BOOT Vinyl & CDs

Review: Australia might not be known for its hip hop, but Blade is certainly a legend in the game. Making a big return to wax with this new one on Boot Records, he once again calls up on the production services of The Manos, a couple of guys who he first met while selling records on the streets back in 1991. They kept in touch and worked together after Blade's distribution company had declared bankruptcy and he needed some help, only for the tunes to never see the light of day... until now. "Dark Friends" is all swirling and edgy pads and heavy chords beneath Blade's intense rhymes, while "Make It Connect" is a more sweet sounding tune with freeform sax lines and rolling drums.

Review: Boot Records Present legendary UK rapper Blade's 1990 hip-hop classic, ‘Mind Of An Ordinary Citizen', for the first time ever on 7" vinyl. With the instrumental version also appearing on the B-side, the single sallies forth in bold fashion as a limited edition never to be re-pressed again. Blade, nominally pre-dating the Wesley Snipes vampire flick franchise by nearly a decade, was a super early player in the early London rap scene, which might sound strange given that he’s flowing in an American accent. Evidently, Blade’s music charts such early days in the UK Britcore sound that it details an earlier juncture at which point American primacy hadn’t yet worn off. Even so, ‘Mind Of An Ordinary Citizen’, first released on the label 691 Influential, is a shining example of Britcore’s early sound, coming laden as ever with whistling scratches and huge brass bursts.

Review: One of Armenian-born, London-based Blade's seminal cuts from the early 90s UK rap scene, capturing the gritty realism of the time. 'Dark & Sinister', featuring MC Mell'o', delivers a powerful, hard-hitting vibe akin to LL Cool J's commanding presence, with an instrumental version on the flip side allows the track's intense atmosphere and production to shine. Often seen as the grandfather of UK rap, Blade plays off a gritty persona with a wicked sense of humour, and this release still resonates today.