Handlin’ Balls Like Stackhouse - Big Kwam

In response to a request from Seriousbiz, I’m throwing up another 12” from my collection. I first stumbled across ‘Verbalise’ on the final installment of the ‘Hip Hop Don’t Stop’ series that brought together some of the best cuts from the preceding compilations and let DJ Prime Cuts work his magic on them. I always liked this track and had forgotten about it until recently, and it has only been with a brief bit of research over the last day or so that I realised its strong UK connections: here’s the rundown…

Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like Kwam made much impact on the scene, with only a handful of 12′’s to his name and a couple of appearances on various compilation albums. This is a shame, as he is lyrically strong, with lots of internal rhyme schemes and a tight and relatively aggressive flow (he reminds me a little of O.C. at times). ‘Verbalise’ is the standout on this slab of wax, a Spinna produced cut that has a dark and moody vibe along with some exceptional scratching from my favourite UK DJ, Mr Thing (UK connection number one). Honestly, the cuts at the end of this track are excellent: highly technical but definitely funky. The flipside is less interesting, but still a nice joint produced by The Creators (UK connection number two). I like the tight snares and glockenspiel sample, and as with ‘Verbalise’, Kwam does a nice job on the mic.

Two things surprise me about this 12”. Firstly, this was released in 1998, but very successfully captures the essence of hip hop in the earlier ’90s. If I had been asked to guess the year that this was released on a first listen, I would have certainly shaved at least a year or two off the actual release date as this slipped into the Prime Cuts mix easily between KRS One’s ‘Sound Of Da Police’ and the Beatnuts’ classic ‘No Equal’ (I just checked for that mix on Amazon… $125! I’ll throw it up soon: who pays that for a CD?). Secondly, what the hell happened to this guy? With such a promising 12” release you would have expected at least a full LP at some stage, but unfortunately this was obviously not to be. Any information on his current whereabouts will be much appreciated.

I have his earlier 12” with PB Wolf on the boards and the mighty Q-Bert on the cuts from ‘96, but I’m pushed for time with work commitments at the moment so you’ll have to wait. Perhaps I’ll put it up with the Prime Cuts mix later in the week: peace.

Big Kwam - Verbalise b/w Capacity Blown

This entry was posted on Monday, April 30th, 2007 at 6:08 pm and is filed under 12'' Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.