Hello to all of you keeping up with my weekly album suggestions. This week I have something very different and exciting for all of you to check out. I actually only found out about this artist just yesterday, but I was so impressed by what I heard that I went home and bought the album immediately. (Thanks to Sebastian Stobbs for the introduction.) Now I usually do not go home and buy an album without hesitation, I’m the kind of person that likes to make sure that if I am going to spend my hard earned money on an album, that I thoroughly research the artist and listen to as many free tracks as I can find on the internet before I finally decide to take the plunge and buy the music. I mean, especially with music today, there is so much garbage out there that it is much safer to just illegally download an album simply to not risk the disappointment of knowing you bought an album that had one cool track and the rest of them were worthless, which has happened to me too many times to count. So this was a very big deal for me, especially because this is a genre of hip hop that I have never delved into. This, my friends, is hip hop from the UK. A section of hip hop that many people pass off as unimportant, or not real or traditional hip hop. But let me tell you, that is the beauty of it. This album is so far from what many see as traditional hip hop, that it makes it all the more worth listening to. The artist’s name is SKREIN, and the album is titled THE EAT UP, which is distributed through DENTED records. From the first lyrics spit on the album you know this is something different, and I’m not talking just about the British accent, though that is a major peak of interest for this album. From the beginning of the album there is a flow and swagger that is rarely, if not at all, seen in a lot of American hip hop. And I know I may catch a lot of ish for saying that but just hear me out for a minute. The flow, the style, and the way certain words are emphasized and said, makes this album one of those that you listen to it straight through, and then you need to hear it again, just because you know you didn’t catch close to half of it on the first listen. And if you couldn’t tell from my first album suggestion, replay value, along with new discoveries with each listen, are very important aspects of an album to me. Also, the slang is so different that it had me looking up what certain words meant just so I could make sure I was getting the full message. Here in America, this type of hip hop album would most definitely be considered in the underground hip hop scene, but in the UK, this is simply hip hop. In my opinion, this makes it even more intriguing because it is a very rare thing in America these days for conscious, raw, and insightful commentary on the human experience to be considered simply hip hop. And this album may not be the perfect example of what I have just described, but it takes what I described and puts it through a completely different filter. And I would never say to base an opinion of an album on the artwork, but in the case of this album, the cover art is a very good example of the filter that this album takes the human experience through. A very dark yet playful and absolutely insane filter. And it’s not just the lyrics that give the album it’s uniqueness, the beats are a major reason for my description of the album in such a way, they perfectly compliment Skrein’s lyrics, especially the mood, tone, and message he is trying to get across. Another plus to this album is that a large majority of the tracks have guest appearances from many prominent members of the DENTED hip hop crew, all of who I hope to be sharing with you soon. But until then, it gives you a very good idea of what this entire hip hop scene is about. So I would like to hear from those of you out there reading this that I have suggested something to you that you have never heard of before, but are now blown away by, because yesterday, that is what happened to me. So until next week, please, do yourself a favor and check out this artist, I promise it will be worth it.

-Paul B.