Dead Players Album Review
A few days ago a neat package was sitting in my post box reading 'UGHH' as I was leaving the house and I wasn't expecting any more CD's so wasn't quite sure who it was from. I instantly ripped it open and discovered it was the Dead Players debut album from HighFocus, needless to say I did a 180 turn and was suddenly back on my couch listening to one of the highly anticipated albums of the year, Big up HF for the nice suprise!
Dead Players is a new collective featuring two emcees I'm sure you'll reconise, first up is Dabbla who you might have heard via his own crew LDZ or perhaps with Illaman and Dubbledge known as the Problem Child Clik. Next up is Jam Baxter who's part of the deadly crew Contact Play, as well as taking the scene by the balls with his debut solo album 'Rinse Out Friday/Spack Out Monday' not to mention his previous album Gruesome Features.
These emcees are certainly deadly with their writtens, flow and delivery however Frankie Teardrop AKA GhostTown is the Dead Players third and final secret weapon taking care of the production side of things and very well I might add.
The LP kicks off with a track titled 'Winning' featuring layers of soul and gospel sounds laced with Jam Baxter dropping a heavy verse followed shortly after by Dabbla who drops an equally dope verse with his pound for pound flow getting the LP off to a great start. Check out the official video below.
Dead Players - Winning
Next up is 'Bottle' featuring blasts of heavy funked out sounds and loops while Baxter opens up the track with his verse blending into and out of the chorus flawlessly, Dabbla shortly after bombards the beat with his rhymes containing nothing but anti-rapper subject matter aimed at the oversaturated scene.
Skipping two tracks we find ourselves at track 5 titled 'Ever' which features an official video (see below) and Baxter on the lyrics alone. You can expect to hear a beat from GhostTown which builds up perfectly thoughout the track backed up with Baxters ridiculous doubletime flow and intricate rhyme schemes focused around his sense of alienation and diversity from 99% of the scene.
Dead Players | Ever
Velvet Swamp is next on the Dead Players debut album featuring Baxter's fellow partners in crime from Contact Play, that is of course Dirty Dike and Ed Scissortongue. Ghostown does what he does best and creates a beat oozing piano loops and heavy as fuck basslines from start to finish. Ed and Dirty Dike both go in on this track matching the rugged sound of the album flawlessly.
Yeah is the 7th track on the album and has left me with an extremely stiff neck, the ammount of head nodding this track will involve you in is out of this world. The second you hit that play but your neck will jerk from GhostTowns manic and energetic beat laced with the combined efforts of Baxter and Dabbla spitting nothing but doubletime rhymes from start to end. An official video has also been created for Yeah, check it out below if you dare.
Dead Players | Yeah
Skipping a track we hit track 9 'Badman' featuring Dabbla on his ones over the top of yet another neck jerking beat by GhostTown featuring arabian synths and hard hitting snares. Badman is another great example of the presence dabbla can have on a track pumping out nothing but clear delivery, doubletime rhymes and charisma with flawless delivery.
There's still three tracks on the album until the end however we're going to cut it short to keep a few suprises in there. Overall the Dead Players debut album is a great example of how lyrical energy and chemistry between emcees can create a great listening experience for the end user. Emcees Jam Baxter and Dabbla are extremely versatile and together they perform back and forthes with ease while keeping the energy flowing from begining to end. GhostTown has already proved he has an interesting ear when creating beats however he really does take the cookie here, creating some of the most unique, hyperactive and diverse beats to come out of the UK for a while. Infact I might have to contact my lawyer for the extreme whiplash I've encountered since this CD arrived through my letterbox.
If you haven't already got your copy of the Dead Players self titled debut album then I would advise you to part with your cash and head over to high focus below and hit that buy button! Stay tuned for more uk hip hop from the UK powerhouse High Focus.
