Hedex

Week 25: Maisie Peters- the Good Witch

~ honestopinions19 ~ Leave a comment

The first I heard of Maisie Peters was a recent segment on television about her supporting Ed Sheeran. The 23-year-old signed with Atlantic after releasing two singles independently and released two EPs under Atlantic and the soundtrack for a British comedy series titled “Trying” for its second series.

In 2021, she left Atlantic and joined Ed Sheeran’s Gingerbread Man Records. This album is a joint venture with Gingerbread Man and Asylum. Her debut record was released Gingerbread Man titled “You Signed up for This”. Despite it not hitting the top spot, Ed has taken her on the road (As mentioned in the paragraph), so she is getting more exposure, and no doubt touring with Ed on his “Mathematics” tour has seen her sophomore album reach the acme. 

I listened to “the Good Witch’ via her YouTube, and I thoroughly recommend watching the lyric videos to the tracks. The lyrics are displayed on what appears to me as tarot-like cards. And fuck me; the lyrics are fucking mind-blowing. She is a phenomenal songwriter. I wonder how someone who didn’t grow up in a town or city can write so much. 

From the title track, I was immediately hooked by the absolute brilliance in her songwriting. How one talks about their rollercoaster emotions and keeps it interesting is mind-blowing. Aside from its lyrical brilliance, ‘Coming of Age’ is a three-minute pop song with panache and sets the tone for the rest of the record.

‘Watch’ is good regarding Maisie’s delivery, where she goes from melancholic to pure rage. ‘You’re Just a Boy (And I’m Kinda the Man) rips to shreds an ex, and she mocks him for good measure by professing she was “the man” in the relationship over a Katy Perry-esque dream-pop beat. Think Katy’s ‘Last Friday Night (TGIF)’. ‘Run’ is a mild drum n bass track, albeit under three minutes. I hope Hedex gets hold of it and adds a banging remix. ‘BSC’ stands for Bat Shit Crazy, and when you listen to the lyrics, it is hard not to laugh at the humour displayed by her, yet with a sincere delivery. I haven’t mentioned ‘the Band and I’ yet, which features early on in the record. Wow, oh, fucking wow. Amazing track with Ke$ha-like vocals where she tells in great detail about life on the road.

‘Two Weeks Ago’ is slightly confusing when you hear the chorus because instead of explaining her current mood, she declares, “God, I wish it was two weeks ago’. Her hooks on the album are extremely catchy, and the echoed lines will certainly be sung back at her on tour. The record ends with ‘There it Goes’, which is about letting go of love that is covered in snow. By this, she means that their love is cold and doomed to fail. I thoroughly enjoyed this record, which moves from dream-pop to ballad, to dance, to drum n bass, where she discusses relationships and breakups bluntly with the occasional sarcasm and humour. The album is also radio-friendly, with no one track over four minutes. It may be a short listen, but it works.

Song recommendations: ‘Run’, ‘the Band and I’, ‘You’re Just a Boy (And I’m Kinda the Man)’

9/10

Week 9: Central Cee- 23

~ honestopinions19 ~ Leave a comment
First and foremost, I am not a great lover of Drill. Yes, I saw the Noisey documentary from 2019 with Mike Skinner from the Streets and didn’t like what I heard. However, I heard about Drill in 2019 through an associate who was mad about it. I didn’t like the bullshit lyrics I heard about wetting a man up in a club or jooking man on road. I know about these sorts of bars, and I am guilty of writing them for clashes during the early years of Grime, which now make me recoil in horror. I still have the bars in one of my many Bibles, but I will look to amend them for my venture into Spoken Word. Drill is like the underground and darker version of Grime. People used to bitch and moan about what the Grime artists would say. Some have resulted in killings, like Esco Barz, the younger brother of retired footballer Jermain Defoe. I was never a fan of these MC battles, and when Esco was killed, it turned me off them completely. Drill has seen many artists from that genre serving time for murder, attempted murder, assault and other forms of crime. The genre pretty much encourages it. 


I remember showing a 22-year-old man my poems; the subject was current affairs. He responded, “You got bars still, but we youngsters don’t want to hear that. We want to hear about man getting jooked up.” This horrified me, but at the same time, I thought, “That’s bollocks”, and I am going to tell you why just shortly, but first…Central Cee is a young Drill artist hailing from Shepheard’s Bush, which is a stone’s throw away from QPR in White City. Central Cee, or Cench, has been around longer than you would assume. It is also unusual to see a mixtape become No.1 on the album chart. So this West Londoner started first to get noticed last year, and it is easy to understand why Central Cee isn’t your run-of-the-mill Drill artist; he goes deep on the subjects and doesn’t bang on about wetting or jooking man up. His topics are diverse. I first heard ‘Obsessed with You’ in February, and it opened my eyes to the fact not all Drill glorifies violence. I was listening to a Grime artist until it was pointed out that Cench is Drill. I was stunned.


“23” opens with ‘Khabib’, which I enjoyed. It then went into ‘Ungrateful’, where Cench says, ‘God, I don’t wanna seem ungrateful, but I don’t wanna live’—quite a big statement for a young man to express. The song talks about his trials and tribulations in life and his frustrations. Already, he had my attention because this seemed out of the norm from other Drill artists I had heard before. The record is short, with many of the 15 songs lasting a few minutes, including four staying under two. I don’t know why that is. Is all this getting songs viral via videos on TikTok the reason? He packs in as much information and hard-hitting messages despite the disappointing track lengths as possible. I will use a track, a prime example, ‘Obsessed with You,’ a track I have heard in its original guise, and a Drum n Bass remix by Hedex (I think.). This track is also proving popular among his fans and the mainstream. ‘Obsessed with You’ features PinkPantheress, who is well-known for her short viral songs on TikTok. It is a shame she is reduced to sounding like a Chipmunk. You can tell she can sing, but the vocal effect mars her talent. It is about Cench calling out to a former lover and what he did wrong. You don’t usually hear anything like this in Drill. 


Cench is more Grime-headed for me. His potential is yet to shine through, but it is undoubtedly there. He is at the forefront of steering Drill into a new direction and changing the opinion of those who look down on it for its glorification of violence.


However, my favourite track is ‘Lil Bro’, which features Lil Bro. They converse with Lil Bro, playing the role of Cench’s Lil Bro, where he says to Cench he wants to be a drug dealer. Cench tells him about the pitfalls of going into that and how it would hurt his mother, even though Lil Bro has no choice. Cench tells him there are better alternatives. He says to lil Bro, ‘It’s London City/not Compton’. He also discusses the trials and tribulations of fame, the misconceptions of gang culture, and the dangers of becoming a drug dealer. It is an eye-opening track; hopefully, the majority will take away a lot from it. Again, Drill artist? Are you sure? In the final track, ‘End of the Beginning, ‘ Cench uses many voice notes from his close friends, encouraging him to move with the music and giving him sound advice littered with motivational quotes with Cench rapping over a Trap beat.


“23” will undoubtedly change your perception of Drill. Cench has brought a realness to a scene known for its violent episodes. I have enjoyed listening to Cench since that moment earlier this year. He is one to watch in 2022 where he plans to improve his game. His mixtape getting to No.1 will already have A&R personnel scouting him at venues. 


As for the young man telling me that youngsters don’t want to hear life stories and me thinking it’s bollocks, Cench proves that it is indeed bollocks. Look at what he has spoken about across this record. It isn’t about “Wetting man up” or “Jooking man up”; it is much deeper and touches on life stories. There is finally room for it in Drill, and it is welcomed. Hopefully, it opens the eyes of those who are into Drill.




Song recommendations: ‘Lil Bro’, ‘Ungrateful’, ‘Obsessed with You’




9/10