The 'posse cut' is a staple of hip hop dietary needs. Collaboration has long been a power tool of hip hop culture and some of the finest tracks and works of art have been collaborative pieces. A place where artists who share a common goal and mutual respect can create something that is bigger than the sum of its parts. Cameos from artists who we have an ear for have given us some of the best 16s on our playlists, not to mention introduced us to many new heads that otherwise may have been making moves just out of our earshot.
In true underground double H fashion, our writer Invokal has kindly compiled a list of his favourite UK posse cuts (in no particular order) that all UK hip hop heads should have in their sphere. If there are any we should know about then, as always, return the favour and let us know at our twitter or facebook pages.
32 Troop - Mayday
Brainchild of The Criminal Minds' producer Spatts, 32 Troop brings together an array of britcore and UK MCs with several producers to create a mass of different versions of their projects. Mayday, their third official outing saw a crew of UK heads take a shot and the results were impressive to say the least. Small batch wax pioneers, here is my personal favourite by one of the UK's best producers, DJ Tones.
Planet Of The Fakes - The Empire Strikes Back
Second to the plate is a group known as the 'britcore supercrew'. Planet Of The Fakes is the hip hop offspring of producer/Mc Inzaine aka Dusty Showbiz and as well as it's base crew, is a name synonymous with posse cuts. In fact, just choosing one was a task in itself so be sure to seek out some of their back catalogue, including Rock N Rolla, Battle Of the True Born and Please, Don't Feed The Animals, all stand alone classics. Another crew who champion the wax working closely with the brilliant Britcore Rawmance label, this track 'The Empire Strikes Back' brings in the vocals of some of the scene's finest wordsmiths.
DJ Highfly - Rohstoff
Next up is a track that in my humble opinion, should be in the Guinness Book Of World Records for most artist on a single hip hop track. 7 years in the making, featuring 26 MCs (many from UK shores), 5 scratch DJs, 3 producers and a bongo player. With artists from all over Europe and beyond. Over 20 minutes of speaker blessing goodness. Rohstoff (German for 'raw stuff' or 'raw material') is the ultimate posse cut and a vinyl collectors dream. There has always been a strong and fruitful relaionship between Germany's hardcore element and the UK's britcore contingent. DJ Highfly brings that to full fruition with Rohstoff. The full version is only available on vinyl from Britcore Rawmance but we have a snippet to check out below.
The Menagerie - Are you Serious?
Compiled by the brilliant Tom Caruana, The Managerie is a crew of south coast MCs that spit bars of brutal brilliance over Caruana's patented jazz laced beats. Known for sample seeking that would make most DJs weep with envy, this track is one of their best with an array of lines to tickle your funny bone.
Dirty Dike - Future Posse Cut
Couldn't have a UK posse cut article without this banger. Probably the most well known on the list, this relentless and raw release is testament to the strength of the High Focus empire and its affiliates. Probably should come with a heavy parental warning, the tune gives space for some of the UK's finest to show off their tongue twisting talents.
32 Troop - Battleplan - Jerome Hill Version
Final entry from Britcore Rawmance and another from the 32 Troop camp. Second drop from them saw one of this decade's best posse cuts. Battleplan brings together some of the best britcore bar bashers and scratchers to the circle and the resulting vinyl became a must for all DJs worth their weight. The Jerome Hill version became a masterclass in how a posse cut should be put together and stands as my personal favorite from this stunning list.
Broken Authors - UFO
Last but by no means least is a sneaky self plug. Taken from my recent album with DJ Tones, UFO is over 9 mins of sci-fi referencing hip hop banger that is fueled by MCs from the south coast, the midlands, up norf' and beyond. Bringing together my two favourite things, hip hop and science fiction, the track accompanied by a music video by myself and Truw Media is a tribute to the b-movie genre as well as the escapism science fiction provides for us all.
Any we've forgotten about?! Let us know at twitter or facebook.
