Phili ‘N’ Dotz - Phil N The Dotz LP - OneLion Review

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.  

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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.

‘Oh No’ is the title of track 4 see’s a switch in beat style’s and the Pete Cannon created electronic sound is ripped up in the first few seconds by a havin it hook and excellently crafted hype verses from both of your boys. Verbal Dissection is the 5th tune of the LP and lets us get a bit deeper into the darker side of the minds of Phili ‘N’ Dotz. Bristol based badman and Krate Krusaders craftsmen ‘Bad Habitz’ truly shines with the production and both MC’s come with twisted, gruesome metaphors.

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!

‘Let Ya Mind’ is the tenth track and is another true, purist hip hop beat from Leaf Dog and the first verse comes from him too as all 3 MC’s speak in turn about their motivations. These guys work seamlessly together and this is another one of the stand out tracks from the album.

Pete Cannon returns to the boards for the next track, ‘War Dance’, which is a high tempo party tune with the usual high calibre lyrics that are held together outstandingly by Cannon’s string and bell samples.  

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.

The final 2 tracks are both produced by Leaf Dog and the next for us, track 15, features even more UK rap veterans with verses from Verb T, Klashnekoff and Wordsmiff as well as yet another powerful verse from Leaf Dog himself. The tracks name ‘ Illest Rocks’ and the line up on this one speaks for itself and it safe to say this is one of the best posse cuts you're gonna hear. Ever.

The final tune features a deeply soulful hook courtesy of Bedford based artist ‘Whammy’ which is accompanied by some altogether more serious lyrics from Phili ‘N’ Dotz as we get to hear their take on the work they’ve put in to their respective careers so far. 

All in all, this album is nothing short of a masterpiece and a perfect solidification of the relationship between two extremely talented and well respected members of the UK scene. Watch out for the Phili’N’Dotz takeover, cause its coming!


Buy Album Here

BUY ALBUM HERE