MC Yinka is back for ’24 with new LP Diving which finds him engaging in something of a stylistic departure from previous projects such as 2021’s Night Lights hip-hop LP with DJ Booker. Indeed where that had something of a 90s hip-hop influence, this finds Yinka – well – diving right into the sound of contemporary urban bass influences – with dubstep and grime and UK Garage all getting representation besides the futuristic hip-hop beats. Not standard MB fare you might be thinking – and you’d be right. Nonetheless, there’s certainly stuff on here to entertain readers at the more progressive end of the MB readership. Opener Step Up lays down the gauntlet in no uncertain terms for example with heavy grimey business from the off while the title track is next up with a darkly electronic take on hip-hop. Pick of the bunch on side two meanwhile is Stardust which draws heavily on contemporary Jamaican dancehall. The biggest surprise on this album really is that it’s contemporary UK culture more than US which seems to have been the major inspiration.
(Out now on Mind The Wax/ Stay Independent)
