Koast
'The Koast Is Clear'
(Self-Released 2008)

Hot on the heels of our review of Rogue's new mixtape, here's a blast from the past courtesy of Koast. Originally released last year, The Koast Is Clear was the culmination of a labour of love for the MC which saw him pull together beats from local luminaries like Forsaken, Gudio, Joker and more alongside cuts from Snafu, Rogue and Awkward. Lyrical support came from the Central Spillz family as well as Hollie G, Se Fire’s Mistafire, K.Ners, Bubbz, and B’Tol. With a guest-list like that you know this is the real deal. Here's what we wrote up last year on it's release:

"This one has been a long time coming, but well worth the wait...Bristol's Hip Hop heritage is strong and is enjoying a bit of a renaissance at the moment; one of the main MCs pushing things forward is Koast. Simply put this is one of the best Hip Hop releases for a while, forget about local pride or bias...every single track on here in terms of beats and lyrics is pitch perfect - an incredible effort from an artist who has been paying his dues for a long time, surely his time is now."

A year on and Central Spillz are truly dominating the local scene, and Koast himself is so in demand it borders on a monopoly. It's been a genuine pleasure to see them ride out the apathy toward Hip Hop in Bristol over the last few years into a time when the genre has seen a true renaissance, and the community that has stood by the sound through thick and thin are reaping the benefits. Again like Rogue's mixtape, this is a document of the amalgamation of a variety of sounds and styles into something that is uniquely Bristol.

Stand-out tracks Broken and People with B'Tol still astound, but the whole album is a joy - and after many repeated listens across the year one that stands the test of time.

Full Tracklisting:

01. Intro feat Johnston, Rogue & Awkward
02. Put Your Hands Up (beats by Dexter Sosay, cuts by Johnston)
03. Verbally Murderous feat Fusion (beats by JD, cuts by Johnston & Snafu)
04. Closer To Closing
05. Broken feat Mistafire, Mackie Skillz, Fusion & Hollie G (beats by The Mysteries)
06. Do It Right Vip remix feat Con, Fusion, Shadz, C-Strike-Z & Mackie Skillz (beats by Guido)
07. Never Leave Me Alone feat C-Strike-Z & Mackie Skillz (beats by Rockit Productions)
08. People B'tol feat Koast (beats by Jagos)
09. Cold As Me feat Con & Just Jay (beats by Amo)
10. Samuel The Skit (skit)
11. F**k The Industry feat Redskin, Mistafire & Mackie Skillz (beats by Interface)
12. Rum & Ginger (beats & cuts by Lopez)
13. Man or Monster feat Conshus, Bubbz aka Chief, Mackie Skillz, D.Scriptive, Stealth MC, K.Ners, Mistafire, B'Tol & Pike (beats by Pike)
14. So Much More feat Redskin (beats by Amo & Marcovitz)
15. The Koast Is Clear (beats by Forsaken & Joker, cuts by Snafu)
***BONUS TRACKS***
16. Do It Right (beats by Guido)
17. In My Hands feat Balance (beats by The Beat Godz)



Koast - Broken (ft. Mistafire, Mackie Skillz, Fusion & Hollie G)



B'Tol feat. Koast - People

Download : Koast - The Koast Is Clear

FFI: Koast Website
FFI: Central Spillz Website