Album Review: Maggot Mouf & Sammy Scissors - Runnin With Scissors

Runnin With Scissors is the latest missive from the hard-hitting Broken Tooth Entertainment stable. Centre stage is the talented (if unpleasantly named) MC Maggot Mouf, who has collaborated with producer Sammy Scissors to create an album that reinforces their underground, tell-it-like-it-is approach to hip hop. The album takes a little while to find its groove – the opening tracks are, strangely, some of the weakest, such as Raw, which lacks the ferocity implied by its lyrics. The production just feels a little thin in parts, robbing the tracks of their punch. It's How We Spit, featuring Scott Skills and DJ Buick on cuts, that really kicks proceedings up a notch. Sammy Scissors' relatively unadorned production works well here, supporting a rhythmically slick, catchy chorus and some solid wordplay. From this point, Runnin With Scissors asserts itself as a true underground hip hop record, with the plain-spoken Maggot Mouf detailing the curses and small victories of everyday life on the fringes.

The album's construction is a little strange – of the 19 tracks, five are less than 120 seconds long, yet they're mini-songs as opposed to skits. It's an unusual approach to songcraft, but it's largely successful, particularly in the case of the financially focused Crave, which serves up 117 seconds of ferocious, chillingly aggressive hip hop. The horror-movie-tinged Dreamscape (featuring Gutz) is a highlight, with its eerie string samples and bleak, uncompromising lyrics that cut to the heart of failed aspirations. Gutz's other guest spot on the album is possibly the record's best track – F The W, with its relentless rolling beat and fierce, often graphic lyrics.

For those who like their hip hop dark, grim and with copious lashings of underground sensibilities, Runnin With Scissors will be a welcome addition to the collection.