A decade of hip-hopping across the pond
Hip-hop in Britain never achieved anything like the commercial behemoth status it has here. As a result British hip-hop, though uneven, retains a certain underground freshness as well as reflects the greater porousness of genre boundaries across the pond, with cross-fertilization abundant from reggae, funk, and endless varieties of house and electronica.
The indie label Big Dada, which celebrates its 10th year with this panoramic two-disc compilation, has served as a kind of flagship for the scene, home to crucial Brit rappers like the underrated Roots Manuva, above, ("Movements," "Witness (I Hope)"), but also to American artists whose work is too weird, unclassifiable, or risqué for stateside houses.
These have included, at various times, the Philadelphia DJ Diplo ("Diplo Rhythm," "Now's the Time"); the schizoid Infesticons/Majesticons project of cerebral, Cambridge-raised hip-hop poet Mike Ladd ("Night Night Theme," "Monkey Theme," "Fader Party"); and the joyous X-rated Baltimore booty funk of Spank Rock, whose "Sweet Talk" is one of the best cuts here, though in no way suited for polite company.
As is typical of label showcases, not everything here hits the mark, but with 31 tracks to choose from, with a sonic diversity that ranges from ambient soundscapes (Lotek HiFi's "Can't Believe") to controlled cacophony (Wiley's "My Mistakes"), the collection as a whole comes out a surefire winner. [Siddhartha Mitter] 