The return of Rage from the notorious Slew Dem crew has also meant the return of his ‘Streets of rage’ saga, this time with the follow up to the original, ‘Streets of rage 2’. This means listeners will be hearing more from the man himself, as well as features from fellow MC’s Tempa T, Shorty Smallz, Pinky and Lex. Not to forget either, the production looks strong with the likes of G.Tank, Maniac, Topdolla and Skitz. At sixteen songs in length, it looks set to put grime fans into chaos again.

The first song, ‘If u don’t know?’ breaks the project in, with a grime beat which uses a reggae twist. What is first noticeable is the fact Rage chooses to rap his chorus – which is something done too little in grime. Here listeners won’t be hearing any attempted singing or a new singer completely, so it is good in that respect and he pulls it off well.

Next follows ‘After the dance’ which will definitely wake grime fans up. The opening line begins with the unmistakable “Sleeeeew Deeeeeem” mixed with Tempa T’s “It’s nice, it’s nice”. Rage continues to impress with his on-point flow and as far as content is concerned, it’s a mix of lyrics about the street – with mentions of guns, fights and hype. Of course Tempa T delivers too who provides the hook of “After the dance!” In its early form, the project is shaping up nicely and seems very polished as Rage uses a great combination of content, flow and catchy enough choruses.

Soon enough is ‘F with the team’ this time featuring Lex and Pinky. An electric-guitar style grime beat is used but it’s the chorus again which further solidifies the track. An example being, “You think you’re fucking with the team you must be drunk or fucking lean we got them clips and magazines that have you hooked up to machines my Slew Dem tugz’ will let it be”. As mentioned earlier, it’s the mix of raw energy and a polished delivery which will please listeners.

The dark theme is continued with ‘Four snipers’ again with Pinky. Produced by Snugg, the eerie chimes alongside heavy drums set the scene. Once again ‘beef’ is the content, and with this in mind you wouldn’t want to clash Rage as he seems to love the war bars based on aggression. It also becomes apparent that ‘Streets of rage 2’ is not meant for the pop crowd and as you’d expect, it’s a no-holds-barred account from Rage who holds nothing back in his bars.

The strong production is carried over with ‘Shower man bars’ by Maniac. You can expect his killer combination of strings, squares and all things grime, and Rage on his own matches the beat perfectly. An example of the content is “Chilling with your girl get showered in your car. Black telescope shower man from far, boy of the ting like a shower man par” which as you could imagine – would cause carnage in a rave. Almost half way through the project and listeners should be pleased, the word ‘consistency’ springs to mind at this point.
‘Boom bye bye’ is next and the clue for the content is in the title. Joined by Lex and produced by Skitz the theme yet will impress fans. Again, production is a high standard and as usual it’s grime. The choir yells fit nicely alongside the ‘Me vs you’ type lyrics as Rage continues to talk about his life.

Song ten, ‘I’m about’ is another Slew Dem anthem, this time with Tempa T and Shorty Smallz which opens with the legendary “Slew Dem” war cry. Again Tempa T provides another killer hook by shouting “I’m about I’m about” and his verse is quite similar to that of ‘Next hype’. Again, listeners be warned – this is strictly grime and is a million miles away from the mainstream, which for many will be part of the appeal!

Following on is ‘Grafter’ which is the projects first real ‘hustler’ tune – that is, a song dedicated to working hard and making money. As Rage puts it himself “I want to make millions, that’s why I’m at home billing them, 16 bars which are killing them…I won’t stop until a mansion, I’m chilling in – until then I wrap food with the cling and ting”. Alongside the claps and dramatic strings, his flow is complete and the result is a verse of great quality.
The theme of hard work follows on with ‘Hard dayz’, where Rage shows his head is screwed on and explains his surroundings and the struggle of poverty. It’s a little different from the rest of the release and shows a glimpse of something else which adds diversity.

The story-telling format develops with ‘Turn 2 Snitches’ as Rage declares his goal is to make money or wind up in jail. It’s a big risk and after the listening to the past few songs you can’t help but hope the first option is what awaits the MC. Over Topdolla’s sampled beat it fits well too.

The mixtape ends with ‘War talk’ produced by Maniac which brings it full circle. It’s an appropriate title to end on as the bulk of the mixtape features war talk for the majority of the content. This is the same here. It finally ends with the echoing words “Slew Dem” which seems equally appropriate due to the roster of Slew Dem MC’s and producers on the release.

Final Thoughts: Any self-proclaimed grime fan should add this to their collection because it is what it is…grime. And consistent grime at that. The combination of harsh lyrics, pin-point flows and delivery mixed with quality production and the ability to create catchy hooks makes this one of the best releases in recent times. Not to forget either, a lot of the bars used would be suitable for a rave too, so it seems Rage has found the perfect balance in creating a grime mixtape. It has been a while since the original ‘Streets of rage’ but it seems worth the wait – as a polished no-nonsense piece of work is the result.

Best Song: I’m about

Best Line: “Chilling with your girl get showered in your car. Black telescope shower man from far, boy of the ting like a shower man par”

You can buy Rage’s – Streets Of Rage 2 From The Link Given Below

http://boomkat.com/downloads/420023-rage-streets-of-rage-volume-2