The Team EDITOR-in-chief
Andy Forrester, andy@beatzmag.com
Since the last issue one of the biggest events in the musical calender came to pass, The grammys. Here are some of our favourite tweets from the night.
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Ayaz Hussain, yaz@beatzmag.com
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Contributors
Simon Phelan Sham Makhecha Tom Wilkinson Rory Foster Chardae’ Jones Lasé Anthony Laleye George Rowland Sam Maffia Anthony Doone Yasmin La Ronde Natasia Cuffy Ciaran Thapar
Interviewers
Ayaz Hussain Laurens Haines
Fashion Editors Jessica Pierce Helen Healy
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Twe e
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Proof that Michael Jackson is the Greatest Musician Ever..Just Listen 2 Baby Be Mine. Period. - @nas Hip Hop legend, Nas, tweets his appreciation for the late, great Michael Jackson. 4 B e a t z M a g a z i n e - w w w. b e a t z m a g . c o m
f O t
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Editors Letter Another few months have flown past and after some more big changes we’re back again with another great issue! You may notice that we have launched an all new Android app on the Google Play marketplace, meaning that you can take Beatz with you when you are on the move (IPhone App is coming soon!). And as always, if you see a Beatz Mag logo on a page within the mag, click on it to unlock exclusive content. This fourth issue of Beatz Magazine is dedicated to the city I grew up in, our fair capital and centre for all things happening within the UK, London. No other city is quite as multi-cultural or musically diverse as London. Ranging from grime music originating in the East, to hip-hop in the North, a few sparks of soul in the South and a mixture of all those and more in the West, why shouldn’t we dedicate this issue to London? Traditionally, the US scene has been the hub of all music releases and the UK simply bumps what the US artists are making, but not for much longer. It feels like we’re at the turning point of the UK’s inferiority to the US, with our capital leading by example. London based artists are competing and collaborating with US artists all the time now so let’s break down the UK’s brightest stars. To do this, we’ve brought you a special one-off feature, where we’ve taken the familiar looking Tube Map and wiped off all the stations and replaced them with rappers and singers names; with each tube line being categorised by genre. For the hardcore music critics, don’t take offence to the map, its purpose is to entertain and try link together some of London’s music scene. Oh, and in case you were wondering after all this talk about London, why an American artist is on the cover? You need to open your music history book again. Brian McKnight is a legend in the R&B game, it was an honour to interview him! So check out our latest issue with interviews with Fugative, Angel, Gracious K, Roxxxan, Juliyaa and Brian McKnight himself !
Andy F.
Editor wish-list > Samsung Galaxy s III, Free/£499 My mobile phone contract upgrade date is almost due and as a person that likes to keep up with the latest technology, I have decided to go for the Phone of the year, the Samsung S III, a phone that I find to be amazing!
< Tomb Raider, PS3, XBox 360 & Pc, £30 This new Tomb Raider game is a reboot of the hugely popular adventure franchise. It is a great game to get the mind working ahead of working!
< Jean Paul Gaultier Le Male Eau de Toilette Spray, £35 for 75ml I am a huge fan of Jean Paul Gaultier and this spray is one of my favourites. A fresh and sexy scent combining virility and sensitivity, perfect for spring!
Disclaimer: While every effort is made to ensure the information in this magazine is correct, changes can occur which affect the accuracy of copy, for which Beatz holds no responsibility. The opinions of the contributors do not necessarily bear a relation to those of Beatz Magazine or it’s staff and we disclaims liability for those impressions
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win
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A Life Of Grime The rise and fall of Grime.
Fashion We bring you some of the hottest fashion items around
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Win A Beanie!
r o t i Ed s Pick
P60 Guns, Gucci And Grey Goose The ridicule of the rap game.
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CONTENTs Regulars
Interviews
08 Gossip Sam Maffia breaks down the hottest gossip of recent weeks. 33 Advice From An A&R Island Records A&R, Benjimen Scarr, gives advice to unsigned artists. 54 It’s a UK thing Some of the best unsigned UK talent gets a chance to speak. Leanne Louise is the first to feature.
Articles CRIME SCENE DO NOT CROSS
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10 Guns, Gucci And Grey Goose The ridicule of the rap game. 12 The London Issue We present the Urban Underground. 14 The Transition Of Soul & R&B A look at how urban music has changed over the last 10 years.
46 Gracious K Gracious chats about the craze of his “Migraine Skank”, his maturing sound and Tinie Tempah.
20 A Life Of Grime The rise and fall of Grime.
52 Juliyaa The soul singer talks about her upbringing with various genres of music and her EP “Stars and Dragons”.
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A Life Of Grime
40 Roxxxan The rapper talks to us about femcees in the male dominated rap scene. 43 Fugative Fugative tells us about his diversity and how the UK hip-hop scene compares to the US scene.
48 Brian McKnight The 16 time Grammy nominee gives his thoughts on todays music scene and his upcoming 15th studio album.
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Brian McKnight The 16 time Grammy nominee gives his thoughts on todays music scene and his upcoming 15th studio album
16 Ten Years Of London Music We bring you the artists who helped change the London music scene.
22 Streets, Beats and Greens Professor Green’s life before music. 23 N-Dubz Will they ever actually reform? 24 Leona Lewis A look at how she mastered her craft. 26 Josh Osho He has a fighting spirit. 28 Tinie On Tempah, But Not On Style Tinie is back from his two year hiatus.
56 Top 6 We pick out 6 of the top up-and-
31 Example From garage raves to sold out tours.
58 Reviews Beatz’ music critic has his say on recent music releases.
34 Jessie J The singer is ready to take over.
32 Angel It’s about time to release his album.
coming London born artists.
60 Fashion We bring you some of the hottest fashion items on sale now.
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36 Photography 3 amazing pieces of photography from Gregory Moore.
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Gossip By Sam Maffia
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o there is one chick in the game that I seriously do not understand. She goes by name of Azealia Banks. One of her features on the mixtape was UK femcee Shystie. When Shystie and Banks collaborated together for the Fantasea mixtape they also found time to record the notorious and controversial Control It taken from Shystie’s up & coming Pink Mist EP. On Twitter both women seemed to be the best of friends, and Azealia even classified Shystie as ‘the baddest bitch’ (an Azealia compliment),
however, the friendship seems to have taken a different direction when Shystie released the official video for Control It. The video and track received praise from bloggers and fans alike leading it to trend on Youtube, but big mouth Banks had to dampen everything by tweeting “This control it video is sooooo bogus, so unoriginal, so not Azealia.” Whether or not the video is up to Banks’ standards is irrelevant, Shystie is an independent artist so doesn’t have the label backing and finance from Interscope Records. One
Won various awards this month including Brit’s and Grammys Number one in various countries with Suit & Tie and Mirrors Has just launched her clothing range in River Island
sold out reunion gig at the IndigO2
Signed a deal to Mercury Records
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Beatz Magazine’s own gossip columnist Sam Maffia breaks down the hottest gossip of recent weeks.
question I would want to ask is why agree to feature on an independent artist’s track and expect a Michael Jackson type of video? Was it because ‘Control It’ was better than half of Bank’s discography? Or did Shystie show Banks that regardless of budget, she can always overshadow any artist via her lyrical content? What annoys me the most about the situation is that Azealia Banks was in Shystie’s position once before as an independent artist. Has she forgotten her roots?
Showed up 2 hours late to a Gig
poor Album sales for latest album, Warrior
poor Album sales for R.E.D
Twitter beef with Every female artist & Her Management fist fight with Frank Ocean
Would bring not only the talent factor to the show, but also with her funny side. Saturday nights would be funny as well as a cringy.
Like Tulisa, Dizzee Rascal would help push the X-Factor towards a more urban direction.
Just to annoy the UK in general. Cher Lloyd is actually quite big in America and she has a habit of speaking without worrying what people think.
Her honesty and bluntness would bring something new to the show. She doesn’t jump on the bandwagon like other judges and has enough experience to find the next superstar.
Yes, Nas’ ex wife, and milkshake bar owner, oh and singer. Kelis would be perfect because like Mel B, she doesn’t hold back with her opinion. maagg..ccoom m -- BBeeaattzz M Maaggaazziinnee 99 wwwwww..bbeeaattzzm
A
lot of popular hip-hop artists today give the impression that when they’re not in the studio, all they do is buy luxury goods, get laid and commit murder. Rick Ross has probably attempted to do all three at once, surfing the Christian Louboutin website on his iPad for crocodile skin loafers, while he lazily lays underneath a woman in bed, shooting a pistol blindly out of the window at passing pedestrians for
good measure. It’s the exaggerated violence that is becoming most dated, almost to the point where it’s comical. If even a fraction of the claims about rapper murder rates turned out to be anywhere near true, then mass emigrations would turn great American cities such as Los Angeles, Detroit, New York and Philadelphia into ghost towns. MMG rapper Meek Mill is a prime example, as he was sentenced on gun possession.
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However, it’s sincerely unlikely Meek hangs up his microphone at the end of a long day and shoots his way home like Clint Eastwood on speed. It would be way too risky, as one of his precious Audemars Piguet watches might get scratched as he hurls himself into cover behind the door of his ride. In fact, considering that ride is probably a Rolls Royce Phantom with expensive custom rims and limited acceleration, but it’s doubtful that he’d ever drive it into
Words by Tom Wilkinson
There’s more to hip-hop than guns, Gucci and Grey Goose!
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it’s sincerely unlikely Meek Mill hangs up his microphone at the end of a long day and shoots his way home like Clint Eastwood on speed.
the line of fire at all – “Bitch, do you know how much it costs to repair bullet holes in treated Napa leather seats?!” The music they are producing is of high quality; ghetto youths have been torturing their car speakers for three years now with increasingly ominous and aggressive ghetto-funk beats, to the sounds of Self Made: Vol 2. However, the limited lyrical scope is beginning to look more out of date than Lord Finesse’s claim to
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royalties, in the face of more varied content coming from alternate sources such as Britain and Canada. The soul searching flows of Drake and The Weeknd are well documented and celebrated, demonstrating that in between playing ice hockey, drinking maple syrup and saying ‘ay’ after everything, these Canadians can use hip-hop as a true art form to explore their complex relationships with women, fame and temptation.
However, what’s really starting to make the Americans look dated is the emerging urban scene in London; a melting pot of genres and big names, such as Tinie Tempah, sitting alongside up and coming artists like Kwamz. The collaborations seem fresher, and the lyrics go far beyond buy, shag or kill everything. Even when Tinie does make references to his immense personal wealth, he seems to do it with a certain British class. His lyric in Till I’m Gone alongside Wiz Khalifa reads: “Yeah, I’m honest, I landed in a rocket, with a crown inside my watch and a silver B sign on my bonnet”. This is a far cry from some of some of Rick Ross’s blatant brandname-dropping lines, which literally sound like he got bored of detailing his gun-toting adventures through the hood mid-song in the studio, and started reading from a Harrods catalogue instead. This generation of ultra-cocky superstar rappers are an inspiration for people all over the world, who are looking to reap the benefits of hard work and rise to success from humble beginnings; however, they are in danger of getting old. How long can they keep convincing everyone that they continually risk their lives, complete with their amazing achievements, in daily gunfights? That would be like Mark Zuckerburg flying out to Serbia at weekends to participate in underground knife fighting tournaments. It isn’t hard to keep it fresh, just mix it up a bit and show us a bigger variety of the amazing lives you lead. Maybe Meek Mill should start spitting about how he wipes the floor with Wale during their weekly tennis game at the Palm Springs health club, but how it’s ok because he always lets the DC boy win at Halo during boys night. Also, more transatlantic collaborations with their London counterparts can only be a good thing. Forget Kanye and his French escapades, there’s only one European capital city rappers should be visiting from now on for inspiration - London!
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KEY TO LINES Electronica Soul Hip-Pop R&B Dance Electro Pop Pop Grime
W us.
elcome to the Urban Underground, we hope you enjoy your journey and have a pleasant travelling experience with
Service Information Update This tube map has been adapted to match artists of a similar genre onto the same line. We can understand that no artist likes to be put in a genre defining box so take this map with a pinch of salt, we
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don’t mean to offend any artists! Remember, whenever you see a Beatz logo you can click to visit that page! To begin your tour, take the Grime Line Northbound and change at Misha B onto the Soul Line heading Eastbound. Our first stop is at Bleeding Love Hospital to visit the sexy Dr Leona Lewis. After a thorough musical examination of the X-Factor winner’s music, we continue the tour heading eastwards. Our next journey takes us from
to Taio Cruz Close on the Dance Line through Example, to sample the Evolution Of Man exhibition, an eclectic exploration of dance music with strong production and vocals. After spending a few hours at the listening pleasure of Elliot Gleave we make our way to visit Tinie Temple for a spot of tea in the delightful Milk and Two Sugars Café. We Disc-overed this place in late 2011 and there’s been recent confirmation of a new store opening in 2013 called Demonstation!
After filling up on good, zip eastbound on the Grime Line passing through the casino district at P Money and beware of the Bassline Junkie’s at Dizzee Row before Preparing To Land at Roxxxan Road. After releasing an EP last year the Brummie femcee has moved down to London to make waves on her dubstep grime movement! Get really engaged with her story and perspective on the industry and her upcoming release Wavey. Change over the R&B Rail
and head Northbound passing through the Wonderful future of R&B showcase situated between Josh Osho and Angel! Change onto the Hip Pop Line at Rizzle Kicks and take a short trip to the shopping district at Jessie Junction – but mind the hefty Price Tags! Afterwards make yourself Green with envy as the Professor invites you to his crib, At Your Inconvenience before making your way home. We hope you enjoyed travelling on the Urban Underground!
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THE TRANSITION O s
oul and R&B is the main origin of music throughout the world and so much is owed to this genre which has transformed London into the thriving music scene it is to this day. Without the R&B era of music, we would not have the same music industry of 2013 with a vast diversity of music that can be classed within the confines of R&B and itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s sub-genres. The past ten years have shown that with the constant growth in music genres; soul and R&B music have taken a back seat, to be replaced with dance and hip-hop, as well as other hybrid genres. With the constant change in popular genres, there always seems to
be a place for everyone, but it wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t always like this. If you wanted to be a musician in the 90s, it was the norm to be a fan of soul and R&B as this was the type of music to be associated with. But ten years later, where has it all gone? The soul and R&B scene is thriving no more; replaced by pop, hip-hop and dance, which have overshadowed what was once the bread and butter of the music industry. Now, the once most popular genre is categorized as retro, linking itself towards the old school classic section of your local music store. It is seen as the music your parents and even grandparents listened to;
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OF SOUL AND R&B as opposed to the modern youth generation. The birth of soul and R&B came and departed, but the generation of soul was clearly a world apart from computerised backing tracks and state of the art music production suites. From rhythm and blues, to rap and bass, R&B has transformed over the past ten years. It is no longer associated with what it once was, now R&B is known to be twinned with basslines and rap verses. Artists like Paloma Faith, Amy Winehouse and Emeli Sandé are all categorized as either R&B and soul artists and it is British artists like these, which are storming the London
music scene and taking over the new sense of soul and R&B. If you’re looking for a new Beverly Knight or even a better sounding Seal, then you’re ten years too late. The scene has drifted and it is now housed with pop and grime genres, who are blasted through our lives 24/7 as if it is a race to ensure that someone makes it. It’s goodbye to the rhythm and blues vibe and hello to constant beats that will be sure to send anyone insane. A city that has moved away from the real meaning of music, lurching towards money and fame, the true sense of soul and R&B is lost in translation.
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2003
Ten years of
Wiley, aka Richard Kylea Cowie, rose to fame as a
grime MC, a member of Boy Better Know he went on to produce tracks like ‘Wearing My Rolex’, ‘Never Be Your Woman’ and ‘Heatwave’, Later hailed as the ‘Godfather of Grime’.
2006
Devlin started his career by
working with a group of Grime MC’s including Wretch 32 in the group The Movement. The album ‘Tempo Specialists’ was Devlin’s gateway onto commercial radio.
Labrinth, aka Timothy McKenzie,
exploded onto the music scene writing, producing and featuring on Tinie Tempah’s bassy number one smash, ‘Pass Out.’ all about it’ in 2011.
2011
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2010
Ed Sheeran's global popularity
exploded when he collaborated with Devlin, Wiley, Professor Green and Wretch 32. His 2011 debut album ‘+’ was certified quintuple platinum in the UK.
Ten years of london
Ten music years of london london music don 2008
2006
2005
2008 2006
2008 2010 Professor Green was signed to The Beats; a record
Kano took his first step into stardom
when he was scooped up by the N.A.S.T.Y. Crew which consisted of Kano, Jammer, D Double E, Ghetto, Stormin, Mak 10, Sharky Major & Hyper.
2011
2005
label run by Mike Skinner aka The Streets, until the label terminated 2008. He rose to success after winning The Jump Off rap battle in 2008. Following this he worked on Lily Allen’s 2009 tour then on his track ‘Just Be Good To Green’ which peaked at number five in the UK chart.
2010 2009 2009 when she featured on Chip(munk)’s Emeli Sandé stepped into the limelight
‘Diamond Rings,’ creating their first UK top ten single. In 2010 she guested on Wiley’s ’Never Be Your Woman’ and on Professor Green’s ‘Read all about it’ in 2011.
2011 2012
2012
Rita Ora has three number-one singles ‘R.I.P’ with Tinie
Tempah, ‘Hot Right Now’ with DJ Fresh and ‘How We Do (Party)’ so it may be a surprise that her first releases were relatively quiet. She featured on Craig David’s 2007 track ‘Awkward’ and then in 2008 she guested alongside Tinchy Stryder on Craig’s ‘Where’s Your Love’.
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013
2013 2013
2013
Maverick Sabre’s music career leaped forward when Plan B suggested he move back to London to pursue his dreams and expose his unique voice and guitar playing talent to the masses. After the success of his 2011 album Lonely Are The Brave, Maverick gets ready for his second album to drop this year!
K Koke is part of one of England’s most popular underground rap crews U.S.G. His first mixtape ‘Pure Koke Volume One’ was an underground success not only gaining him critical acclaim within the UK rap scene and but also drawing the attention of Jay Z, who signed him to his label Roc Nation. His debut album I Ain’t Perfect is expected in 2013!
Tinie Tempah aka Patrick Chukwuemeka Okogwu burst onto the mainstream scene when his debut single ‘Pass Out’ entered the charts at number one. The followup singles ‘Frisky’ and ‘Written in the Stars’, stormed clubs and radios nationwide. Get ready for his 2013 project Demonstation!
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Josh Kumra, an artist refered as a future UK soul star, has announced his debut album “Good Things Come To Those Who Don’t Wait” which is definitely a project to look forward to! Releasing his Helicopters and Planes EP featuring K Koke last year; this is one seriously talented guitarist with a twist.
Wretch 32, aka Jermaine Sinclair, grew up Tottenham, North-London. With two huge singles Don’t Go (Ft Josh Kumra) & Unorthodox (Ft Example) on his debut album Black & White; Wretch readies his 2013 takeover once again!
Katy B’s debut single ‘On A Mission’ and her album of the same title brought the dubstep sound to the masses, but will her second album have a totally different sound? Collaborating with Magnetic Man (Skream, Benga & Artwork) was intrumental in her career but Katy insists this album will have less of a dubstep sound? What can be expected from the young Peckham starlet?
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CRIME SCENE DO NOT CROSS
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A Life Of Grime I
t was conceived over a decade ago. A naked, raw explosion of sound from the council estates of east London, grime has split and evolved whilst permeating British low culture to such an extent that its origins are often overlooked. What aspects of the city gave rise to the genre, and how did its past lead to its present? The grime scene loyalists nostalgically welcomed Tinchy Stryder and collective Ruff Sqwad’s ‘White Label Classics’ compilation album release at the end of last year. Much has changed since producers Rapid and Dirty Danger would experiment with archetypal, gritty instrumentals on PCs as teenagers. The year 2002 witnessed the birth of a certain honest creativity: a natural product of east London’s energetic youth. This demographic was unknowingly laying the foundations for what would soon crystallize into a musical genre and urban sub-culture. The 1990s sung with the upbeat, celebratory sound of UK garage. But soon after the turn of the millennium, things changed. Collectives Heartless Crew and So Solid Crew added intrusive bass lines and offensive lyricism to the formula. London’s champagne-dance party scene, which garage had pioneered, was being corrupted by jungle-rave anger. Sounds were merging.
I
Ironically just next to London’s symbol of economic dexterity, Canary Wharf, the deprived area of Bow and its booming pirate radio culture embraced the new musical direction. Prominent stations such as Rinse FM and Déjà vu were headed by a host of DJs including Geeneus, Target and the most successful celebrator since, Logan Sama. The rising availability
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The resultant fiery exchanges between adolescent individuals and crews, captured in the ‘Lord of the Mics’ video series, epitomised the scene’s reliance upon raw competition.
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of production software between 2002 and 2004 allowed for the exploration of a less polished, darker instrumental sound, and made it easy for MCs to flock and express their shared urban ills. The resultant fiery exchanges between adolescent individuals and crews, captured in the ‘Lord of the Mics’ video series, epitomised the scene’s reliance upon
raw competition. East London was grime’s incubator at birth, and as the sound matured it became more refined and appreciated. Dizzee Rascal’s critically acclaimed debut album, ‘Boy In Da Corner’, in 2003 was the first real sign that grime could achieve commercial success. He and Wiley, as leading members of originator crew Roll Deep, took the disturbing, anti-establishment glint in Bow’s eye to become warring figureheads of the movement. Grime soon became a sub-generation’s voice, and thus navigated it’s way from E3, postcode to postcode, all around the capital and beyond. So what has become of grime? Since the early-mid 2000s a significant cultural transformation has taken place. Like any expressive movement built on rebellion against the system, much like American hip hop in the 80s and 90s, grime soon became fashionable. The British popular culture machine, married with the hunger and security of London’s suburban middle-class, adopted Bow’s baby. Grime remained the voice of the youth producing it, but gained an expanding, separate audience. A musical consequence of its cultural expansion has been the disjointedness that now plagues grime in 2013. In an attempt
Justin Timberlake’s ‘The 20/20 Experience’ Scores fifth biggest debut of this decade
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Words by Ciaran Thapar
Basements. Council flats. Pirate radio. Night buses. Hats. Hoods. Camera phones. Raves. Knives. Youth. Anger. Rebellion. Competition. Survival. London.
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at chart recognition, suddenly materialistic ‘electro-grime’ and synth-infested dance elements appeared after Wiley’s ‘Wearing My Rolex’ in 2008. These have intermittently persisted since: note his recent release with Chip[munk], ‘Reload’. The house-electro-dubsteppop fusion that started surfacing in 2010 - now somehow quite hilariously brainwashing parts of the musical consciousness across the Atlantic, too - has made ex-Channel U romantic Tinie Tempah a star. Wretch 32 and Devlin have become domestic household names, having compromised with a broadly popular style. They are far gone from their 2005 collective The Movement which also featured Ghett[o] and Scorcher. Using dubstep’s compatible darkness and tempo, P Money and Newham Generals have gained recognition in a broader rave-scene context that is natural to grime. Additionally, although not directly from the same sound, artists like Giggs and Cas have spawned from the MC culture, endorsing the heavy, electronic behemoth of new school hip hop production. Entering 2013, music that holistically retains grime’s fundamental elements is hard to come by. A wealth of rushed, lacking material pours out of London with only a few exceptions. Tempa T’s group Slewdem smashed it with their latest project ‘Playground Vocal’. It is outside London where most of the genuine grime production now takes place. Birmingham has taken real grime - aged, battered and vulnerable – and given it a modern home. Talented producer Preditah leads the way, having released his ‘Gears of Grime EP’ in December. Additionally, the fierceness and energy of artists such as Sox and Dapz on the Map is loosely reminiscent of east London over a decade ago. But grime’s original soul may now be over-exhausted. The question is: can the same snowballing momentum that propelled the genre’s youthful voice to the forefront of British music in 2003 be replicated? Sadly, I doubt it.
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PROFESSOR GREEN
Streets, Beats and Greens
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began. He was spotted by Mike Skinner from The Streets, who signed him up to his record label, The Beats, which went bust shortly after so the songs were not released. It was around this time when Professor Green, as he had now become known, suffered personal agony when his dad tragically committed suicide. It was a turning point in his life, and he decided to stop smoking and dealing. This difficult upbringing for the Professor was expressed in his second studio album, ‘At Your Inconvenience’. This made the overall album more emotional than his first work ‘Alive Till I’m Dead’ and Pro Green himself has stated that the album helped him come to terms with his fathers’ death. A particularly emotional song from the album is ‘Read All About It’, featuring Emeli Sandé, which is completely different to the music that came before it and was a pleasant but unexpected transition from the lyrical freestyler. They say the background and upbringing of an artist defines their music, and there is surely no greater example of this than Professor
The Weeknd announces new album title ‘Kiss Land’
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Green. He has overcome so much in such a short time-frame, and by singing about and confronting his past, he became a UK number one selling artist.
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They say the background and upbringing of an artist defines their music, and there is surely no greater example of this than Professor Green. He has overcome so much in such a short time-frame
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Words by Simon Phelan
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orn in Hackney, North London, Stephen Manderson, who is better known as Professor Green, was a rebellious child with an eye for trouble. Leaving school at an incredibly early age, Stephen started smoking marijuana. This habit grew into something more when he began dealing, but who knew that that nickname ‘Green’, a slang term for marijuana, would stick with him through his transition to the big stage. The start of his journey can be attributed to how and where he lived, as his first taste of rapping was at a house party when he was challenged to a freestyle battle. Rapping came to him naturally, and he began to compete in freestyling competitions, where he was spotted by a scout at the Jump Off; a southLondon based battleground for MCs. He was crowned the first MC rap battle champion at Jump Off after winning seven straight battles and had an overall success rating of 92%! It was at a Jump Off event where the next chapter in Stephen’s life
N-DUBZ Will the UK Hip Hop group finally set a reform date?
Words by Lasé Antony Laleye
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ince 2005 N-Dubz have taken the UK music scene by storm, with their ‘in your face’ personalities and relatable music. The band has already delivered three top selling albums and countless successful singles, and have now carved their own solo careers. Dappy, Tulisa and Fazer are from Camden Town, in North London. Camden is famous for attracting a diverse array of people, and it has a range of street markets. The togetherness of Camden’s diverse population gave N-Dubz the platform they needed to show off their talents, and made the entertainment world more accessible for them. The trio grew up in a run down and rough part of Camden, which is similar to other parts of the city and often surrounded by and involved in things such as gang culture, drugs and violence. It is this type of environment that the grime genre originated in, and you can hear a strong influence of that in early N-Dubz songs such as Better Not Waste My Time, Love for My Slum and Defeat You, as well as in, So Alive, a track on their most recent album, which features grime artist Skepta. However, while N-Dubz has an original sound, they haven’t been scared to experiment with other genres such as pop, hip-hop and rock, and this may be because Camden is a quirky town, which has been influenced by a variety of sources. The Camden music scene is home to a mixture of music styles, from classical to punk rock and everything in-between; so N-Dubz will have been exposed to a wide range of genres. Songs such as I
Need You and Cold Shoulder have dance music elements, while Dappy has a song with rock legend Brian May. Both Dappy and Tulisa’s family are originally from Greece, and the group has highlighted that in their music too, with the tropical sounding Let Me Be on their second album, which features a Greek rapper. N-Dubz is a truly unique sounding group, which can draw on a range of
influences simply because they have grown up in one of London’s most diverse spots. It is because of this that they have been so successful, and it is a formula which they will continue to use for as long as possible. Tulisa and Dappy have both released debut albums, so with Fazer about to complete his, will a reunion be on the horizon?
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eona Louise Lewis was raised in the London Borough of Islington. Not necessarily an area of London which one would associate with the provenance of English musical talent. We always hear about boroughs like Camden & Hackney for example. But then again, Leona Lewis isn’t your typical artist. Suffice to say she didn’t have a charmed life, but her parents worked hard to send her to several prestigious musical schools. She was enrolled in the Sylvia Young Theatre School at the tender age of five. Clearly they knew this girl had something! As did she, deciding that she wanted to be a singer at the age of six. From there, she attended the Italia Conti Academy, where she became accustomed to performing live; moving onto the Ravenscourt Theatre School and the renowned Brit School for Performing Arts and Technology. So whereas some of the artists who we are looking at in this issue spent their youth facing adversity, involved in crime or drugs or who prevailed from broken homes before
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rising to fame, Leona was mastering her craft: she was singing opera from 9 years old. So for those who thought that her victory in the third series of the X Factor created a talent out of nowhere, you are quite mistaken. Leona had been chasing that coveted record deal, alongside working a handful of jobs, for a number of years, to the extent that she recorded a demo named “Twilight”. This was never released. It is clear that this operatic style is still formative in her music as an adult. Whilst she has ventured into more commercially-biased music – take her 2008 Top 10 track Forgive Me as an example – her music is to a large extent based in ballads. Nothing says “Leona Lewis” like an emotive song, building to a crescendo, with an extremely difficult note that only the likes of Mariah Carey or Whitney Houston could dream of hitting. Footprints In The Sand and Happy epitomise this. Her classical training not only shows in her incredible vocal ability, but also in the subject matter of her
music. As well as developing her voice, Leona started early when it came to writing lyrics too, putting pen to paper for the first time aged twelve. As a girl, Leona liked to tell stories through her music: she daydreamed and imagined and escaped into her own mind. And she has managed to retain this is her music today, singing songs about hope (Whatever It Takes), optimism (Better In Time) and love (Angel) and naming her second album “Echo” after a figure in Greek mythology. What’s more, you have to wrack your brains to think of a Leona Lewis song which is overtly sexual, uses explicit language or conveys arrogance. From her humble beginnings, and ambitious stage dreams as a girl, Leona Lewis’ music has retained that innocence, imagination and positivity, making her a refreshing artist. We haven’t heard much from the singer for a little while, so fingers crossed that whatever she brings out next speaks to the young girl, dreaming of making it big.
Diddy named hip-hop’s wealthiest artist by Forbes for 3rd year in a row
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Words by Natalie Montezuma
LEONA LEWIS
search â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;beatz magazineâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;
Available on tablets & smartphones
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n recent years the words ‘unique’ and ‘individual’ are often used to describe those who couldn't be less worthy. It has become a fashion in youth and urban cultures to stand out as much as possible in order to fit in. Quite the paradox it sounds on paper, but applicable to the majority; you will see this every day in clothing, social media personalities and music. As different as artists such as Nicki Minaj, Lady GaGa, and LMFAO seem to be, they couldn't be more generic. It is for this reason, that finding the words to describe someone or something which is a genuine new flavour becomes a frustrating task, this leads us to South London born Josh Osho, a fresh blend of artist, spawned from years
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of different experiences and influences to create something which is truly (and I hate to say it) - unique. Osho went through the twist and turns of coming from a religious Nigerian family, to spending time living at drug infested hostel, the Ebenezer Hotel, during his mid-to-late teens. It was around this time that Osho began to discover himself artistically, learning guitar and writing music to help him during his struggle. If you listen to Redemption Days featuring Ghostface Killah, you will notice empowering lyrics which convey messages such as ‘make something for yourself using the cards you have been dealt in life’. You will also see a wise perspective on the difference between wanting success and
Tupac Shakur’s mother to release his “Entire Body of Work”
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working for success, detailed in Giants featuring Childish Gambino. This is testament to Josh's maturity as not only an artist, but a person - to be able to take the good from the bad, to not wither when you are thrown a curve ball, but instead to mould it into your own piece of creativity. It is also worth noting Osho's persona when put in front of a camera or a journalists pen. He displays a true sense of intelligence, easily distinguishable from that of someone in the academic world. Josh Osho talks with real eloquence that can only be gained from needing to mature early and quickly, and knowledge that can only be discovered at the ‘university of life’ - forgive the cliché.
Words by Anthony Doone
Josh Osho
MTV reveals Kendrick Lamar as ‘Hottest MC In The Game’ 2012 w w w. b e a t z m a g . c o m - B e a t z M a g a z i n e 2 7
Tinie on Tempah, but not on Style After Disc-overing his potential on the debut album, Tinie took a two year hiatus to grow as an artist and create some new magic in the lab with Labrinth. His second album Demonstation is to be released this Summer.
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Although Tinie started out his
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music career as a member of the Aftershock Hooligans, he deliberately moved away from this to a more mainstream sound, leaving behind as well the hoody and puffer jacket. In his breakthrough song “Pass Out”, produced by Labrinth, the infectious bass-pounding changed the stereotype of electro-hip-hop with its revolutionary sound. By his own admission, his parents placed a high importance on education and being well spoken, which spurred his awareness of the appeal to the mass market and talk directly to the older generation. In “Pass Out”, Tinie boasts cheekily; “I’m born famous, I’m sorta known, and if your son doesn’t, I bet your daughter knows”. This was a consistent theme across his debut album Disco-Overy, which is a world away from his earlier work and mixtape - “Chapter 1: Verse 22” - with its grimy beats, fast-paced lyrics and less family friendly subject matter. However, Tinie is not afraid to try something different and break away from normality. His up-bringing and the influence of his family continue to break through in his lyrics, and
has contributed in a large way to the unique brand Tinie is today. This can be seen in his British branded website ‘Milk and Two Sugars’, and his refusal to conform to the US hiphop look, as instead, he favours the hipster style that we now associate with other big UK urban acts such as JLS and Labrinth.
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I’m an average, regular guy from South London, but at the same time I want it all – and I’m going to do everything in my power to make sure that happens.
Jay-Z signs all past and future material to Warner/Chappell Music
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Words by Victoria Mayman
inie Tempah has consistently used his upbringing and family life as subject matter in his music. This has been key to Tinie’s motivation and subsequent success; he is now a household name, having bridged the gap between hip-hop and pop, and even performed at the London Olympics closing ceremony. Tinie was born on the Aylesbury estate in South East London, considered one of the roughest estates in Britain. When he was 12, his family moved to Plumstead, a multicultural area of South London that has produced other popstars, including Marvin from JLS and Lee Ryan from Blue. Tinie attributes his motivation to achieve to growing up in London, where council estates and expensive detached houses exist side by side. “I’m an average, regular guy from South London, but at the same time I want it all – and I’m going to do everything in my power to make sure that happens.” He also draws inspiration from his parents, rapping about his father, childhood and family life; “my uncle used to drink a can of Kestrel when life got stressful” (Wonderman). His other down to earth references include watching QVC, eating Pringles, working at his dad’s barbershop, and going to college, which reminds us where he came from, even while he’s boasting about his black BM, CK briefs and his Nike SBs.
EXAMPLE
From garage raves to sold out tours
Words by Rory Foster
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ulham-born Elliot Gleave comes across as a fairly standard bloke in most interviews, and on his Twitter. If you didn’t know he’s got over a million and a half followers you might mistake him for one of your old school mates. A personal favourite of mine is “I’m all for experimental cooking but if you stick broccoli on my pizza you’re asking for trouble” – we can all relate to that. Perhaps the artist we know best as Example inherits his down to earth trait from his urban surroundings. Born in a hospital in Hammersmith, Example is London through and through, and sounds it. If that dry accent doesn’t convince you, then his music will. Example first embraced music through garage MCing to support his degree in film directing at Royal Holloway London, and soon after putting out his own music he was picked out of the crowd by none other than Mike Skinner of The Streets. Shortly after he signed to Mike’s label – The Beats – things took a turn for the worse. The label went bust shortly after the release of Example’s first album, 2007’s “What We Made”. A sharp record with a cheeky London charm to boot, the album failed to take off bar a few songs. “Vile”, a rework of Lilly Allen’s “Smile”, got airplay from Chris Moyles and Zane Lowe on the BBC, giving Gleave hope for things to come. The first real signs of success came off the back of his second album, “Wont Go Quietly” in 2010 on Data Records. Two top ten singles in: “Wont Go Quietly” and the massive “Kickstarts” gave the world a sneak peak at what Example would become. “Kickstarts”, produced by fellow London artist Sub Focus, helped propel him to further fame. The track
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is a classic: the bright synth matched with Example’s stocky but sharp delivery; what’s not to love? “Wont Go Quietly” produced 5 singles by the end, peaked at no.4 in the album charts and set the stage nicely for Example’s third LP “Playing in the Shadows”. Heading straight to no.1, the album featured more production from London’s finest: Chase and Status, Nero, Faithless and Skream amongst many others contributed to an album saturated with a blend of Dance, polishedup London Grime and Hip-hop. A year on, Example is still leading the way for London. “The Evolution of Man” released last November has given him a no.2 and a no.1 single in the dance charts and is brimming with new London talent. He’s also worked for other people; co-writing The Wanted’s massive summer hit “Chasing the Sun”. Example is in a position now where he’s no longer the one coming up from beneath, but the man making the plays and searching for new talent. Without him London would have one less bright light to guide the way for new talent.
Kanye West slams MTV’s ‘Hottest MCs In The Game’ list, Cites Lil Wayne as No. 1 w w w. b e a t z m a g . c o m - B e a t z M a g a z i n e 3 1
ANGEL
espite not yet releasing a debut album, West London singer/songwriter - and even occasional rapper and composer - Angel, is already making waves across the UK urban music scene. Following the success of his 2012 mid-summer single “Wonderful”, Angel has created a buzz so alluring that, whilst hardcore London-based R&B listeners may proudly claim to have known of him for years, nationwide (and even international) fans are now benefiting from the vast expanse of online music, which has stemmed from a number of successful and experimental mix-tape releases. This rapidly growing and eager fan base has been acknowledged most recently by one of the biggest names in worldwide R&B, a certain
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Trey Songz. Trey personally requested Angel should support him across the London leg of his 2013 Chapter V Tour, after seeing his performance at BBC 1Xtra Live in Brixton. Naturally, Angel willingly accepted, and by doing so has put himself in the same category as a number of well-regarded and upcoming overseas artists, such as Miguel and Elle Varner. Yet, whilst Miguel has two studio albums to his name, and Varner has one, what makes this feat yet more impressive for Shepherds-Bush-bornAngel is the fact that he is yet to release one, with his debut album expected in early April. It is perhaps Angel’s unique look that makes him so memorable, but his decent vocal ability which gives him real substance.
And, it may be his London based background which is responsible for this. Angel has a distinctive urban yet alternative style, which reeks of London swagger, including a number of rather thoughtful - and even facial - tattoos. Whilst these may appear to be hallmarks of a typical East London grime artist, Angel’s London heritage has developed his style of singing, and potentially even song writing. He may be best recognised for “Wonderful” or “Go in, Go Hard”, but Angel’s other mix-tape tracks, particularly “Gleamin”, which uses rather simple yet effective spoken word techniques, exemplify just how his sound can still appeal to a diverse London fan base. Furthermore, his devotion to collaboration - arguably vital to any upcoming urban artist with other London artists including
Kanye West & Kim Kardashian announce that they are expecting a baby girl
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Words by Sham Makhecha
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It’s About Time to release his album.
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Anytime I hear my song being played it feels like a blessing, especially to know where we’re coming from and to know that it’s being shared out to so many listeners.
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Giggs, Wiley and Wretch 32, highlights just how his London upbringing and background has moulded his sound. With further local collaboration expected on his highly anticipated debut album, including a possible one with fellow style icon Labrinth, and rumoured input from international superstars such as Frank Ocean, expect Angel to continue to spread his Londonborn style, and music, throughout and beyond 2013.
10 minutes with Angel How young were you when first realised that music was your calling? It started off at an early age at the age of 7 or 8 with me singing with my brothers and sisters and my Dad was a performer gave up touring around the world with all the reggae artists, to manage us, and take care of us to try and get us out there.
big show, and I think that’s where the mixtape and EPs come into play. That’s what I’ve done, and I think that played a massive part in the hype for the album, because songs like, ‘Go In Go Hard’ and ‘Ride Out’ kinda build a platform for you. As an artist when you make mixtapes, you just know after these mixtapes people are paying attention.
Which all-time great artists are you inspired by? I’d say Quincy Jones; he inspires me the most because I think overall he’s just set the bar. He’s made some of the greatest tracks in the world for the some of greatest artists, and I think that, looking back, if you do want to look at something that’s very credible, I think he is the main feature to look at.
What’s it like hearing your song on the radio? Anytime I hear my song being played it feels like a blessing, especially to know where we’re coming from and to know that it’s being shared out to so many listeners. It feels like I’m dreaming still!
How have your mixtapes and EP’s built up to the album? In anything that you’re doing, I think that there’s always something you gotta do before you bring out the
What’s your number one piece of advice to upcoming new talent? The main thing is just to know what you want and know that, not everyone’s got the same vision. Just keep doing what you’re doing, know that god blessed you, and don’t be drawn out, just stay focused.
ADVICE FROM AN A&R
Half page advert here
Name: Benjamin Scarr Job: A&R Manager at Island Records Job description: Responsible for finding artists and signing them to a record label. They also work with artists already signed to their label and their management to identify producers, re-mixers and songwriters for them to work with.
What advice would you give to an upcoming rapper, singer or producers? When you sit down to you have a conversation with them, and you realize that they’ve got their head switched on, they’ve got a good story, they’ve been doing this for a while, probably had a lot of upsets and they’re still here. still grinding, and you know there is no money at that initial stage, the passion and just wanting to make a difference i musically.
How do you define talent or potential? Hard work beats talent, if talent doesn’t work hard. It’s not always going to be the talented people in the class that make it, it’s going to be the people that work hardest. Look at Lionel Messi or Michael Jackson, it’s not just because they were insanely talented, but because they worked like they never had anything and they never let up. How can you spot potential talent? The first thing is being excited; without having a conversation, its being excited by the gift. Whether they’re a
singer, rapper, producer, songwriter, that’s the first thing an A&R looks out for is seeing that and thinking wow, that’s exciting. What do you look for in a press release? Honestly, I wouldn’t read it, I’d listen to the music, I’d click the link and if I like it, I like it. That’s me being real, so sorry if you’ve sent me a press release, I just want to know if your music is good. Everything else is what you give to the radio, to say, look play my song because X, Y and Z. I don’t care if it’s had a million views or ten views, if it’s amazing, that’s the important thing for me.
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Jessie J
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f you’ve never heard of British singer/songwriter Jessie J, you’ve most likely heard from her. She’s written songs for artists like Chris Brown and Miley Cyrus. She’s most famous for writing Miley’s international hit “Party in the USA”. That track put the British star on everybody’s radar. That’s how she knew it was time for her to step up and let the world hear her voice. The world has always been a stage for the entertainer. Jessie J was born Jessica Ellen Cornish in Redbridge, London to a loving and supportive musical family. Jessie gives her family credit for giving her the courage to be herself. Jessie J fans can thank Jessie’s parents for the variety of sounds Jessie brings to the table. Every song she releases sounds like a different party to listeners and that’s because growing up her ears had a little taste of everything from George Clinton, Prince, Michael Jackson, Aretha Franklin, The Beatles to TLC. “My mom used to sing me songs and they’re just so supportive and a very musical family. I grew up listening to the greats. My dad was a huge funk fan”, in a recent interview she listed the Funkadelic, the D Train, and The Gap Band as some of her
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funky influences. “I’m lucky my dad had good taste in music because I wouldn’t be talking to you if he didn’t.” Most children’s first words are “mom” and “dad” but not Jessie. She was uttering “Jam Hot” instead because her older sisters used to sing Fat Boy’s Slim’s “Dub Be Good to Me”. The first album she ever bought was “Brimful of Asha” by Cornershop when she was just eleven. She actually remembers the price and the store she bought it from just as if it was yesterday.
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My mom used to sing me songs and they’re just so supportive and a very musical family. I grew up listening to the greats. My dad was a huge funk fan.
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She knew she had a love for music early and was willing to sing for anyone willing to listen. At eleven, she found herself banished from her school choir for being too loud and too good. Parents would complain
Joey Bada$$ named Creative Director of Ecko Clothing
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about her musical ability. Later on in life, she found herself in a girl group “Soul Deep” where she would discover her sound. Jessie credits her range of sounds on all the music she heard when she was younger. She knew she wanted to incorporate who she was as a person into her music and that was her way. Her hit song “Domino” was actually inspired by Whitney Houston’s 1987 track “I Wanna Dance with Somebody”. That was her way of rewriting such a happy track. She loves not sounding like everyone else and not being afraid to stand out. She loves playing with sounds and giving her listeners something different every time she releases a track. “You know, I always say, how would you fall in love if everyone looked the same? How would music be judged if we all sounded the same? The best thing about the music industry is that everyone has their own likes and dislikes.” With such variety, listeners will find at least one Jessie song they can’t stop singing. After the success of her debut album, Jessie is currently putting the finishing touches on her second album which is due out early this year.
Words by Chardae’ Jones
Originally writing her hit single “Do It Like A Dude” for Rihanna (you can tell by the “Mandem” references), Jessie J exploded onto the scene with her trademark Cleopatra fringe and black lipstick. After a radical makeover, and a debut album under her belt, the singer is set to become one of Britain’s brightest stars.
Words: Natalie Montezuma
Photography by Gregory Moore Swedish Singer/Songwriter Samayra Mellissa modeling
Photography by Gregory Moore Swedish Singer/Songwriter Samayra Mellissa modeling
Photography by Gregory Moore Swedish Singer/Songwriter Samayra Mellissa modeling
ROXXXAN The Birmingham hailing Fem-cee showed her fiery attitude on her debut mixtape “Prepare For When I Land”, what can fans expect 2013?
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here seems to be a big divide between male emcees and femcees in the country. What role do you think femcees have to play in this new industry? I think, it’s not even playing a role, I just think we have to step up to the mark and show the males, or the world, that we’re here to stay and we’ve got more to talk about than make-up, lip gloss and sex. Female-only movements like Melody Kane epitomise the female takeover, do you support that kind of movement or do you think it should be gender neutral? No, I think I definitely support it, I’m a friend with DJ Melody Kane, obviously I was supposed to do the last one but it was snowing and couldn’t get out of my house. Yeah I support things like that but at the same time I agree what’s the point in having females and the males, for instance I was in the female Allstars, which was great, the track was great, it did really well but at the same time why can’t we rap with them male emcees? But at the same time, it’s not our fault; we have to stick together because the males are sticking together. The dubstep/grime sound that you’re bringing on your mix tape is evident, but the flip side is your singing and your slow tempo tracks like Ho3, Real Talk and Brum Bars, so how open to experimentation are you as a
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femcee/rapper? Yeah, if you ask me what do I do I say I spit or I write, music is music, a lot of people latch onto the grime/dubstep thing but I’m from Birmingham, we didn’t have grime and dubstep growing up, we was hip-hop, ‘cause we just used to try and make songs to try and be like what we saw on TV. It’s only since I’ve come to London that I’ve jumped on a grime track and then kind of got noticed from that, but I’ve always been hip-hop, always done grime, always had something to say kind of thing, for instance ‘Ho3’ if you’ve heard the mix tape you kind of know. How patriotic are you to your roots compared to where your sound kind of sounds like eastern-kind of music? Yeah definitely, I think if you don’t know where you’re from, you won’t know where you’re going and also they say never diss where you’re from because you never know when you have to go back. And also, my family live in Birmingham still, it’s only me that’s in London I’m literally here alone. Reppin’ brum and trying to put north and the midlands, not just Birmingham, on the map is really important to me because there’s no industry there and there’s so much talented people that don’t get a look in or no one cares about.
Birmingham, my mums Irish, my dad’s Jamaican, roots to me is family and where you’re from so if I could I would love to give back to my family, and just help them financially, in life, motivate everybody, I don’t know, without sounding cheesy in every way that I can. Roxxxan’s album, Prepare 4 When I Land, is available now for free from her website. To find out more about Roxxxan, you can follow her on twitter, @ ROtripleX, or visit her website, www.rotriplex.com.
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we have to step up to the mark and show the males, or the world, that we’re here to stay.
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After your ‘Prepare 4 When I Land’ mixtape what are we to expect in 2013, an EP or a full album? Do you know honestly, I don’t even know myself. I’ve done the mixtape, I wish I could say yeah, I’ve got this I’ve got that! I’m gonna be working on an album definitely, I think after a mixtape, you do an album. Definitely will dropping a few EPs, I’ve got a track called ‘Wavey’ dropping next month and I don’t know, like I’ve been saying I’m building my foundations so this year my goal is to not conquer but get known in Europe and then build from that. If you could give back to your roots, how would you and what way would you do it? What do you mean when you say roots? ‘Cause I’ve got a lot of roots, you mean Birmingham roots? I’m w w w. b e a t z m a g . c o m - B e a t z M a g a z i n e 4 1
THE PANDA
CHRONICLES Heavily inspired by the trials and tribulations of his own life, Champ's The Panda Chronicles reflects on the challenges of maintaining peace and fulfillment in a world of harsh reality and temptation.
DROPS MARCH 30th, 2013
â&#x20AC;&#x153; The panda is a symbol of every human being.
Black and white, good and bad, right and wrong; life is about learning how to balance that. I think everyone can relate to music that celebrates that struggle.
â&#x20AC;?
THEPANDACHRONICLES.COM
FUGATIVe From producing beats to taking over the streets
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ou recently released your first single in three years, so what have you been up to in that transition period? For the past two or three years I’ve just had a lot of stuff going on in my personal life, but at the same time I was in the studio just grinding, getting everything together. Perfecting all my beats and all my tracks. I’ve got like 5 albums worth of material, so this year I’m just getting ready to put out my new video which will be coming out in the next couple of weeks. It’s titled ‘Charlie Sheen’ so look out for that, it’s gonna be mad! Where did the name Fugative come from? Is it like you’re stealing the sound of hip hop? When I was in school, I would just rap with my friends and one day one guy said ‘you should call yourself Fugative’. Boom! From then on it was my name. Loads of people have been trying to say I should change my name, but I’m keeping the name I had from when I started. How does the split personality work? You’re Harry by day to your family and you’re Fugative in the rap world? It’s crazy you said that because I’ve been thinking for the past year that’s what it felt like in my head and I was a bit annoyed that I didn’t get that message across in my past singles. I wanted to show everyone my sides, because everyone has a crazy side and everyone has a normal side. So in this new video ‘Charlie Sheen’ there’s an alter ego, so you’ve got the bad Fugative and the good Fugative, so that comes across strongly. If you mean my day to day life? It just depends. I can be anyone, I’m human, I just put it all into my music. How did your upbringing in Greenwich influence your sound? When I was growing up my older sister would come back from school, and sheused to proper bang out classic Ms Dynamite tunes! Whats that tune called where she sings [Starts singing Ms Dynamite song]? When I first heard that I was like ‘oh my god! These tunes are sick’ then I started nicking her Pure Garage
Compliation CD’s and I just started listening to that and that’s where my sound comes from. When I was around 7 or 8 years old, my mum took me to a studio in East London cause she was managing a couple of artists and that’s when garage was booming and I said to myself ‘I need to start doing this!’. From then I just started writing and progressing and now, everything I’m doing has come from everything I’ve heard over the years. No producer likes to put themselves in one box, no one says ‘I’m purely one genre’. So how would you define your own sound? I just make everything. Two nights ago I made a reggae tune, last night I made a club tune, today I’m gonna work on a remix for my new single and the new singles more dubstep. Its versatile, I used to call it Hip-Pop but now, I don’t know, I don’t even have a name for it, I need to think of a name for it, now you mention it, but I love it!
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A ladies man? [Laughs]. Well I’m 19, I’m young, I’m free. [Pauses] Yeah I’m a bit of a ladies man, I do like the ladies!
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Moving again with the London theme, you’ve worked with the likes of Wiley and Sway so how do you think the UK market compares to the US market? I mean we’ve got the east end which is kind of grimey but it’s not like Compton you know, so how do we compare internationally? Well I think the thing with America is that they all come together you know you’ve got French Montana, Rick Ross, DJ Khaled, Ace Hood, you’ve got all them and they’re all a team, MMG or Young Money. They’re all in different teams but move together. I think slowly everyone in the UK is coming together, you’ve got different people doing their thing in cliques. This year to see how far it’s come is amazing, people crossing over to the Top 40 in the US. I think its early days for it really,
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I think its on the way now but it’s still gotta hit its peak and I think its coming soon! All my collaborations I’ve reached out through twitter and stuff like that. So it’s networking, on a personal level, do you know what I mean. How important do you think Social media is to music, is it one of the most important things or is it a part of it? You know before Twitter, there was only Facebook, MySpace and… Bebo! Yeah exactly! The things you can do on Youtube and Facebook pages now is crazy! You can have all your links on one page and direct them. You could never do that before! I used to sign every single signature card, go back on MySpace accept all my friend requests, and then post on my Facebook page, then post videos on MySpace because I wasn’t even fully using Youtube to it’s potential. Obviously it works in both ways, because people can get your music for free but a lot more people hear your music quicker because the world wide web just spreads everywhere. We have a question from one of our fans, and she wants to know if you are a bit of a ladies man? A ladies man? [Laughs]. Well I’m 19, I’m young, I’m free. [Pauses] Yeah I’m a bit of a ladies man, I do like the ladies! But come on, every man likes the ladies [Laughs]. Who would be your dream collaboration? Any artist or producer; dead or alive, future/ past? Producer wise, Quincy Jones. Singer wise, Marvin Gaye because of everything I’ve heard through my mum. My mum used to look after him when he was in Belgium or in the UK. I’ve just heard so much about him and grew up to so many of his tunes. If I could do a tune with him, that would make my mum happy, it would be sick. Fugative’s new single, O.T.T, is available now from iTunes. To find out more about Fugative, you can follow him on twitter, @Fugative, or visit his website, www.fugative.co.uk
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Gracious K
More than just a one hit wonder with a dance craze!
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or those who don’t know about Gracious K, give us a brief insight into story and where you are today. Gracious is K is the man who made like the biggest dance craze since the Macarena! It started by me and my friends just messing about and it just took off! Since then I’ve done alright for myself, making a few friends, making some money, and just yeah kept going man, it’s been quite an enjoyable experience. So when you were messing around, did you ever anticipate the dance craze with that kind of response to the song you originally created? Never in a million of years. It was just a thing me and the people around me can just vibe to. It was never meant to get out but I knew the tune was good, but never knew it had the power it would kind of carry today. So when I send it to a
few people, they really liked it and they started promoting it. How has your sound transitioned between what it is today and the Migraine Skank? I think it’s a maturing phase because the Migraine Skank is like a stage where I didn’t want to be that guy who was a one hit wonder with just a dance. I wanted to show that I could multi task but I can always go back to that, but mostly it was a personal thing that I wanted to show and feel there was a bit more to me. So the transition thing happened as I grew up and my interest in music kinda changed and I felt the fans kind of grew up with me. I didn’t wanna go backwards so I tried a different style and it worked out. And do you feel the need to drop the affiliation with your original claim to fame and carve a new name for yourself?
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Everyone makes it out like it’s a big issue to be signed to them, I’m not even with them anymore. I’m just doing my own thing because with a label everything is too slow
Exactly! The thing I’m doing now is trying to just build my profile up because it got so big that people knew the migraine skank but didn’t know me so it was a thing where trying to build like my actual profile so they can associate me with things not like something like Mr Migraine. What’s your label situation with Sony RCA Records right now? Everyone makes it out like it’s a big issue to be signed to them, I’m not even with them anymore. I’m just doing my own thing because with a label everything is too slow, you have to go to one person just to go to someone else and then someone else just to get the simplest things done. Whereas being independent you have more desire to want to wake up and put something out.
you came in with because you will meet people that are genuine but you need to know how to determine who’s real and who’s just here to bank of you in the moment. What direction do you see as a future for the UK music scene? I think it’s gonna get its dirty and very bassy and I think it’s going to be a fusion of hard hip-hop or hard drum n’ bass sounds but artists will add their own kind of commercial
spin on it. It’s happened in America five or ten years before and obviously the UK follows suit. I guess everybody is gonna have independent labels so we could see a UK Young Money over the next five years. To find out more about Gracious K, you can follow him on twitter, @Graciouskisay, or visit his website, www.graciousk. blogspot.co.uk.
Being childhood friends with Tinchy Stryder, what was he like back in the day? He was always a star, even in school. You could tell like he wasn’t like everyone else he just always had the latest trainers and stuff and you could tell by the way he use to carry himself he had swagger. Would you ever want to do a track with him and your cousin Dizzee Rascal? Yeah, 100% but I want to build my own thing because soon I’ll be able to hold my own weight on the tracklisting. I don’t want it to be like Dizzee featuring “that dude” or Tinchy featuring “that dude”. I wanted it to be a situation where I build my own rep and then it can be like two or three heavy weights coming together as a collaboration, not a sympathy feature. What lessons have you learned in the music industry? Not everyone’s trusted, not everyone is your friend. Stick with the people
Did you know? •The Migraine Skank video has cameos from N-Dubz, Chipmunk, DJ Ironik, •Giggs, Bashy, Trevor Nelson & Mistajam, Ras Kwame, Loick Essien & more! •Migraine Skank has racked up over 2million views on Youtube •Gracious K is Dizzee Rascal’s cousin w w w. b e a t z m a g . c o m - B e a t z M a g a z i n e 4 7
More Than Words 16 time Grammy Award nominee, BRIAN MCKNIGHT, chats to us about his 15th studio album, todayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s music scene, working with his sons & watching sport - even ping-pong! 4 8 â&#x20AC;&#x201A; B e a t z M a g a z i n e - w w w. b e a t z m a g . c o m
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o you’ve been performing a three day tour at the Jazz Cafe? How have they been? They’ve been excellent. It helps that people speak the same language that I do – that’s always a plus. It’s funny because we were in Japan last week and the Japanese don’t really speak English, but music has a way of being the mighty equaliser: even if they don’t know exactly what you’re saying, they can get the mood of what you’re trying to convey just by the changes that I play and the way that I sing. So it’s always fun to be in another place, but here (in London) it’s like being at home. And better in some ways! “More Than Words” is set to be your 15th studio album, in a musical career spanning over 30 (20) years. You once said in an interview that you don’t wear your emotions on your sleeve, you write about them. What does “More Than Words” fundamentally mean to you? You know what, They’re all individual statements. Last record it was the last song just me. And it’s funny because I’m doing a request section this show and now twice people have asked for that song which I haven’t really sung since I recorded it. I think if I’m ever going to make a statement as that one, if you listen to the words of just me, that really encapsulates who I am. I’m not perfect, I’m just like everyone else and I go through my ups and downs but ultimately I’m happy where I am. Like me, love me, hate me, whatever it is, I’m just me, that’s it.
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I’m not perfect, I’m just like everyone else and I go through my ups and downs but ultimately I’m happy where I am. Like me, love me, hate me, whatever it is, I’m just me, that’s it.
Over the years, you’ve kept very much the same consistent recipe for your music where in the industry, R&B has evolved over the years. We’ve got artists that are fundamentally R&B like Usher and Ne-Yo adapting and evolving to dubstep and even dance. How do you keep your same message consistent? I don’t worry about trying to be a trendsetter in my forties. I don’t have to try to be and I think what they’re going to find too, even though they’re a little behind me as the next generation of folks, is that as your audience grows older with you, they kinda want to still remember what its like to feel that same music that they felt the first time they heard you. The funny thing about the songs I’m singing every night is that most of them are now over a decade old and the audiences are young. I think these kids are finding this music because they still fundamentally want to be with somebody and they want to have somebody be with them and they want it to work out or maybe they just got through something, I don’t know. Today’s music doesn’t necessarily address those things anymore, but at least they still have me to come to for that. What role has your family life played in the evolution of your music? Would you say that family or your music has been your greatest creation? I think this will be the first time I say this publicly. Some might say that I change girlfriends like my underwear and I find my inspiration in the different, I don’t want to say relationships as that’s too broad a word, but my liaisons – to use the French version - fuel the songs. Whatever I’m dealing with, whoever I’m dealing with at the time, when their usefulness is used up as far as being a muse, that’s kinda mean to say, but when there’s no more songs, I gotta find a new muse I guess. And I’ve come to grips with that, that’s why I’m not trying to be in a relationship, I’m not trying to be anybody’s boyfriend, I’m having my adventures and I write about them as they come round, all over the world. A lot of songwriters find it
impossible to pick a favourite album or a track because of the journey each song takes them on. Is that something you feel that you can relate to? Yeah, because each individual song is a specific moment in time for me, there is an autobiographical memory of why I wrote it, who I wrote it about and what I was going through at the time so there is no way to have a favourite. I do have things I listen to more than others and then I come around but that changes week to week, day by day. I was listening to things this morning – I try not to listen to the album I just finished because if I keep listening to it, it’ll never get done. I’ll keep going “maybe I should have done...” So I’m not listening to that one but I did go back and listen to some of the other stuff and I still have about a thousand demo’s that nobody’s ever heard that I listen to as well. The sound of the new album, More Than Words, is very comparable to your albums of the 90s rather than off your most recent package. Did you take the album back to its most conceptual roots intentionally? Yes. I went back and listened to what people always say “that’s my favourite, I like this new stuff but
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that’s my favourite”. So I went back and I listened and I also went back to my 80s roots. There’s a lot of 80s feeling things. I don’t know what you heard, from “She Doesn’t Know”, you can tell the tempos are faster too. So I’m just trying to put my finger on the pulse of how I’m feeling right now which is I’m not really sad right now, I’m kinda upbeat I wouldn’t say optimistic because I’m really not an optimistic person, I’m a realist. But I am in a good space right now and I think that this record feels fun, it feels like breath of fresh air for me at
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grow up with this, try (American) football next time you come over and see if you can figure that out”. I’ve been fighting with football fans here because I took a lady to watch the Patriots the other night and she just didn’t get it. She was like “our football’s so much better” - it’s like 0-0 after 90 minutes and that’s awesome! [Laughs] Are there any goals left for you to achieve after Grammy nominations and multi platinum albums and millions of sales?
It’s been 21 years since my first album came out and people are still lining up outside in the cold to come see me. There’s really no better feeling!
least for me. Nothing that feels like a dirge, like oh god here he goes again but the same kind of song writing, the same kind of things that I usually say with my twisted sort of sense of vernacular and things. When I listen to it, it sounds fun. Fairly recently you performed the national anthem for the Texans vs. Bengals American Football game and God Bless America for San Francisco Giants in the States, so do you have a favourite sport’s team or a particular sport? My favourite (American) football team is the Dallas Cowboys, it has been since I was just 8 years old. My baseball team is the Yankees. I’m a huge sports fan, I watch everything. You’ll find me watching the world’s strongest man at night to ping pong when I’m in Asia. I just like to see people compete. I like to see people do something that they love and do it at a high level. I think that’s what sports has over everything else. You can watch all the reality TV you want: that ain’t reality to me. I even tried to watch cricket the other day. I didn’t get anything out of it but I tried! [Laughs] The score was something like 118-1 and I was like “somebody throw in the towel!” I’m like what is this! I tweeted “I’m trying my best to watch this cricket” and of course people are like “oh you’re an idiot” and I’m like “I didn’t
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Sticking around. I never want to be walking past a conversation where people say “Man whatever happened to that Brian McKnight dude? Man he used to sing, but what happened to him?” It’s been 21 years since my first album came out and people are still lining up outside in the cold to come see me. There’s really no better feeling than that.
What can you tell us about the downsides of the labels? Having moved between a couple yourself, do you feel the executives try to force a creative direction on you? Not on me. Not necessarily. When it comes to the pictures we choose or how were going to do the video. What were some of the other challenges? Not necessarily with the music, except for which single they want as opposed to which I want, but ultimately they’re the ones who are going to have to work it, even though we have a different idea what working the single means. But for the most part they leave me to do what I want to do musically. You’re a pioneer of the industry. With some of the younger generation, if an artist comes with a motown feel, they try to knuckle it out of them. Well they’re trying to sell records and if you don’t have a following, its going to be hard to get one with a sound that isn’t so current. Whereas if I tried to go out and do
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the “Ne-Yo-Usher” thing, they’d be like come on man you’re old, why are you trying to do this? Whether it was great or not, even if it was really good, that’s the perception that sort of try to chip away at. Even with my if you’re ready to learn parody earlier last year, the perception of me is the way it is because when I started, no one could do that kind of music. You had to be clean, there was no way to get around. If you wanted to do something dirty, they’d stop your show or they’d boycott you. And when you hear the music they play in the clubs now or on the radio, your like well that’s obviously what people want to hear but no not you. I’ll get that from Trey Songz or from this guy but not you. That’s kind of hypocritical isn’t it? You think I’m out here not sowing my royal oats? Do you think then that 2013 is the year of the comeback of the ballads and the classic R&B? No, I don’t because the people who could take a chance on that, the people at the top, would never jeopardise where they are to bring that back. I don’t blame them, Justin Bieber has a song on his record that Babyface did and that is incredible, that I hear adults playing. They would never put that out as a single. If they did, they’d be very amazed by how many of his fans would naturally start looking for more of that kind of music because it would be a huge hit. Cos there’s nothing like it on the radio. Everything is fast, “party, party, get drunk, just have sex”. But if someone like him did it, maybe it comes back later? I don’t know but as long as technology is where it is so that anybody can create music, then we’ll all go see Deadmau5 and he’ll get paid $200,000 to spin. I went and saw that the other night – pretty amazing! [Laughs] I still don’t get it! Brain McKnight’s new album, More Than Words, is available now from iTunes and all good retailers. To find out more about Brian McKnight, you can follow him on twitter, @ItsBMcKnight, and like him on Facebook, www. fb.com/brianmcknight, or visit his website, www.bmcknight. com.
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fter your Stars & Dragon EP, what’s the next project we can expect? This year I’m working on my follow up EP, The Four Loves, which is a lot more stripped back than Stars & Dragons. I think a massive part of who I am is the song writing element of my music, and The Four Loves will really show that off in its full light. I just want to celebrate the ‘Juliyaa’ brand you know; the music, the clothing line I’m working on at the moment, and everything that it all encompasses.
JULIYAA
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‘Everything it encompasses’ is exactly the right phrase because it’s such a versatile EP! One track might be electro dubsteppy, and the next could be upbeat and motivational. So how does that represent you by fitting all of that on one EP? Well I think the intro to the EP kind of sums it all up, in the sense it was taking the listener on a journey of all these different genres that I’ve been brought up on so when I was growing up. My Mum’s Ghanaian and my Dad’s Welsh so that in itself is diversity. So at home, we’d listen to Hiplife Highlife, and then we’d listen to Chaz and Dave, and Bob Marley, and the Eurythmics and David Bowie. In my home it was really eclectic musically. My sister was really into rock at the time so we’d listen to a lot of Foo Fighters and No Doubt. My whole household was kind of like that, if you came in, you wouldn’t know what music you’d get because it would be different every day. Having that kind of musical diversity growing up, really influenced the music I make. The EP really represents the dubstep and grime element, and we’ve got Frisco on there, you’ve got the Tidal Wave thing, then you’ve got the more classical stuff that I love, the Beatles stuff like I Wish I Had It All, Yesterday, and then you’ve got
Diversity, culture, Wales, Ghana, Stars, Dragons and everything else.
Harmony BOE’s little brother and obviously Harmony does stuff with Chris Brown and Brandy, he’s done stuff for Brandy’s new album, so he’s following in his family’s footsteps of the musical dynasty, and doing his thing. But he’s wicked, he’s like a wicked producer so having, three different producers, so varied, again they’re giving their flavour, what they wanna do, which is great. So yeah, it’s been really nice working with different producers on this.
the Hiplife Highlife, with Stars and Dragons, it’s kind of like this eclectic genre, but I feel like as an artist, you shouldn’t be pigeon holed into one thing. I think a lot of artists are amazing at making purist music. They make RnB or they make folk or they make... They put themselves in a box? Exactly yeah, but that’s true to who they are. I’m being true to me, which basically is a fusion of all these different things. That’s true to me, I guess in the sense that this is who I am, but what’s been really nice is that everyone has come back to me and said ‘Jules this is my tune!’ And everyone has said a different song! So it’s been like, ‘Jules I’m so feeling Black Magic this is my jam!’, and ‘Jules I love Stars and Dragons’ I’m just doing my Hiplife Highlife stuff, so it’s kind of like, it’s been really nice to get the feedback off everyone who has chosen their song. Production wise it’s a great EP, like, who got involved on production? Well for Stars and Dragons, the intro, and I Wish I Had It All was this amazing guy called Basil Hanson. I’ve known him for a while
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When I meet with friends, they tell me about their lives and I seem to be the person that people tell their life to so I’m like, Ok! I’ll make it into a song! And they don’t know I’m making it into a song about them!
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and he’s been really instrumental throughout my whole career, he’s been so supportive from the start. Then I got in touch with two producers, one by the name of Anthony on the Beat, he’s signed to My Ish, and they’re doing a lot of great stuff at the moment. He’s really eclectic with the element type stuff, the ethereal kind of stuff he’s really into that at the moment he’s working with Trizzy Troy and a few other people he’s kind of moving a lot. And then there’s Mo Keys who is a great friend of mine, he is basically
This issue is all about being from London and seeing as you live in the North of London, how would you say your sound represents not only your origins but our capital? Well that’s a good question. I guess, you know what, looking at the way London is, I think the North is quite eclectic and diverse in and of itself, like down my road you’ve got every different nationality, it’s not just like purely black or purely white or purely one culture; its really diverse. So I think in the sense the diversity of North London is what I’ve got on the EP as well. I dunno if I’d be the spokesperson for North London or anything like that, but I think growing up and going to school, has always been diverse. A lot of songwriters say they don’t wear their heart on their sleeve, they write about it. Is that something you do as well? Yeah. If you come to one of my gigs I think every song is talking about a different person, a different place in time. That’s why I can songwrite so much faster than a track can be produced, because there’s a lot of songs about past relationships and things like that, so hopefully the audience can relate to that. When I meet up with friends, they tell me about their lives and I seem to be the person that people tell their life to so I’m like, ok! I’ll make it into a song! And they don’t know. They don’t know I’m making it into a song about them! Looking forward to 2013 it’s going to be big. Juliyaa’s EP, Stars & Dragons, is available now for free from her website. To find out more about Juliyaa, you can follow her on twitter, @juliyaamusic, or visit her website, www.juliyaa.com.
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at Christmas I'd ask Santa for a microphone like the Spice Girls (ha ha) so they were a huge inspiration growing up but more recently I get inspired from many different artists for many different reasons and just from life in general.
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hen and how did you realise that you wanted to be a recording artist? Like most passionate musicians and artists music has always been a big part of my life from writing poetry since a very young age and singing before I could form a sentence, I always wanted to be on stage whether it was singing, dancing, acting or even Karate (which took me to the world championships in Las Vegas where I won bronze) I just naturally loved being in the Spotlight and being a singer is something I have always wanted but for me the point where I realised I could make it reality was when I was 16, I wrote a few songs, hit the studio and long story short I haven't stopped since, I've just been researching and following my own beliefs and now I'm working on my debut album! What music and artists inspire you? As cheesy as it may sound growing up I always wanted to be a Spice Girl and every year
What was 2012 like for you? Overall 2012 was a very positive year, I learnt a lot about myself as an artist rather than just being a singer, I learnt to be more open minded. I done quite a few collaborations and shot a couple of music videos whilst recording for my album at Britannia Row Studios which was definitely a highlight of the year! Can you tell us a bit about your latest single and video release "Spotlight"? After deciding to delay the release of my album due to me not being 100% certain that I was putting something out there that was truly special to me, I felt I needed to put out a song that was 100% true to me and the way I was feeling. I recorded the track which is produced by Mystic Matt at Britannia Row Studios early in 2012 and then went ahead with filming the video in late 2012 with Urban Promo and the single is available to download from my website. I believe the tracks meaning speaks for itself. What can we expect from you in 2013? I’m just about to release my
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first EP entitled “Spotlight” so that's something to watch out for very soon as well as my second single from the EP “The Rain” available soon. I am going to be doing a lot of recording for my album and I have some great collaborations coming up which I'm excited about but I'm going to see where the year takes me and just work hard, I feel a positive vibe for this year... Watch this space! Where do you see yourself this time next year? Music for me is so exciting because you never know where it may take you so I couldn't say but I hope to still be doing what I'm doing just on a much bigger scale and to a lot more people and hopefully inspire as many people as possible! Have you got any projects and performances in the pipeline? I have many projects coming up that I am very excited about, lots of exciting people I am working with and plan to work with so there is a lot going on. I'm just about to release my second single from the Spotlight EP which is called 'The Rain' it's my version of Michael McDonald's song “I Keep Forgetting” which you may also know as 'Regulate' by Warren G, I've put my own twist on the song and it's coming soon, you can find the acoustic version on my website now! To find out more about Leanne Louise, you can follow her on twitter, @theleannelouise, or visit her website, www. leannelouisemusic.co.uk.
Interview by Andre Hudson
Name: Leanne Louise Age: 20 Location: Essex, North London Genre: Urban Pop Most Like: Lily Allen Hot New Song: Spotlight
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Every issue we pick out one category of artist and pick out 6 people who we feel are currently one the best of that category. This issue we have chosen ‘Up-and-coming london born artists’.
Up-and-coming london born artists
Female Soul Singer SHEZAR The 25 year old Hackney Electronic Soul Diva is the older sister of super-producer and artist Labrinth. Hot new single: soundcloud.com/shezarofficial facebook.com/shezarofficial twitter.com/shezaronly
Male Soul Singer ZACK KNIGHT British born of Eastern descent, Zack Knight is a multi-talented Singer, Songwriter and Producer. Hot new single: zackofficial.com twitter.com/zackofficial facebook.com/zackknightofficial
Acoustic R&B JOSH OSHO The songwriter and soul singer adds an alternative acoustic R&B twist to his music for a chilled out easy-listening mood. Hot new single: joshosho.com twitter.com/joshoshomusic facebook.com/joshoshomusic
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Pop Singer Shakka Born from Dominican parents, cocooned in the multicultural busy bustle of Grove, and marinated in Dub Reggar, Hip-Hop and Motown. Hot new single: shakka.bandcamp.com
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Female rapper amplify dot Amplify Dot was never far from a microphone. From the age of four, she’s been honing her craft ready for a 2013 takeover. Hot new single: amplifydot.co.uk
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male rapper Kwamz This 18 year old rapper is making big waves. With two tracks on the E4 series Youngers and his movement On My West Behaviour. Hot new single: kwamz.com
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Know of an artist we missed out? Want to suggest a category for next issue’s ‘Top 6’? Let us know on Facebook (www.fb.com/beatzonline) and on Twitter (@beatzmag) or drop us an email on contact@beatzmag.com w w w. b e a t z m a g . c o m - B e a t z M a g a z i n e 5 7
REVIEWs We have our say on some of the albums and singles of the past 3 months
A MOVING PICTURE
sees Devlin sample two timeless music titans; using Devlin, Island/Universal Music Group the main chorus line from Bob Dylan and a guitar riff from very rapper alive knows how testing and fiercely competitive Jimi Hendrix. The resulting track, produced by Labrinth; features the urban music industry can an Ed Sheeran sung chorus and be, and nobody knows this entered the UK Singles chart Top 10, better than Devlin. Back in reaching Devlin’s highest single chart 2010, he set the bar higher than position to date. With a creatively any other UK rapper with Bud, entertaining video, Ed Sheeran and Sweat and Beers, so fast forward Devlin create the perfect build up for to 2013, Devlin returns and intends the second single alongside Wretch to climb higher than the mountain 32 titled ‘Off With Their Heads’. top with his latest release, A Moving The duo exchange verses and set Picture. Many critics will say Devlin the bar for other MC’s across the simply dropped off the map, but the UK and beyond, as they playfully hardworking lyricist was penning tease their status at the forefront new bars the entire time; returning of modern grime. Devlin and to prove to himself that he can Wretch battle bar for bar alongside outperform his previous feat. We the string accompanied beat with give you, A Moving Picture – the aggressive but determined tones, story of Devlin’s journey in film to push themselves beyond the format. boundaries of all other MCs in the The introduction to the album features Peckham starlet, Katy B who game. Without stopping for a chorus they contest over three verses about breathes life into a spine tingling their takeover of the scene, until the chorus and perfectly complements final sound of the church bell. the uplifting strings, powerful guitar After establishing his stance at chords and Devlin’s introspective the forefront of grime, Devlin reflects bars. Almost as if the sun has set upon his journey with a soft melodic with the closing of his previous guitar strung beat. He comments album, it rises again picking up on the sacrifices he has made to where he left off a year and a half reach the pinnacle he currently sits ago, fiery and full of life. at; coming to the self-realisation of The lead single on the album
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his life sailing past like a Ghost Ship. With his intelligent lyrics, he uses several nautical and ghost metaphors to make his points and take the listener on a snippet of his journey. The link up with Diane Birch is the most impressive track on the album as he uses the movie metaphor to its maximum potential and wishes he could Rewind back to the start of his career. With a powerful vocal from Diane, he shows the versatility of his bars and after a hiatus from the game he has evolved from an underground MC to a world class lyricist and dedicates a moment to thank the people supporting him with Letter to my Boys and The Cast and thanks everyone else who has supported his grind from 2005 on the underground until now. It’s a difficult thing to overcome the second album jinx and after a length absence, solely writing lyrics, A Moving Picture showcases a sharper, more life experienced Devlin plus more. No one can accuse him of selling out, as he stuck to his grime roots, but made the album commercial enough to encourage sales and radio. In Devlin’s life, this album is but another chapter, or in other words, another scene in his life as A Moving Picture.
Singles
Kwamz - Thief in the night Kwamz releases his debut single, “Thief In The Night”. With a beautifully sung chorus from Noeva, this upbeat and mood-lifting track will be making waves in the charts in the near future!
The 20/20 Experience Justin Timberlake, RCA Records
O
ne of the most anticipated albums of 2013; ‘The 20/20 Experience’, Justin Timberlake has released his first album in nearly seven years, and with a queue of critics ready to jump on his every move, the singer continues to stay on beat. An album depicting the Rat Packera vibe is something unexpected, not quite the pop sensation that we all once knew. It creates a new boundary for the likes of Usher and others, heading towards the soulful side of pop music. The music is catchy, enticing in fact, and a brave move by Timberlake. This isn’t 2006 anymore, sexy back isn’t coming back and pop music has taken on a new form – instant-gratification pop is no more and perhaps the new Justin Timberlake has a little more than just retro up his sleeve. From 2003 – 2006, we saw Timberlake try to prove himself as a solo artist post ‘*N SYNC’, a kid growing into a man, from ‘Justified’ to ‘FutureSex/ Lovesounds’ he had a lot to prove. But today there is nothing left to
prove, ‘The 20/20 Experience’ is more than just a statement, it’s a brand new start, realistically showing that how he has not lost his JT charm. The album compromises that of groundbreaking music, as much as a documentation of his growth, being surrounded by true R&B classics. Since the success of his first single ‘Suit & Tie’ it showed how he still conquers the pop world but with more than passion behind him. Yes, it is an album unexpected, but Timberlake has offered something much more than simple tracks that aim to please. There is a sense of complication that entices us with this album.
Omarion - Paradise
Omarion hits us with another smooth R&B track with his latest offering “Paradise”. The Young Fyre produced track be the first single off the You Got Served star ‘s upcoming album, Love & Other Drugs, which will be out later this year.
Kelly Rowland - Kisses down low Kelly Rowland gets ready to release her long awaited fourth solo album, Year of the Woman, by dropping the album’s second single, “Kisses Down Low”. w w w. b e a t z m a g . c o m - B e a t z M a g a z i n e 5 9
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