“Hey man, it’s not that bad being hated” says Adventure Time’s Jake the Dog (the first of three snippets from the Cartoon Network hit show) to introduce this EP, but it’s unlikely these two are hated in these days when Scottish hip-hop has emerged in it’s strongest position yet, yeah like all Scottish hip-hop the accents are a little rough round the edges and the local slang prevalent but this is surely the best time to be in the Scottish rap game.
Opener ‘Lifted Up’ is 24/7‘s token weed track as the Deadsoundz duo invite you to “get smashed with Subz and Macc” and that’s probably the best way to enjoy this EP, not that that’s a bad thing just a wee push to help you get lost in the EP’s lucid beats.
‘Wake Up’ strays from the traditional hip-hop sound sampling sitar music, still some solid rhythm keeps the flow; like most of the EP this is forward thinking hip-hop from two guys with a lot to spill.
More Adventure Time introduces ‘MacSubz’, this time from Marceline’s father Hunson Abadeer calling Gunter “by far the most evilest thing I’ve encountered” and indeed this most brash track in terms of subject matter as the Glasgow duo paint a bad boy image of themselves, but don’t fret the violent and misogynistic tendencies mentioned are all bravado with a jovial punch and by no means evil.
24/7 won’t be the record that gets you into Scottish hip-hop if you’re not already, there’s plenty more accessible than this, but it is a certainly fun, if laid back EP that allows this A-Macc and SubKonsious to experiment before their crew are ready to pool resources again.
Words: Iain Dawson
