Yo there is no better way to celebrate your birthday than dropping an incredible UK Hip Hop banger!
Today is Joe’s birthday and he is certainly doing that. This explicit but very artistic and direct insight to his mind of Hip Hop will have you bouncing off the walls and going wild especially if you are lucky enough to see him play live.
Joe is no stranger to the Welsh scene and it is fair to say he bringing back that true South Wales underground flavor!
Happy birthday Joe and mad respect for smashing it with this latest serving.
Here is a JAFFA promo mix of DEAD MAN SMOKING: PARENTAL ADVISORY EXPLICIT LYRICS
To order Dead Man Smoking: Get Yours!
CATCH JOEBLOW @ SOLE FORCE (YDS12 OFFICIAL AFTER PARTY JUNE 23RD.)
Joe Blow 2012 Biography
The term ‘old school’ gets bandied about a lot in hip-hop circles, but Joe Blow’s approach to the game is the genuine article. A focussed motivated attitude and a need to always be progressing has allowed this seasoned veteran to effortlessly spray and hone his talents across many genres of underground music.
Despite his youthful appearance and energetic live show, Joe is old enough to have picked up some of those classic 1980s hip-hop LPs the first time around. These critical purchases etched themselves in Joe’s psyche and by the early 90s Joe was picking up the mic himself. He was also enjoying success in the jungle scene, bagging a residency at Cardiff’s legendary Hippo club by the age of 16, and finding himself on bills with the likes of Mickey Finn (Ratpack) and Jumping Jack Frost as well as stints at both Dreamscape and One Nation.
By the late 90s Joe had featured on various underground mixtapes, and was introduced to Metabeats, Cesto, Cervantis and Skamma. This crew – under the moniker ‘Hurts So Good’ (HSG) – would feature on an Optimus Prime track ‘Summer Time Vibes’ on their ‘Try B4 U Die’ EP, before getting their own HSG release on Optimus Prime’s label Dial Up Records. Elsewhere Joe hooked up with legendary Cardiff rapper 4Dee under the title Undecorated Veteranz and in 2006 the pair released a stunning 12” of true school hip-hop in the form of the ‘Music To Make You Stagger’ EP on Dial Up, with production handled by Stagga of Optimus Prime. Within a year the Metabeats ‘Metaphysical’ album was released, featuring Joe Blow, most of the Squid Ninjaz entourage, and putting South Wales well and truly on the hip-hop map. Hot on the heels of Metaphysical came Joe Blow’s debut release as a solo rap artist, the ‘Smoking Skills’ EP, which received rave reviews from all over the world. Then it was the turn of the Squid Ninjaz to drop their debut album ‘Revenge Of The Blowfish’ with Joe Blow both appearing on several tracks and overseeing the whole project.
In 2010 Joe lent his talents to the now infamous DJ Stagga track ‘Genik Riddim’ on DJ Starkey’s Slit Jockey Records, which knocked Dizzee Rascal and P Money off their top spots on the Juno download chart and saw a spate of high profile remixes once again reaffirming that Joe Blow can explore new terrain and still create fire. Soon after this came some collaborations with Las Vegas based DJs HavocNdeed, namely ‘Ain’t Got A Pill’, the ‘Mo Illa’ EP, and a formidable remix of Tinchy Stryder’s ‘Game Over’ track all of which featured Joe alongside fellow Squid Ninja and long time wingman Skamma.
The pairing of Joe Blow and Skamma also featured heavily on DJ Stagga’s ‘Warm Air Room’ album on Rag N Bone. This earned them a Welsh Music Award nomination from Huw Stephens which gave them chance to hit every major city in the UK and perform.
So what next? 2012 sees the release of Joe Blows debut album Dead Man Smoking, with the first single dropping this Summer. The album promises to be a gritty commentary on hip-hop, relationships, life observations and home truths from the eyes of a seasoned and skilful hip-hop powerhouse. Stay tuned.
Album: Dead Man Smoking
Release date: 1st June 2012
