Album Review: Guti - Never Hesitate

Review by Stephen Harvey (A.K.A. DJ Fresh)

Guti burst on the scene early last year courtesy of BBC Radio Subculture with his much hyped mash up of the Simon & Garfunkel classic, "Sound of Silence". The track was the brainchild of the ever present Vacant Beats, who has been creating tracks for a couple of years now after emerging on the local scene as one half of local rap outfit The Chapter. It wasn't long before the lads were collaborating on their first shot at an album. What followed was the fantastic A.N.D album which was both original but with a familiarity that made it accessible to non-enthusiasts of rap culture

The latest album is mostly produced by Vacant Beats, but does feature another local beat maker of note who has been around for a long time and goes by the name of Mentalist. The sound created is a step forward in the evolution of the local hip hop scene, which until now has been drawing influences from various genres to create its unique localised sound. This album has achieved the same target but without the use of samples from other established artists. This has always been the one target of contention, and possibly root of critisism by other musicians.

The Never Hesitate album will not only push the boundaries and inspirations of the what can be achieved to the limits, but is sure to rattle a few feathers among other urban artists biting at the heels of the very successful Goon Squad Camp.

Guti has a very unusual hybrid of his native Zimbabwee and Stoke accent combined, which give his vocal talents that little bit extra on top of the other local emcees emerging on the scene.

Tracks like 'Chrome Black Microphone' which was recently played by Matt and Dave on Subculture and 'The Rotation' shows a side of hip hop culture that many people would not expect. Intelligent and thought provoking story telling and totally original beats and basslines provides the listener with something new and unexpected.

Guti has already featured on Forbidden Tongues album Konnekt which received a 4/5 in Hip Hop magazine with his mentor and soul mate Parradox, and is the artist that the rest of The Goon Squad have hailed as the one person most likely to break into the big world of hip hop. Hopefully this will become a reality in the near future, and I may even get credit for discovering him.

Favourite tracks

Chrome Black Microphone

Bodies in The Morgue

Lighter Fluid

The Rotation

The album is available for FREE DOWNLOAD for a limited time and I would urge anyone who calls themselves a music lover to give it a listen, but listen without prejudice and preconceptions.

Just go to:

Never Hesitate.zip

also:

http://www.myspace.com/housesofstone