(Day by Day/Shogun)

The name was familiar to me, but prior to Scars & Memories I had never heard a MF Grimm release. By the end of listen number one I had realised MF Grimm was just about the most talented MC I had never heard.

Hip hop is an interesting beast of music genre if you will, its street origins mean there is no shortage of MCs with street tales and criminal records to match them. However MF Grimm may be the realest MC in the game, having served several years of time is one thing but being confined to a wheelchair after being shot no fewer than ten times in your life is a whole new level of real. He was told he would never speak, see or hear again, and whilst in hospital in a coma had all his recordings stolen. Grimm fought back regained his voice and sight (although he is forever stuck in his chair) released a much loved debut in Downfall Of Ibliys executive produced for MF Doom and finally recovered some of the stolen recordings to give us Scars & Memories.

The songs featured here span a period from 1990 to 2005, with many needing to be mastered and tweaked in order to release what he describes as his true first album – as it was intended. Lyrically Grimm spits it as real as anyone, an aggressive flow full of street tales, not of glorification that so many fake gangsters talk of (50 Cent, The Game, etc) but real stories he has lived. Featuring a few guest MCs from along his journey such as Akinyele and Kool G Rap and Big Chuck it gives us a little insight into how well respected and connected he is.

Production wise big names such as MF Doom on the bass heavy Take Em To War and Rob Swift on Bloody Love Letter and Scars & Memories are mixed with some lesser known names such as Dr Butcher and Ninja B. I won’t lie, at times the beats are a little dated and the rhymes can contradict from track to track, but when you consider when the majority of music was recorded it can be forgiven.

Interestingly the songs are intertwined with a number of interviews with Grimm as he discusses everything from his place in the scene, to studio gangsters and getting shot. Not a huge inclusion but a real look at where he has come from and the truth behind the lyrics he delivers.

MF Grimm in undeniably positive, despite what he has been through and Scars & Memories is a unique album well worth owning. Also keep your eyes peeled for his album of entirely new material due out later in 05.