This is a review of Celph Titled and Buckwild’s album Nineteen Ninety Now, or, The Day Every Former Hip Hop Connection Writer Simultaneously Creamed Themselves.

And given the concept, it’s not hard to see why. Backpack-rap superstar Celph Titled (Demigodz, Army Of The Pharoahs) decided to make a debut album, with beats done entirely by Buckwild, all of which were produced in the mid-90s – and sounding every inch of it. But even if you aren’t a 90s-lovin’ UK rap journalist, this album will still blow your mind.

Celph seems an odd choice to link up with Buck, giving his metaphor-heavy, slightly idiosyncratic verses, but the key here is his flow. His measured, confident spitting is a perfect fit for these kinds of beats, to the extent that it’s difficult to wonder why he hasn’t done something like this before.

And what beats. What gorgeous beats. Buckwild is one of the great underrated hip-hop producers, a man who could, quite frankly, wipe the floor with anybody active today. It’s actually quite astounding that these beats were never used — one would have thought that OC or any other DITC member would have grabbed the thumping ‘The Deal Maker‘ or the bustling ‘Out To Lunch‘ super-fast. Guess not.

Still, when you hear Celph spitting “I was a stick-up kid / It was fucked up, but fun / ’cause I used a Nintendo Duck Hunt Gun” over a dusty break and thumping bass, it’s not exactly something you’ll feel bad about.

It’s such a simple combination—great beats, great flows, great rhymes—but the key to its success is how perfectly it’s done. There’s no embellishment, no attempt to meld the sound to current trends or create a sure-fire single. There’s just Celph, spitting over Buck, with some low-key assistance from the odd guest. It’s an album with a singular purpose, beautifully executed and lovingly produced, and it never puts a foot wrong—not once.

Even if you have absolutely no experience of hip hop from the 90s, you owe it to yourself to listen to this. Not because it’s a great 90’s album, but because it’s simply a great album.

Words Rob Boffard
Buy Nineteen Ninety Now
Celph Titled website
Buckwild website