A new compilation from Ninja Tune - You Don’t Know: Ninja Cuts - is filled with 50 tunes that map the sonic territory the label has explored during it’s 2 decades in the biz and adds sonar imagery of what lies ahead. The 3 CD set features tracks all the way 1998 reppin for the label’s early days (Mike Ladd’s rare classic “Blah Blah”) and big hits from every year since plus 9 tunes slated for release later this year! (Yet-to-be-dropped tunes like John Matthias’ fragile and ethereal “Evermore”, The Bug’s toxic dancehall slayer “Poison Dart”, and Pop Levi’s superb, princely “Dita Dimone”…) To celebrate such an amazing audio history, the Ninja Tune extended family is hosting a 3-room banger at Electrowerkz this month that features many of the artists on the 3CD collection!
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Ninja Tune is releasing an epic compilation album called You Don’t Know: Ninja Cuts that drops March 11th. It weighs in at 3 CDs, stacked with 50 Big Tunes from 1998-2008, from Mike Ladd to Pop Levi and from Roots Manuva to Wiley! Last year, HearingTest featured a few of the tracks that made the cut:

The version of “Free” by DJ Kentaro on You Don’t Know: Ninja Cuts is actually an “Armani XXXChange Remix” and the version here is the original edit from Kentaro’s Ninja Tune LP Enter. (I don’t have the remix yet)

Ever wonder what everyone else is listening to? Today’s list of Top Rankin Tunes is compiled from what was most popular among ([HearingTest]) readers in 2007. This is definitely the most pop-oriented of all the lists; starting with the the most-played tune: Alicia Keys and Jr. Reid’s reggae soul remix of “No One” followed by the tune that Jah Cure released at the same time he himself was released from Tower Prison. These two tunes were receiving thousands of plays per day for weeks! Recently, the audio CD that comes with Ghostface Killah’s new book “The World According To Pretty Toney” has been streaming pretty much round the clock on computers around the globe and linked to on numerous hip hop BBs. Other big contenders include Foxy Brown’s don diva anthem with Mavado - “We’re On Fire” - released during her incarceration in Rykers Island and the club anthem of the year in UK - T2 and Jodie Aysha’s incredible infectious “Heartbroken” which puts the bounce in Bassline music! ([More →])

Digging through the ([HearingTest]) audio archive for the Top Rankin Tunes of 2007, I discovered that most of my favorites could be summed up as shotta anthems. So, I pulled out 10 tunes for Top Rankin Shotta Anthems of 2007. These selections are from the archive of tunes featured on ([HT]) over the last year: ([More →])

Pull up Selecta, let’s hear those tunes one more time! Here are my selections for the Top 10 Tunes and 15 Albums Released In 2007… Tune in again tomorrow for a REWIND of the Biggest Tunes Published On ([HearingTest]) in ‘07! ([More →])

Not new, but still Deep… Roll Deep with “Heat Up” from early 2007:

And another vid from earlier this year - Skepta leads the pack of MCs with “Duppy”:

This banga features Skepta, JME, Jammer, Footsie, Bearman, Bossman Birdie, MC Creed, Devilman….

To me, the star of “Duppy” is Creed. He rolls with the Garage Allstars. You can hear his Dddddid it again in the “Vulture Remix”:

The original tune is more grime-y…

This week there have been a number of good interviews and articles posted online from stellar writers immersed in the UK music scene. Rather than rehash what’s already been said, I’ve decided to resurrect the Rewind! (Rewind! is simply a roundup of links to what’s good, what’s new, wha gwaan on the web, and it used to be a regular feature here on HearingTest.) This particular Rewind! features links to some great articles written by a few music journalists that I enjoy reading: there’s a T2 interview, a Durrty Goodz interview, Grimewatch, proof that Grime’s Not Dead, plus video of Skepta in the BBC radio studios with Mary Anne Hobbs, Wiley clashing Ghetto, and a dubstep documentary! ([More →])

Tim and Barry TV were at Dirty Canvas when Ghetto and Wiley clashed and they got the whole thing on tape. But, for some reason, they chose to be a tease and only upload the first part for now. So, if you want to get all riled up and you don’t mind being cut off before a winner is declared, here’s Part 1: ([More →])

Dizzee’s new video for “Flex” is finished and you can watch it here. The single drops November 19th on XL recordings. Course, you probably already have it on Maths & English.
Also, Dizzee gets flexed and stretched for the Supersonic Speed Trials - check his track style! “Sirens” was apparently just a warm up… ([More →])

Roll Deep - with Wiley at the helm - have been dropping fresh riddims and videos this month. They released the vid for “Racist People” as well as the mp3, and performed on Tim Westwood’s BBC radio show recently - without making him look like an ass! You can listen to 4 brand new tracks on the Roll Deep my$pace and you can download “Racist People” there too. Roll Deep are recording on Eskibeat, Wiley’s record label, and Wiley is still spittin smoothness on the new tunes. They’ll be rolling out a new album in 2008, but these tracks aren’t even part of that project. ([More →])

Roll Deep’s new tune “Racist People”:

Available for download on the Roll Deep my$pace.

RWD Mag reports today that Wiley is about to release 2 more singles off of Playtime Is Over from Wiley and Big Dada: “No Qualms” and “Baby Girl”… ([More →])

It’s Big Dada’s 10 year anniversary and it’s time to celebrate! UK’s best label for hip hop and grime is having a party and releasing a historic double CD compilation plus a DVD documenting a decade of music. ([More →])

Just when you start to wear out one grime album from playing it too much, another wicked album hits the streets. My fave this year has definitely been Wiley’s Playtime Is Over, released on Big Dada, and I’m definitely not tired of the album yet. However, I have been wishing that there were another eski-album close to this caliber to add to the rotation. I wasn’t the only one thinking this, because here comes another excellent grime record. UK DJ and grime-afficionado Logan Sama has compiled a “Best Of” collection from the Tunnel Vision mixtape series onto a 2 disc set. The album is called EskiBoy the best of TUNNEL VISION compiled by Logan Sama and it features the best tracks from volumes 1-5 of the Tunnel Vision mixtape series. The double disc album will be available on September 17th - the same day that Skepta’s full-length album comes out, coincidentally. So the 17th is the BIG DAY, when we get TWO excellent eski-beat records in one day! ([More →])

Dizzee Rascal scored four nominations for UK’s Music Of Black Origin (MOBO) Awards. He is nominated for best UK male, best song for “Sirens,” best video for “Sirens” and best hip hop act. I hope he wins best video because I LOVE that “Sirens” video. Other competitors for MOBOs include WILEY, Kano, Kanye, 50 Cent, Common, Lethal B, Sway, Shaggy, Joss Stone, Corinne Bailey Rae, Jamelia, Tony Matterhorn, Stephen Marley, and many more!! ([More →])