Klashnekoff - Lionheart: Tussle With The Beast

Klashnekoff

Released: February 26, 2007

Label: Riddim Killa
Written By: Aman Panglin
Rating: 9/10

Klashnekoff’s long awaited sophomore album ‘Tussle With the Beast’ does not disappoint. With the state of the ‘urban’ music scene being dire because of the hip pop being released by renowned American artists it is good to know that we Brits know what we’re doing and the Hackney bred Mr. K-Lash has pulled off a conscious album with flair.

In collaboration with Nottingham based producer Joe Buddha, Klashnekoff’s political and socially aware rhymes are complemented by his unique beats (though at times Buddha does slip up a bit but on the whole he pulls it off). They manage to be totally in sync with one another as the album varies between melodic rhythms to more hard-hitting beats and combines these with Klash’s dexterous lyrics.

The opening track sets the tone for the remainder of the album; The Revolution uses a smooth beat reminiscent of the Motown era and the deep lyrical content crying out for social change puts Klashnekoff at the stance of a man that is perceptive and full of life experience. This is further elevated throughout the album in tracks such as Bit by Bit were he states “I’m trapped on this Earth’s surface, where they pay the footballers more than the nurses”.

The beauty of the album lies in the ease through which Klashnekoff has managed to put across his subject matter, he is blatantly passionate about his raps and everything he says drips with the disdain he feels towards the corrupt state of things. He also manages to be evocative and descriptive for example the vivid pictures he paints with his rhymes in Rest of Our Lives (Black Rose Pt.2) where he talks about his mother and her snake-like boyfriend he manages to connect on a personal level despite the gravity of the situation he is depicting (he walks in on his mother’s boyfriend with a knife to her throat).

The album will be a big hit with loyal UK fans and is definitely worth purchasing but I’m not sure if it will plunge Klash into commercial success. This is through no fault of his own as Klashnekoff and Joe Buddha have put in a great effort and produced a possible future UK Hip Hop classic but the lack of more light hearted subject matters may be what is holding him back from commercial success. Now, I personally don’t think Klash should ever change his style up to be accepted by the masses but unfortunately audiences have become evermore fickle and are easily swayed by nonsense rap than by rap that actually has meaning. I mean even Nas’s Illmatic didn’t fare too well when it was first released, and look at Lupe Fiasco even he is highly underrated. The philosophical and hard hitting rhymes may be difficult to take for some but fans will love it and this certainly serves as evidence for the talent we have in the UK.