We do wish people would stop making these tiresome international collaboration tracks.

Not that we have anything against rappers from different countries jumping on a track together—far from it—but it’s all so token. Look at me, says mid-level-rapper X. I’ve got a track featuring some dudes who aren’t from the States. This shit is amazing.

They’re from like, Turkey, man. Or Denmark or some shit. I dunno, I get confused.

Result? A half-baked track featuring a rapper you will never hear of again (international exposure? Don’t make us laugh).

This has actually reached epidemic proportions: while Tech N9ne’s tune ‘Worldwide Choppers’ is outstanding, we dare you to call out one MC on it not named Tech, Busta, Twista or Yela. And then there’s Rakaa Iriscience, who had twenty (!) different rappers on his tune Ambassador Slang. It didn’t work.

So we’d like to applaud Copywrite for doing it properly.

When we heard his latest album was the ‘Proper English Version’ of his US release God Save The King (Proper English Version), and all about rocking out with UK rappers, eyes were rolled. Tongues were clicked. But then we had a listen, and we thought, you know, this is the kind of thing you want to hold up in class and go: kids, this is how you do it.

Everybody’s equal here. Some MCs are from the US, and some are from the UK, and they all get to rock together. Copywrite has always been a beguiling MC, lightning quick with his tongue and his punchlines, and here he shows that he’s a dab hand at creating chemistry from his guests. So, Royce Da 5’9” duets with Genesis Elijah on ‘Overdose’, Crooked I and Iron Braydz rock out on ‘Crooked Coppers’ and M9, Killah Priest and Lord Basis Supreme (of all people) hook up on ‘Arachnophobia’.

The rapping is almost always rock solid, and the beats—from dudes like Bronze Nazareth, Jaguar Skills and Jason Rose—are nice, fat, bass-heavy bangers. While it can get a little samey after a while, this one is a keeper.

And it’s good to know that someone’s doing it right.

Rob Boffard