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TMI Tuesday: The week Ed Sheeran was crowned the most powerful black person in British music
Another week, another doomed attempt to make sense of the hideous wealth of information out there threatening to fuck us up every day. Though this is my first column under this banner I’ve tried a few similar approaches before and always get stuck on the same dilemmas. How much information is too much information? How selective should I be with what I include and how verbose should I be with my contributions? This time round I’ve cut way back on the commentary but you’ll still have to forgive me a few qualifiers at the top to put this shit in context.
It isn’t an attempt to be comprehensive, that would be insane. Despite the bullet point format it’s a highly personal list of stuff that captured my attention last week. I wouldn’t wholeheartedly endorse everything on here, though I do like the majority of it and all of it is at least interesting.
The most extreme example would be the MC Tempo track – a pile of shite worth noting partly because he’s local to The273, partly because of my continued fascination with evangelical Christianity. Yeah, I’m the guy who listened to the No Malice album from last year and tried to find a copy of Bushwick Bill’s My Testimony Of Redemption. This week I even downloaded a Stryper album, but seeing as there aren’t any raps on it I should probably move on from that with a swiftness.
Anyway…
Last week’s free playlists
- AD, ‘Comptonfornia 2‘ (funny how Compton in 2014 sounds like Oakland in 1995. I’m not complaining)
- B.o.B., ‘No Genre 2‘ (with features from Kevin Gates, Ty Dolla $ign, T.I. and both of the very good tracks listed in the videos section below)
- Boom Bap Professionals, ‘2004-2014, A Decade Of Dope‘ (exactly as described, mixed by DJ Severe, also available on limited CD)
- King Louie, ‘Tony‘ (first mixtape of the year for Drill legend who failed to make the tenth spot on this year’s XXL Freshmen list)
- Last Japan, ‘Ride With Us‘ (South London grime producer possibly still signed to Sony, with features from Trim, Prince Rapid)
- Lil Durk, ‘Signed To The Streets 2‘ (fresh from beef with Game and Tyga, with beats from Young Chop and features from Migos and French Montana)
- Rag’N’Bone Man, ‘Wolves‘ (last freebie before he blows up big? Featuring Stig Of The Dump and Kate Tempest)
- Scotty ATL, ‘OTR2SJ‘ (Atlanta rapper hooks up with Toyota’s Scion AV site for EP with guest appearances from Killer Mike, Trouble and Rich the Kid)
- Stig Of The Dump, ‘Free Sh!t‘ (five track EP rounding up various loosies including the most excellent ‘Balance‘)
- Tricksta, ‘#EstateLife 013‘ (latest instalment of essential UK hiphop series features Karl Hinds, Big Dutty Deeze, Manage, LATE, TBear and loads more)
- Young Thug, ‘1017 Thug 2‘ (Atlanta’s man of the moment, recently signed to Gucci Mane’s 1017 Brick Squad label)
Armageddon been in effect
- Brother Beatbox, ‘Vol III‘ on DeFacto Entertainment (beats by Natural Selection producer, features from Joker Starr, Benny Diction, Tenchoo and loads more)
- Cakes Da Killa, ‘Hunger Pangs‘ on Mishka NYC (vicious hunger pangs from a man named Cakes with a chip on his shoulder. Vital)
- Kista & Glad2Mecha, Collecting Dust on Dusty Platter/Soundweight Records (UK producer Kista and Arizona emcee Glad2Mecha)
- Origin, ‘Mathematics‘ (former member of dreadful London duo iAm1, much better without his whingey guitar bothering mate)
- Slim 400, ‘Keepin’ It 400‘ (YG’s weed carrier has a style of his own, if Tom Breihan’s review at Stereogum is to be believed)
- Vic Spencer & Rocket, ‘Vision Pipes‘ (EP from Chicago emcee of ‘Infectious (Telling Folk)‘ fame)
Loose Audio
- Black El, ‘White ’95 Maxima‘ (smooth Boston emcee rolling with dimes and dreaming of Africa. Tagged #futuresoul)
- Boldy James, ‘Crunchin’‘
- Camp Lo, ‘Cold Retarded‘
- Casey Veggies, ‘The Boy‘ (infuriatingly catchy, moronically brilliant Hit Boy production)
- Coops, ‘Rap Masterclass‘
- Cozz, ‘Knock The Hustle‘ (J Cole protoge)
- DJ Infamous ft/Big K.R.I.T. & Yo Gotti, ‘Something Right‘
- J Gang & 5 Star, ‘Bus Ride‘ (brilliantly vivid bars from Brixton road rappers arguing that real gangsters move on public transport. I believe them)
- King Louie, ‘Fuck You‘
- KRS One, ‘Hip Hop Is One‘
- Lil Reese & Chief Keef, ‘Nigga Wat (Remix)‘
- MC Tempo, ‘South Side‘ (dedicated to the old school Brighton crew, Tempo reminisces on dealing coke and binge drinking in the days before he found Jesus)
- Mobb Deep, ‘Shark‘ (produced by Alchemist)
- Nutso, Shabaam Sahdeeq & Hus Kingpin, ‘Murderous‘
- Rah Digga ft/Chuck D, ‘Storm Comin‘ (Rah Digga’s for the children. Chuck doesn’t turn up until the outro, but still…)
- Raekwon, ‘Ooh La La La‘ (the fourth in Raekwon’s #tbt series finds him adding his touch to an old Teena Marie ‘classic’)
- Ragga Twins, ‘Trippin & Bunnin (Fat Controllers Mix)‘
- Reks ft/N.O.R.E & Saigon, ‘Garvey‘
- Rich Homie Quan & Young Thug, ‘I Got It‘
- Tre Mission ft/Wiley & Adreena, ‘Real Grind‘ (Drake affiliated grime producer signed to Big Dada. Nice wobble)
- Trim, ‘#KanyeWest‘ (mister Trimanosaurus West shouts out Shitforbrains. No, really)
- Yo Gotti, ‘Errybody‘
Loose Video
- Audio Push, ‘Parade‘ (produced by Hit Boy from his HS87 compilation ‘We The Plug’)
- B.o.B., ‘Many Rivers‘ and ‘Mission Statement‘ (epic manifestos with renewed sense of purpose. When did he get good again?)
- Cappadonna ft/Amar Divine & Spliff Star, ‘Help The Brovas‘
- Crooked I, ‘Struggle‘ (sometimes he just wants to fall asleep in the tub loaded on drugs like he was imitating Whitney)
- Deadly, ‘Getting Crunked‘ (Birmigham Stay Fresh emcee takes a break from crunching food like it was Wotsits to get crunk on a DJ Mustard beat)
- Doughbeezy ft/Killa Kyleon, ‘Feel Free‘
- Grizzly, ‘Intro (Back On My Grime Part II)‘ (south London emcee with artillery ‘like Ghetts‘ trails upcoming follow-up to 2012 EP)
- Hezekiah, ‘Can I Live‘ (Mello Music Group emcee with new take on classic concept, trailing album Dreams Don’t Chase Themselves due later this summer)
- illHAYES, ‘BANK$‘ (road rapper with Eazy E’s hair, 50 Cent’s ambition and, best of all, Nutty P production)
- Junior Brat ft/Castro, ‘Black Britain‘ (treatise on the state of black Britain with Tim Westwood sample and someone who looks like a rabbi mouthing the ‘n’ word)
- Ka & Preservation, ‘Still Heir‘ (spooky as hell)
- League Of Shadows, ‘The Redux‘ (Mylo Stone, Upfront & Rogue prove they’re much better at verses than hooks)
- Lil Daddy ft/Boston George, ‘Stupid Profit‘ (trap continues to be the greatest advert for capitalism. Who could resist stupid profit?)
- NehruvianDOOM, ‘Darkness (HBU)‘
- PhybaOptikz, ‘The Assignment‘
- Ray Vendetta, ‘Invisible Clocks‘ (Triple Darkness emcee)
- Realz ft/Lay Z, ‘Some Day‘ (E3 emcee on a vibe like ‘fuck top three‘, sitting in Jammer’s basement paying homage to the scene that raised him)
- Redman, ‘Nigga Whut‘ (from the upcoming Muddy 2 mixtape)
- Ruthless, ‘About Me‘ (jaunty track from charismatic London emcee who wraps a big spliff but is still too focussed to be just sitting around)
- S.Kalibre, ‘Observations‘ (taking back Britain from those with a devilish plan)
- $amhill, ‘Alias‘ (you don’t need to know him, just his alias. From Unkut’s Counterstrike 2 mixtape)
- Skrapz, ‘Mission Impossible‘ (NW London road rapper accuses his enemies of listening to Little Mix)
- Soulja Boy ft/ Migos, ‘Gas In My Tank‘
- Stat Quo ft/Scarface, ‘The Way It Be‘
- Talb Kweli ft/ Res, ‘What’s Real‘ (new video for track from Kweli’s recent Gravitas album)
- Wretch 32, ‘Behind Barz Freestyle‘
- Youngs Teflon, ‘0 To 100‘
- The Zombie Kids ft/Waka Flocka Flame, ‘Broke‘
TV/Radio
- This week’s episode of The Combat Jack Show features special guest Common
- This week’s episode of The Truth with Elliot Wilson also features special guest Common
- Lord Jamar talked to Vlad TV, fearlessly stating the obvious (yet again): ‘Iggy Azalea’s Poppin’ Because She’s White‘
- The Grime Report has an entertaining clip of their reporter arguing with Manga over what was the first grime tune
- Hard Knock TV speak to Jay-Z’s former employee mate Young Guru who asserts ‘Hip Hop is NOT a color based thing, It’s Where MLK’s Dream Is Realized‘
- Narduwar interviewed (most of) the Wu-Tang Clan backstage before a show in Vancouver
Documents
- Justine Hunte did an extensive interview with 9th Wonder on HHDX discussing Little Brother, Jamla Records, David Banner, Kanye, the Zulu Nation and more
- Chaz Kangas wrote a thinkpiece ‘In Defense of the Beastie Boys’ To The 5 Boroughs’ on Village Voice
- Drew Millard interviewed Bubba Sparxxx in ‘Mudhole Marauder: The Ballad Of Bubba Sparxxx‘ on Noisey
- Whitney M Stephens asked Damon Dash to walk it like he talks it in an open letter ‘Dear Damon Dash‘ on Rap Rehab
- Grant Brydon interviewed DJ Mustard for RWD
- Max reviewed Frankie Stew & Harvey Gunn’s recent album ‘The Morning‘ on Broken Culture
- Erika Jarvis asked ‘Iggy Azalea’s American accent: identity smoke-screen or hip-hop survival?‘ in a piece for The Guardian
- Neil McCauley wrote a piece titled ‘Why loving US soccer is just like loving Nas‘ for Noisey
- The Wordplay hive mind contacted Mr Flix of Raw Product for his answers to ten questions in their 10 Q’s column
- The Wordplay hive mind also contacted Stealf of Raw Product for his answers to ten questions in another 10 Q’s column
- Dionne Grant interviewed Tinchy Stryder on his growth as an artist for the article ‘Tinchy Stryder: Growing Pains‘ on The Voice
- Charlotte Richardson Andrews compiled a revealing list ‘Brit-hop: ten of the best‘ for The Guardian
- Ryan Bassil asked ‘Why Is Watching White People Cover Rap Songs Using Acoustic Guitars So Nauseating?‘ on Noisey
- Chloe Matthews asked the perennial question ‘Why Isn’t UK Hip-Hop Commercially Successful Yet?‘ on Soapbox
"Up to date / state of the art / take part, get taken apart as I make my mark" 
Thats a lot of information.
Too much infomation, you might say.