This took two weeks to arrive, hence the delay and the lesson to be learned about US post and the problems of doing a UK centric music blog in California. Prior to this I vaguely knew about the Cookie Crew, but some brief mentions on Twitter brought out a whole lot of CC love - the ever knowledgable Ben Hatton described it as "One of the best UK rap LP".
High praise indeed but it's easy to see why - an onslaught of sass, tight rhyming and killer production. Remedee and Susie Q have the voice, flow and beats and they're all on display throughout. There's a lot to like here and, like all great records, it doesn't outstay it's welcome and each track delivers a little more. We had a bit of a chuckle at some of the titles, but even Amy's a convert to the Cookie Crew style.
It's a blissful visit to 1989, with classic samples that are reverently treated - Tramp, Superfly etc. and for the time the scratching is top notch also. For me the standout is Places and Spaces For Your Mind - A beautiful Donald Byrd background, to some spoken/rap style - it's just really great. Unlike the other albums I've heard so far, this made sense straight away. They made a second LP with some tracks done by Black Sheep, and there's a bit of the light touch of daisy age rap but it's got a strong UK thread running through it.
There's also something to be said for rap duos who rap mostly together (dropping in and out) rather than taking turns and these two are some of the best - sounding effortless for them. So there we go - a definite winner, well worth the wait and a early contender for best of the blog. And to set it off here's the Cookie Crew doing the title track live on Top of the Pops and absolutely killing it:
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