Newport’s biggest rap group Goldie Lookin Chain are back with their TWENTIETH (!) album and this time they’re aiming to resolve international political discord with a bold plan for peaceful Welsh dominance. FEAR OF A WELSH PLANET, set for release on Fri 3 November 2017, features 16 soon-to-be classics, zeitgeist-capturing tracks, full of disco and hip hop-inspired beats, traversing subjects as diverse as Netflix and road safety.
The story of FEAR OF A WELSH PLANET begins in 2015 as the GLC: Rhys from GLC, Eggsy, Mystical, Mike Balls, DJ Killer Tomato, Graham the Bear, Adam Hussain, Billy Webb and 2 Hats, met up with rap legends, De La Soul at a festival in Bristol. Talking until the small hours about how to make the perfect hip hop album, the musical heavyweights left each other content they’d cracked the code. Unfortunately, nobody wrote it down and GLC have no recollection of the conclusion whatsoever, other than the rule to write at least one rap about your Nan.
Their formula for reaching the pinnacle of the rhyming genre is an approximation, but they reckon they’re pretty close:
Get plenty of sleep; health is the key to creativity – You can get some very strong, over the counter supplements to help you with this. If you try and stay awake on them things get all kinds of crazy.
Find inspiration from what you see around you – GLC go from the pub, to the betting shop, home for a smoke, to the kebab shop and then to bed, usually. It’s a goldmine of inspiration, other bands aren’t so lucky. You can’t just pluck gems like ‘I Got A Van’ from nowhere.
Write as many tunes as you can – It’s vital that you write as many killer rhymes as you can, on the off chance one of them might hit the formula that GLC and De La Soul forgot. Well, De La Soul might remember, but they’re really difficult to get hold of.
As a result, GLC’s well-worn, experimental drawing board reveals almost-seventeen new tunes including ‘Chicken Soup’, which isn’t about soup, ‘Sex People’, a cautionary tale of not putting things where they don’t fit, ‘Bonk Eye’ which rightly reframes optical misalignment as a super power and ‘Six Feet Tall’ a straight-up love letter to ex-band member, Maggot and stands as the band’s poignant, ‘Wish You Were Here’ moment.
Also known for his stint on Celebrity Big Brother, Maggot remains off the record, off the scene and totally ‘MIA’. Rhys from GLC sends up a flare in this heartfelt lament, rapping in the hope that it will reach his ears, wherever he may be. Will it? Only time will tell what magical, reconciliatory powers this track might hold and, perhaps, bring him home to Wales and reconnect with the ones who miss him so. Stay tuned.
In all, FEAR OF A WELSH PLANET is one in the eye for anyone who assumed that the ‘Fab Fifteen-ish’ wouldn’t live long enough to record twenty albums and serves as a warning to anyone who dares make those ‘Oldie Lookin Chain’ jibes that the GLC are now respected, elder statesmen of well safe hip-hop beats and rhymes. This is GLC and Wales’ time to take centre stage and bid for world dominance.
Eggsy says: “It’s time people realised the power of Wales, from Dan Yr Ogoff Showcaves to the National Botanic Gardens of Wales, it’s undisputable. Although I haven’t visited either of these places I know someone who has and they said they were well safe. I have been to Barry Island though, it’s a bit rough but lovely when the sun shines.”
Adam Hussain said: “This is our ode to Wales. Secretly we are hoping the Welsh tourist board will give us a load of cash and a massive caravan to go on a holiday round Wales next summer, we could make a TV show about it. I have my fingers crossed on that one. Actually, if you’re reading this, let me know what dates you’re thinking as I have an all-inclusive booked in Magaluf next summer.”
Rhys from GLC says: “We went all the way around Wales in a weekend to like 20 different places to film a video for one of the tracks and get inspired by our beautiful country. We stayed in a Travelodge in Colwyn Bay, eight men in two rooms – it was lush. They even had a KFC, which kept Mike Balls happy. We almost ran out of petrol half way up Mount Snowdon and when we got there it was all closed, but the view was nice. Good preparation for taking power, anyway.”
Graham the Bear says: “This album is like all of the top 100 hip hop albums rolled into one, obviously leaving out anything by 2Pac. In fact it’s better than that, it’s like when Queen did the Hot Space album, no one understood it at the time and I’m not sure I understand this album, but the bits I’m on are really good.”
A formidable live outfit, renowned for showcasing cutting edge of male fashion and grooming as much as the sharp end of contemporary hip-hop, the GLC announce an earth-trembling ‘homecoming’ show at the Tramshed in Cardiff on Friday 8 December. Tickets are onsale HERE.
The full track listing for FEAR OF A WELSH PLANET is:
1) Chicken Soup
2) Fear of a Welsh Planet
3) I Got A Van
4) Bonk Eye
5) It’s The Law of The Streets
6) Netflix In Bed
7) Mystikal Back In Position
8) This One Goes Out to The Ravers
9) Adam and Ball Show
10) It’s A Goldie Lookin Chain
11) Six Feet Tall
12) Sex People
13) Pass The Pipe
14) I’m The One
15) I Loves Green
16) Rom Com Lover
Forming just after the Millennium in the historic South Wales city of Newport, Goldie Lookin Chain self-released six albums before signing a major label record deal and recording two, top-20 albums between 2004 and 2005, including the UK Top 5 release, ‘Greatest Hits’ (2004). The GLC have scored six Top 40 hits, including ‘Guns Don’t Kill People, Rappers Do’, which peaked at number 3 in August 2004 and have continued to write, record and perform as a collective of up to 20 rappers for almost two decades.
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