"The world will know that this is the biggest mix tape on road, The world will know that Baby Blue is a heavy lyricist, The world will know that she's light skinned, The world will know that she's from south London, The world will know she's rolling with Ace and Invisible" I don't really think there is a better way to introduce this CD than to use the words of Ace and Invisible, It is probably the best way to introduce the 20 year old female British hip hop artist that has gained my respect recently.
This full name of this mixtape CD is Out of the Blue Volume 2 - The world will know, and follows up her first CD, out of the Blue. And while ciao does not specify what volume this category is for, all the product information corresponds with that of this CD, now we have that cleared up let us get on with the music.
I cannot stop singing the praises of British hip hop, for many reasons, 1) It is a fresh break from the much manufactured American hip hop 2) The language is a lot cleaner than American hip hop, it's not all 'F*** the feds, they can go f*** themselves, or something'! 3) Most of it comes from London, and the common London accent is so sexy! Or in the case of females it just sounds friendly, I guess all common accents sound pretty similar so it kinds of reminds me of going out with my mates, or maybe it's just a break from my middle class parents with their middle class accents. 4) Well it's British music int it, and well, I'm British.
But this review is not about why I like British music, that was more of an introduction, I really ought to continue reviewing before you all give up on reading my review and decide you'll just not bother buying this CD which would be unfortunate as you would be missing out.
The CD begins with, what can be described as an interesting introduction, don't be confused the rainbow song is meant to be there, you haven't accidentally got yourself the Children's Favourite Nursery Rhymes Album! The rhyme does soon vanish and the British hip hop beat kicks in and we hear the incredibly friendly voice of Baby Blue, she sounds like the sort of girl you would like to know, fun, bubbly and confident. The album is introduced by Baby Blue in a lovely informal manner, the whole manner of this CD is informal which makes it so easy and enjoyable to listen to.
Track 2 - Sometimes ft Selah If you have been watching channel U recently it is most likely that you will have seen the great video for this. It is a beautiful song, with great background music and Selah, who sounds gorgeous. The whole track is however brought to life by Baby Blue whose great emcee style gives the song a real edge. 8/10
Track 3 - Blow My Mind When I first heard this I will admit I did give my CD player a massive whack, yet the skipping noise continued. I had soon worked out that the noise was deliberate, and once you realise it is not a sign that your CD is damaged you get used to it and even learn to love the quirky introduction. This track isn't as pretty as Sometimes, it has a heavier beat, and the background tune does sound like a bad CD, yet it is a great track, not to everyone's taste but I love the edge the song has. 7/10
Track 4 - Dreamin' parts 1 & 2 This is a continuation of Dreamin' from Out of the Blue volume 1, however if you like me did not buy her first mixtape then don't feel like you are missing out, Baby Blue does recap the first part, hence the name featuring 'parts 1 & 2'. The song is very spooky, the background music has a very sinister sound to it, and the lyrics, well, they are really quite creepy. It is a beautiful song, and once again Blue sounds great, the rhyme is original, in fact the whole concept of the song is original. It is not my favourite track though, it kind of scares me and shows a darker side to Baby Blue. 5/10
Track 5 - Love Story 05 ft Sway This might well be my favourite track on the CD, this may be because of the involvement of Sway, who is an amazing artist, the track is also done in a very casual style, many artists could take the concept of this song and make far too heavy a track. The lyrics are amusing and the switch between Baby Blue and Sway is smooth and suits the song personally. I also like the background music, it's beautiful and goes fantastically with the lyrics. Seuwese is another vital ingredient in this track, her singing adds an absolute magic to the track. Obviously the song is about love, looking at the title, but it is a modern love, one that can fit in with the 21st century when men and women are equal, so quite a deep subject, but this does sound fantastic, Sway and BB take light of the subject, but not distastefully. 10/10
Track 6 - I'm a hustla This is the first freestyle, there are not actually many freestyles on this mixtape, but I don't think that is necessarily a disadvantage. Not to say that Baby Blue doesn't sound good, to the beat of Cassidy's I'm a hustla. It is powerful, and the words mean something. I am not much of a fan of freestyles, but this does sound good. 6/10
Track 7 - I don't care ft Insane This is the first of the 2 'I don't care tracks' I was already used to Baby Blue's I Still don't care which is on later on the CD. The songs have addictive beats and catchy tunes. An emcee can be a genius, but they always sound a lot better with a great track behind them, this is a great track and it makes Baby Blue's aggressive rapping technique sound amazing. Insane adds a contrast to Baby's female voice. The rapping here is amazing, it sounds great and has that certain umph that you can only ever get in British music. The track has so much attitude it is absolutely mad, this is one of the most aggressive tracks on the CD, but it sounds great, another of my favourites, however I do prefer I still don't care. 8/10
Track 8 - Sometimes (Remix) As you can work out from the title this is the remix to Sometimes from earlier in the CD. I actually prefer this version, it is basically the same just with a different background with what sound like dolphins or a similar aquatic animals singing along. This version is more relaxing than the first, and while I do like the first, I prefer this one. 9/10
Track 9 - Only you This the second freestyle and I have mentioned that I am not keen on freestyles, although I don't not like them, I prefer a properly edited song. Also I am not keen on Ashanti's Only You tune, however this does sound great, a lot better than what Ashanti did with this music. 7/10
Track 10 - T-Ster Interlude
Track 11 - Role wid us , Akala ft Riko, Jammer & Ears and Baby Blue This is real British hip hop, beautiful, very aggressive, strong beat, mad repetitive tune. The rapping is great, very fast, but you can still make it out, which to me is the work of only a genius. This song is far from everyone's taste, but I love it and if you do love some of the grimier British hip hop then you are bound to like it to. Baby Blue only gets one verse, but she sounds amazing, if only I could rap so fast and still be understood, I would be ecstatic. 8/10
Track 12 - I still don't care ft Sway, Sincere & Pyrelli, SAS and Biggz What can I say, I love this track, it is very like the 'I don't care track', but more aggressive, different artists, each with a very different style, yet none sounding out of place. The music is still the same, which is good because that was always one of the best factors in the song. This is probably one of the best songs on the CD, maybe even competing with the beautiful Love Story '05, it is an amazing song with some great artists. 10/10
Track 13 - My love remix - Shafira feat Baby Blue I like this song, it isn't amazing or anything, but it is nice. Shafira sounds wonderful, but it is Baby Blue who adds an amazing zing factor to the song, she makes this beautiful song more causal, which appeals to me. 8/10
Track 14 - Come over here - Swiss feat Baby Blue Another track that I like, but not like the previous one. This song isn't pretty or anything, but it does sound good. As it is actually Swiss' song he takes up the advantage of the track, which is ok as he is a talented artist, but my favourite part is actually BB bit, it does sound amazing. 8/10
Track 15 - A good man This is another track that I love, and I love it for many reasons, the first being, well, it sounds amazing, but most of this album sounds amazing so that isn't really all that special. I also like the lyrics, they are amusing, yet very true and done in a very casual style which has me absolutely hooked. The background music is great, not prominent, blending into the background and emerging only when necessary, it allows our attention to be given to BB and the lyrics. 9/10
Track 16 - Ace and Invisible drop
Track 17 - London N.E.W.S. - Baby Blue, Sway, J2K & Incisive This track was always going to be amazing, it features four of the BEST rappers in London and they do sound fantastic. This song is another aggressive one which is not to everyone's taste, but it really is worth a listen. This is BB album so I will mention her part in the song, she does add that ingredient with gives the song another sparkle, her female voice contrasts the men and makes the track even better, well in my opinion anyway. 9/10
Track 18 - The world will know This song sounds as if it ought to possibly be a last track due to the fact that it has a lot of the contributing artists talking about how amazing Baby Blue is. However this isn't the last track and so we will concentrate on the song again. It is another angry sounding one, but the lyrics aren't really that angry, it is just the style used, of course in my mind angry is good, and I consider that a plus. 8/10
Track 19 - Top of the world - Bad Angel feat Baby Blue If this song was longer than 1m15 it might well be my favourite, but I find it too short and it leaves me wanting more. The music is great, and obviously BB sounds good. It is a lovely song, but is a bit short and ends too quickly. 9/10
Track 20 - Want me back feat Shafira I am not quite decided on this song, from the first time I heard it on Baby Blue's my space I couldn't really get into it, whether it's the music or something I don't know, because I love the lyrics, they are clever and meaningful. Despite that I find I cannot enjoy the song, sometimes I do like it, but other days I am not as keen. 7/10
Track 21 - Smilin' Hmm, this is an interesting track. The lyrics are emotion provoking and meaningful, yet they don't sound too heavy, which wouldn't have suited me at all. The song is clever and has it's own beauty, it is hardly the best song ever, but it does me. The topics looked at are all important from domestic abuse to celebrity lifestyle, each is addressed with the amount of respect necessary, but without making the song sound like a PSHE lesson, if you get my meaning. 7/10
Track 22 - Outro This isn't really a song at all, it is Baby Blue saying bye and thanking everyone. However I want to mention the track because of the music, Baby Blue says on the track that she is using the music on her album, and I look forward to seeing what she does with it, because it is beautiful.
There is also a bonus track, this doesn't include Baby Blue but is done by a guy called Michael Jonson, it is a decent track, but I don't really feel I need to review it you can listen for yourself.
Recently I have been doing reviews where I pick my top 5 tracks and review them, because this review is very long and I thank you for baring with me, but I feel the only way I can do the CD justice is by doing the full thing rather than only a little sample, this is because each song is so different, even the remix of Sometimes is quite different from the original. Now if you will bare with me a little longer I will tell you where you can buy this CD.
I bought this album from Amazon, where it cost me £9.99, however the only problem I found was that I had to wait almost a month before I got the CD, this was because the supplier had to wait to dispatch the CD probably as it was harder to get, or something like that! It is available at other places on the internet, but Amazon is the cheapest. I don't know where you could find it on the high street, though I am sure someone will have it.
If you don't know whether you will like Baby Blue, I recommend you visit her site www.babyblueonline.com.
![Back 2 House (The Very Best Of 90's Club Classics) [Digipak] - Various Artists](http://images.ciao.com/iuk/images/products/small/833/Back_2_House_The_Very_Best_Of_90_s_Club_Classics_Digipak_Various_Artists__6589833.jpg)
