Just another Dreama

Let's face it, the UK hasn't excelled at producing female rappers. There was a time when we could have done it - Monie Love, Wee Papa Girl Rappers, The Cookie Crew and Neneh Cherry all appeared in the late 80s and looked set for big things. But the combined assault of rave and gangster rap killed their careers stone dead.

Since then the only female rap talent to make waves has been Ms Dynamite (one great album, one awful album, 10 years off), Estelle (dropped by her label and forced to move to the US) and Speech Debelle (only kidding).

Let's hope London's Dreama breaks the curse. She's been a regular reader / commenter on the blog for a while now (which proves she has good taste) so it was a pleasant surprise when she emailed last week to show off her new, self-released EP, Reifier. When the EP turned out to be properly good, that surprise doubled in size and assumed the startled expression of Louis Walsh in a revolving door.

What struck me most was the wordplay. This is literate, intelligent rap - down to earth like gravity. Take CRTL+ALT+DEL, a drowsy anecdote about Dreama's permanently-connected world. "Social media, I feel you're getting greedier," she begins, setting the scene for a polemic about internet addiction... Until she gets distracted by a website about celebrity liposuction. It's clever and relevant and funny, like

Some of the tracks on the EP have a harder, percussive edge but I find myself drawn to the more melodic material - which better suits the MC's sing-song delivery. An older track, A Dreama's Reality, is probably my favourite - if only for the verse:

I always knew all I'd do was become stellar
London girl, the place to carry shades and an umbrella
Pardon the clichés but, yeah, the weather's awful
Big jackets, woolly hats... I've got 'em by the drawer-ful.

The EP is below. You can also check out Dreama's website over here, then head over to her Twitter page and tell her I said hello.

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