Belterz, the new album project by Conscious Route is a social exploration of his personal experience of a changing society and culture, highlighting the insights of an ageing person living life and being an artist in the music Industry.

Taking the perspective of an independent artist, the album features a host of top flight artists bringing different styles and perspectives as they share insights from their own journeys within the culture of the Scottish music scene.

The album musically and lyrically navigates a range of sounds and social topics, uniting the introspective with social observation, as we have come to expect from Conscious Route. Most of the production is handled battle rapper/ producer MacKenzie, with just two tracks (‘2 Guys’ produced by Tzusan and ‘Essence’ produced by Vagrant Real Estate) produced by others. Guest musicians, Chris Greive & Scott Bathgate also appear across 5 songs. With Scott Bathgate adding subtlety to ‘Ducks in a Row’ and an eerie edge to ‘Underground’, while Chris Greive brings extra trombone to the subtle style of ‘Late’, nuance to ‘Heart on Sleeves’ and a a mix of Jazz influenced keys and trombone with the track ‘2 Guys’.

The feature-heavy project boasts guest appearances from some of Scotland's finest, with tunes featuring Empress, YBxgtown, Kryptik, Lynzie Dray, Milles Better, Gluco, Jennifer Anne Todd, One Oz, Mistah Bohze, MacKenzie, JabbaThaKut, Wends, Becci Wallace, Solareye, Queen of Harps and Pro Focus.

Conscious Route draws upon years of experience in the music industry as he casts an eye over the state of hip-hop culture and the trials of getting noticed as an underground artist. His vocals mesh perfectly with those of his guests, bringing an array of vocal styles and accents as the music flips from hip-hop head-nodders to a UK Garage throwback, some soul-tinted melodies, dub, and beyond.  

Continuing to push the culture while keeping an eye on its roots, ‘Belterz’ shows why Conscious Route has long been regarded as one of the foremost names in Scottish hip-hop. Release Date 10.11.2023


The Skinny Magazine “Belterz” Album 4 Star Review ****
 
“But if anyone’s earned the right to be so bold, it’s Conscious Route. For over two decades, the London- born, Edinburgh-based rapper has been honing his craft, emerging from the underground as one of the finest hip-hop artists in the Scottish scene.” (Chris Sneddon)


Tracklist:

01. Amorphous Shape ft Empress
02. Pretentious ft YBxGtown
03. Carry On ft Kryptik
04. Ducks in a Row ft Lynzie Dray & Milles Better
05. Sugar Coated ft Gluco
06. Essence ft Jennifer Anne Todd
07. Day Ones ft One OZ,  Mistah Bohze, Mackenzie & JabbaThakut
08. Late ft Wends
09. Underground ft Becci Wallace
10. Original ft Solareye
11. Hearts on Sleeves ft Queen of Harps & Lynzie Dray
12. 2 Guys ft Pro Focus


Conscious Route is a rapper, MC, poet and singer-songwriter who was born in London before moving to Edinburgh over a decade ago. In 2020, he unleashed the collaborative ‘Lost Routes’ album, alongside producer True Note, which went on to receive a 4-star review in The Scotsman upon its release. In addition to this, three of his more recent releases, ‘Trojan,’ ‘Orphans,’ and his feature on ‘Dragons Jaw’ by Post Coal Prom Queen, were all named as track of the week on BBC Introducing Scotland. The Sensory EP, a collaboration with producer Toni Smoke, also saw 2 tracks receive worldwide airplay on Rapstation 365 radio station, played by UK’s DJ Shorty on London Chip Shop show, then re-spun by the legendary Chuck D in the USA. His ‘Lost Routes Flip tape’ was supported by Tom Robinson’s BBC 6 Music ‘Fresh On The Net BBC Introducing’ mixtape show and he has again seen his music named among the Herald’s top 100 Scottish tunes of the year. He also recently released the Pyramid EP with shortlisted Scottish Artist of the Year, Scott Bathgate. Conscious Route's release reached the international stage once again with airplay in the USA, Canada, Australia, Japan and Europe. BBC Introducing Scotland, presenters Phoebe I-H and Shreen Cutkelvin supported it on their show and called it, “the ultimate collaboration.” Since then, Conscious Route’s music, including his last single, ‘Portals’ with Forest DLG, continues to get support from the BBC – with ‘Dragon’s Jaw’ making it to BBC Introducing Scotland’s Best Track of the Week show. Neil March BBC6 music curator said, “Imaginative and Inventive UK Hip Hop crafted by one of the most exciting upcoming voices of the UK scene.” His most recent release, ‘Dripping Sauce’ with producer Subject 13, recently released on R&S Records, has been getting hyped reviews and worldwide attention on platforms YORAPS.COM & DMCWORLD.NET. The live music scene has seen Conscious Route support Dabbla, Dead Prez, Marlowe, Pan Amsterdam, Wiki,  Jelani Blackman and Onyx to name a few.