The occasional exception such as Estelle aside, UK hip-hop continues to be overshadowed by its US counterpart, not least because after having burned a few fingers in the past, the home-grown mainstream industry seems reluctant to take more chances. This is, however, good news for Evil Ed. A veteran of some 20 years around the hip-hop scene, the producer has assembled four DJs and 20 MCs for what is virtually a Who's Who of British underground hip-hop.

With so many contributors, the album is slightly uneven in places but the talent level is high. Samples of everything from Spanish guitar to what sounds like Erik Satie underline the UK's commitment to innovation, and lines such as "Fuck the mortgage/ my door is a drawbridge" (The Cavalry) show that the Brits can match the Americans for idiosyncrasy and swearing. Ironically, the best tracks - Captains of ... , delivered by female rapper A-Love, and Mic Assassin/ Tommy Evans' blistering Life's a Struggle - are fired by the homegrown hip-hop struggle that commercially keeps them down.