King Kashmere – “0 Point Modulations” review

London, England, United Kingdom emcee/producer King Kashmere getting behind the boards for his 8th studio LP. Notable for being a part of several groups or duos over the last few decades ranging from Kingdom of Fear & Invisible Inc. to Gawd Status as well as Old Children & Strange U, he also has 7 full-lengths & a few extended plays under his belt through a multitude of labels from Low Life Records to YNR Productions & Boot Records. The most recent being The Album to End All Alien Abductions & Sounds Like Home via High Focus Records, looking to kick off the 0 Point Modulations series strong.

“Kulcha” by Gawd Status after the intro starts us off with Joker Starr hitting us with skillful lyricism over a boom bap instrumental whereas “Shadows” by Durrty Goodz, Flirta D & Harry Shotta comes through with their own rendition of “Valley of the Shadows” by Origin Unknown. “Big(Bad)” by Dabbla, Genesis Elijah & Killa P aggressively joins forces to piss off their detractors including a brief beat switch prior to “Good Morning” by Harry Shotta, Jaz Kahina & PAV4N spitting flows that’ll leave people impressed.

As for “All Night”, we have Jae Mann taking the mic so he can talk about how it’s always the people who don’t do shit who be disrespecting those that put in the work just before “I.Y.N.K. (Illest You Never Knew)” by Cappo returns to the boom bap ruggedly boasts of reaching a level many wish they could achieve. “Earendel” by Illaman suggests to meet him in the courtyard with bars prepared until Flowtecs & Ramson Badbonez team up for the spooky “Violatorz”.

“Doin’ It” by Micall Parknsun talks about his detractors being pissed that he’s still around making music when it’s their own loss while “I Smoke” by BVA ruggedly discusses being ready to body anyone in a battle. “Alive” by Farma G & Fliptrix wraps up the 1st leg of 0 Point Modulations talking about keeping this shit going strong while “God Complex” by C.o.N-Vers talks about swinging swords whenever it’s time for war.

Verb T gets his own solo track with “Heights” talking about the feeling he has of taking things to higher levels musically while “Dragon’s Lair” by the Double Dragons grittily expresses Ray Vendetta & Tommy Biz’s refusal of surrounding themselves with artists who’re insignificant compared to them. “Is It?” by HPBLK talks about revving a chainsaw after being cast in the dark while “Cooked” by Reign MC dismisses those who claim they can smoke him.

“Classic Style” by Confucius MC dustily talks about the autobiographical subject matter he’s kicking being superior to a simple novel & becoming impactful when it’s laid out on wax but after “No Stress” by Alecs DeLarge poses the question of winning when people aren’t even rooting for themselves to achieve said victories in the first place, “Unfunny” by Truemendous talks about never being apart of a joke she doesn’t find humor in.

The track “Anne Boleyn” by Anyway tha God & Ragga Zulu Rebel references King Henry VIII’s 2nd wife who was beheaded due to fabricated charges of high treason & adultery in the 1500s while “Nuisance” by Fliptrix & JayaHadADream talks about leaving the past behind now that their voices have been found. The final song “Phone on Silent” by Larwood preceding the outro concludes 0 Point Modulations explaining that life’s about timing & making every second count.

King Kashmere has been producing since the late 90s & after fine-tuning that aspect of his career since 2010 when he began evolving behind the boards, 0 Point Modulations officially rings in this new chapter of his storied career shining the brightest light on The Iguana Man’s true calling although I can respectfully understand the 77 minute runtime being lengthy for some listeners. His production experiments with different genres other than hip hop like grime or dub & dubstep developing ways to make the process authentic through sampling & enlisting an all-star cast of MCs representing the UK hip hop scene’s past & present.

Score: 4/5

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King Kashmere – “Sounds Like Home” review

This is the 4th EP from London, England, United Kingdom emcee/producer King Kashmere. Notable for being a part of several groups or duos over the last few decades ranging from Kingdom of Fear & Invisible Inc. to Gawd Status as well as Old Children & Strange U, he also has 7 full-length solo albums & a couple of extended plays under his belt through the likes of Low Life Records to YNR Productions & Boot Records. Making his debut for High Focus Records in 2016 off his 3rd album Woof, he returned to the label with TR3B & has brought Cuth in to fully produce Sounds Like Home coming off The Album to End All Alien Abductions a month after Leon Slater ended Connor Mills’ reign as RPW British Cruiserweight Champion.

“Change Your Energy” soulfully starts off talking about everyone having their own universe within ourselves whereas “Thick Bag of Slime” featuring Alecs DeLarge goes for a psychedelic boom bap vibe to speak of striving & getting little in return. The title track soulfully while talks about keeping it real when others pretend while “Door of Truth” grittily asks if one can afford losing the game of life. After the compositional “Places” intermission, the final song “Valhalla” wraps up Sounds Like Home crushingly remembering his brother Tom.

I’d have to put The Album to End All Alien AbductionsTR3B above Sounds Like Home, but I’m nevertheless grateful King Kashmere was able to give us a 6 track EP containing some of the most emotive material in a career spanning over 2 decades. Cuth’s production here leans towards a boom bap direction as opposed to Alecs’ experimentation during The Album to End All Alien Abductions providing a good soundtrack for The Iguana Man to back at simpler times, long lost friends & a new perspective regarding the beauty & brutality of the human condition.

Score: 3.5/5

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