Who doesn’t enjoy a trip to the zoo, eh? I mean I’m sure there are some horrendous zoos around the world, but generally in this country we do alright. The animals are rare and entertaining enough, even seeming genuinely happy most of the time and the wee beasties in LONDONZOO are no exception.
Yes, the dirty half-dozen are back with a brand new EP and a lot of filth. “The London Zoo EP” brings us the usual mix of comedic smut and barely legal beats that have helped cement a place in UK hip hop for Dabbla, Cobes, Rocksta, Sumgii, Pierre Green and DJ Frosty.
Five individuals and a dubstep remix make up the track listing, with a nice mix of beats from the locals, Sumgii and Pierre Green, as well as Philly B, Voltage and Zemon. Philly B opens things up with the obvious anthem of the EP, “Everybody Does It”, which is packed full of dank and dirty rhymes from Dabbla and Rocksta.
If there’s one record hyped for the coming month it’s the full length from the World and TWO-time UK EOW Champion, Stig Of The Dump. After waiting for what seems like an eternity the brand new single is released on Monday.
The lead single from the album ‘Mood Swings’, ‘I Got Game’ is a Street-Fighter sampling, attitude laden anthem and exactly what fans would’ve been expecting.
Both lyrically and musically the song stands strong, with a Pete Cannon produced beat becoming a perfect backdrop for Stig’s ‘don’t-give-a-fuck’ mentality.
Guess who forgot to review the one thing I’ve been rinsing on my I-pod all summer so far!? If you’re not already in-the-loop, we’re here to inform you that Jon Phonics has returned for round two of the Half Past Calm mixtape series! With Phonics beats as fresh as ever, a combination of the countries most formidable rapping talents joining up for what has to be the best UK hip hop album so far this year and one that has been on constant rotation at Style43 HQ.
This is a round-up of perfectly appointed MCs coming together in a big hip hop hot pot, mixed up with an already established classic Jon Phonics sound. Each track holds its own in originality, beefy head-nodding beats and perfect flows. Bringing forward the archetypal YNR heads such as Jehst, Kashmere & Micall Parknsun, the album also features tracks featuring other Style43 favourites Sonnyjim, Fliptrix, Cyrus Malachi, Masikah and M9.
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Australia's premier Hip Hopper's are back with their fifth album 'State Of The Art' through ... 
There are few promoters that stand the test of time in club-world. The Doctors Orders has kept the number one spot for everything Hip Hop across the UK and succeeded in bringing the very best of international and home grown talent to the stage, all playing alongside the driving force behind the party’s success, Spin Doctor. There are very few Hip Hop fans across the South that hasn’t attended one of the regular or one-off events over the past five years.
To mark their fifth anniversary, The Doctors Orders are raising the bar once again to provide their faithful with some unforgettable events this summer.
Albums produced in their entirety by Madlib are always going to be hotly received and, just as often, bombarded with criticism, both constructive and destructive. What we have here should keep the critics happy for a while. For me, this is one of the strongest albums of the year so far; well worth the hype that it’s been getting, since rumours started circulating a couple of years ago about a possible collaboration between Messrs. Simpson and Jackson.
Guilty is yet another emcee who owes a lot to J Dilla. He was one of the late producer’s favourites on the mic and Dilla helped to produce his debut album, “Ode to the Ghetto”. Testament to their friendship is shown on the track “Cali Hills”, where we get to hear Guilty’s recollections on how instrumental Dilla was in helping him make it as a rapper. Madlib’s guitar laced beat is a perfect accompaniment to the sentimentality on display here and this track has been getting heavy rotation on my stereo. 
I remember when I first heard the “Countryman” LP, I was blown away by both the diversity of Skitz’s beats and the list of collaborating emcees. This was at a time when Rodney P and Roots Manuva could not put a foot wrong, as far as I was concerned, so that album was a perfect match.
Now Skitz is back with the “Sticksman” album, which could just as easily be called “Countryman 2”, but that’s not said with any negative connotations. The beat diversity is as strong as ever and the list of collaborators perhaps even more so, and they all come together to form one of the most hyped and anticipated “comeback” albums of the past few years. 
Representing for June's SUSPECT PACKAGES LIVE we have none other than YNR Productions recording artists JEHST & MICALL PARKNSUN rocking the stage. Alongside them will be DJ JAZZ T (Diversion Tactics) handling the 1s & 2s...
One of the best lyricists this country has to offer, hands down, coming correct with colourful wordplay & killer beats to match, each and every time, Jehst shouldn't really need any introduction! The YNR head honcho in charge will be performing classics and forthcoming material from his soon to be released 'Dragon Of An Ordinary Family' album, with extra fuel from Micall Parknsun & Jazz T holding down the decks, don't forget to check for the 'First Second Time Around' & 'All City Kings' albums too.
Residents DISORDA & DJ LoK will dropping Hip Hop, Reggae & Dubstep pressure... 
The homegrown pioneer and purveyor of the Original Fever is back in our ears again, with an astounding new album and this, the first single, "Struggla". Featuring top emcees from both sides of the Atlantic, this is sure to be one of the biggest hip hop anthems of 2010.
Frequent Skitz collaborator and legend of UK music, Rodney P returns with more fire in his voice than ever before, trading verses with Skibadee and Kardinal Offishall. The chopped soul hook lends itself to a plethora of rewinds, with Kardinal's infectious singing style making sure it sticks in your head long after the tune is done. Many years since release of the "Countryman" LP, you can really hear the new kick in the step of Skitz's superb production. 
This is a bit of a last minute reminder cos the show is on Friday, but we figure it's better late than never to remind you that Suspect Packages Live is back for another onslaught. 
A few weeks ago I was preparing some questions to email to BK-One for a little interview. But a few days later we found out that he was coming to the UK with Brother Ali and so we asked if we could interview them in the flesh. The answer was a resounding 'yes' and so following on from our interview with Brother Ali yesterday, we now have the BK-One interview for you to get stuck in to. Aren't we good? 
Brother Ali and BK-One hit London last week, for a sold-out show at Cargo. As usual they tore it up and got as good a reception as they always do when they pay us a visit.
Before the show we managed to have a little natter with Ali which I have painstakingly transcribed for you below. Be on the lookout for the BK-One interview coming soon!
S43: So how’s the tour been going so far?
Ali: Yeah its been great, I’ve been having a lot of fun. I’m enjoying it a lot.
S43: Do you notice much difference between the types of crowds you get at your shows, as you move from country to country?
Ali: Yeah. Germany and Scandinavia know our music pretty well and I feel like we’re just getting started there, y’know what I mean, but they’re very responsive. France, except for Paris cos they know our music and it’s great, but outside of Paris it seemed like a lot of people were there cos they heard there was music, and they didn’t know my music, they don’t speak English very well and I don’t speak French very well, so it was really interesting. The UK is really rowdy, excited and you have a lot of energy. I like it a lot. 
El Da Sensei is a name you should all be familiar with. Alongside Tame One as "Artifacts", he produced one of the signature albums of the mid-90s, "Between a Rock and a Hard Place", which embodied and paid homage to the other elements of hip hop: graff and breaking. 
It’s been a bit quiet round here recently, for one reason or another, and realising that we’re nearly a quarter of the way through the year already, we figured we’d better pull our goddamn fingers out and get back on it before 2011 starts looming.
Luckily for us (and you) we’ve got some good stuff to come back with, kicking off with the new album from Fliptrix, “Theory of Rhyme”.
The South East Londoner has already built up a pretty expansive following since he dropped, “Force Fed Imagery”, in 2007, as well as smashing a number of guest spots and live shows, plus receiving airplay on 1Xtra and loads more stations across the UK and abroad. And now he has created one of the most accomplished albums I have heard since last year’s “Encrypted Scriptures” and “Rádio Do Canibal”, from Jyager and BK-One respectively. 
It seems like only yesterday that the mighty Souls of Mischief graced our shores with a dope in-store appearance at the Carhartt Store in Covent Garden. Well, we must have given them a good reception cos now they are back to do it all over again. 
It's that time again, folks: Suspect Packages Live is looming and looks set to be another stormer. Not content with one launch party this month, Disorda has thrown two of them into the mix! Yes, the stage is set for Fliptrix and DJ Roast to come and peddle their wares, and if the former's new album is anything to go by, this night will not disappoint. 
Mini-mix number four is now available for your listening pleasure. Who doesn't like ... 
