It’s been an exciting year for Low Life and the artists on and around the label, increasing amounts of gigs, promotion and recording have underlined UK Hip Hop’s escalating prominence in the public eye; but with all this going on one project has always remained in mind, and finally here it is in its finished form, the main course: FOOD. Low Life doesn’t sign artists, this album’s cohesion comes simply from the factors which hold the roster together, steady progression, originality and character. Food simply reflects the values that Low Life holds dear and has pushed since 1992 and the result is a straight-up hip hop album that bends the boundaries but maintains the heart and soul. So here we have everybody from the well-known, Rodney P, Task Force, Jehst & Braintax to the soon to be stars of the underground such as The Iguana Man, Verb T etc… We start with one of a handful of live snippets, a feature of the artists’ year as between all featured here the number of live performances totals more than 300. “You Know Who You Are” opens up and smacks listeners round the head with Rodney P, Farma G (of Task Force), Braintax and Mystro spitting 16 bars over what was originally a laid-back samba riff (!?), beats courtesy of Braintax. Mystro then demonstrates the humour and charisma that makes him a people’s favourite, “My Type Of Party” is produced by the only Low Lifer to have had a top 10 hit: C-Swing who produced The Beta Band’s last LP as well as tracks for Jamelia and Beverly Knight. Next up is “Showbitchness” out now on 12” if you don’t know this funky creeper of a tune by now then check out the single (the one with the radioactive salad on the cover). Jehst comes next with a self-produced ode to student living in London, or as he puts it “New Bohemia” as immortalised on the cover of his last single “Return of the Drifter”, rolling pianos and even a touch of opera keep “Adventures…” moving to the very end. Then we have a sharp left turn from one of the North’s longest serving MCs, Mikey D.O.N. from the group Krispy. Benny Live (who did “Exit” on the Braintax “Biro Funk” LP) provides a bouncing uptempo backing and D.O.N. takes a stroll down your local high st. to have a laugh at those guys that blast their systems to attract attention. Speeding past in the other direction is Ricochet (of Universal Soldiers) who paints a day in the life type scene and all Goodfellas fans will immediately catch the similarities with that last manic, sauce-stirring scene; this is the sound of North London as Greek music meets Edmonton’s finest in a manic tale of inner city jugglings. Chester P, the other half of Task Force, is up next with “The Wiccaman Theory”, a slice of pure poetry over tropical, hippy, haunting vibes…And that’s only half of it, it’s really hard not to start drawing out all the Food metaphors now, what you really need to do is just sit down and enjoy this album, there’s something for everyone here but for many this is a collection of the best of what this country has to offer to music; nutritious, enriching and full of flavour…we couldn’t resist…..