3DJ Rating 🔥🔥🔥🔥 / 5
‘Firmamentum’ is the debut album from Gawd Status, a collaborative project between King Kashmere of Strange U (production) & Joker Starr (emcee). Perfectly described by Monolith Cocktail as “a rolling thunder of articulate rage and a fiercely tribal shakedown rewriting the Blaxploitation manifesto” – the singles “Heavy Metal/The Alchemist ft. Fae Simon”and “Messiah Hybrids” have been championed by Tom Ravenscroft (BBC 6Music), Phil Taggart (BBC Radio 1), EARMILK, & Laurent Garnier (Worldwide FM/Radio Meuh).
Covering theme & topics of madness, slavery, the rise of A.I., false Gods, ancient Mesopotamia, catholic priests, the transmutation of matter & much more, ‘Firmamentum’ showcases Gawd Status’ versatility and eclecticism as an unconventional producer/MC duo, delivering a killer and off-kilter record that lies in between the worlds of hip-hop, psychedelia and soul.
Confounding categories, Gawd Status originated from the UK hip-hop scene, with the duo initially meeting at a King Kashmere’s Raiders Of The Lost Archives launch party back in 2008, joining forces a couple of years after. Slough resident Kebbie Conteh aka Joker Starr solo career ranges from the AA single “Raw Spittage / The Anthem” (2001) to his most recent LP ‘G.A.W.D’ (2019) which demonstrates Joker’s flair for originality as an MC. While King Kashmere, as well as being a talented producer, is known for being a legendary UK MC in his own right, most notably for lending his vocal talents to producer Dr Zygote (aka The Maghreban). Together they form Strange U, releasing on the prolific Eglo Records and esteemed UK label High Focus (who have released music from Ocean Wisdom and Rag’n’Bone Man), plus picking up praise in The Ransom Note, The Quietus, The Wire and on NTS. Individually the duo have supported the likes of AZ, M.O.P, Kool Keith, Necro and Phife Dawg.
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