Coming from the increasingly ever present south coast Hip-Hop stables of Brighton, the Lost Souls' lyricist Withdoctor Wise drops his debut album, 'Trapped in the Asylum', with big hopes on the back of favourable underground recognition.
In a voice that sits easily on any beat, able to keep the attention of the most intensely ADHD ridden children, and with flows that have become synonymous with UKHH's easy listening niche market, young Joe Morris AKA Wise shows promise from the initial track.
Wise draws from a multitude of influences, with subjects ranging from girls, drugs, and, as the chorus of 'Trapped in the Asylum' tells us, being "young, broke and English."
'Birdseye' is a playful track of a day in the life of The Witchdoctor, in an almost bukkake-esque free for all with an ever flowing almost Jamaican funfair musical accompaniment.
Wise is able to show both simple rhyming formats, and evidenced multis, spitting over the beat on 'It's Gone Dark' whilst contrasting his jovial tracks with a deeper sense and Gothic undertones.
The presence of a number of producers, including Tom Caruna, 184, and Wise's Lost Souls partner Biji Talls, makes for an eclectic mix of beats and subsequent vocal styling from the Witchdoctor.
The Biji produced 'Violent Year' sits bang in the middle of the decidedly darker 2nd half of the album, allowing Wise to yet again drop deep and put some passion and fire into his otherwise conversational MCing.
Witchdoctor Wise's debut album is very promising, and with a enviable history of collaborations and live performances, he'd do well to back it up with more class future releases.
Trapped in the Asylum is out now on Heroic Recordings, available to buy from them direct at http://www.heroicrecordings.com/
Rating: 4/5
Label: Heroic Recordings
Useful links: http://www.myspace.com/joewitchdoctorwise and http://www.heroicrecordings.com
Words By: Andrew Milner
