Review: Ladbroke Grove favourite AJ Tracey's highly anticipated third album arrives after a three-year hiatus and reaffirms his place at the forefront of rap. The record explores themes of ambition, resilience and living life to the fullest, reflecting AJ's journey from humble London beginnings to UK rap's pinnacle. Featuring viral hit 'Joga Bonito' and chart-topping track 'Crush' with Jorja Smith, who contributes two very different, equally stunning parts to that single, this is the sound of an artist who is still growing and joining his craft. His wordplay remains sharp and with and fuelled with fun cultural references and is sure to be heard banging from car radios, Bluetooth speakers and plenty in between all summer long.
Wait For You (feat Lorna King - The Sauce remix) (4:09)
Headshot (Alibi remix) (4:06)
Gunshot Love (feat Liam Bailey - L-Side remix) (4:20)
Lost (feat Charli Brix - Break remix) (4:35)
Box Clever (feat SP:MC - Skeptical remix) (3:45)
Don't You Ever Stop (Calyx remix) (5:03)
Another Life (Mefjus remix) (3:49)
Review: A heavyweight ensemble of drum & bass minds take on Break's most recent set of productions, pushing them deeper into system territory. The Bristol veteran revisits his own material alongside a dream team of remixers including Skeptical, Calyx, Mefjus and The Sauce, each adding distinct bite and tension to the originals. Alibi's flip of 'Headshot' is all murky propulsion and low-end snap, while L-Side draws out the yearning in 'Gunshot Love' with Liam Bailey's vocal laid over thick, heaving bass pressure. Charli Brix floats through Break's own icy rework of 'Lost', while SP:MC cuts through the dense, noir-streaked paranoia of Skeptical's 'Box Clever' edit. Clean but rough, emotive yet primed for damage, this is high-grade d&b from a cross-generational cast who know exactly how to thread vocals and subs without compromise.
Review: Boy Better Know founder, vegan grime MC and one third of the Adenuga family legacy alongside Skepta and radio presenter Julie, JME has always floated above grime and bass music airspaces as an incontestable voice. Integrity first arrived through BBK as a fully self-produced banger set in 2015, corralling heavyweight collaborators Wiley, Giggs, Skepta, and D Double E to hammer home a certain message: simply put: don't mess. Wavering between dreamy and tearout instrumentals almost always orbiting 140bpm, and circulated between then "in" producers Joker, Deeco, and of course the inimitable Swifta, JME's subject matter always matches the vibe, be that as it may, boxing the opposition with car key fobs, or treating producers like prostitutes, giving them P for a beat. A certain nostalgia will wash over 10s grime listeners, as this limited edition clear vinyl reissue reinvokes the mouthy verbiage of one of grime's toppest guns.
Cocktail Party Effect - "Sandpaper Chatter" (3:51)
Om Unit & Delay Grounds - "Ease" (4:46)
Review: Mindful missives of the most intriguing order; Spanish collective CEE continue to curate their multi-genre Primary Forest series with the widest remit imaginable. From the pulsating, pensive 140 licks of Pugilist & Forest Drive West's brooding opener 'Polygon' to the more rampant, frazzled slaps of Cocktail Party Effect's dubby, steppy stomper 'Sandpaper Chatter', we're wrapped up tightly in unusual ideas and refreshing arrangements. Elsewhere Flore goes full tribalistic on 'Come Up' while Om Unit & Delay Grounds press the electroid button and hit all the right pleasure sensors. And that's not even the whole EP. It's time to get lost in a whole new forest. See you there?
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