sway - this is my demo
sway has done something i have always wanted to happen within the world of uk hip hop.
not only has he turned the mainstream media heads around, not only has he snatched that mobo from the thugged up 50 cent, not only has he lifted the hip hop genre into the mainstream via a positive role model, not only has he single handedly put the uk mixtape business back into gear, but he has made the reality of day to day hard work, violence-free hip hop a viable credible route for kids to look up to, as well as making an album that is both humorous and enjoyable to listen to. largely, this is down to derek dasafo having a well grounded personality and a shed load of confidence, alongside an inner fire to succeed, and a genuine bucket full of talent. the mans flow throughout the album is at times dazzling, impressive and yet always understandable, with several wonderful references to everyday occurrences to make the spitting hit home that little bit better.
where sway succeeds, is his ability to point the focus onto himself without sounding like an arrogant tosser, as so often the role of the hip hop alter ego is stereotypically macho posturing, and full of pissing up the wall bravado, something that sway seems keen to avoid thankfully. it becomes clear that sway is, and bloody well should be, quite chuffed over the success of his mixtapes, proud of his elevated status, yet he still wants to continue on his path of self created credibility (note this album is not on a major - but self released having forged various deals with distributors). aware of the pitfalls, he has dropped in several tracks which are full of the atypical self deprecation that is both endearing, honest and often very funny without succumbing to the comedy rap tag. the more you listen, the more you connect to the world of sway. basically, after a few listens, you cannot help but like the guy, a rare situation in hip hop, where admiration and appreciation is more appropriate.
amongst these diatribes of fickle scensters, 'flo fashion', wired up freeloaders, 'download', love of the urban life, 'products', and jerky teenage lust, 'little derek', is one track however, that sticks out like a painfully sore thumb, 'pretty ugly husband'. having lured us in with the opening 4 easy-going tracks, we are dropped into the uncomfortable nightmare of domestic violence that is set to a sonic clash of sweet r-n-b vocals and distressingly intense drum beats, this musical disharmony is matched by the acted out scenes in the background as husband and wife getting into some very heavy shenanigans. the track is so unsettling, that it actually upsets the flow of the album rather drastically, but i suspect that this is exactly what sway decided to do. 'look folks, i aint just a clown with a mic, i got some heavy shit to tell you all about'.
of course though, this is just the one track, the rest is as you'd expect very entertaining, well executed, thoroughly modern sounding uk-centric hip hop, with the production mainly handled by someone called shux and sway himself producing 7 of the 14 tracks, the music ranges from grime sounding soundscapes, reggae tinged easiness, and spaced out electro freakiness, not once does it drift into boring routine plug-n-play demo styled tracks as is so often the case with uk production.
sway advises that this is album number 1 of 5 in the opening title track 'this is my demo', lets just pray that sway can maintain this level of excellence, if he can, then at last, there is a uk hip hop star worthy of some serious attention, and this album could be the start of a fascinating adventure.