Homecut

No Freedom Without Sacrifice is the debut album three years in the making for British Hip-Hop artist Testament, aka Homecut. The title of the album being the spine of this novel of real life tales and moral quandaries, you are left in no doubt that you are at the receiving end of a very thoughtful musician taught through his experiences dealing with equality, racism and the streets.

The unusual blend of styles in this album give it a far more mellow approach than many pure hip-hop and rap artists would dare venture. But venture they should, for this album will be a revelation for many hip-hop fans who have been on the search for a talented British artist who can bring politics and race to the table without leaving a sour taste in the listeners mouth.

Often funny and often fraught with tragedy you are taken on an enjoyable journey of jazz and soul tinged tunes starting with the climactic gospel choir on the first title track.
Collaborations are aplenty with artists such as Corinne Bailey Rae and J-Live lending their vocals and expertise showing they obviously have some big ideas for this newcomer.

Despite Homecut's obvious talents though, you can't help but feel just the teensiest bit let down by the lack of variety instrumentally. Despite the obvious power of Homecut's powerful vocals, they can tend to be washed over by some interchangeable tempo's and styles and this may not do Homecut's chances of getting some precious air time any favours. Despite this rather superficial criticism though, we have a very promising future talent with a solid platform in which to get his name a little closer to the big guns.