In 1999 my good friend Tel goaded me into listening to Tim Westwood for the first time. I thought Westwood was a bit of a dick but there was something about Hip Hop that kept me coming back for me. As my interest in the music grew, every month or so Tim had Prime Cuts on the show and he would do an hour of 'undergound' type hip hop records. I would listen to the show, grab as many titles as I could and then every now and then search record shops for the records I had heard on the show. One of those records was a 12" by Diversion Tactics called School Report.
Thus this is the first record on the list that I own and I always held it in fairly high esteem. I haven't listened to it in a while so I was little nervous about listening to this again - would it hold up in the context of the list. And I had a little bump at the start of the week as it took me a few listens to really get my head round the record. And it is a winner but not in the conventional sense. My records are still in storage (but not for much longer...) so I can't tell you why there are four people in the group but five on the cover. But essentially two MCs and two DJs and probably one hanger on.
And it's a great great record - sticks to pretty much the same furrow but ploughs it really well. The title track sets everything off, the classic Brit Rap staple of talking about different ways of getting drunk. The production is spot on and the embellishments that support it are great - fairly low tempo throughout, but there's a real quality to the production and drums. The rapping is solid and they even push a bit of humour.
The real standout for me is a track which featured on the first 12" - Scout Report. Minimal production and solid rhyming. And there's great turns of phrases. From Buy British: "The only time I'm in a trance, is when I fuckers who can still breakdance, unfortunately I have the physic to play darts". The Chubby Alcoholic has one of those styles which is utterly accomplished without really showing off.
You ain't feeling UK hip hop if your best mate ain't an MC, is a fantastic line and captures the mood of the record - they know they're great but they don't have to go on and on about it. If I were to complain I would say this could be a much stronger single album but it doesn't feel too stretched. I still prefer the 12", although there are other singles they've done which are solid and better than that...
I couldn't find a live video of them but here's an awkward interview with them. Seemingly they're embarrassed to be interviewed by someone who looks like one of them...
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