July 2, 2012
Grindstone
ARTIST: REWD ADAMS & THE LAST SKEPTIK TITLE: HOW NOT TO MAKE A LIVING LABEL: BREAD & BUTTER / GRINDSTONE RELEASE DATE: JULY 2nd 2012 When two bonkers mid-twenty-somethings from London put their creative minds together to make a project, some madness is bound to take place. When those said two are highly respected homegrown hip-hop mainstays, it's evidently going to be better than all the nonsense that's out there now. <br><br> Those two are rapper Rewd Adams and DJ/producer The Last Skeptik, and this right here is their stupendously anticipated collaborative album 'How Not To Make A Living'. <br><br> The album is a big middle finger to any pre-prescribed notion of what a hip-hop album should be in 2012. It has bangers, introspection, stupidity, fight music and straight up party shit. Every single song is made exactly the way Rewd and Skep wanted to hear it in their iPods. They hope you share the sentiment. <br><br> Lead single 'Everything's OK' is a 120bpm behemoth-like monster of a track with the undeniable bounce of Outkast and a hook so infectious you may have to apply some anti-bac gel to your mind after listening to it. Its stop-motion animation video is simply mind blowing, and has been playlisted on Channel AKA. <br><br> 'Bring It Back' features a stanky large drum break and keys from Skep, steel-clad bars spat from Rewd, and cuts from DMC world champion DJ Mr Thing. 'Nukey' is an ode to the real shit. It's the opener of the album, and a perfect introduction of the two lads and their bi-polar tendencies. The videos for both have breached a total of 100,000 Youtube views. <br><br> 'So Soulful' can only be described as a medicinal experience, with its fading horns and silk-like chorus sung by Mai Khalil. 'Red Letter' is a Led Zepplin style oddity with lush live guitars and drums, and 'J.O.B' is nothing short of a true British anthem. <br><br> For those unfamiliar with Rewd Adams & The Last Skeptik: <br><br> Rewd Adams has been lauded by critics across the board - named as a 'One To Watch' by The Guardian, MTV and BBC1xtra, Rewd also has earned 'Album of The Week' in The Independent for his last release 'Rewd Awakening', aswell as sharing stages with the likes of Foreign Beggars, Immortal Technique and Styles P. <br><br> As a producer to date, The Last Skeptik has worked behind the boards for some of the country's elite, from Sway, The King Blues, and Jehst, and has DJ'd with the likes of Damon Albarn, Bashy, Flea [The Red Hot Chilli Peppers] and the Wu-Tang Clan, as well as holding down a weekly show on NTS Radio and residencies at Livin Proof and Knew Knowledge.