Releases from the UK Hip Hop movement this year have (for the most part) been heralded for remaining firm in the past aesthetics of what the genre has stood for, delivering rough, provocative rhymes and beats that can rock any Hip Hop night in the West End.
Next up to rep for Team UK Hip Hop is Mystro, the rhymeslayer whose ten plus years in the game have won him the respect of artists and listeners, young and old.
The Digmund Freud E.P kicks off with the lead single “Around My Way” with a groovy, head nodding beat perfect for Mystro’s vivid narrations about the goings on in the local manor. Delivering humourous lyrics filled with clever wordplay and a penchant for addressing issues, Mystro ticks an adequate amount of boxes which most headboppers are looking for in a quality EP.
For the hardcore UKHH gang, Mystro supplies a dope posse track alongside Ransom Badbonez, Stig of the Dump and Skandal on “It’s…..” but knows how to keep it mellow on “Merry Go Round,” which features Chezello Bingham.
Title track “Digmund Freud” samples ’60s band The Turtles’ “You Showed Me” which works in tandem with the classic call-and-response chorus, and the EP finishes off nicely with the dystopian “Blue Planet,” featuring Sharlene Hector.
An EP which definitely should have been an album, Digmund Freud manages to pack into 30 minutes enough homegrown dopeness to truly define what UK Hip Hop is about. With a British wit within his effortless flow, Mystro delivers a heavyweight project which from start to finish and provides standout performances and production in each of the seven tracks.
A fitting addition to the list of great UK Hip Hop music released this year.
–Henry Yanney
Mystro’s Digmund Freud EP is available from September 13th via Self Destruct Music/Don’t Biznizz.
Tracklist:
1. Around My Way
2. Digmund Freud
3. Don’t Worry (featuring Baby Sol)
4. Merry Go Round (featuring Chezelle Bingham)
5. Moan, Moan, Moan
6. Fly Away (featuring Sharlene Hector)
7. It’s….. (featuring Ramson Badbonez, Skandal & Stig Of The Dump)
8. Blue Planet (featuring Sharlene Hector)
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