London Urban Collective III - Various

London isn't the whole of the UK. Obvious? Glaringly obvious? It would seem so. It's a simple fact of geography, for starters. As Scots with a love of hip-hop, The Skinny reckons it gets a little grating to be sidelined. We're sure it's annoying if you're from Manchester too. LUCIII is just the latest in a long line of this kind ignorance. Some in the London scene can seem unaware of just how much goes on elsewhere. The music on the album is varied and of a damn high standard, and some of the MCs are pretty lethal. Where it all falls down is where the label bills it as a showcase of UK hip-hop, when all the auditions were held in North London. Couple that scene blindness with a reliance on American talent, and the LUC doesn't do enough to convince. That is a shame, because some of the talent on this record really doesn't deserve to be tainted with the stink of parochial self importance. [DalaiDahmer]