Son Raw is the Michelangelo of this Trap-Rave shit. Up is down, down is up, clothing labels release more music than record labels and it’s perfectly acceptable to mash together 90s piano house and southern rap drum patterns. As 2012 comes to a close, it’s clear the single best strategy to continue enjoying new music […]

Sinjin Hawke & Zora Jones – VClipse from Zora Jones on Vimeo. Son Raw’s wondering whatever happened to his copy of Romeo must Die. It’s important to remember that before it was swiftly taken over by shirtless bros bent on making it the latest soundtrack to gurn to, Trap was actually an interesting idea in […]

Son Raw still wants Royal’s Dizzee Rascal refix. It’s never a bad time for a reminder that Royal-T’s debut album for Rinse.FM is one of the best listens of the year. Any record that combines high-energy rhymes, Burial tributes and over the top rave anthems will hold a special place in my heart but all […]

Son Raw has sea-legs. At this point, I’ve run out of ways to express surprise at just how much Alchemist is killing it in 2012. Of course, he’s always been sick, but Boom-Bap producers aren’t supposed to deliver their best work 15 years into their careers, if only because they run out of samples. I […]

Son Raw could use more heartbroken Juke n’ B right now Much like The Biz, Hesk never sleeps. Even while on vacay in his native Netherlands and smoking the finest of ganjes, he still finds the time to drop some limited downloads for the Footwork massive. At Night flips a soulful R&B sample into dream-pop […]

Son Raw was ready to hate this album. Kendrick did it. Compare him to the greats to knock him down a peg if you must and complain about what the album isn’t if needed but he still did it: he put out a genuinely excellent, cohesive rap album on a major label in 2012. Because […]

Son Raw suggests walking around to this at 1:00AM on a windy night “Do Your thing, just make sure you’re ahead of the game…” The opening words to Pangaea’s Release come courtesy of a Missy Elliot sample and seems awfully apropos in London circa 2012. After years of relentless evolution and transformation, the UK Bass […]

Son Raw’s about hash and hashtags It’s been a long time, I shouldn’t have left you, without a new mix to step to. In between writing for this site and playing a variety of shows across the land (Toronto I see you, big announcement coming soon!) I recently found time to collect some of my […]

Son Raw is all about exploitation If Action Broski doesn’t make it as a rapper (which incidentally would be a crime against music), he can always star in Robert Rodriguez flicks from now until infinity. From acrobatic assaults on tables worthy of the original Bam Bam, to corrective measures delivered to pimps, hoes, gangsters and […]

Son Raw prefers biking. I’m not suggesting that New York should adopt Billboard, as its new anthem. I’m just saying Scottish producer and LuckyMe affiliate S-Type’s instrumental take on Southern Hip-Hop kicks Empire State of Mind’s ass across the BQE and maybe (just maybe) Jeter wouldn’t be fanuting his ankle back together right now if he’d […]