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Our homeboy out in Holland, Luke Da Duke, has just had his new house painted by Snub, Germ, Nol, Sinna and El Chriso… what a lucky guy, and what a hype house that’s gonna be.

» See all the photos in this Flickr set.

Trapped in the Asylum is the debut full length album from Brighton’s Witchdoctor Wise, the eco-friendly MC who made noise with the Lost Souls crew, kept up the pace with the Skill Mega splinter project and has maintained a high level of heat with his live shows.

A handful of tracks that appeared on CDR release at last years Brighton Hip Hop Festival are combined with new material to make up a refreshing record of considerable quality. Basics like track order, skit placement, beat variety and subject matter fit together so well it gives the album a personality made of struggle, hedonism, fear for personal survival and for that of the human race. The fate of many a rap album being just a collection of songs is swerved for an altogether greater end result.

Through a clear, pronounced delivery braggadocio rhymes and apocalyptic prophecies are mixed with similes soaked in marine and wildlife imagery. Self reflective chorus lead dance floor bangers clash with sped up drum machine scattergun drug adventures. The mix is not something seen much in hip-hop or elsewhere.

Support comes from a fine crop of Brighton/London/Further A Field MCs and producers including Iris, 184, Tom Caruana, Naim, Rup, Dr. Syntax and Devise. The latter 3 of that group joining up with Skill Mega’s Reps for the posse cut “Mission Kings” which you can download at the end of the interview. Book ended by top notch verses from Wise and Rup, the track bounces at a head nodding pace, and with its nonsensical and visually bizarre chorus, its status as the best track on the album is cemented.

The topics of environmental apocalypse and omnipotent political systems touched on in Wise’s raps weave through the album amongst rhymes of everyday struggles and fears without ramming messages down the listeners’ throat. Through the liner notes and soon to be published Tales from the Asylum blogs, these areas are more fully explored, producing a multifaceted product combining straight up rap with socio-political commentary: stereotype-free conscious hip-hop.

Delarge caught up with Wise to talk about the subjects that underpin some of the albums main focus. Read on for the interview and grab the Mission Kings mp3…

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Here’s Jel from Anticon flexing pon an MPC - watch those hands:

But wait - there’s more… check this second video which features 2 more MPC adventures.

Driving home yesterday I saw a plastic water bottle in the gutter. It was half-full of what looked like piss. Two things struck me. Firstly, it’s not the first time that I’ve seen a bottle of piss on the side of the road. Secondly, there is something inherently depressing about looking at a bottle of piss on the side of the road.

If you asked me who my favourite emcee is I would say Nas. He’s always had it. That combination of street-smarts and a populist sensibility makes him so addictive to listen to. Although Illmatic is not my undisputed favourite hip-hop album it’s easily in my top 3. With hindsight, it is the perfect snapshot of a rapper at the top of his game.

Sadly, a strength of Illmatic is also a weakness of his subsequent career. The millstone of such a classic is audible on every one of his latter albums. He’s still well capable of knocking out a gem or two but a complete album eludes him. His most recent offering suffers from a lack of consistency we’ve all become accustomed to. Part of me wonders if he could just get the all the original peeps back on the boards we might get an album approaching the uninterrupted quality of Illmatic. Perhaps his long-awaited co-lab with Doom will be the panacea.

Nas isn’t alone in his decline. There’s a pantheon of gifted artists who, for various reasons, have lost their way a bit. However, it does seem that hip-hop is acutely afflicted in this respect. So many exceptional emcees have descended into cameos in shit films and advertising fizzy drinks. It seems that artistic integrity is a dirty word in hip-hop. “Thou shalt get paid in full” over-rules all else.

Driving to work today I listened to Nas’ Hip Hop Is Dead. It was half full of what sounded like shit. Two things struck me. Firstly, it’s not the first time that I’ve listened to a Nas album that’s half-full of shit. Secondly, there is something inherently depressing about listening to a Nas album that’s half-full of shit.

Nas - One on One (MP3 from the Streetfighter OST)

Article by MF Hart
Photo by Runs with Scissors

When you’re stranded at your desk and you’re on the look for some beats to pump, you should take a trip to the Turntable Radio podcasts where you’ll find huge heavy beats and buckets of dope tunes. Visit them on Odeo for the mp3 downloads or their website. Photo of Birdy Nam Nam by Monsieur Haze.