V/A - Life & Lyrics OST

This soundtrack to the forthcoming film about a London MC, is a winning mixture of domestic and imported party hip-hop and R&B. Achieving a nice balance between underground and commercial, tracks by Sky Hy, Ohmega Watts and The Royal Priesthood stand out as great examples of lyric-focused hip-hop, and will appeal to fans of Souls of Mischief. UK bigwigs Kano and Sway make an appearance each, alongside relative newcomers like C-Mone (an awesome female MC), Styly Cee and Midnyte, who all deliver tight, gritty London rhymes, on a hip-hop tip rather than a grime one. Setting these artists alongside veterans like Guru (Gang Starr) and Cage works extremely well, and save the (thankfully brief) presence of some winsome R&B from Estelle and Sharissa Stewart, and some cheesy club cuts from Marz, this is an unpolished, rough and ready, very enjoyable romp across the Atlantic and back again. If the film's as good as the soundtrack, we're in for a treat. [Omar Kudos]