Low-Life | UK Hip Hop Story | 2 Ban - Walk A Mile In My Shoes LP [2ban.co.uk]

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1990-1995

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2 Ban - Walk A Mile In My Shoes LP [2ban.co.uk]

Tracklist:
01 - Refugee Child
02 - Selah Akbah
03 - Personality
04 - Against All Humanity
05 - Musayi Gwa Muzei
06 - Come Correct
07 - Love We Made
08 - Mile In My Shoes
09 - New Day Bro
10 - Remember Me?
11 - Reign of Wisdom
12 - Cold Heart Lover
13 - Under Pressure

2 Ban is an individual with a lot of drive and ambition. So much so that this is manifested in quite a unique approach to getting his material out there. He understands that if he continues to put out dope tunes recognition will eventually come his way. To facilitate this he his putting out many of his tracks in the public domain. The reason for this is that small scale record production is not really going to make anyone any money and should probably be counted largely as a promotional activity, with the artist taking opportunities to make money more from live performances, where if you put in the work the rewards can be quite substantial. So back to the public domain nature of the music. What this means in reality is that 2 Ban will actively encourage people to bootleg his material, heck, he'll even supply the cover artwork if you want. What this means is that any head who wants to make a few beans can get up and sell 2 Ban's stuff - keeping the revenue for themselves. 2 Ban feels that this can only be beneficial to him, especially in the early stages of his career.

Before we get into looking at the music, I have to apologise to 2 Ban for dragging my heels over getting this written and up on the site. This is going to become a more common apology I think as everything is just getting too busy. So what we have here is a full 13 track LP created by Ugandan born 2 Ban and finished as far back as 2002. With all the experiences he has endured during his life so far he has a great deal of subject matter to explore and is most definitely concentrating on deep meaningful lyrics and is not interested in superficial blinging. There are some very serious messages on here, a real education if you choose it to be, however it is presented in an accessible way.

The opening track is hard hitting and opens the LP as it is set to continue. Refugee Child breaks down the story of his child hood and how he had to leave as a refugee as a child to escape the fighting and bloodshed. Throughout the LP the production is very much synthesiser and drum machine based, rather than breakbeat and sample based. In a way I feel this type of production requires more musical skill, mostly because individual notes and riffs need to be played, or at least composed and arranged in the sequencer. Track two, Selah Akbah follows and draws the listener further into what 2 Ban is offering. Selah Akbah opens up with some steel pan sounds that are heavily effected. The buzzing bass fades in and out of the melody on this slow tempo track which has a distinctly original sound and feel. The lyrics are just as deep on here, exploring African history and the the struggles people can endure there, especially oppression and unjustified imprisonment. As if to emphasise the nature of the lyrics 2 Ban occasionally adds a gruff element to his delivery.

Personality changes up the production a bit with pianos brought into the mix and some African chanting / singing in the intro and choruses. The synthesiser bass remains and 2 Ban's rapping make this a recognisable track. This track explores many of the facets of 2 Ban's youth that went towards building his personality, relationships with his father, but overridingly, the malevolent environment of a country in turmoil. Against All Humanity raises the intensity both in terms of harshness of the production, but also in terms of the energy of the delivery. 2 Ban is letting his anger out at racism and pointing out how this should be unjustified, especially when one considers all the great things Black people have contributed to civilisation and the society in general. Interracial relationships and the subsequent persecution and torture of the black party are exposed as well as facts like the appalling average age of slaves could hope to live to. This is an enraged tirade, but at the same time a track that many people can learn from.

Musayi Gwa Muzei is a track in which 2 Ban looks at the political situation in West Africa and looks at the failings in many of the leaders over the last half century or so. H also looks at how Mussolini also committed horrific acts in the reigon and how his fathers blood was shed fighting tyranny and oppression. Come Correct eases the vibe a bit as the LP continues. A more smoothly produced track offers some suggestions for the future of how people can make things better. There are still serious messages in this track, but it appears sugar coated when compared to some of the other tracks where reality is beating into you verbally. Love We Made follows and continues the smoother middle of the LP before we get to the title track - Walk A Mile In My Shoes! Walk A Mile In My Shoes! Is 2 Ban's story, and sort of summarises the rest of the tracks.

2 Ban - Walk A Mile In My Shoes LP [2ban.co.uk]

2 Ban - Walk A Mile In My Shoes LP [2ban.co.uk]

The remaining tracks dish up more of the same, Remember Me with it's choral backing, My Reign Of Wisdom with it's Harpsichord, more natural sounding bass line and social commentary and Cold Heart Lover which is like Love We Made part 2 and features a repetitive horn sound. The final track Under Pressure rounds off the LP at a lengthy 6 and a half minutes. All the tracks on here are full lenght. There are no fillers here.

As with so much product coming from the UK accent will be a hotly contested debate and I'm pleased to say that 2 Ban is rapping in his own accent, very much his local accent, but with a fair few African influences as you would expect. Many African MCs adopt a US accent as used to be the case over here as well. 2 Ban's approach heralds a growth in confidence of Hip Hop artists from the African continent. His flow is pretty similar throughout, but makes a solid foundation upon which to base an LP on. If anything I feel some of the production was a bit electronic and samey, and I'd definitely like to hear 2 Ban over some more sample based tracks, perhaps a selection of guest producers. Never the less, he has produced a thought provoking offering, and he has a lot to say. It is refreshing to hear from someone who is taking their responsibilities as a role model and educator as well as entertainer seriously.

Visit 2 Ban on the web :: http://www.2ban.co.uk