I've been following Hammer as an artist for a while now, and whilst many maintain that his status still remains "up and coming", his fresh new EP may just prove different...
Proceedings begin with 'Hurricane' (
video), enlisting the help of East Londoner
Jammer. The song throughout is good, but it's the hook that makes it the polished product. 'Mind For Grime' is an appropriate title for this banger, Hammer smashes up his own production (Yeah he produces as well ;)) and there's some stand out lines in there "You writing a mix-tape is like climbing a mountain / For me it's like jumping a brick fence".'Gonna Get Mad' ain't bad, 3 tunes deep and Hammer's making it sound easy.
Carrying on we've got 'Stinkin', one of my favourite tunes at the moment. Hammer glides over
Dexplicit's monster beat,
the video is a lot as well. 'Players Get Lonely Too' with
Dot Rotten isn't one of my favourites, but that's brushed away quickly by 'Silence Man'.
Silencer is one of this years best producers, and Hammer absolutely kills this one ! This one is dirty, the bass is IMMENSE ! 'See No Less' is good, one thing that's impressing me with this EP is Hammer's ability to sound like he's not even trying, yet getting his message across. That's shown on this song, and also on 'Walk Alone', which is rather anthem-like.
Following on with the emotional theme set by 'Walk Alone' is deep tune 'Releasing Thoughts'. It's slow and it's quite good, impeccable flows again. 'Mic Check' has the complete party vibe, it's pretty a remix of opening track 'Hurricane', and talking of remixes, you won't find many better than the 'Stinkin' remix. Mixed by
Macabre Unit,
Skepta tears it apart. To finish up we've got 'Who's That', featuring Hammer murdering
Wiley's popular
5:27 AM beat.
Overall ? Well, one of this years finer releases. Hammer's ability to construct perfect hooks and make MC'ing sound rather easy via his laid back approach is rare, and for £5.99 you defiantly can't go wrong.
Frankie.
