Everynight
Grind
By
Motman &
Micall Parknsun
I first heard Bristol emcee Motman at the B-Line Recordings
Rope-A-Dope 5 event back in 2019 when he performed live with Micall Parknsun.
At that time, they were promoting their first album Everyday Craft. I was so
impressed with that performance that I made contact with Motman and got a copy
of the album. But, make no mistake here, Motman has been around a few years and
has definitely turned heads.
Following Everyday Craft Motman continued working with
Micall Parknsun (who, I’m surprised has time to sleep with his current work
rate) and dropped Everynight Grind in September of that year. I was
blown away to see they had used one of my pics from Rope-A-Dope 5 as the cover
photo. It’s not everyday you can say you have an album cover to your credit,
anyway I digress…
I was excited to see what this new album would bring, so
let’s take a look at my thoughts…
Kicking off in style Parky joins Motman on Mic & Mot,
which is laid-back vibe driven by guitars. One you can kick back to as Mot and
Parky display exactly why they work so well together. Not sure I need to say
more here. From that chilled intro it’s all about the business now as Draper
joins Mot for Madness with its heavy pounding beat and violin. The
lyrical flows are fast paced with more than an element of grime thrown in. This
one will have ya bouncin’.
Peanut Butter reigns in the pace again with a boom
bap vibe that has a darker edge to it. The vibe matches the tone of the lyrics
as Mot and Axel Holy draw on current affairs and look at lockdowns and mental
health. There is also a big focus on the fact that through everything you have
people always looking out for you. The pace remains down beat as Running hits
with a synth underpinning it. This made me think on two levels, in life there
always seems to be people running from something or running towards something
but, not only that, our minds are always running too. It’s just a constant physical
and mental stress. Some upbeat drums and piano draw you into a reflective mood
with I Got You. I say this is reflective as it put me in mind of looking
back at your achievements and positive energy that brings, then using that
energy to springboard you to a brighter future.
Scotlands One OZ joins Mot for a look at My Habitat,
a piano heavy track that sees us taken on a little trip through what it is to
be these two on a daily basis and the things they get up to in their own
habitats. Determination has a more soulful vibe running through it. Here
Mot speaks on the ups n downs of life and what it is to have that determination
to make something of yourself and work toward a better tomorrow.
If you just rely on some strings and organ to drive the
track and remove the drumbeat, you have The One With No Drums, an
unapologetic view of life experiences with straight up facts that is like
listening to a street sermon. Leaving the drums aside for some dreamy vocals
and acoustic guitar we take a deep look at those people who come into our lives
and have a huge impact and then are gone, way too soon, leaving a gaping hole
that is hard to fill. All we can do is say I Really Miss You and reflect
and draw heart from the positive influence they brought.
It’s back to the boom bap with Mot, Wishmaster and cuts from
DJ Rogue for From Nothing To Something, with pounding drums and keys
this one looks at the struggles it takes to do what you do. Dealing with racism
that threatens to divide us when all we really need is unity. Time to get ya
head nod on with some wicked bass guitar, drums and cuts from DJ Rogue for The
Breakdown which sees Mot and C.o.N-Vers treat us to a verbal wordplay
celebration of sunny days, BBQs, good tunes and hittin’ a fat one.
The penultimate track here is Trust, a heavy head nod
vibe which is all about flippin’ those bars out in one take. Hitting your ears
with verbal bombs amid a fog of purple haze, just enjoy this one. For the final
track of the album, a kicking beat with a dusting of keys and a sprinkling of
cuts from DJ Rogue, Mot takes a thoughtful look at his career and the skills,
knowledge and thought it takes to do what he does and asks Would You Even
Miss Me? If he dropped his mic and left… Well, would we? Hell Yeah we
would…
But guess what? It ain’t over just yet…
If you have the CD version, like me, there is a bonus hidden
track in the All Star remix of Star Dawg from the Everyday Craft album.
Produced by Parky and mixed by Mot and Slippy Skills, this one hits like a
posse cut and features Jack Slayta, Slippy Skills, Cuzin, Patrick Donsdale and
NameSakes. There are strings and a beat that hits hard like a 9mm from 007’s
Walther PPK. There is not much to say about this one except it is a stunning
display of verbal wordplay from some of the UK’s top up and coming wordsmiths…
Image ©S.Rider
Infinite Images
This is one of those that displays why the UK Hip Hop scene
is so on it’s game. Anyone who says the scene is dead has obviously not
listened to the wealth of talent out there. Here we have a shining example of a
legendary figure, in Micall Parknsun, teaming with one of the UK’s finest up
and coming emcees, Motman, to bring us a future classic.
It shows that the promise Micall Parknsun saw in Motman has
only grown as they have dropped a second album that is full of entertaining
beats and rhymes, while at the same time drawing on a wealth of life
experiences and hard-hitting social subjects from the pandemic to racism. This
is that inner city street vibe tinged with a haze of purple smoke that many UK
artist do so well.
What I have found is that listening back to the album as I
write, it is still as fresh now as it was last year. Motman displays a deep
knowledge of the inner-city streets which he so ably brings to bear with his
descriptive wordplay, match that with Micall Parknsun’s heavy but often
laid-back vibes and this one could easily be one of you soundtrack’s for those
chilled out evenings or summer afternoons in the park blasting from the
boombox, not to mention the live shows and damn we need to get back to those
right now.
So, if you have not got this one already, then you need to
grab it. Sadly, all physical copies are now gone so it’s digital only.
That’s it,
I’m Out,
Steve
LINKS
Buy Everynight Grind on Motman's Bandcamp Here:
https://motman1.bandcamp.com/album/every-night-grind
Check Micall Parknsun on Bandcamp here:
https://micallparknsun.bandcamp.com/
VIDEOS
Running
The One With No Drums
Star Dawg (All Star Remix)
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