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Review: 'Ghostface600'
'Paper Planes'   


-  Genre: 'Hip-Hop'

Our Rating:
There was a brief period in the late 80s and early 90s when rap and rock threw up some interesting crossovers, and the postmodern melting pot of contemporary culture looked set to produce evermore interesting hybrids as rap became ever more established as something that was no mere fad. But while culture has splintered and diversified, mainstream genres have become evermore homogeneous post-millennium, and rap and pop have not only come to dominate radio and downloads, but have become evermore segregated from other musical styles. Time was when the musical landscape lent itself to a listener being exposed to a truly diverse and eclectic array, whereas now it’s possible to exist and be actively engaged with a broad range of contemporary music while being completely oblivious to acts who have absolutely immense followings.

South-London based rapper Ghostface600 is one such act who’s escaped my radar to date, as he follows the release of March offering ‘Shmokey’, which has amassed over half a million YouTube views to date. According to the press release, ‘The track received praise from the likes of BBC 1Xtra’s Kenny Allstar, as well as Apple Music 1’s Charlie Sloth, who added the track to his official ‘Hood Heat’ playlist on Apple Music.’

Pitched as ‘one of the most promising rappers coming out the UK’, what’s most remarkable about ‘Paper Planes’ is just how unremarkable it is. Lyrically, it does come across as quite dark, quite personal, drawing on the day-to-day realities of ‘hood life where drugs and drinking in the streets are norm, and how people change and can’t be relied upon, and there’s no attempt to glamourise anything going on here. By the same token, the delivery is incredibly accessible, with a melodic vocal leading a sparse, slick musical accompaniment that doesn’t feel like anything new from the last 15 years. But Ghostface600 is showcasing a new mask in the video. It looks a bit Phantom of the Opera, and certainly a striking look for out and about.

  author: Christopher Nosnibor

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