Diversion Tactics Interview

"We make hip hop, it’s not local and the drums smack."

If you hadn't heard, Diversion Tactics are back with their album 'Careful on the Way Up'. Zygote, Jazz T and Chubby took time to answer my questions about the LP, the label and life:

Certified Banger: Whasup? Let’s begin with introductions: Who are you all and what part do you play in the Diversion Tactics machine?

Chubby: Frontman. Emcee. Recovering alcoholic.

Jazz T: Deejay. Producer. Promoter

Zygote: Producer, Engineer, Deejay

CB: Tell us about your new album. How would you compare it to your first album? What did you want to achieve with this release?

Jazz T: We toured hard off the first album so it was time to drop the new ish. Some of the tracks were performed live over the years anyway. As me and Zy had done our solo projects we all wanted to create another D.T. classic.

Chubby: It's a testament to keep doing your thing, making music your way and staying true to the culture. A little nudge to those that were full of it and ahead of themselves when we came up and ain't about no more. We got to remind people we still here in spite of all the Boot releases from the last eight years. We grown up. The music grown up. And still we proceed.

Zygote: The first album was sort of 15 years in the making; it was a lot of stuff we had to get off our chests. The new album has hints of the style of the first but also hints of maybe where we are going as well as where we are from.

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Recommended Listening: Lewis Parker, Reggiimental, Fallacy & Ramson Badbonez

Lewis Parker is always going to be a UK Boom Bap fan's favourite. He's long gone from these shores but is still doing his thing. 'The Unseen Trap', which will be released on the HHV.DE label, continues his penchant for espionage-tinged beats and concepts with the title track seeing him team up with John Robinson, an American MC who is nowhere near as plain as his name sounds. 'International Hitmen' is a solo track (and I think, my favourite) and 'Super Scientific Weapons' features Eastkoast and Tah Born. IT's coming out on download and 10" vinyl - I highly recommend that you get it when it's out on 26th February.

Reggiimental's album 'Something For The Strive' has some really great tracks on it - my two favourites are 'For The Life' and 'Weighing My Brain' - two very different tracks. I love the former for its use of a favourite Paul Simon track ('Mother and Child Reunion') - Baby J (who also produces on this album) will be kicking himself for not getting his hands on this one - props to Swift 89 for the production. Not forgetting to mention that Reggii, SC and Brisko do the tune justice with their delivery. 'Weighing My Brain' features and is produced by Gadget, it also features Unfriendly Neighbours - a West Coast type beat with some chat about women and a silky sung chorus. 'Grown Ups' is an old favourite of mine and 'Family Life' featuring Cipher J.E.W.E.L.S. is a tune too - inspiration for a dad-to-be. You can download this album for free here.

Fallacy, another UK legend in my eyes (if you haven't before, check his album 'Blackmarket Boy') has dropped a little download-only EP 'Gracefull In Death' (spelling mistake artist's own) mainly produced by Strategy of Broke 'n' £nglish. On 'Once Upon A Time' he chats about his past and how he got to where he is now - a different story to most. 'One For One' is a dubstep-ish banger and the rest of the beats are the type of hybrids that Fallacy is used to riding. Fallacy sounds hungry - hopefully this won't actually be his last. Scratch up a few quid to buy this.

Another freebie now: I'm not sure when Ramson Badbonez and DJ Gone sleep - they are constantly putting out more music and videos and all of that. Their latest collaborative effort is a mixtape collecting together some of Raomsons recent freestyles: 'Bone Marrow Vol. 1'. If you've heard Ramson Badbonez spit before then you'll be clamouring to download this, if not, download it and check one of the UKs most entertaining MCs doing his thing.

Ty speaks on 'Special Kind Of Fool'

Those of you who know me will know that I'd consider Ty's 'Upwards' as one of the best albums there is - I recently included it in my Desert Island Ish on How We Do Radio. I'm really looking forward to Ty's fourth album 'Special Kind Of Fool' which is coming out on BBE. The first single will be 'Emotions' - look out for that.

Recommended Listening: Wu-Tang, Mathematics, Tom Caruana, Nas & Damian Marley, Phoenix The Renaissance Man & KingPin

First thing for today's installment is the recommendation of a purchase: Wu-Tang Clan's 'Return of the Wu (Mixed By Mathematics)'. It's released on 1st March 2010 on the Gold Dust label. It's full of good stuff and will keep your head bumping. You can download 'Clap 2010' featuring Raekwon, Ghostface, Method Man and U-God and 'Steppin' 2 Me' with GZA, Masta Killa and Inspectah Deck.

Then, still with the Wu, but with a bit of Beatles thrown into the mix is Tom Caruana's excellent 'Enter The Magical Mystery Chambers' which is free from Tea Sea Records. This is 27 tracks of shear genius. Check for tracks like ODB's 'Got Your Money' mashed up with 'She Never Gives Me Her Money' - brilliant! This one ahs being going down really well and it's giving TC the praise and props he deserves.

If you haven't heard it already you should listen to this new Nas and Damian Marley tune. They bounce off each other like a new school version of Run DMC with a Jamaican influence. For high-paced good times download 'As We Enter' now.

A new artist for you now: Phoenix the Renaissance Man – a Palestinian MC who spends 6 months in the UK and 6 months in the West Bank each year writing rhymes. His album should be out the next 3 months or so and his EP Sampler 'Rising from the Ashes' should be out as a free download even sooner. In the meantime listen to 'Life Is Tough'.

A few months ago I got an copy of an awesome album by a UK MC called KingPin entitled 'The Initiative'. That album has yet to be released but I've just got word of a mixtape that is to precede the LP: 'The Initiative Mixtape'. The mix kicks off with 'Fire' a track that features Kyza, Dubbledge, Manage and Stig of the Dump. The album is a top listen so get ready!

'More To Life' - The IRS (free download)

From Ed Strong:

"Some of you may of heard that IRS are to stop making music as a group. This is sad news but unfortunately true. We're all still good friends and the split is due to the fact we can't coordinate as a group anymore and don't have the time to compete in today's industry.

We will still be doing shows this year while we put out the rather large sum of music we have stored up for the last 2/3 years. Most of it will be free over the internet but we will also release our album digitally probably in the summer."

Sad news but I'm looking forward to the promised music. You can download this track for free here.

'2009 UK Rap Up' - Mystro (video)

Chief Wigz Interview

"...the time’s gotta be right for everything; recording, writing, practising, ciphering, timing of life -it ain’t luck, just good timing"

A legend on the Leeds scene, quiet for a while, is ready to rock again on a national stage. Certified Banger gets the lowdown from the man himself:

Certified Banger: Alright? How’s it going?

CW: I’m good; the glass is always half full! I got the 12” out, album on the way, all produced by ‘Brutal Artistry’ may I add, and I’m rolling with an ill label, ‘Don’t Talk To Strangers’ - things have never been better.

CB: Let’s talk about your 12” then. What’s it called? What’s the thinking behind the orange vinyl – why is it orange and why is it vinyl and not just download or CD?

CW: ‘Sunday Service’ is the name of the first release. The thinking behind the vinyl (let alone the vinyl being limited edition orange vinyl) was that a classic product. Since I was a teenager my dream was to have my own vinyl, I want more already, it’s like having you’re own comic book printed and the story board is about you. It’s just a classic, traditional method of releasing material. Me and Brutal Artistry and DTTS as a label all want to practise the art form traditionally; anyone can release a download, some people put one out each week and that’s fine but we want our product to be permanent, we want you to be able to pick it up and be fascinated with it, not just put it on your ipod and it fall into years of endless un-listened music. We want you to use it as it was designed to be used classically! Anyways, vinyl’s still the new cool - all the kids are getting back into it. Trust.

Read on here

Recommended listening: Congo Man Crew, Strong Arm Steady, Suspect Packages, Reps, DJ IQ & Joker Starr

My man over at Eclectic Hermit asked me if I’d ever heard any Swedish reggae and of course I hadn’t. I had a bit of a laugh at the idea then listened to it and realised it was pretty dope. Then we had more of a laugh about it when we rapped about typically Swedish things (like Ikea) in Jamaican accents over the dubs of the tracks. Go to his post for more info and the free download of their latest EP.

Some US Hip Hop I’m really feeling now: Strong Arm Steady’s ‘In Search of Stoney Jackson’. All the beats on this album are by Madlib and because of this they are all pure quality – trust. The MCs and their guests bring bags of lyrics and rhyming phrases with Krondon being a real standout on the mic. For a much better and more in depth review check out Sach-O’s paragraphs at Passion of the Weiss.

The latest Suspect Packages radio show is upon us and it features, as usual, all the latest and greatest Hip Hop from the UK – something on there for everyone. Download it from Mixcloud.

Reps, one of my favourite UK MCs has put out a free EP download. It’s called ‘So Much More’ and is entirely produced by Polish beatwhizz O.S.T.R. (who produced the remix of Reps' 'Park Ranger' - one of my favourite modern UK Rap tracks) there’s no point in saying anything but download it and bump it. Quality stuff.

Last of all, DJ IQ and Joker Starr having been working together on an EP and ‘Sunshine’ should warm up your snowy world for the moment. Taste this treat and treat this as a taste of what’s to come.

'The Return of the Boom Bap' - S.Kalibre (mixtape review)

Instead of choosing his favourite beats from the 90s S.Kalibre has chosen the best beats from the 90s for his 'The Return of the Boom Bap' mixtape. Then he's taken cues from the original subject matter and made his own piece of art from the original elements. 37 tracks deep, one verse per track, beats from tracks made famous by Outkast, Dre, Slick Rick, Pete Rock, Nas, Ice Cube, Das EFX and loads more (obviously). An amazing mixtape from a rapper who makes rapping sound effortless.

If you want more of S.Kalibre (and you should) then check his 'English Spitrapture' EP which came out last year. It's 6 tracks of classic-sounding, heavy beats from Mike-S and lyrics full of clarity, reality and quotables. 'English' featured on the 'On The Radar' series and 'Here Comes The Officer' features Big Cakes and Menace. 'Incoming' is a military-themed banger on which S.Kalibre weaves in many a war-based lyric - clever stuff.

Then, if you've got a few extra pence, you can name your own price on the S.Kalibre/Hard Livin' single 'Oh Girl'.

Reps EP Launch

Reps, the artist behind one of my favourite albums of 2008, is dropping a new EP sometime next week. It's called 'So Much More The Free EP' and Flash Fry are having a party in Bristol for its release next Wednesday. Get down to it!