Scorzayzee - Great Britain (12" Collectors Single) [Gotham City]
Originally released in 2004 the track appeared on the compilation "Live Hardcore Worldwide pt.2" The track is produced by Nottingham duo Ivory and DJ Paul-S, collectively known as production behemoth's the P Brothers. Their style is Legendary, bringing stripped down samples and trademark heavy breaks.
Scorzayzee is an enigma. Unquestionably one of the most technically gifted lyricists of his era. Originally hailing from Nottingham, Scorz' sharpened his lyrical sword at the renowned CRS Studios and came up as part of the iconic Notts collective "Out Da Ville". He's the ghost in the machine, he's active but not quite as present or as visible as everyone would hope. He lingers outside ready to drop in from time to time, blessing us with the rare guest appearance or a gem such as this release.
On its original release the track received a hell of a lot of newspaper, radio and even Parliamentary attention and as a result it was removed from radio playlists due to it's "controversial" content, where Scorz' takes fire at the everyone from the Monarchy to the consumption culture Sheeple and everything in between. This is without a doubt one of the most talked about UKHH tracks of all time, Great Britain.
From a technichal POV, it's straight forward rhyming. The genius lies in it's thought provoking simplicity as casual ears beyond the Hip Hop spectrum will pick up on the lyrics, and dive deeper into the rabbit hole, Great Britain.
Finally released as a collectors piece on gold vinyl, the artwork is sublime: Presented in an all black sleeve with a haunting image of Her Royal Heinous Queen Elizabeth with Swastika eyes piercing your soul. The design is the work of décollage artist and anarchist Jamie Reid, who is responsible for a multitude of Punk-era sleeves and posters which defined the genre. The reverse shows a more accurate rebranding of a Royal coat of arms depicting Prince Charles and his good friend, the renowned serial molester and peadophile, Jimmy Savile.
As iconic as it is timeless and as relevant and hard hitting today as it was in '04. What does give me a bit of optimism in the shitstorm of 2020 is that a lot more people are becoming aware and are finally opening their eyes to what Scorz' was saying years ago, Great Britain.
This is a record I'll show my boys when they get older and my only hope for them is that times change, Great Britain and every wrong Scorz' detailed has been restired by the then, Great Britain.
An essential in any collection, a piece of UKHH History.
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Extremely limited copies of the Gold collectors edition vinyl are available here:
Included with the original are the Instrumental, Acapella and a wonderfully reinterpreted version performed by Scorzayzee, 1st Blood & the Invisible Orchestra
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