Kemastry – “A Delusional Guide for the Disillusioned” review

London, England, United Kingdom emcee Kemastry breaking out solo with a whole entire EP locking in with one of the UK hip hop movement’s most decorated DJs/producers DJ Jazz T to handle the beats. Notable for being 1/3 of the trio CMPND alongside Vitamin G & Wundrop, they would make their debut under High Focus Records in the fall of 2019 with Eagle Court & most recently made a sequel with the sophomore effort Long Live the Court through the Hove, East Sussex imprint. Kemastry however has opted to crack open A Delusional Guide for the Disillusioned by having the founder of Boot Records producing it for his label.

After the compositional “Mind Control” intro, the first song “Delusional” begins with this old school boom bap instrumental talking about being stick up in this rat race from the sun whereas “Apocalyptic Flows” featuring Ramson Badbonez contains the strongest guest appearance of the 2 linking with Kemastry over pianos mixed with kicks & snares spittin’ deadly cadences of their own. “Hamster Wheel” featuring Roughneck Jihad has a cloudier, almost jazzier boom bap vibe to it having no one to trust & “Stay Grounded” smoothly ends by giving that very advice.

Countering the scathing observations & multi-syllables Wundrop & Vitamin G have respectively become known for with his surreal unpredictability, Kemastry elevates that to a whole new level providing A Delusional Guide for the Disillusioned to begin carving a path for himself individually. DJ Jazz T’s boom bap production pared with the CMPND member’s signature approach to songwriting with only a couple features joining him for roughly 15 & a half minutes isn’t a bad way for him to establish himself on his own & has me anticipating where he’ll go from here.

Score: 4/5

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CMPND – “Eagle Court II: Long Live the Court” review

Brighton, East Sussex, England, United Kingdom trio CMPND consisting of Kemastry, Wundrop & Vitamin G back for a sophomore effort. All 3 of which are lyricists in their own right & Wundrop in particular being their in-house producer. The historic Hove underground imprint High Focus Records signed them & their debut album Eagle Court named after the residential flats these guys grew up together. It has since been demolished, reforming to make a sequel saying Long Live the Court.

“Ain’t Gonna Fold” produced by none other than Wundrop begins with this uncanny trap instrumental talking about never backing down from anything whereas “Weaintplayin” works in some strings & hi-hats cautioning that they ain’t fucking around with anybody. “Court in Session” radiates a psychedelic trap vibe assuring that they ain’t bitches begging for sympathy while “Acid Reign” asks why live life on a timer when the money winds up evaporating.

Meanwhile regarding “Nice Riot”, we have CMPND over this unsettling beat homaging the song “Riot Akt” off Gang Starr’s penultimate album The Ownerz prior to Hutch joining the 3 for “Illeagle Court II” following up the themes of it’s predecessor Hutch also made an appearance on off the original Eagle Court album. “D.I.T.D. (Down In The Dumps)” shifts in favor of an ominous atmosphere dissing rappers relying on clout while “The Culprit” talks about fucking up their lives to finish the 2nd quarter.

“Pick a Card” starts the 2nd half passionately speaking of the only thing they can do is being themselves & do what they do grippin’ mics until “Skrewed” featuring Bil Next finds the quartet getting back to the killstreak they’ve been needing for a bit. “Guaranteed Wins” dustily talks about indifference being a bigger disease than death itself than just before “Tiny Violin” featuring Datkid & PAV4N viciously boasts of their own grind.

The soulfulness of “Playinu” hits quite perfectly talking about their best their be the greatest versions of themselves doing his things daily and it’s The Truman Show while “Suh Quelle” hypnotically acknowledges a comparison between Vitamin G & Danny Brown, which I can’t argue being a Detroiter myself. “Went There” on the other hand carries forward talking about taking it to lengths others didn’t think they could when Eagle Court exists.

“Bojangles Jesus” embraces a cavernously woozy atmosphere instrumentally advising to stay clever with everything you do until the due respect comes while “Crazy Town” returns to the boom bap talking about still pursuing the dream despite it not being what it used to be because of the culture forever evolving. “Griezmann” featuring Truemendous finishes Eagle Court II: Long Live the Court with both High Focus labelmates rightfully boasting their status amongst the best around their necks of the woods.

I’d still prefer Eagle Court between the 2 full-lengths CMPND has given us so far, but the successor Long Live the Court will still satisfy fans of the group for it’s solid testament of staying true to themselves. Kemastry, Vitamin G & Wundrop pick up right where they left off 3 years earlier mixing insanity, debauchery, pain, pleasure, introspection & surrealism into a deludamolic delicacy of raucously depraved antics admirably carrying the former housing flats’ spirit gracefully.

Score: 3.5/5

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CMPND – “Eagle Court” review

CMPND is a hip hop trio from Brighton, East Sussex, England, United Kingdom consisting of Kemastry, Wundrop & Vitamin G. All 3 of which are lyricists in their own right & Wundrop in particular being their in-house producer. Introducing themselves 6 months previously, the group has already been making enough waves to the point where the historic Hove underground imprint High Focus Records agreeably realizing they’d be a great for the label & signed them in time for their full-length studio debut album to arrive a month after Zack Sabre Jr. ended 棚橋弘至 reign as RPW British Heavyweight Champion.

The title track produced by none other than Wundrop talking about what it was like for them growing up in the very housing complex that made CMPND who they are whereas the 3rd & final single “E.W.A. (Eagles With Attitude)” gives middle fingers to the feds, including an awesome shoutout to Jeru the Damaja too. “Solid Air” has a more hypnotic trap vibe instrumentally talking about being more sinful than symbols just before “Whatuplayin@” acknowledges the word around the streets of their greatness.

“Illeagle Court” featuring Hutch shifts towards a cloudy boom bap direction to the beat cautioning that shit really goes down around their neck of the woods leading into “Home Runs” featuring Verbz marking the first of 2 appearances from the latter admitting that they still can’t find peace out in the streets. “U Know We Fly” talks about being crazier than Warner Bros.’ flagship franchise Looney Tunes while “Arjun Robben” ends the 1st half boasting to be the Ps who don’t do Qs.

Kicking off the 3rd quarter, “Dusty Ivory” returns to the boom bap confessing they shouldn’t rule the world because of the self-awareness of barely being responsible for their own actions while “Flight 370” dissects the Malaysia Airlines Flight in March of 2014 that infamously disappeared. “Instant Wins” gives off secondary influences of psychedelic music down to the slurred chorus talking about being ahead of the pack while “Paraphrase” featuring Verbz finds themselves keeping their heads above the hemisphere.

“Silence in Court” begins Eagle Court’s final leg explain explaining that we’re all corpses of our former selves in the grand scheme of things yearning for new lungs & company while “Purpatrait” talks about breaking rules despite not playing games. “Hindenburg” featuring Dirty Dike, Fliptrix, HERBiCiDE, Nuphzed & Stinkin’ Slumrok comes together for a 7 minute posse cut where Dike, the High Focus CEO himself & Slumrok shine the most while “Days to Daze” ends with an introspectively soulful outro.

Taking the title of CMPND’s inaugural LP after the blocks of flats all 3 members met & grew up together, these guys bring a whole new vision & aesthetic to the forefront devoid of outside distractions & influences only marking the beginning of a bright future under High Focus Records. Whether it be Wundrop’s production influenced by boom bap as well as grime & UK drill in addition to his critical social commentary or Vitamin G’s multi-syllables & Kemastry’s unpredictability, the new era of UK hip hop has already arrived.

Score: 4/5