Albums

Sway - The Signature LP

Ash Akhtar 18/11/2008

Rating: 3.5/5

Sway is back and self-aggrandizing on the first two tracks of The Signature. Of course, it's in the very nature of hip-hop to big yourself up, so let's allow Derek a little leeway on Fit for a King and Say it Twice. Sway's inimitable style and hard work is what's brought him the attention that he so deserved. Debut This is my demo shone amongst the mire of UK hip-hop releases in 2006: two years on, has Sway learnt from his experiences?

Clever lyrics and deft beats are all present on the humourous Jason Waste whilst the grimey F UR X features a great verse from female MC Stush. Sway's best songs tend towards darker elements, particularly on the cautionary Walk away which addresses gun-crime and the emotional Letters to Heaven.


Unfortunately, Sway is still continuing his one-man campaign to stop people stealing his tunes by downloading illegally. Highlighting this seems to only encourage downloading. i.e. if you type in 'sway the signat…' into your Google predictive toolbar - it will most probably direct you to a torrent site.


If Sway can drop the heavy chip that burdens his shoulder and stop railing against an 'industry' that ignores him and a public that steals from him, he'd experience far more success. Or maybe he can't, because that's a big part of what his current success is built on.