I’m starting to see a lot better rap music coming from Europe than the US. I’m not really clear why that is, but if I were to speculate, it just seems that they pay a lot more attention to the technical side of production and take their time to develop precision in their delivery. A good example of what I’m talking about is Masterlinx Productions.

According to Facebook “Masterlinx was formed in 2005 by Wanos Ive, a music producer, mixing/mastering engineer song writer/artist/editor etc. from Looondoon! UK!” These days, anyone with a laptop can call themselves a producer. That’s why I was pleasantly surprised when I heard some of Masterlinx’ jams. The song “Boss Ah the Party” is tight and professional all the way through. A lot of indie rap music is amateurish, has janky beats and wrongheaded production values. I’ve made many crappy 4-track recordings in my day so I know a legit musical enterprise when I hear it. “Boss Ah The Party” is a high quality jam in every sense. The backing track is electronic and orchestral in nature, and I would listen to it even without the vocals.

The rhymes are on the faster side of the spectrum and delivered with precision(and with a British accent.) Masterlinx also works with a popular Asian female artist, Taramati. A talented vocalist, you can hear her on the song “Body Language.” She has a soulful, somewhat assertive singing style which actually sounds fairly American. The way I judge this type of music when I listen to it is by trying to envision a scene at a club where the song would be playing. If I can realistically picture a packed dance floor filled with the type of people that are into this genre grinding down on each other, making out and and singing along to it as a catchy top 40 song, then it’s a success. With Masterlinx and his jams, I could see it.