Jelani Blackman - Unlimited

The knockout punch. It’s why everyone watches boxing. The wilfully cerebral might say they love nothing more than a tense, tactical battle, but they don’t. If they’re being honest, deep down all they want to see is someone get whacked in the mouth, really bloody hard. Jelani Blackman’s debut full-length, ‘Unlimited’, promises to deliver a glorious knockout punch right out of the gates. ‘Unlimited’ and ‘Secrets’ go right for the jugular delivering the sort of vibrantly aggressive, no-holds-barred beats Giggs was known for all those years ago. Unfortunately though, this energy isn’t maintained. The opportunity for the haymaker vanishes, replaced instead by something much more calm and considered, and you can’t help but feel slightly disappointed. It’s not that the slower tracks are bad, it’s more that they don’t deliver what was promised early doors. Still, as debuts go, you can’t complain. If ‘Unlimited’ is anything to go by, you’d be daft to bet against Jelani Blackman getting that KO next time out.