April 26, 2015
Sanus Hao Recordings
Following last year's release of the album 'an Artistic piece', hip-hop collective 808INK present their new single, 'Billy', as an independent release. In a typically candid description of the track, lead rapper Mumblez Black Ink states that "Billy is the unruly child of 808INK....loud, rude, humorous and disturbing". Not satisfied with the scene, he mentions "the track is a provocation for any rappers known to or by him to further improve their product". 'Billy' sees the classic crisp vocal tones of Mumblez Black Ink complementing a signature 808Charmer beat in what Charmer himself describes as "that monophonic, slightly vintage audio box speaker sound." Noisey placed the sound of their debut album 'somewhere between Balam Acab and Clams Casino', while positive reception has also come from publications such as The 405 and Bonafide - the latter calling 808INK 'a unique voice in the UK's burgeoning scene'. 808INK formed when producer and artist 808Charmer, whose drumming talents have also seen him share the stage with acts such as MIA, Chiddy Bang and Tinie Tempah, spotted Mumblez Black Ink rapping over a hip-hop instrumental in a video shoot. Since then, their collaborations have organically grown from a project in their garage to a multi-instrumental and visual collective with the inclusion of Creative Director Pure Anubi$, who, together with Mumblez Black Ink, forms the art collective 'Black Anubi$'. In pitching, flipping, chopping and screwing samples, live instruments and field recordings in the same way they glitch, corrupt and warp digital images, 808INK take the art of destruction as part of their manifesto. What is clear from the way they confront their contemporaries in 'Billy' is that 808INK are what London's underground scene has been lacking: a creative collective able to destroy and reconstruct the conventions of British hip-hop.