This one from one of our new bloggers, Tom...
The other week, Street Crime UK actually got released. This is the debut mixtape for an mc who's been in the game so long that Skepta used to be his dj. The reasons given for the delay were that Big H has been busy on road and in various legal issues. He was also quick to deflect questions on the release by maintaining that rap is just a hobby. Despite the wait, the mixtape is not a disappointment with new material as well as tracks that have been circulating online a while.
It is Skepta again who hits up the production duties on the tracks 'Hooligan' and 'New Moves', as well as a guest verse on 'Life and Death'. The featuring mc's are pretty consistent with spitting from all the Meridian Crew, as Pres T, JME, 9 Milli Major, Paper Pabs and Bossman all drop verses. H maintains command throughout the album with effortless flow. Probably one of the most entertaining things about the cd is the rate at which Big H is so casually violent. Summed up well as he carelessly drops the lines "H is cold, they just discovered, wife children everybody smothered, husband chopped up placed in the cupboard, I don't remember, ain't really bothered".
Assassin (track which above lines are taken from) is a stand out track for me and a good example of the production. Aside from Skepta, H hasn't used big name producers and through this has managed a fresh sound. The instrumentals for each track are consistently brutal with occasional branching off into what sounds almost like southern US style beats (particularly on 'Wrap Skills' and 'Whitewash') while staying true to grime.
This is probably the most consistent grime mixtape to date. Big H remains casual throughout and is just generally f'ing cool. It's a cd that he suggests other mc's buy in order to learn. Big H has proved himself properly and is now moving up in the world, so much so that he now hangs out in industrial estates…
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