Kano (aka Kane Robinson) was highlighted in ‘Hip Hop Trends For 2006’ together with Sway. He’s got a bit of a head start as he’s already had a number of singles released on 679 Recordings. Also, as he’s just had rave reviews of his gig at London’s Astoria at the start of the month, it’s a good time to reappraise his debut CD, Home Sweet Home and look forward to some European gigs.

The title track and ‘Ghetto Kid’ marks out his roots, in this case East Ham, East London. ‘P’s & Q’s’ is one of the previous singles and is ‘typical’ bounce rap post garage; ‘I ain’t got punch lines, I’ve got kick lines’.

When he reaches outside of the norm, he excels. Such as on another of his singles, ‘Typical Me’ where the ‘beats’ could have come from decks in the Ruskin Arms. Again, just to prove the point, ‘I Don’t Know Why’ steals a suitably metal bit of thrash that DJ Tommy Vance would have been proud of.

House-rap ‘Nobody Don’t Dance No More’ is an oddity when the 20 year old reflects on the good ‘ol days of the dance floor (with an anti-gun message). And the even earlier ballroom chachacha ‘Remember Me’ shows how far he can go outside of the clichés. The sensitive ‘How We Livin’ and the self-doubting ‘Sometimes’ make a change from the usual gangster brag rap and fits nicely after the self-assured ‘Mic Check’.

‘Brown Eyes’ is one for the girls in Valentine’s month and is next official single for Feb 27th backed by the dark brooding ‘Signs In Life’ (with a classical music sample, not quite ‘Pastime Paradise’ but you get the idea) and a remix of ‘Sometimes’ featuring Klashnekoff.

There’s some baggage with this ‘grime’ as the original Astoria gig was cancelled last November due to the Met Police’s fears of violence. Whilst the extra security put a dent in Kano’s pocket to the tune of £4,000, the gig went off smoothly. The fact he’s now had in excess of 150,000 record sales will put a smile on his face though.

With the ability to be thoughtful and spit up to warp-speed levels (‘Reload It’), mashing hip hop with different musical styles gets him “the next The Streets” and “the messiah of the grime scene” stickers. Check for yourself at the forthcoming tour dates below and the tracks on his Myspace site. Remember, “it’s for the respect and not the Rollex.”

Kano — Home Sweet Home (679 Recordings) Cat. No. 697L097CD Release date: 27 Jun 2005
Tracklisting:
1. Home Sweet Home
2. Ghetto Kid [Featuring - Ghetto]
3. P’s & Q’s [Producer - DaVinche]
4. Reload It [Featuring - D Double E , Demon, Producer - Diplo]
5. Typical Me [Featuring - Ghetto]
6. Mic Check
7. Sometimes
8. 9 To 5
9. Nite Nite [Producer - Mike Skinner, Vocals - Leo The Lion, The Streets]
10. Brown Eyes [Producer - DaVinche Vocals - Vula]
11. Remember Me [Co-producer - Fraser T Smith Producer - TipC]
12. I Don’t Know Why [Producer - Paul Epworth]
13. How We Livin’ [Producer - Terror Danjah]
14. Nobody Don’t Dance No More
15. Signs In Life [Vocals - Don Ricardo]
16. Boys Love Girls [Co-producer - Menta]

Tour Dates:
Mar 8 2006 — Leadmill (Sheffield)
Mar 9 2006 — Venue (Edinburgh, Scotland)
Mar 11 2006 — Academy (Liverpool)
Mar 12 2006 — Zodiac (Oxford)
Mar 14 2006 — University Leicester Leicester)
Mar 16 2006 — Junction (Cambridge)
Mar 17 2006 — Vibraphonic Festival (Exeter)
Mar 18 2006 — Old Firestation (Bournemouth)

Links:
www.ka-no.com
www.myspace.com/kano679
www.679recordings.com
Gilles Peterson Tracklistings : 11/2/2006(7) Jehst - ‘Work Ethic’ (XXL) Jhest, DJIQ and Smurf, Jay Dee Dedication Session
Klashnekoff
Gilles Peterson :Tracklisting 17/06/04: Klashnekoff ‘Jankrowville’ ‘B4 U Die’, ‘Son of Niah’ (Kemet Entertainment)
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