DJ Sam Seed – “The Unaligned” review

This is the solo debut extended play from London, England, United Kingdom producer & disc jockey DJ Sam Seed. Someone’s who caught my attention in the last couple years after producing the “Chardikala (Chardi Color)” interlude off Chino XL’s 6th album Darkness & Other Colors in November 2024 as well as “Rafiki Books” off Vinnie Paz’ 9th album God Sent Vengeance almost 6 months afterwards. He would sign to the Croydon underground imprint Hidden Hobby Records this past summer & has compiled The Unaligned as a way of properly introducing himself.

“Live on the Road” by Blade & Kool Keith opens up with both MCs over a rap rock beat explaining that each of them knows who they are whereas “Digging My Grave” by Eskar & Ill Bill finds the pair talking about doing things their way. “Whole New Chapter” by Kurious & Only1OnlySon works in a soul sample so they can show off their lyrical fluencies leading into “Freedom or Death” by Ill Sykes, Lord Goat & Ruste Juxx suggesting not to waste your breath since those are our only 2 choices.

Ghostface Killah joins bood & Montener the Menace on my personal favorite song “Wu Who?” blending hardcore & industrial hip hop just before “Drive You Insane” by Cymarshall Law, Farma G & Hypnopottomas continues the sampling talking about troubles & pain plaguing the world as we know it. “False Narrative” by Lord Goat & Scorzayzee hops over a piano to boast their respectively scientific scriptures prior A-F-R-O & Jr. Disprol sending it all off by having them set the “Microphone on Fire”.

Noticing that rappers from the both UK & the United States remain largely unaligned even when they share the same artistic ideals & many local producers around DJ Sam Seed’s neck of the woods landing international placements to this day, he amasses a guest list of veterans from both counties who prioritize integrity over fame paying homage to older hip hop icons & established talent from the current underground scene whilst showcasing younger emerging artists who haven’t been given a platform until now. The Unaligned represents unity, the long enduring sound of global underground hip hop through the decades & a symbol of what can be achieved when those who are unaligned with the mainstream band together for a greater good.

Score: 3.5/5

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Frisco Boogie – “Lost in the Loophole” review

Nottingham, East Midlands, England, United Kingdom emcee, producer, graffiti writer & b-boy Frisco Boogie making his Hidden Hobby Records debut with his 7th LP. Dropping his solo debut in 2020 with The Internal Masquerade the sophomore effort Masks of the Morning Son a few months later, he would go on to release Rainbows in the Rubble as well as the COVID-19 themed C.I.R.C.U.S. (Conditions In Reality Causing Us Stress) or the optimistic Sunflowers in September. Coming off 50 From the Cradle last fall honoring his 50th birthday, he’s found himself Lost in the Loophole.

“Lost” begins with a self-produced beat that reminds me of something Dr. Dre would’ve made in the 2000s essentially serving as the title track whereas “Same Ol’ Same” takes the boom bap route instrumentally talking about feeling like life’s repeating itself. “Silence” works in some pianos & woodwinds explaining that keeping your mouth shut is the best answer when realizing it doesn’t value your words leading into “March” featuring the Local Healers taking a smoother approach to talk about a woman who won’t give in.

To get the 2nd half going, “Karma” returns to the boom bap hooking up a prominent vocal sample telling the story of a woman he knew by the name of Susie while “No Answer” orchestrally suggests maybe he would be asking different questions. Frisco later waits for the human race to disappear the “Field of Crows” in a breeze over a vocal sample but once he observes some “Turmoil in the Trenches” all the way from a park bench, the final song asks “1 Question” & that being whether one would push their children.

Known for being the UK hip hop scene’s equivalent to Skyzoo in terms of everything he does having it’s own different concept, Frisco Boogie preludes his forthcoming 8th album celebrating this new era of a career spanning 3 decades when he started out as 1/2 of Lost Island. Topically, a lot of Lost in the Loophole continues the maturity of Frisco’s last couple offerings using dizzying wordplay to ponder whether or not those listening are stuck in a loophole of their own over old school boom bap production.

Score: 4/5

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Peter Sparker – “Who We Are” review

This is the full-length studio debut from Atlanta, Georgia emcee Peter Sparker. Introducing himself on Devil’s Night 2020 through his debut EP Chillin’ in the Matrixx despite starting out in the ‘80s, he would later form the duo Sparkerdero with producer K. Dero afterwards & drop a debut album of their own Bubba Smith a few months later followed by the sophomore effort 2nd Round merely 4 months prior. He has since joined the rising Croydon, South London, England, United Kingdom underground label Hidden Hobby Records & looks to make his debut by having Paisley, Scotland producer STS soundtrack Who We Are.

“Hi” jazzily begins by talking about using his God given talents to the highest abilities imaginable whereas “Stop & Look” takes a more laidback approach instrumentally explaining that nobody’s better than us because they’re wealthier. “Speak to Me” takes the cavernous boom bap route explaining that he still strives to make people feel like he’s amazing when most already do just before “Mr. Winter” talks about being the reason why his city has snow days.

HellzYeah joins Peter on “Sharks” discussing that they always get things done right because each of them always do it correctly leading into “Bars Over Bullshit” pensively talking about prioritizing lyricism above nonsense. “Bone Collector” brings back the jazz rap vibes for 90 seconds boasting how insane the bars he comes up with inside his head truly are just before “Shrapnel” hooks up a funky bassline to talk about doing this shit for almost 3 decades.

“Pathological Rhymer” starts the 2nd half eating STS’ beats like he’s serving whole entire meals while “Time Bandits” featuring PrevMarco finds the 2 talking about time eternally slipping to the future since we all should know that waits for no man. “Something We Do” breaks down the differences between hip hop culture & rap music, dismissing the false notion of of artists thinking they’re living this shit simply because they’re rapping now while “Backspin” dedicates the next 68 seconds to all the b-boys.

WWE Hall of Famer, the shortest reigning WWE Champion & former WWE Tag Team Champion André the Giant gets referenced on “The Brakes” talking about only dealing with the best of the best while “This is the Way…” declares himself to be the weapon needed to correct the perception of an MC’s essence. “Revolution” sends off the LP with a minute long outro talking about still providing Edutainment despite not being KRS-One & nobody having the ability of altering the way he spits.

Chillin’ in the Matrixx was the only actual entry in Peter Sparker’s solo catalog up to this point for me to judge his music upon excluding both of Sparkerdero’s full-lengths, but I can definitely say Who We Are surpasses that previous EP he released during the COVID-19 pandemic & proves to be a great international signing for Hidden Hobby Records from STS’ boom bap production to Peter’s wordplay simultaneously opening up to this new era of authentic lyricists whilst throwing it back to hip hop’s early days.

Score: 4/5

Decksterror – “Love & Honour” review

This is the debut extended play from London, England, United Kingdom producer Decksterror. Originally known under the moniker G-Man, he would form Hollow Sun Records alongside Cosm in the spring of 2020 a couple weeks after the COVID-19 pandemic began & eventually made his full-length solo debut with Black/Gold Stash a couple years later. However, he has since signed to the Croydon underground imprint Hidden Hobby Records as an in-house producer & is looking to make his debut for the label with Love & Honour.

“Tom Clancy” by C.o.N-Vers starts with a horn-heavy boom bap instrumental portraying himself as an assassin but after Cosm & Hus Kingpin join him on the rap rock-inflicted title track so all 3 of them can talk about holding the aces high even if the stakes have never been any higher, “Invisible Man” by Ash the Author & JabbaThaKut reaches the halfway point speaking of both artists making moves of their own & still running from the men in black.

King Kakarot gets the 2nd half going by landing a track of his own Move Back” talking about the lack of rebelliousness these days when I don’t entirely agree with that since there are artists whose music captures that mentality well while “Running for the Shade” by C.o.N-Vers speaks of living in the good & bad days. “Dark Speed” by Ill Sykes ends the EP talking about being the sum of things to come & letting shells roll of his tongue much like he’s firing an automatic firearm.

Considering that this guy produced the penultimate single from Montener the Menace’s latest album The Miserable Git Next Door & one of my personal favorite tracks on there “Tomorrow’s Never Promised”, it’s not so much of a shocker to hear Decksterror joining Hidden Hobby & his debut for the rising underground imprint has me excited for the sequel he’s already begun working on. His sample-lenient boom bap production created using an MPC solidifies himself amongst the UK’s greatest producers & the briefer guest list is more consistent than Black/Gold Stash’s.

Score: 3.5/5

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Montener the Menace – “The Miserable Git Next Door” album

Montener the Menace is an MC from Croydon, South London, England, United Kingdom who I first caught wind of him during the COVID-19 pandemic when he released his full-length debut I Have a Hidden Hobby. Even though overloaded with features & the instrumentals sorta sounded similar to one another, dude definitely proved himself lyrically & the sophomore effort he followed it up with a year & a half ago Anyone Home?. But as 2022 draws to a close, Montener is looking to return in the form of his 3rd album under his own label Hidden Hobby Records.

The title track kicks off the album with an orchestral boom bap instrumental cautioning how miserable of a person that he considers himself to be whereas “Tomorrow’s Never Promised” featuring A-F-R-O & Skyzoo works in a crooning vocal sample from Decksterror talking about how life is short. “Gunslinger” however comes through with a western-tinged sequel to “High Noon” off Anyone Home? just before “Sliding Doors” returns to a more symphonic-based sound vividly telling the story of someone whose mother always referred to as her greatest mistake.

However with “Decisions”, we have Guilty Simpson as well as REKS & Skinnyman joining Montener for a lavish boom bap anthem about the choices you make in general leading into “Hate to Love” has a more rawer approach instrumentally discussing what hate & love mean to him. “Teachered Artist” laces some dusty drums & trumpets confessing that his mission is to teach, but then Verbz comes into the picture for the keyboard/string-laced “Juxtaposition” produced by Domingo talking about crooked cops.

“Movie Decade Crusader” is a soulful dedication for all the film buffs out there while the song “Running My Mouth” is a triumphant boom bap ballad talking his shit whenever he happens to pull up in town. The penultimate track “About Love” comes through with a 6 crazy & a half minute UK hip hop posse cut featuring 14 other MCs with the most notable being bood, BVA, Cosm, Frisco Boogie, Cracker Jon, Genesis Elijah, Ramson Badbonez & Sean Peng prior to the outro truly ending the album returning to the boom bap with a plucky loop advising to leave him alone unless you wanna go to war.

Anyone Home? showed some significant improvements over I Have a Hidden Hobby & The Miserable Git Next Door continues to do that in an impressive fashion 17 months later. The production on the album was a tad bit superior, but I admire that the overabundance of features are continuing to be toned down to a respectable volume as Montener continues to reveal himself as one of London’s most skilled underground MCs today.

Score: 3.5/5

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Montener the Menace – “Anyone Home?” review

This is the sophomore effort from Croydon, South London, England, United Kingdom emcee & Hidden Hobby Records founder Montener the Menace. We first caught wind of the guy last spring when he released his full-length studio debut I Have a Hidden Hobby in which dude was rapping his ass off, but was overloaded with features & the instrumentals sorta sounded similar to one another. Not even a year has passed & Montener is continuing to stay busy by dropping Anyone Home?, bringing an interesting list of veterans on board that raised my expectations in comparison that previous album.

After the intro, the first song “We Need to Talk About Kevin” works in a chipmunk vocal sample to talk about being hurt whereas “High Noon” featuring Fatlip, Masta Ace, Rah Digga & Wordsworth compares themselves to that of outlaws over an old western loop. He later addresses his flaws on the twangy boom bap cut “Imperfections” just before he, Craig G & Ed O.G. return things to the essence on the violin-heavy “Take It Back”.

“The Struggle” featuring El Da Sensei, Guilty Simpson & Micall Parknsun is a icy look at everyone’s own problems that they face while “Dog Food” is an orchestral depiction of being homeless. After the “Anyone Home?” interlude, “It’s Always Sunny in Croydon” is a decent little posse cut showcasing Montener’s homies from the titular London city leading into him & A.G. talking about their legacy on the uplifting “Legends Never Die”.

The song “I Can’t Resist Hearing…” is an endearing tribute to fatherhood while the track “Feed the Foxes” featuring bood uses the title as a metaphor for giving to the poor accompanied by a bluesy beat. Then just before the outro, the final song on the album “Bloody Marvelous” featuring Keith Murray finds the 2 flexing their rapping prowesses over a rich instrumental.

To me, Anyone Home? is exactly what I wanted out of I Have a Hidden Hobby & it gives me a good impression that Montener the Menace could top this at some point later this decade. The features are toned down to an appropriate amount, Montener’s lyrical topics are more serious & I also like how he refines the traditional old school sound he goes for by dabbling with a variety of different styles.

Score: 3.5/5