Like Sway's This is My Demo from earlier this year, Ty's Closer confirms the impression that UK hip-hop is at last developing a confident character of its own, informed by, but not beholden to, its American influences.  Full text...

Ty should be massive, but he isn't. The intelligence and humour of his material whacks you over the head. Sometimes compared to Kanye West (but much less dull, musically), Ty has been touted as a serious British contender whose natural flow and ear for a catchy rhythm produce a dynamite sound.   Full text...

Ty is an articulate thinker who avoids random misogyny and braggadocio to rap about the social background to the Damilola Taylor murder case or genocide in Africa. Equally comfortable behind the desk (particularly effective is the lounge jazz production on What You Want) or in front of the mike, he makes mainstream American hip-hop sound as formulaic and vacuous as it really is.   Full text...

UK hip hop producer and MC Ty follows 2003's Mercury-nominated "Upwards" with perhaps his most robust work to date.  Full text...

The US hip-hop fraternity could learn from Ty's third outing: there are 12 tracks, all of pop-song length, no skits, and it lasts under an hour. It is also low on braggadocio and high on ambition, as Ben Chijioke hopes for a wider audience such as that enjoyed by Sway and his labelmate Roots Manuva.  Full text...

A step backward, with basic beats that sound amateur and weak and lyrics that only rarely reach the level of those on Upwards.  Full text...