Vincent//Deconstructed
By
Uncle Mic Nitro
It was way back in 2021 when I kicked off that year’s
reviews with the original Vincent On Horseback from the talented emcee
Uncle Mic Nitro, who just happens to hail from my home city of Southampton,
here in the UK. I never thought then that the best part of five years later
would see me reviewing a remixed version of the album Vincent//Deconstructed.
Well, this is not strictly a remixed version of the original
album as the original has been deconstructed and then six of the original
tracks heave been remixed, alongside two brand new tracks and, if you grab the
digital, there is also a remix of one of those new tracks as well.
Alongside the changes with this album, which is being
released through Empty Hand Records, a hot new label located on Australia’s
Gold Coast run by Speaks, and whose debut release was Highrize Jamz by Speaks himself (One I
don’t currently have sadly), the tracks remixed from the original still feature
the likes of Greg Blackman, Joe Burn, Ced Gee (Ultramagnetic MCs), Ramson
Badbonez, Micall Parknsun, and Klashnekoff. There are cuts from DJ Tones,
Jabbathakut, Krash Slaughta and Outbreak, with production coming from Speaks,
Djar One, Krash Slaughta, Ollie Cheebo, Ollie Knight (who also handles mixing
and mastering), the legendary DJ Supreme (Hijack), and Uncle Mic Nitro himself.
It is all rounded off, once more, with artwork from the one and only John Dyer.
With all that said, let’s not hang around and just dive
straight in…
First up is Write, which features Greg Blackman and
is here in the form of the Speaks Remix. Here the sound is an infectious
upbeat vibe, with a soulful edge which is extenuated by Greg’s vocals, that
makes you want to move every ounce of your body. The message within this one is
still the same as the original, with its reflective edge, looking back on life
and the many moments that ignite the passion within UMN to put pen to paper,
because the time is right to just write. The deeply personal edge to this one
means that, even while you are enjoying the music, you can still relate to
every word, something that may well ignite your own personal passion to do
something to express that. Such an upbeat start to the album seems to wipe the
slate clean of any expectations, and you don’t have to wait more than a second
or two before UMN keeps it going with Snap Your Neck (Speaks Remix). This
time Speaks gives us pounding beat that is backed by synth vibes giving this
that kind of heavy bounce and pound the air vibe. DJ Tones brings the
doubled-barrelled cuts with Joe Burn joining UMN on the mic. This one is a
blistering display of vocal ferocity, one that hits you with such force that it
threatens to snap your neck while you are bouncing and enjoying every second. Before
you can take a breath and recover its time for Bod Gets Slapped Up (Djar One
Remix) featuring Ced Gee and Ramson Badbonez. Flowing the Ced Gee intro,
Djar One gives us a heavy rock guitar infused sound that is sure to see Bod get
pounded rather than slapped. Our three emcees take turns to deliver the type of
lyrical devastation that comes when you unleash this calibre of emcees. This
one takes bod slapping to a whole new level hitting your ears with the kind of
wordplay and delivery that has your adrenaline levels soaring, and every verbal
hit that is delivered is matched by the razor sharp delivery from Djar One, who is also on the cut here.
As you try to recover from that onslaught, Speaks returns
with the Fuck You (Speaks Remix) which also features cuts from Outbreak.
Keeping that Coming to America sample, Speaks brings a solid boom bap sound
with a funk fuelled edge from the guitars and keys, making sure to keep the
adrenaline levels amped up. The original had this almost Hip Hop opera vibe to
it, and while this one retains and echo of that, the sound brings a far rawer
edge. UMN delivers his own homage to Hip Hop and being a rapper. That line ‘Two
Turntables and a Mic’s like all I Need’ seems to say it all with that
rapper’s braggadocio mixed in with explicit wordplay gives you all you need to
know right here. As you pick yourself up off the floor, its time to get
transported to a whole to world for the New Planet Goons (DJ Supreme Remix),
featuring Micall Parknsun, Klashnekoff and Jabbathakut, this one brings a
heavy beat with bass and some jazzy elements that all merge together at the
hands of DJ Supreme to bring a sound that vibrates through your whole body,
separating you soul from your earthly being. You drift off as the vocals take
you off to the etheric realms where memories, thoughts and dreams all fuse
together making you wonder exactly where you are but, you just allow yourself
to go with it, flow with it, because this is a far better place to be than the
three dimensional world you just left. You come back from this waking dream to
the first of the brand new tracks from Uncle Mic Nitro. Heavy Tusk (Krash
Slaughta Original Mix) brings a solid and heavy banging sound that has vibe
that draws you in, uncapping the levels of adrenaline you can experience,
getting you back up and bouncing with reckless abandon. UMN delivers another
devastating display of his lyrical
dexterity. This one has a battle rap edge to it too as it hits you with
blistering pace and some heavy nature infused wordplay that leaves you impaled
by a ton of ivory.
We finally reach the last of our remixes from the original
album with Keep Drinking (Eyes Like Dolls Remix) which has a heavy house
vibe to it, giving you the kind of sound that you can really see being a proper
club sound that gets everyone moving. Here UMN unleashes a no holes barred look
at the effects of the use of alcohol and illicit substances to shut out the
darkness and bring some level of momentary enjoyment to a tough life. The sound
here completely changes my view of this track from the original. There are
elements that reflect from that initial interpretation, but here we see how so
many use substances, in many forms, to escape what life brings but, ultimately
reality catches up with you. Up next, if you have the physical version of the
album, is final album track and the second of the new tracks. Cake or Death
(Cheebo Original Mix) sees Ollie Cheebo give us a sound that has a heavy
pounding beat with this eerie backdrop of strings and keys that gives this one
a dark edge, making you want to listen and understand what this one is all
about. UMN weaponizes the mic here as he mixes battle rap and rap braggadocio into
a raw and explosive display of wordplay, flows and lyricism that shows just how
good of an emcee he is. This is one to enjoy and punch the air too as the shear
level of vocal mastery is a pleasure to behold. Now, just to round things off,
with the digital version of the album comes the Cake or Death (Nappa Remix)
what this one does is take a number of instantly recognisable samples, mix them
up and give us an upbeat sound that completely changes the air of the track.
This remix takes the heavy battle rap edge and flips it to this upbeat sound
that has you nodding your head, grinning from ear to ear as you bounce around
having a great time just enjoying every line…
After listening to this album, top to bottom, there are two
things that become clear to the listener, well, if you choose to listen
intently, and if you know the original Vincent album…
Firstly, The album is a rock solid display of just how much
of a talented emcee Uncle Mic Nitro truly is. As I noted with the original
Vincent review, UMN is one of those UK emcee’s who has cemented his place
within the scene and possesses a lyrical prowess that is second to very few on
the scene. What is also apparent here is that he does not try and saturate to
scene with releases that push who he is, settling for quality over quantity,
which is something for me that works so well. There is no need to drop release
after release to prove your expertise, when a release or two per year, or in
UMN’s case, every few years, can demonstrate how good you are, if gives a lot
more anticipation of the quality than when you release something every month.
Uncle Mic Nitro is definitely one of those emcees who has the quality of
wordplay and delivery that puts a rubber stamp on all they do.
The second thing that is immediately apparent here is that
remixing tracks can so often revitalise and almost reinvent them. We see here
how those tracks from the original that have been remixed for the project, have
their vibes changed quite vividly, allowing the listener to listen again,
gaining further insights into each. We also see just how much vibes can be
changed when you look at the original and the remix of Cake or Death.
Giving us two brand new tracks also adds a little extra to
the album, giving you something new to look forward to for the maestro on the
mic, UMN. This breaths new life into Vincent and gives him a new world to
explore, therefore giving his listeners new music to enjoy along the way. All
the production fits so well with the vocals and those cracking feature verses,
that it leaves us nothing, we can’t enjoy.
Everything here is top notch. The producers bring old tracks
into the present with some solid reinterpretations that give us a new look, and
a new wat enjoy these tracks. The new tracks add another dimension to things,
giving us something new to enjoy and leaving us with an air of anticipation
that perhaps Uncle Mic Nitro is not done yet.
This is a cracking second release for the fledgeling label
Empty Hand Records, and one that shows that they are well on the way to making
themselves a force in releasing good music, regardless of whether it is Hip Hop
or another genre entirely.
Vincent//Deconstructed, due some delays, is released on 18th January 2026 with some
limited vinyl copies available, so don’t sleep on these, Pre-Orders are now live.
Huge thanks to James at Empty Hand Records and Uncle Mic
Nitro for giving me the chance to bring you my take on this.
I’ll see ya next time,
Steve.
LINKS
Pre-Orders open now here:
https://emptyhandrecords.bandcamp.com/album/vincent-deconstructed
Uncle Mic Nitro Socials:
https://www.instagram.com/unclemicnitro/
https://www.facebook.com/unclemicnitro
Empty Hand Records Socials:
https://www.facebook.com/emptyhandrecords
https://www.instagram.com/emptyhandrecords/
VIDEOS
Write (Speaks Remix)
