Mr Key x Dirty Dike x Chemo: Kids Story 2

A stunning collaboration here from the High Focus camp, as Mr Key emerges from the shadows to deliver this new loosie. For Kids Story 2, the Contact Play MC has connected with two familiar production talents, Dirty Dike and Chemo, who co-produced the track together. That production is fortified by some beautiful violin playing from Julianna Napier, adding further weight to Key’s all-too familiar tale of a kid who begins experimenting with drugs, before things take a darker turn. The track is follow-up to Key’s 2015 song with Greenwood Sharps. You can download and stream Kids Story 2 from the usual spots.

Mr Key & Greenwood Sharps: Green & Gold (Stream & Video)

Part of the last minute rush of superb releases this year, is the new EP from Mr Key and Greenwood Sharps. Following on from the critical acclaim they received for their 2015 release, Yesterday’s Futures, the duo have created another sublime project, Green & Gold. There are strong themes of love, nature and hope within the EP and it’s accompanying short film, which breathe a breath of a fresh air into a scene where darker themes often prevail. The film was made by Jamie Johnson and can be watched below, where you can also stream the EP in full. Physical versions are available via High Focus.

Ronnie Bosh: Get Out + Album Stream

It’s a good day for hip hop, as Ronnie Bosh’s debut solo LP is finally released. Having been a major contributor to the scene for a long time, thanks to his Contact Play affiliation and the numerous features it spawned, Bosh has built up a solid fanbase who have all been crying out for a full-length project. All People Expect is the perfect answer to those cries, with Bosh’s baritone flows perfectly lacing Dike’s production; the result of years of collaborations between the two of them, including on the Dike-produced My Business by Rag’N’Bone Man.

Jam Baxter: Mansion 38

Check out the next offering from Jam Baxter’s latest album, which has further established him as one of the nation’s most innovative MCs. And with good reason. It’s always going to be hard to follow an album that was lauded as much as So We Ate Them Whole, but he and Chemo have managed to pull it off.

Mr Key “HF TV Exclusive Bars”

The enigmatic CP and SMB MC, Mr Key, drops into High Focus for some exclusive bars. The sign of an album on the horizon? Probably not, so make the most of these precious few.

Edward Scissortongue ft. Contact Play “Coma”

One of my favourite joints from the Scissortongue album, has been given the good video treatment. Check out Scissor and his Contact Play comrades Baxter, Dike, Key and Bosh, doing justice to another Lamplighter stunner.

Edward Scissortongue “BETTER.LUCK.NEXT.LIFE”

Today sees the release of the latest offering from High Focus Records, in the shape of Edward Scissortongue’s debut LP “BETTER.LUCK.NEXT.LIFE” and for me, the album finds a niche that has been seemingly empty in UK hip hop until now.