Chronik - Free Chronik

I got a bit overanalytical with this one. I was expecting a good, strong, full-length mixtape and the release was way more unprofessional than I expected. 4 grime tracks, one rap track, a love song with autotune and a poorly recorded live set? Disappointing.

But then I remember that my favourite grime moments are crudely ripped pirate radio recordings and I stop whining. I wasn't sure about Chronik on Rude Kid beats at first but I really think it works now. He does slip off beat a bit here and there but otherwise Just Do Music, Goon to a Goon and to a degree Swear Down are the Chronik that we love from back in the day. You've probably heard Swear Down and Ring where Chronik does his best Tempz impersonation and sounds evil as shit doing it. Black Glove 2 is a road rap tune using the beat from Giggs' Look What the Cat Dragged In and what do you know, Chronik sounds good on this shit too. Should be no surprise based on the strength of the rap tunes on Blaze More Dan U (Iron Eye, Don't Push Me and Hop Out of the Whip), but this is the first time I've hear him on proper trapping road rap production and he goes hard ("I ain't going back to jail, fuck Babylon!").

Rollin' Wheel is the weirdest one. It uses the beat from JME's I'm the Best but it has Chronik rambling in autotune about being struck by Cupid and falling in love. It should suck but it doesn't, Chronik sounds great over this emotional beat and even the autotune works. I mean it shouldn't but it does. Some of the lyrics and metaphors are weird as hell, in an almost Weezy's 'I Feel Like Dying' vibe, you have to smoke a fuckload of weed to open a track with "I used to chase sparrows" on the same mixtape as lyrics like "Blud don't panic, MY FRIENDS GOT THE TING ON MATIC!"

Just Jam is a set Chronik did a couple of days after he left prison, the sound qualities bad as it was just ripped from a handcam but if it's great hearing how sick and excited Chronik sounds straight after being released, Spooky's on decks being a don as usual and Footsie and a few other MCs get a few bars in too. The recordings pretty raw and you can hear the crowd louder than the MCs but it's still pretty sick.

This does have a dickload of problems as I said, but they're rendered obsolete by what is easily the most greeziest hyping in years..."I'm a goon to a goon, I'LL LET THE TING GO IN HIS FACE!"

Chronik - Blaze More Dan U

Chronik's a pretty intimidating character. Lacking the cartoony nature of Tempz lyrics and posture, something about him always seemed so much more real.

What's interesting about this mixtape is that the guests are left at a minimum, you'd expect that on a debut cd he'd fill it to the brim with other MCs, but he pretty much goes solo from track 9 onwards. It's great to hear though, fans of real, classic grime will love this. The beats are simplistic and hard as fuck, very typical Slew Dem sound, and Chronik spits simplistic, to the point and catchy bars about kicking your head in with his size 10s. There's something really appealling about his flow, especially when he clutters up his bars around one particular word or phrase, it sounds so raw and underground and anti-commercial. Despite the fact that the features are great (Jammer, Skepta, Esco, Wiley and a few others) I actually like this better when Chronik just goes off on his own. You can tell he listens to a lot of ragga and dancehall, infact while I was listening to this I was thinking "I bet he listens to Buju Banton and Sizzla and that sort of thing" and what do you know, there's a Buju Banton sample towards the end.

Domestic Violence is a bit of a misstep, I don't think it fits in so well amongst the others, although the lyrics are brutally honest ("I love you and I still make you cry, what kind of love is that? I love you and I still black your eye, what kind of love is that?"). Otherwise it's strong and mostly consistent though, it's long but never gets boring, stays interesting the whole way through. It's definitely very raw and underground sounding though, so it might not appeal to some, but if you liked Grimetapes' Slew Dem Vol. 1 this is highly recommended.

Oh yeah, and nice Layla sample in the title track.