The Squid Ninjaz are an eight man crew from Wales who share harking similarities to the Wu Tang, according to their PR release. And not just cos they have eight members either.
No, apparently the grimy production also reminds us of RZA's best beats - yes best beats - circa '94. Admittedly it also says it sounds like RZA's beats thrown in the tumble dryer with a Welsh accent, but that is still high praises.
This is the first release from their forthcoming album, "Revenge of the Blowfish", and it comes with two tracks to whet your appetite, both with big basslines and bigger drums. "Wowzers" features SN members Joe Blow, Cevantis and Skamma, trading verses over a beat more twisted than Polanski's babysitting techniques.
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...
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. 
Back in full effect for February is the SUSPECT PACKAGES LIVE jam, taking place next Friday the 12th ... 
The live hip hop starts here folks. Suspect Packages Live is back slightly later this month but Mr Disorda is starting shit off with an absolute stormer of a night, featuring some of the UK's best-known talents. 
Hot on the heels of November's dose of dope from Suspect Packages, Disorda now has Christmas in his sights as he has lined up another massive show for the festive season
This time the line up will feature one of my favourite crews of all time, The IRS. Their album is still one of my favourite UK releases of the past few years and their live shows are always a riot, so this should be no different. Joining them will be two of Cardiff's finest, Mudmowth and Metabeats, from the Associated Minds label, alongside Ralph Rip Shit and a potentially explosive special guest... 
Yes people, the time is upon us again. Suspect Packages is coming liiive and direct, gracing us with the presence of some more immense UK talent. As if the previously billed, SonnyJim (with his Eat Good Records cohorts) and Tactical Thinking, wasn't dope enough, they've now added Micall Parknsun AND Joker Starr to the line up. 
You really can't sleep in this writing gig, or the whole world slips past you without you even realising. Remember the review we did for the Squid Ninjaz single? That was only a couple of weeks ago and at the time no one seemed to know when the album was going to be released.
Then it arrived in the post with a release date of 7 December on the PR blurb, so I thought I'd leave it a little while before getting the review online. Then, more thanks to Twatter than anything else, I saw that it has already been released and we'd completely missed it. Bollocks. 
So, Inja's back and this time he's brought his compadre from Delegates of Culture, Skuff. While still riding on the success of the former's huge single, "Hat Low", they're releasing more hip-hop-dubstep-electro-funk madness but this time in the form of a full length album.
Who knows what earlier suggestions for the album were, but they've settled for the not very exciting, "The Skuff & Inja Show". That's not the real cover either. They're only just finishing off the artwork apparently, so I nabbed this from Skuff's Myspace. 
Aww maaaane, thank fuck for the Foreign Beggars. That needs to be said before we go any further. Over the years they've continued to bridge gaps and smash barriers, keeping me entertained every step of the way. After their last single - the critically misunderstood, "Hit That Gash" - they are back with their third album, "The United Colours of Beggattron".
As standard with the Beggars (about the only thing that is 'standard' with the crazy cats) the album is a smorgasbord of musical sounds and the lyrics are as tight and funny as ever. Featuring more guests than a Holiday Inn, both on the mic and the boards, this is easily a contender for album of the year in my humble opinion. They've even got me feeling a bit of dubstep... madness. 
The wait is over, folks. The mighty Orphans of Cush is out today, so what better time for a little review. For those who didn't see our earlier article and still don't know what is going on, Orphans of Cush is a collaborative project, bringing together the vocal stylings of Triple Darkness cronies, M9 and Cyrus Malachi, alongside Masikah and Kyza. In a word: BIG.
The release has been deservedly hyped over the past few months and as you'd expect from such a high-calibre lyrical quartet, the deliveries are on point and the content is packed full of mysticism and street commentary - the sort of themes now synonymous with the Triple Darkness camp and its many affiliates. 
Next Friday September 25th, Jehst returns to the Jazz Café with resident DJ’s Sarah Love ... 
Launched in 2004, Rising Styles (formerly known as The Brighton Hip Hop Festival) is the UK’s largest celebration of international Hip-Hop culture.
Building on the success of high profile events, the 2009 festival is developing a fantastic line up of high profile events that are designed to appeal to all audiences old and new and promises to be bigger and better.
