PIECES OF ME

Ever since I can remember Telford has always had a rich pool of eager musicians, artists and bands. The main focus in my teenage years spent growing up in Telford used to be on rock, metal and punk but Dribbz gives us a well crafted offering which breaks that mould.

And this is no small offering of a few tracks, this is a full blown 18 track album in which Dribbz drops some deep meaningful rhymes with the help of an array of producers and guest vocalists, a lot of which are also from Telford.

My first experience of Dribbz was at a small local drum and bass night where he was one of the many MCs on the bill and even then I was impressed with his flow, with how he delivered his input and how he engaged with the crowd.  When I heard he was releasing his own Hip Hop album I knew I had to take a listen.

Dribbz is also quite well known locally for his outspoken support for Men’s Mental Health and writes a column covering such issues for Telford & Newport Scene Magazine which is well recieved but this album is a more creative way for his messages of support, thoughts and understanding to be heard.  As well as Mens Mental Health other social issues in the uk are touched upon such as Child Poverty, Disability and the hard topic of Domestic Abuse towards Men.

The messages are strong, well written and put across in a way that, I hope, will help some that hear it to make sense of what is going on in thier own lives if they are struggling, like a supporting inner voice for those who may feel they don’t have one.  One line in particular stands out in this respect on the track Mindgames “…but with my hand on my heart, i can promise you this, i’ll be the voice of the people when they’re feeling dismissed”.  A strong line and sentiment indeed and with how well written and deep the album is i’m sure its a sentiment that Dribbz will uphold.

Things are already on the way up for Dribbz, having Telford HMV agree to stock physical copies of his album and recently performing HMV Live & Local to a packed out store.

Technically the album is well produced, the tracks an eclectic mix of ambient beatz which provide the perfect backdrop for the crisp sounding, cohearant vocals.  If I had any criticism it would be perhaps the vocals were a bit too crisp, a tiny bit of reverb would help blend them a bit more, and some of the tracks ome across a bit quieter than the others either side but that is just me nitpicking because for something self published and pushed it is a fantastic body of work.  If this is what Dribbz offers as a self published artist I look forward to see what comes next.

My top 3 Tracks from the album?  It’s a hard choice but IF i had to pick it would be, in no particular order, “Mindgames ft. Kieran Hayes”, “Party Hard ft. HKG Crew” and “Superhero Powers”.

You can listen to the album on Spotify and Soundcloud, just search for Dribbz.

Words and photo by Mark J Allan