In a year full of projects, the scene has been itching for the highly anticipated joint LP from Blittz & Big Tobz. The duo have been incredibly active over the last 12 months, seeing bookings, headline shows and tours with the likes of Lethal Bizzle come their way. Showcasing intense growth, the calls for a project were strong, and finally it’s arrived in the form of ‘Case Closed’. With this in mind, we’d thought it would only be right to take it in, and give you our thoughts on it.
The intro is always key to setting the tone in any project, and on this we saw the pair use their customary accelerating back-to-back flows, coupled with humorous, yet serious world play. As a point of introduction, it’s the perfect starting base of showcasing the duo in their element.
One of the highlights of the LP is the cleverly thought out structure of “The Move”. This sees the storytelling cut up sporadically into four parts, which is a nice break-up between tracks. “The Move” sees a mock conversation between Big Tobz and Blittz planning a move, bringing an interesting dynamic of everyday life into their music. After hearing, it’s left me keen to see visuals for that and to see how it would work.
Features see appropriately placed Avelino and Donae’o make appearances on ‘Case Closed’. The former was a natural linkup, with his emphasis on word play a key component in his style. “Nobody” is therefore understandably the lightest track of all, with Avelino’s barring hardly ever veering down the greazy route. Donae’o features on the final track “Sky Fall”, with his vocals almost guaranteed to provide an epic presence, which is perfect for a closing song on any project – something it does.
Having released “Wicked & Bad” a few months back and “More Time” a couple of days ago, it was a good teaser for what was to come for fans – holding weight on the project. The much loved “Believe In Your Barber” initially set social media on fire, and was a reminder of their ability to create buzz. As a track, it touches on a simple, yet effective topic of everyday life, using cheekiness and comedic value to heighten it. “No Comment” quite ironically follows the conclusion of “The Move” section, but touches on the subject of police. Talking of past experiences, it shows a deeper side to the duo, further multiplying the human effect for fans.
Negativity and flaws have to be pinpointed, with criticality a necessary evil. Whilst I continue to enjoy the style and flow from both Blittz and Big Tobz, I was hoping for a bit more versatility. For me, it does seem to be repetitive from time to time, which switching up a beat can’t help to substitute for. Despite showing versatility on “The Move” and “No Comment”, the fast-paced back-to-back flow is a constant theme throughout, which is understandable, but a little predictable.
However, this is not to detract from what is a very solid debut project from both Blittz and Big Tobz. Duos are very hard to come by in our scene, and apart from Krept & Konan, there’s no one really repping. Thankfully we’ve found that with these two, who are improved and growing as the months go by. They’ve come a long way from their first videos back in 2011, and it’s refreshing to see. Here’s to more success, and more projects in the future. Well done on ‘Case Closed’, impressive stuff.
‘Case Closed’ is out right now on iTunes, so make sure you grab yourself a copy of it.
Words – @JaikBFenton