In 1993, the only group that interested me was Carter: The Unstoppable Sex Machine. I was a typical nut, poring over their fan club newsletters. One that I remember was asking for help from this guy Blade: Send him 15 quid (or maybe 20) and you get a copy of this record, which was then unpressed or unrecorded. A pre-internet Kickstarter. And there on the booklet that comes with the record is a list of everyone that contributed (including Carter USM).
And it's Blade. What more can you say - in another world he would be common knowledge but despite a few goes it never seemed to happen for him. Listening to this record now, twenty years on, it leaps out at you. The production is incredibly tight, the drums knock you round the head - all crunchy Public Enemy lite in amount but a similar amount of force behind it. And Blade, born with a rappers voice. Every word is placed for effect. No compromise.
It's a double record, and feels it. It could have been tighter as a single but he didn't make that many records so we should be grateful for this amount of material. The track with Mell'O stands out, both of them on form:
"Mell'O why you cursing?" "Because I'm fucking angry!"
Clever rap stuff too: "How To Raise A Blade", a cappella, and then some stupid piano playing - the true test of a great rap record: you don't notice how annoying the skits are. And then crash into "No Compromise" - pounding drums and a head nodding piano line. And Blade, knocking it out the park for the umpteenth time.
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