Without a doubt, Shotty Horroh has come a long way from the streets of Harpurhey.
From selling mixtapes in town, to becoming one of the most respected rap battlers in the world, he’s got an internationally-recognised track record.
In 2011, when Shotty was fresh on the scene with no rap battle experience, he took on America’s top battler Dizaster. He went in as a huge underdog, and he won 3-0.
That was just the beginning.
Shotty continued to win battle after battle. But it was his bout with New Jersey’s Arsonal in 2012 that was particularly legendary.
Not only was it one of the most anticipated battles at the time, it’s since amassed more than 13million views on YouTube.
Shotty Horror vs Arsonal. Image: Don’t Flop
For the past couple of years, Shotty has spent a lot of time in Canada working with producer Deadmau5 and Sony Music.
After testing the waters with a load of different genres over the years, Shotty has released a number of genre-bending EPs.
It’s clear the rapper doesn’t fit into one box. The rock and roll sounds of his album Salt of The Earth in 2018 and the trap-hip-hop-R&B fusion of Misery Loves Company in 2020 are just two examples of what he’s all about.
I couldn’t even name another artist that can switch up their style and pull it off the way Shotty can. He just keeps on surprising.
But although Shotty no longer makes grown men cry in the rap battle ring, he’s still as sharp as ever. His wordplay is smart and witty, but most of all unique.
For his next project, he’s revisiting hip-hop, with a brand-new five-track audio drama The Teller.
This time, his music has taken a storytelling route. The EP is complete with a dark plot line, which encompasses five key elements – family, debt, crime, murder and betrayal.
The lyrics are deep and chilling from the get-go. The first track, ‘Dave’s Dilemma’, sets the scene of the drama – the story of a family man who’s got himself into trouble with a crime family.
With each track, the story twists and unfolds as Dave scrambles to protect his family and repay his debt. He becomes tormented by his actions and is overcome with regret. The tracks are graphic – and at times disturbing – forcing images into your mind of the drama that’s developing.
The story concludes with ‘Vultures Fly In My Head’. It’s an intense and revengeful outcome, but I get the feeling the story doesn’t really end there.
Image: Rick Charles Media/Shotty Horroh/Instagram
The Teller has a sinister narrative, but it’s definitely gripping. Once again, Shotty proves he’s a man of many talents, telling stories through music in the most unexpected ways.
What’s next for Shotty, I wonder? A return to his rap battle heritage? My guess: only an opponent with the biggest of balls could tease him from retirement.
But for now, The Teller is available for pre-order from 16 January – strap yourselves in!
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My Chemical Romance fans are losing it as emo favourites appear to tease UK tour
Danny Jones
American alt-rock and emo favourites My Chemical Romance aren’t just back for one last Black Parade; it looks like they might be heading to the UK for more tour dates.
Not just a phase, never was.
My Chemical Romance (an entirely different kind of MCR) made yet another mighty return to the fore earlier this year, nearly two whole decades on from the release of the seminal album, which dropped in 2006 and has now been toured live again by the New Jersey band.
Playing the album IN FULL for the first time in years, they’ve been busy in North America delighting die-hard crowds, but now a recent teaser has got My Chem fans gearing up for UK and Ireland shows.
As you can see, MCR released the somewhat cryptic comedy sketch above, in which they seem to spoof a gameshow centred around a robot named ‘Quizzo’.
The host of this fictional programme goes on to explain that the result will determine “who will be the next lucky country to win the grand prize of one nuclear winter.”
It might only last for a few seconds, but the main takeaway is that the ‘who’ selected as the recipient of this upcoming prize is none other than the United Kingdom.
Combine that with a simple caption that reads, “Let’s show them what they’ve won”, it’d be hard not to jump to the conclusion that we Brits are about to pretend we’re ‘Teenagers’ again and chant ‘Na Na Na’ until our lungs give out.
In the time since the post went live, fans on this side of the pond have understandably started getting very excited…
My Chemical Romance are coming back to the UK… For the 1st time since 2022 when we all thought it would be the last hurrah…#MCRpic.twitter.com/vHWO5mK89j
At first, some were wondering whether this year’s revival might have also seen the resurrection of their much-mythologised but ultimately scrapped 2019 record, The Paper Kingdom, but it seems pretty much nailed on that their transatlantic followers are about to get some gigs.
It remains unclear whether these still TBC dates will be an extension of the current ‘Long Live The Black Parade‘ tour, which began on 11 July, or something new entirely.
Either way, with this current run of shows due to end in September and hints at a ‘nuclear winter’, it’s a fair assumption to guess that My Chemical Romance will be coming to the UK either later this year or early 2026 – and you bank on a big Manchester booking to be thrown in there too.
Featured Images — NBSTwo (via Flickr)/Reprise Records
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Adidas drop Liam and Noel Gallagher SPZL trainers
Daisy Jackson
Liam and Noel Gallagher have teamed up with adidas once again to create their very own SPZL trainers.
The sportswear giant has today dropped the designs for the adidas LG Achille SPZL and the adidas NG Marathon SPZL.
The sure-to-sell-out trainers will officially hit shelves in the new Manchester adidas store, and other stockists, next weekend.
The footwear drop coincides with the ongoing Oasis reunion tour, which attracted hundreds of thousands of people to the city when they played five nights in Heaton Park.
Liam and Noel themselves have maintained a close relationship with Gary Aspden, curator of the adidas SPZL range, for more than two decades.
They’re often seen sporting the iconic trainers and creating product collaborations, and now they’re back with a new Three Stripes partnership and their very own new adidas SPZL trainers.
Up first is Liam Gallaghers’s adidas SPZL, with the Oasis frontman asking to bring back a revised version of an archival runner, the adidas Achille.
The LG Achille SPZL features a khaki mesh base, chocolate brown stripes, a beige suede T-toe overlay, and a sand outside, with a motif of Liam on the tongue of the shoe.
Noel Gallagher’s NG Marathon SPZLs are his first collaborations with the brand since his immediate sell-out shoes back in 2017.
His are a new hybrid inspired by the adidas Marathon 85 silhouette, keeping the suede upper and rubber outsole of the Marathon 85 but with a deep navy/sky blue palette with a reworked toe box and midsole, as well as details like the Eco-Tex tongue and tonal eyelets.
Both shoes feature a portrait of their namesakes on the tongue, as well as spare laces, co-branded sock liners, and commemorative packaging.
The adidas LG Achille SPZL and the adidas NG Marathon SPZL are set to launch via adidas SPZL stockists and the adidas Carnaby and MCR retail stores on 16 August.