London Town Returns…

East London’s Kane Robinson has made his return. He rose from the underground scene to the mainstream with the release of his single ‘Typical Me’ in 2005 and there was massive hype around this hot London MC back then. In September Kano dropped his latest offering, ‘London Town’. Now, I have to say I was a big fan of his last release, ‘Home Sweet Home’, and it was so encouraging to see a UK MC producing tracks like ‘P’s & Q’s’ and ‘Typical Me’. London Town sees Kano collaborate with a number of artists, from Kate Nash to Damon Albarn, to Vybz Kartel. The result is a solid album, packed with catchy samples, hot beats and real lyrics. The album boasts Hip Hop tracks mixed in with hints of bashment/alternative/grime sprinkled on top.

This album sees Kano reflecting on his life in London Town and his colourful lyrics and story-telling take you through his world. From the start, hard-hitting tracks such as ‘Product of My Environment’ and ‘London Town’ bring a somber feel to the album. The mood is lightened by the intricately put together collabo with Gorillaz’ Damon Albarn on ‘Feel Free’ and his busy track with Kate Nash ‘Me & My Microphone’, which despite her sounding like another Miss Allen, succeeds in lifting the album. Of course a highlight of the record for myself is ‘Bad Boy’ which sees Kano joining forces with Vybz Kartel and making excellent use of Shy FX’s ‘Original Nuttah’ sample. One slight downfall is his first release off the album ‘This Is The Girl’ which features the soulful delights of Craig David. It somehow seems as though it might be better suited on a Craig David album rather than Kano’s, however it does help Kano establish himself firmly in the commercial scene.

The Verdict: London Town is a decent album, showing how Kano has grown as an artist in his own right and is able to produce decent sounds by crossing genres. His lyrics are still deep, his flow is still sweet the resulting sound is good enough to eat..and listen to!! Some very nice UK talent here.

(A fully review of the album can be found at the Digital Sounds In An Analogue World blog.)

~ ~

ODB…
Here is a track I came across a month back, and for me it was just amazing to get to hear Ol’ Dirty’s voice again….enjoy

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.