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\nFirst Word are proud to present “Time For Something New”, the FW debut from Essa. He\u2019s no newbie though – under his former name, Yungun, he rose through the UK Hip Hop ranks to reach a worldwide audience winning praise from Nas, Mark Ronson and Cody ChesnuTT.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Loyal fans have waited patiently for this, his first commercial release since 2006’s “Grown Man Business” album with long-time collaborator DJ Mr Thing. In the meanwhile, though, he’s kept them entertained, gigging and recording with the likes of Guru (Gang Starr), The Herbaliser and The Nextmen and releasing a series of free downloads \u2013 “Jack The World” mixtape and a set of freestyles\/remixes he calls the FRMX EPs. With a truck-load of hot tracks now ready to go, the time was right to officially relaunch one of the UK\u2019s most distinctive and original voices.<\/strong><\/p>\n

With a new label and a new(ish!) name comes a new musical direction… Time For Something New! Whilst he won’t be abandoning his hip Hop roots, Essa has always had an ear for a variety of musical styles and this EP shows his growth as an artist. He’s roped in collaborators as diverse as Simbad (Gilles Peterson Worldwide Family), Waajeed (Slum Village \/ PPP), Finn Peters (Bansuri \/ Accidental Records), plus UK Hip Hop legend Skinny Man and Wutang Clan’s Inspectah Deck. Add in a remix from Hyperdub rising stars LV and you have a release that leaps over musical boundaries.\u00a0The EP takes in latin-fuelled bass music (Something New), low-slung anthemic hip hop (Let’s Start Living & Panache) and Nu Soul (A Walk in The Park) with LV’s Panache remix adding minimal, claustrophobic club beats to the mix.<\/p>\n

Tying it all together is Essa’s powerful lyrical flow, his on-point rhymes effortlessly blending serious subject matter with witty one-liners. The EP is a taste of things to come, showing that, beyond tight rhymes and banging beats, there is real song-writing ability here. Look out for his new album “The Middle Man” due in 2013.<\/p>\n

Listen to a preview of “Time For Something New” EP\u00a0HERE<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

First Word are proud to present “Time For Something New”, the FW debut from Essa. He\u2019s no newbie though – under his former name, Yungun, he rose through the UK Hip Hop ranks to reach a worldwide audience winning praise from Nas, Mark Ronson and Cody ChesnuTT.\u00a0 Loyal fans have waited patiently for this, his …<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5152,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n