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After the interminable tours to promote their "The Unknown" LP Mark B and Blade finally made it back into the studio to lay down some more tracks. To be fair this E.P should cement their status as the most successful British rap group of the past year, but the boys come out sounding as hungry as they did when they dropped that Jazz Fudge EP a couple of years back. The title track is pretty standard M.B & B fare. Mark lays down a tuff beat while Blade chases industry snakes like a Carhartt wearing Steve Irwin. "There’s no stopping it" ably continues the sound that the boys crafted on the album, but the real gem is "Superior Mindstate". Add a strutting wah-wah sample to a stellar guest appearance from sometime Gorilla, Life and you’ve got a tune that’s bound to have crowds going loopy when it’s performed live. Right…that’s it…Oh, are you sure?.I… YOU SHIT… It was only a matter of time before I was forced to address THAT TUNE. "Sealed with a diss" is aimed at us "Internet critics". The story goes that one of UKHH’s scribes has upset Blade, and this is his retaliation. Freaking the beat from Dilated Peoples’ "Expanding Man" Blade spits bile about his dedication to rap while levelling questions at the journalistic integrity of individuals who allegedly wish him well one minute and slag him off next. The main bone of contention seems to be the Feeder remix of "Ya Don’t See the Signs" that put the boys on Top of the Pops. Personally, I would pay good money to see the look on the faces of the Ben Sherman brigade when Mr. Thing destroyed the one and twos with that devastating scratch solo. If you look closely you can see the pure terror in their eyes as they realise they’re at the wrong stage and DJ what’s-his-face was actually on 10 minutes ago. British hip-hop on Top of the Pops, eh? All we need now is Chester freestyling about Jayne Middlemiss and Rodney P asking the Ibiza refugees where the ganjamans is at…. Anyway, In a scene that is gradually starting to get some of the exposure it deserves, Messrs B and Blade are staking their claims early. With media coverage ranging from the Guardian to the weekly Reading University student rag and a Blade solo album on the way I dare say we can expect the lads from Wordplay to carry the British hip-hop flag into the 21st Century and with this worthy addition to an already impressive resume we might at last have a credible act who can appeal to both the mainstream masses and the selective few.
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Mark B & Blade There’s No Stopping It
EP