Recommended music: 'Gob' by DELS

Straight outta Ipswich might not have the same ring to it as 'straight outta Compton' but I guess it's not 26 year-old Kieren Dickins, a.k.a DELS' fault where he comes from. As a British hip-hop album this is much more in the vein of acts like Roots Manuva than the likes of Dizzee Rascal - the music is well thought out, the lyrics alternate from deep, dark thoughts to more upbeat subjects, and everything is shot through with a sense of realism and perspective.

Musically, the album is a refreshing hybrid of indie & electronica, carefully crafted for DELS to spout his rhymes over. This should come as no surprise since the production duties are shared between Michachu, Joe Goddard (Hot Chip) and Kwes. Roots Manuva, a label mate from Big Dada Recordings, makes any appearance on 'Capsize', affording us the chance to hear an introduction that goes 'Oi Del Boy, it's Rodney here, no fool and no horses' - classic!


DELS was recently described as 'what Jay-Z would sound like if he grew up with the London house movement of the 90s and felt no need to waste time with raps justifying a past career in drug dealing' (by CMJ), and it's a decent enough description of the boy DELS' talent. It's no exaggeration to say that this is a genuine new talent who could destroy most of the new US hip-hop acts of the past few years and go on to be a worldwide success.

You can get a free download of 'Violina' from the album here:
Violina (produced by Micachu) by DELS

PS Just imagine how great a duet with Adele would be - her great soulful vocals with his incisive raps - and the cover could say 'A DELS / Adele' joint release! If it happens in the future, remember you read it here first!