![]() Started in 1993 by Karl ‘Regis’ O’Connor and Peter ‘Female’ Sutton, Downwards became probably best known for issuing the majority of techno deity Surgeon’s finest work, but there’s plenty more to the catalogue than that. It’s appropriate that that are celebrating their 20th anniversary this year, and we can’t think of a more fitting tribute to their massive contribution to the techno scene, than this knowledgable collection of tracks. ‘Can’t Go Like That’ and ‘Don’t Understand Me’ show a reflective streak that brings to mind Kevin Gates’ most recent full-length, and while Durk appears, at least superficially to be enjoying his position in the spotlight, the sober chant “This shit ain’t the same, cuz I can’t trust a soul” on the tape’s closing track ‘Times’ is a solemn reminder that it ain’t all fizz and strippers.īrought together by a love of Birmingham techno, shadowy Leipzig crew DBIAPB (Dead Baby in a Plastic Bag, of course) and Berlin’s Marcel Heese have put together their loveletter to the city’s legendary Downwards imprint with this epic mix. There’s a notable difference here from the gold-plated self-congratulation of so much rap, and it frames Durk as an uneasy observer. There’s no ‘Molly Girl’ here, and while Durk skates close on the comical ‘Bang Bros’, he seems more comfortable wallowing in cautionary street truths. That’s not to say that there’s anything on the tape that quite manages to better it (there isn’t), but producer Paris Bueller handles a number of the tracks, and Durk’s post-Future Autotuned flow is markedly more melancholy than it was on Life Aint No Joke. Mercifully free of the obligatory feature spots that pollute so many tapes, Durk’s vision is clear and concise, and he wisely follows the lead of the phenomenal ‘Dis Ain’t What U Want’. Those of you worried that the hookup might have dampened Durk’s honest, raw flow (we see you Excuse My French) will be pleased to know that Signed to the Streets is as hard-hitting as Durk’s ever been, even if it does find him moving further and further from the urgent rattle of the drill scene. Coming almost exactly a year after previous mixtape Life Ain’t No Joke, Signed to the Streets is the first record from Durk since his affiliation with French Montana’s Coke Boys. ![]()
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