aaamusic | On 17, Jun 2012

In a competition that was held by Key103 and Manchester City FC, Coldside managed to be named as ‘the best unsigned act in Manchester’. When you consider some of the musical talents Manchester has to offer, it’s clear that this is something to behold.
In their career, the urban act have managed to headline their own sell out concert at Manchester O2 Academy 3, perform at FrankFest, and are set to be the main support act for no other than Tinchy Stryder. So just how talented are these boys..?
When listening to their cover/remix of Jay Z and Kanye West’s song, ‘Otis’, I initially found them hard to take seriously. I’m not entirely sure why, though, based on one of the outfits in the video, I’d probably blame that. I’m not a connoisseur of rap or even urban music as a general genre so I don’t really have much to compare the guys to but what I will say is that their rap lyrics are fairly decent. They’re nothing overly special but they’re enough to prove that Coldside are talented and helps prove that they were deserved winners of the competition. Unlike a lot of raps, their lyrics are pretty relatable, at least in parts, which only adds to their charm.
What I particularly love about Coldside, however, is the fact that as they rap you can hear their northern accents. It would be so easy, especially when rapping, to put on a fake American accent but they don’t; they stay true to who they are and that’s commendable.
As said previously, I’m not sure about the outfits in the ‘Otis’ video, but because I like their music I’m choosing not to hold that against them.
Coldside also covered Jamie Woon’s ‘Lady Luck’ track but, just as with ‘Otis’, wrote their own raps to go with it. If I’m honest, my favourite part of the whole track was the singing part but that’s not to take away from how good the rapping is – it’s just not really my thing. That being said, I can clearly see how they’re making a name for themselves in Manchester and I think it’s only a matter of time before the rest of the country are learning about Coldside.
Most of the time their lyrics are good although there are a few parts that made me cringe. Overall though, they’re good at what they do and are staying true to who they are and their roots and, for those reasons alone, I like them.

★★★★★

Melisa Greenfield