That Kid C-G is an 18 year old who hails from Harlem, and he’s an artist who looks set to have a big future. Nearly killed when he was stabbed in an attempted robbery, his back story is full of trouble and determination that sounds fit for any accomplished rapper. As an affiliate of Chiddy Bang, hopes are high and with the support of the beat-sampling duo, That Kid C-G has the foundations needed to build himself into a successful hip-hop artist. His first mixtape, ‘Lifestyles of the Rich and Swellegant‘ is the result of years of rapping, producing and the determination to make it to the top.

Full of brilliant production and a tight flow, ‘Lifestyles of the Rich and Swellegant’ is a brilliant debut mixtape. The tracks with Chiddy Bang are great of course, and if I’m honest were what drew me to the mixtape initially. From the heavily 80s influenced, feel good weekend track ‘Saturday (Feel Good)‘ to the harder, drum driven ‘Get In Your Zone,’ the supporting role from Chiddy Bang is certainly clear in the production and the flow. However, if you’re worried That Kid C-G wouldn’t be able to cut it on his own you’d be mistaken.

‘Come With Me‘ provides a great opening to the mixtape. There’s hints of Bangladesh in there (producer of Gucci Mane’s Lemonade) which I really like and with the big bass drum a staple of the mixtape it’s got a big beat. The sampled chorus also fits in brilliantly with the song. ‘Tell Me‘ is also worthy of a mention, I love Kid C-G’s flow on this track and the production sounds retro, but with a modern twist. Kid C-G’s lyrics are also impressive throughout the mixtape, with ‘Bleed‘ showing this in particular; a story of the rapper’s life and determination to make it. Combined with a great laid back production which sounds almost Dr. Dre-eqsue, the track is up there with my favourites.

That Kid C-G also demonstrates his versatility, from the aforementioned disco and old-school hip-hop beats to the more “current” acoustic hip-hop sound on the track ‘Fork In The Road‘, made prominent in the current charts by The Smeezingtons (Bruno Mars). The rock sound is also experimented with in ‘I Know You Like That‘ to good effect, with the rock production sounding great behind the sexual theme to the song. That Kid C-G also moves into the modern synth driven hip-hop with ‘Fly Away‘ sounding modern with it’s use of auto-tune and melodic chords. Another really enjoyable track and a highlight on the mixtape for me.

The use of auto-tune is present on a large part of the album, but is mostly used well. As I’ve said before I still enjoy the fad when it’s used to good effect. In this case it seems to be taking the place of the hook singer which I can appreciate. Also it sounds good and really fits in with the song’s vibe. The song ‘Lady‘ is a good example of this, where the auto-tune is used to good effect to create a good, romance influenced hook. ‘Go (Red Light)‘  is another good use of auto-tune, combining a catchy hook with a good flow and some pop keying adding an upbeat feel to the track. The song ‘Happy Place‘ is another song which experiments with auto-tune. It’s an example of a rapper turned singer piece made popular by artists such as Kanye West and Drake. I have mixed feelings about the track personally. The track has a nice vibe to it however, it also suffers from auto-tune overload.

The mixtape ends on a high, with the hardest track ‘That’s That‘ with the big production and the fast flow the track is one of the raest on the mixtape and certainly a highlight. The last track, ‘Swellegant‘ reverts back to the 80′s vibe and provides one of my favourite uses of auto-tune on the album. The production is also more laid back with a more relaxed drum beat and calmer synths. I get big Chiddy Bang influences from this track as well in the flow of That Kid C-G which I’ll get to later.

The album is very good however, there is one exception to this in the track ‘Pop Rose.’ It just sounds like a Ron Browz impression which may be the effect, but I couldn’t stand the way Browz abused auto-tune. The song has a good beat and a good flow but in my opinion, the auto-tune ruins it. Personally I feel the album has a reasonable level of auto-tune however I do personally prefer the rapped hooks.

If you like any of the artists mentioned in the review you have to check out this mixtape. The versatility of the mixtape is a real treat and That Kid C-G has got a good flow and set of lyrics. The influence of Chiddy Bang can be heard throughout the mixtape and if That Kid C-G stays with the duo, I can see big things for him in the future. The mixtape is a combination of so many elements which have been blended together brilliantly, making each track surprising and enjoyable in it’s own right. A very impressive debut from an artist I hope to be hearing a lot more of in the future.

In short, I loved this. If you enjoy hip-hop you enjoy modern hip-hop you have to check this out. There are some previews below but if you want the tracks featuring Chiddy Bang, download the full mixtape.

That Kid C-G – Tell Me

That Kid C-G – Fork In The Road

That Kid C-G – Come With Me

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Download ‘Lifestyles of the Rich and Swellegant’ Here

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That Kid C-G on Twitter | Facebook

Having produced Tinie Tempah‘s latest two chart toppers and signing to Simon Cowell‘s label Syco (he’s even started calling him Uncle Si…)  it seems the Hackney-born singer/producer Labrinth is taking control of his solo career.

His brilliant first single entitled, ‘Let The Sun Shine‘ made it’s debut today on MistaJam‘s 1Xtra show earlier on. Those of you who follow his LabrinthTV Transmissions would have heard a short preview of the track on his recent 5th video.

The best thing about the single, in my opinion, is how different it is to what i thought it would be. That may sound a bit confusing at first but judging from the production of his previous tracks you wouldn’t expect this. You could consider it a bold move with the beat being relatively minimal it leaves a lot of the emphasis on his voice but fair play to him, he nails it.

With such an impressive beginning to his musical career let’s hope Labrinth applies his talent to it’s full potential and continues with some well deserved success in the charts with both his new single and his highly-anticipated album.

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Yeah I’ve waited too long on this one. Hailing from Cardiff, Lung. is highly-talented dubstep/drum & bass producer. One of his most popular tracks to date is entitled, ‘Afterlife‘ and putting any remix of it aside, the original is simply brilliant. Dark, intricate, and to some extent enigmatic the beat is effortlessly abstract.

I stumbled across a remix from none other than Kryptic Minds around early July and i’ve been waiting for a better version to drop before I unleashed it on you guys but fuck it. Bearing in mind my love for the duo may make my views slightly biased, this remix is incredible.

One thing that is starting to piss me off ever so slightly is how some people are comparing the track to the work Burial and then have the nerve to say the duo are just copying his style. Hmmm… OK two things. Firstly, although Burial’s work is some of the best i’ve ever had the pleasure to listen to, you can’t just give him this entire sub-genre of dubstep. Secondly, other artists are and indeed should be trying to make something of a similar nature as opposed to slapping a few drops and wobbles here and there in their music. It really is a shame how some artists can just repeat the same trick in every track of theirs and get away with it.

Check out the original and the remix after the jump.

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A couple of weeks back we linked you guys to some of the previews Magnetic Man had dropped from their new album. One of them was of the track, ‘Perfect Stranger‘. Featuring none other than the highly-talented Katy B on the vocals, the track is being sorted into that ‘vocal dubstep’ sub-genre which is really taking off now thanks to the mainstream success of the groups latest single, ‘I Need Air‘.

The group dropped the track on their YouTube account with a video from their Parklife set in Manchester this year. Make sure you check it out after the jump and also keep an ear out for their track, ‘Karma Crazy’ which Zane Lowe dropped as his ‘Hottest Record’ yesterday.

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Teflon Don is the best Hip-Hop album of 2010.

I’d even go as far as saying Officer Ricky has actually produced one of the best hip-hop albums I’ve ever listened to. Everything from the production to his now trademark ‘uargh’ ad-lib is just pretty much perfect. If you aint got it yet, go get that shit NOW.

NOW!

Anyway, he let this one go on his twitter. He lays down a sixteen for Nicki Minaj’s chart hit ‘Your Love’ which made her the first female artist to top the Rap charts stateside for almost a decade. Not bad considering the flop of ‘Massive Attack.’

“Babygurl thats the ad-lib, gotta be a bad bitch to get the ad-lib; UARGH”

He’s the guy. Even if his torso looks like this! Download the tune below and make sure you cop Teflon Don.

Nicki Minaj – “Your Love” (Rick Ross Remix)

This is a first for me and I intend to do it many times more. I also couldnt think of a more worthy artist to do this for.

D Double E is a legend in the scene. To those who are a fan of UK Grime, he’ll need no introduction. For those that aren’t, this guy is a pioneer. He’s been at the forefront of the game for almost a decade and still remains one of the illest and most well respect MCs to this day. For those that were locked into the 1XTRA UKG takeover last night, his ‘Woo Riddim’ was easily the most played tune throughout. Seventeen Year-Old producer S-X created a monster with this beat and as of now over 50 MC’s have spat over it. Double was one of the last to do so and his is COMFORTABLY the best. I know this shit word-for-word.

Double, Signed to Dizzees ‘Dirtee Stank’ label as one half of the Newham Generals is preparing to release a lot of stuff over the summer. Last night his next single Street Fighter hit iTunes. For more lyrical fire similar to the Woo, BUY IT.

I got mine:

CLICK THE PICTURE AT THE TOP TO GET YOURS!

Having first heard the track when Huw Stephens dropped it as the ‘Hottest Record’ on Zane Lowe’s Radio 1 show I was completely blown away. You should have already checked out our previous post on the highly-talented producer Flux Pavilion courtesy of Jordan earlier on in the week but whether you have or not, make sure you check out his new one.

Entitled, ‘I Can’t Stop‘ the track hits with it’s hard bassline, pulsating synth jabs and it’s repetitive vocals. It was made to be blasted live in the clubs and having already becoming a favourite with the likes of MistaJam and other big DJ’s, it seems the Northampton-born producer has gone and stepped up his game even further.

Right now we’ve only got radio rips to keep us happy and with the no details available as to when the single drops, it looks like they’ll have to do.

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This tune is everywhere. Trust me, there’s no fucking escape.

When I was in Malia, I’d be in a club for an hour and it would come on twice. The wickedest is, everytime that bastard says ‘PA PA AMERICANO’ the whole place would go nuts and break out into that freakin’ dance. Its mad and its takin over the whole of the UK and soon to be Europe. This shit is even #1 on iTunes as we speak AND ITS NOT EVEN OUT YET! It’s doin my fxckin head in..

But I love it.

Yolanda Be Cool vs DCup – “We No Speak Americano” is available to cop on iTunes now. Get it here.

In the meantime, Chew Fu has come through and done his thing on the remix. Download that below:

Yolanda Be Cool vs DCup – We No Speak Americano (Chew Fu Extended Mix).

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