Is it me or is it a long minute since some decent original hip-hop has been out? Thankfully Marlowe (a.k.a producer L’Orange and emcee Solemn Brigham) are here to right that wrong with new single and harbinger of forthcoming LP Marlowe 3, Past Life. ‘Marlowe 3’? Does that mean the duo are about to drop their third LP? Certainly does, where have you been? And if you have been hipped to them already, you’ll know these youngsters do it all properly using an MPC to sample old movies wax and look to swing, jazz and soul for musical inspiration – as on this one where boom-bap drums are laced with woozy horns while Solemn lays it down on the mic.
(Out now on Mello Music Group)