Monday, September 24, 2007

It's Hip-Hop Jim, but not as we know it...


Previously known to some as 'Ms Dynamite's little brother', UK rapper Akala is truly out of his sister's shadow on his upcoming second LP 'Freedom Lasso'. For your sampling pleasure here are three tracks from it.

Akala - Electro Livin' (YSI)

'The illest whipper-snapper from the land of sausage and batter.'

This isn't just the first track on the album, it's a statement of intent. Akala comes out with some sick lines on this one, constantly referencing his home land of England and buoyed by the beat, an electro scuzz-fest that sounds like what would happen if Justice started producing Hip-Hop.

Akala - Where I'm From (YSI)

'If as much man was dying in the streets as are dying in the booth there'd be nobody left.'

Akala lays some honest and intelligent rhymes on this track, protesting against fake gangsters trying to emulate their american counterparts, his upbringing, the way generations of his african elders have been treated, and favouring a complete antithesis to the standard ends-repping.

Akala - Bit By Bit (YSI)

This beat is what would come out of Timbaland's studio, had he been raised on a South-London council estate and fed a diet of pies and crime. It acts as the first single and serves as a good taster of the rest of the album.

Freedom Lasso is out next week, get it from Amazon.

Akalaspace
Official site

2 comments:

ANS said...

sounds good, gimme the loot. If it's UK i want it.

Anonymous said...

i heard 'bit by bit' on mtv a couple of weeks ago and thought it was fucking brilliant. i HATE hip-hop/rap/bla and all that nonsense, but this is great, it's grimey.