With as many, if not more, members as Wu Tang, Split Prophets, the bois from Bristol, are a serious collective to be reckoned with. Incredible flow is a common feature across each member, the beats are sick. If you have a head for any type of hip-hop, give them a shot. There's a lot on Youtube and Bandcamp, and I'll post links to the three songs I'm looking at later. And so, with my can of Prazsky at my side like a fair maiden, I set to watching these videos in detail. The songs are epic, and the videos only really compliment rather than give any great significant insights. How and ever, epic they still be.
The first song, Ain't Amused featuring Upfront MC and Res, is a pretty chilled one. A stab at haters, for lack of a better word, the insults fit the beat. They're relaxed too, but hit home. The two look happy out to be chillin' to the beat, singing away, wearing their snapbacks. Noticeable is Res smoking the whole way through in nearly every scene (bad for you mate), and Upfront doesn't, until the very end. Not entirely sure why this struck me, but hey, the nature of the lyrics probably had an influence.
Throughout the whole song, and much more, Upfront's flow is sick. Proper sick. In fact, I haven't heard a group with more flow to their rhyming. The words just tumble out of each of them, the heavy accent helping.
The chorus features Upfront singing the first half, then Res sort of fading in with the second half. Smiling the whole way through (who knows why), his lyrics hint on oppression of the people, and the problems growing trees. Res, still smoking, seems to like the Ganji, with lyrics such as '... peace to everybody growing trees...' I assume this isn't your average Oak or Birch. No, this is the devil's cabbage. Not even during the Famine would that stuff be touched. But I digress, as he goes on to tell that we are 'supposedly free'. Maybe we are, maybe not. Although looking at how America is approaching the topic of the herb, freedom is getting broader, in a sense. Although I'm not here to discuss that.
Upfront kicks in again, with some serious lyrical bombs. He'll 'blow your flow to bits...' and his crew quite enjoys being 'cool like the ocean is'. Reminds me of Snoop on Doggystyle, being 'fly as a falcon'. Upfront and Snoop for a colab, yeah? Yeah.
Being major pacifists by the looks of it (?), the lyrics of the both of them keep getting better. A line that stood out for me was '[I'll] hit you with my pen and all I wrote with it'. Can't say I've heard something like that before. It's like a rejection of the old school ideas of sex and money, bitches and hoes. Much preferred with this author. Another thing that stood out, quite significantly, was the dissing of Oprah. Made me laugh. If you got problems, you'll need to go see 'that Oprah bitch', because no one in England cares, 'even if the plane crashes.' A witty little line, even if a bit close to the bone, although it made me giggle. Overall the song is quite basic. The straightforward beat is accompanied by an easy strings and piano duo, which is effective in its own right.
Next on the hippity hoppoty menu is Paro's 12oz Steak. Self entitled 'one for the munchies', this one is an odd little banger. Super relaxed, the video is comedy in itself, featuring Paro horsing into as much shit as he can gobble in circa 4 minutes. He delivers, as does Sainsburys. His dealer also delivered in mass quantities for the video, and the doobies and smoke are rife throughout. Adds the that impact of the lyrics of being munched out of your being. The rapping in the supermarket is brilliant, although a tad out of place, one would think. The 'fridge raider' really loves his JD, although I'm more of a Bushmills/Jameson kinda guy. Didn't let it come between us. It's a simple video, with Paro on the couch, and that squealing guitar riff really grows on you. Paro's lyrics made me chuckle to myself, describing the ideal meal would be that much more complete with a certain something; 'always tastes better with a blowjob...' Tee hee. Yeah, for anyone who enjoys random-ass lyrics, this song is key. '...chewing whole lemons, drinking shots of adrenaline, ill swoop on your chicken like a peregrine'. Can't beat this stuff, man. Needless to say, the song is just about his love life; his date with Mary Jane. Works though. Gotta give him that.
Next on the menu is... Well, The Menu, featuring Mystro. Whopper tune, a real one for humming away to yourself. The vocal chops mixed with the piano really create a psycho acoustic phenomenon... I think. The video's a funny one, and Mystro never looks serious, ever. In regards to the sound, the drums are simple enough, the bass is simple, and there's little guitar riffs combined with the vocal chops. Nice delivery, one for the sunny days and Miller on the porch. Mystro's flow is sweet, the self proclaimed 'sexually deprived cannibal in an orgy' is a sweet feature on this, and anyone interested check out Diggi Down Unda.
Second verse, Upfront (flow unreal again), rapes the beat, in his words. He takes over the cooking abilities and throws what appears to be the lyrics on the pan, turning to look at the camera with the middle finger up. I laughed. I'm not entirely sure where 'Miley Cyrus on death row' came out of, but it's a line to remember.
Res is on ze third verse, and looks mashed as a potato (mister nice when the chronic's sparked). Makes sense. I don't think there's any point mentioning his flow here, is there? I mean, each has outstanding ability. I'll leave it there.
Datkid finishes the song, and being an orange man, not an apple man, you won't find them on iTunes. First time I heard it, not much remark was passed on the fact that he mentions him 'tryna feed his bulimic pockets'. Best lyrics ever? I think so. When it set in what this meant, yeah.
One big session, the video is a funny one. Where that dog came out of I have no idea. Probably high as shit too. It ends with cds being overcooked, not how I like mine, but I digress. Good vibes all round. Worth a listen.
One major problem with the videos looked at here: major, major sausage fest. Where the hunneys at?
Each song showcases the Prophets in a very solid state. Their image is a relaxed one, no rushing around here. The hats are funny looking ones. Lyricism and projection go hand in hand for them, great stuff. If you're into modern hip hop, yeah, give them a listen. After this review, if you guys are reading it, I wouldn't, em, mind a vinyl pressing or some shit. Yeah, peace.
My new system: the averageity rating; below average, average, or above average.
Split Prophets averageity rating: above average. For deffs.
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