams are coming true. Sadly no musical ones with this debut from Pump. His schtick is that he’s really smart but dropped out of “Harverd” to rescue rap. He’d probably have been better going to college and doing some […]
jerobear
baroque, Blues, brother, CDs, Chronicle Series, Classical, Congleton Chronicle, early, funk, jazz, Jem Condliffe, music, pop, Reggae, Review Corner, reviews, rock, soul -
Kano: Hoodies All Summer
Kano works in the genre of grime and is well respected. We don’t live in London or have to deal with knives and murder on a daily basis so can’t really relate to the world he talks about. As he says: “And these gunshots never reach your town / It’s never on top when you […]
jerobear
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Slowthai: Nothing Great About Britain
Rapper Slowthai attracted alarm from a certain sector of the UK recently, holding up a (fake) severed head of Boris Johnson. When it’s satirical tv show Spitting Image it’s satire and Shakespeare is art, but, alas poor Slowthai, a kid from Northampton is outrage. We’ve had this album for a while and not reviewed it; he’s […]
jerobear
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Gary Clark Jr: This Land
We knew we’d like this when we read the reviews. We’re not fans of formulaic music genres so we liked some bits of Gary Clark Jr’s music but not the bits where he settled down into what he’s known for, rock blues. He’s a fantastic guitarist but rock blues is rock blues and does tend […]
jerobear
baroque, Blues, brother, CDs, Chronicle Series, Classical, Congleton Chronicle, Dirty Dishes Blues, Don’t Wait ‘Til Tomorrow, early, Feed the Babies, Feelin’ Like a Million, funk, Gary Clark Jr, Got to Get Up, Gotta Get Into Something, I Got My Eyes on You (Locked & Loaded), I Walk Alone, jazz, Jem Condliffe, Low Down Rolling Stone, music, Pearl Cadillac, pop, Reggae, Review Corner, reviews, rock, soul, The Governor, The Guitar Man, This Land, What About Us, When I’m Gone -
Rudimental: Toast to Our Differences
It’s hard not to like this album, in the same way it’s hard to dislike beans on toast or any buddy bromance cop movie — they’re just products, meant to be consumed by the masses. Gone are the days when you’d turn Rudimental up loud for a shot of euphoria … but then this is […]
jerobear
1by1, Adrenaline, baroque, Blues, brother, CDs, Chronicle Series, Classical, Congleton Chronicle, Dark Clouds, Do You Remember, early, funk, jazz, Jem Condliffe, Last Time, Leave it for Tomorrow, Let Me Live, music, No Pain, pop, Reggae, Review Corner, reviews, rock, Rudimental, Scared of Love, soul, Summer Love, Sun Comes Up, These Days, They Don’t Care About Us, Thula Ungakhlai, Toast to Our Differences, Walk Alone -
Bugzy Malone: B. Inspired
We’re not the demographic for hip-hop, but we like Bugzy Malone. This album smacks of a man who’s absorbed lots of music, and achieved some genuine wisdom. He’s also from Manchester, so we feel more affinity with him than some lad from London: at least we’ve seen the streets he’s talking about. Bugzy Malone — […]
jerobear
B. Inspired, baroque, Blues, brother, Bugzy Malone, CDs, Chronicle Series, Classical, Come Through, Congleton Chronicle, Death Do Us Part, Die By The Gun, Done His Dance, Drama, early, funk, Heart Not3s, jazz, Jem Condliffe, JP Cooper, Maverick Sabre, music, Ordinary People, pop, Rag’n’Bone Man, Reggae, Review Corner, reviews, rock, Run, Separation, soul, Street Life Laura White, Submarine, The End, Warning -
Plan B: Heaven Before All Hell Breaks Loose
Plan B shot to mainstream fame after following up his inner-city rap album Who Needs Actions When You Got Words with his successful Motown persona in The Defamation of Strickland Banks, telling the tale of Mr Banks, a British soul singer. The boy could sing, and had soul. Soundtrack Ill Manors came next, a “hip […]
jerobear
baroque, Blues, brother, CDs, Chronicle Series, Classical, Congleton Chronicle, Deeper, early, Flesh & Bone, funk, Grateful, Guess Again, Heartbeat, Heaven Before All Hell Breaks Loose, It’s A War, jazz, Jem Condliffe, Mercy, music, Plan B, pop, Pursuit of Happiness, Pushin’, Queue Jumping, Reggae, Review Corner, reviews, rock, Sepia, soul, Stranger, Wait So Long -
Engelbert Humperdinck: The Man I Want to Be
The existence of Engelbert Humperdinck has always baffled us: to whit why Arnold Dorsey, of Leicester, should adopt the stage name of a German 19th century composer of operas. The idea worked, which is more surprising. Even if you don’t know who Humperdinck is (the still-alive one) you’ll know his songs: described as “one of […]
jerobear
Absolute Beginner, baroque, Blues, brother, CDs, Chronicle Series, Classical, Congleton Chronicle, Crazy, early, Engelbert Humperdink, funk, How Can You Live With Yourself, I Followed My Heart, I’m Glad I Danced With You (with Olivia), jazz, Jem Condliffe, Just Like the First Time, Just the Way You Are, music, On Broadway, Our England, Photograph, pop, Prodigal Son, Reggae, Review Corner, reviews, rock, Songs of Love, soul, The Man I Want to Be, Welcome to My World -
Guy Wampa and Justin Percival: Ammut
We played this several times knowing nothing about them. It’s slick and commercial; the singer (a Wampa or a Percival, we know not) sounds like the Canadian K-os (released some slick hip hop a decade ago, including Crabbuckit and Love Song), with smooth soulful vocals, and music to match. And despite being electronic, it’s a […]
jerobear
Ammut, baroque, Blues, brother, Build A Fortress, CDs, Chronicle Series, Classical, Congleton Chronicle, Divided Conquered Insane, early, Folk Electronic Yorkshire, Foltronic, For The Talkers, funk, Gravity ft Mattic It’s Alright, I’m Just Lost, It’s Alright Guy Wampa & Justin Percival, jazz, Jem Condliffe Remove The Mask, music, pop, Reflex, Reggae, Remember These Words, Review Corner, reviews, rock, soul -
Too Many T’s: South City
Opener South City Court is not too promising, and neither is Sixty’s Ford until the chorus comes in, rapping about music, sibilantly swearing that the sixties, C60s and Seasick Steve is not their choice: “So we switch to the Beastie Boys”. Ah, they’re Beastie Boys fans and want to pick up where the Boys left […]
jerobear
1992 pt.3, baroque, Blues, brother, CDs, Chronicle Series, Classical, Congleton Chronicle, early, FM Manga (Skit) God Save The T’s, funk, Hang Tight, jazz, Jem Condliffe South City Court, music, Neighbours, Panther, Patterns Start The Fire, pop, Reggae, Review Corner, reviews, rock, Sira’s Biscuits (Skit) Diamonds Gold (Ice, Sixty’s Ford, soul, Super Soaker (Skit) Tearing Us Apart, white & black)