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 


Music Credits: 
All tracks produced by Mackenzie, except ‘Essence’ produced by Vagrant Real Estate
and ‘2 Guys’ produced by Tzusan 
Scott Bathgate: Guitar on ‘Ducks in a Row’, guitar and keyboard on ‘Underground’
Chris Greive: Keyboards and trombone on ‘2 Guys’ and trombone on ‘Hearts on Sleeves’ 
Tracks mastered by Forest DLG @ KMJ45
Editorial Tom Clover 
Pictures by Ben Glasgow 
Artwork by John Dyer @DigitalDyer

04. Ducks In A Row (Radio Edit) by Conscious Route ft, Lynzie Dray & Miles Better

True Hold Records