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Now this is what i like to see. A copied cd with handwritten tracklistings and no information, marketting garb or any such nonsense to get in the way. Such homemade efforts are always more interesting, and certainly make one feel more forgiving towards the artist.
This is a straight up Rap / Grime / R'n'B styled album. The tracks range from the intimidating, with thudding, circling bass as though its about to jump out at you, to the crooning, loved-up R'n'B that is a staple of the charts. This is the less interesting aspect of this mixtape, but it is also the most likely to bring commercial success.
Mr Pupil makes a consistent point of his roots, with first track "I should of dropped earlier" pointing out "Bristol needs a representor". This is a recurring theme throughout this record, his upbringing having undoubtably had an affect on his musical influences. Well, that is if Eminem and Dr Dre are from the South West coast of England. Their influence is stamped all over this record, Dre's trademark keyboard tinkiling and effects padding apparent throughout. The point is reinforced with the obligatory freestyle track being rapped over the music to Eminems "Don't Push Me".
The rapping overall is good throughout, though it sometimes loses momentum and at one point seemed out of rhythem. The rapping is akin to Mobb Deeps almost preaching style, and for some reason switches between British grime-style to American East-Coast drawl.
In production terms this lad has a lot of talent. It is easily one of the slickest produced mixtapes I have heard and is better than many professional efforts. The lack of a guiding hand however is apparent in the tracklist. A hefty album at 22 tracks long, it starts to drag as it reaches its closing stages. Sharper, more ruthless editing (at least 8 tracks could be cut - they sound too similar) would have led to a more succint and immediate listening experience. More variety would have been better but this an impressive effort.
Spilt Pupil is an undoubtably talented artist and producer, but he just needs reigning in and refining. The mixtape is quite radio friendly and could find itself a niche in the market. Inspired by Eminems darker moments, this will attract a similar audience. One to watch for the future he could be massive. - Sub City Radio
Discography
Day is Dark Mixtape 'Released 08 and had coverage in 7 states over in america, described as one of the best mixtapes heard by one critic'
Operation Spilt 'June 2010' Coming Soon
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Bio
Born and raised in Bristol, in the southwest of England, Marcus Antony Forbes began writing poetry as a young child. It would not be long before his passions for both music and poetry alike had joined forces and he had penned his first song at the age of thirteen.
Soon after, together with his cousin and two friends, he formed the London-based rap group, Nxus (pronounced “Nexus”), which toured the capital with countless successes and quickly gained recognition on the underground scene. Although the group would eventually part ways, Marcus considers the experience and those skills which he learned from it to be invaluable. With newly-gained confidence, he began to create and develop his song-writing abilities as a solo artist; it was then that Spilt Pupil was born.
The name Spilt Pupil refers to a dark marking in his left eye. “The name is unusual”, says Spilt Pupil. “It’s unique, it’s different; and that’s why I like it”. By the end of 2008, Spilt Pupil had released his first mixtape, ‘Day is Dark’, which earned him even more acclaim, not only in the UK but abroad as well. “It is easily one of the slickest produced mixtapes I have heard”, said one critic. “One to watch for the future: he could be massive”.
Amid the furore of increasing interest in the artist among the music industry, and with a highly-anticipated debut album in the works, Spilt Pupil is definitely a name to look out for
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