Edinburgh-based rapper, Conscious Route and East London’s Big Rebz have teamed up for ‘Broken Utopia’; a two track release produced by battle-rapper and beat-maker, MacKenzie.

The first track, ‘Synthetic Light’ kicks off with an anthemic opening before flipping into a tripped-out guitar loop as the MCs speak on the dark and fake life of the streets. Rather than aggrandizing the street life, Conscious Route and Big Rebz approach the track like survivors with a distinctly confident swagger.

Things ease right back for ‘White Vicious’ with a mellow break and some DJ cuts being brought into play by iconic UK turntablist, DJ JabbaThaKut. However, the duo don’t waste time on chatter as they trade bars giving an eyes-wide-open look at poverty and inequality in the UK. This short and sharp double release delivers a cross-border look at life in the UK in 2023, showing that the real dividing lines are with poverty, prosperity and opportunity rather than location. We need more of this grown-up hip-hop to balance a cultural focus on nihilism and tough talking without consequences or reality in the field.