– GUERRILLA WARFARE –

They’re good, these drummer-frontmen aren’t they? I’m off to see Anderson .Paak at London’s Ally Pally tonight and, I’ll be honest, I’ve been walking around like a dog with two semis for days thinking about it.

And while Paak’s absolutely my boy, Kassa Overall is absolutely a new challenger to his (drum)-throne. A drummer/rapper/producer he’s very much a man I can relate to, being a drummer, someone who is occasionally known to talk a bit fast and also a bloke who knows how to use a laptop.

But those things aside, Kassius Klay (as only I’m calling him… but let’s make that a thing) has very much come out swinging.

Let’s be clear. La Casa Azul is not a jazz/hip-hop cross-over. That implies its half jazz, half hip-hop. Half of everything that makes those two genres exciting and essential. But this is full-fat jazz, fully-loaded hip-hop, 110% of the average jazz tune and more hip-hop than a drop-top ’64 Impala.

He references Wu Tang Clan and samples the late, great Roy Hargrove (as well as dropping a not-so-subtle piano reference to the trumpeter’s Strasbourg / St. Denis towards the end) so, of course, those things don’t hurt. But this is completely its own thing.

The track is from the brilliantly titled go Get Ice Cream and Listen to Jazz. And, after what I’ve told you, if you’re still reading this review rather than doing one or both of those two things we can’t be friends any more.

More From This Week’s Mix:
NUBIYAN TWIST | “SUGAR CANE”
MAHALIA | “DO NOT DISTURB” (SIR SPYRO REMIX)
RICHARD HOUGHTEN | “AMIGOS”
HANIA RANI | “EDEN”

You can find all of the tracks reviewed above in the 45 Revolutions per Minute playlist below or click to access the 45 RPM Playlist on Spotify itself.

If you like what you hear (or even if you don’t), please engage in dialogue with me @45rpm_Reviews on Twitter. And, if you’d like to receive updates weekly, please subscribe to the email list to get these recommendations sent to your inbox weekly.

– SV –