Afasi & Filthy
Fläcken
P.O.P.E.

Afasi - the rapper - and Filthy - the producer - have been slumming it on the Swedish hip-hop scene for a few good years, releasing mixtapes, remix CDs, albums etc. I've been aware of them, but they haven't properly caught my attention until now. I've gone back to their previous material to see if I missed something, but even though they've done some great stuff in the past (Filthy's produced some amazing stuff), nothing is as good as "Fläcken". It's hip-hop with Swedish lyrics, but it's got the very appealing mix of "serious" (or "conscious") lyrics together with banging beats (there are also a few slower songs on the album). I really, really love this record, it's one of the best albums of 2008 and maybe the best Swedish rap album ever. A few months ago I convinced an American friend, who speaks no Swedish, to buy the album and he loves it, so don't let the fact that you might not understand what they rap about scare you! I heard or read somewhere someone calling Afasi & Filthy Sweden's Lil' Wayne - it might not be the best description, but they definitely have something of the charm and flow that Weezy's got (although the song "Fläcken" reminds me a lot of Devin the Dude's six year old "Doobie ashtray").
- Simon Tagestam