It's Grimandi up north

"And give my warm regards to spring
It's nuffin' personal, but this changes everyfing"

Real Lies - Let The Lips Fall Where They May
(From Let The Lips Fall Where They May single; 2025)

Real Lies · Let the Lips Fall Where They May

Nobody is currently making better surburbaquatic electronic music than the Pet Shop Sad Bois AKA North Circular 17 AKA Real Lies. Let The Lips Fall Where They May dropped in August and was Real Lies' tribute to sticky summers in London. But as a London-born Scorpio lad who became a northerner it makes more sense in the nippy marmalade sunsets of October to ur boi Martinelli. There's very little which makes me patriotic about this silly little island of serfs than British electronic dance music and our penchant for banter about the weather.

I reckon Let The Lips Fall Where They May is the best Real Lies song of 2025 so far, and it only proves that Kev Last Kahras & Pumpin' Patrice should release a compilation of the best Real Lies non-album songs. Obviously the album would include songs like Valentine, Oh Me, Oh My (Nicotine Patch), I Wander, Rare Rapport etc. Ideally, the compilation would also include a studio version of The Lonely Ones from their lockdown livestream. Shit, even a rip of the live performance of it would suffice tbqh.

Shoes Up, Bros Down

Treal Lee & Prince Rick - Shoes Up
(From DJ Fletch presents Treal Lee & Prince Rick - Throwed Off mixtape; 2011)


Here's a Martorialist favourite which has otherwise been wiped from the internet. This deep cut by Treal Lee & Prince Rick was a Dallas equivalent of JR Writer's Grill 'Em or 3 Deep's Watch My Shoes. The song was the next step in club bad behaviour for Lee & Rick after Throwed Off (F**k Everybody): a dystopian vision of the dancefloor populated by a thousand Gary Bushells with nary a Darcey Bussell in sight. Plus, it features one of the most Tonally-Consistent™ DJ-drops ever with "F**K YOUR WHOLE LIVES, IT'S DJ FLETCH!!!"

Sister Soulja Slim

"You not invited to the cookout
But you can watch from the middle of the streets, be the lookout"

Monaleo - Sexy Soulaan
(From Who Did The Body album; 2025)


I'm feelin' Monaleo's pivot to Conscious (Gran)daughter with Sexy Soulaan and Spare Change from her new album. Peep the storytelling to make Ice-T proud on the latter song. Don Who Leo is dead, welcome to the Leokim Shabazz era.

Thes Craven

People Under The Stairs - Hang Loose
(From O.S.T. album; 2002)

Peny's Set · People Under the Stairs - The Hang Loose

As far as I'm concerned, Hang Loose is the best song People Under The Stairs ever recorded. The lads indulged in some "What would the Cold Crush Brothers say?" versification like it ain't nothin', and that's word to birds like Thanksgiving stuffing. Boring bloggers would call Hang Loose "a genre exercise in O.G old skoolisms"; me, I say "Hang Loose is two fellas having hella fun while paying homage to Rap's pioneers innit." Where similar songs by Jurassic 5 fell flat, Hang Loose comes correct by having a touch of I Got It Made absurdism. Thes One had a gold-plated pitbull made outta ice, yo his bark ain't loud, but he sure ain't nice!

Suck your mum, son, Sigmund Freud

Nine & Dex - Postman Pat
(From Postman Pat single; 2025)


Another one by the Great White Hopes/Blokes™. Personally, I'm using Postman Pat as the B-side to Shetland Pony. These fellas manage to scratch two specific itches for me: they're a Road-Rap version of MC Grindah & MC Beats who are also a British equivalent of Rio Da Yung OG & RMC Mike. Double the fun like Sweet Valley High.

The Trill That's Real (part 2)

KenTheMan - Not My N*gga (extended version)
(From Not My N*gga (extended version) single; 2023)


Another good single by KenTheMan which I'd missed. An extended version in this era? That's rarer than a copy of Beat Bop with the Basquiat artwork. We've been living in a golden age of Snooty Birds Talking Flagrant Shit-core Rap singles for these last 5 years.

cOWWWWWabunga

Max B made good music in prison, so it's not inconceivable that he can continue to drop good music when he gets outta prison next month. In a perfect world, Max would have the best post-prison comeback streak since Mac Dre. Alas, rappers fall off all the time, the world's an imperfect place and that's word to John Bender. The reality is we're probably gonna have to contend with a whole lotta dross just to get a few good choonz. Since ur boi Martavelz is the chairman of the British (surf)board let me offer The Wave God a few suggestions in who and what he needs to avoid when he gets back in the studio. The top 10 things Max B needs to steer clean of when he touches home turf:

1. Auto-Tune
2. Drake
3. Any kind of Atlanta influence
4. Anyone or anything associated with Griselda
5. VladTV, Joe Budden and the whole pathetic Rap gossip industry
6. Paul Couture beats
7. New York Drill flows
8. Alchemist collaboration albums
9. Posting gym-bore workout videos on Instagram
10. Musical collaborations with French Montana

Listen, I luh Coke Wave as much as the next Max maven, but the only time I wanna hear Max & French together in the future is if they're talking shit about Hell Rell again. Instead, let's have some more Max B & Styles P songs on a par with the Kill That Faggot remix and Hawaii 5.0.

Another thing Max should avoid is sobriety. Turning straight edge has claimed the musical-mojos of rappers as diverse as Gucci Mane and Homeboy Sandman, and is as deadly a rapper curse as cosmetic dentistry. Obviously Max shouldn't develop a raging coke habit or become an alkie or start popping opioids. Instead, get him on the 'shrooms and let's see what see the psycheVelzic era has in store. Strawberry Fields forevOWWWWWWWW.

Juke Them, Hoes (part 2)

Lil' M.U. - Top Of Cars
(From Handful maxi EP thingy; 2025)


You already know Lil' M.U's Top Of Cars is one of ur host's favourite 2025 Rap singles. But why did the original video get wiped from the internet and get replaced with a new video which is nowhere near as good? M.U let her own footwork do most of the talking in the original video, but here she mostly leaves it to her m8s to get on their good foot. Worse still, nobody even dances on top of a car second time around. Word up, the enshittification is real.

There's a From The Block performance of Top Of Cars where people in the comments are like "this beat sux!" And that is precisely why Hip-Hop kulcha is such a joke now: the audience mostly consists of dry-eared box-brains with terrible taste in music.