Guess Scroo’s back?

Everyone’s favourite bearded rapper Scroobius Pip is back in full flow (who says I ain’t down with the kids eh?) with a couple of groin warmingly good tracks. First up is a collaboration with New Orleans jazz trumpeter Christian Scott, ‘Love (sic)’. Billed as jazz-hop it tells the tale of one man’s addiction to drugs (with the drug replacing the role of a woman in his love affair) and, as with most Pip-bits it’s packed full of delicious little lines. “She came out of the piss filled gutters like Moses”. Classic. Not sure when it’s out, but keep your ears peeled for it.

Pip is, for my money, one of the best things to happen to British Hip Hop…ever. Sure, there’s a comic element to some of his material but he’s far from a one hit pony and the sooner more people get into him the better we’ll all be. Why? Well, the man talks sense. Not in a preachy, politician kind of way, just honest, straightforward, 100%, no additives, preservatives or bullshit, good old fashioned common bloody sense. I’d vote for him…and there’s very few people I’d say that about. The second new Pip track is back with his regular sparring partner Dan le Sac and it illustrates perfectly what I’m banging on about. Entitled ‘Get Better’ it’s aimed at ‘da yoot’ and its simple message is…er..get better. Not for the grown ups, society or your teachers…just for yourself.

As an aside I’d hate to be young these days. It wasn’t a bed of roses back in the 1860’s when I was a lad but now? Jeez. You’re looking at a lifetime of living with your parents ‘cos you can’t afford to move out and a retirement age that’ll probably coincide with a telegram from good ol’ Queenie. So I can kind of see why more and more teens end up drinking super strength cider and impregnating each other in bus shelters. I can even see the appeal of gang culture, especially if your dad left home before you took your first steps and your mum’s too busy shooting up to know what year it is. But the bottom line is you came into this world on your own and you’re going out the same way, what you do with your brief time on planet earth is down to you. Thankfully we live in a country with free education and healthcare for all, everything else is a bonus. Getting back to the track, that’s kind of Pip’s point. If your life goes tits up you’ve only got yourself to blame. It ain’t a new message by any means but the way he packages it all up is nothing short of inspirational. “Imagine a song that really reached out and touched kids, and not in a Daily Mail way” raps Pip. Job done I’d say.

The single's out on March 1st with the new album 'The Logic of Chance' following on March 14th. They're out on tour in March and April too (with a gig at the Birmingham Academy on March 26th). Being the lovely chaps that le Sac and Pip are they've also put 'Get Better' online (together with a stack of mixes). Here ya go. Enjoy.