Low Key Highlights Police Brutality with License To Kill

Low Key is one of the dopest UK MCs and following on from the G20 protests he decided the death of Ian Tomlinson needed to be highlighted. The death of Ian Tomlinson at the hands of police was bad enough but for them to go and choose a coroner with a history of bad verdicts almost always in the favor police was damn shameful. I understand that every society needs the police and that there is some police out there who take their jobs and power seriously but the police that are implicated in Ian Tomlinson's death are not those police. The attempts to disguise what has happened by using your own dodgy coroner only make the circumstances of the death even more suspicious. Its strange that with all of protestors about on that day that the police manage to kill the only man who had absolutely nothing to do with the protests. R.I.P. to Ian Tomlinson and sympathy to his loved ones.

Patrice Rushen and Common remind me

Back in 1997 Common dropped his third album, One day it will all make sense. This was Common's first album under the name Common following on from a law suit that prevented him from using his previous rap moniker, Common Sense. Some might say that this album was more accessible or perhaps even commercial as it featured a wider array of guests than Common had ever had before and it also featured some radio friendly RnB tracks. Although at the same time this was a more mature effort from Common and featured lyrical content beyond his earlier releases. For example the track featuring Lauren Hill has common rhyming about the decisions facing a young couple over whether or not to carry on with an unplanned pregnancy, the only other group I can think of who handles this subject with such maturity would be Digable Planets. The track I have decided to cover today was the first 12" from the album, Reminding me of Sef.
This tune was a little more soulful that the Common we had heard on the first two albums and his rhymes were backed up by well suited vocals from Chantay Savage. Let me just clarify something here, I don't go for tracks that just throw some half assed soul singer in an attempt to gain radio play. For a soul singer to be added to a track and it be successful that singer needs to add to the track and not detract from it, they don't have to be the best soul singer in the world but the need to bring something valid to the track other than their name. In my opinion Chantay Savage does that with this track. The beat is a Dug Infinyte produced dope up tempo joint that borrows heavily from the Patrice Rushen song "Remind me". Common flows over this track nicely reminiscing about his earlier years.
The track "Remind me" was on her 1982 album Straight from the Heart which she wrote and produced herself. The track has been sampled by numerous artists including; De la Soul - "Eye Know", Notorious BIG - "Unbelievable", Tragedy - "Grand Groove" and of course Brotha Lynch Hung - "Walkin 2 My Funeral". This song is from an album that is a perfect slice of early 80 soul and well worth picking up if you see it whilst out diggin.
The 12" includes the Roots remix and also the radio version of "!,2 Many" and as a bonus I've included both so check the link for the rip.


Unfamiliar faces got marked a lot.