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news, reviews and banter on r'n'b, hiphop, garage, grime, bassline, soul, electro and house. standard.

I'm...I'm doing it again, they tried to stop me but I'm doing it again...

Published by Warren Dell under on Thursday, April 27, 2006
Skepta's really putting the work in right now with his latest ditty bringing grime and four to the floor together. Going down a storm at Sidewinder, Straight Outta Bethnal and your local dance this monster waiting to blow is now in remix form with Wiley, JME et al joining MC Creed on the chorus. A video was due to be shot at the next Straight Outta Bethnal but for the disruption at the last event it's been put on hold until a new venue is found. Go onto his myspace to listen to Duppy, Deeper and Stupid for evidence. Skepta has one of the best flows in the game the way he twists his wordplay with many memorable bars thrown out on radio and at raves. He's not just a hype mc this man's got lyrics to back up and can easily go over a grime, garage or hip-hop beat. He'll tell you 'I am not doing a mixtape...I'm making an album' either way it's heading this summer and is as much anticipated here as Wileys 2nd Phaze.

DJ Format gets the Fabric treatment...

Published by Warren Dell under on Wednesday, April 26, 2006
Being from Southampton myself you've got to show some love to the homegrown talents and over the last couple of years a nice little scene has been developing. You know about the established Craig David and Artful Dodger a few years back. But you may not know that DJ Format is from this neck of the woods. He is the next in a prestigous line of DJ's who have headed a CD as part of the Fabric Live series. Number 27 combines funk, UK Hip-Hop, b-boys breaks and cut & paste samples in an eclectic mix that gives you an idea of where the inspiration for Music For The Mature B-Boy and If You Can't Beat Them Join Them come from.

01 - DJ Format - 33% B-Boy - [PIAS] 02 - Ugly Duckling - U. D. In Brasil - Ugly Duckling 03 - Lyrics Born - Do That There - Quannum Projects 04 - DJ Format Ft. Abdominal & D-Sisive - 3ft Deep - [PIAS] 05 - Cut Chemist & This Kid Named Miles - SNT [Live At The Peace Pipe ’93] - Kick Snare Hat 06 - Coldcut - Beats & Pieces - Ahead Of Our Time / Big Life 07 - Aspects - Bristol Fingers - Aspects TV 08 - Jimmy Smith - Root Down And Get It - UMG 09 - Mr Lif Ft. Edan - Get Wise ’91 - Definitive Jux 10 - Nostalgia 77 - Changes - Tru Thoughts 11 - Ella Fitzgerald - Sunshine Of Your Love - Universal Classics And Jazz 12 - Marsha Hunt - Hot Rod Poppa - Track 13 - Reverend Cleatus & The Soul Saviours - The Slip - Freestyle 14 - Nina Simone - Save Me - BMG 15 - Brian Auger, Julie Driscoll & The Trinity - Indian Rope Man - Polydor 16 - Julien Covey & The Machine - Sweet Bacon - Island 17 - We The People - Breakdown - Davel Music 18 - Ellen Mcilwaine - Toe Hold [Live At The Bitter End, New York ] - Mercury 19 - Karachi Prison Band - Put Some Grit In It - Magnetic Fields 20 - Ruff Francis & The Illusions - Give Me Mercy - Essica 21 - Linda Perry & Soul Express/Eddie Billups - I Need Someone - Mainstream 22 - John Murtaugh - Slinky - Polydor 23 - Ananda Shankar - Dancing Drums - Saregama 24 - Cleo Laine - Night Owl - Newquay 25 - Edan Ft. Dagha - Rock And Roll - Lewis

Soon Come...

Published by Warren Dell under on Wednesday, April 26, 2006

Grime doc on MTV2...

Published by Warren Dell under on Wednesday, April 26, 2006
Those MTV2 guys over the pond have put together a little Grime documentary to introduce the yanks to the scene. All the usual names present but worth a look...

A Little Darker...

Published by Warren Dell under on Wednesday, April 26, 2006
Back in the day when we would Booo our approval for anything we liked Ms Dynamite had everyone in a frenzy with her Sticky produced number. That grimey ragga flow of hers had us anticapating good things from her long awaited long player. But as we know A Little Deeper although proving to be a massive success the garage heads were left wondering whether she was deserting the scene. Her last album Judgement Day wasn’t anywhere near as good critically or sales wise and without fear of alienating anyone she’s teaming up with her brother Akala to release the mixtape A Little Darker. With a mix of Hip-Hop & Grime expect some big bars from the two and the featured artists on the project. This is all new material put together especially for this project, the only question remains when it will come out. Like many Grime mixtapes it’s best not to take the expected release date too seriously, as we’ve found out with Wileys 2nd Phaze.

Professor Green...The Lecture...

Published by Warren Dell under on Tuesday, April 25, 2006
By now you all know about his Jumpoff and Mixpower summit antics, well now The Beats latest signing has dropped his 14-track mixtape. Like many before him battle rappers have never quite materialised into making an album of note. The ability to fire off the dome punch lines suddenly won’t cut it for a full album and the need for creating songs eludes them (Supernatural anyone?). On The Lecture it seems being under the tutelage of Mike Skinner has helped add a story telling element to Pro’s witty flow. The video on rotation Stereotypical Man combines these elements over a funky Skinner beat and a sing along chorus from Leo. Various freestyle snippets from performing with Skinnyman and being on Semtex combined with his own versions of familiar tracks like Can I Have It Like That, Stay Fly and So Sick are the tapes strongest moments. While some of the songs lack the production and prowess of others, no doubt being around Mike Skinner will help bring out the artist in Green while still keeping the battle flow and punch lines in tack.

Sway on the grind again...

Published by Warren Dell under on Monday, April 24, 2006
...With the mixtape (on CD!) This Is My Rave, a collaboration with club promotion company LoveDough. They're one of the most successful people in the clubbing game with 9 cities now carrying a LoveDough night with Newcastle being the pioneering one. They've been behind Sway from the beginning and this CD has Sway exclusives you won't hear anywhere else as well as some big names from the scene. Check out No Dough, No Show and the Bouncers Theme.

Lupe Fiasco - Food & Liquor shelved?...

Published by Warren Dell under on Wednesday, April 19, 2006

Bad news for the backpackers amongst us as it looks as though due to Internet leaks Lupe Fiasco's hotly anticipated long player will be shelved. Originally scheduled for a summer release Food & Liquor was five years in the making, but the leaks have caused Lupe to wonder whether it will now get a release. Speaking to AllHipHop.com he was in philosophical mood "Hey s**t happens. An unmixed version of Food & Liquor got leaked yesterday so I assume its on [file-sharing services like] Limewire and Bittorrent and all that s**t,” the rapper stated. “Its stuff like this that makes you wanna just be like f**k it. A lotta time and money and bulls**t went into creating that album. Over the years I've had my people die, get locked up, my company get shut down, weak a** ‘intelligent Black men’ in my own crew turn against me and just when things are starting to look good [this happens].”

Lupe was working in the studio with Jill Scott at the time of hearing the news, with other guests on the album including Jay-Z, Three 6 Mafia and Pharrell he was sitting on one highly-anticipated album. Whether it will be repacked at a later date seems uncertain, but Lupe seems keen to stay in positive about the leak "Everything happens for a reason and God wills what He wills when He wills so I gotta take this one and keep it moving. I'm goin’ to take some time out and refocus on some other things for a minute-maybe my sneaker and toy stuff,” he explained. “God-willing get back in the studio and get back to work. I hope it doesn’t hit the streets as a bootleg, but I got this real deep feeling that it will, so I'm writing off Food & Liquor as you know it or may have heard it and starting over.”

He first created a buzz with his appearance on fellow Chicago affiliate Kanye West's Late Registration, earlier this year he released the The mixtape Fahrenheit 1/5 part 6 that's worth a look with the singles Kick, Push and Tilted a taster of what to expect in the future.

Book review...

Published by Warren Dell under on Monday, April 17, 2006




Never Drank The Kool Aid by Toure...

When compared to other music genres Hip-Hop is still a young expression of music and Hip-Hop writing even younger. While music books like Rip It Up And Start Again have been key documents in chronicling the scenes within, Hip-Hop has very few. In recent months though this niche has experienced a boom period with releases looking to match the previously acclaimed Hip-Hop America by Nelson George and Jeff Chang’s Can’t Stop Won’t Stop. Never Drank The Kool-aid by Rolling Stone writer Toure is his best essays from a writing career that spans over a decade. This isn’t simply a collection of question and answer articles but an in-depth insight into the lives of the people behind the music. He manages to empathise and almost befriend the artists, one interview recalls shopping and helping justify a jewellery purchase with the million plus selling artist Kanye West. In another Toure gets to see that fame is not all rosy as he discovers the plight of soul singer D’Angelo. He acts as a confidant to the man who has created a masterpiece album yet is overlooked as just eye candy. Toure examines Hip-Hops change from underground to its commercial acceptance where artists like 50 Cent and Jay-Z are as big and untouchable as the movie stars of today. But when Toure writes about them you can sense a relation as he brings out the ‘human’ in them whether it’s DMX arguing with his wife or Eminem being the family man. Something not understood and respected by outsiders of Hip-Hop is that it’s a culture lived and breathed each day. In an essay entitled I Live In The Hip-Hop Nation it is the most fitting of pieces that helps understand and sums up those who live the life and the artists he writes about. Toure has a knack of revealing more than what the PR people want you to know and never has a writer managed to get so close to an artist in a craft where it’s all about male bravado rather than the intimate moments captured in Never Drank The Kool-Aid.

The Beats - Casting down your pod...

Published by Warren Dell under on Thursday, April 13, 2006
Podcasts are everywhere these days as more and more pop up everyday from professional organisations like the BBC to some pissheads chatting shit for half an hour. Despite basically being radio that isn't live it has got everyone going Gnarls Barkley over this latest 'technological advance'. So it's refreshing to see, or rather listen to a podcast from someone you all know by the name The Streets. Mike Skinner has put together what is really a mixtape of his label The Beats work and for a free download you'll get his latest single and some work from Professor Green, Trim and The Mitchell Brothers (check out the reggae flavoured track).

Hit up www.myspace.com/thestreets

LL Cool J - Career Over?...

Published by Warren Dell under on Wednesday, April 12, 2006
This week sees the release of LL Cool J's 12th album for Def Jam, but does anyone really care anymore?

There's no questioning the guys place in hip-hop history or his talent. The guy is practically Mr Def Jam but it seems LL is being pushed down the river with no paddle towards retirement with his latest offering. We know the ladies love him and he's the master of the Rap love song, but do we really need a whole album of that stuff. Whether this is by his own choice or he's being forced by the r'n'b smitten Jay-Z to do this it's about time his mama had a word and told him to drop that knock out punch again. The r'n'b tracks he's coming out with aren't even near as good as a Doin It or a Loungin. Or as good as the ones Bow Wow's releasing these days. Christ. The one good thing to come out of Control Myself is the video where Jennifer Lopez seems to be uppin her game now Jessica Alba has stolen her crown. But I'll save comparing their tender derriere for another day as a mans hip-hop legacy is at stake here. If he feels that because of his age he has no relevance to the younger g-unit hip-hop buyer and feels the need to play it safe with the radio friendly hits then someone at Def Jam is doing him a disservice. As he's proved in his battles with Kool Moe Dee and Canibus the man can deliver, so why not come with the cocky and take on the likes of 50, if he wanted it enough he could lyrically kill most of these people running around claiming to be the King of New York. His career may not be dead yet, but this seems a Diddy like move with the amount of collaborators. Change the album name to LL Cool J: The Duets. I hope this album doesn't signify a loss of appetite for Mr Smith. You certainly won't catch me putting it on, instead I'll be playing Rock The Bells and longing for another Mama Said Knock You Out. Please LL, take note.

D12 member Proof shot dead...

Published by Warren Dell under on Tuesday, April 11, 2006
More sad news...

http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1528386/20060411/d12.jhtml?headlines=true
http://www.allhiphop.com/hiphopnews/?ID=5552

Comment later...

UPDATE...

Check this insightful article about Proof from MTV...

http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1528405/20060411/proof_of_d_12.jhtml?headlines=true

Ne-Yo - In My Own Words...

Published by Warren Dell under on Tuesday, April 11, 2006
Whenever the subject of who is the king of modern day R'n'B pops up it tends to start with Usher and then gradually you'll hear the names of Mario, Omarion, Bobby Valentino and the like mentioned after. While each year more and more artists are vying for that space one man can out himself alongside Mr Raymond on the back of his debut. He may take his name from a character in the over rated movie blockbusters The Matrix, but there is no denying that Ne-Yo is a star in the making that could eventually eclipse all that Usher has achieved.

When you can name check Mary J Blige and as people who want to work with you before your first single is played on radio you must be doing something right. After writing the Mario hit Let Me Love You you would be forgiven for thinking how stupid he was by giving away what was arguably the song of the year. As songwriters you can imagine them wondering each time whether what they write will be a hit and that track would have been whether he would admit it or not a massive shadow while working on In My Own Words.

The single Stay With Me with it's changing bass line served as an uptemp teaser for the album and set up for the confessional So Sick. The monster of a slow jam deals with Ne-Yo's heart ache and mistake after he listened to friends and cheated on his girl. It's already been a UK number one and has more than matched Let Me Love You. Despite his young age this is a guy whose view on love is that of an adult rather than the teenage ways of an Omarion or Mario.

The up beat Sign Me Up is a club banger in the waiting and should be ear marked as a future single. As it is When You're Mad is lined up as the next single and although it's a decent mid-tempo song it's not the strongest of what is a very consistent offering. The best tracks It Just Ain't Right, about feeling for an ex and Get Down Like That is a modern soul classic. Comparisons to Usher are inevitable and the track Mirror is very similar in style and subject matter to Nice and Slow. That was on his My Way album made when Usher was similar in age and before he made the critically acclaimed of Confessions. Neo has more than matched the standard of Confessions with his first album. The makings of superstar are all evident on what is a great modern r'n'b set.

Beastie Boys take to the big screen...

Published by Warren Dell under on Friday, April 07, 2006
The Beastie Boys are hitting the big screen and taking the boring medium of concert footage to a new level. The film Awesome depicts their October 2004 concert at Madison Square Garden through the eyes of 50 fans who were handed old hi-fi 8ms. With the brief to keeping the cameras rolling at all times the fans could do whatever they wanted. At the press conference Mike D remarked how surprised he was that there were only 4 toilet breaks during the filming. The film came about after MCA saw the amount of people who were posting their own guerrilla footage of shows on their message boards and it all came together just a few days before the show. The film starts off with the 50 fans who had signed up on their website receiving the cameras and handing over their driving licenses. It would have been cool though if the cameras were sent out earlier so we could see footage of peoples preparations for the gig to give a more closer connection to the fans experience of the night. The film took a year to edit at their Manhattan studio complex and will be in UK cinemas this summer. Normally concert footage is pretty lame and doesn’t replicate the feeling of being there but this should be an interesting watch.
 

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