Out today: Urgent, dynamic and incisive, Steg G’s new album ‘Surface Pressure’ tackles the realities of climate change via collaborations with some of Scotland’s most exciting hip-hop talents
Artist: Steg G Single: Steg G ft Johnny Cypher: ‘Footnote’
Release Date: 14th March 2022
Album: Surface Pressure
Release Date: 18th March 2022
Label: Powercut Productions
Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3N3mA7N
Buy it now: https://apple.co/3ii60CT.
Tracklist:
1. Steg G ft Solareye – Twilight
2. Steg G ft Jam – The Rise And Fall
3. Steg G ft Sweet Rogue – No Future
4. Steg G ft Freestyle Master – The Promise
5. Steg G ft Conscious Route – Part Of The Problem
6. Respek BA – The Point Of No Return
7. Steg G ft Nova Scotia The Truth – Hope And Despair
8. Steg G ft Johnny Cypher – Footnote
9. Steg G ft Jay-Lee – The Road To Salvation10. Empress – The Final Curtain
Urgent, dynamic and incisive, Steg G’s new album ‘Surface Pressure’ tackles the realities of climate change via collaborations with some of Scotland’s most exciting hip-hop talents
‘Surface Pressure’ is the third album from Steg G in a series of releases from the stalwart Scottish MC commissioned by The Glasgow Barons, Govan’s regeneration orchestra.
Following on from previous albums, 2019’s ‘The Air in Between’ and 2021’s ‘Live Today’, the new album ‘Surface Pressure’ released on Steg G’s label Powercut Productions, boldly addresses the burgeoning threat of climate change, with ten Scottish rappers each invited to create a track that explores their views on the unfolding environmental crisis.
The album is supported by The Glasgow Barons, the orchestra named after Glasgow’s shipbuilding barons, that works with Govan’s local communities to make music, revitalise local venues and build a new story for Govan as a thriving arts hub.
After COP26, the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference, took place in Glasgow last November, Steg G and co deliver a timely call to arms that highlights the irony of welcoming people who are in charge of the world’s biggest carbon footprints into a district of Glasgow “that can barely afford a carbon footprint”, Steg G says.
“The album is based on that moment in time when humanity either acts responsibly and faces up to the massive elephant in the room -or we give up trying, and face the consequences. ‘Surface Pressure’ explores all of the emotions, feelings, thoughts and concerns present in society around the issues of climate change: a blend of helplessness, defiance, love, rage and spirituality.”
Opening track ‘Twilight’ featuring Dave Hook ( aka Glasgow rapper and Stanley Odd band member Solareye) acts as an ominous warning of things to come. “This isnae even imaginary, I’m not being poetic, there’s no need for purple prose when the truth’s so prophetic” cautions Hook, fusing a 90s-style rhythm with uneasy, metallic synths as his lyrics edge along like a Doomsday clock ticking down towards armageddon.
Second track and lead single ‘The Rise And Fall’ sees young rapper and producer Jam take centre stage as he outlines a bleak future landscape where inequality is rife and Govan’s most marginalised residents are left scarred by climate change, the song’s smooth and melodic chorus at odds with his prediction that ‘the Clyde runs dry’.
‘Surface Pressure’ also features turns from a number of fast-rising Scottish hip-hop musicians and rappers such as Nova Scotia The Truth, Sweet Rogue and Jay-Lee. On the slick ‘Hope And Despair’ Nova’s eerily-tuned vocals ebb and flow over sputtering beats, as she urges us to ‘stay smart with your heart’, while on ‘The Road To Salvation’ icy electronics provide a chilling backdrop for Jay-Lee’s rapid delivery, asking us to ‘stand up tall and take a stance’.
Collectively, they fearlessly spell out what a future of climate change inaction will look like for their local communities and Scotland more widely, from the collapse of infrastructure to issues with unemployment, substance abuse, and mental health. Steg G’s production heightens the sense of unease by crafting industrial, forward-sounding textures and sounds that simultaneously hark back to simpler times.
Amid the warnings though there are glimpses of hope, as on the prescient closing track by Empress. The Paisley-based MC brings her unique fire on ‘The Final Curtain’, an irresistible blend of flow, beats and rhymes that acts as an emotive reminder that change is still possible. ‘Surface Pressure’ is a compelling and unflinching rallying cry from some of the most gifted voices of Scotland’s vibrant hip hop scene.
Album launch party on Sunday 20th March at Grand Ole Opry, Glasgow with tickets available here.
The Scotsman: ★★★★
The Skinny: ‘Working alongside some of the country’s most talented rappers, vital bars are delivered from the likes of Nova, Solareye and Conscious Route, with relative newcomer Sweet Rogue’s turn on No Future, delivered with such a spiky urgency, one of the most exciting moments on the record.’
