The Associated Minds label have been consistently releasing good British Hip-hop at a time when the scene is essentially dead. They’ve really caught our earlobes this time though with the track Skullcrackology off Mudmowth’s forthcoming Circus In The Cemetery 12. This is a trip to the dark side that would make any Sith lord proud, with angry guitar, angry bassline, angry drums, angry synths and angry Welsh rapper, taking us through some of his favourite pastimes, which include ‘driving through Babylon in Satan’s Mercedes’ and ‘breaking into convents to date rape nuns.’



Mudmowth’s ‘Just To Get The Name Known EP’ had many heads turning their attention to Wales and if the rest of this 5 track release is of the same standard of ‘Skullcrackology’ or other recent tracks such as ‘Most Colourful Years’ then those heads won’t be turning back round again for some time. He’s already been receiving a lot of good press with this, with Sureshot of the Month in DJ Magazine and even 4 / 5 in Fast Car magazine (maybe we’ll finally have a decent new boy racer anthem). You should also check his killer verse on the Metabeats’ tune ‘F**k With Me’ (3rd verse on video below), so good it gives me chills.



Oh yeah and as extra enticement the 12” will be coming out on White Vinyl and all orders will include a CD copy for your car or computer too… no excuses! Pre order a copy now at the Associated Minds store.



(YSI) Mudmowth - Skullcrackology

This video just dropped on YouTube for the Starkey remix of ‘Firewalk With Us’ from Brooklyn Grime crew Os Crunc Tesla & the Fearless Vampire Killer Arcestra. The original track was featured on last years ‘The Unexpektheadz 2’ compilation on French label Ekler O Shock and then released on the ‘Firewalk With US’ EP from the Luv Technologies label. The track features K-Swift (from New York, no relation to the late great Baltimore queen), Seraphim and DJ Raedawn (who I believe is also Crunc Tesla).




Philladelphia Bass producer Starkey was one of the featured artists on Mary Anne Hobbs’(soon to be seminal) Generation Bass programme last week and this remix looks to be featured on a remix EP coming out on Dead Homies which will probably also feature remixes from Bristol all rounder Awkward, fellow Brooklyn resident DJ Oddfellow and Queens based Londoner Natz, as they are already out there (using the same video).

If you have some time then Raedawn also sent us this wicked little video compilation of friends that includes some classics from Beans, Santogold, TTC, etc plus a few more you might not have discovered just yet.

There’s a new Dubstep label just launched to deal with the output of work from the Nottingham and Derby areas of the UK. For The Win Records have released their first EP digitally for free so you can get a taste of what to expect from them with artists Metaphi, Earlybird, Ashburner and DFRNT all providing dubz.

True to the cliché ‘it’s grim up north’ (or should that be grimey) the tracks are quite dark Dub-tek bubblers with Ashburner mainly providing the kind of grinding stompers that we favour more here at Chrome Kids. We’ve put his tracks down below or you can download the whole EP here

If you would like to send them some of your own dubz you can contact them on: info@forthewinrecords.com

(YSI) Ashburner – Stamina

(YSI) Ashburner – Untitled

Off to Electric Picnic in Ireland tomorrow for the weekend to go play in a Time Machine (?!). Only just checked the line up…it’s heavy! A Trak, Diplo, Toddla T, Count & Sinden, Digital Mystikz, Santogold, Benga, Modeselektor, George Clinton and Spearhead (who I met on Friday, one of the best live bands out there and a bunch of good genuine people too – pick up their Sly & Robbie produced All Rebel Rockers album if you can) are just a few of the artists I shall be trying not to miss.


Won’t be back til next Monday or Tuesday so I’ll leave you with a few posts to keep you going til then starting with a guy that hit me up on Myspace Vince P and has a new track produced by Diplo (see the link there) called ‘Rookie Of The Year’ which originally featured on his ‘Cool By Association Mixtape’ through URB Magazine in June. I’ve also included a link to that below - the copy I’m putting up isn’t mixed for some legal hoo hah reason (not sure if it ever was) so essentially what you have is just a bunch of great tracks from the likes of Starters, The Hood Internet, The Count & Sinden and a track from Really Doe that features Vince P and Kanye West.

(YSI) Vince P – Mr Fresh Bounce

(YSI) Vince P – Rookie Of Thje Year (Diplo Mix)

(YSI) Vince P – Cool By Association Mixtape (Zip file)

Not really much to tell from Carnival… drink, dance, get squashed, lose people, dance some more, eat, drink some more and keep dancing til it’s time to go. The general pattern doesn’t really change. Of course there’s a lot more you can say about it but if you’ve been, you know and if you haven’t then I couldn’t begin to explain it here. Let’s just say there’s no better way to spend a Bank Holiday Monday.



What was missing for me this year was a Carnival ‘tune’, something fresh that you hear over and over again. To be honest we kinda got herded around sounds that just pumped out the classics and finally settled at Gaz’s Rockin Blues (dressed up the best as always - this time with an 'Around The World in 80 Days' theme) watching a ska band called The Trojans. Not really inspiration for a Chrome Kids post but good fun nevertheless and some great guest slots from Ska saxophonist Megumi Mesaku, the legendary Prince Buster and one of our favourite rappers Mystro…actually he’d be perfect for a post. Here’s two videos for two of the best Hip-hop tunes this year.

Mystro - U Live & U Learn



YesKing feat. Mystro - One Of Those Days



The first is from his now mythical forthcoming release on Beer & Rap the ‘Fuck Da Taxman EP’ which will hopefully see the light of day soon, and the second track is from Mark Rae / Rhys Adams project YesKing off their ‘Rock This World’ album which is also slightly mythical thanks to their distributor going bust after releasing just a few hundred copies and not letting go of the rest. Definitely worth checking if you can find one though.

There are probably a million 'A Milli' versions out there but I've only just caught a version I can probably relate to better by LA Rapper Bus Driver called Pennyiare, check it out...

(YSI) Bus Driver - Pennyiare

And just incase anyone missed the fantastic Flying Lotus remix of the original

(YSI) Flying Lotus - Robo Tussin

UK newspaperThe Independent yesterday carried a feature on Chicago Hip-hop (The New Home of Hip-hop by Ian Burrell) in which they kinda tried to justify a link between the Hip-hop and House scenes of the city. I wasn’t sure if I bought it, but this Cool Kids / Frankie Knuckles mash up from The Hood Internet is a bit more convincing.

(YSI) The Hood Internet - Your Love Iz What It Iz (The Cool Kids vs Frankie Knuckles)

You can download this and more from their MySpace or Blog or you can grab the whole of their ‘Hood Internet Vs Chicago’ project here.