Author Archives: Tom Rodwell

About Tom Rodwell

Nurtured on heavyweights like Jay Z, Nas and Kanye, Tom is a huge hip hop fan. Having also since discovered grime music's charm and enjoying a taste which becomes increasingly open-minded, he has grown comfortable with music in widely contrasting forms.

ALBUM: Rewd Adams – Hunger Pains 2

Rating: It has often been said that with the greats of rap music, you can “feel” or “hear” their city in their work. Although clichéd, you can feel the pain, the struggle, the passion and, of course, the love. You…

ALBUM: Heems ‘Eat, Pray, Thug’

Rating: Politically motivated hip hop, in the eyes of most onlookers, is a concept so outdated it shares a graveyard with cassette tapes and shell suits. There’s no room for it in the modern era, they say, because a rapper…

ALBUM: Drake – If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late

Rating: It had been coming. Whether it was fooling around courtside with NBA stars, appearing at Kanye West’s Roc City gig or even releasing his own short film, Aubrey ‘Drake‘ Graham had been everywhere this week. Many called Drizzy’s surprise…

EP REVIEW: Batz Inda Belfry ‘Two Fly’

Rating: When you think of Manchester, you likely think of three things; the football clubs, bands like The Stone Roses and Oasis and of course, the rain. It was a smart move by Batz Inda Belfry, the brightest duo to…

ALBUM REVIEW: Sneakbo – ‘Certified’

Rating: In today’s music scene, the ability to release an album which offers everything loyal fans love, while taking risks and demonstrating something fresh, is something that’s becoming rarer and rarer and thereby more revered. It may come as a…

ALBUM REVIEW: Dream Mclean ‘Grayscale’

Rating: The most incredible thing about Dream Mclean’s debut album, Greyscale, is that it’s taken this long to finally reach us. Dream has been turning the heads of Annie Mac, Zane Lowe and MistaJam on Radio 1 alone for a…

ALBUM REVIEW: NehruvianDOOM (self titled)

Rating: 25 years is a long time in anyone’s book. But in hip hop? A quarter of a century has seen more evolution and incredible individuals than just about anyone can count. NehruvianDOOM, though, uses those 25 years quite beautifully….