Wrongtom is one of those artists who finds his strongest creativity by bouncing off other people. It worked a treat with Roots Manuva, and now he’s teamed up with long time friend Deemas J for an album that blends reggae, dub and dancehall. Not knowing much about these areas of music, I have learned that it can be dangerous to mix these elements – but what emerges here is a strongly positive piece of work that looks at getting the positivity of London across. The bass heavy ‘Riot Ting’ deals with the troubles of August 2011, and battles on the streets, but it maintains that optimistic spirit, as does the quick and funny wordplay of ‘At The Dancehall’. Meanwhile ‘Crime Times’ shows willingness to confront the capital’s issues of drug, gun and knife crime straight on – and it’s countered nicely by the dubby ‘Turn It Up’, which has a great catchline of ‘turn up the song’. As you might be able to guess by the colourful cover, ‘In East London’ is an album that seeks to portray the diversity of the area and what it has to offer – and in the hands of these two it comfortably succeeds.
Reviewed By Ben Hogwood
4 out of 5
