Rob Life Bangers N Mash (mixtape)
Have we really used up all the names in the world for our mix albums so that we have to end up with two totally unrelated 'Bangers & Mash' compilations appearing within a month of each other, or is it just a bizarre coincidence?
So following the excellent DJ Woody version which comprised some choice old skool tracks with a smattering of recent UK hiphop cuts we get Rob Life's version comprising of, erm, old skool tracks and a smattering of recent UK hiphop tracks!!!
This is being released as a promo item for the new uk hiphop and funk distribution venture, Boombox Distribution, which Skeg & Disorda amongst others appear to be involved in, so they've drafted in help from all their mates for this compilation, joined together by Breakin Bread's Rob Life with shout outs from Jehst, Braintax and others and a 30 track 70 minute compilation predominantly covering the last couple of years but with a clutch of older material.
In contrast to that other 'Bangers' this one starts mostly with the new stuff, very new in the case of first cut - 'Do What You Like' by Lord Laing, a track and artist I confess to never having heard of before, before going into Apollo's 'Nar Not Me'. The years jump around as Apollo is followed by 'Real Estate', an absolute classic gem from Blak Twang which transforms into Taskforce & Ed's 'Tournament' superbly going into 'Dedication', 'Hard Working', 'Incognito', 'Love Song'.... you get the idea? This is a lot more up to date than the Woody compilation and while some of the tracks included aren't near those particular artists best it all keeps along a similar flavour, nice seamless mixes, not overworked or over scratched. The main exception is Beats In Progress featuring Kashmere which has an excellently worked intro presumably created using a couple of copies of the same disc and a pair of technics (dont disillusion me if not!)
The old skool section towards the end of the CD picks a few obvious classics (Style Wars, Glimmity Glammity, Mice In The Prescence...) with some less so (W.B.I. Red Ninja 'Bad Testament' anyone?) and heralds back to that golden hardcore era, and should serve as an eye-opener to the new kids on the block who havent explored their uk hiphop history yet....
Overall this is a nicely put together package, stylish artwork by Ben Swift, full tracklist (though years and labels would have been nice too) and the intentions behind it (promoters and shop owners to like what they hear and to stock up on the material boombox distributes) can only be good for the advance of the scene and I hope it has its intended effect. For the 'normal' uk hiphop purchasert it's just a nice solid compilation of tracks, with a few surprises and lots of classic cuts, not reall standing out from the crowd but a nice addition to your collection.
- Spoon | profile
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