The Case Of The BPM Killer
If you know your hip hop or your producers you would of heard the name Stu Bangas before and if you really know your shizzle you would of heard of the beast Blacastan and if your a mutha f***ing G you already know these two Don’s have had two previous albums together as ‘Watson & Holmes’. Not to be confused with the detectives outta London that specialise in observation, deduction and forensic science, no, these two are the ‘Watson & Holmes’ a musical alter ego who slay mics and competition and murder beats and devour drum machines and samplers! Who, as a matter of fact make that fire music for real hip hop fans! Their new album and the third instalment is probably my favourite in the series even though it is the shortest but that doesn’t take away from the brilliant content at all and so far it is up there with some of the best releases this year no doubt. It’s good they kept the features minimal, being it’s just under 30 minutes, so Blacastan still gets to showcase his skill! Features are Nowaah the Flood, SmooVth, Gortex (Lord Goat) and Marvalyss.
With a swift intro it picks up speed right away as Bullseye is such a banger, crumpets is one of my favourite cuts, it’s short but so good. Don’t judge me sees Blacastan go back in time and paints a picture of his early life and what he was bumping back then, SmooVth follows suit and lays down flames too. Sincere is a different vibe beat from Stu but that’s a good thing as it shows how different drums can change the landscape. One thing I love about this track is the instrumental skit at the end. Shits fire kudos Stu, Crawlspace amps it up and gets murderous, if your gonna do death rap this is how it’s done. Behold brings it back with a more laid back vibe but still got undertones of viciousness. 23X1 is a wicked track. Prison reality down to a tee. The samples and cuts fit perfectly and Blacastan again paints pictures of prison life. Bookies sees Blacastan talk about betting and lavish living. Style changes it up a bit with a dirty beat with great percussion and cuts. Hair pins is raw asf and SmooVth jumps in again. Grand Imperial is one of my favourite cuts and at first I thought it was Reef The Lost Cauze but it’s actually Marvalyss from the Dead Poets Society. With a fitting outro the album ends well.
Bangers: Bullseye, Crumpets, Don’t Judge Me, Crawlspace, 23X1, Hairpins, Grand Imperial
Score: 8.5/10 Stu Bangas produces some real gems and Blacastan really lights every track up, dude is a serious beast and such a good lyricist. Would of given it an easy 9 or even higher if it was about 20 minutes longer but even as a short outing it’s still fire.
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