Obadiah returns for his first solo release of year; Baptism Beneath Monsoon. The appropriately named album will send your psyche down on an expedition that puts cracks through your depth meter!

Rounding up a variety of other MCs to join the storm, Obadiah shows his versatility in taking on a range of different vibes and subjects through various Hip Hop, Grime, and Trap beats, as his style is carefully arranged to fit the style of anyone featuring. Each track takes you through specific mind-states and leaves no stone unturned as it reconstructs the exact experience for you to explore and develop your own take on the feel given. Rather than throwing a certain rhetoric at you, Baptism Beneath Monsoon presents you with a variety of documented experiences and encourages you to delve deep and make up your own mind.

Production is covered by a number of beat makers and is likewise a very diverse collection. From the crackly sample cuttings like those seen in Al Kimya, to contemporary crisp productions, and the the abstract and experimental mashups, the album's vibe of exploration and distant journeys is complimented by the continental collection of different styles and sub-genres. Each track is easy to settle into and feel like it's been your favourite track for the past couple months, but as one ends and another starts, there is just enough of a change to pull your attention to the difference without disrupting the overall experience, and keeping your ears attentive to the details surrounding the path it takes you down.

Baptism Beneath Monsoon is an album for reflection and experience that drives you to flip your work bench over and pay attention to what you should really be focussing on in the moment. Pick up a Disc or Digital Download of this verbal research ship at the official Obadiah Bandcamp page!

With our minds smashed by Ocean Wisdom's last release, and a no doubt a large number of new listeners for High Focus, Coops arrive at a perfect time to re-assemble our heads and ease us back into the underground scene with a silky-smooth melodic collection in his debut release on this label; No Brainer.

Drifting from the usual Boom Bap vibe you'd expect from High Focus, Coops begins with a collection of soft vocals, melodic choruses, and subtle percussion in an R&B-Meets-gutters delivery where every track will ionize the atmosphere and set the mood from your speakers. The topic of each track is very much 'in the moment' and the album does not seem arranged to tell a story as much as it feels assembled to ensure the smoothest transition between tracks. From modulated vocals and soft-touch samples in 'Dreams (All Mine)', to the more upfront choruses and steady beat in 'L.O.V.E' and eventually the classic HF stomper of 'Pass The Mic Feat. Fliptrix, Rexx & Leaf Dog', the album gradually slopes from an underground experiment in neo-soul to the familiar Hip Hop of the UK's recent years. The topic of each track is a free-standing illustration of a moment. Striking the intended feel with such precision, re-listening to the same track is likely to transport your mind to the same place it did the first time. 

The beats make a consistent use of sub bass to fill the room and employ one or two detailed samples to set the scene in each song - over the album the variety is found in the choice of high-end, relying on bass to be the album's constant. Coops is not afraid to pick up tools used in the mainstream and trim them to handle the unforgiving environments of the underground Hip Hop scene. Voice modulation, minimalist high-end synths, and simplistic bass riffs are assembled to give certain tracks a very modern feel. But they gracefully maintain individuality and do not sacrifice themselves to a commercial blueprint but instead, construct something rare from the currently abundant - ending up with something that that fearlessly blurs the lines to find its own foundation. As mentioned earlier, tracks do venture more towards a traditional UKHH assembly, as the album progresses, but they keep that unique Coops vibe. The concluding track; 'That Jazz' does a great job of wrapping up the overall feel from the album into one summarising song.

If your head's ever feeling scrambled, disassembled or outright absent, No Brainer is here to be your compass. The direct and deliberate feel it delivers will have you relaxed, re-aligned, and confident. Whether you want to let yourself settle or get moving with dexterity, this album will power you along in that direction. With it playing in the background, I didn't need to stop and think when writing this review as much as I usually do! And I can already see myself employing it for a good wind-down session.

Order a copy of this mind-driver for yourselves on Tape, Vinyl, or CD, on the 27th of April, or pre-order now at at High Focus Records! A Digital Download is also available for Pre-Order from the Coops Official Bandcamp page.

- Fire@Will - OneLion Sound
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Moraless joins forces with JMB Media once again to bring you the official video for his Track; Promethazine. Built from a collection of clean shots of an overcast Dawlish from the ground and from the air mixed together in a way where everything seems 'nearly normal'. At a glance it all seems to consist of an ordinary everyday scene, with the occasional shot or movement that just knocks things out of the ordinary, just enough to make you do a double take, very reminiscent of that feeling where you're not sure if you're still a little under the influence or not, and very fitting to the feel of the tune!

This was one of my favourite tracks from his album less is more, and you can see a review for the whole album which was released just over half a year back.

 - Fire@Will OneLion Sound

Instagram/Twitter- @BigGeorgeBucks
filmed by @geckzselecta SLIPPERY SLOPES COLLECTIVE!
https://www.facebook.com/slipperyslop...

New Ep from Subindex aka Stemik expect darker vibes and trappy beats on Vol 2 of his Cherry Drops series, got to the onelion bandbcamp for free downloads of both!

Newly signed to High Focus - Coops are here to bring us a silky smooth single; That Jazz. Crossing the classic Hip Hop vibe of complicated scratching and  rolling rhythms with classical jazz instruments, they wrap the vibe in something complimentary, with bars covering all the standard modern Hip Hop topics one would write an aggressive rant about, and sending it through the blender to present them as a smoothie of a truth that doesn't hurt.

That Jazz walks you through what’s currently on the mind of the Coops at a steady pace - fast enough to encourage you to move, slow enough for anyone to keep up with. It beckons listeners to think about the world right now, and where they want to be in it. Coming across with a professionalism that makes them look settled, while they're happy to admit they're still on this ongoing journey.
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It's been a little while since we've heard from Moraless, but that doesn't mean he's forgotten about the mic. Today he's linked with JMB Media to drop a short Freestyle that brings enough fire to see us all through the end of winter!

​Slardy and Nephlim bring us back to the early 2000's with a bassy beat and melodic choruses wrapped up in a cheeky rendition of a weekend evening's madness. Bound to get you moving and eager to do something you said you were gonna quit on Monday.