Charge is the Second Full Length Album from Melbourne Mc Eloquor. Second? It’s easy too miss good artists these days. But in this case, Eloquor admittedly wouldn’t be surprised if you missed his first with his first album being a low budget production that he mostly put together himself.

Charge is anything but with production, beats and features from well known Australian Hip Hop celebrities including M-phazes, Jase, Slap618, Doc Felix and Lauren Gillard to name a few.

Now under the guidance of Frank Mincone aka Slap618 as his manager (Myspherical Entertainment & Obese Records) Charge is an album with a message. To me this me this message was move forward, don’t have regrets, constantly push what you think is possible and take control of your own destiny. I know that’s quite a few messages all rolled into one, but when you listen to this album I think you will agree.

Charge is the feature track for this Album and where the Album takes it’s name. This isn’t really a criticism but for an album with notable guests I found it odd that Charge’s chorus didn’t come with a bit more punch. I mean, this would have been a perfect opportunity to get a cunts in a room and scream this hook (CHARGE) into the mic. Maybe it’s just me or maybe because it’s part of the albums flow and the self introspective message that this album carries throughout it’s entirety and something he wanted to do himself.

Keep on ft Lauren Gillard is a inspirational track, which for me really set’s the pace of this album. The video clip features what appears to be a broken family and a man struggling to come to terms with what never was or what never eventuated. You need to check it and make your own mind up.

A song I can relate my own experience of becoming a father Daddy’s Girl ft Cisco Tavares is probably my favourite track on the album. Eloquor drops his experience with the birth of his daughter like it happened yesterday. Something all first time Dads can probably relate to. I’d never heard of Cisco Tavares and on the first few listens I thought it was a sample, it wasn’t until I picked up the press release and did some Google searches that I found he is a local R’nB artist. (well he lives in Australia now, so by Aussie by laws #1321321 * anyone who’s been here more than a year we can claim as our own) I will definitely be checking more of his stuff in the future.

The last track on the LP Like The Clouds also ft Lauren Gillard but more interestingly samples from his Grandmother who this album was also dedicated to. The translated Hungarian vocal sample translates to “On earth we are merely guests, time here is short, the whole thing is like a soaring cloud”. After hearing this track, it becomes obviously apparent where Eloquor has found a lot of his inspiration and guidance throughout the years and what made him the person that he is. In my opinion, Eloquor seems extremely grounded and happy with the person he sees in the mirror every day. Something we should all strive for.

There’s a bunch of other dope tracks on this album that I didn’t cover. You really need to give ‘Charge’ several listens before it WILL become one of your favourite releases of 2010. ‘Charge’ by MC Eloquor is available now where all good Hip Hop is sold and distro is through Obese Records.

You can also read a recent interview with Eloquor at Certified Scribe

Gully Platoon is a new crew consisting of three emcees; Pegz, Joe New and Dialectrix. Each as an individual has more than pulled their own over the past on their respective releases but can they pull of a formula that works as a crew over some production from Jase, J Squared and Plutonic Lab?

The Great Divide is a collection of pretty good tracks but the album seems to lack a bit of direction in topics and styles. Joe New and D-Trix have spat together on a heap of tracks and they bounce off each other easily in this sense, even at times confusing the ear as to who is spitting. Blue Mountains hip hop has its own style when it comes to flow and structure and both Joe New and D-Trix spit in this fashion. Pegz spits like Pegz. His flow is on point when lined up against the other two which could have been an issue as he has a unique presence but the contrast works well. Tracks such as “For Those That Don’t Know”, highlight the fact that all three emcees can seamlessly blend when done correctly however on tracks such as “Late Nights”, the slower tempo suits Pegz better than the others as ‘Bank Job’ works better with a quicker flow that Joe New and D-Trix bring. So overall it evens out but there are certainly tracks that suit each emcee better than the next. There is a lot of rap about coming up hard, hip hop and the Gully Platoon theme and vibe. It works on a lot of the tracks but after about ten tracks it sounds a little familiar, there are a few late charges with Late Nights and Where Do I Go which offer a more personal approach from the emcees but this could have been sprinkled throughout the album instead of pushing it into just a few tracks.

Production wise once the needle crackles and the guitar licks kick in you can kind of feel where this album is gonna go and that is large. With Jase and Plutonic Lab handling 99% of the beats it should sound large and in line with both these Oz Hip Hop kings reputations it bangs. There is a varying range of production from guitar heavy bangers, Bank Job, to the keys driven ‘Gully’s In Town’ and the electro bounce of ‘Nothing To Lose’. Production is on point throughout the whole album.

So is Gully Platoon the next big crew in Oz Hip Hop? They will be large that is for sure, with Pegz at the helm and the hunger of Joe New and Dialectrix it is hard to not see them killing it live and getting lots of deserved Triple J love. With an album full of solid production and good flow most should enjoy the offering but it doesn’t deviate too much from what you would expect from each emcee as a solo artist whether it is topics, flows or presence it is all there from each separate emcee and as a crew the formula should only get better.

By Sam P

Gully Platoon is – The Great Divide is out NOW. The Obese Crew will be touring near you soon, with the 2009 Block Party!

For More info check www.obeserecords.com

It’s not the lack of good artists in Oz Hip Hop at the moment it’s the influx of absolutely shit ones that seem to appear overnight with a desire to be the nest big thing. Fortunately for us all, Melbourne rapper G-Force has been honing his skills for as long as I have known him and while others have dropped off or given up G-Force has provided us with a surprisingly fresh take at our beloved genre.

The album’s intro kicks off with a smooth beat appropriately called Welcome (beats produced by Xcise & Dutch) and by the time the 40 seconds is up you are nearly on your feet with anticipation off what what’s on next. Stop, Drop, Roll doesn’t disappoint, the production on this track combined with seamlessly perfect flow will remind you what good Oz Hip Hop is supposed to sound like. The feature track Clouded is a track about self reflection and is perfect for playing when you need some motivation. Just when you think this Album is going to be strictly grimey Drop The Beat (ft Vida Sunshyne) is the kinda track that your missus will remember and will have her jigging around to. Fed Up (Government Funk) similarly has a dope upbeat beat but with ironically…well ‘fed up’ lyrics. (It’s going to be ok man – Ed). The next track features Hunter. Burden of Proof is a real stand out for me. The raps on this track are superb especially Hunters lines, I did feel the hook was a bit weak but judge for yourself. Whoever came up with Since We Need an Interlude haha ya funny cunt.. Skipping forward a few tracks (fuck, you need to judge some of this wax for yaself) to Track 12 Game of life Ft Maundz is another standout. Some real grimey shit and kinda makes me wanna smoke some bongs and watch graff videos. I dunno check it out and see if you think the same thing. Gonna Be Mine Ft. Doc Felix is nothing short of pure awesomeness and with a DJ like Doc Felix (Top Billin) I didn’t expect anything less. Ahhh the Outro a perfect end to a Album that’s on repeat.

G-Force Clouded is OUT NOW on Run Of Play Records and proudly distributed by Obese Records.