RELEASES
WORDSMITH
The Roadman Sampler 7"
Son 034 / July 2005
From the fine tradition of the raw storyteller comes a new blud, although you can tell he’s not new to the art. Wordsmith, dealer in rugged rhymes laced with honesty, intelligence and skills, painting pictures like graff on wax. Culling 3 prime cuts from the CD-only album, ‘The Road Man Showcase’, this tidy 3 track sampler 7” serves up a selection of nuggets produced during various sessions in the Boiler Room lab over the last couple with Words and the prolific and ever-impressive production maestro Tom Caruana, (who produced all tracks on the album these 3 tracks are taken from), the duo are ably assisted by Genesis Elijah on the killer b-side, ‘Trading Bars’, included alongside Caruana’s remix of ‘Sun God’, one of Words’ finest moments from his debut EP, and the crisp lyrics and sweeping strings of lead track, ‘The Analyst’..
TRACKLIST
A-SIDE
1. THE ANALYST
B-SIDE
1. TRADING BARS (FEATURING GENESIS ELIJAH)
2. SUN GOD (CARUANA REMIX)
PRESS FOR ‘THE ROADMAN SHOWCASE’:
Imagine the blend of the gangster and punchlines that made Fat Joe of certain vintage.., Wordsmith packs a lyrical punch and that’s what ultimately stands out on this impressive debut.’
HHC APR 05
one of the next generation of emcees ready to help share the weight and carry our homegrown hip-hop scene forward Occupying the middle ground between the twisted visions of Roots Manuva and the street science of Klashnekoff , its Wordsmith’s ability to let listeners into his world that will ensure his name goes down as one of the UK’s brightest talents.
BLUES & SOUL, MAR/APR 05
a damn fresh longplayer. Caruna handles the boards to produce a lush soundscape that works mighty fine with the RBX-ish gruffness of Mr. Smith., I’m exceedingly glad that MC’s like Wordsmith and gruesome instrumentals such as these exist.. Genesis Elijah also features, tearing up verses on any track he’s on, and sets himself up lovely for any solo EP that might be forthcoming. It’s definitely for fans of the gritty styles,
UNDERCOVER FEB 05
Wordsmith drops a debut LP that should shoot him up the hip-hop ladder.. a strong album that keeps you locked in right up to the end. The production from Caruana is intense and dramatic, with early Wu-Tang influences to the fore.. Lyrically the album is heavy, but such verbal density never becomes oppressive. Instead the clear spacious delivery of Wordsmith and guest MC Genesis Elijah sucks you in straight away and with a real cohesion between the beats and MC’s makes for an album you’ll want to listen to over and over again.
IDJ MAY 05
