Upfront MC – “Headrush” review

Bristol, England, United Kingdom’s very own Upfront MC returning for his 2nd extended play. A member of the Split Prophets collective, he would make his solo debut in 2012 off the Sound of Evolution… EP followed by the debut album Upfront & Personal and the sophomore effort Lettermorphosis. Coming off the inaugural entry of the Throwaway Thursdays mixtape series a couple years earlier, coming off Reflections to link up with Badhabitz & have his crew’s in-house producer solely handling Headrush’s production by himself.

“Nothing Guaranteed” hops over a cloudy boom bap instrumental to talk about embracing everything you have while it’s here prior to him confessing he’s been trying to “Stay Afloat”, advising everyone to accept change being a part of the process. “Toxic” hooks up more kicks & snares so he can talk about him losing his sanity being the cost of this music shit leading into “Daily Struggle” ending the 1st leg of the EP on a cloudier note explaining that there’s always a message within his rhyme patterns.

To get the 2nd half going, “Perspective” brings up a piano flip to talk about the issues of balancing the dreams he has & living in reality while the cavernously raw “C.B.F. (Can’t Be Fucked)” rawly asks if anyone has ever woken up feeling like nobody can fuck with them. “Fine Lines” leans towards an uncanny boom bap direction telling the world to not let anything break you & “Feel the Fear” somberly concludes with him talking about the Devil inside of his ear.

Over a decade since Sound of Evolution… & with the 10-year anniversary of Upfront & Personal approaching next summer, one of the Split Prophets’ strongest links moves on from his Reflections to embark on a sudden feeling of hardcore boom bap euphoria dropping what I firmly believe could be his greatest entry in his whole entire solo catalog. Badhabitz’ boom bap production is a cut above beppo’s 9 months earlier & lyrically, the Upfront MC is in top form.

Score: 4.5/5

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Flying Monk – “Skullduggery” review

Flying Monk is a 30 year old MC from Bristol, England, United Kingdom known for being apart of the Split Prophets collective. Although he’s made a handful of guest appearances across multiple releases over the course of almost a decade like his fellow Prophet brethren Upfront MC or Res 1’s respective solo debuts Upfront & Personal and Delph Efficiency as well as Datkid’s first EP Grubby Mits to name a few, but has yet to make a proper collection of solo output until this extended play.

After the intro, “Fuck the Fame” gets things going with this creepy boom bap instrumental from Axel Holy explaining that the Monk could give a fuck less about the clout whereas “The Get Back” produced by Badhabitz offering advice on what to do if you wanna talk shit. “Can’t Deny” eerily talks about the Prophets never falling because they’re too fly & after telling all these muhfuckas to get their asses “Back to Work”, the final song “Levels” concludes by boasting that he’s on a level they didn’t think he could reach

Unfortunately he has since passed away, but I’m happy that Flying Monk was able to give us Skullduggery when he had the chance considering that Bil Next is now the only remaining Split Prophet who has yet to go solo much like how Salar’s the only Cult of the Damned member that doesn’t have any solo material under his belt. From the grimy production to Anbu flowing without the need of any guest appearances, this EP proves exactly what he was capable of doing on his own.

Score: 4/5

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Joey Paro – “Victory Gin” review

Here is the solo debut extended play from Bristol, England, United Kingdom emcee Joey Paro. A member of the Split Prophets collective, he & Bil Next would team up on New Year’s Day 2014 for the collaborative EP Weedmasons, but hasn’t dropped a full project by himself up until this point. I did however enjoy his guest appearances on Eric the Red’s debut album Caught Red Handed & Res 1’s sophomore effort A Dog’s Dreams both entirely produced by Illinformed, the latter of whom has now been brought in to fully produce Victory Gin.

The title track jumps over a cinematic boom bap instrumental talking about catching him inside of the kitchen sipping on a type of distilled alcoholic beverage he’s been saving from a celebratory occasion whereas “The Fall” featuring Eric the Red & Smellington Piff finds the trio dropping hardcore verses without a hook over this orchestrally raw beat. “Mobin’” featuring Datkid & Res 1 sees all 3 of them talking about living fast until their vitals crash while “No Fill” featuring Upfront MC work in some keys to discuss growing up with white trash.

Bil Next & Flying Monk are the only 2 Split Prophets who have yet to go solo, but I’m happy one of the Weedmasons was able to share some Victory Gin with the fans who’ve been waiting for this day to come & bringing one of the UK hip hop scene’s greatest producers on board to provide a brief look at Joey Paro individually. Illinformed’s production is on par with Res 1’s sophomore effort A Dog’s Dreams & despite there being a guest appearance on almost every single, they’re all on his level of penmanship.

Score: 4/5

Split Prophets – “The Forecast” review

The Split Prophets are a hip hop collective from Bristol, England, United Kingdom consisting of Datkid, Upfront MC, Res 1, Joey Paro, Bil Next, Flying Monk & Badhabitz. Forming in 2012, they would go on to drop their first couple of EPs The High Life and Southbound & Down the following year. They would eventually make their full-length debut at the beginning of 2016 with Delta Bravo Kilo, returning 3 years later with their 3rd extended play.

Datkid & Upfront MC hop over a jazzy boom bap beat during the intro “Bad News” pleading to stop with all the nonsense whereas “Mustard” goes for a cavernously raw approach instrumentally talking about how every single member has been taking their own steps in becoming more successful. “Paperback Book” blends a guitar sample with some kicks & snares for a hardcore hip hop joint reminiscent of the ‘90s just before “You Do You” comes across a bit more atmospheric talking about doing your thing.

“My Team” gets the 2nd half going aggressively making it clear that nobody can match their individual flows while “6 Deep” brings back the jazz rap influences so they can tell all their haters that they’re never quitting & the haters can live with it in misery as far as the squad’s concerned. Joey Paro & Upfront MC team up on “The Monsoon” going back-&-forth with each other over an organ sample leading into Flying Monk joining them for the intro “Oii”.

Needless to say: the Split Prophets has collectively been on a musical hiatus since Delta Bravo Kilo with everyone focusing on their solo careers but whenever they’re ready to reunite for a sophomore effort, The Forecast hints at what we can expect from them in the best ways imaginable. Badhabitz’ jazzy boom bap production feels reminiscent to Illinformed’s & lyrically, they’re aren’t too far behind from the Cult of the Damned in the sense that every MC has their own way of sticking out.

Score: 4/5