has been a well-known character on London's open mic scene for a while now and he's featured on every UK hip-hop mix tape worth listening to. Now he's here with his very own album; The Essance. People who know about / Essa will know how clever, inventive and diverse his lyrics are and they don't disappoint on this offering from Janomi Records, he spits lyrics on a whole variety of topics ranging from the typical rapper stuff, i.e. girls, money etc to how life in the city is so hectic, and he can even do it in Spanish as demonstrated on the track ‘Gringo Lingo'.
As well as the frankly awesome lyrics and flow that never fails to deliver, production on this album is top quality and beats come from the names of reputable producers such as Mr. Thing, Lewis Parker, and Harry Love.
There is a track for everyone on ‘The Essance'. There are party tracks such as ‘Push' and ‘Dancing Shoes' as well as deep thoughtful tracks like ‘What Eye See' and ‘City Breaks'. Oh, and you've got to check out ‘Chef YG', where uses food as a metaphor for sex; he keeps the food / sex theme going throughout the whole track and this results in clever, humorous lyrics. Talking about lyrics, they come mainly from himself but Kyza Smirnoff and Devise guest on two tracks and shine brilliantly as such talented artists are expected to.
Overall is a sick release from one of the UK's best MC's, it's got wide appeal and should tempt the hardcore UK hip hop heads into buying it, and anyone who likes top quality hip hop should get a copy too, it sounds good on a hot summers day so check it out.
Rating: 4/5
Release date: Out Now!
Record Label: Janomi records [url]http://www.janomi.com[/url]
Words by: Simon Greenacre
