Reds – “Crowns And Camo” (Album)

Straight out of the bubbling Hip Hop in the UK, Norwich based underground Hip Hop artist Reds releases his new highly anticipated album titled “Crowns And Camo“.

A product of the UK sound system culture, Norwich based Reds earned his stripes holding the mic at some notorious raves in an era filled with crazy characters and a spirit of rebellion that has shaped his approach to music ever since.

By the early 2000s he had founded his own imprint Chronic Redeye Music and started street -level distribution of a unique brand of reggae influenced hip hop, designed to boom out of big bass bins and give a snapshot into a lifestyle that operates outside the mainstream bubble and often the law in general. Despite the disregard for industry acceptance, his work started getting airplay from BBC Introducing, Itch FM and Kool London amongst others.

Over the years a stream of street albums, mixtapes and EPs has seen him work with a number of US artists such as Hell Razah, Big Noyd and Bronze Nazareth alongside a host of British counterparts. In the early days HHC magazine described Chronic Redeye Music as ‘’the real deal’’ and this new album is more proof that they made the right call.

Weighing in with a hefty amount of solo tracks and produced entirely by in-house Red Wok Productions, Crowns and Camo is perhaps the most focussed project from Reds to date. Each song is designed to play its part in a sonic journey that combines golden era craftsmanship with a modern take on production. The range of styles all carry the DNA of the artist’s sound system influences and picking away at the layers you will find heavy bass and drums, intelligent wordplay and minimal but clever synth work creating a dancehall reggae meets rave soundscape in a hip hop package. Guest spots on Crowns and Camo were a careful consideration. Affiliated artists from inside the
camp such as DPF and Lyrical T rightfully take their place on the project, but other notable appearances include the two tracks with Shabazz The Disciple. The Sunz Of Man/Gravediggaz legend creates a unique chemistry both heavy on the rhyme skills and raw reality content. The unmistakeable sound of Irish rogue Rob Kelly can also be heard as he rounds the album off in typical heavyweight fashion.

If the works of the underground and under-rated artist known as Reds have so far passed under your
radar, now would be a perfect time to step into his world and explore…