Xrabit + DMG$ Hello World Review r6o57

Gutter-styled, dirty south hip hop comes to you in the form of Xrabit & DMG$ (formerly Damaged Good$). Highly unlikely to crossover, Hello World is for club corners and rap nerds. Gutsy basslines and polished beats are sadly ruined by jarring, computer game bleeps and overused raps. Think a less memorable Spank Rock.

Thankfully, things start well. Opening with bouncy, neck-snapping number Damaged Good$, the trio (London-based German producer Xrabit and Texan MCs Trak Bully and Coool Dundee) deliver a dirty bassline, firing synth and quirky lyrics.

Moving on to the amusing Ferris Bueller, Bully and Dundee spit the hook, ''Everybody wanna be so f*cking cool'', over a basic but effective backdrop. Love Of My Night gleams loudly from the rest of the pack with dreamy, cinematic sounds contradicting with weighty bass and banging raps.

Meanwhile Are We Friends sounds like the backing track to a Nintendo travel game. In a bad way. My Stereo hears the production return to form with high octane kicks and a squelchy bass. Shame the raps let the trio down. Trak's Promise rescues the procedure with head-nodding beats and catchy southern drawl.

This hit and miss method continues. Smothered with promising production and well-honed MC deliveries, Hello World has all the potential in the world. Sadly, the goods are - pardon the pun - damaged by a lack of focus and poor direction.

Talent is definitely present. Let's just hope the trio get some good A&R advice if there is to be a follow-up.