Fancy a break from the serious side of life? Tired of bolshy reactionary keyboard warriors blotting facts and illogically splicing political car crashes into positives? Or maybe it’s just that bastard tap in the upstairs bathroom, dripping, and the only thing the bimbo at the call centre is filing is her fingernails.
You need some Chop Chappy time, a dose of which is available from Bandcamp. Some name-your-price craziness from Mr. B, The Gentleman Rhymer spawned yesterday, and chockfull of jolly, pythonesque hip hop lockdown cabin fever rejoinders, it’s what the doctor would recommend; the madcap scientist type.

Lessons from Double Dee & Steinski I’ll give you, but no album is going to wax lyrical Michael Palin fashion over the Grange Hill Theme, throwdown Grandmaster Melle Mel’s Message over the Charleston, or bite LL Cool J’s Mama Said Knock You Out with a Wurzels-fashioned backbeat, usually.
And we’re only five tracks into Chop Chappy, inspired by the tunes of his lockdown “niceolation” parties, every Tuesday, on his Mixcloud. Though, since its dawn, the likes of The Treacherous Three, Doug E Fresh or Ron & the DC Crew sprinkled comedy into hip hop, and today even locally we’ve Goldie Looking Chain, Monkey Bizzle, Corky, and more, it’s only cliché if you fail to find an original angle. Mr B subtitles his angle, The Gentleman Rapper, and with mock pomposity it does what it says on the tin, granting said tin should be authentically displayed in a museum of curiosities.
Lounge style Casio keyboard Bowie, a gangsta version of Presley’s cover of That’s Alright Mama, a Chas n Dave skanking Pistol’s Pretty Vacant, are just some of the actions, but while there’s always a gentlemanly vintage edge, it’s not all vintage sourced.

As well as old skool, contemporary rap acts go under Mr B’s sniping tool, one revealed to my outdated knowledge to be Cardi B, apparently. Called in E-troops, Shazam recognised it despite the fairground organ pasted atop. One, namely Flat Beat, even tested the app, admitting ‘this is tricky’ and it expanded its search to find a remotely similar track. I knew what it was, couldn’t put my finger on the title. Yet others are instantly recognisable as you dally through its crafted mosaic, from Daft Punk to a sample of Bojo’s bus model making waffle.
There are few occasions, like Nearly Robin, where Mr B raps original lyrics, and that’s most definitely the funniest parts. But to face facts, nothing here is desert island discs, hip hop is throwaway, music caught in the moment, and not repeated. This said, it makes Mr B hugely prolific, sixteen releases strong on his Bandcamp page since 2008.
So, rather than expect a stairway to heaven or bohemian rhapsody, accept, for a while, you’ll be bamboozled by Mr B simply mucking about and mashing up, and then, and only then, will you see, this is about as much fun you can have with two turntables, mic, sampler, and gramophone 78s; and for that much alone, it’s highly entertaining and amusing.




Trending……
HAVING A BABY AND THE S**T THEY DON’T TELL YOU
26th and 27th May 2023Wharf Theatre, DevizesPerformed and written by Lou Cox Review by Helen Edwards I will start this review with a trigger warning. The…
Alex Roberts and Fly Yeti Fly @ The Barge Honeystreet
Ben Niamor First time for me in the barn venue, it’s a great space. Alex is no stranger to this place, and it feels like a…
Devizes Street Festival; Day One
If I can, which I think is best after one too many visits to the Stealth bar, sum today in Devizes up in a word, the…
Deadlight Dance: Innocent Beginnings
Marlborough’s darkwave-goth duo, Deadlight Dance push their boundaries to new limits with their second single, Innocent Beginnings this week, and it’s a corker of goth perilous…
Nothing Rhymes With Orange have Butterflies
If Lidl Shoes, April’s blast from our aspiring homegrown four-piece indie-punkers, Nothing Rhymes With Orange certainty raised the rafters with energetic enthusiasm, I held subtle solicitude,…
Your Place, or Mine? Devizes Town Council Squabbles Over Meeting Venue!
I’ve a mildly interesting word origin urban myth to bore you with before we begin on an opinion piece about the latest petty squabbling at Devizes…
Song of the Week: Canute’s Plastic Army
Swindon’s acoustic Celtic folk duo Canute’s Plastic Army played the Southgate in Devizes last Saturday; though firmly on my never-ending must-see-list, even just the name alone…
Weekly Roundup of Events in Wiltshire: 24th-30th May 2023
OMG, OMG, another bank holiday weekend coming up, who’s excited, who’s coming out to play?! Here’s what we’ve found this week, find the info and links,…
Female of the Species Announce 2023 Date!
For eight years on the trot, minus the lockdown year no one needs reminding of, local all-female supergroup, The Female of the Species have performed a…
Exploring Frome at Night; Does Every Town Need a Cheese and Grain?
Finally crawled out of my Hobbit-hole this weekend after a shilly-shallying period of making do with BGT on the telebox, and what better way to kick…