By
Following on my reviews of the last three of his Grown Up
series of albums, Grown Up Too (08, 2023), Grown Up Free (01,
2024) and (What You Actin’ So) Grown Up For? (06, 2024) I am glad to welcome Legs MC back to the Blog
with his latest offering Four Four, a thirteen track album released back
at the start of November 2025.
I’m not going to do a long intro myself here, you can check
the previous reviews for that. But there is a bit of a story behind this one
which I’m going to put here in its entirety:
After releasing my last EP, The Anti Social Media, I kind
of felt like I had said all I had needed to say for a while.
I had moved to a new area of England, a much safer and community driven area
compared to the viscous rat race of life in London and a much more welcoming
environment to raise my step daughter and two young boys.
Life has calmed down and being in my forties has caught up.
But then a lot has happened in the UK for us to be weary of and although at
times I don't feel like we are in the firing line where we are now but we are
still keeping an eye on the major cities and watching as the madness unfolds.
At times in London it felt like it really was gonna be a civil war on your door
step, now I am up north in a rural town and it all feels like just something I
see on TV now. Until it isn't.
Anyway, over the summer I hadn't recorded. My recording setup had broken and I
wasn't feeling up to it. Although I would fiddle with a beat or a rhyme every
now and then.
So around the start of August I got a new setup, just as things in the world
started to ramp up again and the writing began to flow.
I had intended to record 50 songs and put out the best 12 next year but what I
have been recording for the past few months was coming out so well I
decided to just go with it.
So now its mastered and ready to listen to.
We always strive for perfection as artists but as an individual it is something
I aim for but never quite achieve and to be honest at forty four that lack of
perfection is something I can accept and even embrace.
I'm happy - it is some of the best recording I have done over some of the best
beats I have made so that is good enough for me.
These songs aren't perfect but in this world, nothing is.
With all that said, lets get straight into the album…
With Legs MC mentioning that this is some of his best beats
and vocals, the bar is set pretty high, expectation wise, and so we wait with bated
breath as it all kicks off with The Baddest. This one hits with a head
nob beat, this is almost overshadowed, at times, by this heavy rock guitar
vibe, which gives this a raw, gritty sound. Legs goes in hard on this one with
a tone that seems to mirror the reality of London’s tough streets. But this one
is all about being the baddest rapper, and many of us old school Hip Hoppers
with know that Bad means good. So, there is that link to the real Hip Hop vibe
where you had to be the baddest, just to be good, and his lyrics seem to
reflect that by having faith in himself and doing it for all the right reasons.
Up next, is Big Jobs which drops with another heavy sound, but this time
the beat is backed by heavy piano vibes which still have that hard edge but,
with a vibe that seem to vibrate from you core outward. For a minute, I
wondered where this one was taking me, but then something occurred to me as I
played it again, it felt just like someone, having taken some time away from
things, was struggling to get back to what they once did. The world and the
pressures of everyday life weighed hard, and it seemed like a big job to
actually get back, before something simple ignites the flame and fire begins to
burn bright once more. The presence of strings on Take A Joke makes the
vibe feel more laid-back, even though the beat still has a heavy edge. The
sound of this one makes you think this one might have a reflective or more
personal tone, but as you listen, you realise that the title of this one
reflects exactly what it’s all about. It’s one of those moments that you might
just take it more at face value, than get the fact that it has a much lighter
tone, one that is aimed at no one in particular.
Delete Your Last Post hits with a far heavier sound
as a pounding beat merges with a heavy synth vibe to create a sound that has
your mind throbbing. This one takes us into the realms of social media and how
the real world mixes with people personal views. The message here is more about
thinking before you make a comment, as a flippant remake made in the heart of
the moment can cause far more harm. This is very much relevant in a world where
social media has become for anyone and everyone to be able to comment on
anything. Fall of the Goliathes hits with a deep sound a pounding beat
is backed with bass vibes and synth sounds. This all merges together to bring a
sound that has a heavy feel but, still gives you cause to nod your head. On the
face of it this one might just feel like a wicked display of wordplay but,
there is something deeper here. It kind of says to you that we live in a world
built by goliath’s, people in places of power, but those entities are slowly
crumbling, and it is time for us come together, because together we can form
the foundations of what is to come. Moody Chandelier is next and hits
with a sound full of percussion sounds and more thar gives this one a deep
moody feel that seems to hover between light and dark. There is also a
reflective edge here as Legs speaks on what you have to do to protect those who
are closest to you. These days the big cities have became a far more dangerous
place to how they were fifteen or twenty years ago, and sometimes you have to
make tough choices to make sure your loved ones can live and grow in relative
safety, even if than means moving away from where you call home.
Next up is Four Four Two, which seems like the albums
title track, in a way. There is a nice head nod sound to this one with piano
vibes and more giving this one the sound you just wanna bounce to. This one has
more football (Soccer to some) references that you can shake a stick at. Aside
from that this one is also a platform for Legs to drop a bit of that classic
rap braggadocio. The boom bap sound gets more heavy with Release The
Hostages, where the heavy beat is backed with bass vibes and electronic
sound to give you a sound that will have you bouncing non-stop. Legs continues
with the slick wordplay and rap braggadocio to drop a track that shows just
what can be achieved when you write with the kind of venom when time is short. Real
Top Hip Hop MC has this uplifting sound with a slick beat, keys and bass
vibes. This one finds Legs MC detailing his dream of being a top Hip Hop MC.
This mixes his own experiences, hopes and dreams with classic storytelling and,
yes, a sprinkling of rap braggadocio because that has always run through the
foundations of Hip Hop emceeing.
Killing The Vibe mixes bass and keys with proper beat
to bring a sound that gets you nodding to the keys rather than the drumbeat.
There is a deep aspect to this one as it seems to focus on all the things that
come externally, that draw us in because we think it will raise us up and help
how we are feeling, but so often these things actually detract from how we are
feeling and only end up leaving us missing something or even feeling worse off.
It is always better to go with your gut feeling and stick to something that
will uplift, and fast food, social media and the like are very rarely able to
do that, and as for the media, forget it. Another pounding beat with a double
bass note brings a heavy sound on Distractions in the Kitchen. This one
does get you bouncing and nodding your head as well, as the vibe is kind of
infectious. It is often doing the most mundane things, such as washing dishes,
where so much can occur to us as thoughts run wild. The things that truths but,
we feel cannot be talked about as they seem to be subjects that that are like
touch paper to so many. You may well live in this country that has such a
varied history but, the minute you begin to speak on that, someone will seize
that and take it to an extreme. I know this feeling as I used to do a lot of
driving for work, listening to review music for hours on end and the thoughts I
would come up with on those solo drives would often lead me to interesting
places, not all of which have ever made it into my written content.
We now come to the penultimate track, Ill No Brain,
which has a beat and guitar sound that almost makes to feel like slow plodding
footsteps, but footsteps that are made with purpose. There is a dark edge to
this track, one that focuses on the fact that social media, and certain types
of productions coming out of Hollywood do nothing except waste people minds. So
many, especially the younger generations are becoming slaves to smart phones
and social media. They rely on internet searches for the foundation of their
knowledge and contact with others. Is this breading a world of zombies or
sheep? The counter to this is to put down the phone and connect with nature,
see what is really outside your door and remember how to think for yourself.
Now, that last track might have brought some deep thoughts about the world
around us but, has it set us up for the final track? Sit with the Worms drops
with a pounding beat with keys that brings a sound that teases your nerves one
the chorus. Here Legs does a solid job of building on the last message by
speaking plain and simple on what he sees around him. This track encourages you
not to just listen to what he says, but to really hear those words, and if you
can’t do that then need to take yourself outside and have a word with yourself.
Only you can make the choice on how you open your mind and hear the messages
that are being given to you…
So, lets face it here, the first thing that is abundantly
clear on Four Four is the fact that Legs MC does indeed deliver an album
that is packed full of solid Hip Hop boom bap beats and the kind of cleaver
lyrical wordplay that delivers important messages in a way that almost hits you
in a subliminal way.
Legs MC gives us a highly enjoyable album that, on first
impressions, is packed full of intelligent wordplay, impeccable delivery and a
style that mixes deep messages with slick displays of lyrical dexterity and rap
flows. However, when you take the time to really listen, those messages almost
come alive because they are written in a way that makes them instantly
relatable as situations any one of us can experience from one day to the next.
This is one of those albums where you think to yourself, if I was an emcee
writing lyrics, this is where I would be taking my work, mixing it up, while
making it deep and something that speaks to everyone who hears it.
You can easily see why Legs feels this is some of his best
work yet, both lyrically and production wise. Everything here works so well,
now I have already touched on the vocal aspect but, what about the production?
Well, there are a variety of sounds and vibes that permeate the album, with
vibes that are darker to those that hit as solid boom bap bangers. You can feel
the essence of that real Hip Hop sound coming through from the skilled wordplay
to the fact that every beat here gets you moving in some way, it has that pure
energy that has always made Hip Hop music a force a way where every beat
accentuates the impact of the lyrics.
In a way I am gutted that I did not get round to bringing
you the review for this when it dropped last year as it definitely would have
been high on my list of albums for 2025, and I have to say that now I have
heard it properly, it does slide in high on that list and solidifies the fact
that Legs MC is a force on the UK scene.
Four Four is out now, so be sure to check it out.
Before I go, be sure to check out Legs MC’s alias Barton Stacey for some detective noir Hip Hop story telling.
Huge thanks to Legs MC for giving me the chance to bring
this one to you.
I’ll be seeing ya.
Steve.
LINKS
Grab or stream the Album Here:
Legs MC Socials:
https://www.instagram.com/daddylegsmc/
https://www.facebook.com/legsmc
VIDEOS
Four Four Two
Take A Joke
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