Dope Beat Biz Vol. 1 by Haynesy - Album Review

Dope Beat Biz Vol. 1

By Haynesy

Album Review

When it comes to Hip Hop in the UK and the history of it, many names come to mind for those of us who have grown up with culture over the past 30 years or so.

One of those names would be DJ Cue Tips. Many consider DJ Cue Tips to be one of pioneers of Hip Hop in the UK. Back in 86 he was working with MC Dashy D and dropped the seminal on ‘Hard Core Vol 1’ and from there went on to work with the South London SLR Crew as their primary producer and DJ.

As with many of us, life got in the way, and it would be 2018 before he would dust the cobwebs off and get back in the game. Haynsey, as is now know, would drop a few releases via spotify and the awesome 7” dub plate release of Big Daddy Kane’s ‘Set it off’, The Bottom Up Remix.

The concept for Dope Beat Biz Vol 1 was simple. To have a real Hip Hop album with real beats, real MC’ing, real cuts & real graffiti on the cover, basically everything real hip hop should be.

So, let’s get into this as I take through the album, track by track, and finish off with a few questions dropped Haynsey’s way...

There is no easing you into this as the album kicks off with Put Me On. This is track takes Hip Hop from across the pond, courtesy of Neek the Exotic, and weaves it with the UK essence, from Gee Bag. This is the kind of beat and vibe that instantly takes you back, way back, to the days when Hip Hop was all about the party vibe and feeling good. Not just that but, you could not pick two better Emcee’s to rhyme over such a fresh beat. What a start to an album.

Keeping the dopeness flowing as Trained Assassins drops, a proper banger of a track. This is the first on the album to feature legendary UK Emcee, Scorzayzee on lyrical duties with his instantly recognisable voice and flow, showing why he is so good at this. This one will have you moving and grooving all the way. But, don’t sit back and rest because up next we have Suspekt, one of the UK’s premier Hip Hop crews, dropping the dope verses on an absolutely killa beat, Back in the Day. Taking you back to the 90’s with venom and leaving you there like some wicked Hip Hop trip. Do I detect a little bit of Sucker MC’s in there, damn this one is off the hook.

That 90’s vibe is kept well and truly alive as Haynsey’s reworking of Use your Head hits, and this hits hard. Originally released on the Hitmen For Hire EP by Mark B (R.I.P) & Blade from 1998, this one gives a renewed life to a dope classic track. Not only that but, for those of us who know and love the Blade sound, this one is a fitting tribute to everything Blade was and is.

How do you follow that? Well you take a funky Hip Hop beat and a talented UK Emcee, in this case Dweller, and let nature take its course. The outcome, another banger Jungle, laced with a funky guitar hook, Dweller just gives the lowdown on himself and life out there. The goodness just keeps on coming. Which is so true as Scorzayzee is back on the hard and heavy Pioneerz. This one grabs you by the ears and doesn’t let go but, you wouldn’t have it any other way. Dope beatz and the kind of lyrics that have the corners of your mouth curling upwards.

Pick it Up hits featuring DDouble Impactt flippin’ their verbal skills on a proper boom bap vibe track. Before you know it you are now half way through this album and the energy just keeps you bouncing along and shows no sign of letting up any time soon. The beat kicks in for Tri Polar, which has Scorzayzee dropping his hat-trick with some more comical rhymes over a banging beat which has a nice jazzy vibe to the chorus.

Next up we have the return of Dweller kicking it on These Days. This one has you bopping and moving to a funky ass vibe that you just wanna keep feeling all day long, and that vibe keeps going with heavy banging old skool vibe of Now and Then. Featuring south coast Emcee Whirlwind D, this one takes you from the days of old to the days of now and back again. Up next is Whirlwind D’s B-Line stable mate Chrome on Start the Panic. This one ups the energy levels with a frantic style from both Chrome’s lyrical delivery and Haynesy’s banging beat that will have you breathless in a good way.

Before you know it we down to the penultimate track, Evolution. Back one last time is scorzayzee. This one has a jazzy style, still with a kicking beat, that might take you back to the days of Gang Starr. Taking you on a trip though how artists have used the technology available to them to get their message out there and create their masterpieces.

The album finishes off with funkiest track you have heard in a while, W-E-G, with WEG taking you on a journey through a vision of his own life. Easing off the pace a little but, not enough for you to lose focus. This is the perfect way to finish of this album, in my opinion anyway. 

First, I gotta say Wow... 

Even though I knew who was on this album and the pedigree of the producer I have to say I entered into this, as I always do, with little expectation.

The vibe of the whole album is such that it gives you an awesome feel good feeling from start to finish. I would say that would be the same for us old skool heads, right up to those who might only just be getting into Hip Hop.

Haynesy’s concept, production, music and Cut’s arrangement is flawless from start to finish. Bringing you vibes that are proper Hip Hop at its essence and it is that connection to rawest element of what Hip Hop is that gives this album such an enjoyable feel. The guest Emcees are all on top form and bring their individual styles and energy to each track. I don’t think that Haynesy could have got a better group of guest together for this one. The album is polished off the expert turntable skills of one Jabbathakut who provides all the cuts for the album.

This album is a package and that package includes the artwork. This was provided by one Chris Archer AKA Drop Dead Fresh.

Mixing was done by Haynesy and Leo Kin and Mastered by Leo Kin.

 

If you bring all elements of this package together does it truly do what it has set out to do, to create an album of Pure Hip Hop in all its elements and down to its true essence. With all honesty I would have to say that it not only achieves what it set out to do but, it takes that Bar to a whole new level and does what other producers have done this year like Specifik and DJ Pandamonium have done and craft something that says, here is my experience of Hip Hop and what Hip Hop means to means to me, and puts that into audible form for everyone to listen to and enjoy.

This is probably a good time to hear from the man himself. So, what did I ask him...?

So, firstly I asked him why he dropped the album now and if there was any driving force behind it?

Haynesy: I’ve always had an itch over the years to self produce an album to my taste basically, & the fact the tech has advanced enough that this is capable with laptop was the green light really. I’ve been making mash ups on my iPhone with various apps for years but was always acutely aware that I was using 1% of my creativity by being limited to literally apps.

Next I asked him if there was any plan behind the guest MC’s. I wanted to know if he had specific people in mind as he worked.

Haynesy: It just snowballed really. To get my ear back in I released straight to streaming sites an album of vocal stem remixes featuring Scorzayzee & Dweller, old acappellas of theirs basically...I contacted Scorz & asked out of professional courtesy whether he’d like to hear them & he really liked them so I pitched the idea of doing an album with various MC’s & he said he’d be up for it.....then what I was totally unprepared for was the reaction to my back catalogue from the 80’s, once people knew I was DJ Cue Tips who did Control etc then the pieces just started falling in place with the MC’s.

So, how does he feel about being looked on as a pioneer or even founder of what a lot of people now call Britcore?  

Haynesy:  I was told recently by a few people that Control was the first ever Britcore track which is something I’d never considered, we just thought at the time “what’s not been done & how can we be different” so we banged the tempo up & made it 130bpm(!)

.....it’s very flattering but not something I’ve ever really thought about, there were a few of us from ‘86 trying to fight the ‘novelty of uk hip hop’ factor  which is why we made Control different, we all played our part I like to think.

For me this album feels like a master class in bringing together every element that Hip hop is, was and could be. It just has that feel good vibe that is the essence of hip hop. Do you see it that way or does it have a different vibe for you?

 Haynesy: I tried to make 13 tracks all as good as each other & all you’d want to hear over & over. Problem for me is I have ADHD so I hyper focus & have a psychotic attention to detail, so I’ve had every track on an operating table so to speak 1000 times to get them just right to me, so I’ve heard them all as many different version with 100’s of little edits, but now yes, I can play from start to finish with a smile, Job done.

I asked how the Blade came about. As with this track being the only one on the album being a remix of a track already out there?

Haynesy:  I just asked him if he’d do a track & played him the other tracks on the album, he said yeah....so then I panicked as he’s so busy with 05:21 so rather than chase him to record a new track I asked him if I could redo an old track of the bottom up, from the bare acca & that he owes me a new track however at some point in the future, to which he agreed.

With this album being Vol 1, I wondered if Vol 2 was already in the works.

Haynesy: Well I’ve left nothing on the table with this one, & now it’s done I have a decision to make, my 2 options are the easier route i.e. releasing a string of singles with various MC’s, or having a month or 2 out & starting volume 2.

Finally I asked if there is anything else in the works, aside from the prospect of Vol 2.

Haynesy: I get up at 5am every day purely so I can have 90mins outside a coffee shop near my work with the cans on. I have so many beats/ideas/random tracks on the laptop that I don’t know what I’m going to do next, my project management without a goal is bloody awful so that’s why I need to make a call soon.

OK people, so there you have it, A little insight into Haynesy and how everything came about on this project.

I found it very interesting that he has ADHD, as I was diagnosed with ADD a few years back and the way I approach what I do for these reviews. I don’t start to write until I have listened to the music enough times to really feel it inside.  

So, there is little left for me to say except I can see this becoming an instant classic. The blending of beats, lyrical flows, music and cuts is everything Hip Hop is to its very core. This is the definition of Hip Hop music.

So, go out there and get your copy, you will not be disappointed.

Huge thanks to Haynesy for giving me the opportunity to review the album.

Till next time, I’m outta here,

Peace.

Steve

Bandcamp link for Digital and Vinyl Pre-order HERE