Mixtape: I’m Buzzing
Artist: Sneakbo
Artists’ Twitter: @SNEAKBO1
In a word, YES! Sneakbo continues to provide us with the magical formula, providing hood music whilst keeping the vibe nice and giving the ladies something to bubble to. Although some claim that mentioning females in the majority of his songs is ‘moist’ or ‘selling out’, one listen of this mixtape in it’s entirety puts a stop to that. Sneakbo manages to express the pain of life in urban London, from trouble with the Police, beef and friends being locked up. But combines it with the summer time mindset of the majority of Male youths in the UK, where ‘drawing’ girls and having fun with your people is the number one priority, not forgetting making money of course. To me, it is a refreshing and much needed injection of youth and reality into the UK music scene, encapsulating the mindset of inner city young adults and providing a soundtrack that reflects a modern way of thinking. For me, this is a successful recipe for good music and like Sneakbo said “where the girls go, the boys follow”, and judging by his stage show and rave appearances, it is hard to argue against this point.
We are introduced to the mixtape with the song I’m a Boss, which uses the instrumental and hook from Meek Mills and Rick Ross. Here Sneakbo adopts his well recognised boastful, punch line rap style combined with an array of hype causing adlibs. This is the perfect introduction for a summer time mixtape, opening with a bang and stating who he is in his personal life and his status in the rap scene. On June 24th (two days before the release of the mixtape), he also released a video for this song, which features an Audi R8 with chrome reflective paint. Definitely one to check out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=BjNEmiLqhQE
The second song on the mixtape is ‘Warn Them’ featuring bashment artist Movado. Here we are provided with the fuel that is the fire to Sneakbo’s individuality and uniqueness. What I’m referring to hear is Sneakbo’s ability to provide a catchy, relevant rap style over a bashment/dancehall ragga type beat. In essence rapping over this type of instrumental is the cause for a lot of his success and ability to cause hype in the urban music scene. Through this style, he provides a song for girls to dance to, guys to vibe to and punchy lyrics to recite, altogether creating an energized party atmosphere. Sneakbo summarises it best in this song, saying: “Before rap I was talk of the town, now everybody’s catting for my sound”. This new UK rap – bashment combination really does have everyone hungry for more. You can also catch the video for this on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dd8W4PNUU3Q
Sneakbo’s version of Roll Up, by Wiz Kalifa is the third song on this mixtape. Roll Up encapsulates the vibe of summer time in Brixton and addresses certain life problems from family strife, to jail time and life on the strip. Carrying on the straight un-interrupted verses style, along with the sound effect type lyrics such as “black-a, black black” Sneakbo has become known for; Roll up is a competent laid back summer tune. Check out the video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xU8qsqcMFME
Track four is the famous, rave smashing, gyal whining, mad skanking, hype producing anthem Touch ah Button. Sneakbo attacks Vybz Kartel’s Touch ah Button bashment/dancehall beat with vigorous punch line lyrics, which define his style, energy and musical personality. This song is responsible for the boost in popularity Sneakbo has received in his career, gaining critical acclaim and making him the hottest artist for the youth and young adults of this period. It is also responsible for the collaboration with Chipmunk on the remix of Star Boy, who after asking a group of kids who the hottest artist is right now, was unanimously told “Sneakbo”. After then listening to this track which originally features artists Political Peak and JJ, he instantly got in touch with Sneakbo, to jump on the remix and are now in the process of releasing a video for the Star Boy remix alongside original artist Movado. If you haven’t seen the video for Touch ah Button, check it out now: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qXtMcIZIyKg
Although the original features fellow Brixton rappers ‘Political Peak’ and ‘JJ’, the mixtape version only has Sneakbo’s verse, as this is his solo work (with a short verse from Vybz Kartel at the end). If you want a song which defines the current UK urban club scene and street music of 2011, this is the one for you.
The fifth track on the mixtape Call Me The Most High, is all about getting ‘buzzing’, ‘licked’ and ‘wavy’, whilst having a good time, although Sneakbo starts off thinking about missed friends. Although this song addresses a slower mind-state, the rhythm is very upbeat, with the bashment drums thrown in. Although not appealing to all his fans, this is likely to be a favourite amongst those who live a similar lifestyle in concern with getting a buzz on.
Wave Like Bo (instrumental by Dego Brown) is the sixth song on the mixtape. A video for this was released on March 1st 2011 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nKstjXi6fFE) and has received a very positive response and is another well established club banger, providing a similar word for word recital response that Touch ah Button does from crowds when performed live.
Jetski is the penultimate song in the mixtape, using Giggs Monster Man instrumental and sees Sneakbo adopting the same flow. Addressing the topic of girls in the way fellow UK rapper Giggs has done, Sneakbo provides comedic bars in which he explores a host of issues concerning females and a boasy overall attitude towards the topic. I personally like this song, not only for the comedic aspect, but also for the way in which props are given to Giggs through the mimicking of his style on the original. Some fans however may not like this at all. Some may wonder why he is using the instrumental and flow of a musical rival in the rap scene and is not sticking to his own style. To have this view however, I feel is close-minded. Sneakbo here shows his versatility and openness to the UK rap scene, which is commendable. Hearing Sneakbo get a bit experimental on the beat and putting his own flow to it would have been exciting to hear, but that by no means makes it an un-worthy mixtape song. It was a brave move, but I think it paid off.
The final song on the ‘I’m Buzzing’ mixtape is entitled Money Dream and features Jah Vinci. This song provides the ideal end to a teaser mix tape, as Sneakbo addresses his regrets, the pain he feels for those locked up, betrayal, those passed away, difficulties & dangers of life in the hood, the chase for money and his ambitions for the future. Jah Vinci provides an exquisite melodic chorus to assist the cordial guitar beat. Although this isn’t in the same vein as the hype tunes he has had previous success with, to me this is his greatest success in relation to the mixtape as a whole. He shows that he can access the emotive side of ghetto life as well as the hyped road talk he is known for portraying so well. These are the types of songs that provide an artist with longevity and allow them to make a lasting impression. It also portrays growth and shows he can feature on a varied array of songs, as a mainstream artist, if and when the time comes that he’s wanted more and more in the industry. With enough exposure, this mixtape will have the urban music world drooling at the mouth in anticipation of his album.
On a whole, this mixtape is a successful portrayal of Sneakbo’s style and talent. He has provided a combination of established hood bangers and club anthems, alongside some very progressive and versatile work. His use of a wide range of beats, from Bashment, to hip hop and rap, shows his ability to be versatile and expressive in appealing to a wider audience of fans who like catchy bars and beats, whilst staying loyal to the hood fans with the straight talking representations of hood life and street loyalty. Tipped as the next to blow, I would advise everyone to get this free download, as it is highly likely that this is the start of a promising career and is undoubtedly going to be played throughout the summer at high volume. If Sneakbo can expand on his ability to really access and portray the pain and strife of those who live in inner city urban areas and those involved in street life, I believe he will go very far. As far as the urban rave scene goes, this mixtape supplies more and more high quality material for that. Providing Sneakbo can really master this new combination type style of music he has started, he will become a highly successful pioneering artist.
Rating: 8.5/10
Mixtape Release date: 26/6/2011
Written: 27/6/2011
Writer’s Twitter: @genuineillusion
