M.S.I. & Asylum – M.S.I & Asylum (1999) (CD) (FLAC + 320 kbps)

Roots Manuva’s stunning debut, ‘Brand New Second Hand’, would’ve been enough to put British hip-hop on the map. But 1999 is bringing us an embar-rassment of riches, with this debut bomb from West Midlands kru MSI & Asylum.
MSI & Asylum don’t go in for the kind of radical reshaping of the genre Manuva’s electroid platter indulges in; they prefer a sticky funk, a more ‘street’ hip-hop. They number many, at any one time there are half-a-dozen or so voices audible in the background, giving the impression of a field recording taken in a dark alley on some Brummy housing block.
It’s the same kind of rough-edged gang-style that The Specials made their own on their debut LP, a kind of ‘this-is-who-we-are, don’t-fuck-with-us’ bravado which is, of course, completely irresistible. The ‘Intro’ disses journos who ‘study hip-hop, but don’t feel hip-hop’ and fake Americans, sighing ‘We all fightin’ on this one lickle island called England’, before segueing into slab after slab of inspired post-Wu mire-funk.
The non-PC rhyming might offend the more, uh, sensitive sensibilities; ‘Sex’ sees the kru chanting, “Don’t be offended girl/It’s just a horny world” over porno beats. But it’s some fucking inspired shit, eminently addictive, and light years beyond the fake-ass posturing of Eminem. So, from the home of Sabbath, another shade of black attack /NME Reviews/.

1     Intro     1:34
2     War     3:52
3     Hang ‘Em High     4:25
4     Pub 1     0:21
5     Sex     5:32
6     Bedroom Rappers     3:46
7     Mix & Blend     4:51
8     Temple Of Ignorence     5:18
9     Pub 2     1:04
10     Cheated     4:46
11     Northernly Wind [Featuring] – Mr. 45, Rodney P 5:35
12     Pub 3     0:14
13     I     3:11
14     Freedom [Featuring] – Slice 0:45
15     It’s Time [Featuring] – Slice 4:45
16     Little Miss     3:24
17     Mindless Bastards     3:18
18     Outside Pub     0:43

FLAC
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MP3 320
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