Slim’s Pickings 2022 Pt. 2

Following on from last week’s continued roundup of some of my favourite releases from 2022, I’m back with what I thought was going to be my final selection. The original plan was to cover 30 EPs and albums, but as time has gone on my mind has decided to trigger more musical memories from the year. Add to that the fact that the last breaths of 2022 brought us a few more releases and I realise now that I could easily do a top 40 (shout out to 80’s Sunday evenings on Radio One). So without further ado, here are my next ten choices, and as usual they arrive in no particular order beyond the sequence my memory brought them to the surface. The third and final instalment will follow shortly.

Dabbla x Illaman x GEAR x Benofficial: Main Man Syndrome

From UK to US as Potent Funk flex their collective talent on this latest single. Main Man Syndrome features spoken bullets from Dabbla, Illaman, GEAR and Benofficial, as well as some perfectly matched musical accompaniment from Forest DLG. It’s an illuminating collaboration and the video also gives you the opportunity to see Dabbla getting tattooed on a bus. Say no more.

Dubbledge & Forest DLG: Ten Toes Down (Stream)

Every time Dubbledge releases something fresh into the world, the UK rap scene quite rightly devours it because we are almost constantly fiendin’ for unheard material from one of the country’s most widely respected yet least prolific artists. So to be told that a whole Dubbledge album was en route, an album produced by the legendary Forest DLG, was enough to make me lose my shit.
Ten Toes Down was originally recorded a whopping 10 years ago, back when Forest was still Chemo, but for reasons unknown to this blog at least, it remained stashed away. But as the old saying goes, it’s better late than never, so please enjoy this 10 track assortment of beats and bars, which is at once as enlightening and entertaining as you would expect from an MC of Dubbledge’s standards. Ten Toes Down is out now on Potent Funk.

What’s In A Name? (A Q&A with Forest DLG)

Name changes within the music industry are pretty common, with artists offering up a variety of reasons for their decisions. Prince’s infamous transition into ‘The Symbol’ was prompted by his legal dispute with Warner Brothers, while Mello Music’s Chris Orrick, changed his name from Red Pill to distance himself from growing connotations with the ridiculous men’s rights movement.

More recently, Chemo, veteran UK hip hop producer and travelling man, announced he is changing his name to Forest DLG. I knew he was a fan of the outdoors so the choice did not surprise me. In fact, it made perfect sense. So, I decided to pay a virtual call on the man himself and ask about his decision, and more importantly, as we both share a love of nature and the woods, find out some vital information about his woodland preferences.