Bashy - Catch Me If You Can

Although Bashy is a new name to the mainstream, he's been a big fixture in the underground for some time. From the same scene that brought Dizzee Rascal, Wiley and Tinchy Stryder, the 21-year-old London MC has released a series of mixtapes prior to his debut full-lengther (including 'Chupa Chups' and 'Bashy.com'), and after scoring the theme to last year's Kidulthood To Adulthood movie, 2009 looks set to be the year he blows.

On 'Catch Me If You Can', Bashy seems to be trying to please a wide audience with his "something for everyone" approach, and the diversity of beats is what makes the record so big. On the first half, we're taken through the soulful sax-samples and hip-hop of 'Before Before', electro-pop and Auto-Tune on 'She's A Gangsta', and on 'Travel The World', a cameo by Dappy from N-Dubz tops off percussion rhythms and wirey synths.

Jamelia crops up on the R&B favouring 'We Can Do Anything' - a potentially chart-bothering song that wouldn't sound amiss on the recent Keri Hilson debut In A Perfect World. On finale 'Day Before I Die', the booming bass and clattering beats of Bashy's grime past are a forgotten memory, as we hear emotive pianos, soulful vocals and Northern Soul drums.

Known until now as just a grime artist, Bashy is displaying his versatility on 'Catch Me If You Can'. He's a talented wordsmith, there's interesting genre-swopping, the production is tight and there is plenty on this disc to keep you hanging on and repeatedly hitting the play button.