NEW MUSIC | JOE PUBLIK ‘STUBBORN VECTIS’

By Rishma • On What is New

While this maybe Joe Publik’s debut LP, the UK MC and pro­du­cer has spent the last few years carving a niche for him­self on a scene that is increas­ingly pop­u­lated by sound­a­likes and dodgy clones.

Thanks to a string of acclaimed live per­form­ances, includ­ing shows at the infam­ous Boomtown and Beat-Hearder fest­ivals, Joe has built up a repu­ta­tion as a sol­id per­former and an artist who under­stands the nuances of their artform.

All that work has helped to pave the way for Stub­born Vec­tis, a record that demon­strates Joe’s affin­ity with his craft and his over­all pas­sion for the cul­ture as a whole. From the first few bars on the open­ing track, it becomes clear that this is a very accom­plished pro­ject for a debut album, with Joe’s rap­id-fire flow mar­ried per­fectly to the jazzy, piano-laced tones of his production.

As the album con­tin­ues, we are shown the ver­sat­il­ity of Joe’s style, both as an MC and a pro­du­cer. On the lead single, Mil­it­ary Minded, we find him hold­ing his own along­side two more estab­lished hip hop heavy­weights, Res One and Scorza­yzee, before switch­ing up his flow once more on the lux­uri­ous, head-nod joy of Come Correct.

That theme con­tin­ues on the second single, Head Nod Hip Hop, which sees Joe team­ing up with two more lyr­ic­al agit­at­ors and fel­low South Eng­land res­id­ents, Chill­man and G00SE, of Verbal Highz and In The Bal­ance Records fame. The Verbal Highz con­nec­tion crops up again on the punchy, horns-driv­en sounds of Fol­low My Lead, where Joe is joined by Highz mem­ber, Coosie, and Concept of Thought/YOGOCOP affil­i­ate, Awfer.

The depth and atmo­spher­ic feel of Talk With Sub­stance is a wel­come appear­ance on the album, before one of two mas­ter­ful guest spots from rising Isle of Wight out­fit, Clippa Sound, on the pos­it­iv­ity fuelled, Rise Above It, which also fea­tures the New Orleans-influ­enced group, Lazy Habits.

Intro­spec­tion and men­tal health are the themes on Irate Mind­state, anoth­er jazzy num­ber which starts to bring the album to a close, but not before the second com­ing of Clippa Sound on the won­der­fully soul­ful, As You Are, and the reg­gae tinged final track, C’est La Vie.

Stub­born Vec­tis is set for release on 20 Feb­ru­ary and will be avail­able on digit­al, CD and cas­sette, as well as vinyl run, through Qrates.

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Rishma

Edit­or / PR Con­sult­ant at No Bounds
Rishma Dhali­w­al has extens­ive exper­i­ence study­ing and work­ing in the music and media industry. Hav­ing writ­ten a thes­is on how Hip Hop acts as a social move­ment, she has spent years research­ing and con­nect­ing with artists who use the art form as a tool for bring­ing a voice to the voiceless.

About Rishma

Rishma Dhaliwal has extensive experience studying and working in the music and media industry. Having written a thesis on how Hip Hop acts as a social movement, she has spent years researching and connecting with artists who use the art form as a tool for bringing a voice to the voiceless.