Track Listing

1. Intro To The Sky
2. Incognito
3. City Expanse
4. Communications
5. Golden Sound
6. Beat (Skit)
7. What The Ancients Say
8. Pow (Skit)
9. Movement & Rhythm
10. Kidsoul (Skit)
11. Mum's The Word
12. Sunny Dedications
13. Anticipation
14. Ice & Fire (Skit)
15. It's All Happening Now
16. Figments From The Sky
17. Cold Sun
18. Spy (Skit)
19. Seasons Of Espionage
20. The Chase
21. Espionage (Skit)
22. At Large With A-Cyde
23. No Escape

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #78382 in Music
• Released on: 2002-10-28
• Number of discs: 1

Amazon.co.uk Review
It's All Happening Now is deep, confident, sexy and funky and sees the multi-talented rapper and producer Lewis Parker roll out his blessed London twang over a host of beats--many of them coated with his signature jazzuality. Parker has been teasing out first class hip-hop bombs for a few years now, most noticeably on his debut mini-LP Masquerades and Silhouettes EP, released back in 1998. After a couple of years out of the picture, fans will be pleased that he's back not with just another EP follow up, but with an able-bodied full length album that is worth the wait. The LP takes us on a tour of the British capital, as well as illuminating Parker's own idiosyncratic and philosophical view of the world at large. Though the beats and rhymes are truly varied--check the musical and ideological distance between the uptown bump of "What the Ancients Say" and the darkness inherent in "Espionage"--Parker's insightful lyricism and tightly hewn beat structures provide a coherence that is often lacking on other UK releases. Once again, Parker proves himself a capable leader. --Paul Sullivan

Customer Reviews

Impressive homegrown
I absolutely loved his last album Masquerades and Siluettes, so I bought this on sight. It didn't disappoint. What's noticable is that Lewis has developed all areas of production and rapping while not breaking entirely with his previous sound. A long album of 23 tracks, they can't all hit the spot, but at times the production reminds me of DJ Premier or Evil Dee on Smif 'n' Wessun's first album. Dreamy jazz and beautifully worked sampling with beats that just make your head nod.
There are several stand out tracks for me on the album "City Expanse" most clearly highlights Lewis' development and his style of rapping (though not the content of his lyrics) reminds me of Mobb Deep on The Infamous album. "Mums the word" is just incredible for its laidback lushness and "No Escape" is also a track you're sure to put on repeat.
Despite pushing the envelope on his rapping style he maintains his spiritual outlook rapping "All I really know is life ain't about money" on "Sunny Dedications"- refreshing anathema to the commercial pap which sells as hip hop these days. Keeping up with the UK scene these days reminds me of when I first started buying Hip hop when there were fewer albums and they were harder to find but nearly every album was a gem with original outlooks and fresh surprising and above all slamming beats. What we've got here is very different to Roots Manuva and Blak Twang and all those other artists pushing the UK style. Lewis has created an album true to the basic essentials of hip hop yet in no way a reguritation of what's gone before.
"The Chase" features Blade and one of the phattest drum beats this year- a blinding team up of rappers with very different styles but surprisingly similar outlooks. Jehst also cameos to stunning effect on "Communications" with an incredible verse of techno blues. That said, not all the collaborations work to such good effect and Profound's verse on "Sunny Decications" doesn't quite hit the spot, and Supa T doesn't turn in anything like the incredible verse he did on the previous album. The beats and cuts and wonderful throughout and will please any rap/ hiphop fan from wherever- satisfying stuff!

The Long Awaited....
I got this the day it came out, and it has been well worth the wait. The album is varied, with a variety of different beats but this just keeps it sounding fresh, the rhymes are good and lewis comes up with some good lyrics. Plenty of tracks and skitz, plus a number of guests, Blade, Jehst (Bad Boy), Klashnikoff and more. You just cannot go wrong. I love UK-HipHop right now and this is another top album.

Big Up All The UK Headz...

An excellent example of UK rap
I'm impressed, and actually grateful to get to express my thoughts on this album. "It's all happening now" is an album that Lewis Parker should most definitely be proud of.

This album is jam packed with breaks and samples, put together brilliantly as a back-drop for some inspiring rap. No, none of that usual player and pimp mentality that your bombarded with these days. This work even makes Jeru the Damaja sound commercial. It's a relief to listen to some unpretentious rap, there's no doubt as to where this talent comes from. I even caught myself smiling at some of the reference made to an upbringing I can relate to.

Versatile music, you can either blare it out to get the heart pumping, or just chill. It should be in everyone's collection.