REVIEW: Kano's back at 140 Grime Street. Good move?

Let's be honest, Kano's last outing - 2007's 'London Town' - left most people feeling a bit deflated. Debut 'Home Sweet Home' gave us razor sharp lyrics effortlessly laid over track after track of grimey goodness . 'London Town' gave us Kate Nash and Craig David.

What's more, Kano's assault on the charts failed in fairly miserable fashion. Awkwardly straddling the gap between the underground scene which launched him and attempted mainstream success, Kano found himself in musical no man's land. 679 Records realised this too and in early 2008 they got rid of 'parted ways' with the East London MC.

Turns out, being dropped was a major blessing in disguise. Simply put, '140 Grime Street' is a glorious return to form. Released on Kano's own BPM Recordings, the record features an all-star grime cast, with genre heavyweights Wiley, Skepta, Ghetto and Mikey J all putting their stamp on the record. The Kano of old is back - the beats are faster, the delivery more aggressive, the bars sharper and the mood distinctly darker. Back in these familiar surrounds, Kano shines.

Lead single 'Hustler' is a grime anthem to rival 2005's seminal 'Ps & Qs', whilst the title track is an ominous call to arms which, depsite its menacing tone, still manages to namedrop McVities biscuits. Chocolate hobnobs are spice, and Kano knows it.

Elsewhere, 'The Wire' nerds will rejoice in 'Hunting We Will Go', a satisfyingly sinister tune which pays homage to the show's most notorious badass, Omar Little. The grime posturing and bravado is all correct and present here, but Kano still has a social conscience, no more so than on 'Don't Come Around Here', a scathing attack on those who have chosen to ignore the plight of many in grime's capital, London's East End.

As his myspace page now proudly proclaims, Kano lives at 140 Grime Street - let's hope he stays put for a good while yet.

Listen out for tracks from the new record on upcoming episodes of The ADN Project.

Dan