2008

So a December recap of 2008 - It's all a little cliched for me to start throwing up on here my best bits of 2008, so i'll leave that to the guys at BNTL who quite possibly did the best round up of the year online, it made me chuckle, have a butchers, its pretty funny.

So instead of running down the top issues, moments, facts and figures of 2008, I'm going to point you in the direction of those who have truly kept their fingers on the pulse and made blogging a captivating form of expression which has taken over the net this year.

BNTL
A collective of young Londoners (and someone in Birmingham) in the know; giving an insight into Street Wear, Hip Hop, Dubstep and London life. It's witty, pretty well written and the photos are top notch.

Rants Of A Former Robot
Giving a rundown of things stateside, my girl Jenny hits you up with coverage of whatever catches her eye - it's always worth a look especially for her pretty thorough film and TV reviews. Based in Miami this girl knows what's happening in her city and is also pretty much always on point when it comes to fashion and film, a female perspective also makes her blog a refreshing read for me.

The Arab Parrot
The Man, The Myth, The Legend - Arab Parrot is a monster amongst the blogging game! How this guy funds his hedonistic lifestyle of funk and debauchery god only knows, do we really care? No. His photos and witty commentary on nights out in L.A and the Rotten Apple are bloody brilliant, with a dollop of Hip Hop puns and a penchant for 80s movies this guy cracks me up! A particular highlight was his roadtrip post early this month. probably my favorite blog of 2008! Dare I say it!

When it comes to those blogging the music scene, two guys really have led the pack, the infamous DJ Semtex & Butterz have destroyed the blog game in their respective genres of Hip Hop and Grime. You need to watch these guys, Sem is a serious player in UK music, he makes a lot of things happen behind the scenes and works harder than any other DJ and A&R in the country, any young DJ wanting to make it in the industry should watch his moves very carefully. Butterz is a young Grime DJ and correspondent truly making waves in the music game, with the development of Grimepedia, Grime Forum and his own Blog he has taken over from where Prancehall and Hyperfrank left it in 2007 to totally eclipse anything they ever did online for Grime. A talented DJ also, recently gaining his own slot on the notorious Rinse.Fm he's gonna be around for a long time, watch out for him.

They are the people that made the blog game what it is in 2008! A few to mention include DJ MK, Blackdown and Seth Godin.

2008 was a pretty important year for me, I graduated Uni and began my career.

A BIG THANKYOU FOR MAKING 2008 ARE VERY SICK YEAR GO TO THE FOLLOWING:


Cage, Diz, Lady Rach, Padsta, Semtex and the rest of the Dirtee Stank Team for a very big 3 months this summer.

Freewheelin Family - I Owe You ALOT!



Claire @ Timeout

Driving Cabs In B-More

I thought Cappadonna was busy hustling fares in Baltimore??? Well anyways he's obviously put in enough hours behind the wheel in early 08 to squeeze in a few sessions at the studio.



Isn't Ghostface a lovely nice man? Letting pal Cappa wear some of his jewelry in his latest video - 'The Annointing (Slang Editorial Part 2)' - Wu-Tang Forever!

"Wesssssttttttttwoooooooooddd!!!!!"

Regular readers will know I've got love (no homo) for the BIG DAWG Tim Westwood. A legend in the game, Westwood's jumped on the video blog in a real big way, I'm enjoying them, so below is a quick re-cap of the last 3 posts!

Check the previous 3 parts -

No.1


"What was the beautiful thing man, that was for charity and I got paid! So every time I see a homeless person I give them a pound, its going to last all year."

No.2


"Big block baby, understand what that means!"

No.3


"Homeless looking real fly right now!"

"Can I Kick It?"

French Prankstar Remi Gaillard is an absolute legend!

FOOT 2008 (REMI GAILLARD)
by nqtv

Check his other videos here particularly like his real life Mario Kart!

And a little Tribe just for good times!



Shout Out to Street Writer!

Pete With Premo

Pete Rosenberg brother of Paul Rosenberg (the man behind Eminem) catches up with Premo. Check it out.

Adele: 1988

'Adele: 1988' is the latest Mixtape project from Mick Boogie and is about to drop tomorrow.



After the success of Viva La Hova Mick turns his hand to a safe middle of the road, middle-england record and flips it with a Hip Hop twist, enlisting the help of producers 6th Sense, The Kickdrums, Garbs Infinite, Remot and nVMe with guest vocals courtesy of Big Pooh of Little Brother, Naledge of Kidz in the Hall and a few others yet to be revealed.

Check the preview video below, when it drops into that Slick Rick it really wets the appetite for what the rest of the project will entail.


Mick Boogie presents... Adele: 1988 from MickBoogie on Vimeo.

Available for free download Wednesday, December 17 so pass through Mick's blog to pick it up and also check out what's going on with one of Hip Hop's finest Mixtape curators and DJ supremos!

The Future Sight Of London: Nico Hogg

You have to check out Blackdown's interview with Nico Hogg, a fantastic piece on a truly amazing photographer. The interview has re-instated my faith in blogs, its a great double post from one of Dub-Step's finest.

Nico Hogg's images truly portray an informed, honest perspective of London's streets, his view and interpretation of the city is steeped in artistic integrity, read the interview here: part 1, part 2. It will truly inspire.

Triffic TV

Since the end of Sopranos and The Wire a massive void has taken some time to fill on the TV front. I've flirted with the West Wing, delved a little deeper with Entourage and neither truly sufficed. I do enjoy the West Wing and Entourage is easy enough viewing and can be quite funny albeit overtly corny, slapstick with no shame. I like the concept, what self-respecting male wouldn't like going to parties, sleeping with beautiful women and giving all his mates jobs in his crew while he sets out to concur Hollywood with little or no effort. West Wing is a whole lot of walking from room to room, an interesting pursuit of the inner-workings of the White House and with Martin Sheen as President adds a nice touch, but neither D.C nor LA truly engross me the way the Sopranos and The Wire captured my imagination for 6 and 5 series respectively.



This however is amazing television, something truly crafted with care and grace, Mad Men is easily the best way to spend the cold, wet, and dark evenings leading up to Christmas. While the credit-crunch nips and bites, stay in, relax and watch a truly gripping, daring drama. Set in 1960s New York, care-free smoke happy advertising executives battle it out for top dog and unprecedented glory. Chauvinism is rife, so is the booze, young PAs get seduced by the suits and slick talking, this is a sexually charged, fast flowing drama of the highest merit. If you haven't watched it; start! A must view for anyone interested in good writing, better acting, wit, humor, slick-suits, fast talking hotshots and the beginning of mass-consumption, mass-media led advertising.

And Thats The Way It Is

Blogs for when I'm feeling creative, twitter for the randomness on road, and lastfm to peep what's playing on the pod. I'm getting my internet game back on track, I've been slipping. WATCH THIS SPACE...



Big Up the ATG crew, The I (L) Haringey is doin alot on the way to work!

TWITTER

I've joined Twitter, my blog has been slowing down lately in a big way, so busy with work and life that its been neglected, stay in touch with THE SHAPE OF THINGS TO COME on www.twitter.com/tsottc

Albannach

I am going to be having a very scottish new year! Plenty of Irn-Bru, deep-fried Mars Bars, and Super Tennents!



"See You! With your haircut and your O-Level!"

Sunil Pawar

I'm back in London and Thursday nights are alright for arting. eeeerm not sure about the Elton John pun! But I'm back in town, buoyant from some very exciting news today (all will be revealed in good time) and very much looking forward to checking Sunny's latest show.

Sunil is the creative director over at Freewheelin', my old employers (must change the about me blurb) I've been waiting for this show for awhile, a great DJ, great artist and a cool guy to be around.