SAS:
Streets All Salute

Release Date: 24 October 2005

Reviewed By: Lloyd Vaughan

1. I’ve Bin Waiting

2. Phone Skit #1

3. Don’t Even Think About It!

4. On Dem Roads

5. Story Of Us featuring Sewuese

6. Hold Me featuring Baby Blue

7. Killa Skit

8. DipSet Allday

9. Ur In Da Army featuring Juelz Santana

10. Rock And Roll

11. Phone Skit #2

12. Top Of The Globe

13. So Free featuring Cam’Ron

14. Cheerio

15. A.T.M. (About The Money)

16. Tarantula

17. SAS (Streets All Salute)

18. Phone Skit #3

19. Can You Feel Me?

20. Love Don’t Live Here featuring Nicole Wray

21. Phone Skit #4

22. Beyond Deep

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The DipSet movement is a growing hip hop force, and, with the addition of DipSet Europe, spaces were needed to lead the new international assault – step forward North London’s Mega and Mayhem, aka S.A.S. (Streets All Salute).

The East Finchley-born brothers got their break whilst living in New York. Street battles in the late Nineties got rap fans buzzing about their talent, and the boys got the chance to meet Cam’Ron on the street level. Soon, the brothers were enrolled in one of the biggest hip hop movements around.

Moving from Eurogang to rolling with the Diplomats has led to the twosome’s debut Diplomat release, and Dipset Europe’s maiden offering, the self-titled ‘SAS: Streets All Salute’. As the first track, ‘I’ve Been Waiting’ kicks in, wind pipes fill the intro, and then the tune breaks into a packed and busy beat, with quick-hit xylophone zings adding background interest. The chorus includes the somewhat generic Stateside “chipmunk-inspired” commercial hook, giving an insight into what to expect for the next 21 tracks, which is slightly ominous.

‘Don’t Even Think About It’ starts with a big band crescendo of sub-shaking proportions. It instantly makes you sit up and take notice and combined with the lyric, ‘Once upon a time there was Mega and May’, the mental tattoo will not leave you pondering who the artists on the album are. The self-titled track ‘Streets All Salute’ gives a more promising insight into what the Stateside production/UK artist relationship can offer, with an Asian-inspired beat laying the foundations for some quicker lyrical performances from Mega and May, creating one of the better offerings.

One cannot truly claim to be saluted by all street goers without the blessing of those who put you on the stage to shine, and on the track, ‘So Free,’ SAS receive just that with a feature from DipSet general, Cam’Ron himself. The track starts off slow, only to be interrupted by what sounds like stadium rock, Bon Jovi style, with the slow paced lyrics rolling over the somewhat strange choice of beat. Other features include Baby Blue on the track ‘Hold Me’, where she reminds the boys how a British verse should sound with her grimy lyrics echoing London life. Fellow Diplomat member Juelz Santana can do nothing to save the track ‘Ur In Da Army’, which features sped up Status Quo lyrics at the chorus, which sounds more attributed to Aqua than a hip hop act. Since when was the ’Quo reppin’ street life?

The track ‘Cheerio’ is designed to emphasise British loyalty with the sentiment, ‘Reppin’ London town now, here we go round and round the globe like a merry-go’, but it seems they got half way around the world and forgot to buy a return ticket! The UK accents are obsolete from the album and have shamelessly been replaced by the repetition of the word ‘London’ on most tracks. American influence fills the mixtape with lyric and production all being tinged with influences far from a UK hip hop sound.

The result is a freshman release that is unfortunately not as strong as the movement it’s representing.

Rating: 1 out of 5

Top 3 Tracks:
17) SAS (Streets All Salute)
8) DipSet Allday
6) Hold Me Feat. Baby Blue

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