23: Skitz - Countryman

I bought this at the time, with some amount of excitement. Lauded at the time for featuring UK MCs when others around them were not, it rode in on the back of two really strong singles. The cover's a bit crap but this was a record which was sorely overlooked on release. My memory of it as a back to back killer record was confirmed through the relisten I gave it.

From the get go it sets the scene: the into track is menacing and pleading - telling us to pay attention. And then into horns, a trio of female voices and one of the best posse cuts: Wildflower, Tempa, and Estelle hit hard. Then on, and everyone on the record pulls out something special - Skitz too, the production being top drawer throughout and never really faulting. Double album too and for once, it feels short. Rodney P does his thing and it feels like a match.

Then Roots Manuva, who I don't really like over his electronically wibbly beats but here sounds sublime, describing Inner City summer days. It's beautiful. Then on and on keeping up the quality: Phi-Life cypher, Taskforce, Rodney P again - a fantastic crime gone wrong tale from Dynamite. Roots again doing another beautiful track. A daft skit which fits perfectly.

And then the triumphant last side: Dynamite again doing a bubbly ragga type tune. And then the two stand out posse cuts: Fingerprints and Twilight of the Gods. A quartet of rappers, a DJ and the tradition of using a different beat for each MC. These two tracks are incredible. "Pen to the paper I scream at the world" says Roots, and the blends between each MC are brilliant. Skeleton is the revelation for me - totally menacing laid back style. "I'm the sliver backed gorilla and the great white shark".

So that's it, a fantastic double LP bursting with ideas and really high quality rapping. It never really went anywhere which was such a shame, and Skitz moved on to radio. But this is a classic for me - I love it.

Here's the video to Domestic Science:

24: MC Duke - Organised Rhyme

Undoubtedly one of the raddest LP covers of all time - it does set up an expectation of something which is not going to be a enjoyable journey.

Thankfully though this is a solid funk/drum heavy record - tons of great samples (including a nice cut of Miracles). Straight up 1989 style, this feels slightly ahead of the curve. And, a bit of British sense of humour - "What we going to do for the next fuckin' record man?", "I think we should do one for the girls, I think they deserve it", "Yeah they do deserve it".

The production hits the ground running, keeping it simple but the drums at the fore - single sample lots of scratching. The rhyming is good and bounces around the beats effortlessly. It seems fairly unremarkable in the context of the list but that's only because the list has become much more solid. As we hit the second half the quality has ramped up. I didn't know this record before this and now I do. It's a solid recording with a nice cover.

And here's MC Duke on "Behind the Beat" BBC2 show - never saw it...

25: Dizzee Rascal - Boy in Da Corner

The ultimate record from the noughties. He was 19 years old when this came out and won the Mercury Prize. This record was everywhere at the time and, to be fair, unlike most Mercury winners he went on to do much more. This was a pre-holiday record for me so I haven't given it a full weeks listen but my initial impressions are that it's very much the sound of a 19 year old. Lot's of grimy electronic type sounds and some decent rapping.

I didn't find it a fun listen, it's a bit tiring but it ticks the right Mercury boxes so it's unsurprising that it won (defeating the likes of Athlete!, The Darkness!, Marina Topley-Bird!). The production, being grime heavy, is good but too simplistic for me. And I know it's a snobbish thing to say, but I find the type of electronic sounds here a little stupid. It all sounds like a child with a decent synth pressing four keys. Grandad.

The big single, Fix Up, Look Sharp stands out. The OOOOiiiii! starting and then the cut up of Big Beat which is a smart move. And, adding weight to my internal theory, Dizzee's rapping is raised on this. Proper Production you see. There's some hints of the route he would take - basically stupid rap. It's all too long and could easily lose 5 tracks but it is of it's time and does represent something. It doesn't feel as fresh as it probably did at the time but it's still enjoyable.

Here's what happens when you turn the "Urban" knob on the video camera up to 11:

28: Aspects - Correct English

Wow, I've really fallen behind with this. In my defence, June was busy at work and we went on holiday. Furthermore, now that I'm approaching the nether regions of the list the records aren't as easily available. Two have fallen by the wayside (I'll have to order them IRL FFS ETC). But I've kept up at least with the listening side of things.

So Aspects: from the Bristol axis of the New Wave of British Hip Hop. This is a great record - loads of smart production, crazy accents. This was released on Hombre - the Bristol label (see also the Numskullz). Two DJS, Three MCs. A bit of spoken word and then the first track proper: Aspects the Crew Are Top Choice over and over and some raspy noisy thing. It's as good as it gets. It's a solid listen from then on, but maybe a little on the bland side. One of those things that's really good but lacks the thing that grabs you.

Kronos Device starts with the Vampires of Dartmoor, before breaking out into a reggae like bouncy thing. It's great, but would have been better with the Vampires. They do the spoken word track from the start but rap over it at the end. It's good. At 18 tracks, though it's way too long which is particularly a hip hop trait. This falls into the trap of being part of the NWOBHH: It's a long but solid listen but there were so many other things at the time that were slightly better. All the parts are there and they've come together okay but it's just not super fulfilling.

Couldn't find a video, so here's top choice: