- South London hip hop collective Hawk House consists of two skilled MCs – brothers Eman and Sam – and smoky vocalist Demae, who can also spit something fierce. Citing influences from J Dilla to Mogwai to Outkast to Sammy Davis Jr, you won’t find any references to brand names or famous friends on Handshake To The Brain - Hawk House are creating consciously and conscientiously, staging a return to the natural poetry of the genre, weaving stories of everyday life in South London.

A cohesive concept EP, Handshake To The Brain is a rare flashback to old school hip hop, incorporating elements of 90’s boom bap, new soul and jazz. The production is stylish but still raw, with plenty of tape delays and 808 kicks along with some found sounds and shimmering synths.

It is divided up into topics, experiments and interludes, taking you on a journey through your own brain, with an omnipotent narrator describing various neurological functions and their physical manifestations, such as sweating, anger or nerves. The intro, Grey Matter, has our narrator leading an imaginary tour through the brain set to dischordant notes, describing the medulla oblongata and cerebellum. He becomes agitated when the crowd starts touching, or literally engaging with their brains, before launching into My Mind Is The Weapon, which speaks of empowerment, focus and the potential within each and every brain.

Covering topics such as gang life, body image & domestic violence, the trio manage to walk that fine line between communicating through heavy-handed metaphors and stating the obvious. What could easily come across as preachy or naff is lent respect and gravitas through the sophisticated lyrics, articulating genuine curiosity about the society one lives in and its issues, questioning and analysing rather than shouting statistics or recounting clichéd situations. Tracks Her Anatomy and The Nervous System both follow certain characters as they go through that eternal struggle between inner voices and outside forces.

It’s so good to hear a female voice in hiphop that isn’t tacked on for an extra genre tag, but is an integral part of the group and its sound. The natural call and response between MC and vocalist has become far less prevalent in hip hop, at least in any interesting or meaningful way, but Sam, Eman and Demae are true musical partners, their collaboration evident on every track, resulting in a diverse and unified sound.

With any luck, this EP heralds a renewal of socially conscious hip hop: one of curiosity, empowerment, self-confidence and a return to certain under-appreciated but essential stylistic elements of the genre. The problems of conscious hip hop have always been rooted in its boring didacticism, but, even as gangster is -yet again- hustling the public taste, Hawk House introduce themselves in a way that's smooth and confident, a bid for your brain that's very easy to accept.

- Hayley Elliott-Maclure.