The Bastard Sunz - Lazer Gun Rap
When the 21st of December 2012 was broadcast as
the ‘End of The World’ according to the Ancient Mayans, lots of the earth’s
population decided 2012 would be the end of their, and indeed everyone’s existence.
This date was capitalised upon by one of the South West’s very own ‘Bastard
Sunz’ – they very cleverly published the release date of their EP ‘Lazer Gun
Rap’ as 21/12/12 at 21:00pm. To go along with this release date, they put
together a gem of a video to promote their new offering:
After the intro, which is aptly named ‘Happy Happy Bastardry’,
we are treated to ‘Still B.A.S.T.A.R.D’ which kind of picks up where ‘Le Discotheque
Martyrdom’ left off. Where ‘White Spots’ had a very catchy hook, this beats
dons the same kind of 8 bar break for the hook, I just love the fact they use
the word ‘Cuntish’ in the hook, not many people have the cojones to say things
like that, especially for a hook (which is generally for the audience/listener
to repeat and distinguish the track) give it 5-10 more years of Bastard Sunz
releases, and I think the word ‘Cunt’ will have a different meaning, and will
be a household word used by any, and all members of the family. Back to the
track itself, a very nice fluid way to kick off the album, both bring their ‘Bastard’
style to the track, I think it really does blend in well from their previous
album into this one, it may not have been on purpose, but to me, I can see the
relation between the two tracks, and it’s a very nice way to kick off the
album.
It then leads nicely into ‘Lazer Gun Rap’ which has a very
distinct sound, hats off to Rola Rock for this beat as well. The track itself
is awesome, both Mylo & B’Tol displaying their skills, but there is also a
remix to this track on the album. OH91 made the remix, and it sounds nasty!!
This young producer has a very bright future ahead of him. He also made a few
remixes on the ‘Remixicon’ of ‘Le Discotheque Martyrdom’ which just shows the
skills this guy has.
In the same vein as ‘Le Discotheque Martyrdom’ this EP has a
solo track each from B’Tol & Mylo. B’Tol’s solo track on this is called ‘Talking
to Myself (Blah Blah Blah)’ Tilla’s solo
project due out 2013, so watch out for that one. The first thing that hits you
with this track is how sombre and dark the beat is (big shouts to Awkward &
Benjamin One), a lot of people might disagree, and say that the beat doesn’t
really take off, but it’s different to what a lot of people make at the moment,
and in my eyes, very good. The track itself is B’Tol doing what B’Tol does
best, very intricate rhyme schemes, seamless rhyming, and even though some
people may not like the content of B’Tol’s verses, but fuck it! If you don’t
like it, don’t listen, simple as that.
Mylo displays how diverse he is as an artist with ‘The Great
Loss’. To coincide nicely with ‘The Crescendo’ from The Bastard Sunz first LP,
this is a very emotionally filled ballad, and with Rola Rock on the 1’s and 2’s,
the piano on this beat is absolutely amazing, it also has a real eerie feel to
the beat which drags you into the song. I think Mylo did the right thing on
this track, and avoided a hook – I say this as ‘The Crescendo’ had the melody
for a massive hook from Eva Las Vegas (Dub Mafia), this beat has less melody
and more emotion, so personally I think a hook would have unbalanced the track.
In closing, the Janner has done it again with another epic track to showcase
his vast array of talent.
The final track on the album is DJ Rogue displaying his
skills. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Flagon is a spliced together track, with lots
of beats, scratches and movie samples. There’s nothing really to critique on
this track, but go and have a listen to it, you will not be disappointed.
I really enjoyed this album, albeit a little on the short
side (apart from DJ Rogue’s half hour long offering). A lot of people may take
umbrage to what these guys say within their tracks, and, or Social Media, but this is part of The Bastard Sunz – telling
them to tone down their shenanigans is like asking the Jimmy Saville Police to
stop fingering DJ’s from the 80’s (no pun intended).
Apart from the music, the one thing that stands out on this album
is the artwork. Even if this isn’t your cup of tea, give the album cover a
look, and lookup the one and only Greg Blackman:
If you haven’t downloaded this album yet, firstly, WHY THE
FUCK NOT! Secondly, if you haven’t following this link: