Ever since Big Dada debuted in 1997 with a pair of 12" singles (involving an embryonic
New Flesh and Alpha Prhyme aka
Luke Vibert), the only problem hip-hop fans have had with them is simply waiting and hoping for more new material from one of the best stables in all of hip-hop -- never mind the "British rap" label. (Of course, maybe Big Dada wouldn't have earned the great reputation they enjoy if they had released more material.) Unlike the previous label compilation Extra Yard, Well Deep: Ten Years of Big Dada Recordings has no embarrassment of new or unreleased riches; 27 out of 31 tracks here are album versions, leaving three tracks from singles (mostly remixes) and a total of one unreleased track, an outtake from
Diplo's
Florida. For any hip-hop fans who want or need to know what makes Big Dada's style of basement hip-hop special, Well Deep is a ruthlessly efficient sampler, with great tracks from all of the best full-lengths by
Roots Manuva,
Ty,
New Flesh,
Lotek Hi-Fi, Gamma,
Spank Rock,
MF Doom's
King Geedorah project,
Busdriver, and others. Among the singles-only tracks are Xxxchange's high-tension mix of Wiley's "My Mistakes" and the
Boards of Canada remix of
cLOUDDEAD's "Dead Dogs Two." ~ John Bush