Conceived as a call to arms, Mark B and Blade's collaboration deserve plaudits outside US comparison. Alongside, Big Dada's Gamma they have mounted a rap attack on hip-hop's dumbed-down status quo with an album that is lyrically and sonically superb. Although the subject matter may be monotonous for most (the under-appreciation of UK hip-hop), the delivery certainly is not.
Though elderly (in UK hip-hop terms), Blade's baritone breath control is timeless. He rhymes with a furrowed brow straight across battle-scarred lines, assaulting conformists on "From The Wordlab" or criticising the music industry's predilection for fads on "Ya Don't See The Signs".
The ever-prolific Mark B profits from eccentricity; for him all music from Polish folk music to Elmer Bernstein-style brass is relevant. His desire to search and utilise the ultimate but strangest breaks marks him out as an innovative talent who can produce world-class state of the art hip-hop.
Listening to their signature tunes, The Unknown is an affirmation of this: Blade is the everyman tripped up by life's ups and downs, chasing his demons and flitting in and out of reveries. Instead of providing a melody that stinks of dank basement isolation in the manner of such arch-miserabilists as Company Flow, Mark B provides a tidal wave of sublime funk and choppy beats and he does it over and over again. The Unknown is a great album that proves (again) that quality UK hip-hop is not a contradiction in terms.
originally by Maxine Kabuubi, taken from: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Mark-B/dp/B00005JI7N
Hostile Takeover
Mark B & Blade Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
[Intro]
Attention, attention, all security
We have reason to believe that British rap acts
May be attempting a hostile takeover of the building
[Blade]
The blueprints and wear gloves on your hands
Check the walkie-talkie incase of an emergency
Execute the conspiracy, baffle the enemy
Overthrow the presidency, when its on get me
I'll be there, don't let the residents see
Keep your eyes open for security
We'll crack the code in unity
The mission is to steal the microchips, anything audio
Recordings of our beats and our vocals, get em to radio stations (stations)
Time will tell, don't leak this information to acquaintances, friends or relations
The danger factor, he's a producer I'm a professional rapper
Audience attractor, enemy subtractor
The defender of the realm, rap protector
Invading your sector
[Chester P]
Security alert, we have intruders on the premises
Believed to be agents, militant menaces
They must be apprehended and brought to a disclosure
If they are who we suspect, it's a hostile takeover
[Blade]
Wearing balaclavas, carrying loaded microphones
Cellotape the covers and lens of surveillance cameras
We can't afford to be caught in the act
Damage the scene with the music to see the way they react
Leaving no evidence, no fingerprints, no clues
The situation is volatile and hard to diffuse
The plan is simple, we'll meet at Ten
Head in the direction of Radio One, don't apprehend (let's move)
The guards are lured but they're slow
We had to get this to Tim so he could let the world know
It won't be long before the LPs available
I might be signed but I'm still untamable
And for now unobtainable
Caning the scene because the scene is canable
Tell em this felon ain't a criminal
His weapons are minimal, the approach subliminal
[Chester P]
Surveillance is down, I've lost their position
Protect the live room, they mustn't stop our transmission
This is red alert, kill on sight, these men are soldiers
Do anything you can, it's a hostile takeover
[Blade]
The security's trapped, confused by the act
Two men with balaclavas leaving him tied and gagged
Dragged into the toilets with his hands cuffed
Where his legs are now tied to the radiator
And now we memorised the way around the building
According to the masterplans and blueprints
Turn left out of the toilet up the stairs
Take a right, straight ahead, room 206 live on air
Its time to execute, hold the rest of em back
While I deliver the record into the hands of Westwood
Pull off the balaclava to reveal all
As the record rotates, he says you've got balls
I reply, yeah I know it
[Westwood]
Blade wassup, what's the deal?
You got the album, let's get the joint on and blast off for the UK
Yeah, that's hot. Damn, let's drop the bomb baby, yeah, lets go
[Chester P]
They've taken over, they've taken over, what? what?
They've taken over, they've taken over, yo, yo [x3]
They've taken over, they've taken over, what? what?
Mark B and Blade, it's a hostile takeover
[Scratching: Step aside ... stand clear]
Phoney entertainers...
[step aside ... stand clear]
DJs with no skills...
[step aside ... stand clear]
The rest of the universe, make way for the UK.
[Step aside ... stand clear]
The lyrics to the song "Hostile Takeover" by Mark B & Blade featuring Chester P and Westwood tell the story of a group of British rap artists attempting to infiltrate a building and steal microchips containing recordings of their music. The song begins with a warning to all security that there may be a hostile takeover being attempted by British rap acts before Blade outlines their plan to execute the conspiracy and overthrow the presidency.
As they carry out their plan, they wear gloves, tape the covers and lens of surveillance cameras, and leave no evidence or clues. They are lured by the guards and slow them down, allowing them to get their music to radio stations. They memorize the way around the building according to the master plans and blueprints and deliver the record to Westwood, who acknowledges their skill.
The lyrics paint a picture of a thrilling, high-stakes operation that requires precision, expertise, and agility. The song also invokes a sense of rebellion and subversion, as the artists seek to take control of their own music and distribute it as they see fit, disrupting the traditional power structures of the music industry.
Line by Line Meaning
Attention, attention, all security
Everyone involved in security, listen up; we have an important message.
We have reason to believe that British rap acts
We suspect that performers of British rap music are planning something.
May be attempting a hostile takeover of the building
They might be trying to take over this building in a threatening way.
Synchronise watches, memorise the plans
Get ready by setting your watches, and remember the details of the strategy.
The blueprints and wear gloves on your hands
Protect yourself by using gloves, and study the prepared plans and schematics.
Check the walkie-talkie incase of an emergency
Make sure the communication devices are working for any unexpected concerns.
Execute the conspiracy, baffle the enemy
Carry out the plan secretly and at the same time deceive those who might stop you.
Overthrow the presidency, when its on get me
Defeat those in control, and contact me when you have succeeded.
I'll be there, don't let the residents see
I'll come to you, but let's make sure nobody notices.
Keep your eyes open for security
Be cautious of security guards or other similar personnel.
We'll crack the code in unity
Working together, we'll solve this problem and move forward.
The mission is to steal the microchips, anything audio
Our ultimate goal is to take the recordings, which are in the form of microchips and other audio equipment.
Recordings of our beats and our vocals, get em to radio stations (stations)
We want to send these recordings to radio stations to broadcast our music.
Time will tell, don't leak this information to acquaintances, friends or relations
We have to wait to see what will happen, but in the meantime, don't share this information with anyone you know.
The danger factor, he's a producer I'm a professional rapper
The situation is risky, because he's a music producer and I am a professional MC.
Audience attractor, enemy subtractor
We aim to keep the attention of the audience, while weakening our opponents.
The defender of the realm, rap protector
I am protecting the reputation and integrity of the genre of rap music.
Invading your sector
We're taking over this territory.
Security alert, we have intruders on the premises
A warning to all security, we have people that should not be here in the area.
Believed to be agents, militant menaces
These individuals are suspected to be militants or people on a mission.
They must be apprehended and brought to a disclosure
We need to arrest and question these suspects.
If they are who we suspect, it's a hostile takeover
If we catch them and they match our suspicions, they are trying to take over in a harmful way.
Wearing balaclavas, carrying loaded microphones
They're hiding their faces with masks and carrying microphones that are figuratively 'loaded' with music.
Cellotape the covers and lens of surveillance cameras
To avoid being caught, they are putting tape over the lenses of cameras.
We can't afford to be caught in the act
It would be disastrous if someone caught us in the middle of doing this.
Damage the scene with the music to see the way they react
Play loud music to make the situation more chaotic in order to gauge their reaction.
Leaving no evidence, no fingerprints, no clues
We need to make sure that there is no evidence that we entered and did what we did.
The situation is volatile and hard to diffuse
This state of affairs is delicate and difficult to defuse.
The plan is simple, we'll meet at Ten
The scheme we've devised is not complicated, and we'll rendezvous later.
Head in the direction of Radio One, don't apprehend (let's move)
Don't try and stop us and follow us to Radio One, hurry let's move!
The guards are lured but they're slow
We convinced the security guards to leave but they are taking their time.
We had to get this to Tim so he could let the world know
We must deliver this to Tim Westwood so that he can broadcast it worldwide.
It won't be long before the LPs available
People can expect to find the long-playing vinyl records in stores soon.
I might be signed but I'm still untamable
Although Epic Records signed me, I can't be told what to do creatively.
And for now unobtainable
For now, my work or my creative output is inaccessible.
Caning the scene because the scene is canable
We're making our mark on the music industry because it's known for quickly devouring and fading out artists.
Tell em this felon ain't a criminal
Don't judge a book by its cover, just because I look like a criminal doesn't mean I am one.
His weapons are minimal, the approach subliminal
My tools are not physical, they are rooted in the subtleties and complexities of my approach.
Surveillance is down, I've lost their position
I can't locate them anymore since the surveillance was interrupted.
Protect the live room, they mustn't stop our transmission
We need to safeguard the recording studio since we're recording live music that shouldn't be interrupted.
This is red alert, kill on sight, these men are soldiers
This is a high-priority warning, don't hesitate to use lethal force. Treat these men as an advancing enemy military force.
Do anything you can, it's a hostile takeover
Do whatever it takes since they're attempting to take over our operations in a hostile manner.
The security's trapped, confused by the act
The security personnel have been trapped and are perplexed by what's going on.
Two men with balaclavas leaving him tied and gagged
Two individuals wearing balaclavas in the act of escaping have tied and gagged a security guard to impede his ability to stop them.
Dragged into the toilets with his hands cuffed
They took him into the restroom area, continuing to restrain him with handcuffs.
Where his legs are now tied to the radiator
His legs are now bound to the heater in the restroom.
And now we memorised the way around the building
We've internalized the directions needed to navigate around the building.
According to the masterplans and blueprints
Following the plans and schematics we've familiarized ourselves with and mastered.
Turn left out of the toilet up the stairs
After exiting the restroom, go left and up the stairs.
Take a right, straight ahead, room 206 live on air
Upon taking a right and continuing straight ahead, you'll find yourself in room 206, which is live on-air.
Its time to execute, hold the rest of em back
It's time to start, so let's keep everyone else away while we get to work.
While I deliver the record into the hands of Westwood
I will give the record to Tim Westwood personally and directly.
Pull off the balaclava to reveal all
I will take off the mask so Tim Westwood can see who I am.
As the record rotates, he says you've got balls
As the record plays, Tim Westwood compliments me on being brave.
I reply, yeah I know it
I responded by saying I understand that I took a risk.
Blade wassup, what's the deal?
Tim Westwood wants to initiate a conversation with Blade and find out what's going on.
You got the album, let's get the joint on and blast off for the UK
Since you have the album, let's play it and prepare to depart for the United Kingdom.
Yeah, that's hot. Damn, let's drop the bomb baby, yeah, lets go
Tim agrees that it's good, and let's go and release it so the public can hear it also.
They've taken over, they've taken over, what? what?
They have taken control! Can you believe it?
Mark B and Blade, it's a hostile takeover
Mark B and Blade are the ones who executed this aggressive takeover.
Phoney entertainers...
Those who fake being a good artist...
DJs with no skills...
Those individuals who really cannot DJ and lack any skill...
The rest of the universe, make way for the UK.
...everyone else in the universe must make space for the UK and its talents!
Step aside ... stand clear
Make way, we're coming through!
Contributed by Kaitlyn G. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@rainerfunden1428
great album! rip mark b.!
@brettriley9441
Genius is never recognized in it's day. This what you call fire.
@WattWood
I remember getting a pre release tape of this album with DJ Mag back in the day was the spark that ignited my journey back into British hiphop truly a masterpiece
@happyfeetiow
R.I.P. Mark B! :-(
@CallusDnb
why are mark b and blade so underrated? Only a few people I kno have heard of em.
@joshuacohen2401
PURE EXCELLENCE!!!
@TheChristnumber1
Great tune from a sublime album.
@PhflyDan1
Sick beat..
@hip-hp__beynd5511
2016 already sucks. RIP MARK B.
@DiOR19861
biedni jak komuna