Low-Life | UK Hip Hop Story | Universal Soldiers - Slanguage 2xLP [Tonguetied Records]

Intro

Early Doors:
1979-1985

False Dawn:
1985-1990

Underground Years:
1990-1995

The Renaissance:
1995- 2000

The Future:
2000 & Beyond

Artists &
Discographies

Universal Soldiers - Slanguage 2xLP [Tonguetied Records]

Tracklisting:
1. Renegades
2. Crime Stories
3. Prohibition
4. P.O.W. (Panorama On Wax)
5. Soldier Skit
6. My World
7. Metaphysics ft. Sundragon aka Tom Hagen
8. Slanguage
9. Life's Like A Movie
10. Soldier 4 Life
11. Heavyweight Product
12. 6 Feet Deep
13. Undiuted
14. Minefields
15. Snakes And Ladders
16. Outro (Life's Like A Movie Reprise)
17. The Great Escape ft. Dia-Blo (New Age Rework)

The Unisols have been building to this for some time. This is the work of a crew at the top of the game and together Ricochet, Ultra and producer A H Fly have put together one of the hottest and most complete LPs from not only a UK act, but any act to drop in quite some time. Till now they have dropped hot wax several times, but despite the numerous articles websites have devoted to them they have so far flown under then nation's radar. They have made their material available on consumer friendly formats, but they are too on the edge in terms of their depictions of reality to have attained big success so far? I would like to think that anyone serious about Hip Hop will be aware of these boys and no doubt there s also a core of fans who'll be devoted and will be fiending for this. Being a full new LP and having such a solid volume of contents this is just the sort of package which although you have known it has been coming for some time it is still a pleasant surprise to finally get to bump the tunes with a decent amount of volume.

However are punters ready for such a stream of grime? There really is nobody else doing this in such a complete way at the moment. Yes Terra Firma have had a couple of big tracks talking about reality, but they were more narrators and all of this, the relentless tales of runnings and underground lives, is all spoken in the first person.

The LP opens with a trumpet fanfare which soon drops into some well crafted big sloppy drums and a dark track, Renegades which samples the old Tommy Boy classic quickly before the lush strings set off how the LP is going to run throughout. Ultra opens the verbals taking the first verse before Ricochet takes over the second. Its an intro track in which the MCs leave you with the simple message that other MCs don't have a chance at all.

Crime Stories is typical of the main theme of the LP. Opening with a snippet of thoughts from the streets news reporter style, characters are described in minute detail and the people we seem to get to know are then put into their real world situations. It is all so realistic one would find it hard to believe that everything is made up. Ric's main female dealer is described as well as Ultra's friend from lockdown. This one is slower with less busy production, a simple guitar sample over the usual fat drums.

Prohibition makes use of a great female vocal as part of the production. A H Fly certainly knows how to flex and comes up with some hand crafted beats which are perfect fodder for any MC to spit over. When his chosen team mates drop their science the result is a seriously top drawer track which is both skilfully delivered, meaningful and tremendously heart searching and evocative. Subject matter opens with an imagination of what life would be like if drugs were legal, but they go on to point out that it is prohibition which allows tham to live foul as they do. I guess different tracks do different things to different people, but so far production wise I'm feeling A H Fly to the max and lyrically empathising with these cats from Edmonton all the way.

My World is a marching track with a particularly head nodding vibe due to the repetitive bass which hits every beat and electro vibe highs. Everyone makes their own career choices, but when the high rollers life is depicted like this it could be appealing. But the Unisols always come with a twist and the violence and dicing with the Feds are the negative sides, your choice. Metaphysics is the first track when I thought things slipped a touch and that was due to the unimpressive production from Fly, which is unlike him. I though this was formulaic and repetitive and as such far from what Mr Fly usually issue forth from his audio out sockets. Sampling the old Substitution beat and with noisy highs it was sounding dated to me. As ever the MC's delivery raised the track, but even the usually tight Sundragon appearing for one of only two guest appearances didn't raise this one above average.

The title track Slanguage is just a short one which is half as long as any of the the other tracks, but as with many of these short offerings should be longer, the guitar lick making for a relaxed and smooth beat. Life Is Like A Movie as reviewed before when it received its 12" release earlier in the year is super dark and as with so many of the Universal Soldiers lyrics they conjure images like nobody else does. Some of Ricochet and Ultra's lyrics touch on similar topics from time to time. They depict their day to day lives and do it with such verbose flair that I for one don't mind hearing the same type of stories on different tracks as each little insight into how they are living is a treat which blows you over.

Banging tracks follow one after another and Soldier 4 Life is just like the others. A funky bass line and sweet A H Fly arrangement is the backing for this brag rap. Nobody can be left in any doubt that the Unisols leave any rack blazed. Heavyweight Product was the B-Side to the first 12" off the LP and again is a menacing diatribe of Street tales.

There are a few bits of lovely scratching on here as well in the most part provided by Mr Thing. 6 Feet Deep opens with a Neil Kinnock speech sample and the aforementioned scratching and covers the now familiar fantastical tales of shottin which when intermingled with real street names brings every thing to life. After listening to this you'll know exactly what is expected should you undertake a career in crime, yes the wealth and respect, but also the mental anguish and stress of always looking over ones shoulder and slowly going parro.

This is a full LP and although Undiluted also previously out on the first 12" is included here, that only is a few tracks you could have heard before and they are all heavy so this is for the new listeners. Whilst the topics are all variations of a theme the Unisols seem to be able to keep coming up with new punchlines and for me keep everything sounding fresh. Piano loops are the backing for Minefields deceptively heavy production. London's underbelly is exposed as Ric and Ultra show you the dark sides to life in the capital, especially the proliferation of guns.

Snakes And Ladders explores the ins and outs of big time drug dealing and how it is a struggle to make it to the top, but it is also a struggle to stay on top. The lifestyle and the trappings of wealth and recognition are addictive and hard to give up. After the surprisingly upbeat and happy Outro which sounds like Kermit The Frog, the CD version of the LP includes an extra track - the Great Escape remix which adds the vox of newcommer Dia-Blo for the aptly titled New Age Rework. New Age because A H Fly has totally flipped the beat which was originally put together by Cee Why for his YNR release to produce a virtually new track which mostly due to the bass line has an extremely contemporary feel.

There you have it - 17 tracks, or a series of small movies if you like which is 98% totally beyond the average and totally outstanding. I love the MCing on this and with the production from A H Fly which is all mid tempo, but really well worked out and put together. In fact across this there is only one beat which didn't hit the spot with me first time. The artwork by Danny Tee is simple and effective with sepia tinged photos and a small fold out sleeve with the shouts and production credits. Overall I suggest that you run out on the day this drops and secure your copy. In fact I'm sure Tongue Tied would appreciate that you send your money now for a pre-purchase.

Universal Soldiers Interview :: Tongue Tied Discography
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