We like Ty here on Backseat Mafia. We loved A kick snare and an idea part.1, and he was an entertaining and engaging subject when we interviewed him earlier in the year. Now, just out, is part two. For those people who have passed him by, the important information you need to know is that Ben Chijioke, a.k.a. Ty, was born in London of Nigerian descent. He’s worked with a who’s who of UK (and further afield) Hip-Hop, and he’s released four albums of cool, jazz infused hip-hop, including 2003’s Upwards, which was nominated for a mercury music prize.
The EP is basically made up of two tracks, Let’s start and Well Well Well. The remaining tracks are a couple of instrumentals and a couple of acapella versions for budding DJ’s/Remixers. To coincide with the release of the EP, Ty has released a couple of videos to go with the two lead tracks.
Let’s Start opens with this sort of 80’s funk/pop sounds, the warm bass sound giving Ty a platform to rhyme over. It also features some proper scratching, and some nice harmonies, cut-up for the chorus. The track once again shows Ty can step away from most of the usual hip-hop nonsense, using clever couplets and wordplay to illustrate a point. The video is remarkable if only for the man himself throwing some shapes, much to the amusement of the actual dancer.
Well Well Well starts out with a heavier feel, this complex bass laying down a real funk feeling, and the track opens out with some nice vocal interludes, alongside some brass stabs and quite static keyboard loops. It’s much more of a soul number with rhyming, that the other way round, and it shows that this man has the rhymes, the feel, and the breaks to carry it off. If you thought part one was good, get your listening gear around this. Ty is red-hot right now.
I like the way Ty is always stepping out, trying to do things differently, and he has an animated (done by Bill from Bow, no less) video to accompany the track.
Essential.
