Smokes and Bluntz Photos and Audio

Review and photo by Jared Wilson
 

None of the current Notts hip-hop crews have been particularly well documented in the media, but some have turned up more than others. Whilst the likes of Outdaville and Cappo have done sessions with John Peel and Westwood, behind these more prominent layers, there continues to be a constant stream of high quality hiphop emerging.

The Smokes and Bluntz crew might not yet be big names, but they definitely have the skills to pay the bills! N.O.T.T.S Part I is one of the best compilations of local vocals to emerge in recent years and shows why these guys have spent so much time putting down tracks in the community studios. Throughout this collection the rapping is tight as fuck and the production is delicate and decisive.

It starts out with the western movie sounds of '3 Romans' featuring LMS, Bitterblood, and Rapper Ru putting out challenges to all in terms of spits per minute. A few more tracks in he turns up again to represent on 'Stannzville' (no prizes for guessing which suburb of Nottingham it was inspired by and Nino and A.T. compliment his style to good effect on the soulful funky 'Tha Streets'.

M.O.M. take over mic duties for 'Drastic Rapperz' and give us hiphop over a trip-hop beat. Later the legend that is Mr 45 turns up to join Ru on 'That's Alright' and stays around for 'Notts Life'. Other notable mentions must go to DK Swine and 5th Element. Mentioning these names is just touching the surface though. This click goes deep.

The main differences between the Smokes and Bluntz crew and some of Nottingham's other exports are clear to see in both the production style and the rappers accents. The composition of this album sounds more like it comes from NYC than NG. This is no bad thing. This city is big enough for all styles and the harder edge is valid and welcome. Smokes and Bluntz are the gangsters of the Notts hiphop scene. They definitely lie nearer to the Wu Tang or Dre than most other local emcees.

Smokes and Bluntz and other local vocals in the LeftLion Shop.

Nottingham hiphop on LeftLion
Algie Hunter Interview and Audio
Dealmaker Review and Audio
Marga Boys Interview and Audio
P Brothers Interview