O.B.F. & Charlie P - Ghetto Cycle (Dubquake Records)

Charlie Purssord, as he's called in real life, hails from Southend, Essex and grew up listening to reggae thanks to his uncle who ran the local Simba Sound. Charlie took his first musical steps with ska-collective Goldmaster All-Stars, but soon got noticed by Nick Dubateers who took him to the Conscious Sounds studio where he recorded his debut album 'Hustle' (Dubateers, 2011). For the follow-up, 2015s 'You See Me Star', Charlie collaborated with the Scots of Mungo's Hi-Fi, and now there's 'Ghetto Cycle', the soundtrack of Charlie's life set to music by the Geneva based sound crew. Opener 'New Generation' immediately hits the spot and is one of our personal favorites from the track list. Songs like 'Policemen', about constantly having to experience police harassment, and 'Struggling', received the same rub-a-dub/new roots treatment. Tunes like 'Reality' or the excellent title track 'Ghetto Cycle' lend more towards UK steppers. The grime and dancehall from songs like 'Ah So We Dweet', 'Family', 'Dubplate Specialist' or 'Buss' we were less taken with, but that's more a matter of personal taste than of quality. Certainly well-found is 'My Introduction', featuring an intro where you hear Charlie on the phone with O.B.F.'s Rico, discussing the options for a new riddim (a revamp of the Tempo riddim). Charlie tries out a few different styles and eventually ends up with 'My Introduction'. Wicked tune! The cover of 'Ghetto Cycle' could have benefitted from some more creativity, but apart from that minor issue Charlie P and O.B.F. produced a highly enjoyable album O.B.F. mainly managing to hold the listener's attention thanks to the constant alternation in styles and genres.