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1Xtra’s own DJ Excalibah brings his excellent Tales from the Legend show to a mixtape format. Amid a selection of excellent UK tunes, Excalibah demonstrates a good ear for the best Mcs and bands on the UK underground. Providing the cuts and the odd beat himself, Excalibah has tried to recreate his radio show on disc. This type of format works well because anyone familiar with Ex’s style will find something instantly appealing about it, and also, this is a comfortable format for the mixtape genre to lie in, as it harks back to pirate origins. The highlights of this mix are the carefully chosen “Dubstates”, which are derived from a segment on Ex’s show where he gets UK rappers to rhyme over US beats. So, we have Klash doing some proper justice to the “In da Club” beat whilst MSI and Asylum tear up Nas’ “Get Down” beat. There is a good selection of songs here (apart from JTWR but that’s just my personal snobby taste). The minimal “Get Your Shit Together” blends nicely in the monster that is “Geographitti” by Diversion Tactics and Krispy and Iron Bridge’s “Ghost Writers” both sit well together. Excalibah has a good way of pacing his selection so it’s not all banger after banger after banger. Instead, he knows the right moments to pull back and let the music breath, bring the tempo down a bit, relax it before bringing it back blazing all the way through. The always excellent AMMO bring “2nd Spring” to the mix, which segues brilliantly into the poignant string-led “Day to Day Basis” by Skinnyman.  Related Links:
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DJ Excalibah The EX Files: Document 1 (mixtape)