Mcabre Brothers – “Tell a Friend” review

The Mcabre Brothers are a duo from the United Kingdom consisting of Runcorn, Cheshire, England emcee/producer & Blah Records founder Lee Scott alongside London emcee Milkavelli. Known for being members of Cult Mountain & the Children of the Damned, these guys made their eponymous debut in 2009 & followed it up with their debut EP Merry Critmass. Their sophomore effort Gonzo Lyricism was the last time we heard from the brothers & are back nearly a decade later with their 2nd extended play.

The title track sets the tone with a boom bap instrumental encouraging everyone to let their friends know the Mcabre Brothers are in effect again & after “Tie Die Sky” ruggedly talks about keeping it going until the job’s done, “Ring Back” featuring Black Josh works in more kicks & snares ending the 1st half comparing acid trips to an episode of the Discovery Global subsidiary Cartoon Network late night block [adult swim] hit series Rick & Morty.

“64 Bit” featuring Salar starts off the other leg of Tell a Friend with all 3 off them giving us witty video game wordplay over this industrial beat while “Flush” humorously talking about discarding mixtapes wack rappers are always passing out by making it go down the toilet. “No Chance” however wraps things up with this coldblooded boom bap instrumental dismissing the idea of any crew having the possibility of defeating them in a battle.

Ending the longest gap in-between releases so far, the Mcabre Brothers return after nearly 8 years for an EP making it clear as day for anyone listening to Tell a Friend they’ve returned & hopefully it won’t be the last time we hear them again. I’d still say their self-titled debut has the best production of all 4 projects Lee Scott & Milkavelli have done although I can appreciate the depiction of their style evolving over the course of an entire decade.

Score: 3.5/5

Lee Scott – “Lou Reed 2000” review

This is the 7th studio LP from Runcorn, Cheshire, England, United Kingdom emcee, producer & author Lee Scott. Introducing himself through The Wrong Bootleg Demo & the full-length debut Put on the Glasses over a decade ago under his own label Blah Records, some may even recognize him for his memberships with the Antiheroes, the B-Movie Millionaires, the Children of the Damned, Cult Mountain, the Cult of the Damned, Group, HAPPYPPL, Hock Tu Down, the Mcabre Brothers & Nobodies Home. Peppered Mouth Soup & Happy Sellout Shit were ok, but the sophomore effort Stupid Poignant Shit produced by Illinformed would become his most celebrated work following it up with Tin Foil Fronts as well as CactusOwlMoonGoat & the High Focus Records-backed Butter Fly being another favorite of mine. Nice Swan would become as beloved although Supergod5000plus & Oh, the Fun We’re Having were alright. He’s wrapping up 2018 however producing a great deal of Lou Reed 2000 homaging The Velvet Underground’s late frontman of the same name.

After the “Lou Lives” intro, the self-produced title track begins with him talking about turning negatives into positives despite everything in his life being shit whereas “Rocket Fuel” produced by Nobodies Home talks about today not being great yet it’s alright because there’s always yesterday. “Bad Foot Forward” featuring King Grubb finds the pair asking why people are pushing them around & flippin’ a cough on this battery operated machine while “Me Alone” talks about starting a riot because the damage is done.

“Mid Afternoon” continues the 2nd half of the album talking about not having a dream & occasionally waking up in the middle of the afternoon looking to get some food inside him sooner rather than later if after “Foneline ‘06” featuring King Grubb expresses a desire to call someone who doesn’t even call them anymore, “Colossal Jones” featuring Jam Baxter talks about confusing people’s 6th senses & it taking more than a stretch of marble pillars to hold their tongues.

The track “Next Stop” opens up about him constantly thinking of all the things he doesn’t want to do & sending the whole world on a “fuck you” note while the final song “Fuck U Save Me” featuring Sadhugold the “Lou Lives II” outro spends the last few minutes of the full-length with both of them lyrically getting in their hardcore bags, commending some for impressing them the way they take this joke called life so seriously & being nothing like the artists comparing themselves to him.

All 3 of the extended plays Lee Scott has dropped post-Butter Fly still have their share of notable moments despite not considering them to be on par, but Lou Reed 2000 is definitely the most I’ve enjoyed his solo material in a couple years. The production primarily handled by Lee himself with live instrumentation from his Nobodies Home companion Jack Chard occasionally chops up some samples to spend a bulk of the half hour exploring a varied range of sounds from jazz rap to lo-fi hip hop & boom bap cutting down the guest appearances to only a select few for a 30 minute collection of thought provokingly sad philosophical ignorant rap.

Score: 4/5

Hock Tu Down – “Hock Tu 3” review

Hock Tu Down are a duo from Liverpool, Merseyside, England, United Kingdom consisting of producer Reklews alongside Runcorn, Cheshire, emcee/producer & Blah Records founder Lee Scott. Forming in the late 2000s, both members of the Children of the Damned & it’s successor the Cult of the Damned would drop their full-length Prozium Peddlin’ at the end of 2009 & followed it up 9 months later with their debut EP Something Strange. It’s been over 8 years since the latter & these guys are reuniting for a sophomore effort.

“Breakfast” talks about having so much fun in the sun to the point where he might cry over a raw boom bap instrumental whereas “Fanks” takes a more personal approach to Lee’s songwriting speaking of both his parents. “Glenn’s Eye” has a slower vibe to the beat talking about being the ones to explain how shit’s gonna go down leading into “Kit Bag” featuring Milkavelli reunites the Mcabre Brothers referencing former UFC Featherweight Champion & UFC Lightweight Champion Conor McGregor.

As for “Deus Ex Machina”, we have Hock Tu Down giving a fuck less if they impress or disrespect anyone surrounding them working in more kicks & snares with some jazzier undertones just before “1 Tu” talks about reality being what you make of it whether someone’s there cooperating or not. “Game On” featuring Jehst finds the Group talking about life being unfair on top of this slow boom bap instrumental & “Black Hoodie Season” after the “Bengal Tiger” skit moves forward with an autumn ode.

“Yarbles Mahoney” continues the 2nd half of Hock Tu 3 ruggedly talking about being a rare 1-of-1 edition sitting on a lonely shelf while “Honest Daze” featuring Nickelus F & Quelle Chris sees the trio confessing every mistake they made caused them to run & gun more. “Sun D” dustily talks about having nothing to do like it’s a Sunday while “Zip” takes a couple minutes so he can discuss today being a great day to rebel in Hell.

The track “Breathe 101” winds down the album’s final minutes jumping over a gully beat reminding us to take deep breathes regularly & the final song “I Made Some Shit” preceding the compositional 60 second outro sends it all off treading intergalactic boom bap waters instrumentally talking about making more music with the money that Lee’s made off his previous material & tripping on the 12th stair when he was on his way to the pearly gates of heaven.

Prozium Peddlin’ was an outstanding debut for Hock Tu Down & I felt like Something Strange in comparison was ok, but Hock Tu 3 wedges itself in middle behind their inaugural LP almost a decade ago & above the extended play they gave us prior to their hiatus. Waiting for the right time to make a return, Lee Scott takes a batch of boom bap production he’s had from Reklews for some time in middle of him hanging around family & using them as inspiration to write the final product.

Score: 4/5

King Grubb – “Droopy.” review

Lancashire, England, United Kingdom emcee/producer King Grubb making his full-length studio debut. Known for being a former member the Children of the Damned & currently apart of it’s successor the Cult of the Damned, he would make his solo debut in the summer of 2007 by dropping the Mega Dumb Cheap Shit extended play under his original moniker Flash 4dem & fully produced by Blah Records founder Lee Scott. A little over a decade later, he’s bringing in Nobodies Home to produce Droopy. in it’s entirety.

“No Introduction” made for a perfectly synth-driven boom bap opener referencing my favorite WWE superstar in 7-time world champion, 7-time tag team champion & WWE Hardcore Champion The Undertaker whereas “Taglietelle Sandwich” take some more greater approach instrumental talking about nobody fucking with his squad. “Didn’t You Know?” takes the hypnotic boom bap route advising for fanboys to get their pom-poms out while “Hot Dogs” featuring Lee Scott trams up for another jab at wack rappers, furthermore applying the latter subject to the 112 second “Blue Green”.

Getting the 3rd quarter started, we have Grubb comparing his life to “Broke Dice” over an unsettlingly gritty boom bap beat leading into “Bad Samaritan” combines more synthesizers with kicks & snares talking about being the opposite of a charitable person going 0 fucks. “Oui Sag” featuring Sniff heads for a cloudier trap direction going harder than the feelings they harbor if money’s involved & after “No Hands” orchestrally talks about time waiting for no man, “Bud Be Good” finishes with a woozy ode to smoking the finest weed.

Making up for the long gap between this & Mega Dumb Cheap Shit, one of Blah Records’ original signings from its inception returns for an album I wound up enjoying as much as the latter as much as people sleep on that extended play now. Nobodies Home’s production here is a bit more experimental compared to Lee’s on the predecessor 11 years earlier & having both MCs of the trio as the only guest appearances seems appropriate, complimenting King Grubb’s wordplay buoyantly.

Score: 4/5

Antiheroes – “Disasterpiece” review

The Antiheroes are a duo consisting of Runcorn, Cheshire, England, United Kingdom emcee/producer & Blah Records founder Lee Scott alongside Sari, Iran emcee/producer Salar. Introducing themselves in 2003 off their debut mixtape Middle Finger Salute, they wouldn’t return until almost a decade later when they dropped their full-length studio debut Flows for the Contemporary Urban Gentleman. However after taking a 6 year hiatus, Lee & Salar have reuniting for an extended play produced by Farma G & having Telemachus handle the engineering process of it all.

“Godnose” dustily begins advising to not stress over anything & to do your thing since they got your back whereas the title track encourages all to follow them on this path towards searching peace. We get some pianos mixed with kicks & snares promising to throw boulders at a “Glass House” just before “No Sleep ‘Till Mars” finishes this Disasterpiece with a quirky boom bap instrumental talking about both of them not losing a step after another lengthy period of inactivity.

It’s not very often where the Antiheroes release new music & almost 15 years since their formation, but I could debate Disasterpiece for only an EP places itself above Flows for the Contemporary Urban Gentleman & Middle Finger Salute in becoming the greatest thing Lee Scott & Salar have ever made together. Farma G’s production here sounds a lot rawer than both of its predecessors & for 4 tracks clocking at over 10 minutes, both of them sure deliver in that short amount of time.

Score: 4/5

Milkavelli – “Cult Member” review

London, England, United Kingdom emcee Milkavelli making his solo debut. Originally known under the moniker Monster Under the Bed, he was also a former member of both the Children of the Damned & the Piff Gang collectives in addition to him presently comprising 1/4 of Cult Mountain & 1/2 of the Mcabre Brothers. Although he’s considered to be more of an affiliate of the Cult of the Damned, he’s telling us what it was like being a Cult Member a year after the 616god extended play days after Ryan Smile ended Josh Bodom’s record-tying 3rd reign as RPW British Cruiserweight Champion.

“Spaceman” begins with him talking about having vices because he’s hellspawn & giving middle fingers to the enemy at war whereas “Rehab” featuring Suspect OTB finds the 2 comparing the feeling of being inside of a studio to that of rehabilitation. “Lock & Load” continues with him talking about feeling comfy by himself carrying a pistol in his hand leading into “Jamaa” produced by Sumgii talking about his enigmatic profile & feeling trippy after taking a few tabs.

Nobodies Home jumps behind the boards on “Cold Outing” speaking of treating his weed sack religiously in sense to people telling him he raps sacrilegiously & winning when he’s never won while “ZZZ” featuring the late Lil Peep talks about each of their own relationships with drugs. “Foul Mouth” has a more chaotic trap vibe instrumentally talking about him going all in while “There It Is” tackles drugs, relationships, success & spirituality over a Reklews beat.

“Yay High” featuring Jesse James Solomon gets the other half of the album going with both of them talking about having different shit within the same day over a Tony Seltzer instrumental while “Silk Tears” admits to doing this shit for the fuck of it only for people to bit him. “S!ck” has the Mcabre Brothers linking up to talk about being fed up with being too ill at everything while “Feeling Like” psychedelically discusses him only having his teammates & going up against the weekend when it’s actually a weekday.

Kicking off the 4th quarter, “Hello Kitten” shows a more flirtatious side to Don Silk telling this woman who has his attention that doesn’t play with religion despite having faith while “Mmm Bop” featuring Sniff gets together over an eerie boom bap beat the latter made himself to talk about going to Hell merely for their own amusement. “Where’s Olly?” suggests those worrying of what he’s doing to get a real hobby & “Roger Rabbit” sends it all off describing him watching The Walt Disney Company-owned Who Framed Roger Rabbit? with Zapp playing in the background.

There are a few other members from the original Children of the Damned crew who either haven’t released any solo material whatsoever like Salar or Tony Broke solely doing guest appearances for the past few years following his last EP Money in the Bag, but I’d have to say I prefer Cult Member more than 616god if this is the last we’ll hear from the Monster Under the Bed individually. The production’s an upgrade from its predecessor last Halloween, there are more guests in comparison & includes a myriad of different hip hop styles like boom bap & cloud rap.

Score: 3.5/5

Cult Mountain – “The 616sons” review

Cult Mountain is a quartet from England, United Kingdom consisting of London producer Sumgii, Sheffield emcee Trellion, London emcee Milkavelli & finally Runcorn, Cheshire, emcee/producer Lee Scott. Dropping an eponymous debut EP & a sequel, the latter would form the duo HAPPYPPL with Trellion a few months ago & introduced themselves providing a list of Things to Do in Happy Land When Ur Dead. However, the other half are joining them for the 3rd extended play from the Mountain preluding 2.5 ahead of the trilogy chapter.

“Yugen Pie” gets the ball rollin’ over a slow boom bap instrumental asking where the wisdom goes whenever they drop knowledge whereas “Mzungu Poa” finds everyone getting on some hater shit dabbling with trap a bit. “Life’s So Hard” reaches the halfway point spitting some arrogant pimp shit while “Cult Sweg” comes through with a cloudy Cult of the Damned anthem. “Brink” talks about those who think they give a fuck being sorely mistaken & “Spell It Out” ends with them turning their arrogance up.

The HAPPYPPL’s introductory EP a few months earlier Things to Do in Happy Land When Ur Dead was an experimentally dark prelude to The 616sons, but Milkavelli continues rockin’ mics beside Lee Scott & Trellion with none other than Sumgii behind the boards recapturing every aspect of the last couple entries in Cult Mountain’s discography whilst homaging the Fox Corporation’s longest-running animated series The Simpsons.

Score: 4/5