Category Archives: Rap

Rap Battling VS Songwriting

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There has been vast increase in popularity of battle rap over recent years.  This has lead to a debate over whether rappers should venture into rap battling vs songwriting.  I touched on this in an old post where I talked about the battle between Canibus VS Dizaster.

The rap battle scene has been growing steadily over the years.  There was a time when a battle was something that would break out spontaneously between rappers and it was often very improvised and less pre-planned.  Nowadays battles are far more scripted.  Many are setup as big events almost like boxing, with rappers going away weeks to months in advance reading up on each other preparing their disses for the big event.  Battling now seems to be far more of a separate entity from that of making rap songs.  If we were having this debate during the pre-youtube era it would be far more clear cut in favour of songwriting but with the growth and popularity of battling the answer is no longer so obvious.Continue reading→

The Bog Standard EP

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Ah yes, The Bog Standard EP.  This post is all about my very first release by that very title, The Bog Standard EP.  I originally decided on that title as a kind of play on words what with all the toilet jokes that come with being called ‘Lav’.

At this point in time my main up and coming project is my debut album Lord of the Dead.  I’m really excited about this project especially with it’s completion edging ever closer.  That being said I decided to spare a thought for my very first project.  The Bog Standard EP. Continue reading→

To Sample Or Not To Sample??

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To sample or not to sample?…… That is the question??

Sampling has long been considered the bedrock of hip hop production.  Not to mention an integral part of a lot of dance music, drum & bass, and trip hop.

The vast majority of hip hop classics we love have used samples of other people’s work.  Yet it seems there is an ever increasing threat of a lawsuit being brought to an artist that chooses to use samples of other peoples work without clearance. As a result, it is becoming more and more difficult to produce hip hop in this sample based manner.Continue reading→

Cider Rap!!

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Here’s a song titled ‘Cyder Attack‘ a cider rap if you will, combining two of my favourite things cider and rap!

This is actually a song I wrote a long time ago. It certainly isn’t new and is one of the first songs I ever wrote and recorded.  I decided to post it here as it is one of the songs I get requested to play most when I’m performing live.

There might be some confusion as to what I mean by cider or ‘cyder‘ as I spell it.  I’m sure the majority of people reading this in the UK know what I mean by cider but people in other parts of the world don’t necessarily know it as the messy alcoholic beverage that it is in my country. I’ve heard that cider in America is actually a non-alcoholic beverage and is more like apple juice which sounds ridiculous to me but here we are….Continue reading→

Underground Hip Hop and Capitalism

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I’ve spent a long time thinking about underground hip hop and capitalism and in particular what my stance is when it comes the capitalism.  There seems to be this assumption in underground Hip Hop circles that money and capitalism has somehow killed off the life and soul of Hip Hop.  That the ‘Golden Age’ of Hip Hop will never be resurrected because of the desire for big money, in what is perceived a soulless and treacherous industry, where it is all about the dough and nothing to do with the music.  I’ve heard numerous people say, ‘It shouldn’t be about the money, it should just be about the music….’Continue reading→