THE ELEMENTZ “CRUSHMODE” ALBUM REVIEW
Posted by Jen on 13.06.2008, 11:07
There are those of you out there who may not think of the Midlands as the sort of place that’s brimming with home-grown hip hop talent, but you would be wrong, so very, very wrong. Because along with Robin Hood and Su Pollard, the city of Nottingham has given us such musical luminaries as Cappo, P-Brothers, Karizma and, of course, the Elementz.
The latter are back with their new compilation, “Crush Mode”, featuring all the usual audio audacity and beat bravado that we have come to expect from Liati and Zoutr since they dropped their debut back in 2005. And as usual they come fully mob handed with a ton of guest speakers, including Skinnyman, Scor-Zay-Zee, TB and Big Cakes.
Their sound has definitely progressed since their last release and you’d be struggling to name all the musical influences at work here. With elements (get it…) of grime, good old fashioned hip hop and a smattering of electro and dubstep for good measure, this album has something to suit all heads.
You can get a good taste of the things to come from the 80’s/Space Invaders “Select Players” intro, which takes us straight into the first of the multi-emcee spectaculars, “At One With the Elementz” featuring Wretch32, Loudmouth and Wariko. This grimy opening is countered by another sick collabo with Taskforce, “Crush Theme”, which has echoes of the boys’ original sound. Definitely starting as they mean to go on, those two tracks show the diversity of the album and in fact, of the Elementz as a whole. Other joints to listen out for are “S.K.I.M. Radio” with Big Cakes, “Ruinin’ My High” featuring Dubbledge and “High Grade” with Skinnyman.
I don’t know why I’m even telling you which ones to listen out for, cuz from a production point of view this album kills it all the way. The Elementz have dared to cross musical borders and venture into areas that sometimes spoil what is otherwise decent hip hop. But here we have a crew who are able to make everything go together and also make it sound as though it should have been like that forever. I was sceptical of the numerous hip hop/grime crossovers that are making waves at the moment but these guys have shown they don’t always have to sound like someone massacring a Casio. My advice, go and cop this at iTunes now if you think your ears need waking up.
http://www.myspace.com/elementzuniverse
Review by Fyshh