Delegates of Culture and The Untold Patchwork Gideon LP
Cambridge’s finest step forth on this LP to remind us all why we should be paying attention to their lot in the first place. With Inja’s album having made a nice impact last year and a ton of work for the various members of the crew in recent months (including mixtapes, open mics, an Inja and Nappa 12” and more) this new ‘Patchwork Gideon’ LP is their latest sonic assault and shows them at their very best.
With production from 5 different people, the MCs let loose and show some of their best work to date over a wide range of beats. I do get a bit lost with exactly who’s who on the mic but it doesn’t actually matter much as the majority of the lyrical output on this LP is just plain dope. As far as I can tell Compound, Bee 109, Dan Shaw, S Class, Inja, Toe and Skuff are all on mic duties with some of them doubling up with production. Varied beats, varied MCs, voices that blend and fit well against each other and an evident synergy between everyone equals some dope, homegrown hip hop.
It’s all set off from the go with ‘Stats’, a nice, upbeat track with a lovely string hook, showing the boys mean business lyrically. ‘Bring It’ is another favourite, with its loud, banging beat over which Compound, Bee 109, Dan Shaw, S Class and Skuff let loose and bring forth the Gideon. Elsewhere we’ve got ‘Ghosts’ with a haunting piano melody and some darker lyrics featuring Last Rites, and ‘PG Kids’ which takes it back to the old school with a juggled beat but keeps a fresh, modern take on the whole approach.
This is by far one of the nicest long players I’ve heard from the UK in a while, and the collective’s experience shows in the work. It’s tightly put together, it doesn’t stray off course and it’s definitely something that you should be checking for if you like your hip hop outside the boundaries preset by taste makers and others. Cambridge is definitely still on the map and Delegates of Culture are holding the fort nicely.
The collective’s experience shows in the work
- Kper
Related Links:
© ukhh.com 1999 - 2005
