Plan B

In what I can only classify as a solid mixture of soul and hip hop, Plan B has made his way into my music library and hold residence there now.  I saw the video for Stay Too Long on PopLab the other day and was initially impressed with him on a physical basis but upon further inspection, I really dug the music a lot, enough so that it's pretty much all I've listened to for the past week.  Let me start this with some background ripped straight from Wikipedia:

"Benjamin Paul Ballance-Drew (born 22 October 1983), primarily known as Plan B or Ben Drew, is a British rapper, singer-songwriter, actor and film director from Forest Gate, London. Plan B first emerged as a hip hop artist releasing his critically-acclaimed début album Who Needs Actions When You Got Words in 2006. His second studio album The Defamation of Strickland Banks (2010) was a soul record and went straight into the UK album chart at #1. He has also collaborated with other artists such as Chase & Status most notably on the top ten single "End Credits" (2009)."

Now, I'm generally not a fan of rap and hip hop but there is something about British Hip Hop and Grime that I just get into. Whether it's Lady Sovereign or Chipmunk or Tinie Tempah, I prefer this type of urban music than that of American hip hop artists. That's not to say I am wholly against American Hip Hop, there are quite a few artists that I love but the British scene is just cooler to me. Getting back to the matter at hand, Mr. Drew.

Starting with the track I heard first it's easy to see how one could get wrapped up in it. The soulfulness of his vocals, the edginess to his lyrics and the solid flow of his rhymes are all in place and ready to be received. I've taken a listen to both of his albums and can see why he has garnered as much attention across the pond as he has. It's good. It's just solidly good. His first album, Who Needs Action When You've Got Words is an all out hip hop album that is much grittier than I expected and the follow up, The Defamation of Strickland Banks focuses more on his singing. Both are amazing albums and I recommend you head over to his website, his twitter, his youtube page or his Facebook and pay attention because he deserves attention in the United States.

His sophomore album is more of a concept album and it tells the story of Strickland Banks and his untimely incarceration at Belmarsh Penitentiary. There is an order to the videos, I'm just not sure which one is the start. His videos off of Strickland Banks play out like a movie and keep you captivated and want to know more.

Links:

Youtube - http://www.youtube.com/user/planbuk
Facebook - http://www.facebook.com/planbmusic
Twitter - http://twitter.com/4planb