Lee Scott – “La Scala” review

Here we have the 9th EP 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 & the Supergang. 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 weren’t as good as that or Lou Reed 2000 or Somewhere Between Here & There. I felt like Friend, Come to Me & Be Saved was alright, coming off Gates Click Shutalong with There’s a Reason for Everything & To Tame a Dead Horse to drop the self-produced La Scala.

“Cabin Roof” begins with a boom bap instrumental Lee made himself confirming Cult Mountain’s disbandment due to Milkavelli scamming people whereas “Acme Point” talks about not wanting to hear any bullshit. “Starfish” speaks of having no time for chit chat if it has nothing to do with the rhyme or if it doesn’t match the money on his mind while “Next Door” asks himself why the individual he’s thinking of wants to be exactly like him & the rest of the Cult.

The song “Merry Karma” continues the final moments of La Scala by giving the B-Movie Millionaires a few minutes in the spotlight responding to people telling them they need to slow down when they’ve only gotten on the road while “Intrusive Thoughts” talks about being too old to play the nuisance & make excuses, yet he still does & will continue to do so. “Cathedral Breeze” finishes by going for a more compositional approach, taking a backseat vocally so he can whip up a ghostly boom bap beat clocking at 72 seconds.

Marking a conclusion to his most recent solo output using these kind of tempos, Lee Scott writes & self-produces another hardcore philosophical ignorant UK hip hop extended play. His production focuses around the boom bap elements There’s a Reason for Everything had ditching the secondary influences of drumless & chipmunk soul for a 17 minute statement primarily themed around what he can only describe as an insatiable & sometimes inadvertently destructive compulsion he has to create.

Score: 4/5

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Lee Scott – “There’s a Reason for Everything” review

Lee Scott is a 38 year old MC & producer from Runcorn, Cheshire, England, United Kingdom 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 & the Supergang. 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 Havingweren’t as good as that or Lou Reed 2000 or Somewhere Between Here & There. I felt like Friend, Come to Me & Be Saved was alright & he’s giving us his 8th EP almost 23 months since Gates Click Shut.

The self-produced “Views Through the Palisade Fence” turns his neighbor’s latest plot into Salem’s lot over this silky beat whereas “It’s Not Cricket” takes the boom bap route instrumentally lets the crowd know he wants to see their hands from the front to the back. “Raleigh Lizard” goes drumlessly talking about the wind being foreboding & traveling by foot until his bike’s fixed while the dusty, lo-fi “Long Gone Johnny” boasts his autobiography reads back to front.

“Council Home Linoleum” gets the 2nd half of There’s a Reason for Everything going advising not to worry about a thing just before “Ambassador Rum” takes a laidback boom bap approach talking about being everything they say you shouldn’t be, including a witty Jedi Mind Tricks bar during the final verse. “Dole Jelly Pot” suggests bringing a water pistol to a fire fight might be a right decision over a soulful sample & “Worra Day” ends with him talking about the best you’re gonna get isn’t a whole lot.

I Can’t Figure Out How I Figured It All Out was alright & Ffsman wound up being a little better, but There’s a Reason for Everything makes up for the mixed reception of both those extended plays with Lee Scott making one that tops Gates Click Shut joining the likes of Stupid Poignant Shit & Butter Fly in being some of the Blah Records founder’s finest material. There are much less features than his most recent output, saving more room for his razor-sharp wordplay & handling the production solely by himself.

Score: 4/5

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Supergang – Self-Titled review

The Supergang are a quartet from England, United Kingdom consisting of Runcorn, Cheshire, emcee/producer Lee Scott, London emcee Milkavelli, Sheffield emcee Sniff & finally London producer Sumgii. All of whom have cross paths with each other several times over the courses of each member’s careers, so them forming & introducing themselves as a unit by dropping an eponymous debut EP under Blah Records was understandable given the founder of the label’s involvement in many different side projects.

The g-funk instrumental on the intro “Zap” was a welcoming way to get the extended play started having each of them spitting hardcore verses without the need of a hook whereas “Yellow x Green” goes for a lo-fi boom bap vibe talking about dreaming in only those 2 colors. “GNGLVD” keeps the beats dusty making it clear the Devil Gang’s retaliation has begun while “Do It Twice” rawly yet slowly talks about living life do or die because of the rush they get out of it.

“I Confess” starts the backend of the Supergang’s self-titled debut admitting to pushing drugs on their Twitter feeds & being happier than a kid on Christmas Eve once they’re caught instrumentally experimenting with trap leading into the “Unofficial Anthem” coming through with their own 5 & a half minute theme song. “Bubblewrap” closes up shop with 1 last boom bap beat subduing it so all 3 lyricists can fire off 1 last hardcore verse of their own.

Making it their mission to become the UK hip hop scene’s next unstoppable force, the Supergang’s inaugural musical statement certainly does what everyone involved had set out to do & those who enjoy the Mcabre Brothers’ output or Nobodies Home’s debut EP ADHD Concerto 77 wouldn’t deny it. Sumgii’s production here sticks out amongst the funkiest he’s ever made & Lee handles the verse with both Milkavelli & Sniff by his side rather than either or.

Score: 4/5

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

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.

“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