Off The Beaten
Track
By
Citizen Nuggz
produced by Weztax
Between 2014 and 2018 I lived in a small village in Devon,
called Hartland, and about thirty minutes’ drive from there was one of North
Devon’s major towns, Barnstaple. Now Barnstaple just happens to be where
Citizen Nuggz resides so, how I never heard of him while I was living down that
way is nutz but, there ya go, so it was not until Pandamonium dropped a remix
of the track Country Lanes and Hedgerows that I first heard of Citizen Nuggz
and Weztax…
Anyway, I digress.
Off The Beaten Track is the debut release for Citizen Nuggz,
it was written over the course of four to five years and is fully produced by
producer/musician Weztax. What you are treated to is not just ten or twelve
tracks but, seventeen tracks of proper Hip Hop goodness, straight out the West
Country of the UK.
Citizen Nuggz (Patrick Carey) is the brother of B WUN of Da
Regiment. He grew up on the streets of North Devon town Combe Martin before
moving to Barnstaple (BTOWN) when he was aged 11. He had some heavy musical influences
from his Uncle Craig, who fed him tapes by the likes of Onyx, KRS 1, Rakim, The
Pharcyde and many more, and his own parents who liked Motown, Barry White, Earth
Wind and Fire, Marvin Gaye and such like. He has played a host of instruments
from a young age including drums from age 8. From his late teens he began to
write lyrics on a serious basis and after playing in a number of bands would
eventually leave those to pursue being an emcee. The crews, he is in, are
associated with Exeter label One Lion Sound and he has also been associated with
Plymouth’s Cult Music and has spent the best part of a decade arranging Hip Hop
events, touring the UK and overseas.
All that considered, the expectation is pretty high for what
is about to be delivered by Citizen Nuggz and Weztax. So, without further ado,
let’s get into Off The Beaten Track…
The album hits heavy straight out the gates with the OTBT
Intro a pulse pounding mix of drums. Pipe organ notes and cuts. This really
sets up the tone of the album perfectly in introducing you to Citizen Nuggz,
Weztax production and the album. With
that vibe ringing in your ears the album kicks off proper with Verbal
Savegery. The bass, drums, and organ notes, bring a slightly dark edge to
the whole tone of the track, which is a blank canvas for Nuggz to display his
mind-bending wordplay skills as he takes words and sentences, twisting them
together creating an entertaining display of just what he is capable of doing
as an emcee. Next up we find Weztax stepping out from behind the scenes to
feature on Ain’t The Same, a proper boom bap sound full of drums, synths,
and strings that will immediately get your head nodding. Nuggz and Weztax set out
how they are in this for the love of the music, Hip Hop and not for money or
the fame. Here it’s all about the passion for the music and how it’s important
to be authentic in what you do and that is all about speaking on where you’re
from and in your own accent, that’s how you bring intelligence and authenticity
to what you do.
Outer Body hits with a solid Hip Hop sound that mixes
organ notes, bass, drums, and cuts along with an added flute sound that seems
to tease your awareness. Midway through the track that flute drops out in favour
of an electric guitar vibe, which tweaks your nerves. The focus here is on
writing lyrics and what that process makes you feel and what it can do to you. With
your awareness and nerves now in a heightened state Fictional Thoughts
hits with a slamming mix of drums, bass, and piano notes, in fact that piano is
so nerve tingling that you can’t lose yourself in this one as the piano keeps
you firmly focused on the track. Slard joins Citizen Nuggz here for a track the
seems to be taking aim at all those who can’t be original in their music. Those
who chose to write fictional fantasy stories instead of drawing on their own
authentic experiences. The vibe now switches to a more laid-back stance with
some heavy drums and strings creating the mood, which has an almost up and down
feel to it. In fact, that up and down feel fits perfectly on the track as
Citizen Nuggz is joined by Cracker Jon and Moraless for a track that looks at
the work you need to put in if you are going to succeed alongside the ups and
downs of life. There are so many who chose to waste their time, not taking
their craft seriously. It’s also key to remember not to take life too seriously
and having some Laughing Fits can really help mellow the mood of the
often stressful challenges life puts before us.
Praise The Grades is a big tune and drops with this
heavy sound of Organ notes, bass, drums and cuts which has this banging funk
vibe. Nuggz and B WUN drop some slick verses all about the different grades of
that sticky green and simply kicking back and chilling with a good smoke, no
matter which one you pack in. Now one thing you can’t escape from in North
Devon is the Country Lanes and Hedgerows and here Weztax creates a big
sound of drums, horns and strings that seems to fit so well with the North
Devon area, which is exactly what this one is all about. North Devon is not the
place you expect to find Hip Hop alive and well but, it is most definitely
there. In place full of country lanes, hedgerows, and grockles (That’s
holidaymakers to everyone else), anything is possible and here one thing is for
sure Hip Hop is alive and kicking. That North Devon ambiance spills over into Metaphoric
Metamorposis where keys and drums mix with the sounds of nature to bring
you that breezy summers day vibe. If you mix that nature aspect with the ups
and downs of life and our own desire for change and how a view might change
around the corner of the next country lane, then you might just get a handle on
what Citizen Nuggz, Moxey and Toddy are putting across with this one, it’s very
clever…
The piano intro to Set Ablaze, gives you a sense of
calm, albeit a false sense as it fades into the background as some proper head
nod drums bust forth. Nuggz and Chatta drop some slick verses with intelligent
wordplay that focuses on writing rhymes and keeping everything hot to set the
tracks on fire and certainly accomplish that here but, if that were not enough,
the track ends with some fiery red-hot cuts that fan the flame further. Heavy
horns, a heavy beat, and some hefty rapid-fire cuts and Nuggz with some rapid-fire
lyrics. This short tracks hits heavy with every element pounding away in its
own way. Everything in life, those Odds and Evens, it’s all a game of
chance, every decision you make and every road you take, that’s what this one
is all about right? Well, I’m taking a chance on that one too…
Flute, drums, bass, and rewinds merge to bring a slightly
darker aspect to the beat for Insomnia (Skit). Nuggz switches the flow
down a touch as he muses about his troubles, what is causing it? Could it be insomnia,
or could it be an addiction to the music and writing rhymes? The skit ends with
a sampled interview with a specialist speaking on insomnia and Sleep Apnoea. As
I thought about this it brought me to my own experiences with insomnia and
sleep apnoea and Weztax production here almost feels like a musical expression
of the brain fog associated with poor sleep. Footsteps lead us to a laid-back
sound of drums, piano, and sax, which combine to create that laid-back but
almost haunting vibe. Nuggz relaxed flow details the Chapters of Larry,
which also features Jack Llewelyn. The story follows Larry, someone who appears
to have lost everything and all hop with life. Bad choices and an addiction to
heroin have turned him into a shadow of his former self, a sad dishevelled figure
searching bins. Jack’s soulful lyrics really add depth to the story and leave
us wondering if we should pity this person and offer help or just leave them to
their fate?
A more upbeat vibe that is created by strings, bass, drums,
and cuts is the backdrop for Airheads which see’s Nuggz team up with
Slard and Witness MC to look at all those people who have so much to say,
talking load but, really not saying anything. Those who constantly big
themselves up or spend too much time whinging but, in truth have nothing of
real value to say. So, the message here is if you’re gonna say something then
at least speak from the heart, that’s where truth comes from. It’s time to mix
things up a little as Jman joins Nuggz over a beat that features organ notes,
maracas and drums bringing the kinda sound you just wanna groove to. Nuggz and
Jman mix up Hip Hop and a dash of ragga vibes to bring you Calm. You get
a real sense from the words that there is so much in life that causes anger and
stress that we all just need to be more calm, but where does that calm come
from? Perhaps the music, something that allows us to truly take a step away
from all the anger and stress and puts us in touch with a good level of Calm.
The penultimate track here is Three Little Pigs with its bouncy beat of
organ notes and drums but, it also has a mind-bending edge to it too. Here Nuggz
treats us to a modern take on the classic nursery rhyme, rooting it in out
current society with the struggles of everyday life, the desires of the have’s
and the have nots. It’s a dark place where money and those who have it, rule,
while everyone else suffers…
The album ends with something special, OTBT Posse Cut
(or should that be a clan cut?) with an epic run time that almost hits twelve
and a half minutes. There are 16 emcees and sixteen beat changes across those
twelve plus minutes which features Citizen Nuggz, Lazy Eyes, Moraless, B WUN,
Chatta, Ino’vative, Chie, Fire@Will, Mr Grey, Moxey, Riffree, Mr Inglorious,
Witness MC, Toddy, Slard and Weztax. Each emcee showcases their skills here for
approximately 60 seconds at a time. This is a truly stunning slice of West
Country talent that is on show, and you would think that across such a time
frame that things would lose their appeal but, that’s so far from the truth,
all the beat changes are seamless, and the emcees have just enough time to drop
a dope verse. By the end of this you’ll be thinking you have just had an entire
festival worth of emcees packed into one track, mind-blowing stuff…
Overall, what you have here is a hairs breadth over 70
minutes of pure Hip Hop dopeness. Seventeen cuts of some of the best the West
Country has to offer. It’s a proper long player, as we used to say back in
antiquity. But, in times where more famous artists are putting out albums that
are around thirty minutes long, with tracks that are only 2 minutes long,
Citizen Nuggz and Weztax are making a bold statement here, in the words of the
legendary Rakim, “This is how I should be done” and “It ain’t where you’re
from. It’s where you’re at” because it’s not about being from the West Country
and doing Hip Hop that is just about where you’re from, this is about proper
real Hip Hop and that’s where it’s at. I have to say that I wholeheartedly
salute them for putting this hefty project out.
You can truly feel the heart and soul that went into this
and their love of the music. You can feel it in every beat of the production
from Weztax and in every bar of Citizen Nuggz lyrics, it just oozes Hip Hop
music for the love of Hip Hop music.
Nuggz lyrics are intelligent and performed with gusto from
someone who truly loves what he does. His wordplay and talent for switching
between flows and vibes show that he has honed his craft across years practice
behind the mic and on stages across the UK and further afield, in fact there
were times when his lyrics appeared so complicated and delivered with ease that
even this seasoned reviewer had to listen, listen, and listen again just to get
the insights. The future looks bright for Nuggz with a number of projects in
the works, Including Off The Beaten Track II, Road To Recovery (10 Tracks
written in hospital) produced by Charmandem and Citizens Advice produced by
Bristol’s Hozay, to name just few. You wanna keep watch for the name Citizen
Nuggz.
Weztax production is superb, switching from multi-layered
production to more simplistic sounds, none of which seem any less polished than
the last. He crafts sounds and moods perfectly that create the perfect backdrop
for Nuggz. Weztax is a solid and talented producer and musician, who also
provides all the cuts on the album, and deserves far more exposure than I have
seen to date.
The mix of featured artists is something that really adds
more weight to the project. From those you might know such as Jman (Babylon
Dead) and B WUN to others might not be so familiar with, it matters not as
everyone performs to the highest degree, displaying top notch lyrical skills that
shows the West Country of the UK has to be one of the driving forces of
underground UK Hip Hop right now. Have a listen and see if you agree?
There is no doubt in my mind that this album is gonna be
high up, perhaps even top ten, on the list of top underground UK Hip Hop
releases of 2022.
Off The Beaten Track is available now and there are physical
CD copies coming soon and some other merch available so, with all that said
there is only one thing left for me to say, Enjoy this one…
Huge thanks to Citizen Nuggz for dropping this my way and on
that note,
I’m proper outta here,
Steve
LINKS
Remember to check for Citizen Nuggz on social media too...
The one link for streaming Off The Beaten Track:
https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/citizennuggz/off-the-beaten-track
One Lion Sound Website:
One Lion Records on Bandcamp:
https://onelionrecords.bandcamp.com/music
Country Lanes and Hedgerows Pandamonium Remix on Bandcamp:
OFFICIAL VIDEOS
Citizen Nuggz on YouTube. Watch for the videos for 'Country Lanes and Hedgerows' coming soon:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHQK5cHnFt9jaFw4MsWnphQ/videos
OTBT POSSE CUT
THREE LITTLE PIGS
FICTIONAL THOUGHTS ft Slard
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