it's the shiznit

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

Jamiroquai - High Times Singles 1992-2006...

Published by Warren Dell under on Thursday, November 23, 2006


Whether it’s recording artist’s laziness or the label seeing pound signs in their eyes, the greatest hits package is all the rage this time of year. Thankfully there isn’t too many times where this sort of precedent happens with black music, but this particular set will go down well with the soul fraternity and those that like their music with a funky edge. Jay Kay may be more known now for punching photographers but beneath that tabloid persona is a blue eyed soul boy of epic proportions. On the High Times Singles 1992-2006 you get 17 classics and two new tracks that take in all the hits Jamiroquai have had, some you forget they even had. New material from recent years like Little L and Feels Just Like It Should still sound fresh, but it’s the older material like Canned Heat, Cosmic Girl and Alright that still do the job. And Virtual Insanity only makes you wish you could dance as well as Jay in that video.

First transport, now publishing...

Published by Warren Dell under on Thursday, November 23, 2006

Jay-Z once rhymed 'I'm not a businessman, I'm a business, man' and that mantra seems to be applied by the Boy Better Know group as they strive for more success outside of flogging mixtapes. Following on from JME Transport it seems Wiley appears to have taken a leave out of his book and expanded into the publishing game. Scientific and technical publishing to be exact. I'd never pin Wiley down as a science man but maybe he thought it was a better investment in the long run than Eskimo clothing? Who knows? And does this mean we can expect Skepta Business Consultants anytime soon?

Ty - Closer...

Published by Warren Dell under on Thursday, November 23, 2006


If the mainstream media have their way then UK Hip-Hop will forever be stuck in its little pigeon hole. Thankfully artists like Ty push the boundaries and has gained love all around the world, without the much deserved support from stations like Radio 1. Being restricted to specialist outlets is something that doesn’t sit well with the man in a world where artists with bigger budgets behind a gangster promoting message are mainstays of daytime radio. Check any number of interviews he’s done of late and you’ll hear a man who is clearly frustrated with the circumstance, but thankfully it hasn’t stopped his creativity. For the first time Ty has a wealthy support cast of people down for the cause from De La Soul on Idea and the title track (the latter features just Maseo, albeit quietly) to Speech from Arrested Development on This Here Music. At first listening the album doesn’t suck you in like the Mercury Prize nominated 'Upwards' did, but it feels like he never went away after a few spins of the funky Sophisticated & Course and the bounce of Don’t Watch That. With his comments on the state of UK black music he may only be repeating what people have felt for years, but with albums of this quality one day some radio bigwig will listen and take note. People like Ty certainly deserve them to.

JME makes more moves...

Published by Warren Dell under on Tuesday, November 07, 2006



If Grime artists spent less time going on iron vacations and took a leaf out of JME's book, the scene would be in a much healthier state. Not content with his successful selling mixtape series, t-shirts, modelling for Cassette Playa and entertaining with his series of blogs and videos - he has now added an extra layer to brand JME. I saw one of his trucks this morning while driving to work and have to say the transport game may not seem to be close to any music ventures, but if Big Boi can breed dogs and Lloyd Banks can direct snuff movies, then JME can have a transport company. Literally big on road.

Delivering the right product to the right place at the right time
 

Recent Posts