Music has the power to unite. With Britain currently severing its relationships with Europe, Sektion Red‘s new LP shows how hip-hop is the perfect platform for European collaboration. Dropping on 11.12.18, its time to brush up on your languages, because you’ve got to hear these bars.

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Primarily a music video production brand and international hip-hop hub, The Red Album will be Sektion Red‘s first official release. It was born out of the connections built when filming crazy videos across the continent. The project features artists from 15 different countries, namely: Bulgaria, Canary Islands, Estonia, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Serbia, Spain and the UK.

Use this interactive map to find rappers’ locations:

Focusing on underground hip-hop without a “commercial bias“, the album has attracted some of the biggest names in the UK hip-hop scene. Between slick verses from the European guys, find the likes of Verb T, Res One, Datkid and more. Stacked with crackling samples and boom-bap beats, the album’s production is handled by a string of solid beatmakers. Badhabitz, Chro and Hozay all have production credits, along with Greece’s Logos Apeilh and DJ Propo amongst others. Whilst there are similarities within the hip-hop cultures across the continent, the album also displays a variety of unique flows and styles from Europe.

‘Kustoms’ was the first single released and it includes bouncing production from Propo. Scratched up fake flight announcements guide the track to Hungary and Greece where we meet Turan Khan‘s speedy staccato and Sadomas. The tune starts with a banging verse from Split Prophet‘s Datkid, and ends with “Thank you for flying with Sektion Red today.” The song ‘Preach’ sees four rappers tackle Richy Spitz‘ beat, with a stand out verse from Serbia’s veteran Škabo. Gilly Man Giro also makes a strong performance, flipping Reakwon’s opening bars from ‘C.R.E.A.M.’ into “I grew up on the Tyneside, the Newcastle crime side.”

Some of The Red Album’s hottest verses come from the impressive host of female MCs. ‘Lets Have Funk’ is dedicated to the hip-hop chicks Marteena, Holly Flo Lightly, Vina and Ms Maiko, but we can’t forget about TrueMendous‘ intricate flow on ‘Death After Life’. The project has to be praised for its attempt at providing a representative bill of artists, uniting countries and the community, showing how hip-hop is not as insular as it is often criticised as being.

Sektion Red have quickly become one of the biggest names behind UK hip-hop, with all respect going to head honcho Oliver Whitehouse. They have worked with the likes of Jurassic 5‘s Charli 2na, Dr Syntax & Pete Cannon, and our friends Broken Poetz. Now releasing an ambitious debut album, bending genre trends and connecting fans, the whole world will be Sektioned next.

The Red Album. Available on CD, digital and limited edition vinyl. Pre-order here.

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Written by: James Wijesinghe