I've been pretty vocal about my distaste of much of Lethal B's output post-"Pow." Some might go as far as to say I lead a mini hate campaign but that would be exaggerating things slightly. His latest video (above), thankfully, is a welcome departure from his half-arsed, desperate indie collaborations. Produced by J Sweet and featuring a posthumous chorus hook from Slinga (RIP) and a verse from The Movement's Ghetto, this is the grimiest thing Lethal has done since before someone told him it would be a good idea to take grindie seriously. He was showing positive signs on his previous single "The Come Up," also produced by J Sweet, and if I remember correctly I coincidentally commented at the time that the pair should work together again. I'm not saying Bizzle read my blog and took my advice or anything, I'm just saying.
Download: Brains ft. Slinga, 2 Pac and Biggie, "Thug Luv"
If you like the sound of Slinga, check his other track from the grave with some lesser known emcees called Biggie and 2 Pac, which I got my friend Brains to put together for my mixtape after getting hold of some of the grime MC's acapellas off his friend Jammer. Grime seems to be exciting again right now. Nobody bothered to get out of bed in January but finally some good material is being made. Check this radio rip of 16-year-old MC Chipmunk's "Who Are You (Remix)," which features the current most exciting young talent in grime: Double S, Ice Kid, Maveric and Griminal. 16-year-old Nasty Crew member Griminal outshines everyone on this with his illimitable aggression. He is a shining example of the new grime generation—steeped in grime since primary school. His older brother and Nasty Crew member, DJ Mak 10, would do sets in his bedroom with MCs like Kano and D Double E back when they were also in Nasty as Griminal sat outside listening with his ear to the door.
Grime always got a hard time for its low budget and low quality videos, so it's interesting to see bassline somehow lowering the standards yet further. If your eyes can take it, check this aesthetically offensive video from West Midlands duo sMoKio & DB. Finally, if you are as big into bassline as everyone else suddenly seems to be (I read a North American blog the other day where a guy was going on like he'd been hanging out with DJ Narrows since 2001) then you need the amazing mix my friends Bok Bok & Manara (SKA Faggatronix) have just done for Diplo's latest Mad Decent podcast.
Download: Bok Bok & Manara - What's A Niche?