FTL TOP PICKS - BLADE BROWN
Blade Brown is a rap artist originating from South London, United Kingdom. His first exposure to music was that of hip hop and reggae and influenced a 17 year old Blade to start rapping.
His debut mixtape was entitled ‘Nothing Long Volume 1’ and was released under Defenders Entertainment in 2004, songs off the mixtape were played on mainstream radios such as Choice FM, BBC Radio 1xtra and Kiss FM, which at that time was a huge barrier for him to break in our opinion as at that point and even in this current day it is extremely difficult for UK rap artists to be given that kind of platform. Especially, when like Blade they are rapping about the life on the roads in a raw and unapologetic way.
His second mixtape was released with fellow South London rapper Giggs in 2007 and received huge acclaim from both underground and mainstream rap fans.
Bags and Boxes was released on 31/03/10 and was the start of the the timeless BXB trilogy. This tape included ‘OT’, ‘Baby Girl ft M dot E’ and ‘Hammer Em Down’ with Giggs.
Financial times was then released a year exact after this under the label Hill Productions, this included the timeless tracks ‘Where I Got My Name From’ and ‘Sometimes’ and my ultimate favourite Blade track ‘Don’t You Ever Go’.
In 2012 Blade won Best Hip Hop Mixtape and Mixtape Of The Year for Financial Times at the Offical Mixtape Awards.
Bags and Boxes 2 was released on 30/11/12 and includes one of my favourite Blade tracks ‘What’s Your Name’ featuring M Dot E. Bags and Boxes 3 was released on 31/11/14. The intro to this tape is one of those greazy, timeless tracks that if you listen to UK rap you NEED to know the lyrics to. Blade is one of my favourite rappers from the UK as he has the ability to make you imagine situations you may have never or never will experience in such a vivid way as he paints a picture so elegantly.
The way Blade talks about the hustle of getting money and experiencing life, makes you want to go out there and get it, his music instils a money-hungry thrive in you. His voice and flow is another reason I love him so much as an artist, everything is clear and pronounced and he rides any beat so well.
Check out our favourite songs below:
TOP TRACKS:
(PB: Not in order and forever changing)
1)Don’t You Ever Go
2)What’s Your Name (ft. M Dot E)
3)Sometimes
4)BXB3 Intro
5)Young Days (ft. Taymah)
6)20 Deals
7)Drug Dealer
8)Where I Got My Name From
9)Money Songs
10)Trap Life
11)Nobody's Perfect