An old UK favourite of mine is Ramson Badbonez, now if you don't know about Badbonez then I don't know where you've been all this time. As a member of the Task Force family he's been around for a while now but fuck me this man is good at what he does, which makes it all the more sad that the scene is in the state it's in, I mean, every real HH artist deserves to be making a lot more money than anyone making music for the mainstream but Ramson Badbonez particularly deserves a lot of fucking credit. As I said, he's an old favourite and I've jumped on every release that he's put out like a wild Hyena to a small malnourished child. I just can't get enough of his unbelievable lyrical potency, every word is spot on and Badbonez has put out such a stylistically varied mix of songs. He's covered many different topics but one thing that all of his songs have in common are deep, intelligent lyrics. The man of many styles has shown that he can pull off story lyrics with ease much like many of the greats (Biggie - I Got A Story to Tell & Slick Rick - Children's Story to name a couple) (one of which is a 2006 remake of the classic Children's Story) which is a sign of lyrical mastery. 

But this truly is just one notch in the wealth of experience that Badbonez displays, he gets all deep and reminisces on his childhood in Want U Back which despite having different life experiences most people can relate to due to the nature of the song which leaves me missing my childhood every single time I hear it. But again, this London MC has so much more to offer, with a few mixtapes that are purely there to pay homage to a couple of the late greats, namely Biggie & J Dilla, he uses only the production from these heroes' releases to apply his own lyrics to. And I have to admit, generally speaking when a UK MC spits over such iconic American beats it usually does them no justice at all, but Badbonez pulls it off well, managing the capture the essence of these 2 titans whilst still adding an English spin to the tunes.

Feel The Vibe - BIG Remix

I can't deny that many of the songs are just lyrics from another of Badbonez's songs played over some classic beats, but even those manage to sound like they're intentionally written for their respective productions. 

I still haven't even scratched the surface of what Badbonez is all about, when the time calls for it Ramson Badbonez can flex his chest and bring it with some hard hitting lyrics while still maintaining the level of intelligence that sets him apart from many others. If you haven't really heard of him then I seriously suggest that you go cop his releases, if you don't have much money then I'd say that The Official Mixtape Vol. 1 is definitely an essential for any HH collection. Listen to these songs and then find him on bandcamp... this man deserves mad props.

Takin' Medication

Dragon Kings Feat. Taskforce

Take it Back Feat Farma G

The Countdown Feat. Nox & Farma G

Want U Back

Pump Feat. Fliptrix, Sonnyjim & Verb T

Lazers in the waistband, razors on the tongue...