Customer Reviews

Run the Road

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Hip-hop seems to be breathing it's last gasps of breath. There's a lot of speculation as to why this is happening. It could be that it has become too commercial. It could be a lack of creativity. It could be that the original listeners, ages 25-35 are outgrowing it.

Fast forward a couple of weeks ago. I was looking for some streets videos and I stumbled on the [...] site. I saw some streets videos that I had never saw before. First I tried "Fit but you know it-MC's version." It showcased many prominent British MC's. From there I searched for "RUN THE ROAD." I sampled a few tracks and the rest is history.

Grime is some weird amalgam that is light years ahead of anything in the states right now. It's very hard to describe. It's a blend of Drum and Bass, Garage, Crunk and Dancehall. Crunk music is the closest thing to it. Very frenetic beats laced with british accents and slang. I could definitely see this as not being for everybody. But if you're tired of the same ten songs being played on the radio this might be for you. I searched high and low for this CD and finally found one at Tower in NYC. It's taking me a few listens to understand what they are saying.

Stand out tracks:

P's and Q's (Kano): A nice street anthem about cruising the murky London streets. Brooklyn ain't the only hood. Lyrical braggadacio at it's best.

Destruction V.I.P (Jammer): The track sounds like some weird superhero music. Jammer is supposedly the man that started the grime movement. Wiley almost sounds american. "From lamppost to Lamppost we run the road..." Nice dancehall toasting at the end.

Unorthadox Daughter (No Lay): The women get some on this CD too. Heavy British slang. This one almost sounds like Soca, but a very conscious song. Vaguely reminiscent of Ms. Dynamite.

One Wish (Shystie): Another stand out female MC. Very fast paced, but I like the flow.

Move (Tynchy Stryder): You would almost think Li'l John or David Banner produced this track. This kid has talent and this track is what makes me think Grime has a touch of Crunk in it.

Cha Ching (Lady Sovereign): This track has the most commercial appeal. Lady Sovereign compares herself to eminem as "feminem." I don't think so.

Fit but You Know It (The streets remix): I actually like this track better than the original. The Streets actually has the worst verse on the song. Kano, Lady Sovereign and Stryder shine here. "I think I'm nice, I know I'm nice, cause your eyes looked twice."

Like I said, this isn't going to be for everybody. If you want something different, this is for you. Just keep in mind that Jay-Z interviewed Lady Sovereign this summer to sign her to Def Jam and all of the major producers are familiar with Grime. That should tell you something. Give the brits their props on this one.

Compilations with no weak link are hard to come by. New genres of music are even harder to come by. Both are reasons Run The Road is so remarkable. It could be considered the first salvo from the UK from the newly-minted Grime genre. Dizzee could be considered the first, but when he hit, Grime wasn't fully defined. Now it is, with the help of artists like Kano, Shystie, and every other talent present on this fantastic disc.
"Raw" seems like an apt word to describe grime. Something fresh. Untainted. Studio productions are still hard to come by for grime artists, most must rely on UK pirate radio to get their rhymes heard. Yet another reason this disc shines. Each song so expertly defines each artist, that once your preferred artist finally gets an album out, you'll know what to expect, but thanks to how new and raw grime is, you'll still be blown away.
Picking this disc up is getting on the ground floor of a new, hopefully long-sustained wave of a powerful art from the same street circumstances that born hip-hop. Think of Grime as hip-hop for the 21st century. Think of Run The Road as the welcome sign.

This is not your average hip hop album. Sure, the swagger and strut is all there, but the beats and flow are wild. It is an excellent album, but there are a few throwaway tracks on the disc. Many of the lyrics are difficult to understand, a combination of mixing, rhythm style, and accent (the artists are from England), but what comes through is typically quite good. For a compilation album, it does a good job at letting you compare and contrast the different artists, while getting a good understanding of the genre as a whole.

Highly recommended, whether you already love grime, are new to the genre, or have never heard it altogether. I really hope this stuff blows up on this side of the 'lantic. Pick this one up right now.

This compilation is the shiznit. U.S hip hop is slowly dying, thanks Puff Daddy and Jay-Z. The choice for me is commercial free! Good thing those Brits got vision, otherwise hip hop would have no future.......the messiah is GRIME. Don't sleep on this one, we already let the English take our punk music, when we (America) didn't think it was cool. The best out is Dizzee, also look out for the Newham Generals, this is gangstagrime.