Q Magazine is a shit old rag, isn’t it? Not only do they think they can reach out to the mainstream’s lucrative ‘yoof market’ by some lame inclusion of a pull-out poster (I f**king ask you) they describe the frazzled scores and beats of the inspired new record from Roll Deep as ‘hardcore stuff for Asbo’d teenagers in hoodies to stiff glue to’. I mean, where do you start with a statement like this, eh? Not only does it crassly dismiss an entire generation of rap-lovers to the UK’s ever increasing cultural leper-colony, it does nowt to scupper the stereotypes on the other side of the vinyl: the artists themselves. If Roll Deep had spent as much time trying to appeal to glue-sniffin’ hoodies as Q Magazine has spent petitioning the bland, Sushi-gobblin’ thirtysomething with wadfuls of disposable income to his or her credit, then they might have sold way in excess of the respectable 85,000 copies of their 2005 debut, ‘In At The Deep End’. But they didn’t. They stuck to their guns. They didn’t sell out and a result they were somewhat cruelly shafted by their label. Sure they had a couple of hits: ‘The Avenue’ and ‘Bus Stop’ were pitched pretty squarely at the mainstream, but there was evidence even then they weren’t that idle. Silver’s good enough for magpies, so why not Relentless? Shit-happens. You just move on. And tracks like ‘Celebrate’ do just that: ‘Get smacked up today. Get smacked up tomorra’. It’s a story of survival, self-worth, dealing with fortune, earning respect and getting on with it. Bing Crosby could have been a part of the crew when he sang:
You’ve got to accentuate the positive
Eliminate the negative
Latch on to the affirmative
Don’t mess with Mister In-Between
The cover alone bears testament to all the changes. Out goes the big, bright tango designs popular with bubblegum rappers like Lily Allen and cartoon crews like Gorillaz and in comes the masking-tape DIY splash and grab look of Roll Deep Recordings: sweaty and real and ready to deal authentic. Classic and grimey. Just how the big boys like it, not woosies or chuffers.