Bliss n Eso’s new album is out, and on it is a stern message for any rappers out there who’ve forgotten one of the most important parts of any hip hop show worth its salt: the DJ. If you don’t have one, they reckon, you’re basically just doing karaoke.

Rather than just some dark figure perched behind a set of CDJs at the back of the stage, BnE’s new album cut asks, quite rightly, ‘Whatever Happened To The DJ’, pointing out (over a decidedly old-school blend of horns, scratches and thumping kick drum) that the DJ should be as much a part of any great hip hop band as the rappers are – leading by example of course with their own right-hand man DJ Izm.

While we don’t quite expect every rapper to have their own DJ cutting up a crate full of old-school vinyl records, we definitely agree with the sentiment here that rappers need to remember that, without someone to keep the beats moving, they’re just standing on stage performing spoken word.

So many of the best rappers work closely with their DJ, live band, or both, from huge names like Kendrick and his incredible full-band setup, to locals like REMI or Sampa the Great who have talented partners like producer/percussionist Sensible J or guitarist Godriguez backing them up respectively.

But if you do have a skilled vinyl wizard on your team like Bliss n Eso do, well, you can end up with a killer throwback like this one – give it a listen below, and check out the new record Off The Grid, out now through ILLUSIVE.

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