With a relatively interesting name in tow, 7Heads releases its first installment of the 7Heads Are Better Than 1 series, No Edge Ups in South Africa. As the indy label, which houses names such as J-Live, Asheru and Blue Black, El Da Sensei, and Djinji Brown,  begins its ascent up the hip hop hierarchy, one has to wonder where in the hell did they get this name for the album from. And much more how do haircuts and hip hop relate to each other?  Well in essence the compilation states that 7heads will not rest until every fade and beard in South Africa is edged up, which if relating the state of hip-hop to the state of South Africa, one could say it’s still a little rough and ugly around the edges. So who better than the 7heads fam to make sure that hip hop gets “edged up” and stays looking fresh?

As the compilation begins its journey to make sure that everybody can get that essential edge up, we are blessed with a plethora of excellent material. A suave remix of the underground classic “Braggin’ Writes (Remix)” is included which accentuates J-live’s already potent lyrics. Not to be outdone, “Mood Swing” feat. Asheru and Talib Kweli  bring together the lovely stylings of the two Emcees with a classic jazz break. Kweli proclaims his relationship with hip-hop with lines like “have a divorce if the track is wack/my rhymes a rolling stone/ home is where the high hat is at its on its own/ maybe one day it’ll settle down/it ain’t all good its all better now.” Wordsworth comes correct with “Backstage” as he serves up a healthy dosage of what happens at a show through the eyes of a hip-hop loving emcee. Its all love when Audessey works it out over butter production on “The Gusto”. And no doubt Wordsworth and J-LIve will raise a few eyebrows as they are jamming back and forth with Soulive on “Bosoms” which is just oozing of relentless funk. Wordsworth will garner a few chuckles when he cleverly states “when a woman’s shorter than me and we talkin and your bosoms are out/be sure that I’ma look down your blouse/any women taller than me and we talkin I can’t see your bosoms/then I’m thinkin about what I can put in your mouth.” Dinji Brown comes through with an amped up instrumental, “Mr. Dynamite”, which combines chants with a taste of house music to expand on what the 7heads fam are here to do. With all aspects of hip-hop present here 7heads Recordings makes sure that everyone can grasp how eclectic the label is without sacrificing a single element of that good ol’ hip hop in this compilation.

With all this to offer on Volume One, one has got to wonder what 7heads has in store for Volume Two. No Edge Ups… proves to be a very refreshing listen for any single person who may be bored with the monotonous sound of hip-hop today. Combing dope emcees, ill production, and that all important cohesiveness which can keep an album from busting at the seams, 7heads Are Better Than One has made a hell of a lot of progress edging up all those ugly, rough around the collar cats out there. Keeping it clever and entertaining is the name of the game here and even after lending an ear to the conversational piece “Reflections of a Heart Attack” you can’t help to appreciate where 7heads is coming from and no doubt as they put those ever important clippers to all those nappy domes that need to be faded up, you too will realize that hip hop as a whole needs a haircut… severely!