When Skitz dropped Countryman back in 2001 it marked a strong time for UK Hip-hop. His guest emcees such as Rodney P, Roots Manuva, Task Force and Skinnyman seemed to be on course to break through into the everyday consciousness of the nation. Although they definitely made a dent, it seems in hindsight that the only artist from the album to have 'crossed over' as it were is Estelle and since then the scene has been on steady decline. The long wait for the follow up album is nearly over and despite the less than hospitable environment, the first signs are that this could be just what the scene needs (unless the idea of an actual single genre music scene is slightly passé, in which case it will hopefully find some favour in the unclear space between worlds). The first single Requiem Of The Gods dropped a while back and thankfully showed that Skitz hadn't been ignoring Grime and Dubstep like many Hip-hop artists and there was definitely a more bass heavy, electronic tint to the production. The same goes for his latest single Born In The System, which despite being a straight up Hip-hop / Reggae hybrid that pre-cursors both the other scenes mentioned, still manages to hint at the sound of now, especially with the inclusion of Bristol's Buggsy on mic duty who rips a double time rasta rhyme that is straight fire. The whole album is due to drop at the end of May with the single dropping at the start of the month.

Skitz ft Buggsy - Born Inna System by Skitz