The videogame Zelda: Ocarina of Time is outstanding. One of the best games of all time in fact.

But throughout, your likeable hero Link is joined by an ultra-irritating little sprite called Navi, who cajoles and bleats at you in equal measure. Unfortunately, listening to A Baltimore Martini – the collabo between the Netherlands’ I.N.C the Poet and Baltimore’s Wordsmith – reminds us of Navi. Not of Ocarina, but of Navi. That is to say, a genuinely talented hero (Wordsmith) dogged by a deeply annoying sidekick (I.N.C).

Despite stellar production, a kick-ass lead single and some clever wordplay from Wordsmith, I.N.C just drags the whole thing down with leaden flows and chronically inept concepts. It’s a real shame: A Baltimore Martini shows so much promise, but fails because it doesn’t know when to slim itself down.
We love transatlantic concepts – Foreign Exchange rocked – but this falls short of the mark.

2 out of 5

Rob Boffard