UK Hip-Hop 2: Gunshot

[Latest update from October 2022, to fill a long-standing request.]
Originally from 06.

Despite my starting out with Son Of Noise, this crew here was actually the first I’d heard of. Gunshot put out their first 12″ in 1990 called “Battle Creek Brawl”. Its incredibly rough sound by DJ White Child Rix and the fiery delivery by Alkaline, Mercury and Q-Roc was like nothing I’d heard before. I’ve read that it was their music, together with Hijack’s, that coined the idea and sound of “Britcore”. They certainly did for me. At the time I didn’t even know where and how to get a hold of the singles that they were releasing, so I was stuck with a few hissy radio recordings (and the good thing was: with the crackling and the distortion they sounded even better!) A few years later, while Vinyl Solution was still their home label, French label Independance issued the group’s first singles as one Compilation. Instead of the cover for the compilation which I haven’t found, here are covers of the three 12″es included.

Battle Creek Brawl (1990)

Clear From Present Danger / Interception Squad (1991)

Crime Story / No Sell Out (1991)

Compilation Tracklist:

01 Clear From Present Danger (4:47)
02 Interception Squad (4:04)
03 No Sell Out (5:18)
04 Crime Story (4:49)
05 Battle Creek Brawl (4 Minute Warning) (4:42)
06 Battle Creek Brawl (Apocalypse Bass) (4:37)
07 Clear From Present Danger (Instrumental) (4:46)
08 Interception Squad (Instrumental) (4:03)
09 Battle Creek Brawl (Instrumental) (4:42)
10 No Sell Out (Instrumental) (5:18)
11 Crime Strory (Instrumental) (4:49)
12 Battle Creek Brawl (Apocapella) (3:21)

Gunshot – Compilation (1994)

And, from the same year, here’s another collection of singles, aptly titled The Singles. Some of the tracks are the same, but others are not. (Thanks, Wasteland Drifter.)

01 – Clear From Present Danger
02 – Children Of A Dying Breed
03 – No Sell Out
04 – Killing Season
05 – Social Psychotics
06 – Nobody Move
07 – Crime Story
08 – Interception Squad
09 – Mind Of A Razor (Remix)
10 – Battle Creek Brawl
11 – Children Of A Dying Breed (Burial Mix)
12 – Killing Season (Murder Kiss Remix)
13 – Colour Code
14 – Gunshots History (The 94 Lick)

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In 1993, Q-Roc had left the crew by then, they released their first album called Patriot Games. White Child Rix’ production had become more sophisticated with more multi-layered tracks and a very effective use of vocal samples to add some catchiness. The flows had slowed down a tad bit so they could actually perform their tracks live on stage and the whole thing made for an amazing album full of bangers.
[anecdote] I remember one time in school camp, when I was in charge of preparing breakfast and waking up the other kids… I laid the tables and then popped in 25 Gun Salute turned on full blast in a tiny chalet up in the mountains… Talking about an early start… When you hear it, you’ll know how much they hated my guts for the rest of that day. Well worth it, though. [/anecdote]

1 Manhunt (1:29)
2 25 Gun Salute (3:01)
3 Gunshot History (3:49)
4 Reign Of Terror (2:58)
5 World War 3 (4:19)
6 Radio ? (2:10)
7 Day Of The Jackals (3:42)
8 Underworld Crime Soldiers (0:59)
9 Bombing In Five Minutes (3:08)
10 Patriot Games (4:25)
11 Mind Of A Razor (4:02)
12 The Cholo (0:25)
13 Year 2000 (4:38)
14 Bullets Entering Chest (5:10)

Gunshot – Patriot Games (1994)

By 1997, they had finally put together another album called Twilight’s Last Gleaming. So the murky theme was continued. Content-wise, they’d relaxed a bit with their guns, battle, soldiers and blood theme and turned a bit more introspective. I seem to remember that the album was received with a somewhat lukewarm applause. And that may well have marked the moment where Gunshot was beyond their peak for their audience. I’d still contend that the album is slept-on and that it’s actually very solid and listenable. On this one, Barry Blue made a guest appearance before he’d join the group as a steady member on the next album.

01 Twilight
02 Maths And Stats
03 Millenium
04 Mask Of Phantasm
05 G. S. Vibe
06 Ghetto Heartbeat
07 Roots And Reality
08 Die Hard
09 True Fist
10 Gunshot Forever
11 The Silkmaker
12 Return Of The Gunshot
13 Kingpin
14 Untouchable ft. Barry Blue
15 Inner Space
16 Postcards From The Edge

Gunshot – Twilight’s Last Gleaming (1997)

In the year 2000, the crew dropped their latest and last album so far with International Rescue. Personally, I was a bit disappointed by it. While the production was solid and sometimes quite good, the MCs were lacking some of the drive and dopeness they displayed on Patriot Games. Some of the verses grate on my nerves, others I find just a bit forgettable, but that’s probably just me. Yet I’m afraid the only reason why this album didn’t disappear completely off the radar was the English Patient posse track with illustrous guests such as Blade, Task Force, Huntkillbury Finn, Icepick and MC Mello.

1. The Saga Continues… (Intro) (1:00)
2. International Rescue (3:54)
3. Shanghai Badbwoy (5:26)
4. Rinse Out (3:55)
5. Construct Destruct – Demo ’91 (Skit) (0:38)
6. Pain (5:22)
7. Scream 3 (5:03)
8. Hail Mary (4:45)
9. Minus 10 ft. Huntkillbury Finn (4:11)
10. Bo Bo Bo! – Demo ’90 (Skit) (0:36)
11. Everyday (3:35)
12. Pressure (5:19)
13. The Long Goodbye (4:11)
14. Badman Walkin’ (4:50)
15. The English Patient ft. Blade, Task Force, Lord Barry Blue,
Huntkillbury Finn, Icepick & MC Mello (5:02)
16. Whilst My Guitar Weeps (Outro) (0:35)
17. Shanghai Badbwoy (Remix) (4:40)
18. Weep Again (Encore) (1:16)

Gunshot – International Rescue (2000)

It’s quite safe to say that Gunshot will not release another album under that same name. (Is it?) Even their website gunshotuk.com was taken down.

To get back to the English Patient track with its analogy playing on UK Hip-Hop as the sick patient that needs treatment, it’s rather ironic that Gunshot as one of the pioneer crews that lament the state of UK rap didn’t quite survive into the 21st century while there’s now a host of MCs and DJs out there on the islands that seem to be doing increasingly better. Gunshot certainly broke down a few doors, but it was the generation following them that got a foot in. Well, except for old farts like Rodney P or Blade, perhaps…

In the meantime, MC Mercury has met up with Blade for a great chat about the olden times. Peep it here.

MC Mercury’s Space
DJ White Child Rix’ Space
Barry Blue’s Space
Gunshot Discog
Gunshot on Wikipedia

Next up: Hijack

Peace, 9@home

 

Celph, Selda and Apathy

As quite the fan of early Demigodz tunes and most of what’s come from those cats since, I was very excited to see the new talk on Peter Agoston’s House List podcast, featuring the old battle horse Celph Titled.

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For those who aren’t familiar, The House List usually features older rap cats from the 90s and noughties who Agoston still knows from his own work in and around hip-hop. The talks often consist of a good bit of reminiscing about the olden days and little anecdotes from when everybody was still a bit of a clueless punk just starting out. For an older dude like myself, this is right up my alley.

So now, Agoston met up with Celph Titled and to kick off the talk, with no intro, they play Celph’s latest track “Paragraphs of Murder”, produced by none other than Apathy, his long-time partner. (Hit play above and listen first.)

Besides the chat that follows that’s well worth listening to, the song opens with a big female singer, presumably singing in Turkish. It’s powerful, mesmerising and it creates a great build-up to when the beat finally drops and Celph starts striking that iron. The sample has stuck with me for days and I had to find out who that was. There’s a certain je ne sais quoi about Turkish and Arabic singers. They seem to strike a cord in me. I needed to know where that was from.

Now, the key to digging up a vocal sample is understanding what they say in the first place, so you can try to search for the line and hope somebody’s transcribed that before you. In this case, since I barely speak three words of Turkish, I was a bit lost. And my speculative googling didn’t yield anything. Of course you could still try to get at Apathy and just ask, but it’s probably too soon to reveal his secret, provided he’s cleared the sample. (Let’s assume he has, or else I’m a bit of an ass just now…)

Looking around for more clues I stumbled on a Youtube comment by İsmail Eren Çetinkaya who added the opening lines as a comment underneath the track on youtube. (Thank you, İsmail!)

And from there it was easy as pie. (Or is it pi? No, pie is definitely easier, I’ll go with food over maths.)

In short, this is the track I heard first…

Incredible shit, right?

And this is where the opener is taken from:

Selda Bagcan – Ince Ince (1975)

That’s it, really. Just wanted to share.

Go buy some Demigodz shit, try to catch them live on tour and treat yourself to some more of Selda’s music.

Enjoy,

9@home

 

D-Shade: What more can I say?

I’m revisiting some of my favourite Montréal cats (again, like most weeks) and besides the obvious candidates Euphrates aka Narcy (new album SpaceTime coming out!) and Sandhill, this is one of their friends who’s also featured on two of the Euphrates tracks:

D-Shade, of Shades of Culture fame.

Here’s one he did solo, 11 years ago, that I’ve always liked a lot, also considering how the dude seems to be virtually unknown outside of Canada, despite having gigged with everybody who’s anyone (tell me if I’m wrong.)

Tremendous beat, and one of the illest raps about rapping. It may be a genre that has its limits, but not when it’s done right.

Just digging around now, I’ve stumbled on the good news that Shades of Culture haven’t fallen off the face of the earth entirely. In fact, they’ve got back together to do a great track, with video, hip-hop artists and errything. Enjoy.

And just for good measure, this is one he did with Euphrates. One of my top 10 tracks of ever.

At any rate, I sure hope D-Shade has a lot more to say.

Peace,

9@home

 

Uh, is this on?

I’m probably going to regret saying this, but I may resume writing up bits and pieces on my favorite music out there after what seems like a long break from keeping this up. Thank you for checking back with me for this long, even if it’s just to check whether my Ultimate Breaks and Beats collection is back online by now. ;) (I can see your search terms. :–))

Anyways, I have a few ideas on my mind that I feel I want to push out there.

I’m curious how I’m going to surprise myself…

Cheers,
9@home

 

The Narcicyst – Leap of Faith EP (2012)

 

This man can’t hold his feet still. And that’s a good thing.

Narcy’s new brand/label is The Medium with which he leaps into artistic independence, with his music, other art forms, and his friends. And he enourages anybody else to contribute their works, thoughts, pictures, music (see link below). For now, this EP is ample proof that Narcy, for all the albums, international collaborations, films, lectures etc. he’s offered already, is only just beginning to find himself as a full-fledged artist, activist and commentator.

Leap of Faith Tumblr

 

 

Ahead of its time

 

Achieve freedom any means, relentless fight
to live life as we feel it’s right, die living proof.
All guts no glory in it, that’s what I tell em
when they ask what kinda story is it.

Verbal Kent – Ahead of its time (prod. M-Phazes)

 

 

Rapsusklei, Sharif & Juaninacka – Curso básico de poesía (2014)

Three veterans on the Spanish hip-hop scene, Rapsusklei and Sharif, from Zaragoza, and Juaninacka from Sevilla decided to drop this free “Poetry 101” on Eterno Miusik.

While the three keep releasing albums for sale and tour (please support!), their commitment to the idea behind Eterno Miusik is intriguing. “It’s not just a label but a platform… to make music in order to cure the wounds of the soul. It’s more about a personal development and about our own satisfaction.” Certainly does it for mine.

Click the cover for the link. And on their site, do the same.

ENERO (beat por Neza)
HALAL (beat por Stash House)
SÏMBOLOS (beat por Baster)
MIGUEL ANGEL (beat por Amalgama Beats)
CLEOPATRA (beat por Viruten Roi)
SANGRE ROJA (beat por Baster)
EL EMIGRANTE (beat por GZE Beats)
OHH (beat por Acción Sanchez)
LICOR Y POESÏA (beat por Stash House)
DICEN (beat por The Unbeatables)

More about Juaninacka on my blog here.

Check the links behind the artists’ names for lots of great free stuff.

Peace,

9@home

 

SimonAyEm – The Greatest Gift (Series)

Time to introduce you folks to a highly recommendable producer from my neck of the woods: Basel, Switzerland.

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SimonAyEm is part of the five-headed producer crew Prismatic Beats as well as the hip-hop collective TripleNine, a hold-all for producers, DJs, MCs and graff artists. TripleNine have become one of the more notable hip-hop hotbeds in the local and national scenes and have definitely shaped the arts in the last 14-or-so years, giving their output a recognizeable “Basel” branding. If I was to characterize what makes Basel, I’d say a bit rough and occasionally rude around the edges with tongue firmly placed in cheek–and a lot of heart for the art.

This year, SimonAyEm’s decided to do a bit of showing off, going through his immense back catalog of beats, to tie us beat heads a neat package of 13 dope instrumentals each week. All year round. For free! (Gasp!) Some have been used on published tracks, others haven’t. He’s currently at installment number 21, and there’s more than that where it came from.
So I strongly suggest you head on over to his blog to fill your boots and ears, and read up on the dude who should really get a lot more attention beyond our area.

The Greatest Gift by SimonAyEm

Peace,
9@home

 

A quick word… (the killing)

Just to let you know: I’m about to go and kill all RS links this coming week.

If you want something and it’s still up, better grab it now.

As a next step, I’ll remove all cheap posts I made “from the hip”, as it were, and just keep this as a collection of good-enough write-ups, as well as posts on free, legal music.

I’m not doing this because some authority or server provider is wrestling my arm, or because an artist is crying into their pillow about me. Matter of fact, in these 6-odd years I’ve probably got a mere two requests to take down material I’d upped – and both were on strictlybeats. (One was a brandnew Aloe Blacc album – which I fully understand, and one was a then 14-year-old Brand New Heavies album – which is bonkers.) And to both I did oblige at once, as promised. No stress, it’s all love.

When I did get comments from artists, they were usually happy to see themselves remembered. And from the comments of you, the people, I know I’ve introduced the odd one or two artists to an avid listener and made their life better – or so I hope.

But it’s time for me to clean up my blog. I do realize it’ll turn away all those who’ve been hitting me up about the Dusty Fingers and the Ultimate Breaks and Beats collections, which have been incredibly popular. But that’s okay. There are others who are quicker and with more free time on their hands, who will help you out with these.

Be well and see you soon with more fresh music. – That’s not going to end, mind you.

9@home

 

 

 

I Self Devine – The Culture Series (2012)

Building a whole lotta steam before he launches his new album “The Sounds of Lowclass America” in May 2012, I Self Devine has dropped not one, not two, but (aw shucks you guessed it by now) mixtapes for the people.

What feels great about this guy is that he’s been around for a while now, being part of The Micranots, among more groups, writing graf, organizing communities in the Twin Cities and taking a firm stand for the vast majority of Americans: the non-rich folks. (Take that you crystal-sipping sellouts.) I’m not sure if artists come much more complete than this.

Check out this whopping serving of free material, and see if you’d like to support this hard-working man when his album drops.

L.A. State of Mind (2012)

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The Upliftment Struggle (2012)

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Reports from the Field: In the Trenches (2012)

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I Self Devine Website