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.

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

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...

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.

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.

...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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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.

1.Statik Grindie Mixtape - Lets push things forward
2. David Banner Live - For the stage diving alone you've got to see this man live
3. Making The Band - It's pure trash TV but you can't deny it's addictive
4. Sway and Kano's UK tours - Good to see the support around the country for UK acts
5. The return of Christina Milian - This conversation has nothing to do with her music

1. Albums being pushed back with no reason - Pharrell, Rhymefest, Donnell Jones, Joe where are you?
2. Chain pubs with their R'n'B nights - Yes, you're very 'urban' with your top 20 hits
3. Boring Clubgoers - Only want to hear the same 20 songs and front when a new unknown jam comes on
4. Great tracks missing the album cut - Another year full of missed hits left off albums
5. Clubs and bars with V.I.P rooms - No your not famous whether you made it in the top 1000 of Z-factor or not

While trying to avoid the latest reality TV celebrity career recovery programme I can't help but think that with the success of Jade Jones on the games, could we see Damage get back together and make a comeback? Would it really be such a bad thing? While Corree's single hardly made a noise and the others attempt at any solo music success have fallen on deaf ears, maybe they'll see what may become of Jade's new exposure. Ghetto romance still does it for me in the club and the album was good too. They may be getting on a bit now but Jade still looks as though he's still at college.

Speaking of other groups that seem to have disappeared, what ever happened to Evi-dence. The Crooklyn Clan took their You'll Never Find and made it over with Fatman 'can you hear me' Scoop to create one of those classiv AV8 bangers. But nothing was heard of since...

Kano’s first tour ended in Bournemouth Saturday night at the tax dodging haven for students the Old Fire Station and left me very impressed with his performance. Part gig performance, part pirate radio set and 20 minute garage rave both the grime connoisseurs and people who know him just from his album output were left satisfied. And there was David Banner’s 30 minutes of crunk thrown in as well to warm things up!

With crunk often labelled as the US equivalent of grime it will be interesting to see if any collaborations come out with David Banner such was his enthusiasm and praise for Kano and Sway. The former who he’s been opening up for on this tour and the latter who he supported in London last week. The results would certainly be interesting and Banner more than warmed up the crowd running through hits Like A Pimp and Play. For a moment he turned it into a sea of head rockers with Nirvana’s Smells Like Teen Spirit and crowd surfing antics. That is one big guy so well done to the people who held him up for like a minute until he dropped to the floor, then appearing all over the venue and standing on the tables. Whether the conscious crunk of Banner is your thing or not, you can’t knock the guys performance and he really does make sure the billed act is on their toes not to be out done by his warming up.

While it would have been great to then hear some grime or garage to fill the time in between acts, apart from the Run The Road cd at the start it was understandable to hear some latest and classic Hip-Hop tracks more accessible to the crowd.

When Kano came out though to the album opener and title cut Home Sweet Home, it began a night where like Dizzee Rascal before him he would display the professionalism of someone who has graduated from pirate stations and raves to entertaining a widely ranging crowd.

P’s & Q’s hit the crowd early before Dangermouse and Demon (Ghetto was M.I.A) came on stage. The three in a nod to where they came from began spitting their well known bars over some of the biggest instrumentals from the past year like it was a pirate radio set. For Kano connoisseurs his own take on Damien Marleys Jamrock from the Beats and Bars mixtape and a new itunes downloadable track Buss That were received well from the first time listeners.

One of the biggest cheers of the night, mostly from the ladies in attendance was for Nite, Nite and new single Brown Eyes. They may not be your cuppa if you’re into your grime but they have attracted a new breed of fan that is needed for the eventual mainstream acceptance of the grime scene, and they’ve certainly helped Kano sell a few more numbers of his record.

The more grime led and favoured tracks of the album Mic Check and Signs In life had the crowd in its most frenzied and rock-like stage by moshing, I almost felt sorry for the flying elbow I gave someone (all in the name of music of course). It was surprising at how many people knew the track Boys Love Girls which was made when Kano was 16 and first put him onto peoples radars. The crowd were certainly going against the grain of what the track Nobody Don't Dance No More stood for with the four to the floor beats having the crowd skanking and perfectly set up for Kano's DJ to drop garage anthem after anthem. Hits from More Fire, Donaeo and even Pay As Go added another twist to the night which saw Kano bring girls up on stage and hold a mini rave, taking a back seat to the other major players in the scenes hits.

As an encore Kano, Dangermouse and Demon all spit bars over Mylo's Doctor Pressure giving it a nice twist. The instrumental has been crying out for some dubplate action. Then the Diplo produced Reload It capped what had been a very polished performance. Kano's constant energy and interaction with the crowd was that of someone who has been performing gigs for longer than he actually has, and he wasn't afraid to take a step back to let his cohorts Demon and Dangermouse take the centre stage, even stepping back while tracks by other artists were played. It's not often you can go to see an artist put on a show that combines tracks suited for live outings while still capturing that club feel of others. At times you felt you were at a Sidewinder rave rather than a gig, which is not a bad thing. Lethal Bizzle is down the Old Fire Station next and the bar was well and truly set on Saturday.

Fresh off the back of his eagerly awaited debut album Sway headlined his biggest show to date at the Carling Islington Academy. As part of his This Is My Tour schedule this show had a massive buzz around it being staged in North London. The crowd had a nice range of people from the hardcore fans who can count the mixtapes ‘This Is My Promo Vol.1 & 2’ in their collection to the newer fans who may have come across him after his recent MOBO success.

The support was extra special for the night with Jump Off champion Professor Green, conscious crunk man David Banner and Sway’s sidekick Pyrelli all hyping the crowd to full affect. Unfortunately due to the traditional traffic getting through London and walking past the hidden away venue meant missing out on Professor Green’s set. Now this was my first time at the Islington Academy and I was very impressed but you wouldn’t have known it existed with no signs up and being tucked in a mini shopping centre. Thankfully the first person to give us directions and walk us to the venue was none other than DJ Turkish, Sway’s man behind the Technics.

As good as it is to hear the classic Hip-Hop tracks that seem to always be played at any Hip-Hop gig it was refreshing to walk in and be greeted with Tinchy Stryder’s ‘Underground’ which was followed by a selection of grime anthems. Pyrelli came out to a warm reception and ran through a quick set of tracks from his forthcoming mixtape and David Banner spent more time in the crowd than on stage even performing on the bar at one point.

But the night was all about Sway. Nearly three years of hard work and a clever self marketing campaign has got his name on the lips of Hip-Hop heads to the NME crowd, the red-tops to the broadsheet press.

Opening up with the title track ‘This Is My Demo Sway’ came out to rapturous cheers before getting into his next single, the celebration of city life on ‘Products’ - very poignant for this some what homecoming gig. The single that has brought many to the attention of Sway was ‘Flo Fashion’ and it still sounds as funny as ever and had the crowd going word for word.

In between tracks we were treated to various little segments from various acapellas including the infamous and limelight stealing ‘Harvey Knicks’ verse and another quotable onslaught from Taz’s ‘Cowboys and Indians’ remix ‘then I took her to Selfridges/then I found out they don’t sell fridges/brought her a top looked as tight as one of Trevor Nelson’s’. But the best was Sway’s beat box attempt. Known for his comedy element the beat box attempt was more liken to trying to impress your mate by blowing the loudest raspberry, but it didn’t stop there. Sway was ready to take it one step further by rapping and beat boxing at the same time. He had the crowd in stitches when he then gave a delay after his attempted beat making before quickly asking people to buy his album. Making fun at himself he then asked the crowd if he thought he should stick to the rapping.

While the majority of his acclaim comes from his knack of a punch line and not taking himself to seriously the night took a more serious approach as a track which you wouldn’t have expected him to do in ‘Pretty Ugly Husband’ showed his diversity. The shouts for peace in club land ‘Slo Down’ had everyone in attendance singing the chorus with which Sway could only stand back and watch a satisfied man.

The first of the guests was no surprise as the talented Baby Blue came out to assist on ‘Little Derek’ and later under rated soul singer Nate James added to the inspirational ‘Still On My Own’.

The track ‘Download’ followed an encounter with a fan that Sway joked with for not buying but downloading his album. He thanked him for at least paying to come and see him perform but it turned out he hadn’t even done that! Sticking with the World Wide Web he debuted a new track called ‘MySpace’ about his rise to fame.

Sway finished the night by bringing out the Robin to his Batman in Pyrelli for the anthem ‘Up Your Speed’ which had the venues speakers worrying, and just before that it was the man Bigz who came out for the triple threat attack of ‘Loose Woose’ which capped a memorable show.

It was clear from the mixtapes that we have a huge talent on our hands and being the first from the scene to really embrace the do it yourself approach to getting your name out there beyond the underground we could see our first bona fide superstar that can attract the mainstream crowd and appease the heads. You can see the hard work the man has put in and it comes across in his performance from the way he commands the stage and interacts with the crowd to his chemistry with his DJ. A very polished performance from a man who if the structure were in place in the scene would be as massive as the current media favourites the Arctic Monkeys are, he certainly is as talented.

While everyone from the indie press to even your dad is raving about how the Internet helped Arctic Monkeys go from social clubs to top of the charts, a similar rise to fame has been taking place in the UK from Hip-Hop star Sway De Safo. This Is My Demo is the hotly anticipated debut that comes off the back of a year where the North London mc has created a massive buzz through his self-released mixtapes.

Becoming the first UK artist to really take advantage of the mixtape avenue that has proved so successful for US acts the last few years – none more so than 50 ‘shot 9 times’ Cent, Sway as an unsigned artist has been able to create a fan base that a major label would crave for one of their artists.

At almost every interview the question is raised whether or not he’s really signed because of the professionalism of his output and street marketing campaign.

The Mixtapes which brought him to attention were This Is My Promo Vol 1 & 2, which showed his talent for making party songs - flipping J-Kwon’s “Tipsy” to “Pepsi” and parodying lightweights to even making jokes at the self proclaimed God’s son Nas and America on the “Thief’s Theme” remix. The lyric ‘the pound is stronger than the dollar’ showcased his confidence and swagger just as much as being a true statement of the current exchange rate between two countries.

With as many punch lines as a stand up comic Sway has become a mainstay on video channels and picked up plenty of spins from specialist to national radio. At the tail end of last year he walked away with a MOBO award (like the Vibe awards) for best Hip-Hop ahead of The Game and 50 Cent.

The lead single “Little Derek” takes in what a year it’s been with the beat dashed with a West Coast Hip-Hop feel. Commentary on the hustle of city life makes up the theme for the up beat “Products”. Guys who pretend they run the streets and act the bad man as so often played out in their videos refreshingly get a lyrical beating on “Hype Boys” which sees Sway switch up his style to a garage paced flow.

While those that picked up the aforementioned mix-tapes may feel a little disappointed that they already own six of the 14 tracks they are still an important inclusion letting those newer fans picking up his material for the first time know what he is all about. The track “Flo Fashion” still raises a smile hearing the tales of finding his own identity while trying to impress girls on his credit card budget with the inevitable overdue bills that follow ’10 red letters in my name but it doesn’t mind/if they phone up I’ll just tell them that I’m colour blind’. “Up Your Speed” is still the call to arms it originally was and the grime flavoured track “Download” touches on a serious subject affecting the music industry but with a comical twist ‘blah blah blah some bloke called Kazaa/that must be the guy whose stealing/everyone’s music I’ma go see him’.

But it’s not all jokes and to make sure he’s not pigeon holed to just throwing out one liners he takes on the role of the abusive other half on “Pretty Ugly Husband”, finding it hard to deal with the paranoia of wifey possibly cheating and battling with the promise to change his aggressive manor. The serious theme continues on the reflective and inspirational “Still On My Own” and on “Slo Down” where nightlife troublemakers get an airing ‘you must have a weak bladder/cos the liquor keeps getting to your head’. “Back For You” sees Sway putting his career first but promising to come back for a special girl, with a sad and abrupt ending.

But despite the seriousness it’s the ability to raise a smile and the need to quote a lyric or particular phrase to your friend that appeals so greatly with Sway and this album. For those getting your first taste of Sway you’ll love and find This Is My Demo a pleasurable experience but for those that have heard the mixtapes you’ll find yourself a little disappointed that your excitement hasn’t been matched. But only because you really want the guy to raise the bar further than the high standard he’s already set, which will happen in due course.

As it is This Is My Demo will open the doors for other UK Hip-Hop artists and be an example that it is possible to make it in a market overcrowded with the next big indie band and too many American rap artists dominating the UK charts. An appealing set of songs for fans of both commercial and conscious Hip-Hop.

The untimely death of one of Hip-Hop's greatest producers ever may have left a massive void that won't be filled such was J Dilla's talent, but fans will be able to get their hands on his last solo album. The majority of The Shining was finished before his death and will get a July 11 release in the US with a UK one probably the same week. Guest appearences come in the way of Busta Rhymes, Common, Pharaoh Monch, Madlib and more. A DVD celebrating his life with also accompany the release for the sadly gone but not forgotten man.

Got to admit to sleeping on Akira The Don but if you need convincing about the Welshman and Interscope signing then check out the former journalists website,where you can listen to some of his tracks and even read his daily updated blog. Both have some real treats from his own bootlegs (The Game meets French disco's Daft Punk) and his version of Sway's Download to posts of getting J-Kwon and his own political views. Fascinating stuff and good to see more than just an artists viewpoint on record as well.

As Tim 'yes I'm as old as your dad' Westwood would say 'You need these in your life' - Now that didn't sound stupid did it?

Christina Milian returns for her third album on the back of being dumped by the white chick fiend Nick Cannon. The lead single Say I features the bars of Young Jeezy and is produced by Cool and Dre. This upbeat number sounds very similar to one of their biggest hits Hate It Or Love It and should be another hit for Christina. Another track from her doing the rounds currently is the much slower paced Whose Gonna Ride.

The Black Eyed Peas had seemingly left their b-boy routes behind in the pursuit for pop domination but the track Like That is not to be ignored. Featuring a whole heap of talent from Cee-Lo, John Legend, Talib Kweli and Q-Tip and the boys this is much more in the vain of their earlier Joints and Jams days.

Will I Am has been busy and as well as producing and featuring on the Pussycat Dolls single Beep he’s produced this nice smooth head nodder for newcomer Sergio Mendes called The Frog, featuring Q-Tip.

Scenesters, Hipsters and everyone else who follows what’s ‘cool’ or ‘chic has been praising the new track from collaborating duo DangerMouse and Cee-Lo. Under the Alias Gnarls Barkely the track Crazy has a heavy, driving bass line and works well with the eccentric vocals of Cee-Lo. A great track but perhaps has been elevated higher than what it is. Currently the backdrop for the TV adverts to the annoying Zane Lowe’s Radio 1 show.

While Kanye West’s releases one of the main highlights of his album in Touch The Sky, the guest on that track Lupe Fiasco comes crashing into your radar with the tracks Kick, Push and Tilted. One to watch.
Mark Ronson makes Radiohead sound upbeat and interesting on Just, turning it into an eclectic neo soul number as part of a BBE release of remixed Radiohead songs.

The one and only big panty man MC Hammer has his own blog where you can see him spending quality father and son time and a video of his attempt at crunk, yes Hammer crunk. You can also see what he's been up to since he was making you do the Hammer dance. Don't deny it...

Memphis legends Three 6 Mafia recent commercial success over the past year was topped last night with winning an Oscar for Acheivement in music written for motion pictures (original song). The winning song was Its Hard Out Here For A Pimp from the film Hustle & Flow - a film about a DJ who is a small time pimp and drug dealer with dreams of making it in the Hip-Hop world. The guys were ecstatic when accepting their award, something which The Daily Sow star and host for the evening Jon Stewart said was how it should feel like to win an Oscar. The success follows another Hip-Hop song winning an Oscar in recent years when Eminem won for Lose Yourself in 2003 from his auto-biographical 8 Mile.

Two security guards were shot at a Kanye West gig at the Birmingham NEC arena last night. They were fired at after walking a group away form the arena who tried to get in without tickets. Both guards were still being treated for gunshot wounds but their injuries aren't deemed life threatening and they are in a stable condition.

The event happened just after 10pm last night on what was the last night of the Touch The Sky tour.

In a statement, West Midlands Police said: "This incident involved individuals who had been ejected from the venue for attempting to try to gain entrance to a pop concert without tickets. Firearms were discharged and two stewards were taken to hospital with gunshot wounds. Their injuries are not believed to be life-threatening."

Police are appelaing for information and anyone who saw the incident or anything unusual during the concert to come forward.

Another gig, another shooting...

Although it's not a great thing to happen these types of incidents are marring peoples opinion of any events that happen in our scene. Regardless of whether it's only a minority of events or not it's still unacceptable for a few idiots to pose the question to promoters on whether it's worth putting on these events and to the police on giving them the go ahead.

Back on the your screen this sunday for a feature length showing of all 6 episodes. If you missed it first time make sure you tune in/tape it/sky plus it or whatever the kids are doing these days. Channel 4 11.40pm.

Lemar won a Brit award last night for best urban act. Congrats go to the guy but in all honesty the award doesn't hold that much weight these days. Last year wasn't the best for urban acts in this country but there should have been some recognition of a nomination for the likes of Lemar, Kano et al in some of the main catagories rather than pushing them into their own box. Instead the panel honour the likes of James 'cockney rhyming slang' Blunt and the Kaiser Chiefs. Imagine the outcry if Kano or Dizzee came out with a song called I Predict A Riot - regardless of what the lyrics were...

The last few days in the black music world haven't been the greatest with Jay Dee passing away on Friday and now with great sadness the news has broke that UK soul sensation Lynden David Hall has lost his battle with cancer aged 31. He had been suffering from Hodgkin's Lymphoma, a rare form of the disease that affects young people in their 20's and around 1400 people are diagnosed with it every year. Lynden never really got the success his talent deserved, a so often common theme for UK artists, particularly soul stars. He released two albums including his biggest hit single 'Sexy Cinderella' before an absence from the scene while he was diagnosed with the disease. He still managed to release his latest set 'In Between Jobs' through DJ Diggz Random Soul label last summer and although he wasn't in attendence, a benefit for his Wish Charity was held in November with Ms Dynamite, Shola Ama, Roachford, Courtney Pine and Beverley Knight all performing to raise money for cancer charities. The tributes and condolence messages have already began to flood in with Trevor Nelson and Ronnie Herel speaking on the BBC website:

Trevor said "It's the loss of a great talent unfulfilled. At the time, in my capacity as an A&R man, he was one of the biggest talents of his time, and ahead of his time in many ways... he was a very unassuming guy, very quiet and introverted, not your typical wannabe pop star. It's a sad day for British black music, but knowing Lynden as I do, I hope the attention that this brings him will make people go and re-visit his music"

Ronnie reiterated Trevor's thoughts "My heart sunk when I heard that Lynden passed away, my heart goes out to his family and friends at this time. Medicine 4 My Pain was a landmark album for UK black music. It wasn't for the glory but simply for the music, to meet him you wouldn't know that he was pure genius. I knew Lynden quite well at the time he put out his debut album out, he was a cool, sweet guy who lived for his music and that's how I'm going to remember him."

You can buy all sorts of tat on ebay these days from fake G-Unit chains to a blood stained Rick James jumpsuit, but now you can literally buy your favourite rapper/singer. Well an hour of their time at least. As part of the Lunch With A Leader celebrity online auction fanatics and stalkers out there can buy lunch with Alicia Keys or Russell Simmons amongst others, which helps the Communities In Schools organisation who deal with dropout prevention. Snoop Dogg is offering an hour of studio time with the shizzle himself with the winners money going towards the Habitat For Humanity Operation Home Delivery Fund which looks to help rebuild houses in wake of the Hurricane's Katrina and Rita.

Lunch With A Leader
Snoop Studio Time

Other stars are sure to follow and at present it's uncomfirmed whether a selection of titles from Kanye Wests porn treasure chest to Janet Jackons clothes (circa 2005) have found it's way online.

JayDee 1974-2006

As you may have heard already over the weekend, one of Hip-Hop’s greatest producers JayDee sadly passed away on Friday due to complications from lupus. Late last year he was in the UK and fans were shocked to be greeted with the man carried on stage and performing from a wheelchair. At the start of last year he spent time critically ill in hospital but managed to come through and until those London gigs seemed to have come through the bad times. Long-term friend and fellow founding member of Slum Village T-3 lead the tributes from his myspace pages and JayDee’s label Stones Throw carried this message on their site:

Quote: “It is with great sorrow that the Family and Friends of J Dilla announces his spiritual transition on the morning of February 10th, 2006 in the loving arms of his mother, Maureen Yancey.

J Dilla had suffered for over three years with an incurable blood disease, and had also been diagnosed with lupus.

A public viewing (closed casket) will take place Monday, February 13, 2006, 430PM-900PM at Forest Lawn Memorial Parks and Mortuaries, 1712 South Glendale Avenue, Glendale, CA 91205.
A private funeral will follow.”

The producer/rapper was a founding member of the group Slum Village as well as working with the likes of Q-Tip, D’Angelo and more recently on Common’s critically acclaimed Be – last week on his 32nd birthday he released his second solo project called Donuts.

R.I.P JayDee – Hip-Hop won’t be the same without those soulful sounds of his.

Well I managed 9 out of 13 from my predictions which isn't too bad. Although it could have been ten - how did Don't Phunk With My Heart win best Rap by a group or duo?

The winners...

The Best Female R&B Vocal Performance
Mariah Carey – We Belong Together

Best Male R&B Vocal Performance
John Legend – Ordinary People

Best R&B Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocals
So Amazing – Beyonce and Stevie Wonder

Best Traditional R&B Vocal Performance
Aretha Franklin – A House Is Not A Home

Best Urban/Alternative Performance
Damien Marley – Welcome To Jamorock

Best R&B Song
Mariah Carey – We Belong Together

Best R&B Album
John Legend – Get Lifted

Best Contemporary R&B Album
Mariah Carey – Emancipation Of Mimi

Best Rap Solo Performance
Kanye West – Gold Digger

Best rap Performance By A Group Or Duo
Black Eyed Peas – Don’t Phunk With My Heart

Best Rap/Sung Collaboration
Jay-Z and Linkin Park – Numb/Encore

Best Rap Song
Kanye West – Diamonds

Best Rap Album
Kanye West – Late Registration

In the general awards John Legend won Best New Artist and Stevie Wonder’s From The Bottom Of My Heart won Best Male Pop Vocal performance.

The music industry’s premier event The Grammy’s takes place tomorrow night at The Staples Center in Los Angeles and below is the Hip-Hop/R’n’B categories with my predictions in bold for who I think will walk away a winner.

The Best Female R&B Vocal Performance

Alicia Keys – Unbreakable
Amerie – 1 Thing
Beyonce – Wishing On A Star
Mariah Carey – We Belong Together
Fantasia’s – Free Your Self

Best Male R&B Vocal Performance

Jamie Foxx – Creepin
Usher – Superstar
Mario – Let Me Love You
Stevie Wonder – So What The Fuss
John Legend – Ordinary People

Best R&B Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocals

So Amazing – Beyonce and Stevie Wonder
If This World Were Mine – Alicia Keys and Jermaine Paul
Cater 2 U - Destiny’s Child
So High - John Legend and Lauryn Hill
How Will I Know – Stevie Wonder and Aisha Morris

Best Traditional R&B Vocal Performance

Aretha Franklin – A House Is Not A Home
Mariah Carey – Mine Again
Alicia Keys – If I Was Your Woman
Fantasia – Summertime
John Legend – Stay With You

Best Urban/Alternative Performance

Mos Def – Ghetto Rock
Damien Marley – Welcome To Jamorock
Floetry – Superstar
Van Hunt – Dust
Gorillaz – Dirty Harry

Best R&B Song

Mariah Carey – We Belong Together
Destiny’s Child – Cater 2 You
Fantasia – Free Yourself
John Legend – Ordinary People
Alicia Keys - Unbreakable

Best R&B Album

Earth, Wind and Fire – Illumination
Stevie Wonder – A Time To Love
John Legend – Get Lifted
Alicia Keys – Unplugged
Fantasia – Free Yourself

Best Contemporary R&B Album

Mariah Carey – Emancipation Of Mimi
Destiny’s Child – Destiny Fulfilled
Amerie – Touch
Mario – Turning Point
Omarion - O

Best Rap Solo Performance

Eminem – Mockingbird
50 Cent – Disco Inferno
T.I – U Don’t Know Me
Ludacris – Number One Spot
Common – Testify
Kanye West – Gold Digger

Best rap Performance By A Group Or Duo

Ying Yang Twins – Wait (Whisper Song)
Black Eyed Peas – Don’t Phunk With My Heart
Common and Last Poets – The Conrer
The Game and 50 Cent – Hate It Or Love It
Eminem, 50 Cent & Dr.Dre - Encore

Best Rap/Sung Collaboration

Ciara and Missy Elliott – 1,2 Step
Destiny’s Child, T.I and Lil Wayne – Soldier
Jay-Z and Linkin Park – Numb/Encore
Gwen Stefani and Eve – Rich Girl
Common, Kanye West and John Legend – They Say

Best Rap Song

50 Cent – Candy Shop
The Game and 50 Cent – Hate It Or Love It
Kanye West – Diamonds
Black Eyed Peas – Don’t Phunk With My Heart
Missy Elliott, CIara and Fatman Scoop – Lose Control

Best Rap Album

Eminem – Encore
50 Cent – The Massacre
Kanye West – Late Registration
Common – Be
Missy Elliott – Cookbook

Results will be posted tomorrow...

Busta Rhymes bodyguard was shot dead while on set of his latest video, with police keen to speak to G-Unit member Tony Yayo in connection to the studio shooting.

Although not an official suspect police want to question Yayo after he was involved in an argument with the videos producer, before storming off set ahead of the shooting.

Bodyguard Israel Ramirez was shot in the back and pronounced dead at Woodhull Hospital at 1:10am Sunday morning. According to varying reports he either jumped in the way to prevent the alleged target Busta being hit or Ramirez may have been the intended target after being involved in an on set scuffle.

Whether this was the same incident which involved Yayo is yet to be seen, and police are having trouble tracking down Busta and at least 50 other people believed at the shooting scene.

Busta was shooting a video for his latest single Touch It remix in the Greenpoint section of Brooklyn, New York. The video's cameo appearance list included G-Unit members 50 Cent and Lloyd Banks, DMX, Mary J. Blige, Missy Elliott and other high profile celebrities.

Tracklisting...

This Is My Demo
Products
Hype Boys
Little Derek
Pretty Ugly Husband
Flo Fashion
Up Your Speed
Download
Loose Woose
Sick World
On my Own
Back For You
Slow Down
Month In The Summer

The big release is this Monday! A must buy for everyone. Now I’m all for supporting UK talent over Americans when the music is great but just for the sake of being English is something I don’t agree with. This artist is not the case though and is a big talent with music to match anything the Americans are producing at the moment. There is a bonus DVD included as well featuring appearances on Westwood, in America and in the studio.

Jay-Z has finally made his first major Hip-Hop move since taking the Def Jam throne by signing old foe Nas to a deal. Rumours were abound for months that Nas may sign for Def Jam and his public making up with Jay last October further fueled the possible link up. Escobar still had two albums left of his Sony deal and they will be released through both labels with a split share of the profits. All marketing and production costs will be coming from Def Jam. As expected there should be a collaboration between the two artists and production may just come from one man - DJ Premier. In their recent issue Scratch magazine got both Nas and DJ Premier together with both revealing details of a forthcoming album from the pair. Premier said "I'm getting excited just thinking about it, because I know what he's gonna do and he knows what I'm gonna do. We already hear it, before it's done. When he gets a bangin' beat, he jumps right into the pocket...I really hope we can get it crackin'."

The latest issue of Scratch is out now.

One of the most exciting UK acts of recent time embarks on his first tour to celebrate the release of his debut long player This Is My Demo. Performing tracks form the album and previous mixtape series This Is My Promo the shows promise to be a not to be missed night. Support act is to follow…
February
9th - UK Uncovered @ Destiny, Watford
10th - Brunel Rooms, Swindon
12th - Urbanscot, Liquid Rooms, Edinburgh
16th - Rawganics, Cambridge
17th - Lock Up, Hereford
18th - Covern II, Oxford
19th - Level 2 @ University of Essex, Colchester
23rd - No Fakin’ @ Academy 2, Liverpool
24th - Media & Arts Centre, Barrow-In-Furness
25th - Haymarket Theatre [under 18’s], Leicester
27th - Assembly Rooms, Derby
28th - Theatre Royal Centre [under 18’s], Nottingham
March
2nd - The Pad, Bedford
8th - Academy 3, Manchester
10th - Islington Academy, London
17th - Camouflage @ Rescue Rooms, Nottingham
23rd - Shoestring @ Fez Club, Bristol
24th - The Consortium, Bournemouth
29th - Fibbers, York

For more info check out the brand new Sway site @ http://www.swaydasafo.com/

After playing a few dates late last year Kano embarks on more touring duties including a chance to play in his home capital after his previous show at the Scala was cancelled on police intelligence. The new show is scheduled to be held at the Astoria and there will also be support too.

February
4th – Astoria, London
16th – Dresden, Germany
17th – Munich, Germany
18th – Berlin, Germany
March
8th – Leadmill, Sheffield
9th – Venue, Edinburgh
11th – Academy, Liverpool
12th – Zodiac, Oxford
14th – University, Leicester
16th – Junction, Cambridge
17th – Vibraphonic Festival @ Lemon Groove Exeter
18th – Old Firestation, Bournemouth

Hit up www.ka-no.com for updates...

A DVD featuring one of The Game’s protégés Teh Ghey trespassing on 50 Cent’s properties has been stopped by a lawsuit. Teh Ghey was filmed jumping over the wall of Fiddy’s Connecticut home and onto his basketball court where he proceeded to stealing the rim off of one hoop after he accidentally broke it while carrying out a slam dunk. The Game would later boast on Sirus Satellites West Hype Radio Show "We broke... 50's basketball court," and according to the show's DJ the rapper wore the rim around his neck at the studio, joking: "This is 50 Cent's rim from his backyard. This is my new bling-bling!" An injunction was served by 50 Cent and for the time being the DVD won’t see the light of day, although a search on various message boards will reveal links to various vendors taking orders and some with footage from the DVD.

The Game - Hate It Or Love It
Cassidy - I'm A Hustla
Common - The Corner
Kanye West - Gold Digger/Drive Slow
Mitchell Brothers & Sway - Harvey Knicks
Sway - Up Your Speed
Sa-Ra Feat. Pharoah Monch - Fish Fillet
Roots Manuva - Too Cold
Klashnekoff - Welcome To Jamrock Refix

Common - Be

Just pipping Kanye in my opinion for Hip-Hop album of the year although he did have a hand in the production is Common’s Be. In a time where Hip-Hop albums are quickly forgotten and stick to the same tired formulae of club smash, ladies joint and filler, Common’s sixth label release was much needed, perhaps not just for Hip-Hop but for the Chicago MC himself. He answered his critics that thought he went a bit strange on his last album by dropping eleven tracks straight no filler from the boom bap driven The Corner to the more soulful and melodic driven Go. If their was any doubt about his talents Be silenced the critics and with the assistance of Kanye gave Common the commercial success he deserved.

Kanye West – Late registration

Egos don’t come much bigger than Kanye’s whether he plays up to it or not and there were many who would have wanted him to fail when The Late Registration dropped. Yet he silenced the critics with another solid album full of memorable lines, great samples and heavy production whether it was his most commercial track Gold Digger or the more underground feel of Drive Slow. It can only be a good thing when music of this substance is gaining commercial success.

Slum Village – Slum Village

This won’t be on many end of year lists and will go unnoticed by many but is as good as anything out there in the Hip-Hop arena. The duo of T3 and Elzhi really stepped up their game this year and it’s a wonder how Slum Village are still making records after all the turmoil they’ve been involved in. There was no Jay Dee onboard but Black Milk and Young RJ took us back to 2000 and those Fantastic days with their soulfully blended beats. This is the best Slum Village album since those days but without the push they deserve this will be confined to only a select few.

The Mitchell Brothers – A Breath Of Fresh Attire

From tales of cheap drinks to cheap birds this was the most distinctive British album of the year and the duo Teddy and Tony Mitchell weren’t ashamed of the fact. Whether it was being stopped by police or a tale of drinking one two many on a night out there was certainly more to relate on this set than the latest G-Unit release. A landmark album for UK black music.

Sway – This Is My Promo Vol 1

Although not strictly an album release this mixtape was as important as any of the other material released this year such was the talent on display. Whether re-working J-Kwon’s Tipsy instrumental for his own non-alcohol related anthem Pepsi, or giving us the first glimpses of future singles in Up Your Speed and Flo Fashion Sway was a shining light for UK music and a second volume followed ahead of the upcoming debut long player this February.

Dangerdoom – Mouse and the Mask

These two eccentric characters became darlings of the broadsheets after their Adult Swim inspired album brought them together. Fresh off of working with the Gorillaz and producing the heavily bootlegged Grey Album, Dangemouse hot streak continued while MF Doom so continuously overlooked in the past will now have people searching for his back catalogue.

Roots Manuva – Awfully Deep

While on first listen you won’t find another Witness, you’ll soon unravel after a few listens Rodney Smiths finest album. A well-crafted album that time has been taken with and the need to create a club banger or radio single ignored – which is only a good thing. Still the favourite UK mc for non Hip-Hop heads and another reason why he is such a success, he’s not worried about fitting into a specific audience.

Little Brother – The Minstrel Show

Thanks to 9th Wonder’s association with Jay-Z and subsequent work with Destiny Child he has been able to make people take more notice of his North Carolina natives collective efforts. The Minstrel Show is a concept album due to their unhappiness at the state of Hip-Hop and how African American culture is perceived and one of the years best, yet the public will be selecting the latest effort of The Game or 50 Cent to worry about these guys – something unfortunately doesn’t surprise you.

So 2005 was a mixed year for all concerned within the scene, but there are plenty of reasons to be cheerful and look forward to 2006. Here is a selection of albums to look forward to, people who will be big next year and some up and comers to keep an eye out for.

Ne-Yo - One of Jay-Z’s first signings to Def Jam was the man who wrote Mario’s Let Me Love You and is in demand to work with others looking for a hit. Next year will see his first album and if the singles Stay With Me and I’m Sick are anything to go by then the likes of Bobby Valention, Mario and Omarion will have to watch out.

Pharrell – In My Mind Album – This shouldn’t be on this list but for the record company putting the release date back to next year to see if Skateboard P can be a success as a solo artist. One disc is Hip-Hop and already you will have heard Can I Have It Like That, while the other is made up of R’n’B with Angel the likely next single.

Mpho Skeef – With her blend of catchy lyrics and neo-soul Mpho Skeef has done enough this year to wet the appetite for her debut LP with work for Ty and Baby J, while her track Hide From Us is one of the years little gems. Expect more live performances as well after pleasing on various support duties this year.

Nathan – One of the things about music journalism is that any new artists will always find themselves compared to someone already grabbing the attention. Case in point with Nathan who has been likened to the UK version of Usher. Both of the singles we’ve heard from him this year didn’t receive much backing but were up there with the best of American product flooding the airwaves. A record company needs to take the plunge and support this project, as the man really deserves to be a success.

Sa-Ra – These American funksters have been snapped up by Kanye West for his Good label and will be making headway next year with their debut set and working with some of Hip-Hop and Souls big names. If you can’t wait till then hunt down their excellent EP Second Time Around, which includes appearances from J Dilla and Pharoah Monch.

Rell- After years of guest appearances and tracks that don’t see the light of day Rell is finally getting the push his talent deserves. If he wasn’t on the Rap label Roc-A-Fella he would have almost certainly released a couple of albums by now. But with the choosing of sides by their artists in the split between Jay-Z and Dame Dash, Rell will be one of the first to release an album through The Dame Dash Music Group. Scott Storch produced a monster R’n’B hit for Mario and in Last Ride has done the same for Rell that has this LP down as one of the hotly anticipated for next year.

Ryhmefest – Has been causing a stir over here after a recent promo visit after what he alleged were misquotes in a HHC magazine interview where he stuck it too Diplomats affiliates S.A.S. His debut single Brand New has been ticking all the right boxes though with fellow Chicago pal Kanye West returning the favour for working on the Grammy nominated Jesus Walks by providing the hot sample that runs through the track. Plus with the backing of Mark Ronson’s new imprint behind him another star from Chicago is going to shine.

Grime – The sound isn’t so underground after the year it’s had yet didn’t make the moves it may have expected with album releases from Kano, Roll Deep and Lethal B selling respectably but not quite catching on with people not familiar with the scene. Still the offspring of UK Garage and Hip-Hop is one the most exciting things this country have produced, even catching the attraction from the US and beyond. Next year Dizzie Rascal will be releasing his third album, Maths and English while Wiley will be coming with his second – both should move the scene forward. It will be years before the scene can sell the big numbers but 2006 should see the scene further develop. People aren’t waiting for fat business minded men with no understanding of the scene to approach and are self-financing mix-tapes and their own Guerrilla marketing. With the various street DVD’s the scene is being documented and reaching people from outside of London and having people get onto the net to download pirate radio sets. There is still a lot of work to put in and there is a lot to be pleased about this year, but 2006 is massive for the scene to move forward. Finally, can we have more nights put on, it seems events are popping up everywhere from Belguim to France to the US, yet there is less and less over here.

Baby Blue – With her two mixtapes Out Of The Blue dropping in 05 Baby Blue has gone from promising newcomer too fully fledged star with her full long player set to follow. Whether it was dropping knowledge over a Hip-Hop beat or switching up to Grime little Rachel is one of the nicest females on the mic and can also hold her own with the males as witnessed on her guest work this year.

Sway – If this were GQ then Sway would get the man of year award. Leaving the others behind with his professionalism and work ethic, Sway is a name on everyone’s lips after the singles Flo Flashion and Up Your Speed from his two This Is My Promo mix CD’s – which were later put together as one complete package and into the stores of HMV and Virgin. This Is My Demo is out February 6th and promises a lot, Sway has the potential and mentality to become a breakout star for the scene and with the right support should go on to sell more than Skinnyman’s Council Estate Of Mind.

Lady Soveriegn – You either lover her or hate her but she will no doubt make a big impact next year with her debut expected and input from Jay-Z who signed her early this year.

Busta Rhymes – The last couple of albums have always promised so much from Busta but he’s always let us down. 2006 is looking likely to be the year we get that complete great album with a new energy after signing with Aftermath, a hot new single from Swizz Beats that sounds like nothing you’ve heard before and even a new hairdo with the trademarks dreads being chopped after 17 years!

Klashnekoff – The collection of singles (Sagas Of…) and the DJ Skully mixtape (Focus Mode) have been spreading the word but Klashnekoff could eclipse Blak Twang and Skinnyman’s previous successes with his first proper album seeing the light of day in 2006.

Not the best of years for releases but as you can see from below there were still plenty of good music on offer. ..

Metropolis – The Voyage

Without a doubt the best Soul/R’n’B album released this year, yet a shame only a small few were able to appreciate the soulful tones of Metropolis. The Voyage was an independent release and a provided listeners with 20 sublime mid-tempo cuts. There are so many great tracks on here that it was hard to pick one to include in my top singles list, so I left it out to not do an injustice to the other tracks. It’s said quite a lot these days but there really isn’t many albums that don’t have you reaching for the skip button. Hunt this down as soon as.

Amerie – Touch

Touch contained the single of the year in 1 Thing but there were plenty of other tracks on here to get your moneys worth. Rich Harrison and Amerie have worked to better the previous album All I Have with Man Up, Rolling Down My Face and All I Need the standouts on this excellent set.

Bobby Valentino – DTP Presents

A year ago no one had heard of Bobby Valentino but he’s now firmly in the minds after a succession of singles from his debut long player. His first was an ode to the girl who takes your breath away on Slow Down while Tell Me was aimed at the more shaped figured women. A few of the songs are in a similar vein to Slow Down but there is plenty of material to suggest longevity in the industry and appeal to pop fans and modern soul fans alike.

Lynden David Hall – In Between Jobs

Released through former 1Xtra DJ Digz’ Random Soul label Lynden David Hall kept it simple with just ten tracks, but ten tracks full of some of the best Soul music heard in the last few years. A welcome return to the scene after a five year absence between albums. Lets hope that Lynden’s personal battle with serious illness ends soon and he can continue producing albums of this quality. and giving songs like In Between Jobs, Don’t Hide Your Heart and the beautiful Day Off can get an airing on the live circuit.

Dwele – Some Kinda…

Detroit Soul star Dwele released his second album in 2005 to more critical acclaim. From the B-Boy stance of Keep On, which features fellow Motor City alumni Slum Village to the metaphorically speaking track Flapjacks, Dwele provided a packed album of goodness to satisfy the neo-soul heads.

John Legend – Get Lifted

Last year he got into our ears with various guest appearances but with his debut long player coming in early January, John Legend backed up his self-appointed surname with a truly memorable album. From the first single Used To Love You to the tales of cheating on Alright this album took the man to heady heights, but it was Ordinary People that propelled Legend further and into the minds of a broader audience.

Omarion – O

Following in the foot steps of brother Marques Houston in leaving his group and going solo, Omarion made the move from teenage heartthrob to young adult with ease. Displaying maturity on O and Slow Dancing yet still being able to count on his previous fan bases support with the more up beat numbers Touch and Drop That Heater. The track I Wish featuring his brother and one time neighbour of everyone’s favourite twins Tia and Timera was one of the years best mid-tempo cuts that sadly didn’t see a release.

Mariah Carey – Emancipation Of Mimi

This was an important album for two reasons. Firstly Mariah firmly put her troubles of recent times behind her best effort in years. Secondly the man behind the album Jermaine Dupri stepped it up a notch and received the credit he’d son longed for yet somehow had missed out on. The two brought the best out of each other with hit single after hit single, Get Your Number and It’s Like That had the people flocking to the dance floor while Shake It Off was Carey at her sultry best. It was We Belong Together though that truly reaffirmed her status and is one of her biggest hits to date.

R – Kelly – TP3.COM

The Pied Piper of R’n’B continued with his prolific release schedule of one album a year with the third instalment of his TP collection, which included one of the most, talked about songs of the year – Trapped In The Closet. Five parts in total were on this long player and there is word of more parts to follow in the future. While Trapped was R Kelly at his song writing best he still had hits for the club teaming up with Compton’s poster child The Game and continued bringing the Chicago steppers style to the masses on the very under rated Summertime. For my money this should have been a massive summer hit but unfortunately never had the chance out in the mainstream.

Craig David – The Story Goes

Some may have wondered whether Craig David would still be relevant after his long absence from the scene but while maybe playing it safe with the overall direction of the album to please the commercial audience, he still showed he could cut it with his most personal album to date. Johnny tackled the subject of Craig’s experiences with bullying and the sublime Thief In The Night was a tale of a girl cheating with his friend that was as good as anything the US have produced of a similar vein. Just Don’t Love You No More was a crossover hit but their was still material for the Urban masses with the lead single All The Way, a great club track.

Everyone starts to reminisce about this time of year on the past 12 months of things they did, where they went and maybe whom they did. Music is no different and while you’ll probably be sick of reading everyone’s lists at this time of the year here’s a few more to fuel the fire. Over the next week I’ll be naming the tracks that have shaped my year in the R’n’B and Hip-Hop world, be looking ahead to some treats to look forward to in 2006 and proudly present the first It’s The Shiznit awards. Their like the Grammy’s but less prestigious. Enjoy.

R’n’B singles
2005 was a year in which r’n’b came out of the shadow of Hip-Hop to gain respect in its own right. There were still too many tracks that relied on guest rap cameos, but on the whole there were still plenty of tracks from club bangers to slow jams that shaped 2005. Newcomers Ryan Leslie and Rihanna all produced singles worthy of attention and returning heroes 112 and Donnell Jones all get honourable mentions for their efforts. The UK scene although hardly getting the support it deserves did at least have some shining lights with Nate James Set The Tone showing promise at the start of the year and Nathan came with two songs that deserved more in Come Into My Room and Round and Round. Terri Walker was unfortunately dropped from her record company but provided us with the excellent L.O.V.E and will no doubt be back next year. The US as always dominated and there were great singles from Keyshia Cole, Ciara and Gwen Stefani dropped the massive Hollaback Girl while the great Stevie Wonder returned to show he could still cut it in these times.

Below are the tracks in no particular order that had The Shiznit getting down and doing their one-two step.

Amerie – 1 Thing
If this were in any order then this would be the number one track full stop. Amerie was unlucky to not get the recognition she deserved with her debut album All I Have but Rich Harrison’s heavy drum beat made sure she got hers as 1 Thing pushed her into superstardom and became our soundtrack to the summer. Still sounding fresh even now nearly 9 months after it first surfaced.

Mariah Carey – We Belong Together
No matter what you say about her she is undoubtedly one of the true great singers and after a torrid time can lay claim to 2005 as her the year where she received attention for all the right reasons. We Belong Together was the pick of the bunch from a bevy of Jermaine Dupri produced hits.

John Legend – Ordinary People
This was the song that made people know Mr Legend was for real. A modern soul classic with just the piano accompanying a voice that didn’t seem to escape the airwaves all year with good reason.

Mario – Let Me Love You
It’s inevitable that any male star will be compared to Usher but if anyone can live up to those comparisons it’s Mario. Let Me Love You was No.1 in the US for weeks and it gained instant success on these shores for this touching number from someone who is only 18 and yet displaying a maturity beyond his years.

Bobby Valentino – Slow Down
Ludacris DTP clique didn’t do R’n’B records, until early this year when they unleashed a talent by the name of Bobby Valentino on us with his ode to that girl who walks by that steals your attention. Slowdown was an international hit with its appeal attracting plaudits from the pop to the modern soul crowd.

Omarion - O
Another male solo star that had a breakout year, leaving the shadow of his B2K days behind him with his debut O. Rather than come out with a catchy club number Omarion went with the slower O, which showed off his talent and let us know his teenager days were behind him with this mature and seductive number.

Alicia Keys – Unbreakable
Somehow this track didn’t make the Diary of Alicia Keys album but thankfully made it as a bonus track on the latest in the MTV Unplugged series. Its ode to celebrating relationships gave us one of Miss Keys most upbeat numbers and only adds anticipation to her next album.

Faith Evans – Again
Faith came back with a vengeance giving the media the finger while announcing she wasn’t ashamed of any of her past mistakes. Why she hasn’t picked up the credit she deserves is beyond me.

Lynden David Hall – Day Off
He’s currently battling a serious illness but this didn’t stop LDH dropping his first set in five years, which included this little gem. Another who it escapes me why he hasn’t reached the heights he should do, the record public need to hold their head in shame for missing out on this talent.

Craig David – All The Way
After a long absence away from the scene Southampton’s finest proved he was still born to do it with this club driven track of good times matching anything of similar vein seen from the US.

In the past month some of Detroit’s favourite sons have released new albums. Yes Eminem was one of them but there is plenty of column inches on that man elsewhere. Although for what it’s worth I will say he really hasn’t made the complete album that he could have. But onto three men who have been representing the motor city to the fullest with their soulful sounds.

First up is the duo Slum Village. They’ve had more ups and downs than most artists with legendary producer Jay Dee leaving the group and after their Trinity album MC Baatin left. While an article hasn’t gone by without mentioning the controversy and being labelled the Destiny Child of Hip-Hop their music has often been left by the wayside for comment despite producing some consistent albums. Last year the assistance of Kanye West on Selfish didn’t propel them to success due to record label problems but on their latest and self-titled effort they have produced their best album since their debut Fantastic Vol.2. Producers Black Milk and Young RJ have taken the sound back to those days of Fantastic Volume 1 and 2 with smooth Hip-Hop beats and combined with T3 and Elzhi stepping up to the plate with their rhymes we have an album that is solid all round but unfortunately won’t get the credit it truly deserves. On tracks Giant and Def Do Us the two speak about the changes and criticism that’s flown their way. While 05 is a track full of reflection and pride over a heavy drum beat. Their Detroit sidekick Dwele lends his vocals on Call Me and they keep the soulful vibe alive on Ez Up and Multiply. Other highlights include Can I be, Set It and Fantastic on what in my opinion will be one of the most slept on albums of the year, make sure you don’t give this a miss.

Providing more of a fan fare and a hot favourite on these shores with his live performances at the Jazz Café is the man Dwele. While most neo-soul artists tend to take forever to follow up a release, Dwele has hit us with more of his Hip-Hop soul flavours within two. On Some Kinda he picks up where Subject left of with Know Your Name sounding similar to Find A Way and Slum Village making their mandatory appearance on the excellent and hopefully a future single in the making Keep On. The Current single I Love You has been floating around on wax for a while now and gets a refix from Jermaine Dupri with a few familiar samples, unfortunately not on the album but one for the soul heads to track down. A track that is causing quite a stir is Flapjacks, what he can mean by this only the listener can decide, but it does beg the question how he could have kept a straight face while singing the words. From weekend flings to growing old together the stories of love are giving a fresh viewpoint with Dwele’s style of singing, he used to be a rapper and it comes across in his delivery. Some Kinda doesn’t stray too much from Subject but this isn’t a bad thing. Far from it, when you have an artist like Dwele who delivers such good soul music you can only welcome another dose of the good stuff but the real highlight is if you can catch him when he next performs over here as the songs are taken to another level. If he keeps this up he may well write himself into the record books as an all time great.

Sa-Ra Creative Partners have been building a name for themselves in the last year and in anticipation for their debut long player next year they’ve dropped an EP with five new recordings. From the get go the music is so good that the funk might fracture your nose. From the heavy beats of the EP titled track Second Time Around to the J Dilla and Pharoah Monch featured tracks Thrilla and Fish Fillet Sa Ra’s spaced out soulful funk tracks get you straight away and get better with each listen. The likes of Kanye West and Slum Village are rumoured to be amongst the heavyweight cast for the full player, but in the meantime track this limited in numbers EP down for a taste of the world of Sa-Ra.

By the time you read this Lady Sovereign will probably have finally put pen to paper as one of Jay-Z’s new crop of young talent. Hova has courted Sov for months since performing for him alongside L.A Reid and Usher at his Def Jam offices and is a hipsters favourite in the US after her performances over there including one at New York’s infamous Knitting Factory. She’s currently on a promotional run out there and in conjunction with it is releasing an EP called Vertically Challenged, which includes the tracks Ch-Ching, Random, Fiddle With The Volume, The Battle, Little Bit Of Sshh and an exclusive Beastie Boys remix by Ad Rock. The package also includes a 30-minute DVD and this is one to track down on Amazon and the usual import outlets, as there is no word on a UK release. In the meantime on these shores the monster remix by Mizz Beats of Hoodie is literally blowing up and is an essential purchase, much better than the original with heavy verses from Sov, Baby Blue, JME, Skepta, Ears and Jammer. Her full album is released early next year.

Are Party Rings the most Hip-Hop biscuit out on road?

1. The Murkle Man video - You couldn't imagine Wiley running around in a costume in his video, oh he did the old man thing in the shake a leg vid tho didn't he. But if any one was going to dress as a superhero and get away with it than it would Jammer, the Superman of the noughties.
2. The new licensing laws - Dirty stop out and her up for it friends get more time to find their future child support payment provider and no longer will we be ordering those two doubles at 5 to 11 to get J-Kwon. 24 hours in a day...24 beers in a case...coincidence?
3. Jay-Z and Nas re-unite - Both guys are now more hyped about picking out new IKEA curtains with wifey than picking fights. But it will be good to hear these two greats get into the studio together with Kanye rumoured to be behind the boards as these two greats make up.
4. Urban acts deemed 'cool' by NME - Indie bible NME jumps off Pete Doherty's bits for a minute to name Sway, Kano, M.I.A, Dangermouse and Kanye West in their top 50 cool list for 2005.
5. Serving tea and biscuits at a nightclub - So your names Des for the night and you have watch your friends drink and chat shit to strangers while you sip tap water. Take a leave out of Scruff's book and have some tea and biscuits, this is how you really get down.

1. That bloody Frog – He’s back to spread some Christmas joy. Makes a Westlife track sound soothing.
2. No party rings at Scruff – Why were there no party rings at the Scruff gig? They’re the most Hip-Hop biscuit in the tin.
3. Channel U’s quality control – No one can fault what the channels done for UK music but any man with a PS2, cheap camera and a crew can be found on screen now. Who decides what gets played?
4. The wait for the new series of Curb Your Enthusiasm – Series 5 is on in the States now; More4 has finally picked up on Larry David’s brilliance over here and has been showing series 4. But I want 5.
5. Lost – Plane crash and then stranded shenanigans on an Island. How many episodes? What? A second series?
   

Mr Scruff took his eclectic and rather large record collection on the road this winter and stopped off in my area last week as part of his Keep it Unreal tour. For those that have seen the man play live before you can count yourself lucky, I too can now join the brigade and for those that haven't been please make sure you do next time he's in your manor. It would be rude not too. The Brook in Southampton is more used to playing host to bands rather than just the one DJ, but with two projector screens either side of him showing animation and a flawless selection of records all eyes were towards the stage rather than breaking out their one-two step. Starting off with some Reggae to welcome the people he started to switch it up with a selection of B-boy classics and a host of breaks that had the nerds quickly reciting to the person next to them who sampled it. With a seemless transition from track to track you didn't realise one minute you were listening to Common's 'Be' to an old school dance number with some rock thrown in the middle such is the skill of the man. Any night that serves a selection of tea and biscuits with an eclectic mix of 45's is bound to be a winner, yes that's right tea and biscuits. While the latest Channel U mc to pick up the mic waves around his bottle of Hypnotic Scruff keeps it ghetto with Twinnings finest and delivered a great night of good vibes. A massive fan of tea like the Queen, Mr Scruff decided to combine his two loves and set up his own tea shop at all of his tour dates with all money raised going to charity, what a nice man.

Check out www.mrscruff.com for tour dates and information on how to buy mugs, tea pots and other hot beverage paraphernalia.

Normally it's only David Beckham who gets a massive fanfare when he changes his hair style, and there is still something quite wrong about that, but Busta deserves a mention here as his hairdo has been together longer than The Lox and a messed up recording contract...

Making a name for yourself isn't the easiest of things to do in the music industry. Even if you do manage to get that buzz there's no gaurantee you'll go on a sell by the bucketload. But help is at hand with a new DVD aimed at giving you an insight into one of the toughest industries out there.

The Industry is a step by step guide to the music game with over 3 DVD disks lasting a whopping 4 and a half hours. Ras Kwame provides the backdrop to 16 chapters that will take you from recording right through to the final push of your single, with lessons on promotion, meeting your record label and much more in between.

The best thing is that the words are coming from the artists themselves and people working in the industry. Just some of the names on hand here include; Lethal B, Kano, Ms Dynamite, Heartless Crew, Roll Deep, Crazy Titch, Bruza, Trevor Nelosn and many more. With extras and an hour of freestyles this DVD is packed.

This DVD should be out this weekend from all the usual outlets and is must see material. With all the DVD's flooding the scene it's refreshing to see one that is looking at things from a fresh angle and the first that has covered this topic in such depth. The team behind The Industry actually had to leave out an hour of footage due to space confinements. An essential purchase for those wanting to get ahead in the industry.

Everyone’s gone award crazy at the moment, hot on the heels of the recent Mobo’s and forthcoming Channel U awards comes the radio and Tv station Kiss’ very own night celebrating the achievements of artists who appear on their platforms. To be held on the 5th November at the Excel in South Victoria they have already announced Craig David and Ms Dynamite as performers with more to be announced. Below are the nominations and info to vote.

Best Producer

Dr.Dre
Kanye West
Jermaine Dupri
The Neptunes
Bassment Jaxx

Best Newcomer
Ciara
Akon
Amerie
Kano
The Game
John Legend
Bobby Valentino

Best Group

Black Eyed Peas
Bassment Jaxx
Destiny’s Child
Outkast
Roll Deep

Most Stylish Woman

Gwen Stefani
Siena Miller
June Sarpong
Beyonce

Best Male

Kanye West
50 Cent
The Streets
Jamiroquai
Craig David
The Game
Sean Paul

Best Female

Gwen Stefani
Missy Elloit
Mariah Carey
Faith Evans
Ms Dynamite

Best Single

Akon – Lonely
Pretty Ricky – Grind With Me
Bodyrockers – I Like The Way You move
Pussy Cat Dolls – Don’t Cha
2Pac – Ghetto Gospel
Rihanna – Pon De Replay
Twista – Sunshine
The Game – Hate It Or Love It

Best Album

50 Cent – The Massacre
Mariah Carey – The Emancipation Of Mimi
Mylo – Destroy Rock n Roll
The Game – The Documentary
Kanye West – The Late Registration

For information about voting and tickets see www.kiss100.com

Channel U present the first ever Best Of British Awards at the Shepherds Bush Empire on October 15th. Ace and Invisible of 1Xtra and Illout Show fame will be hosting the awards which will celebrate the top 15 British performers as voted for by the Channel U viewers. 30 nominees have been picked who have been prominent players on the channel in the last year and you can cast your vote by logging onto their website or by keeping locked to Channel U.

The nominees are: Akala, Bigz, Blak Twang, Bruza, Choong Family, Christian Blazer, Craig David, Crazy Titch, Craze 24, Dizzee Rascal, Estelle, Fundmental Juggy D, Jay Sean, Kano, Kevin Mark Trail, Lady Sovereign, Lemar, Lethal Bizzle, L.O.C, Mitchell Brothers, Nathan, Nu Star, Roll Deep, Rouge, Sincere, SLK, Sway, Terri Walker

For more information and tickets see www.bestofbritishuk.com

Rumours are abound that Jay-Z may be about to work with Nas on a remix to We Major, a track off of Kanye West’s Late Registration album. The original track which features Nas and John Doe is Jigga’s favourite off the album and he is keen to get on a remix which would be the first time that Nas and himself have featured on a track together. As we all know the two had a feud kept on wax a few years back, but both men have spoke out on numerous occasions of their respect for each other.

Despite his retirement Jay-Z has featured on many remixes and guest appearances, continually fuelling rumours that he will release an album sometime soon. Speaking on radio station Power 105 he said that he has that ‘itch’ and may look to get an album out. It seems the reason for this sudden itch to get material out may be because of a few emcees chatting stuff about him and it’s now his time to ‘declare war’.

Since his retirement he has been busy running Def Jam and recently started a new label in the company called Def Jam Left, which first release will be from new signing The Roots.

Make sure you get your votes in for this years MOBO Awards. Follow the link below and let's make sure the UK acts get some deserved recognition.
http://www.mobo.com/index.php?p=votingform