ONE! UNCLE. TYRONE! If you’re not familiar with the distinguishable mantra, then you haven’t heard about Mez, which in that case, go and check out the Tyrone series, out now. For those diehard Grime fans and casual listeners alike, Nottingham MC Mez’s brand new EP entitled ‘One Uncle’, will please you with it’s pure, authentic sound that is the essence of the Grime sound, harking back to late Garage, and by Mez’s own admission, has an element of Jamaican influence. For those that have followed Mez’s career from early, and throughout the Tyrone series, this is somewhat of a celebration of what Mez had achieved in his career thus far.

‘One Uncle’ boasts ten tracks, slightly longer than most standard EP’s may usually consist of, so that satisfies us for a start. The project features some of Grime’s biggest names such as Discarda, Flirta D, Swarvo, Jammer, D Double E (Writer/Producer) and many more. However, they don’t get much better, bigger or respected than Grime royalty, Wiley. Mez handled most of the production which enabled him to infuse the EP with his One Uncle sound, bringing to life his own imaginings.

‘Bruk It Up’ is a ferocious opener to ‘One Uncle’, as Mez takes to a self-produced beat laden with up-tempo percussion and a dutty bassline. One Uncle with the one line flows as he launches a lyrical attack on rivals in the scene. Mez continues the energy over on ‘JME’, which was the first single to be released along with a video. Durag to durag, Mez pays homage to BBK’s JME, with clever references scattered throughout, schooling certain guys on how to conduct themselves around him, of course in old school fashion. Once again, this is a Mez-produced punchy Grime banger on which Mez delivers energetic flows and serious bars.

‘Bongo’, produced by General Courts, is a 16 bar rally featuring an all-star line up of Wiley, Hitman Hyper, Swarvo, Flirta D, Discarda and Jammer. All emcee’s deliver old school classics, Wiley draws for the Tiger bars, whilst Swarvo swings with the forearm, Hitman Hyper lives up to his name with some lyrical genius, Flirta D and Jammer provide some tongue-twisting playful bars whilst Discarda is the usual ‘Loose Cannon’, doing what ‘Waterboy’ does best. Mez fits right in with these Grime legends, and is in no mood to slow down with the remix, yet another assault from Mez and General Courts. Along with that, ‘Africa’, produced by Mez himself, is one for the skankers, with a Caribbean influence, as he fuses Grime elements with bongos for an infectious riddim. Mez takes it back to his roots, with a chorus which will have everyone chanting back live. ‘Family Tree’ also explores Mez’s origins, his family members and the traits and lessons that they have passed on to him. Mez delivers breath-taking flows on a dark Grime instrumental produced by Travis T. Mez teams up with Wiley yet again along with fellow Nottingham emcee Jah Digga on ‘Conform’. The three go back to back to back on a gritty yet bouncy Mez production, which sounds to be influenced by the Eski sound.

The EP phases into a more Drill-influenced sound starting with ‘Big & Tall’, produced by Limit & Sami. Amongst other subjects, the ‘Mezical One’ refers to his preference when it comes to the gyal. Plastician-produced ‘Duppy’ features South London emcee and newcomer Duppy, who himself has some familiar bars from practice sessions on radio sets and such. Both Mez and Duppy bring war on this appropriately named Drill-inspired Grime banger, slewing inferior emcee’s. Mez then closes out this gripping EP with ‘Mama’, which is produced by D Double E. Mez pays tribute to his Mother on what is a head-nodder in my opinion. Mez spits with conviction and a kind of aggression, drilling home the notion that after all that his Mum has done for him, there is no end of what he would do for her.

Ten tracks of pure Grime bangers, and from the production to the playful lyricism and flows, Mez doesn’t let up from start to finish, with relentless energy. Not straying far from his Grime roots, Mez only incorporates other elements and putts his unique sound and twist on the EP. There is no denying that Uncle Mez is one of the leading emcee’s in the Grime scene, not just of his generation.There’s no other like him when he is in his element, there can only be ONE! UNCLE. TYRONE!

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