Run Come Save Me - Roots Manuva

-------swe~_S

As far as I'm concerned, "Witness" is THE British hip hop anthem; a razor blade-ripped cyclone of a track, ideal for Roots Manuva to rap about beans on toast over (yes, it's that lyrical reference again). The rest varies from quite good to good. "Ital Visions" and "Evil Rabbit" predate Burial by a good five years when it comes to transferring the atmosphere of a rain-soaked London night into sound; in fact, save for the intro, the whole 60 minutes is loaded with heaviness, with mechanical clicks, robosynths and even the occasional sample (there's like 2 on the whole record...), with a sound not unlike Cannibal Ox's The Cold Vein. Like that album, of course, this also should've been condensed, but I applaud Manuva for choosing such a threatening and distinctive style of production. Run Come Save Me avoids the biggest pitfalls of British rap in that it isn't trying to sound like it's from The States nor is it making a point of how British it is, it's just its own entity. Not the statement it could've been, but, if you want to venture past the American big-hitters and the usual underground suspects in the pursuit of a deeper hip hop experience, this thing's a must.

WOW - An English Mos Def - this guy is brilliant

"RCSM" is the first album by Roots Manuva that i have bought, and I thought it was just superb. Totally unique and incredibly daring in a time when rapping is stereotyped as just being about "guns n' pussy". Manuva disregards this with a simple wave of his hand and produces a rare and monumental masterpiece. If you havent heard him, you're missing out, trust me. Try this out and you will not be dissapointed.

Stand out tracks are "Join The Dots" with the wonderful Chali 2na, "Ital Visions" and "Witness (1 Hope)".

Buy it!

DUB HEADS DELIGHT

WOW WHAT MORE CAN I SAY ABOUT THIS ALBUM.RODNEY SMITH THE MAN IS A GENIUS!IF YOU LIKE YOUR MUSIC ON A DUB TIP THEN YOU WILL LOVE THIS.I GOT THIS WHEN IT FIRST COME OUT,BUT A FRIEND OF MINE LIKED IT SO MUCH HE BOUGHT IT OFF ME. THE SONG WITNESS THE FITNESS IS MY FAVOURITE SONG ON THE ALBUM.BUT THE WHOLE ALBUM IS JUST BRILLIANT PURE SMOKIN'SPACED OUT DUB AT IT'S BEST!THE MAN FROM BRIXTON THE RODNEY SMITH KEEP UP THE WORK MY GENIUS OF A BROTHER!

this is a must buy!

If you want ho's, guns and gold chains then this is not for you. However if you want to listen to good HipHop and more generally good music then any one of Roots Manuva's three albums are a must buy! Funky, fresh, intelligent HipHop, and its British too!

i bought this album blindly..

..what happened was i went into a well-known record shop and saw this on sale and thought: well, i've got nothing to lose. and i was very pleasantly surprised. roots manuva is one classy homegrown rapper!

the magnificently haunting intro 'no strings' made me sit up and take notice and 'witness(1 hope) was brilliant (have u seen the video? hilarious!), with roots 'seein' clearer than most/sittin' contemplating this cheese on toast'. 'join the dots' is my favourite..i love the thumping marching bass that makes me nod my head like a headless chicken!! charlie 2na is wicked on that & compliments roots v. well.

my other favourites are 'stone the crows'(brilliant!); 'sinny sin sins' is absolutely amazing with the way roots doesn't pull any punches over his strict childhood. also, 'ital visions' is a great tune that, once again, will have your head nodding to the judding beat.

overall, considering that i perceived most hip-hop 2b predictable, this is one guy who goes against the grain and does his own thang. and blimey..he does it well!