After a lengthy hiatus making the odd contribution to the underground and frying patties on his parents' Jamaican food stall, Lewis Parker returns to Virgin to follow up his well-loved major label debut, 'Masquerades And Silhouettes'. Back when that album was released on Massive Attack's Melankolic imprint in the late nineties, the Roots Manuva-led revolution in UK hip-hop was only just beginning with the release of 'Black Whole Styles'. And it's fair to say that, in some quarters, his return is eagerly anticipated.
Lewis Parker has always been a leap of the imagination beyond most UK artists, approaching an almost Wu-Tang world of peculiar personal references and sci-fi (or, more precisely, Star Wars) allegory. His diligence as a breaks digger and idiosyncratic approach to sampling follows a similarly winding path. So, whilst he subscribes to the same dreaded backpacking b-boy codes that have seen lesser artists turn into purist dullards, his eccentric ear frequently rescues his music from thrift shop funk tedium.
But, he's clearly a man who has suffered at the fickle hands of major label paymasters; pushed from pillar to post whilst all the time going about his daily business of making beats and spitting rhymes. It shows here in the frequent lack of coherence throughout this overlong, 24-track behemoth of an album.
Apparently, it took a year and a half to clear all the samples for 'It's All Happening Now', who knows what other delays Lewis suffered in the painful gestation of this record? But it's probably the main reason why Virgin have ended up with a loose set of too many songs and no clear single. It feels like there are tracks here that have been on the shelf for a couple of years shouldering up against more recent material.
Nonetheless, there is some fine hip-hop on 'It's All Happening Now' from a soundscape where DITC rifle through Giles Peterson's record collection in search of the raw materials needed to craft the ultimate London concept album. Patient fans won't be disappointed.
