The latest offering from indie emcee Charmingly Ghetto, Scotland Yahd,  is a study and an ode to some sturdy, powerfully driven East Coast Hip Hop. CG’s lyrical delivery is something to be praised, as he does little in the way of pulling any punches on topics from relationships to youth involvement and engagement and much more, all across an interestingly sparse but engaging production sound scape created by U.K. native Cypria.

Charmingly Ghetto and Cypria weave together a stripped down but involved EP of Hip Hop that seems to be making a comeback over the past 5-plus years. While “Clutch ya Rosery” displays Ghetto’s visceral, potent and sometimes fast-paced rhyming, complimented well by Cypria’s wailing horns and pounding drums, there’s a lot more to the story. “How Many Can I Save” will be billed by many as conscious Hip Hop for the 21st century, reminiscent of a song like “My Advice 2 U” by Gang Starr. “Aww Yeah” with Marv One and AP-Ebonix rides a triumphant soul sample with cuts and scratches by Leah V that are a welcome addition to a song that’s already formidably lyrical in its own right. And “Nat Turner” is a plea for unity and understanding for black people, but also serves as an unflinching history lesson and a call-to-arms against the demons of self-hate, division and ignorance of history. All the while, Cypria’s production paints a musical backdrop that Charmingly Ghetto takes full advantage of: calm, even-toned music by Cypria intersects with hungry, impassioned delivery from Ghetto to create an overall worthwhile, substantial Hip Hop EP.

The main idea is that Charmingly Ghetto creates Hip Hop that you actually have to listen to and ponder, and give a listen to more than once. No disrespect to the club-hopping, EDM inspired rap music that’s flooding the airwaves these days, but sometimes it’s good to take the music back to where it used to be and to display the elements that made it as good as it was, and still can be. And that’s what Charmingly Ghetto and Cypria will have accomplished with Scotland Yahd. Looking forward to what CG has in store for a full album.

The full stream and download of Scotland Yahd is available here.