"This Is My Demo" came out in 2006, and was released as the debut album from the British MC of Ghanian descent, Sway (DeSafo). The performer is one of few UK acts who I enjoy listening to, and with his hit, "Up Your Speed", and featuring on other tunes, such as the Mitchell Brother's "Harvey Nicks", and became attracted to his humerous style of rapping. He differs from other UK Rap acts, as he doesn't fall uner the Grime category, as he keeps it Hip Hop with his style, and doens't get dragged down by what the UK scene often offers. He at least part-prodces each track, and shows how he contrasts from the general Grime sound in this form, and at times sounds to be in tune with how things were going out in the US at the time.
1. "This Is My Demo"
Sway gets things going in a big way with this one as he immediately shows what he is about with this cut. The MC doesn't abandon his surroundings, in fact its pretty much opposite to this as he gets dark beats, which seem to match what Grime did at the time, but he offered change with his approach at spitting where he comes with speedy lines whihc are nothing but quality (unlike
most Grime artists).
**Four Stars**
2. "Products"
This is one of the singles from the album, and here it gets him doing one to cmment on how people have been made, and how the people such as himself, and those who grew up aroudn him are nothing more than "Products of the city", and all of the potential dangers of inner-city life. It is surprsingly uplifting, and one of the big ones here.
**Four Stars**
3. "Hype Boys"
There's something wrong with you if you don't like this one as it is a banger of a track from him and has the MC going for a some faux-Gangsta rap, which enables him to parody the way that some artsits go around to hype themselves up. He spits fire here with an unstoppable flow of lyrics, which simply do not cease to amaze you.
**Four Stars**
4. "Little Derek"
This came as the second single from the album, and has him come with even more quality in his material. He re-lives his childhood ass "Little Derek" in this one, and the production behind it mirror the reminscent nature of it all. His lyric-writing abilities are displayed whils ending each line of in a rhyme, and switching this for each verse, without it dropping in standards with weak, half-rhymes.
**Four Stars**
5. "Pretty Ugly Husband"
I was impressed by the composition of this one as you get him setting up a track which has him take on the role of an wife-beating husband, and the whole thing is done as an argument between himself an his spouse. Somehow he manages to control it all with his humrous style of rapping, but with such harsh lyrics, I can't work out exactly how it is done.
**Four Stars**
6. "Flo Fashion"
This is a decnt one, and has the MC do one to speak on how many acts out there are disposable, but he isn't one of them who are only going to be fashionable for a short while. He reflects this in rhymes about what he did once the money began to roll in and he was finally able to keep up with modern trends in clothing.
Here is a banger of a track by Sway. it is amazing for a UK one, ans the production for it sounds as if it came straight out of the Dirty South of the US. To reflect this, Chamillionaire (the Houston, Texas Hip Hop star) did a remix with him. It is a hard one, and makes him do a shout out to all across the UK, bigging up each city along the way.
**Five Stars**
8. "Download"
Sway speaks on the whole illegal downloading crisis, which is extremely detrimental to independently-singed acts such as himself who are unable to get up in the world if the it music isn't purchased (despite the fact it is of such a high quality). It is a fun one, with a clear message, but I doubt that it il do anything to change things.
**Four Stars**
9. "Loose Woose"
Sway holds it down for this one, and finds a way to come up with a rap about relationships whilst maintaining a very rigid structure when doing his lyrics. It all comes together well, and gets him doing all that he hoped in order to come up with the best attainable results.
**Three Stars**
10. "Sick World"
I was very impressed with what Sway came up with in the production for this one as he managed to come up with some UK-styled G-Funk. It gets him taking on some funky, whining synth, which is all topped off with vocals sung through a Voicebox, as Roger Troutman's words often used in West Coast rap of the nineties.
**Four Stars**
11. "Still On My Own"
I'm afraid that the album does get let down by one track on it, and here it is. I'm aware that rappers find the need to do one about their struggle, and the often come towards the end of the album, and he doesn't try to surprise us in any way as he does a average one, with littel energy.
**Two Stars**
12. "Back For You"
To end it off, you get an uplifting one from him as Hayden sings as part of the hook, and this offers a good start before he ges into the raps. All the production seems like it is ahead of its time, and this can only be a good thing for him as he gives us smething exciting to get people moving to, without over-doing it.
**Four Stars**
This is a pretty strong album from Sway, and the debut was good at getting him up in the world (eventually leading to him being one of the first UK Hip Hop acts to 'break America').Sway's style is innovate, and bound to prodcue something that all will enjoy. It is refreshing, and offers great potential for the future.
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![This Is My Demo [VINYL] - Sway](http://picnicb.ciao.com/uk/89463381.jpg "This Is My Demo [VINYL] - Sway")
Jan 6th, 2009
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