Comin’ straight at ya from the UK hip-hop scene is the London-based, fresh ‘n’ fun act Too Many T’s. Racking up raves from UK radio shows BBC 6 Music, Xfm, Soho Radio, and Radio X, as well as the US’s Huffington Post, who called them “The UK Beastie Boys.”, Too Many T’s is primed to break through in America.

South City, the debut album from the DIY band comprised of Ross Standaloft and Leon Rhymes, has amassed over 4 millions plays across all platforms so far. Flux Pavilion, who co-produced the LP, is well-known in the US for his EDM output, but he made an interesting change with his decision to support the hip-hop group on production.

On South City,classic hip-hop, infectious dance grooves, and mad skills at the mic entice the listener to move, think, and at times laugh out loud at the involving and evolving flow – of beats, of rhythms, of cohesive and adhesive sonics, and of course, the quicksilver torrent of lyrics.

The Big Takeover hosts the premiere of the new video for Too Many T’s’ serious and reflective track “Tearing Us Apart.” It’s a raw and pained love song inspired by break-ups that focuses on the feeling of desperation a partner feels when trying to cling to the last remaining glimmer of hope within a relationship. The video, created by Salthouse Studios, is set in an abstract animated solar system, in which the protagonist flies through space alone and searching the unknown. This journey into an unexplored realm complements and enhances the deep emotion within the song.

Standaloft and Rhymes comment on the creation of “Tearing Us Apart”, revealing, “The recording process began in a log cabin near Bristol where we found different sized vases, which we began tapping with pens, which created the unique percussion. We then began working with Flux Pavilion who involved a full 18-piece orchestra which intensified the emotion within the track. Following a couple of failed attempts to write to the beat, we wrote the current chorus and then all the dots connected and the song wrote itself. There were tears during the writing process as it was rather cathartic. When it came to recording the chorus we struggled to do it justice. We wanted to make it sound like a sample and the solution was as bizarre as it was brilliant… We pitched the whole song down 4 octaves and Flux sang the hook… We then pitched everything back up, including the vocal, which gives it the unusual and electronic feel to the chorus.”

Too Many T’s are known especially for their energetic and enthusiastic live performances that had them on the main stage at 2017 Bestival, UK’s second largest festival as well as Secret Garden Party, Glastonbury, Boomtown, Germany’s Fusion, and dozens of other festivals. Their positive energy and entertaining dynamics have earned them slots opening for big-name acts like Jurassic 5, Wu-Tang, Ugly Duckling, People Under the Stairs, Abdominal,
even Big Daddy Kane.

Too Many T’s live – Photo Credit: Matias Altbach