Doom Spirit - Drama City (2025)

Drama City is the second album (I also recommend the first one) from Swiss hip-hop band Doom Spirit. If you look at the cover and listen to the music it's hard to believe it's beeen released in 2025 and not 1995 or even 1992). It is pure nineties style old-school and grim hip-hop (with lyrics in French), especially reminding early Mobb Deep. Anyone into this kind of hip-hop will enjoy Doom Spirit.

 

The BC page. 

 

Dälek - Brilliance of a Falling Moon (2026)

More Dälek can't be bad. I love their old-school, smart, heavy, dark and combative hip-hop. But I'm still being a bit disappointed by Brilliance of a Falling Moon. It's a good album, but won't be remembered as among their most inspired ones, sounding a bit too much more of the same. I feel they played it safe on this one. Their recent collab with Charles Hayward was more interesting and better. I hope they will challenge themselves more for their next one. That being said, a less memorable Dälek album is still better by far than almost any other hip-hop album.

 

The BC page. 

 

Ghostvolume x Trust One - High Concentrate (2025)

High Concentrate is a nice dose of instrumental hip-hop (with a MC Nuse Tyrant featuring on one track) from producers Ghostvolume and Trust One, all being regulars of the Californian M25 label. The mood of the album often evoke old-school occult/horrorcore boom-bap but with also a smoother somewhat trip-hop feel as well that reminds DJ Shadow (with also the jungle loops and smart sampling). Highly recommended!

 

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HAYWARDxDÄLEK (2025)

This album is a collaboration between English drummer/composer (here also playing keyboards) Charles Hayward (This Heat, Camberwell Now) and American MC/producer Will Brooks aka dälek. Overall this is amongst the most minimalist/atmospheric works from dälek, and also amongst my favourites. The dreamy atmospheres are great, and the drumming brings more variations than usual beats. I love the overall feel of the album, and I think its more instrumental nature makes the vocals more impactful, making it sound always very deliberate, controlled and to the point. This combination will make some of the tracks classics amongst dälek already full of masterpieces discography. Between the word and the drum, Breath slow, As children chant, are totally awesome. A great collaboration, a great album, highly recommended! 

 

The BC page. 

 

Wiggavisceration - Sinista Slam (2025)

Read the album name, look at the cover art? You probably guessed what the music could be. This cover art is ugly and vulgar (I suppose it's deliberate), but totally succeeds in illustrating the music. Yes, the concept here is combining slamming death metal with some hip-hop elements. Sophistication would have been misleading, indeed. Now let's get to the most important point : is the music good? Yes it is, hip-hop and slam definitely mix well since both are all about the groove, and Wiggavisceration are great at doing that, both the death metal and hip-hop parts (death metal being the prevalent part) are mastered and Sinista Slam is a nice and catchy album. Vulgar, yes, but really enjoyable nevertheless (and, let's admit it, also because of it!).

 

The BC page. 

 

J-Smiff - Black Magic (2021)

I don't know much about J-Smiff, but seems Black Magic isn't his first release. Basically it's blues with a machinedrum for the beats, or a kind of blues/hip/hop crossover, with vocals and guitars from the blues and hip-hop for the beats. Not very far away from what Everlast is doing. On Black Magic this mix is really producing excellent results, and the good songs and vocals are doing the rest, making it a really enjoyable album. Time to do another one!

Babylon Dead - Book of the Dead (2020)

Book of the Dead (released five years ago, if you missed it, here's a new chance, don't fail to take it!) is the second album from Babylon dead (J Man and Ilinformed with various MCs : Badness, Daddy Freddy, Devilman, Irah, Jamalski, Killa P & Rider Shafique, if you're into UK hip-hop it's likely you've heard some of them already...). Their music is a kind of US hip-hop meets UK hip-hop with the production rooted in boom-bap, evoking the Wu-Tang, Mobb Deep and even Gravediggaz in its grimiest moments, while the vocals are ragga style (and excellent!). Highly recommended stuff!

 

The BC page. 

 

Killa P & Numa Crew - Killing Time (2024)

Killing Time is the first album from London vocalist Killa P and Italian collective Numa Crew. But everything sounds very British bass music with most vocalists (Killa P and guests) expertly delivering a ragga style flow, over productions going from grime to jungle to dubstep to dancehall and dub. Really recommended for anyone into these kinds of music. Good stuff!

The BC page.

 

Algiers - Shook (2023)

Shook, released last year, is Algiers' fourth album. They still deliver some kind of soul infused post-punk but they brought many people to collaborate with them (Zach de la Rocha, Backxwash, billy woods, Mark Cisneros, Patrick Shiroishi, among others) and as could be expected Shook is the most versatile album they have done, gaining in diversity what it loses in cohesiveness. The many hip-hop and spoken words elements give the album a kind of ambient / soundtrack feel. But describing it is a bit pointless, you have to experience it. I really recommend you do (and check their previous albums as well!).

The Bandcamp page.

 

Andrew Nolan & God Is War - The Hunt (2023)

Seems grindcore is a good school for industrial music, we had Mick Harris, JK Broderick, but there's also Andrew Nolan (ex The Endless Blockade, also doing Intensive Care) who is building a nice discography in industrial / dub music. His collab with God Is War (dark electro / industrial producer), called The Hunt, is a nice piece of illbient music a dark mix of industrial / dub / hip-hop). Recommended stuff!

The BC page.

 

 

Luke Sick & Wolfagram - Garshas (2023)

Garshas is the second album from the duo Luke Sick (Californian MC) and Wolfagram (producer from Toronto), and this time again the collaboration works wonder. Both are experts in their domains and the album reminds the best of old school hip-hop, in a boom-bap vein, often with a dark feel, not very far from stuff like Mobb Deep, Gravediggaz or MF Doom. Like the first album it is released by Iron Lungs recods. Real recognize real as they say...

The BC page.

 

Soft Kill - Metta World Peace (2023)

Soft Kill is a post-punk / shoegaze one man project from Chicago. I enjoyed its previous releases and often considered reviewing one of them, but felt maybe it was a bit too generic. But Metta World Peace is a different beast. The post-punk / shoagaze with a prevalent The Cure influence is still the core of the music, but this time the songs are also built around hip-hop beats (with a few MCs as guests) and it works extremely well, making it the most memorable Soft Kill album. We already knew hip-hop producer sampling shoeagaze worked fine, Metta World Peace is proof shoegaze/post-punk artist using hip-hop beats and samples can produce great results too. Really addictive album that I can't recommend warmly enough!

The Bandcamp page.

 

Illinformeds - Ilin For Meds (2023)

Ilin For Meds is the second album from Ilinformeds (I think) and is a nice piece of UK hip-hop. But don't expect modern grime or something like that, it sounds like US vintage boom-bap / horrorcore from the nineties (Gravediggaz especially comes to mind). Except for the British accent and flow and the ragga guest vocalists. Production as well as Mcing are high quality. Highly recommended if you're into old school hip-hop. And when old school is as good, old school is eternal.

The BC page.

 

babelfishh - coma worthy (2021)

This isn't your usual hip-hop album. coma worthy by babelfishh has vocals that are mostly near spoken words flow, but also screams, over indie/underground hip-hop productions, that could remind Sole, but is rawer, less polished, and... some tracks are black metal. Recommended stuff!

The BC page.

 

 

Creatures of Habit - Parasites Paradise (2021)

Creatures of Habit is a hip-hop trio from the UK, but don't expect grime on their second album Parasites Paradise, Illinformed production is finely crafted old-school boom bap, with a slight Cypress Hill / horrorcore feel. The two emcees Eric the Red and Sean Peng are also very talented, one in a higher and fastest delivery, the other more laid-back. Good stuff!

The BC page.

 

Sole - MBFX (2021)

This one's, called MBFX, is not the latest Sole album, he released one with DJ Pain 1 last year, but I prefer the more old school vibe and stripped down production of this solo one, the last of his Man's Best Friend series. And as he always does, Sole demonstrate that conscious/leftist lyrics doesn't have to be an endless collection of clichés, and can be spot on, smart and creative. Thank you Sole! We need more rappers like you. And having an excellent flow like he does also help, of course...

The BC page.

 

Sightless Pit - Lockstep Bloodwar (2023)

Lockstep Bloodwar is the second album from Sightless Pit, a band with Lee Buford (The Body) and Dylan Walker (Full of Hell), but this time without Kristin Hayter (Lingua Ignota). The vocals are now done by many guest vocalists. The whole thing is rooted in industrial / noise / illbient, but there's a lot of diversity, and it goes from more ambient to very aggressive through trip-hop to trap to power electronics and vocals going from singing to rapping to growls. Often surprising and interesting. But I'd say would have been more memorable as an album with more cohesiveness. You often feel like you're listening to a mixtape, more than to an album. But why not. I'll keep following what they'll do next.

The BC page.

Bob Vylan - Bob Vylan presents The Price of Life (2022)

Bob Vylan presents The Price of Life is the first album from English duo Bob Vylan, UK Hip-hop with guitars, with some trap metal, some grime, some ragga, elements reminding The Prodigy, or maybe The Beastie Boys as well. A bit like City Morgue / ZillahKami, but more grime and less grim, and very UK. Cool stuff!

The BC page.

Traître Câlin - De la Ruine (2022)

Traître Câlin are not so easy to label, but I'd go for industrial rap madness, De la Ruine is their third and best yet album. Vocals are screamed, rapped or spoken in French, with smart lyrics somewhere between Baudelaire and Anorexia Nervosa, over beats that are boom-bap or trap, with also various elements of power electronics, free jazz samples, etc. in general various industrial noises and sound in a way or another. It could evokes Sadistik, Dalek, Kabal, Picore, The Bug, that kind of stuff. This new album is maybe less French rap rooted than the previous ones (which I recommend as well), going further in a noise rap / trap / power electronics directions. Disturbing, different and finely crafted. Recommended!

The Bandcamp page.

 

Nobody aka Willis Earl Beal - Nobody Knows (2012)

Nobody Knows, released in 2012 is not the most recent album from Nobody aka Willis Earl Beal, but I think it's still his masterpiece (the rest is good as well). He's crafting his on mix of every Afro-Amercian music from the chain-gang worksongs to hip-hop through blues and soul, for a result that sound at the same time familiar and unique. Both he songwriting and the singing are excellent and special and this album should be considered a classic.

The Bandcamp page.