Posts Tagged ‘ Kwam ’
Young producer Chillz’ stock is ever growing and further proof of this comes i the guise of his collaboration with highly rated mc Kwam on the track ‘My 5 Year Plan’ which gives fans a little taster what to expect from Kwams forthcoming release ‘People Power’ although this track will sadly not be featuring.
Kwams storytelling abilities come to the fore on this track and it’s yet another banger to add to Kwams illustrious list, check it below.
S-Star Tv recently went behind the scenes of the ‘Is That What He Did’ track from Nico Lindsay and more where they managed to capture this huge ‘Community Links’ freestyle from the likes of Nico, Kwam, Darkos and Obese who go in for almost 10 minutes of pure hard barrage over a wicked Teddy production.
Ive been slacking on the blogging for the best part of 10 days and in those 10 days a lot has happened, most notably for me is the news that Kwam’s and Dj Sketch’s massive release ‘The Surgery EP’ is bandcamps album of the week, which is no mean feat when you think how many eps and mixtapes the site receives per week.
This news is just further evidence of how good The Surgery EP is and how under-rated both Kwam and Dj Sketch’E are….one thing though lads, can we have a follow up release???
CONGRATS GUYS!
Read what Bandcamps Andrew Dubber had to say about The Surgery EP
The Surgery EP
Grime, a descendant of garage, dancehall and hip-hop born roughly a decade ago on the streets of the UK, is now entering maturity, with several of its stars finding themselves experiencing the trappings (and the traps) of major label success. But there’s also an increasing universality in its subject matter and themes, and a playfulness with the tropes and assumptions in the music’s culture. Grime is tackling important political and cultural material with resonance for broader society, and at the same time its artists are comfortable taking themselves less seriously — all of which point to the fact that grime is growing up.
Case in point: London-based Kwam MC (Kevin Nana Boadi), an avant-garde artist in the real sense of the word. His latest release, The Surgery EP, pushes grime into new territory by dealing with socio-political issues such as citizenship, surveillance culture and branding, while periodically breaking the fourth wall and addressing his audience with sly asides and clever banter. The result is a record that succeeds in being both important and urgent on the one hand, and entirely approachable on the other. Coupled with Sketch’E’s punchy, melodic production, it’s a slick package and invites repeat listens not only because the songs are so great, but because Kwam’s just so damn likeable and convincing.
Of course, The Surgery EP contains some of the braggadocio you might expect from urban street music. “Linen,” for example, is an unrelenting diss – a battle rap with no worthy opponent. But at times Kwam is surprisingly modest. In “Pedigree,” he makes a point of drawing our attention to his less accomplished works in part to show how far he’s come, which also has the effect of humanising him:
‘05, jumped on a bar ting
Studes in Barking
Over a beat with a dog on it barking
When I look back I can’t help laughing
Swear down I thought that tune was the hardest…Elsewhere, the EP veers toward the revolutionary. On “What Do You Stand For?” Kwam stops the track to speak “unmediated” to his audience to point out the absurdity of a culture of conspicuous consumption and the use of social media in the service of unpaid brand promotion.
While it might be stretching the point to draw a connection between the recent riots in the UK and a grime release that only just preceded them, there’s no doubt that Kwam manages to express the collective frustration, futility and outrage of people beginning to realise the extent to which their freedom and self-determination is illusory:
This whole malarky’s nothing but effery
…and it’s upset me
So I put my anger in a tune
Before I break these chains what I can’t see
I need to work out the angle I’ma use.As well as being a completely brilliant set of songs, Kwam has crafted something sophisticated, layered, problematic, engaging, angry, witty and nuanced. And that makes it crucial.
Visit the bandcamp here: www.bandcamp.com
MindOfGrime has partnered up with AimhighEnt to bring you the exclusive grime visuals! We kick started this partnership with a freestyle and a interview from the heavyweight Kwam MC!
Where he not only drops bars of fire but also discussed his grime top 3, his forthcoming release People Power and more…watch & listen below.
One of my favourite mcs Kwam drops this brand new freestyle ‘Outbreak 2’ as light preparation for his forthcoming release ‘People Power’.
This is just immense, the beat is giving a thorough lyrical beating as Kwam drops clever bar after clever bar in his usual style of delivery, you’ve done it again Kwam….another banger to add to the collection.
Were back this week with our weekly installment of radio rips from Logan Samas KissFm radio rips and we have four massive bangers for you this week.
Yep, four tracks including a monster new track from GFam over a Flava D production titled ‘Church Bells’ a brand new track from Mercston titled Mayweather, brand new Jammer and C.Gritz on the track On The Ball and to round things off we have the radio rip of the forthcoming single from J Beatz on which he’s enlisted a who’s who of grime stars for the track 8 Bar Mucktion, mcs featured on that are 9 Milli Major, Big H, Kwam, Typah, Big Narstie, MIK, Blay, Jammin, Sharky Major, Rival & Tre Mission, catch all below.
Alien Muziks Danny D is really starting to make waves in the grime scene thanks to an influx of quality freestyles from him in recent months as well as featuring on Rivals Lock Off The Rave 8 Bar Remix and dropping the very sick EP ‘The Test Run’ and now the ad-lib genius and punchline king is back with the official video to ‘Still Tippin Freestyle’ which featured on te EP The Test Run, watch and listen below.
Street Starz recently caught up with Kwam, Danny D and Deathstar who are three members of one of the best grime collectives doing their thing ‘Alien Muzik’ where they go in on a massive freestyle.
What I like about this freestyle is the different styles that each mc has, Kwam is no nonsense, Danny D is punchline filled and Deathstar has a vicious flow and when they come together you’re guaranteed something special and that’s exactly what we get.
I cant sing the praises of these 3 guys enough, just listen below and see the levz for yourselves.
Grime MC Kwam and DJ Sketch’E have collaborated to create “The Surgery EP”, in which Sketch’E provides the beats, whilst Kwam acts as the MC. The EP is five songs in length which is considered by most as the usual amount for such a project.
Getting in to the EP is the first song, “Surgeon general” which has a great chorus rapped by Kwam. Here he claims “Call me the surgeon general, I don’t write any bars with a stencil I’ll only go with a flow that is mental, all of my bars are rough there’s none gentle”. What is good about this is it actually works, and that is not always the case in grime, as the hook of the song can be a stumbling block, however all is good here. As for the verses, Kwam delivers his typical fast flow riddled with punch lines whilst the production from Sketch’E is more than good enough. It is grime, featuring lots of claps, bells and electro stabs.
The song, “Linen” is up next and what is instantly notable before the lyrics kick in is the griminess of the beat. Here Sketch’E has chosen to add strings to the claps and bell chimes which featured in “Surgeon general” which makes for an old school feel. Kwam delivers on his front by jumping into the beat with “I’m going to call your crew roulette, watch how spun your crew gets” and later adds a football lyric, “I’m like Christiano when I attack you can’t know whether you’ll get swerved or moved”. Kwam chooses to ‘attack’ an unknown persona here, which is common in grime with a lot of ‘me vs you’ style lyrics. It isn’t an indirect by any means; instead it is just the harsh nature of grime.
“What do you stand for?” is the third song of the EP and once again Kwam delivers a well-rapped chorus. It is nice to hear this, as there is not even an attempt at singing or bringing anyone else in to sing. Instead, he sounds comfortable by simply rapping and it fits well, asking “If you don’t know you stand for what have you come around man for?” Like usual he focuses on the ‘me vs you’ element which will go down well with grime fans. And you guessed it…the Sketch’E production is high yet again, as he focuses on more of the electronic side of grime this time.
The fourth song is “Let me be free” where Kwam declares he will get serious. Listeners can expect a more conscious song from Kwam as he promises to get back to the grime in three-and-a-half minutes. It is a change of scenery and Kwam delivers his speech on the UK system which supposedly traps the masses into a contract. Here he questions democracy, mass media and even the legalities of a birth certificate. It’s nice to see some variation in his content and sounds more like something you would expect from Lowkey rather than Kwam, but nonetheless it is welcomed as he proves he does have other ideas and a political opinion.
Finally we end on “Pedigree” which is a return to his skippy flow and fast pace. Like the entirety of the EP it is pure grime, with lyrics such as “Don’t come close if you ain’t got rhythm, I’ll tip you over like man’s Shay Given”. However, the bulk of the song is based on his rise to prominence and career so far, as Kwam marks his long path towards success.
Sketch’E also continues his side of the bargain with his fifth grime instrumental of the EP, marking a solid, consistent level of production throughout.
Final Thoughts: As expected, the collaboration works brilliantly. Whilst Kwam is not the most known in grime, there is no reason why he should not be after this as his general style is the definition of the genre, as he attacks the beat every time. On his behalf, the EP fits a certain mould of fast lines mixed with clever word play, yet he is not completely overboard with his aggressive style. Sketch’E is just as good too on the instrumental side of things and shows he is certainly more than just a DJ as every beat is well made, mixing old and new sounds together. Overall the EP is a success, at five songs in total it is just about the right size and is grime throughout. In short, if you like grime then this is for you.
Score: 8.5
Best Song: Linen
Best Line: “We can do it on the streets of London, no beat I’ll say my piece and I’ll slump them. I’ve got the best bars like them or lump them”
Sketch’E and Kwams – Surgery EP is available to buy now from the links below
After impressing us largely in 2010 with the release of his mixtape ‘Truth Hurts’, Londons finest Kwam is at it again in the shape of his new EP alongside Dj Sketch’E titled ‘The Surgery EP’ and if for some shocking reason you’re in two minds whether to cop or not then download this monster of a new track from Kwam and hear the levels you can expect to hear from the big man.
Outbreak Freestyle is the title of the track and it’s typical Kwam, his no nonsense style of barring allows him to stamp all over the beat and beat it into submission as if it spat at him, clever rhyming schemes, punchlines, ad-libs..Kwam has it all and it’s all on show with this track, so you know what to do, listen below and click the soundcloud for download and grab this monster today then after that go grab the Surgery EP!!!!.
Click The Soundcloud Below For Download
MindOfGrime 