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For avid Ty followers, it doesn’t seem that long ago that he burst onto the scene as part of Extra Yard compilation on Big Dada back in 2002 when he’d already been releasing records for 5 years previous. And then we had a couple of magnificent albums Upwards and Closer with producer Drew Horley and contributions from, to name just a few, the likes of Eska Mtungwazi (I saw the band on tour at this time and she was particularly fantastic), Rich Medina, Taylor McFerrin, Wunmi and Maceo (De La Soul) on the title track and what with Roots Manuva on the same label, everything in the UK hip hop garden was like a prize winner at the Chelsea flower show (and even that’s gone bling this week!).

So what happened? Well there’s a probably small Phd on that subject in itself (even without the US hip hop element) but when Ben Smith doing stand-up, (yeah, formerly Doc Brown of Nothing To Lose) you know there’s something up. So it’s good to see that Ty is back as if there’s one thing that you can rely on, that’s Ty is always doing something genuine, what he loves, based on the music of youth (soul, jazz, funk, hip hop) and is thoughtful and intelligent; now that’s a Special Kind Of Fool.

Apart from aforementioned gig, the last time I saw Ty was at a CDr meeting and the mere fact he was there is evidence of how positive and supportive he is of new talent and good music in general. And on the new album Special Kind Of Fool he’s got a posse of new and old talent to help out in the 15 tracks.

And who would have thought a Brixton born rapper would have a tune featuring Lovers Rock legend, Carrol Thompson on it. Now I’ve long lambasted the whole Lovers Rock catalogue but with Ty doing an approximation of Wu-Tang (his way), ‘Something Big’ is ridiculously cut short with Thompson and jazzy flute to the fore.

The previous single, ‘Emotions’ gets hard on current urban issues of gun crime but one of Ty’s best assets is how he blends the political with humour and cultural references (‘I’m not bringing sexy back’, ‘When you cross the line, it’s not Stargate’). OK, it’s doesn’t come across that well in a review but the guy is not throwing down throw-away lines, this is hip hop music for real.

Names that you’ll recognise that have helped out are Shaun Escoffery, Soweto Kinch, Terri Walker, Sway, Finn Peters, Robin Mullarkey and Vula Malinga but there’s youngsters like Leo thenacho, Erik Rico, D-Cross that we don’t know so well; and Anthony Mills on ‘Phantom Of The Opera’ is a bit of a grower and whilst subtle, check Sarina Leah on the single ‘Emotion’.

And when it all comes together, even on the “I’m a rapper” themed ‘Get To Sky’ (with Ty, Vula and Terri) it’s like a breath of fresh air. Perhaps it’s the head nodding with a small tinkle on the vibraphone (Ed. It doesn’t take much) but this is UK Sa-Ra and we should be singing/shouting/yelling its praise!

And I’d better not say who we think Vula Malinga sounds like on ‘Happiness’ but it’s a tune. And ‘I’m Leaving’ (with Anthony Mills) and ‘Me’ and ‘Special Kind Of Fool’ (the last two featuring the soulful vocals of Erik Rico, where’s he come from?) are not far behind.

One for the mixtape crews is ‘I Get Up’ in its curious old skool vs. Ty clash - Esther Rantzsen?

So you think you know what Ty is all about? ‘Me’ tells you but we all need to start living for the moment and enjoy the music of “a unique and refreshing voice of hip hop”; perhaps the only “refreshing voice” left in hip-hop?

The only down I’ve got on the album is the title (I know it supposed to be positive but ‘Ty’ and ‘Fool’ should not be on an album cover in any circumstance) and is that artwork too clever? I’ll let you decide - but the music is definitely the special kind. Good to have you back Ty and a new tour would be even better.

Hectic Mix nominations: ‘Get To The Sky’, ‘Happiness’, ‘Something Big’, ‘I’m Leaving’, ‘I Get Up’, ‘Special Kind Of Fool’, ‘Phantom Of The Opera’, ‘Emotions’.

Reviewed: Ty - Special Kind Of Fool (BBE) Cat. No. BBE132 Release date: April 2010
Tracklisting:
1. Don’t Cry (Prelude) feat.Corey Mwamba (4:28)
2. Wait Featuring Leo Ihenacho & Soweto Kinch (4:15)
3. Heart Is Breaking Featuring Sway & Roses Gabor (5:40)
4. Little Star Featuring Wreh-asha (4:08)
5. Something Big Featuring Carroll Thompson (4:37)
6. Emotions Featuring Sarina Leah & Shaun Escoffery (4:18)
7. Phantom Of The Opera Featuring Anthony Mills (4:48)
8. Get 2 The Sky Featuring Vula Malinga & Terri Walker (5:53)
9. Happiness Featuring Vula Malinga (5:30)
10. I’m Leaving Featuring Anthony Mills (5:06)
11. Me Featuring Erik Rico (4:51)
12. I Get Up Featuring D-Cross (4:49)
13. Falling Featuring Shaun Escoffery & Finn Peters (5:12)
14. Special Kind Of Fool Featuring Erik Rico (3:57)
Endtro Featuring Leo Ihenacho & Robin Mullarkey (1:50)

Links:
Twitter.com/tymusic
Myspace.com/tymusic
www.tymusic.org
www.myspace.com/tyandupwards
Bbemusic.com