23 year old emcee, artist, poet and social critic, Mowgli, is here with his debut album 93. With his distinctive and alternative taste in hip-hop he unleashes his own sound to the UK and worldwide.

Mowgli spits it how it is, he doesn't mess with his words and keeps it real with his dark cynicism and thought provoking images. This is what stands Mowgli apart from other hip-hop emcees and artists, he pushes the boundaries of hip-hop and takes it that bit further than other emcees dare to go.

93 is an album full of influences from around the world from Spanish, in 'Back to The Bricks'; Mexican in 'Boleskin', 'Six Stages' and 'SS F'; Jazz in 'That' and even some French sounds in 'Jazz Pants'. I love that there are different sounds throughout this album and its not all the same style.

'Tax' is one of my favourites tracks on this album. It opens with "Why should we break our backs stupidly paying tax?" Sampling music from 'Oliver!' in 'Pick A Pocket Or Two' this tune brings about it a comedy value whilst dealing with the very real dealings of paying tax.

'That' has the sound of an old record mixed with the very real yet, melt in your mouth, vocals of Mowgli. He spits with ease; everything just rolls off his tongue with grace and style yet he keeps it real.

Made up of 23 tracks there are far too many tunes to mention all of them individually. All you really need to know is that Mowgli puts his heart and soul in to each and everyone of them hence the individuality to this album.

The closing track on this album finishes on a high, with sounds made out like a whale, moving on to more of a rainforest/aboriginal sound, it depicts some great imagery and shows Mowgli's talent off in true grand fashion.

This is definitely an album for your collection and I think it will become a favourite what with all of its different styles, from dark to light, serious to comical and chilled out. 93 takes you on a journey that you will want to repeat again and again.

8

Helena Rea