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Today I have an album by producer Brutal Caesar. Originally
from Cardiff, Wales, he now resides in Cornwall, and the album that I have was
originally released back in October of 2025 and is simply titled XII.
Brutal Caesar was sent my way courtesy of a recommendation from non-other that
one of my favourite emcees, Junior Disprol, who also hails from Wales himself.
Now, if you are not familiar with the name Brutal Caesar,
let me drop a few facts your way which might make you wonder how this guy’s
work flew under your radar for so long. He has been producing for a number of
years now and has worked with the likes of The Soloist, Emskee, A-F-R-O, Reks,
Recognize Ali, The Good People, and Freddie Black, to name just a few and XII
is no exception, featuring a few of those named above and many more. Now, I
could list all the features here but, my feeling is that would make this intro
far to long, so I’ll just introduce everyone as I go.
XII is fully produced by Brutal Caesar and all cuts
on the album are performed by Tone Spliff, so I’m sure that you’re already
wondering what to expect, providing that you have not already heard the album!
So, for those who are unaware of this one, let’s get into
it…
Now, this might be by design as XII has twelve tracks
and clocks in at a smidge over thirty minutes in length, and it all kicks off
with Dominate, which features Reks and cuts from Tone Spliff. This one
has an infectious beat that is underpinned by orchestral strings that gives
this one a sound that uplifts you as you listen and gets you moving. Reks drops
lyrics that are all about being strong and dominating the game. Something which
goes beyond music and makes you realise that in the world we live in, you have
to be strong and dominate your chosen path, stand tall and be the best
expression of who you truly are. A-F-R-O joins Brutal Caesar for Top Of My
Game. Here the sound mixes a more pounding beat with keys and vocal samples
to give us a laid-back head nod vibe that gets you moving but, also makes you
wanna sit back and listen. A-F-R-O brings his instantly recognisable voice,
slick wordplay and delivery to give us a blistering example of exactly why he
is on top of his game right now. Next up is Never Had A Chance which
sees Wordsworth stepping up to the mic. Brutal Caesar brings us a soulful sound
that mixes strings, guitars and vocal samples over a proper head nod beat to
get you moving. Wordsworth hits us with some deep storytelling that details the
struggles so many go through. Born into lives where everything is a struggle
just get by, doing what you have to do to survive means that you often never
get the chances that you deserve to be you best self; the outcome of which so
often leads you down the wrong path.
Daria features Dirty Needles and brings us a sound
that hits proper heavy with the bass and beat seemingly vibrating throughout
your entire body. Dirty Needles brings raw and gritty wordplay which also gives
us look at how he sees himself. We get the feeling he has this Bruce Wayne /
Batman kinda persona, which is interesting when you understand that one of the
meanings of the word Daria is the ‘upholder of good’. It gives dirty this
almost anti-hero air as he shows us a solid display of lyricism. Bad FX and
Tone Spliff join Brutal Caesar on Ruthless Artillery. Here the sound is
a heavy mix of pounding drumbeat, guitar riffs and ferocious cuts, giving this
the energy to fire up your adrenaline levels. Here the title of the track
perfectly describes what we get, which is ruthless display of verbal artillery
from Bad FX. What more do you need! As we hit the halfway point of the album,
Brutal Caesar is joined by Bobby J from Rockaway, Freddie Black and Prestigious
for Braggin’ Writes. A heavy drumbeat is mixed with horns, bells, vocal
samples and more to bring a sound that has this uplifting feel to it. This one
gives us three emcees all giving us solid examples of lyricism that shines a
new light on the idea of rap braggadocio. This one is not all about bragging
about who is the best emcee but, more a display of bragging about their writing
skills. Can you separate these guys, or do they all stand shoulder to shoulder?
You Decide…
Still Standing Here features ZILLA and has Brutal Caesar
dropping a beat that mixes drums, keys and soulful vocal samples to good effect
getting our heads nodding. ZILLA gives us a bit more of a deeper look at who he
is and aspects of his life. There is still a level of rap braggadocio here but,
sometimes you just have to unload and big yourself up, fire yourself up and
show the world that your still here and moving forward. Heartshot sees
Micwise on the mic and Tone Spliff on the cut. This has a heavy multi-layered
sound that seems to hit you from multiple angles at once. The sound is heavy
and the cuts, razor sharp, pummelling your mind. Micwise gives us a gritty
vocal display that shows some slick wordplay which is delivered with the force
of a gunshot. Tone Spliff sticks around for Step One and is joined by
Akrobatik and Phantasm. Brutal Caesar brings a heavy sound that mixes heavy
drum sounds with bass riffs and some angelic vocal samples that gives us this
sound that sounds hard but, has an almost calming effect. The cuts slice
through your awareness reminding you that this is Hip Hop right here. Akrobatik
and Phantasm bring the kind of lyricism and wordplay that takes time to wrap
you head around. Another cracking display.
Graff Wars features Koolsphere alongside Brutal Caesar.
The sound here mixes a pounding beat alongside piano and synth vibes that gives
us a sound that this big soundscape feel to it. That sense of a broader feel
extends to vocals where this is about the west coast LA vibe, where crossing
out someone’s name was more that just disrespectful. Putting your name up in
graffiti and then having it crossed out meant a possible escalation in a gang
situation, which is what Koolsphere brings to the table here. Showing another
side to how graffiti has been used, beyond just creativity. We move into the
penultima track Audacity and find Brutal Caesar joined by Reef The Lost
Cause and Jus Daze. Organ notes back the heavy beat giving us a head nod sound
that brings focus to the lyrics. This is the shortest track on the album and
gives us two verses that show how rappers can have the audacity to say it how
it is, to be completely open an honest on how they see things. It’s not always
about conveying a message but bringing a lesson or speaking in a raw fashion
about the world around them. The album ends with Magna where Lord Goat
and Ill Bill take on the mic duties. Here the beat is backed by what is either
a harpsichord or clavichord sound which gives this one an Italian vibe to it,
making you think of the old Mafia movies. Those thoughts of mafia and cosa
nostra vibes are exactly what is delivered here from Lord Goat and Ill Bill,
classic in your face lyrics that are laced with the brutal nature of mob
justice.
The first thing to note here is that this is a solid
introduction to Brutal Caesar and the quality of his production. Everything
here is rooted in the classic Boom Bap Hip Hop sound but, interlaced with
elements from a number of different influences. This brings to mind the idea of
crate digging, where producers and beat makers constantly dig through second-hand
vinyl to find eclectic sounds from all genres of music that will help elevate
their sampling and production. That’s not to say that live instruments are not
involved either as sampling live instruments also adds a depth to any sound.
Brutal Caesar’s production on XII has a depth that
shows a deep passion for the music he produces. The roots of that music are
obviously the Boom Bap Hip Hop sound, but you can feel that there is that
desire to bring in different elements and multiple layers to make that sound
hit in just the right way, so as to create the perfect backdrop for any vocal
delivery and subject matter.
What he does with this XII is to put his production
values on the table by bringing in some pretty heavy hitters from both the US
and UK. The emcees are mainly from the US here, but that is not something we
really need to focus on as the critical thing here is the overall project and
what it delivers. What we get, overall, is a quality producers’ album that
showcases his talent alongside a solid line-up of emcees who deliver some
top-notch bars that you can enjoy. There might not be a lot of deep messages in
this one, and there is nothing wrong with that. I love delving deep into the
lyrics, but sometimes it is just as much fun to be able to enjoy what I’m
hearing without overthinking things, and all the artists here do a cracking job
at showcasing their own talent and the quality of their own individual
lyricism.
It would also be amiss of me not to mention Tone Spliff. The
LA based DJ, Producer and beatmaker gives us a good look at the quality of his
skills as a scratch DJ, adding the icing to the cake on a number of tracks on
the album. What this does for me is just to add that extra dimension on a Hip
Hop album. I always feel that, while you don’t have to have cutting and
scratching to be a Hip Hop album, it does give it that extra touch of an
authentic Hip Hop nature.
XII is out now and I highly suggest you check it out
now, if you’ve not already heard it. If you have heard XII, do you think I got
my insights right?
My humble thanks to Brutal Caesar for putting this one my
way, and huge thanks to Junior Disprol for pointing him in my direction.
I’ll see ya next time.
Steve.
LINKS
Here is One link for all things Brutal Caesar:
https://linktr.ee/BrutalCaesar
VIDEOS
Dominate ft Reks (Cuts by Tone Spliff)
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