Over the years we have received reviews about our club nights and mixtapes - here is a small collection.

J Squared & Hudson Present -
Seasons Beatings Three

"....the Off the Hook boys have mixed up another mighty festive batch that see's the Gable School choir passing the sprouts to Big Snoop Dogg...."

HHC

"....Who has that many Christmas records and who listens to them outside of December? J squared and Hudson do....They make great presents!.."

Skeg, Break to the Beat, HHC

"...There's no Cliff Richard here.. - we're talking James Brown, Outkast, De La Soul and The Juice Crew. If you dont remember christmas songs by these people then thats half the point..."

DJ Yoda, Ones and Twos, HHC

Off The Hook Club

"...Off the Hook has been instrumental in bringing some of the finest acts from the states. One of the finest hip Hop nights in the Midlands..."

Big Issue

"...Some things are just born great. Off the Hook is one of those nocturnal nuggets that clubland just cant live without..."

DJ Mag

"...A superb day was had by all, big up all the Off the Hook boys..."

Big Daddy

Gonorstein - The Soul Crate

"...Beautifully blended by DJ Gonorstein (great name!), the mix spans the spectrum of the late 80's / early 90's soul and R n'B. Listening, you can't fail to look back on the UK's soul spectrum with pride. An excellent and enjoyable mix that takes me right back to my childhood..."

One Week to Live

The Soul Crate' is a welcome alternative to the thousands of seventies break compilations, putting a really underrated but fertile period of black music (that then forever found its entrance in Albion) in the spotlight, where it rather remains in the dark most of the time.

Platform8470.com

J Squared & Hudson Present -
Seasons Beatings Two - The Second Coming

"...There's reggae Deck The Halls, Destiny's Child with Little Drummer Boy and delightful gems such as a disco-hip-hop mash-up of Biggie and The Salsoul Orchestra. Occasionally it gets serious with Salt-N-Pepa asking Santa for more jobs in the 'hood; at times it's profane. It's the cheekiest mix since 2 many Dj's..."

The Metro

"...the much-anticipated sequel to their original Christmas hip-hop mix-CD. This time round the festive jams are more more eclectic than ever, with artists from Keith Murray to Elton John to Biggie all dropping by to sing their carols..."

HHC, DJ Yoda, Ones & Twos

"...J2 and Hudson once again return to the silly season armed with a selection of chrimbo songs, all mixed up so you've got Snoop Sharing the egg-nog with Donny Hathaway and Kool Moe Dee indulging in some cracker sport with Elton John..."

HHC

"...Whichever way you flip it, this is indispensable christmas cheer and you’ll hate yourself if you miss out on it. So forget the shopping you left till the last minute and go and get yourself a copy right now, and don’t forget to play it loud on the day..."

UKHH

"...hip-hop and R'nB stuff from the likes of Biz Markie, De La Soul, Kool Moe Dee, Run DMC, Biggie Smalls, Eazy E, Mary J. Blige, Destiny's Child, Donny Hathaway and more, but there's also reggae from Jacob Miller and Lee "Scratch" Perry, rock from The Ventures and Elton John, jazz from Billy Taylor's Orchestra, and inexplicably, three Lou Rawls cuts (but they're pretty good, so go figure.)..." read more

Mistletunes

Gonorstein - The Crate Snake II

"...focuses on early 80's Hip Hop and eclectic breaks. A great choice of tracks (everything from Jimmy Spicer to Manu Dibiango), Well mixed, and a cool cassette-themed cover too..."

HHC, DJ Yoda, Ones & Twos

Gonorstein - The Dub Shower

"...a really deep reggae CD out called "The Dub Shower". Theres no Bob Marley or UB40 on here, thank you very much, just a blend of some really obscure (and great) dub tracks, with samples and nice mixing thrown in to make it that bit more palatable. recommended..."

HHC, DJ Yoda, Ones & Twos

Gonorstein & Skeematic are: The Bumpkin Twins

"...Gonorstein & Skeematic represent Derby, and together they are…..wait for it….The Bumpkin twins. Genius. Even more genius is their mix CD cover, which can only be described as a collection of Ukranian folk musicians. Judging a CD by its cover I was ready for an hour of country and bluegrass, but instead it's a mix of obscure funk 45's, heavy on the drum breaks, & featuring artists like Marlena Shaw, Dennis Coffey & Maceo. If you liked Product Placement then you should really try & get hold of this one..."

HHC, DJ Yoda, Ones & Twos

Gonorstein - The Crate Snake

"...Cracking UK Mix from a geezer who knows good Hip Hop - quality joints from 3rd Bass, Marley Marl, Latee etc & a stack of nifty cuts of Disco, Funk & soul breaks all chopped and segued brilliantly. A proper treat & it comes in a superb sleeve with spliced labels..."

GrandSlam

"...a track listing like this can't be argued with. Gonorstein goes for some of the more forgotten jewels, and mixes them in a Hip Hop style, making this CD a real winner..."

HHC, DJ Yoda Ones and twos

J Squared Dave H & Hudson Present - Seasons Beatings

"...A 60 minute treat of festive fun from the likes of James Brown, Run DMC, Kurtis Blow, Paul McCartney & Shonen Knife. An odd combo you'll agree but it works! Yuletide drops include Keith Harris, Orville and Pitman. It also includes a "christmas wrapping" by the Waitresses so send the posse some online love..."

HHC

"...Sick of the same old Christmas songs year after year? Yeah us too, and if Santa really is black (source: That Motown Christmas album), would he be bumping his sled around to shit like Paul McCartney and Slade? Hell no, & "Seasons Beatings" shows the world why. This is a fun seasonal mix, kicking off with a ghetto kid shouting "Fuck you Santa" before the listener is treated to an hour of Hip Hop & soul legends and their Xmas offerings. "Christmas rappin", "Christmas in Hollis" and "Christmas Break" are the hip hop highlights, but much more fun are the loverman soul numbers imagining the old boy claus as a steady pimpin Sex machine. This is great fun and the perfect christmas gift for all Hip Hop fans and chester-based newsagent moguls alike..."

HHC

"...Off the Hook (Derby's premier Hip Hop Spot) proudly brought you "Seasons Beatings" last year, but since the release was a bit rushed, and the mix was so good, it was definitely a good idea to give it another shot this year. It’s a mix of the coolest Christmas beats you're going to find anywhere - including Hip Hop from Run DMC & Kurtis Blow to Sweet Tee & Derek B, plus a whole load of funk flavours from everyone from the Jackson 5 to Ray Charles..."

HHC, DJ Yoda, Ones & Twos

"...J2 and Hudson hit you with some ill chrimbo flavours - old skool hip-hop, funk, pop & reggae all with a seasonal slant..."

HHC, DJ Yoda, Ones & Twos

"...For those of you who need the whole experience to get through the holiday nights, this is actually not bad at all. Those of you who want individual tunes to make your own mixes, well, you'll have to go back to the sources, same as these guys did..." read more

Mistletunes

"...This takes all that naff Christmas music down a dark alley and buckwheats it, and rather weirdly you could probably listen to it in the middle of summer and still enjoy it. Although whether you would want to or not depends entirely on your own enjoyment of contrary seasonal perversity..." read more

New Noise

"...This is good fun mix that will remain listenable whatever the season – trust me you don’t need to be watching that Morecambe and Wise yuletide special to be bopping your head and grinning away to this mixes special moments..."

UKHH

Gonorstein - Mind Theft

"...This tape has been in my Walkman for a few weeks and has seen batteries come and go, as the tape stands firm. This mix tape brought to us by the guys who bring us the club night “Off the hook” award us with a banger of a tape from start to finish, from old and to the new. With artists like Ugly Duckling and Fresh Gordan & Levi 167, its full of breaks, hooks and even Westwood on the radio in his hay day!..."

UKHH

J Squared & Hudson - The Indoor League

"...a varied selection of rap both old/new & US/UK:Gutter Snypes / Pitman / Diamond / Big Shug / Smif & Wessun / 3:6 Philly etc etc all thrown in. Complete with information about the band The indoor league, who're featured on the cover, for example Freebo the percussion player - a gemini - is a recent Polish immigrant who doesnt speak much English and lets his hands do the talking. He was a big celebrity chef in is native country..."

GrandSlam

"...an innovative blend of excellent mid-90's fare (Group Home, Smif N Wessun et al), some of the better British stuff (Blade, Lewis Parker) and newer cuts from Edan and Pitman. The running theme is quality and the whole package is well mixed too..."

HHC, review by DJ Yoda, Ones & Twos

"...uses some classy comedy moments and most importantly you can hear the time, care and attention thats gone into making something detailed and original. When this mix clicks its absolutely firing - simply because its better to check something thats going beyond bluntly cut n' pasting complete tracks together. This comes with a large amount of skill and heavy dosage of creative thought..."

UKHH

J Squared & Hudson Present - The Off The Hook Soundhog

"...a wicked little tape featuring some choice noises and shout outs Mr Thing, Prime cuts and Daddy Skitz. It's not skill heavy, more a nice flowing mix interspersed with various interludes that keep ya lugholes attention. Show ya support for the Homegrown (kna wa I mean), not just London and invest ya pennies in the Soundhog..."

Undercover, MK Jun-02

"...Overall - a tight non-turntablist tape which is swift on the mix and smart on the track selection - a wicked tape for creating the right relaxed mood..."

UKHH

"...I turned the stereo up and got on the good-foot. Great work in terms of track selection (some nice breaks in there too) and Paul Hardcastle's 'Rain Forest' to end on? C'mon- these guys know their stuff..."

Spine Magazine

"...Playing this I could be transported to the club if I shut my eyes and wish hard enough. One of my favourite mixtapes and still in rotation now..."

Big Smoke