Album: Plan B <!-- none onestar twostar threestar fourstar fivestar -->

The young east-London rapper Ben Drew, aka Plan B, has been widely hailed as the future of UK hip-hop, and not without good cause; though whether this is a future one can look forward to is another matter. Drew's worldview is unrelentingly grim and violent, his delivery splenetic and expletive-laden, and while he's undoubtedly more articulate than the average threatening leisurewear dolt, his world isn't one I want to visit often. As he says in "Sick 2 Def", "I talk morbid/ Just to make you feel awkward". Accompanied by little more than his acoustic guitar and a simple beat, he rails variously at his absent father ("I Don't Hate You"), his mother's crackhead lover ("Mama"), the ravages of addiction ("Everyday") and the contemptuous mentality of teenagers ("Kidz"); rehearses fantasies of violent retribution on would-be muggers ("No More Eatin'" and "Sick 2 Def"); tells the true story of a girl beaten to death by her fundamentalist father for showing an interest in Western ways ("Tough Love"); and derides wannabe gangstas, singling out the impact of 50 Cent for criticism in "Where Ya From?".

DOWNLOAD THIS: 'Where Ya From?', 'Sick 2 Def', 'Tough Love'