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You might think that running a site such as immediately lands me neck deep in all manner of audio freebies from around the skratchworld. Well it doesn't but when they do arrive, I give them the attention they deserve. One such audio goodie is DJ Happee's "The Renaissance".

DJ Happee is no newbie - he's been around for well over a decade and this is his second album release. Having worked his way through the traditional route of battles and guest appearances on other artists' work, Happee decided it was time to put his own twist on turntablism when recording his own music.

Like many other artists, Happee has also enlisted some friends into this LP including Dinoh, Ruthless, Tyra from Saigon, Bakspin, Slyed, Entec, Rayted-R and Fillmatic. And together, they make this an all-round great listen.

The one thing that strikes me is that it's darkly electronic rather than funky. It's head nodding from a DJs perspective as you appreciate the deckmanship and production skills, but it's not one for dancing to. The beats are slower and dirty with clean but complex scratches and definitely edging towards the rockier side of Hip Hop.

Whilst this isn't a groundbreaking set and most certainly aimed at a scratch specific crowd, staying in the comfort zone has allowed Happee to produce a high quality body of work, enhanced by inviting some quality friends along. And while it'll certainly be snapped up by the heads, it also has cross genre appeal and will also end up on the iPods of a wider cross section of the listening public.

Standout tracks for me - Rawoutdaspeaker because of the slightly left field beats and Roundtable Discussion because of the variety of scratch styles. The last track is however a touching tribute to his friend Zeevee, who you may remember died a short time ago in a motorbike accident. Happee cites Zeevee as the inspiration to make this album.

Overall, DJ Happee's 2nd LP is very worthy of your attention. Expect familiar ground but done with skill. Recommended. Check out DJ Happee's website for more info.