Ian ‘Nasty’ McQuaid is a DJ, journalist and producer. Alongside being resident spinner at the Off Modern art/indie/raves he runs a number of events, including Bruk Out, a night celebrating the best in hip hop, RnB, dancehall, grime, hype lyricism, and booming basslines.

There’s been a host of great UK tracks busting loose in the last couple of weeks. First up, two bangers from fresh young producer and all round kingmaker Rymez – Wiley’s Heatwave and J2K’s Money. On Heatwave, Wiley’s going for a bite of that big pop apple, mining the singalong 18- 30s territory that first reared its glossy head on Wearing My Rolex. It’d be fair to say that this is a different Wiley to the aggy maniac who spat “I know war; war said he don’t know you” back in the days of Destruction. Nowadays he “likes to see an ice cream van on the road”. Whodathunk it, huh? Heatwave is pretty dumb and utterly infectious, it’s nailed the optimistic major chords that are ruling bashment at the moment, and given them a bed of dutty UK bass, and I’d say it’s gonna give William his biggest hit for years. By the time you read this, you will have doubtless heard it playing from every car, hairdressers and chicken shop from here to forever. Hopefully you don’t hate it.

Money is something a little deeper, with a weird kind of chugging bassline and tear out old old skool ‘ardcore breaks for a coda (get me with my ‘coda’) – it sounds like a natural progression for grime, with an acknowledgement of UK rave music coded right into its DNA. J2K’s sardonic flow is always welcome, and this might give him a chance for the breakthrough he’s been promising since way back when he was rapping about being a bastard landlord with FlowDan. Both Heatwave and Money prove one thing – Rymez has got ideas to spare. Can’t wait to hear more.

More LDN heat comes from the MC Fem Fel on a track called Frigid. There’ a crew called SplurgeBoys on production duties, and I’m wondering if they’re the same Splurge who were knocking about a few years back making Lil Wayne sounding beats and spitting kinda funny lyrics about being mixed race. Either which way, this beat is utterly sick, a bit like a stanking English response to Tiga’s Rack City. Fem Fel has got that funeral paced menacing flow working the beat perfectly, and at the moment I’d chew my (well, maybe your) right arm off to get a decent quality download of this – it’s got rave rewind written all over it.

AAAAAnnd just today I saw that Tempa T has uploaded a new track onto Grime Daily – Afghan Boi. Look, let’s get real. Tempz is a GENIUS. If ever you want to see where the spirit of mental fucking head exploding vein popping shit kicking punk rock went, then I suggest you’ll find it a lot easier spending 3 minutes being roared at by Tempz then you would, say, listening to the entirety of Green Day’s new triple (triple!) album cycle. Afghan Boi is the sound of the angriest man in music literally losing his shit, telling you how bad it would be if he really lost his shit. “DON’T WANNA SEE TEMPZ TURN TALIBAN,” he screams, although to be honest, I think seeing Tempz turning Taliban could be one of the most entertaining pastimes known to man. From behind some sort of protective barrier, obvs.

One of the many sterling things about Tempa T is that you always feel he’s somewhere between genuinely boiling with rage and cracking up laughing at himself for being so mental, which coincidentally makes him the diametric opposite of Keith ‘Keef’ Flint whose new track with Caspa is the biggest piece of humourless, unconvincing dog shit I have ever endured. I wouldn’t mention it, but honestly, it’s worth checking just ’cause there’s something mesmeric about a middle-aged man with cyber dog contact lenses and a loose grasp of rhyme working so hard to humiliate himself so much. Why Caspa feels the need to prop up what was once a promising career with sex dungeon crapstep is utterly beyond me. Some sort of tax dodge? Who knows. Keep it up lads*

*Don’t.

Finally, just a quick mention of my favourite jam in the world right now, Brandy has teamed up with Bangladesh, a man physically incapable of making a bad beat. Ignore the fact that Chris Brown has a cameo (he don’t do too bad a job TBH) Put it Down is damn near perfect, and the time you’re wasting reading my crap you could just be listening to it. Press play.

 Ian ‘Nasty’ McQuaid

This entry was tagged as bangladesh, brandy, bruk out, Caspa, chris brown, Grime, ian mcquaid, J2K, keith flint, mc fem fel, nasty mcquaid, rymez, splurge boys, Tempa T, tempz, urban music, Wiley.