Dirty Dike & Jam Baxter (High Focus Records, UK) w/ DJ Sammy B-Side

Lee Scott (Blah Records/High Focus Records, UK) w/ DJ Sammy B-Side & Dirty Dike

Luk&Fil (Sichtexot, DE)

La Spirale (Stoned Control Recors, LU)

Mr Charly & Skibi (Stoned Control Recors, LU)

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Dirty Dike is an all-talking, all-breathing, fully-functioning rap FIEND.

Catch him on a peaceful one and he will most likely be sucking on king prawns in the moonlight and throwing their discarded pink tails to Cretian street hounds. Catch him on a mental one and he will be seventeen quaddy voddys deep slurring freestyles in a pair of rusty Pelle Pelle boxers and an odd pair of his girlfriends socks to Cambridge University students…

It really is all or nothing when it comes to the one they call Mr Dikestar; he never has been one for half measures in either his booze drink selection or music making. In an age where everyone thinks they can rap, Dike’s dedication to this thing called hip hop is as driven and focussed as you will ever see from anyone daring to call themselves a lyricist.

Either spouting the type of filth that is completely unimaginable to the average human brain or confronting the life demons that have made him the person he is today, Dirty Dike has galvanised a significant following across the globe with the diverse seesawing he cultivates between these two distinct, yet equally potent sides to his music making. It is this inspired marrying between the two aforementioned sides that has made his music so in-demand and celebrated. Both sides of Dike shine on each and every album he has ever championed and the power struggle between the two continues to flourish in all his future album plans.

Dirty Dike first rose to prominence with his acclaimed debut solo album ‘Bogies and Alcohol’. This was way back 2008. Aggressive expansion saw Dike later join forces with Jam Baxter, Ronnie Bosh, Mr Key and Edward Scissortongue to form the much heralded hip hop super outfit Contact Play whose debut release ‘Champion Fraff’ was swiftly hailed as one of the most exciting releases that the UK Hip Hop scene had witnessed in years. The success of Champion Fraff, plus the potent addition of solo sophomore follow up ‘Constant Dikestar’ and most recently the gloriously received ‘Sloshpot EP’ to his catalogue of releases, has seen Dike grow from a rambunctious twenty-something into one of the most talked about emcees in the game.

You can now find him either in Melonskin studios beating the fuck into his MPC, neck deep in records at one of Brighton’s many vinyl emporiums or literally flying up the motorways and down the train tracks of the UK, or jumping on a jet or two overseas delivering one of the rowdiest shows on the circuit to sold-out venues EVERYWHERE.

Jam Baxter has had an eventful time of it since he was last asked to summarise his musical adventures in biographical form. As ever, roaming around planet Earth, steadily tightening his grip on the very tallest branches of the musical canopy has been central to his movements, as has taking each and every bashment by the scruff of its neck and suplexing it dry of everything it has to offer. Most significantly however, Jam Baxter has continued to prove himself as one of the most outlandish and trailblazing songwriters on the scene. Taking listeners on a voyage through one’s songwriting is a mantra for many, but only a reality for very few; this has and always will remain the bone marrow of his day-to-day.

Best described as a young William Shatner skulking around a London backstreet staring wistfully at pigeons (his own words), Baxter can be found decimating live stages alone or in packs, sculpting releases that ooze unrivaled levels of dexterity, or simply sitting on Highbury Fields in the drizzle. It matters not which one of the above activities he may be doing at any particular time, the fact remains, no-one does it quite like Baxter.

Having set the ball rolling as the primary shareholder in Contact Play’s debut album ‘Champion Fraff’ way back in ’09, and with the release of ‘Rinse Out Friday / Spack Out Monday’ and ‘The Gruesome Features’ LPs under his belt as a solo artist, Baxter has been busying himself as one third of the Dead Players tripod, but most recently promoting the release of his ‘Fresh Flesh’ EP in the height of the Summer just passed. Baxter’s work certainly demystifies the theory that being prolific is often to the detriment of quality. New album ‘…so we ate them whole’ is the latest precious rock to have been put through the process and with a late 2014 release on the cards for what will be LP number three, the Baxter wave shows no signs of slowing anytime soon.

And why should it? As Baxter will have you know it is all a matter of perspective:
“Literally everything is funny. There is a beautiful surreal glow to the most outwardly grey and mundane of scenes. Some people just don’t get that. I sometimes suspect I might be starring in a cartoon watched by millions of giant oafish children.”

Lee Scott is your favourite UK rapper’s favourite rapper. This is fact, as it is common knowledge that there isn’t really anyone who can, word for word, match his wit and incredible turn of phrase. Lee Scott is blessed with the ability to communicate incredibly complex story lines and concepts with such ease and clarity that you almost forget that everything he is saying is actually rhyming to perfection.

From the very beginning it was clear that Lee Scott was going to go very far. From the young age of 18 he has been at the fore front. With rhyme partner Salar, the antiheroes released Middle Finger salute in 2003 to vast critical acclaim even before the era of myspace and facebook. Word traveled fast and it essentially went viral before the term viral was even a thing! It was clear that the skill level was miles beyond their contemporaries, which then ushered in the creation of Blah Records and their first releases, which only went on to reinforce the sheer skills on display. Now with over 20 releases under his name including 2014′s Wordplay Magazine album of the year ‘Tin Foil Fronts’ and collaborations with US legends such as Tame One and Craig G among others. It is hard to fault the tenacity of this incredibly driven and prolific wordsmith, after all, he is the ‘cool daddy that Boney M was going on about…’

Fast forward to the present day and High Focus Records is on the cusp of releasing what is shaping up to be the definitive LEE SCOTT album. From the trademark effortlessly superior wordplay to the northern tongue in cheek sarcasm, all of the Mr. Wrong hallmarks are present in their finest form which float perfectly over the top of the equally debonair and nonchalant crusty jazz beats courtesy of this album’s sole producer, the infamous Dirty Dike. This album will set the standard, and alter the game forever, in a smooth buttery fashion. Butter, the creamiest, heaviest and fattiest of dairy products is a perfect metaphor for this album as the sounds are drenched in high cholesterol, vinyl crackle infested jazz but yet remains weightless and utterly FLY throughout.