Words by Justin Turford

We premiered the first single ‘Solid As A Rock’ from the Italian beatmaker / DJ’s new E.P. back in May and finally the full package is released on his own label, the excellent Little Beat More. Harnessing the crunch of La Funk Mob type hip hop production, the progressive dub weirdness of Roots Manuva and an open-eyed smattering of electronic wizardry, Woxow has delivered a hip hop E.P. that should reach and reinvigorate those who gave up on the genre under the blur of Xanax / Molly inspired mumbling and piss poor trap beats.

“Did you know that if we go back 10 generations, we could count for each of us some 2,046 ancestors, going back 20 generations there would be 2.097.150 ancestors and going back 40 generations each of us would have more than a trillion ancestors, which is more than all the people who have ever lived on earth?
This complicated paradox, known as the Pedigree Collapse, however, leads to the simple conclusion that we all share at least one ancestor with each other.”

'How Many Ancestors Do We Have' appears as a digital eight-tracker or in various 12” and 7” vinyl combinations, revealing the label’s laser focus on vinyl culture but regardless of format, the music maketh the record, and this record bangs.

‘Solid As A Rock’ appears twice here - firstly as its flute drenched dub-hop original. Laden with a killer voicing from Reggae Roast MC Natty Campbell, there’s more than a taste of the magic soulful dub fire that Fat Freddy’s Drop burn. The tune also comes with a shuffling dub remix from Paolo Baldini Dubfiles that really zones into a hypnotic groove with a haunting trippy loop, echoing drums and pianos whilst Natty rides the slapback riddim.

It needs mentioning that this is full band action. Apart from Woxow’s drum programming, eight other musicians contribute to this record (not counting the lead vocalists), so the sound is big, warm and beautifully mixed. The horns punch and massage, the bass fills the speakers and the finished product hits like it means it.

The prolific US MC and poet Raashan Ahmad brings his golden voice to ‘Blueprint’, a masterly vocal exploration of ancestry and connective energy with a bumping low end groove that pulls in the berimbau, field song backing vocals and a sub bass tone that will shake the earbuds out of your head. Italian producer Koralle’s remix of the track changes the vibe dramatically by removing the dread and adding a Roy Ayers / Common swing - all lightly played Rhodes chords and a baby-making coo. Lovely.

Sounding remarkably like MF Doom, New Jersey’s Azeem absolutely slays it on the paranoid boom bap of ‘Enough Is Enough’. Unlike Doom’s psychedelic word-twisting, Azeem hits it straight and direct,
verbally exposing the worldwide surveillance culture, grabbing ‘conspiracy theories’ from left and right over an afrobeat inspired horn section and hard-as-nails beats. Deela brings a more tropical dubby bounce to his remix while Luke Beats strips the beats right back, creating a spacious dreamy bed for Azeem’s righteous anger, twinkling pianos and reversed washes replacing the neck-snap of the original.

A superb release on a label that is making all the right noises right now. 9.5/10

Buy here! https://woxow.bandcamp.com/album/how-many-ancestors-do-we-have