Where Respect Is Due...

KEVIN LYONS

Smiling Faces

When I was at school and stuck in a rut; homework due in on Monday, detention beckoning and no where else to turn, I used to seek solace in the radio. Sunday nights were all about Giles Peterson. I listen to his show occasionally on the BBC iplayer (not nearly enough or as much as I used to) and once again he's lifted me out of the depths of the emotional abyss. His show is my favorite radio show around, he's got me through some hard times. I lost everything off of my external drive and have only just come to terms with it, I've distanced myself from music for sometime, just so the fleeting memories of records gone by would surpass and I'd no longer loathe myself for not backing up, burning and copying the endless musical trail of my youth. I've jumped back on the musical train, I never really got off, but now I've decided to start from scratch, build back up the temple of rhythm and return to the fountain of knowledge that is the radio. Giles has cheered me up no end.

I've been in a bit of a rut recently, not to go into too much detail, it's not that interesting and I don't use my blog to reveal my deepest emotional and mental struggles. But i've been caught in limbo, fed false dawns and since woke up to realize I need to start making things happen. I'm working freelance at the moment, to me and you that means: bits and pieces, when and where needed and for no money. It's all good though cos it's another achievement, another notch on the working bed post, the contact list is building and it sets me apart from the drones of suburbia. HOWEVER, I can go on penniless no longer. It looks like I'm going to have to swallow my pride and get down the recruitment agency. Call me Mr. Temp to Perm! While I wait for the proverbial career start, job of joy, workload of wonder, I must stack some serious cheddar. Bar work, office errand boy, you name it, I'm gonna do it. Just until the job offered becomes a reality, tomorrow is a new day, a new dawn, thanks Giles you've helped me see the light, start the journey and put a smile on my face.

I'M LOOKING FOR A DESIGNER

TO GIVE MY BLOG A MUCH NEEDED LICK OF PAINT... COMMENT IF YOU'RE INTERESTED.

RBK Lounge

Shout out to Mz Bratt, Terror Danjah and Butterz for passing through the RBK Lounge this afternoon. Mz Bratt is doing alot right now, Terror is a grime vet and Butterz is the biggest grime blogger in the game. Pictures and a Video will be up asap. My camera is so swag, it ran out of battery (my fault) but the torrent of abuse it has been dealt over the last couple of years hasn't helped the cause. I've been looking back at some old photos I took with it when it was fresh, they are actually quite good, the ones I've posted are beyond embarrassing. I'm not a photo blogger, but my blog would be more appeasing on the eye if the images came out how I envisioned them to (if that makes any sense)

I need a new camera and then I wouldn't be so reliant on other people, when Butterz sends his stuff my way, it'll be here. I need to get my technology game up to speed, iphone and a new camera are high on the list of priorities right now.

Wretch 32

http://www.mediafire.com/?ydq1mtznhg2
'Wretchibition' offers you a candid insight into who Wretch 32 is as an artist. With short interview segments shedding light on Wretch's past for the newcomers alongside classic material and new bits and pieces this is a heavy tape for both the newcomer and Wretch's already established fan base. It certainly wets the listeners appetite for the debut album, I'm not going to go too deep into what the tapes saying, just download it and enjoy. Oh and more importantly make sure you go and cop 'Wretchrospective' on October 6th.

Check out Wretch's Blog and hit him up on Myspace

BOMB DOWN BROADWAY

The people over at Zoo York put together a BMX race through New York City. A heavy concept, simple and perfectly executed.

Stumbled across it via the bible - HYPEBEAST.

A non-jibberish, kinda interesting, possibly entertaining blog post will be coming this week. (I hope)

Time Out - The 40th Anniversary

A little piece I did for Time Out on Fats Shariff aka Fatsarazzi. The issue is celebrating the 40th Anniversary of the magazine and the theme running throughout this week's publication is that of 'Heroes'. You'll notice Dizzee on the cover, he was one of London's 40 Heroes who makes the city what it is today! It was a pleasure to be involved with such a legendary publication both going there with Diz and then getting the chance to write for them was also great, Time Out is an internationally recognized publication, covering 23 individual cities!!

I Miss My Year In The States

"...In A Gun Battle, Real Badman We Nah War With Nunchuckle"

Shout out to Wan-Cee

Shystie - 'A Milli Freestyle'

Shystie is a sick female MC, I'm feeling this. I quite like her bars over the Bassline track at the very beginning as well. UK Female MC's always give the guys a run for their money, big up Estelle, Ny & Mz Bratt.

"Now I'm Thirteen, Smokin' Blunts, Makin' Cream"

So The Notorious B.I.G bio-pic is soon to be upon us. Now I do hold reservations with regard to this film, however, with the success of '8 Mile', this could be just as important a film for Hip Hop. Yet, one must remember the awful Fiddy bio-pic, I've got a feeling 'Notorious' will fall somewhere in between the two movies. I hope not, as Biggie's debut album 'Ready To Die' is my favorite rap record of all time. His depiction of those early years before rap are so vivid, providing its own unique cinematic experience for the listener. I know a lot of people have questioned Biggie's integrity as a "real" hustler, especially in the wake of Nick Broomfield's documentary, and those questions are going to duly arise once again. This could be a great film, not of 'Goodfellas' or 'Casino' proportions, but in terms of Rap Cinema it could be epic. I do have my doubts and will view with a smash of salt and the most sincere of skepticism. Lets hope it does both Biggie and his music the justice they deserve.

"Me And My Music"

Me And My Music

UK Rap is in a great place at the moment, better than it has been in a long time. Back in the day when I was at school, I used to live and breathe UK Hip Hop from like 2000 onwards I've been all about it. Clearing out my old room yesterday I had to take down the posters and flyers off the wall, some classic UK promo up on there; it made me reminisce. I used to want to break into the UK media and music game so badly and I have since accomplished some of my dreams (no homo) not all of them I must admit but I have worked on classic UK rap records, put on heavyweight nights, and been schooled by pioneers in the scene. I'm not gonna lie, my love has somewhat diminished in recent times, but now the scene is as healthy as its ever been in my opinion. Although, those of the "Kung Fu" era and before will doubt this, I truly do believe its as good now as when Task Force, Jehst, Skinny, Braintax et all were leading the way making their own classic records with a uniquely British take on Hip Hop. I understand that their sound is distinctly different from the sounds of today, the influences and parameters have certainly changed, but London is doing a lot right now.

While many have fallen away, new talents have emerged and the stalwarts are as strong as ever. Here are a few of those doing it right now, alongside what I think of them, some have been featured here before, others haven't - I'll keep it brief:

Roots Manuva
Performed tonight on Jools Holland and his latest record 'Slime & Reason' is as good as anything he has done before, the most consistent recording artist in UK Hip Hop.
Newham Generals
Soon to take Grime and Street Dance Music (for love of a better phrase) to a new plateau.
Wretch
The most talented wordsmith in the country, steadily building a strong following, with unique videos and style to boot, his album 'Wretchrospective' released October 6th is about to break new ground for Hip Hop in this country.
Dizzee Rascal
He's had a No.1 record, pioneered music on an independent level, and simply taken UK Rap to new ground, places, hemispheres, and defined what a British rap is to a whole new generation of kids across the country. Whatever you think of him, he is the greatest rapper to ever come out of the UK, I for one must admit he has done more for UK rap than any other artist, and I still rate him higher than Rodney P, Skinny, Roots Manuva and all the early pioneers just for the simple reasons that he's achieved more than any other rap artist in this country, ever. However you grade that; money, exposure, awards, RECORD SALES.
Sway
He changed how the UK Hip Hop and Grime scenes function, he was the King of the Mixtape. Taking that work ethic and independent ethos to full releases, his second album is set to be bigger and better than anything he's done before, Lil Derek is certainly doing more than O.K.
Sincere
He's been around for a long time, features with Wan-Cee, killed the Itch FM mixtapes back in the day and definitely put in his ground. Now doing it independently he's one to watch, built up a wealth of industry contacts, making moves on MTV Base etc and all on his own label, Y.E is gonna be pushing boundaries, hooked up with Natty on a heavy track he is one to watch.

I could go on and on, about several other artists, but this is a quick blog post and I haven't really thought too much about it, so here are a couple of videos of those less known above, I've missed so many artists out, but thats whats good about our scene right now, its flourishing. Whether grime or rap, it doesn't matter... as long as the swagger is there and the beats and rhymes are on point, I'll continue to support, and will always hold hip hop in this country in high regard... eeerrrrmmm maybe a classic UK Hip Hop post could be on its way... for now enjoy the vids, and hopefully you've enjoyed the rambling rant.

Sincere feat. Natty - 'Once Upon A Time'

Newham Generals - 'Westwood Freestyle'

Wretch 32 - 'Punctuation'




DISCLAIMER: THIS BLOG WAS INSPIRED BY MARK HENRY'S HEAVY TRACK AT THE TOP OF THE POST.

Silverlink feat. Jammer & Badness - 'The Message Is Love'

"SHA TAP!!"

Silverlink ft Jammer and Badness - The Message is Love
by DirtyCanvas

Funk Master Flex Speaks Out On The Black Gary Glitter

All I can say is "WOW!!!!!!" Funk certainly doesn't hold back on the issue, and I for one am extremely pleased he so strongly voices his anger and disgust at Kelly. More people in positions of prominence within the game need to start exerting anger on youtube, regardless of the issue, people need to step up and let us know what they really think about people, issues, whatever. Flex is on one in this clip, if I was Kelly I'd stay clear of the Big Dawg Pit Bull and Hot 97.

The RBK Party

We launched the Reebok Lounge last night. It was a wicked event, the space is fantastic, check some pictures below. I wasn't too trigger happy last nightwith the cyber shot, I'm sure Fats will have some pictures floating about soon for a better perspective of who was there etc. I need to sort out a new camera, and some photography skills might come in handy.










Dude's poncho is pretty crazy - Mexican streetwear at its finest.

I'm feeling very rough today, the booze was flowing fast last night, apologies for any drunken behavior I am not aware of. Shout out to Fats, Kish, Adam Deacon, the New Era girls, Terror Danjah, Mz Bratt, Gwilty and everyone else who passed through. Mz Bratt told me to check out this interview of her, I saw the second part first and this one is just as entertaining. Big up Butterz, always comes correct. She's a great artist and I hope the rest of her tour with Count & Sinden goes well, she deserves a lot of success.

Mz.Bratt Interview Pt.1 from Butterz on Vimeo.

Ante Up

Red Wing

Red Wing have just released an exclusive boot for retailer David Z. I recently bought a pair of Red Wing Chukka Boots after wanting a pair for years. They are really comfy, durable and pretty much everything you would expect from America's leading work boot company. Check these limited 6" plan toe boots, only 48 pairs available and I want them!! Via Hypebeast.

Guest List Is Now Closed, See You There.

Shout Out To Fatlace Magazine

On The Rock'n'Roll

If you've just graduated university, unemployed and searching for a career then this could be the thing for you. If you loath recruitment consultants and are finding it particularly hard during this recession to find employment then why not run away and join the circus?

Lego

As a kid Lego almost rivaled my love of Playmobil. Dun Know the Playmobil! Perhaps I was an odd child, but Playmobil was sick, I used to mix up the sets and create my own gangster adventures. Take one cowboy set, bandanas, guns etc, mix it up with the motor cross bikes and 4X4, and you had arm robberies, gang wars and all sorts of craziness happening on the bedroom carpet. Enough of memory lane and the peculiar mind of a young Nick Lewis, check out how people are now fusing their love of Lego with art, fashion and music.

LEGO CHAINS from Dj Marsta on Vimeo.
UK Clothing label Lyrics4Lyrics have created a large array of items, most notably this Spongebob pendant for Pharrell.

Photographer Balakov takes some really cool pictures, recreating famous images using Lego. They are pretty amazing. you can check him out on Flickr here and a couple of my favorite's below.



Check out The Black Ghosts video for 'Some Way Through This'. It's pretty impressive, I've always wondered how you would go about making a video like this.

Fiddy Can Be Funny

I'm not a fan of 50 really, he's OK, 'Guess Who's Back' is a sick album, but a lot of the time, how he goes on, portrays himself and what not, isn't cool. This however is pretty jokes, I'm with 50 on this one, I'm not feeling the new Kanye record.

Angolan Kuduro

A mix of this crazy hybrid musical mish mash of utter madness that is Angolan Kuduro. Its a bit like Baile Funk, its Brazilian counterpart, enjoy.

Trey Songz - 'Paper Planes Freestyle'

After a slew of remixes, this is the best version, IMO of MIA's 'Paper Planes.' Why so many American artists have flipped this record in the last couple months is a surprise to me as its quite an old record now... I presume MIA's out there doing promo or something... Anyways check Trey Songz killing it below.

"Can you dig it?"

Manchester City Football Club, Hennessy, Russell Brand, Mickey Factz, Butterz's Blog, Folk, Tom Wolfe, Steak Egg & Chips, Nom De Guerre, Marlboro Light Cigarettes, London Fashion Week, Charles Bukowski, The Wire, Ralph Steadman, Irn-Bru, Rag & Bone, Normski Doing Yellow Pages Adverts, Nudie Jeans, Pork Chops, Stone Island, Red Wing Shoes, A Tribe Called Quest, Jay Electronica, Asher Roth, Neil Strauss, Wretch 32, DJ Derek, Rare Groove, The Cool Kids, Curren$y, Robinho, Guinness, Ridiculously Expensive Phone Bills, Rubbish Award Shows, Barack Obama, Getting Excited By Things Coming In The Post, GQ, England, Theo Walcott, Fabio Capello, Hatton Gardens, 83 Rivington Street, Reebok, Parties, Boozing. . .

The MOBO's

Well, arguably, the most irrelevant, condescending, patronizing and worthless award show with regard to the fans has landed once again. Yes you guessed it, (although the picture and title are a slight giveaway) its time for the 2008 Music Of Black Origin awards.

Now I'm not going to rant and rave BUT this award show has more than a FEW floors to say the least.... I'm going to give you 5 of the reasons why I don't like it and I know my little white boy opinion doesn't really matter but this 5 are purely related to this years event:

1.) International Artist as highlighted by the Grime Blog General Butterz its full of yanks! Now don't get me wrong a lot of the artists on the list are great, but come on... I know we live in an exceedingly Americanized (Z for added emphasis) World BUT what about the Caribbean, Canada, Africa... damn any other bloody country just to spice it up a bit... otherwise you might as well just call it the Best American Act Award...

2.) An inconsistency of the number of nominees in each category. 10 nominees for the best International Act with only 5 nominees for the majority of others excluding Best Radio Dj, Best African Act and Best Club Dj. Now you could give more shine to UK acts by offering 10 nominees for Best UK Male...

3.) Irrelevant Nominees. Skepta as Best Newcomer...? Wiley as Best Hip Hop...? Tinchy Stryder, 'Stryderman' as Best Video...? Adele as Best Female...? (She sings, it's a black artform lol)

4.) A distinct lack of Grime! It's been Grime's year, so how come no grime award... If you think of the biggest breakthrough artists this year, in terms of music of black origin, they have come from the Grime scene, so to not to have an award is a PAR.

I BLAME TRIDENT.

5.) No electronic music/or some sort of shine to rave music award. No Drum & Bass, No Dubstep, No Grime

NO VIOLENCE LOL.

If you can be bothered to vote then this is who I hope you vote for:

BEST RADIO DJ - DJ SMETEX. His show is by far the best on radio, although I have a lot of love for Ace & Vis, they really do represent on 1xtra, Sem's show is by far the most groundbreaking, the hottest, interviews, the biggest exclusives, just the right blend of UK & US music, he gets everything right. Big Up Semtex.

BEST CLUB DJ - DJ HOTSTEPPA

Hotsteppa is my mates cousin, I went on Funktion FM with him waaay back when I thought I wanted to be an MC (LMAO - how that flopped) I worked the cloak rooms at his GIRLS GIRLS GIRLS night at Tort's Wine Bar - IF YOU KNOW YOUR RAVES STEPPA ALWAYS COMES CORRECT!!! He is probably one of the biggest promoters in the scene, he does alot.

VOTE FOR HIM AND SEMTEX HERE

H.O.R.S.E.

I lied when I said pictures were coming shortly of my night out on friday, they aren't all that entertaining but i'll probably put up a few of The Killer Meters tomorrow. I haven't even been bothered to put them on facebook yet. So in the mean time check this amazing video, nicked it from Hypebeast. Its the sort of viral that is truly brilliant. Your average, or more than average Joe in this case, beating LeBron James at H.O.R.S.E. What a great idea, obviously they couldn't script LeBron getting beat but the concept is perfect. Now while you watch this, I'm going to continue to browse, trawl, read and watch in the hope of drawing some inspiration from somewhere. Life's almost bordering on the mind-numbingly dull and I need to get writing again, plus it'll be to your benefit. The 15 or so of you who read this might just get treated to an article, maybe an opinion, who knows, just watch LeBron get beat while I worry about the rest and maybe next week you may get something actually worth reading.

Dj Derek

Last night I saw this man



He's my hero, plus he helped me mack on girls, I told them he was my Grandad. It's not lying its flirting. Pictures coming shortly.

Mixed Media

Ignore the crappy at ad at the beginning of this clip, its worth it. Fantastic creative video of some painters from Japan. A lot of time and prep must have gone into this. It really shows you how mixed media platforms can portray totally new stories by way of a combination of art and media. Enjoy.

"Smack That, Whore On The Floor"

Akon doesn't seem to have the best of luck when it comes to live shows and young girls.

Th Junk Merchant

"The junk merchant doesn't sell his product to the consumer, he sells the consumer to the product. He does not improve and simplify his merchandise. He degrades and simplifies the client."

- William S. Burroughs, 'Naked Lunch'.

The Killer Meters @ Cargo (THIS FRIDAY)

I can't wait till Friday! The Killer Meters are playing @ Cargo in Shoreditch, East London. I've got a lot of love for this band, they played my Live SHowcase night in December 2007 @ 93 Feet East. Virgil Howe is on drums, I've known him since my Itch FM days he's also a quality DJ and producer, once of the name Sparo, but since the rise of some waste pop act he's reverted back to his Christian name. Check his work here

Make sure you get down before 9pm for free entry! Also the legendary Andy Smith will be Djing, with a free rare funk BGP 7" giveaway to clutch hold to on the train home, its going to be a wicked night, so make sure you don't miss out!!

To give you a taste of whats going on check the videos below of The Killer Meters and Andy Smith doing their thing.





Hopefully see you there.

Kool Keith - 'Plastic World'

ROBINHO!!!

I can't believe one of the greatest players in world football has just signed for my beloved Manchester City. In a dramatic turn of events, Robinho the Brazilian superstar has ended up at God's very own club. Chelski once held all the power in the market paying extravagant amounts of money for highly rated, critically acclaimed, lavished with praise superstars. Now we have the power!!! An arab consortium have bought out the club and truly made their mark on the world football map! For an interesting read check out Football 365on why September 1st 2008 will be remembered as the day the big 4 died.
The boy's a bit special.

'Head Get Mangled' Video Shoot

Saturday was crazy, up at 5am for the Gens video shoot but it was well worth it. The setting was mental (literally) filmed at an abandoned hospital in Surrey. It had been empty for something like 10 years but looked as if it had been disused for 50! How the director found this location, I don't know, but it was perfect and he definitely came through.
The track is a massive record, its going to blow people away when this drops. I know a few blogs have been getting their sly comments in recently with regard to the wait on the album release, but trust me its coming soon and its going to be well worth the wait, check the pictures.








I've got bare pictures, just realised, oh well I really need to sort out the flickr account. Anyways, don't want to give too much away but this certainly will be the biggest grime video ever made, mark my words.

'DJ Roast presents Rural Hustler'

Been meaning to post this for a while now heavy mixtape from my man DJ Roast, I've known him since my days rolling with the Itch FM family and he always comes correct, nice tape make sure you download it here

DJ Roa$T Build the beat Intro
1.Large pro - Frantic barz
2.DJ revolution feat KRS 1 - The DJ
3.Outkast feat Raekwon - Royal Flush
4.Faktz 1 feat Lil bro - Grown folks
5.NYG'z feat Lady of Rage, Freddie Foxx and Royce 59- Ya dayz
6.Freddie Foxx - How 2 rob 2008
7.Skillz feat Black Thought - Hold Tight
8.Busta Rhymes feat Spliff Starr - Get Busy
9.Jay Z - Jockin Jay Z
10. A track feat Lupe Fiasco and 6th Sense - Me and My Sneakers
11. Uncle Murda - Brooklyn bullshit
Roast UK shouts
12.Cormega feat Red Alert, PMD, Grand Puba, KRS 1 and Big Daddy Kane
13.Statik Selecta feat Styles P, Termanology and Q tip
14.Elzhi - Transitional joint
15.Murs and 9th Wonder - And I love it
16.J-Live feat Posdanous - The Upgrade

Diddy Blogging

His video blogs have got quite entertaining as of late, firstly the outrage at oil prices preventing him from flying his private Jet and now this latest swipe at current affairs is pretty funny. Diddy goes after McCain and some woman from Alaska.