By Lu Kuss

We get excited a lot here at One Lion. Sometime its about stupid shit, like buy one get one free on tropicana, but sometimes we get excited about things more relevant to our ethos. This morning we got excited, really fucking excited, because in our inbox was the spanking new, yet to be released,’ Fill N The Dotz’ LP.

For those that don't know, this is a collaborative project between ex Phi Life Cypher member and certified forefather of this scene, Si Phili, and 15x Jump Off champion and official freestyle machine, Dotz.  

The album kicks off with an intro of punchy ad libs from the pair mixed with a live recording at one of their shows with the crowd chanting ‘P N D’. All balanced over a silky instrumental from Hitchin based artist, Ricky Spitz. 

This fades perfectly into a soulful beat crafted by another South East beatsmith, Passion Hifi, and both MC’s show us exactly what they're about as they come with hard hitting back to back verses on the subject of travelling the world, Phili ‘N’ Dotz style. This track is aptly named ‘Travel The Globe’.

Track 3, ‘We Stay’, has got all of boom bap banger ingredients and is produced by none other than High Focus all star all rounder, Leaf Dog. Leaf’s beat is done perfect justice by Dotz and Phili’s ‘to the point’ mashup bars and a damn catchy hook that’ll stay in your head all day.

a perfect combination of Big smoke based producer ,Cystic, and a beautiful hook sung by a lady named ‘Flo’ really sets the tone for the 6th track then you hear Phili hit you with well informed lyrics about his experiences of getting mashed which is followed by Dots’s verses on the same subject matter and the contrast of the beautiful voice and takes of debauched times spent together really made this track stand out for me.

Track 7 of the album is backed by another banger from Rickys Spitz and features weighty verses from Pheonix Da Icefire as well as UK veteran, Blak Twang. Enough said - this one bangs HARD!

The next track (number 8 if you haven't been paying attention!) is another instrumental by Passion Hifi and Dotz explodes on to the synth beat with his special brand of energetic verses followed by the signature bouncing hook all backed up by heavy verses from Phili as he proves has no trouble coming at the same pace as Dotz. Number 9 on the track list offers another silky beat from Cystic, this time with only Dotz on it. This short track, about the society we exist in, further exemplifies Dotz’ ability to craft highly intelligent and meaningful lyrics as well as win nearly every battle he enters!

Another stunning instrumental from Leaf Dog provides the perfect backing for track 12 as Phili ‘N’ Dotz chat about the battling experience from their perspective in the aptly named ‘Training 4 Battle’. Passion Hifi returns on track 13, coming with a sinister beat which lays the perfect foundation for your boys to come through with verses that sum up their mission as a double act.

Things get political with track 14. Titled ‘Fuck The Government’, this one only features Si Phili and nearly every bar is relative to current affairs in the global community and he even presents some solutions to world issues in his own timeless style, all over another Bad Habitz heater.

By Lu Kuss

We found ourselves excited once again here at the One Lion camp when we received something oddly-shaped and off-smelling in our inbox. Unfortunately, due to raves in France and all important preparation for our upcoming Boom Bap Festival Warm Up, its taken us a little while to put pen to paper and give you our opinion. But at long last, here are our thoughts on the eagerly anticipated debut LP from Nottingham lyricist and all round badman, Jack Jetson.

Titled ‘The Adventures Of Johnny Strange’, this album is among the first of what will undoubtedly be a vast catalogue of highest grade releases from British label ‘Real Life Drama’. The label itself is the brainchild of High Focus hip hop machines, Leaf Dog and BVA MC, and serves as a platform to show everyone some of the most unprocessed, organic, full fat raw hip hop the UK has to offer.

In this project, Jetson’s first full length release, he drifts between different rhyme schemes as easily as he switches from personality to personality as he guides us through the rhythmical ramblings that make him who he is as well as defining the thin line of difference between his split personalities, Jack Jetson and Johnny Strange.

This is a theme that shapes the whole listening experience from start to finish and you’ll find yourself relating to Jack as he comes with relentless truth balanced perfectly with abstract (but tenaciously fun) ideas and scenarios created to entertain Jack’s more twisted and imaginative side which we’re starting to feel comfortable referring to as ‘Johnny Strange’.

All of this enthralling newness is topped off by features from BVA MC and Dirty DIke as well as Leaf Dog who also produced the album in its entirety. The verses from these three all appear on different tracks and none fail to impress with each adding a new depth to Jack’s style through their contrast.

Overall, this is a release not to be slept on. It represents the very forefront of hip hop in the UK at the moment and the future of this intoxicating culture more and more people are opting to live by.

Available NOW!