A New Release for a New Year

After dropping his debut full-length LP earlier this year, Whirlwind D is back with a brand new single. ...Not from the album, but two new cuts. Still on B-Line Recordings, D has a nice, little 7" single, pressed on white (white) vinyl in a cool picture cover and limited to 250 copies. And there is no mp3 download or streaming alternative this time - it's vinyl or nothin', kids.

The A-side is "Time Waits for No Man," produced by Phil Wilks, the guy who did the "Star" refix on his last album, and features some especially nice cutting Specifik. D always has the best scratching on his records; I love it. The track's a great blend of funky percussion, a cool, headnodder bassline and a fresh 80s-style stuttering guitar riff. And the cuts. They mostly come in for the hook, switching between a few, fun time-related vocal samples; but they really blend into the instrumental nicely. They're an integral part of the track, not just a DJ getting busy over a beat. And lyrically, the song's got an appealing - if a little self-helpy - message with a nice, off-bar rhyme scheme: "Time to/ Make a plan, look around and scan/ Your peers, woman to man, every single damn/ Detail. Never fail to cover your trail/ In search of life's treasures and the holy grail." And it's hard not to notice, again, falling nicely into the "grown man rap" niche.

Comparatively, the B-side, "One, Two," is more of a casual, back-and-forth freestyle song with Rola (of the Numskullz), who also produces. Once again, Specifik provides cuts, this time saved for the end. It's fun, with a funky, slow beat and breezy punchlines (although I'm not sure what it means to "glow like Eddie Deezen?"). But the A-side's the one you're going to latch onto; this one's more like filler. Enjoyable, high quality filler, but still filler.

You can't argue with the price; just £6 direct from B-Line. You can hear sound clips here and judge for yourself. The presentation's great; and it's hard to deny he's got a good sound.