Back catalogue: Hip Hop/R&B

Review: Private Stock Records serves up a treat for DJs and turntablists with a new 12" packed with beats, scratches, and skipless tracks. Four skilled DJsiBig Once, Cutso, Double A, and Nick Bikeicontribute their skills to this collection, offering a diverse range of flavours for scratching and beat juggling. Each DJ delivers a 'Scratch Sentence' and a selection of beats at various tempos, providing a versatile toolkit for creative routines. The inclusion of skipless tracks adds another dimension, allowing for seamless blends and extended mixes. With its focus on functionality and quality, this release is a must-have for any serious turntablist or DJ looking to expand their arsenal of sounds.

Review: Nazar, the nom-de-guerre of an anonymous Manchester-based producer, presents their sophomore album Demilitarize, following his acclaimed 2020 debut Guerrilla, released amid the pandemic. Nazar's first album securely firmed the artist's name within and beyond the Hyperdub diaspora, thanks to its unique melding of Angolan kuduro music with rough textures, field recordings, and media clips, retelling the story of his family's exile from the Angolan Civil War. Nazar is the son of Jonas Savimbi, a former general of the Angolan independence movement; after Angola's emancipation from Portuguese colonial rule, Nazar relocated to suburban Brussels. More recently, he fell seriously ill with tuberculosis contracted in Angola; battling mortality, the new album reflects a mix of introspection and blossoming love, which contrasts the warring rawness of his debut. Demilitarize is dreamier, with Nazar's submerged, mantra-like vocals at the forefront, evoking artists far-removed from the crumby, unedifyingly rough kuduro that characterised his first EP 'Enclave'. Nazar explains, "I wanted to create something almost metaphysical, inspired by the cyberpunk anime Ghost In The Shell." The sound is delicate, with relatively sculpted rhythms enveloping his own recorded voice throughout.

Review: After years spent working alongside a talented pool of jazz musicians as the Neue Grafik Ensemble, Fred N'Thepe has decided to go solo for the first time this decade. Dalston Tapes Vol 1 is, according to Rhythm Section International, a conscious attempt by the artists to return to his beat-making roots. It's an album, then, rooted in hip-hop mixtape culture, where vocal numbers featuring guest MCs sit side by side with rap-free "beats" - lusciously and impeccably crafted instrumentals in which warming bass guitar lines, deep electronic sub-bass, sparkling electronic motifs and choice samples cluster around loosely swung, MPC-driven beat patterns. It's a great collection all told, with nods towards club-ready broken beat and deep house sitting side by side with Dilla-esque workouts and references towards London's vibrant hip-hop and grime underground.