In April 2005's FADER issue 29, with Bloc Party on the front cover, we put Kano on the back, largely on the strength of his massive "Ps and Qs" and "Reload It." "Ps and Qs," specifically made an impact over here on this side of the pond, and in his story, Edwin "Stats" Houghton says, "'Ps and Qs' especially is a new kind of grime that really sounds like the homegrown 'answer to hip-hop' UK heads have been claiming of every new sub-genre from jungle to D&B to garage. It has less of the offbeat 'skitter' of Eski tracks and you could hear the ominous synths backing Eminem or Ludacris or the Game without even squinting your ears too much." That encroachment on US rap from his end to ours, though, four-and-a-half years into the future, flipped on its end, and Kano is now working with some Venga Boys meets T-Pain Auto-Tune circus rap. You can hear Mariah Carey on the theoretical remix to this without squinting your ears too much.
