Tag: Telemachus

Fliptrix – “Elevation” review

Here we have the 11th solo LP from South London, England, United Kingdom emcee Fliptrix. The founder of High Focus Records as well as a member of The 4 Owls, he made his debut in 2007 off Force Fed Imagery followed by Theory of Rhyme and later Third Eye of the Storm & The Road to the Interdimensional Piff Highway. Polyhymnia came out a couple years later as did Patterns of Escapism & Inexhale. Light Work was alright & Mantra #9 took a more mature approach, coming off the Leigh Brothers-produced Dragonfly to have Forest DLG a.k.a. Telemachus soundtrack his Elevation.

“Teacher” begins with them providing a ray of light during these troubling times whereas the 3rd single “Transform” takes the soulful boom bap route instrumentally providing more insight penmanship. “1 Heart” continues from there brutally observing the modern condition leading into the 4th single “Better Watch Them” jazzily leans towards conscious vibe lyrically.

As for “33 Vertebrae”, we have Flip embracing a hip house sound talking about the part of our body that helps us elevate just before “The Divine Feminine” makes a powerful statement condemning misogyny. “Energy! Energy! Energy!” featuring General Levy fuses hip hop with jungle for a captivating teaser that could be played at EDM festivals to come while the 2nd single “Floodlights” talks about rebellion.

“Who’s the Saviour?” calls for everyone listening to rise up while the 7th single “Freedom?” featuring Coops talks about the world spiraling downward in real time. “Do You Wanna See” featuring Da Flyy Hooligan dismisses those who don’t wanna see the forest like they say they’d like to while “Dangerous” by The 4 Owls featuring Babylon Dead, Coops, Cracker Jon, Dabbla, Farma G, Harry Shotta, Jman, Kemastry, King Kashmere, Ramson Badbonez, Renelle 893, Sparkz, Truemendous, Verbz & Vitamin G comes through with an outstanding High Focus posse cut.

Continuing the 2nd half, “Tears in the Eyes of Gaia” has a more emotional approach to it talking about the way perceives beauty while “Chilling” dedicating this one to all the people who’re typically calm out in public rather than wylin’ out or getting hyped. “Ups & Downs” talks about life being similar to a rollercoaster while the 8th & final single “Visionaries” featuring Frisco adamantly expresses their desire of making perfect use of their final breaths.

“Mighty” featuring Kamakaze joins forces for a grime track cautioning not to make any moves unless you’re strong enough to bare the tussle while “It Ain’t Easy But I’m Surfing” talks about staying focused & determined although it’s not a breeze to do by any means. “I Be on My Way” sends off the Elevation with Flip discussing that the pain he’s endured can be seen on his face & carving his own path for 16 years via the biggest underground UK hip hop label.

Desiring to make something completely different compared to Dragonfly, Elevation takes the maturity of it’s predecessor & Mantra #9 by delivering an album that joins the ranks of Fliptrix’ last couple except I love this one slightly more. Telemachus’ production is more experimental than the Leigh Brothers’ was & Fliptrix’ lyricism aims to lift the world to higher state of consciousness & trigger conversations regarding the state of the world in the hope of enacting positive change during everything that’s happened in these past 14 going on 15 months. There are also a few guests that he’s never worked with before & did so in attempt to sought out new energies after collaborating with all the greats in his scene.

Score: 4.5/5

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Dubbledge – “10 Toes Down” review

This is the 3rd studio LP & Potent Funk Records debut from Watford, England, United Kingdom emcee Dubbledge. Emerging in 2005 off his debut mixtape The Fist of Jah, this was followed up in 2007 with both the 777 extended play & full-length debut The Richest Man in Babylon under Low Life Records. He would later drop the sophomore effort 1 Inch Punch! a couple years later after the demise of Low Life in addition to forming the quartet Problem Child alongside Dabbla, Illaman & Sumgii. However, he & Telemachus are unearthing 10 Toes Down a whole entire decade since they began working on it.

The title track blends rap rock & boom bap proving he can still get straight to the point when it’s time to start smashing shit until the rock elements get swapped out in favor of electronic music so every last person who think’s they’re a “Soopa Gangsta” can get scoffed at. “Itchy Itchy” takes a few minutes to send a shoutout to all the crackheads out there & after “Tear Dem Apart”chaotically tries to see what his competition’s made up, “Takin’ Libs” ends the 1st leg guaranteeing those who link up with him will have a ball.

“Chess” begins the 2nd half by hopping over an energized boom bap instrumental comparing life to a strategy game in that you’re either a pawn or a king while “Mad Dogs” featuring Kyza, Micall Parknsun & TBear finds the quartet coming for profits. “Lend a N***a a Pencil” might have the quirkiest beat of the bunch talking about being a bad MC & once “Awkward” suggests to think twice before switching up, “Your Mum” ends on a funkier note comedically depicting haters as disappointments to their mothers.

It’s pretty surreal to think 10 Toes Down was largely recorded during my freshman/sophomore year of high school because if this is the last time we’ll hear Dubbledge on the mic for an entire body of work since he’s been looking to become an author, I’d say this or The Richest Man in Babylon are the most entries in his discography. Many of the subjects he addresses are very relevant to the present day & Telemachus’ production is more varied than anything Edge has done over the course of the 2000s.

Score: 4/5