Stanisland Magazine

New music dropped by the Manchester-based rapper with producer Merta refreshes a stale hip-hop cache

There is only one way to say this: it’s incredible. On the same day I came across the talents of Big Gemini, swift approval from the editor was realised. Given our network of hard-to-please reviewers and scouters, that tells you something,

It’s been a few hours since I began streaming her latest EP, Most Wanted and it’s still torturing my speakers. Based within Manchester’s ever-expanding borders, there’s something to be said about its scene; while London appears to be regressing, other parts of the country are flourishing.

What Most Wanted Sounds Like

Gem keeps things in a state of flow, letting momentum carry her thematic aggression across a pavement of intuitive delivery. Most Wanted is a six-track extended play strung against a backdrop of belligerent production by Cheshire-based Merta.

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Featuring heavy set basslines and warcry-like instrumentals, it feels like a message delivered by a dispatch rider complete with archers, canons and infantry. Gemini employs her vocals against the backdrop of these haunting compositions that showcase phonetically lavish skills, match-making lyrics with a tremendous capacity to suit the producer’s canvas.

There’s a twist with each track change that has the listener consistently bracing oneself for a trajectory of unpredictability; that’s good. Following an end of the high-intensity Miss Outlaw and Bring That Doe, the tempo shapeshifts once again on IFWTO, where percussion-led patterns bring us to Real S**t featuring K Reniaé, where the rapper’s flow is in full swing and demonstrates how to demolish an industry. The hook is an infectiously catchy vestibule of expanding flow, and the same continues on the final two songs.

The Verdict

You will be transported to the golden era of hip-hop, where the rapper resurrects and improves it with a stylistic integrity that is slowly disappearing from the British scene.

I’m not alone in saying that commercial UK hip-hop is beginning to sound like the guy who never asked for feedback. It’s unfortunate that when the world thinks of our brand, they’re reminded of rappers like Central Cee. But it’s so much more.

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Big Gemini is the steamroller we wanted, ploughing the city to make room for new developments.

She’s got it all: wordplay, flow, density and a stylistic heat that broods atmosphere and might. There’s no denying she brings a faultline of new beginnings.

This is a must-listen. Most Wanted is a morning cup of coffee filtered into your headphones, car or whatever medium you prefer. Joint applause goes to the beat maker (Merta), whose fingerprints are all over the mixing, mastering and engineering too.

How to Hear it

So far, it has been published to Spotify and Apple Music and features six tracks distributed by Star Signs Records.