Has there ever been a hit song in the states by hip-hop artist with a strong British accent? Not that I can think of. But if there was ever a contender, it’s Thou Shalt Always Kill, from a duo operating as Dan Le Sac Vs. Scroobius Pip.

After using the wrong country code and losing a furious half-hour screaming match with an international operator, I got a hold of MC Scroobius Pip to discuss the impact of Thou Shalt Not Kill, trying out (sort of) for Simon Cowell’s X-Factor TV show and why pop music killed the record industry.

My temper was grated and I was in no mood to cover the standard “So how did you guys meet?” bullshit that has nothing to do with music, so we cut to the meat of things rather quickly, and it wasn’t until after I’d hung up that I realized I hadn’t asked him a single question about the album he’s promoting. Keep an eye out for a review of Angles in the next week or so- it’s great, and you need to hear more about it.

I don’t know about you, but I’m sick of shitty hip-hop. The devolving trends of recycled misogyny and cartoonish, ridiculous materialism in hip-hop that fuel a crumbling industry have kept me from doing anything more than ride the ’seek’ button through the radio waves for years. There is a nearly-untapped world of quality hip-hop in the “underground” scene, a place where assertive, socially conscious rhymes meet diverse musical influence. It’s a place that deserves a hell of a lot more attention than it gets.
Crown City Rockers are among the best and brightest of today’s hip-hop scene, bringing a melting pot of soul, funk-laced grooves and old-school inflected rhymes to the table. 5 Gold Stars, their follow up to 2004’s Earthtones, is due to hit later this year. We caught up with Crown City MC Raashan Ahmad to discuss Crown City, his solo project The Push (out May 20th), and the inconvenience of revolution.