The adjective “beautiful” is rarely connected with anything musical,
never mind speaking specifically within the Hip-Hop world, so when it
was the word of choice to summarise M9’s upcoming album “Magna Carta” I
surprised myself. Don’t confuse the aforementioned statement with doubt,
there’s no question that Magna Carta (Great Charter in Latin) is
without a doubt one of the most soulful, heartfelt and honest pieces of
music I’ve heard in a long time. With this comes great risk, however M9
has clearly taken a brave, yet truthful approach to Magna Carta and I’m
pleased to say it couldn’t have turned out any better.
The adjective “beautiful” is rarely
connected with anything musical, never mind speaking specifically within
the Hip-Hop world, so when it was the word of choice to summarise M9’s
upcoming album “Magna Carta” I surprised myself. Don’t confuse the
aforementioned statement with doubt, there’s no question that Magna
Carta (Great Charter in Latin) is without a doubt one of the most
soulful, heartfelt and honest pieces of music I’ve heard in a long time.
With this comes great risk, however M9 has clearly taken a brave, yet
truthful approach to Magna Carta and I’m pleased to say it couldn’t have
turned out any better.
Magna Carta is a no-compromise piece of
art that stands strong in a league of its own, with the team of
producers and guest features who have been brought into the project
contributing positively to the record. The likes of Triple Darnkess, Roc
Marciano and Madame Pepper lend their vocal talents on a number of
tracks, while U.K heavyweight Jehst, Anatomy and 7th Dan amongst others
are responsible for the production of the music. M9 has carefully
selected the artists who he’s worked with, and once again got it
absolutely right.
Two words kept ringing through my head while listening to M9′s “Magna
Carta” and it’s the thing that had me going back to it again and again.
“Old School.”
It’s been a while since I’ve heard a hip hop album that was so laid
back and pitch perfect in its goal that it’s very refreshing. There’s so
much going on here, it’s quite fun. Wherever he’s getting his
inspiration I’m not 100% certain, but it’s some good, powerful stuff.
The album as a whole has a very chill vibe. If I were having friends
over or looking to just kick it on a weekend night, or even just to take
a drive let go, these would be my jams. This feels like the stuff I
grew up with. There’s a slow, smooth jazz vibe that sets the tone for
the whole album and lets you know what you’re in store for.
If a hip hop album can relax you successfully, it’s a rare thing. And
what it benefits most from is the fact that it’s M9′s debut LP. A lot
of the time, but no always, an artist takes their first full length
album as an opportunity to really communicate and say something
important. One of the concluding tracks, “Colour Blind”, stands out as
an incredibly moving and important track about human nature, about the
misdeeds we do that can hurt those around us or, on the flip side, the
good deeds we can perform to lift others up. Considering the title of
the album is “Magna Carta”, it’s safe to say he’s not holding anything
back when it comes to declaring how he feels about the world around him.
As a result, no track is lifeless and no moment is wasted as theme
takes precedent. When an artist understands how to weave emotion and
meaning into an album successfully while simultaneously making it one of
the more enjoyable hip hop records of the year, that’s quite a feat.
British hip-hop of the last few years seems to pay homage to
the history of artists past. Much of the production is thoughtful,
nuanced, complative in mood, but laced with attitude, where and when
required.
Lyrically dense and
descriptively vivid, U.K rapper Melanin 9 is a talented artist in an era
where the art form is left to a few brave souls to fly a flag that’s a
bit tatty and dog-eared , with many of its former fans now listening to
dubstep. With hip-hop diluted to a corporate sound bite, a cereal box
ad, a sexualised Barbie doll or just a throwaway commodity, Melanin 9’s
takes things back to the essence- paying respect to the art form that
he’s chosen to work with, but giving it that dog-shit soiled,
grey-cracked pavement, foggy and dull &
There are few UK emcees that can cause the lyrical destruction of a
rather powerful tornado than this man Shyheim aka M9 or Melanin 9. He’s
been on the London circuit for a minute gaining huge amounts of kudos
from the hip-hop game in London and abroad opening for such global
hip-hop names like Redman, GhostfaceKillah, Method Man and Styles P.
Magna Carta LP coming 3rd December 2012 featuring Roc Marciano, Triple
Darkness & Madame Pepper. Production from Jehst, Anatomy, HeyZues,
7th Dan, Parental, Ohbliv & Tony Mahoney. Recorded, Mixed and
Mastered by Chemo at Kilamanjiro Studios, London. Pre-Order here: http://m9ther.bandcamp.com
<a href="http://m9ether.bandcamp.com/album/magna-carta-pre-order-snippets">Magna Carta (Pre Order Snippets) by Melanin 9</a>
EXCLUSIVE! Snippets from Melanin9's new album Magna Carta dropping Oct 2012, Featuring Roc Marciano, Madame Pepper and his crew Triple Darkness. Production from Jehst, Anatomy, HeyZues, Parental, Ohbliv & Tony Mahoney. Album is also available to Pre-Order NOW, so if you can please support the cause.
01 Intro (produced by Munoz cuts by DJ Roast) 02 Light Years 03 Il Padrino 04 Mont Blanc (produced by Anatomy) 05 When Brothers Die (produced by Chemo) 06 Elijah 07 Spritual Scrolls 08 Black Box (Feat. Cyrus Malachi & Blasphemy cuts by Evil Ed) 09 Why (Feat. Cyrus Malachi) 10 Black Widow (Feat. Blasphemy & Cyrus Malachi) 11 Shot 12 Skit 13 Straight Live (Produced By Anatomy) 14 Tug The Rope (Jon Phonics Remix) 15 False Ego 16 Black Sapphire Pt2 (Feat. Cyrus Malachi produced by Munoz) 17 Voice Of A Child Torn (Feat. Triple Darkness produced by Beat Buthcha) 18 The Book (Bonus)
Very first Chakra sound radio show resonating throughout the universal body of all and oneness mixed by Evil ED ft a cypher of lyical lawds Melanin 9 ,Cyrus malachi, Obba Supa, D.N.T & Bad FX. Some exclusives in the mix and also some tunes to maintain ur existence of livity and love alongside selected soundbites of meaning and substance to garnish the flavour with wholesome connectivity. Ital music for the heads check chakrasounds.bandcamp.com Edstrumentals Vol 2 released Dec 8th.