Sensational

Matador is rapidly pushing itself up the ranks of dope hip-hop labels with its recent rash of signings: Arsonists (who released their fabulous As The World Burns debut on the label last year); Non-Phixion (who are rumoured to be leaving the label before their album drops); MC Paul Barman (who brings the star power of producer Prince Paul) and now Sensational. A Jungle Brother for one aborted album, under the name of Torture, and more recently one of Wordsound's heavy hitters, Sensational deserves to get a bit more attention. Unfortunately, the two tracks on his new single - and the first on Matador - are not really up to par. While the self-produced beats are amazing, the lyrics come off sounding half-ass. Too often throughout "Party Jumpin'" and "Livin' It Up," Sensational mumbles, stumbles and stutters over the lyrics and the choruses get downright corny. Here's to hoping the album is up to the level expected from Sensational. In the meantime, if you need some beats to rhyme over, there are two very good ones here that need some vocals to do them justice.