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SWAY:UP YOUR SPEED + FOREIGN BEGGARS BIONIC SEANIE T ESSOILL THE COLONY
DJ MENTAT & GHOST JONZI D & MC MELL'O' ONE SELF HUMURAK D GRITTY MICALL PARKNSUN
UK £3.50 Australia $5.95 USA $5.99 Europe E9.00 Yen 1.500
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theres so much material to keep tabs on and too much to mention. However a little music to look out for, pick up and hunt down; is the Genesis Elijah LP, Skitz Homegrown Vol 2, Conspicuous the Coroner LP, Rukus the ‘Let it Go’ Remix single and new songs from female MC Baby Blue.
AS THE TUMBLEWEED ROLLS DOWN THE street, and the dust settles from all the madness going around us Big Smoke has re-emerged, re-grouped and re-thought. We have moved on for many reasons, the main being we needed to be a viable and commercial magazine. This issue offers more pages and no more gimmicks with sleeves which many people could be gutted about, but see what you think? What have we been doing in the hiatus? In the last year we have created and sold T-Shirts, done a regular radio show and had a successful night down Brick Lane with artists performing such as Foreign Beggars, Def Con Records, Ironbridge and M.S.I & Asylum to name a few. Over the last year or so something has been missing in your lives and we’ve had a little intermission and needed to get back on the pitch, score a goal, spice things up and do what we're originally known for. Moving on like the scene has, with many new artists coming through bringing plenty of heat, 2
EDITORIAL
We bring you Issue 1 volume 2, a documentary of potential; which kicks off with the two main features, firstly the impressive lyrical humorous talent of Sway Dasafo and secondly the wild when live performance skills of the Foreign Beggars on the front and back covers respectively. Both are working on LP’s out real shortly. You may want to know what we are blessing you with in this, our first issue in sometime? Well, here’s just a taster: We caught up with an original pioneer, ex London Posse member Bionic, who talks about past, present and his future. We catch up with the experienced rap journalist Mr. Proctor to find out what makes him tick. We travel down to the London Docklands to talk to the Colony, we find out more about Mr. Dark Horizon himself Seanie T. Big Smoke finally brings you an interview we’ve wanted to do since the very beginning with two further pioneers, Jonzi D and MC Mel’O. We have debut contributions from DJ Excalibah, Josey Styles and Jehst who brings you an interview with rising star Micall Parknsun. Phil Knott brings the flava with his Hip-Hop gallery and furthermore we bring you people such as heavy producers GGGGhost and
DJ Mentat who had to be disguised for security reasons, shopping for essentials with rapper Humurak D Gritty, selflessness with One Self and an exclusive interview with Brooklyn based rap crew Essoill. One live event I must mention is when the GOD himself, KRS One, played down in Brighton. Like other gigs around the country on that tour it was an absolute classic of a night. Track after track he brought us superior heaviness, which was like being in Hip-Hop heaven for an hour. Shout to Blade for hosting and Brains and Mystro for a quality warm up set. I lost some weight on that night! Thanks to Jon, Jake, Ben, Dom & all the people who have made this possible on a very low budget and have helped it back onto the shelf. Let me know your thoughts, criticisms and ideas, holla me at: dirtyharry@bigsmokelive.com. Until we meet next time… 1 Dirty Harry Publishing Editor Big Smoke Magazine (So what's in the suitcase? Answers on a postcard to Po Box, 38799, London, E10 5UZ.)
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COMMON - Knott Hip-Hop gallery - Page 47
REGULARS BIG SMOKE MAGAZINE ISSUE 01 VOLUME 2 2005 WWW.BIGSMOKELIVE.COM
10) THE CONTIBUTORS: Big Smoke brings you some new faces and some veterans to the set up, Illustrated marvelously well by Dharma77. 12) GRAMMARPHONE & LISTINGS: Kicking off the magazine, the only man who knows, the UK hustler himself Disorda breaks down new releases, new labels, collaborations, and things to look out for in the forth-coming months. 12-14) SMOKE ALARM: Big Smoke features new label Inigo Recordings, 1Xtra’s Taggerz, and Bandit’s - Tarzan, Friend or Foe column and there’s much much more folks. 16) NEW MIC ORDER: DJ Excalibah has chosen four up and coming artists which are Stylah, Salvo, Tor, and TB (Tuberculosis). 47-50) KNOTT HIP-HOP: Straight from N.Y.C. Phil Knott keeps busy taking plenty of shots of the worlds biggest Hip Hop stars. 63-66) FASHION: First time ever seen in Big Smoke, pages of juicy garms to flex, which include Ecko, Yes No Maybe, Rockwell, Spunky and Nike. Flo fashion people! 70) THE BIG JOKE: The Big Smoke has called upon Baby Blue, the real and the only Shameless, Daddy Skitz and Genises Elijah to produce the goods. 74) SHELF LIFE: DJ Moneyshot is given the task to discuss certain issues that stick out in five different magazine titles. 76-77) REVIEWS: Big Smoke brings you some new releases, there was very limited space for the reviews so this is the cream of the crop and more will be added to our website. 78) ON ROAD: A selection of exclusive products straight off the back of the lorry for you to buy or steal. Ouch! 80) SPOT THE DIFFERENCE: Our very own photographer Jake Green took this shot of Stylah, Mr Tibbs, Spellz, Reveal, Tony D and Lowkey from a bird’s eye view. Competition time, see if you can spot them. 4
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FEATURES BIG SMOKE MAGAZINE ISSUE 01 VOLUME 2 2005 WWW.BIGSMOKELIVE.COM
18-19) FEAR THE LABOUR: Big Smoke recently caught up with DJ Vadim, Yarah Bravo and MC Blu Rum 13 while they were on tour. 20) GRITTY TIME: Big Smoke has been to interview one of the hottest rappers in Wales right about now. 21) IT'S A BIG DADDY THING: Jehst on his debut for Big Smoke took time out to interview the phenomenal that is Micall Parknsun. 22-23) GHOST AND THE MACHINE: Both Ghost and DJ Mentat are top gezzers, they asked each other questions on love, life and Pat Butcher. 24-25) ARTS SCRATCHIN BREAKIN OPEN-MICS: Our very own Hip-Hop MP explores the elements and trys to find the positives out of the negatives... 26-31) UP YOUR SPEED: Sway Dasafo is already big, no doubt about that! Big Smoke caught up with Sway at the Hall or Nothing offices for his feature: Vol 1. 32) THE RISE OF UK HIP HOP DOWN UNDER: Josie Styles works her magic and breaks down who did what first, when they did it and who with, you with me? 34-35) THE COLONY: Our team hooked up with the Colony to rock the photo shoot and then flipped it to flex the interview in a high flying London Docklands board room. 39-41) OLD SKOOL FUTURISTIC: It's our only interview from the big apple with a crew called Essoill and its an exclusive. 42-44) THE BIONIC CHRONICLES: It’s been a long time for Bionic since the days of the London Posse and even making new music this ones a big one people. 51) WHO'S WORLD IS THIS... Big Smoke caught up with Leo and Charlie too deface the facts… 56-61) A DAY IN THE LIFE OF A BEGGAR: Big Smoke dripped down through the surface cracks to bless you with this main interview. 68-69) PSYCHOLOGICAL MUGGERS: Big Smoke brings you a real perspective of the truth courtesy of the D.D.S. crew. The virus lives on people. 72-73) LIKE YOU DON'T KNOW? Big Smoke have waited along time for this and we introduce to you... Jonzi D & MC Mell 'O'. 6
CONTENTS
SWAY - This is my feature: Page 67
“Sway is the future. He is one of the new breed of UK emcees that are taking the music to a new level. It's not just hype, he reallyis 'a bit special'.” Rodney P
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Name: DJ Excalibah Job: DJ specialising in Underground and Independant Hip-Hop. Producer working with MC D, DJ Mentat, Conspicuous, Willow, Shameless, Dom G, Plan B and others. Musical director of various theatre projects including "Da Boyz" About the page/s you’re done in mag? Looking at four of the hottest up and coming artists in the UK. How would you describe yourself? 22 year old, hugely attractive hip-hop fanatic. GSOH (slightly dry), enjoys drinking and erm... eating. What’s not Hip-Hop to you? Everything's Hip-Hop, i live this shit! Your last experience on a night Bus was? Mainly uneventful (damn those ticket inspectors, who'd of thought they'd be working so late!) 8
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Name: Disorda Job: Director of Suspect-Packages.com & Boombox Distribution Network, and Itch FM DJ. About the page/s you’re done in mag? The Grammarphone page giving you the upfront steez on the UK’s comings & goings. From releases to websites, merchandise to club nights. How would you describe yourself? All round nice guy, however sometimes far too busy! Please raise the quality of ya demos folks, I don’t think I can take much more wackness! What’s not Hip-Hop to you? My Mum, she’s a Morris Dancer. Your last experience on a night Bus was? That would be the last time I drank Stella Artois. I had a run in with a double decker bus, & its driver, & the passengers onboard.
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Name: Phil Knott Job: Photographer About the page/s you’re done in mag? The Knott Hip-Hop Gallary with the Rza, Common, Kanye West and Bigg Grip. How would you describe yourself? Radical traditionalist What’s not Hip-Hop to you? England, its real grimy! Your last experience on a night Bus was? The last time I used the night bus was a long time ago, getting the N18 to Sudbury hill, waiting in the cold, in the early hours of the morning, eating a crap extra long hot dog type thing, getting on the Bus, going to the top deck, and many characters smoking Hash, oh and stopping at every fucking stop it took ages. Still, those weren’t the days...
Name: Chantelle Fiddy Job: Writer and underground music head. About the page/s you’re done in mag? "Better to write for yourself and have no public than to write for the public and have no self." (Cyril Connolly) How would you describe yourself? I come across as a lively, slightly aggi bitch at times but the reality is I'm a sensitive young woman searching for some meaning and a bit of love along the away. What’s not Hip-Hop to you? This question. Your last experience on a night Bus was? Non-eventful but I was wishing he'd put it on me.
Name: Jehst Job: Full-time B-boy makin' noise!" About the page/s you’re done in mag? I interviewed the phenomenal Micall Parknsun..." How would you describe yourself? "Pissed." What’s not Hip-Hop to you? Jason Donovan. Your last experience on a night Bus was? I got on. I got off.
Name: Josie Styles Job: Publicist, DJ, Terrestrial Ecologist, Faffer!
About the page/s you’re done in mag? Random ramblings from the mind of a lunatic.
How would you describe yourself? Um, a pint-sized Hip-Hop pocket rocket!! What’s
not Hip-Hop to you? People not paying their dues or caring about the roots of Hip-Hop anymore. What's up with this next generation?
Your last experience on a night Bus was? After I'd played in Camden and we all busted on the night bus without paying (as always) but the driver wasn't having it. We had to blag several quid from our fellow night bus riders. Then the driver refused to stop where we wanted - bastard and I had a record bag to lug as well.. argghh! At least there was no junkies spewing up on one of my girls like the time before...
CONTRIBUTORS Illustration by Dharma 77
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MC MELL'O CONSPICUOUS
GHOST
DJ SKULLY
Right you motley lot, it is I, Disorda. Here to give you the Grammarphone page in the all new brand spanking Big Smoke. WORDS DISORDA NOW I KNOW IT’S BEEN A WHILE SINCE THE mag came out last, and even though I accepted the challenge to rep my mindless rantings for this page well in advance, and with a lot of time to spare before the deadline. I am still putting it together 3 days after the final copy deadline, it’s because I have to be so upfront here, nothing to do with the fact that I just haven’t had time to complete this article… Honest. Anyway thugs and thuggettes, check the resume for the day, I’m going to ply you with as much information as I can possibly pull from my useless brain of UK Hip-Hop knowledge. So, what d’ya wanna know about? I’ve just heard the debut album to come from Conspicuous, it’s entitled ‘Backgammon’ and it’s a tasty morsel dropping on OttomanElfMusic, some real top class production throughout. It’s only coming on CD format for now, but in the meantime get hold of the latest 12” featuring Shaun Escoffery & Sir Smurf Little, also a banger. Incidentally people, you really do need to press your albums up on vinyl as well, too many artists are deciding not to go down this route recently and your missing out on the vital backbone of sales and support, even if you have some limited 12” or EP flex happening on the vinyl steez, it needs to be done peeps… Having two 12”s recently dropping on Dented and Sit Tight, newcomer Dubbledge has an album in the pipeline due for release via Brighton’s Janomi Records, good look. This emcee has been around for a while now, good to see him taking his time, a lot of artists are over eager these days to drop the latest banger they’ve come up with in their living room. Take ya time people, take the knock backs on the cuff and come back with better… New from Low Life Records in the coming months will be a double CD only release entitled ‘Life Before 40’, a compilation of back catalogue material including two new Braintax/Mystro exclusives, one CD is compiled and the other will be mixed. Looking forward to this one, the label has been at the forefront of the UK’s Hip-Hop scene since day one and it will be good to reflect on their
DUBBLEDGE
successwith this compilation. They also have the debut album from Asaviour entitled ‘Broken Ladder’ nearing completion, dropping on CD and 7-track vinyl EP. And finally due to drop at long last will be the ‘Underworld Epics’ producer album from Jehst featuring Klashnekoff, Verb T, Asaviour and many more… Following the excellent Wordsmith ‘Roadman Showcase’ CD and 7”, Son Records are hitting back with a fresh DPF release, ‘Still Flossin’ is the name of the EP to drop in September alongside a dope 7” from Styly Cee featuring two joints from Cappo and Midnyte, ‘Test Match’ & ‘No Pills No Frills’ respectively… Cel One (Gutter Snypes) & DJ Prime Cuts (Scratch Perverts) are due to make a welcome return in the coming months, yes indeedee! If you didn’t cop the Gutter Snypes ‘Trials Of Life’ EP back in the day then skool ya selves suckers. The new shit is off the coat hook, truss… Whilst we’re on the old skool flex, I must big up MC Mell’O’ for dusting off his mic and returning with the ‘Give Them What They Want’ 12”, I’ve heard a lot more new material to come my friends, it’s the bee’s knees (do they ACTUALLY have knees?)… And word is that Bionic outta the original line up of London Posse will be making a return too, sheeet, these oldy but goodies must be wanting to show the yung ‘uns how it’s done… Klashnekoff has a mix CD dropping soon, alongside DJ Skully he’s going to be dropping ‘Focus Mode’ onto us, and to help this along watch for the limited 12” ‘Klash Rock’ too. You can expect more to come from Klash on the full release flex, word is he’s signing to a new label, I can’t let off that news to ya just yet tho, lips are sealed! Sorry... Pepa Records have a limited 12” on the streets at the moment, once again it’s a re-working of Damian Marley’s ‘Jam Rock’ similar to the Klashnekoff 12” however slightly re-worked by Caramac. It’s flipped with a D-Lux produced track named R.E.A.L., niceness, look our for Kyza’s debut LP to drop on Pepa soon too… Speaking of debut LP’s, Ghost has been busy finishing the recording of his entitled 'Seldom Seen
MYSTRO & BRAINTAX
But Often Heard' coming on Breakin Bread Records. It features the likes of Kashmere, Asaviour, Verb T, Lowkey, and outta the U.S. Abstract Rude from Project Blowed, and Finale from Detroit (who has been working with J Dilla). Expect a 12" from the LP later this year, and the release of the LP around Spring 2006… Check for the all-new LG & Biscuit album dropping in a few months, Biscuit knows how to blow a flute big style, and we all know LG can get busy with his on the beats tip. The album is heavy, some big guests too. Also look out for the Park E album ‘Working Class Father’ to come from the same camp, also a dope affair… The new Optimas Prime EP ‘Try Before You Die’ is nice, if only for The Headcase Ladz track ‘Venus’, back to the electro steez. Love it. Oh, the rest of the EP is good too, I’m not frontin’ on the rest of it, it features Blaktrix, MLE, 4Dee, Picton & H.S.G, all coming up trumps for the Cardiff based producers ill ass beats… The Numskullz label Ruztik follows the splendid ‘Self Construction’ 12” remake with a 6 track EP entitled ‘The Construction Series Vol.1’, it features some drum heavy tracks from Gee Swift, Truck, Rola, Retna, Clarity, Conrad Watts, Marshy & Project Cee, South West styles reppin… Also on the South West tip, take a listen to the new Lowercase EP ‘Take The Ruff With The Smooth’, one of the better to come from that part of this little island we dwell on… Finally, watch for some new material to come from Nottingham based producers The Elementz soon on the Sin Nombre label, looking forward to that, one of my favourite tracks for a long time has been their ‘Letterbombs’ track with Karizma, Shiva & Wax on board, dope… DJ MK is coming with the follow up to Rob Life’s UK Hip-Hop past and present mix CD ‘Bangers & Mash’ Vol.2 in a few months, and if you haven’t already, go check out that ‘UK Hustlerz The Return’ compilation album, nothing has come close in my opinion in the last few years compilation wise, nuff heat, more than an Australian BBQ… on that note, I’m off to tackle a double decker bus…Peace.
BIG SMOKE MAGAZINE: PO BOX 38799 LONDON E10 5UZ EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: Dirty Harry +44 (0) 7966 472 051 dirtyharry@bigsmokelive.com SUB EDITOR: Jez Potter ART DIRECTOR: Jon Bailey bai@bigsmokelive.com ART EDITOR: Ben Ruocco ADVERTISING MANAGER: Richard Butler Richard@bigsmokelive.com PICTURE EDITOR: Jake Green Jake@bigsmokelive.com WEB EDITOR: Jon Adams jon@bigsmokelive.com PHOTOGRAPHERS: Jake Green, Phil Knott, Maya Njie, Alexis West & Da Scribes. ILLUSTRATORS: Dharma 77, Duncan Hill, Gemma Simon & Tom Green. CONTRIBUTORS: Natty, Turna, Karen Lawler, Josie Styles, Dom Allen, Bandit, Bethany Headley Jehst, DJ Excalibah, Disorda, Chantelle Fiddy, Ruben Coco, Phil Knott, Ghost, DJ Mentat, Da Scribes, Ana, Dave Paget, Dom Weir (Da Hip Hop MP), D.D.S Crew, DJ Moneyshot, Mr Haych, Steve Glidewell. SPECIAL THANKS TO: All the Artists involved, Matt@ D.A.T., Mist, anton@trailermedia, Essoill, laura@scruffybird, ben@hallornothing, Anne@abstrakt, Lawson@gameplanpromotions, james@ninjatune, Alex@inigorecordings, Mark@Headnod, David@The Outpost, Kev@response, nienke.klop@all-press, cassie@palmpictures, Indy Vidyalankara@1xtra, Mark@stealthmag, Charlie@KungFu, Amy Griffith@Kung Fu, Trevor@ItchFM CrookedTongues, Rockwell, YesNoMaybe, Spunky and Ecko. The Museum in Docklands, Will@Creative, Peter Ross@DJPR, The Adams Family, Georgina Hill for you eye sight. PUBLISHED:BY: Big Smoke Projects Ltd © 2005 PRINTED BY: Stones DISTRIBUTION BY: W.W.M.D & Boombox Distribution - Nationwide & Worldwide. This publication may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form, In whole or part, without the express written permission of the publishers.
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CONFLIX AND THE LAST SKEPTIK DROP THEIR LONG AWAITED 12 "Think Twice"and contrary to the name you should not think twice about snapping this one up (i've seen it going for £3.99 on headnod.co.uk). Think twice is oh so nice,Character Assassins is good too, and if that's not enough the B Side "Vision" features Verb T, Baron Samedi, Syanyde, Grimlok and Jazz-T. For those of you into beats and rhymes, look no further. In more exciting news from Headnod; Forth coming Filthy Habits releases sound like a really interesting selection including 7"s from Icon the Mic King, Baby J (with US MCs), Nearderthal Youth/Wytgang, with a Filthy Habits Instrumental LP and also an LP from Wytfang himself. With all Filthy Habits vinyl available through special previous release from headnod prior to their full UK release.
BANDITS GOT NEWS FOR YOU WORDS BANDIT M.S.I. ASYLUM
hat has London, Tokyo, Philadelphia, Johannesburg, Berlin, Rome, Paris, Moscow, Barrie and Tarzan got in common? They are all representations of a white allegorical saviour of the African continent. Live 8 were held in these locations to raise awareness for the poverty stricken, diseased infested and covert goings-on crippling the biggest continent on the globe. Here’s my analogy of what Live 8 and Band Aid are: 1. A door to door salesman came along, knocked on Africa’s door and of course he was welcomed in and given tea and cake ( well it was raw materials, gold, diamonds and things of that kind I expect). 2. The Salesman planted the seed of trust and went away leaving that in the mind of the homeowner. 3. He returned only to be let in under this banner of trust but instead turned out to be a mad-axe murderer who decided to hack dad to death, rape mum and take little Johnny on a journey. 4. In their haste they forgot to look upstairs in the wardrobe where little Toby was hiding. He survived and grew up in the wardrobe only to find The Salesman waiting downstairs sitting in the armchair next to the side lamp…drat! 5. The Salesman is a very shrewd businessman so instead of killing little
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YOU THOUGHT ALL DOCUMENTARIES WERE DULL and should be left on the history channel? You're were wrong. Although when this gets a slot on the channel perhaps people will learn something about our culture! This award winning film takes the viewer on a ride through some of the landmark artists and crews in hiphop - especially when it comes to freestyle. Containing plenty of live footage of; stages, streets, parks and studios being torn up, Freestyle highlights some of the best MCs to ever pick up the mic and come off the top off the head. Spontaneous, Improvised, Ad-Libbed, Train of thought whatever you want to call it, Freestyle certainly stamps its foot down heavily on the bullshit pretendy freestyles that many artists drop on radio and mix-tape. Over 75 minutes in length there's plenty here for everyone, whether it's the commentary surrounding the good life cafe, a rare clip of Biggie age 17, Supernatural freestyling in the studio, Juice freestyling in the car or the legendary Craig G Vs Supernat battles (yes, there are two of them!). This is the DVD that you need in your collection, the gem you bring out to show people what freestyle truly means. Sure it's not perfect, there are artists we'd have love to have seen there and video cameras weren't so ubiquitous back in the day meaning that whilst the documentary covers the 1980s through to the present day, there are some myths that we'll never get to see, BUT if you want to see artists, attitude and opinion, and a genuine love and passion for the art, then grab this immediately, you might just learn something.
Toby he decided to parent him…hmmm “parent” is such a amicable title, maybe a more appropriate word would be “control” by various atrocities known to man. Why? Toby’s house sat on a goldmine but being such a rotund fella, lazy and far too intellectual he needed the services of Toby. Toby weren’t allowed to work for himself, he weren’t allowed to read and his only means of attaining anything was through The Salesman who afforded him an allowance that he had to pay back no matter what. The debt incurred was passed onto Toby’s children. 6. Toby was allowed to have kids who of course had to go through what their father endured. They weren’t allowed to eat too much ( in fact very little), they were beaten, downtrodden, generally abused consistently and had no idea why they had to pay back an unrecognisable debt. The Salesman knew people in high places, the likes of *doctors ( who treated Toby’s family for a fee....quite a fee), solicitors, legislators, scientists, historians and of course music promoters…go figure. Music being the heart beat of nature and man could be a very persuasive tool in the future... a-ha! 7. Eons later The Salesman came up with an idea, quite ingenious really. He would extort monies from his own people to ratify the situation he created in Toby’s house but how? He decided to hold a party ( not at Toby’s house or in his neighbourhood ) but up in the big venues of the suburbs of Europe…….oooooooweeeeeeee! everyone loves a party don’t they. Oh yes they do and The Salesman knew this so he promoted the party not by putting Toby’s brother,
dad and mum on the flyer but by featuring Toby’s starving kids as the show stopper to attract the masses…and what a show stopper we have ladies and gentlemen…what a show stopper. When I was a kid I loved Tarzan, he could wrestle alligators, fight lions, speak to monkeys, ride elephants, he even had a white girlfriend in the middle of the African jungle who spoke the queens English…fantastic. As I got older I began to realise that Tarzan was white…yes I know…what a revelation! You see it is quite a revelation when you are making that transition from being a black boy ignorant of the obvious to a culturally aware black man in a white society. As it dawned on me that Tarzan was suppose to be the saviour of Black Africa it has also dawned on me that Bob Geldof is our modern day Tarzan and a manifestation of all before him. If anyone thinks organising a “rave up” is going to raise awareness to the extreme that The Powers That Be (The 8) will change economic power bases in Africa then I need to have some of what they are smoking because it‘s a pipe dream. Band Aid did jack 20 years ago except line the coffers of certain *professionals and Live 8 will go down as the greatest show on earth…well done. Music is abused even when it is being used for good and I use the word “good” loosely. It isn’t that I’m a sceptic, it is the fact that I’ve researched history very closely - it is riddled with implementations of strategies which benefit only Europe - in addition to this realisation I’ve been around long enough to know when a man’s making a “change“… get it? People, investigate the doctrines of Malthus, Darwin and Wallace before you hand over that hard earned pretty penny to starving Africa, some how I don’t believe Toby’s descendants will see it.
“As I got older I began to realise that Tarzan was white…yes I know….what a revelation!”
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INIGO INGREDIENTS AN XTRA TAG
Inigo Recordings is just one of the many growing business ventures from the 2 mysterious young entrepreneurs behind Clapham hotspot the Inigo Bar.
WORDS KAREN LAWLER ILLUSTRATION 1 XTRA
WORDS KAREN LAWLER PHOTOGRAPHY JAKE GREEN
IN A TIME WHEN THE LINES BETWEEN
BY 2002 THE BARS POPULARITY AND PROFILE
urban music and pop have become more blurred then ever before, when hip hop is dominating record sales, MC’s have the potential to become one man corporations, and R&B diva’s are the spokes models of choice for cosmetic brands and fast food companies, it was only a matter of time before the culture was represented in animated form. As it happens BBC Interactive drama and entertainment has hooked up with 1Xtra to do just that. The result is animated series called Taggerz. The series, written by Trevor Williams, consists of 6, 10 minute episodes, which is being broadcast indefinitely on the 1xtra website. The storyline follows the highs and lows of the Ruffneck crew, a group of graffiti artists dealing with everyday issues at street level. Within the group of core characters, a unique and diverse demographic is represented. For instance, the ambitionous graff artist, with plenty of talent and but even bigger dreams, the aspiring DJ, the loyal but angry female, the pretty and unfairly gifted one, and of course the “ loose cannon” which is essential for any group. As a unit they are confronted by issues including drugs, pregnancy and inter racial relationships. Surprisingly, these are dealt with a very realistic way giving Taggerz a more honest and dramatic edge. Visually, the series is for obvious reasons, graffiti influenced. It features a blockey two tone style of animation with dark atmospheric backdrops conveying an image of a modern concrete jungle where only the strong survive. This is undoubtedly a groundbreaking project that will hopefully open the floodgates for other similar creative ventures. Even if you are a purist who believes graffiti art only belongs on the side of a train in an inner city neighbourhood and not on the slogan for Russell Simmons latest project, Taggerz is should make you look at graff art in a new way.
was on the increase and a strong reputation for musical integrity had been firmly cemented. By March of that same year, team Inigo had decided to utilise their knowledge and experience to expand their operation, by establishing Inigo Recordings. Essentially, the company was created as a kind of umbrella label for other smaller ones, which focus specifically on releasing each particular genre of music. Luckily for us music junkies, the company has 3 off shoots so far, Inigo Flo, Inigo Breaks, and Inigo Funky, which should keep even the most diverse listener happy. But which one is for you?, you may ask…Inigo Flo is fast becoming one of the UK's most talked about Urban labels.
For More Info check: www.bbc.co.uk/1xtra
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Here the whole spectrum is recognised with everything from JazzFunk, grimy Hip-Hop beats and even battle oriented tracks to test the most talented MC's. It will be officially launched in August in association with our very own Big Smoke, giving you an even better reason to support it (as if you needed one!). Artists on Inigo Flo include Kent born, 20 year old, Fenna Rhodes. To date Rhodes has spent his career playing live with various musicians around Europe and says these experiences have contributed to the eclectic sound of his forthcoming album.
To hear some samples or for any further info, see www.inigoflo.com A collective of musicians called The True Ingredients are also on the roster providing us with an energetic mix of jazz, ragga, funk guitar, soulful vocals and everything else in between. The 701 Squad, comprised of 2 London based rappers, Tom Don and Strider, began collaborating after becoming jaded with their local music scene. They soon became Flexparty regulars and gained a following through 2004's " Southern Rising" as well as various mixtapes and other projects. Their Inigo Flo release is due in 2006. The Launch party for Inigo Flo Recordings is on Wednesday 24th August at the Clapham Grand, opposite Clapham Junction station. Doors open at 7pm, and acts featured on the night include Fenna Rhodes & The True Ingredients, 701 Squad, Foreign Beggars, Mr Thing, Kele le Roc, Big Smoke’s own DJ Pager, and much more. Tickets are £10 available from www.Ticketweb.co.uk, or by calling 08700 600 100. As you may have guessed, Inigo Breaks deals with a variety of break- beat styles including Jump - Up breaks and progressive, cross-over releases. Although there are many projects on the horizon, the label's main focus is on The Magnet Men, whose debut " All that shines" was released in May. The duo work hard to create a balance of big beat basslines and melodic hooks. This unique combination is sure to set them apart from their peers making them a group to look out for. On the flip side, Inigo Funky which is still under development, has many funky house and club anthems in the pipe line just waiting to invade your dancefloor.
As well as bars and record labels, the Inigo boys have other endeavours under their belts including Inigo Yacht Charters.com, and a fully equipped studio which is available for hire. This is an unique, if not all too rare story of success in the independent music industry. It is a true example of what a passion for music, a bit of good business sense, and determination can achieve. By the looks of things, the duo dubbed "London's best kept secret" could soon be giving the likes of P Diddy and Jay Z a run for their money. Good on ya lads!
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STYLAH
TB TOR SALVO
In each issue I will be looking at some of the nicest new artists around, letting you know where you can hear their material, and telling you just why I think they're so damn nice... WORDS DJ EXCALIBAH
STYLAH
TUBERCULOSIS
SALVO
TOR
STYLAH OPENS HIS TRACK
TAKE THE BEST BITS from Jay Z, Ludacris and Freeway, stick 'em in a blender and add a healthy, UK size, dose of East End flavor. Let simmer for 24 years and what you get is TB. One thing that UK hip-hop can often lack is personality. TB has enough of this to turn your annual train spotters convention in to the Vegas strip. The first I heard of this guy was a track called ‘Nang’, it was played to me by the producer Rhythmist (who has also made tracks for Shameless and went to the same school as both of us!). I was struck instantly by the raw charisma that came across from the track. We hooked up about a month after that and since then I have been blessed with a constant supply of new music, none of which has disappointed. If you're after some TB bits I suggest you pick up the 12" ‘Manorish’, again produced by Rhythmist and backed with two more bangers ‘Summawine’ and ‘T on Some Deep Shit’. Once you have that in your collection see if you can find the rare mix tapes ‘Bear Tings Batch 1, 2 and 3’, these feature TB's Manor Enterprise boys Infamy and Classic, who while not in the same vein as him are still real tight wordsmiths and help add another dimension to the sound. TB has recently hooked up with DAT SOUND who released, along with my recent mix CDs, music from Shameless and Skully. This can only be a good thing, it means we get to hear even more of that ill shit they call Tuberculosis.
EVERY NOW AND THEN A 12"
OH MY DAYS!! This girl can spit!! Let me start at the...erm...start. I met Tor at 1Xtra earlier this year when Rodney P and Skitz hosted "The Greatest Show" this was a three-hour rap orgy filled with the hottest emcees out there. There was a fairly young looking girl who said that she ‘had been rolling with Lethal and Destruction’ (check her freestyle on the mixtape ‘Weapons of Mass Destruction’). I know that those guys only check for the emcees that are worth their weight in gold, and so I was quite excited about hearing her spit. Oh my days!! This Girl Can Spit!! Imagine the technical skill of Skibbadee but with more subject matter, that's her. DJ Mentat recently played me the first single off his album which features Tor. A really nice melodic sample cut up by Mentat leads into what could be one of the biggest tracks of the year (providing it gets the right push). There is some serious money being spent on this project by the sound of it, and I mean the 'sound' of it. You know how on Dre's tracks everything sounds real crisp....well so does Tor's stuff. Every syllable, every hat, kick and snare is there for you to hear in beautiful Technicolour sound. I'm about to make a real big statement but believe me it's justified...are you ready for it...Tor is the tightest female emcee in the UK. There I said it; get over it and go and buy her shit so you can nod in agreement instead of looking lost and confused.
"Warfare pt.II" like a true street preacher: "This is the real London city, now the flood gates have opened / they bought the crack to the streets, now it's overdosing". The difference between him and a lot of other emcees though, is that you believe that when he speaks about life on road he's witnessed it first hand. He seems to be made of a similar fabric to Nas, if you don't believe me just replace the word London in the line above with 'New York" and it's not just this one line that really tells it how it is, all the tracks on his mixtape "Prince of Thieves" seem to have this same desire to document everything that Stylah sees. Take "Nobody Cares" for example, this begins like a scene from a high budget hollywood movie; strings, police sirens and news clips which tell of poverty, guns and murder. Stylah isn't an incredible wordsmith in the way that somebody like Chester P or Jehst is, nor is he playing with new flows like Sway or Kano, what he is doing though is vitally important, he's giving us the truth and nothing but it in a very direct and easily digestible way, much like Lowkey. The mix CD, which has well known beats alongside fresh compositions and vocals from Skeme, Serious and Bora, has been around for a little while now and sounds like it could have been mixed down a little better, but I understand that Stylah has recently hooked up with the people who look after the Poisonous Poets, Lowkey and Snipps so hopefully we can expect some collaborations between all of these and also the high production values they have. 16
NEW MIC ORDER
will come along and demand attention. Salvos first EP did just that, and he was only 16 when it happened. ‘Holding Keys’ was the name of the EP and the track ‘Uncontained Rage’ blew me away, the beat and vocals on the lead track sounded like they could have been taken directly from an early Jehst project (and by that I don't mean that Salvo has bitten Mr. Shields in any way but I think that he has definitely been heavily influenced by his style of writing). On other tracks such as ‘End of Days’ he spits with a harder edge and it's clear that he has not only studied the art of lyric writing but passed with the highest grade. Salvo and his beat making brother 184 aka Benny Hillsborough have been part of the passionate but compact Brighton hip-hop scene for a while now. Appearing at shows all over the south east and open mic sessions at the Rare Kind Gallery, their tracks always go down a storm and in the past year or so Salvo’s confidence on stage has multiplied, and now sees him commanding the audience’s every move. Salvo recently released his second EP ‘Cooking the Books’ this time he invited the Colony's Conspicuous to join him on the incredible ‘Dead Moths’ and every time I've played this on air there have been a whole load of responses. Other stand out tracks are ‘Maritime Cowboys’, ‘Cane Hill’ and ‘1000 Possibilities’. Both EPs have been released on the self-owned label Last Minute Records founded in 2003.
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FEAR THE LABOUR
One of hip hop's most innovative pioneers, DJ Vadim has recently teamed up with New York native MC Blu Rum 13 and Yarah Bravo, to collaborate under the moniker of One Self. Big Smoke a short time ago caught up with Vadim to talk about their latest release "Children of Possibility" WORDS KAREN LAWLER PHOTOGRAPHY ALEX CHIARI
hen asked to describe the album in his own words, he simply says: "organic tapestry of beats and rimes". (Fair enough!). However, this seems quite apt considering the cultural melting pot from which it was created. The multi- national trio has their roots in countries including the US, Sweden and Russia. But did these various backgrounds have an affect on the sound of the album? Well I think so, not intentionally but as an artist you tend to reflect or mirror your environment, experiences, life so its only natural since we are all travelled, and come from a varied backgrounds that our music sounds more expansive than say MOP etc.... In One Self the MC's are male and female so we cover both the human perspectives but also in the lyrics I feel its quite rounded, the fact that we are on tour now travelling to 50 odd countries and getting great responses whether we are in Paris, Berlin, Bangkok or Dallas Texas shows that indeed there is something in the music that can touch very diverse and different people. Through his numerous collaborations with other artists, and an adventurous approach to music, Vadim has become a leading producer in the world of experimental hip-hop, yet had yearned to work with a group of core artists whose ideas would both mesh and spark with his own. He explained what makes this project different to previous musical outings.
W
This LP is very much more focussed; it is more themed and moves more in one direction. Our previous LP's tended to pull listeners in so many directions.... that’s what makes it different Unlike many other contemporary hip hop groups, who seem to have forgotten that the true essence of hip hop is freedom of expression, One Self are not afraid to use their music to make a statement. The conversation turns to the importance of putting a "message in the music"… Well we have a platform whether we like it or not and since we see so much shit going on - in the music industry, in UK politics, social life etc it’s only natural to touch on things that affect us... not in a preachy way but to offer people information.. a perspective, something different. When any group come together to share ideas, artistic or other wise, it is essential to create an environment where everyone can be heard. But when it came to actually writing the record, was the responsibility shared among all 3 of you? How does that dynamic work? I do the music and they ( Yarah Bravo & Blu Rum 13) do the writing, when we made this LP, at that time, we didn't know it was going to be a group LP, a One Self LP etc... we were just recording and having fun, that's what we do all the time, make music. Only after we had like 20 tracks did we think there was an album here....
With the lines between hip hop and pop becoming more blurred then ever before, eventually we talk about the current heavy hitters in the mainstream charts. He continues by sharing his views on today’s commercial music scene I think people like Timberland and Neptunes are amazing, the way they defy borders and listeners, challenge people in their conception and truly drag HipHop forward.... then there are other artists I am not so into. basically when it comes to big Hip-Hop - so many of the artists are POP artists who happen to rap, especially more of the newer people coming to the game. Before leaving us to continue with his promotional tour, Vadim tells us about the possibilities for future projects. We are open to lots of things, flamenco, tango, Arabic music... it depends on our experiences on this tour now what happens but I personally feel we haven't even touched the surface of what we can offer So there you have it – a true unit working together to open up the potential for themselves and the music that they love. Children of possibility is a perfect Summer purchase for any discerning independent hip hop fan. With its eclectic mixture of witty rhymes and it’s own brand of trend–defying production, there is something here for everyone. Children of Possibility is out now on Ninja Tune Records For more info check: www.one-self.net
“We are open to lots of things, flamenco, tango, Arabic music... it depends on our experiences on this tour now what happens but I personally feel we haven't even touched the surface of what we can offer.”
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GRITTYS TIME Not just the hottest thing to come out of Wales since Tabasco flavoured leeks, but an honorary member of the Mud Family to boot. He talks to DJ Moneyshot about breaking into supermarkets (not literally) and the hearts of fans across the country, ahhh. WORDS DJ MONEYSHOTPHOTOGRAPHY ALEXIS WEST “THE MADDEST THING TO GET MY HEAD around,” chuckles Cardiff-based rapper, Humurak D Gritty. “Is that you can order my EP from Tesco’s. You can order that shit! How crazy is that? Tesco, Virgin, HMV…” Well, he might be sharing shelf space with The Tweenies and their ilk, but one thing’s for sure his audience members are a little more, ahem, ‘raggo.’ “Yeah, it’ll be the most stolen record off their shelves,” he says, proudly. “Yep! It’s gonna get jacked from Tescos. I bet all the little yoots will go in to steal it.” Supermarkets nationwide better get on hooded top patrol ‘cos Gritty’s been all over the UK giving “yoots” a taste of the four-track Rags to Rags EP while touring with Skinnyman. So he’s got mad fans ready to beg, borrow and steal his shit. “From the start to the finish – mans have been feeling all the songs off the EP and even some of my old stuff,” says Gritty. “That shocked me, Dundee blew 20
OUT THE SMOKE
me over. People were handing over early records I’ve been on, and the Secondson album I was on, getting me to sign them. Dundee was like, ‘Gritty’s time.’ Newcastle, yeah. Some guy had all four of my previous releases. All four, waiting for me to sign them… and then he bought vinyl AND CD of the new Rags to Rags EP. I was like, yo! So big up Peggsy. That’s the brother’s name – I remember it! My number one fan!” He may be number one, but it’s from a growing list. “My new EP is getting played everywhere at the minute,” says Gritty. “It’s been on Radio 1, Vibe FM – everywhere seems to be on it. Lamaq played it, Huw Stevens played it on Radio One the other day and gave it a big introduction saying that I was the best MC coming out of Wales at the moment, which is amazing. It’s my first EP and I worked hard on it. Thankfully I got some good producers…well not good, the heaviest about. I got Jehst, Secondson, Lewis Parker all supplying beats. Even P-Xain from the Goldie Lookin’ Chain – watch him ‘cos he’s got beats
that are sick. I even had a little mention in the Daily Star because of that one.” Gritty is like a magnet for quality producers. It’s like they have to raise their game to work with him. Long time collaborator, Secondson, breaks it down: “When I seen him drop accapellas at a show, and just silence the place. I then realised, if he could do this with NO producer, what the hell could I do for him to get anywhere near him? I learnt pretty quickly, I got to get fucking shit hot if I want a long lasting musical relationship with this guy. And no one has ever made me feel like that.” Gritty agrees: “I got something that nobody’s got. Like the other day some promoter said ‘who does Gritty sound like?’ and all of them guys on tour – Skinny, Flip and them was like –‘he don’t sound like nobody. You can stick labels on this guy and that guy, but Gritty sounds like himself. To understand that you’ll just have to wait for the show.’ And to me that was a big compliment. That’s why Skinnyman wanted me on his tour.” That, and also because he’s the only rapper out there that can smoke as much weed as him. “Yeah, (laughing) we go back to back– that’s a fact. Straight up, man. We burn bare weed. Mad blazing a g’wan – it’s my inspiration. I like to just meditate you know, smoke a little spliff. Skinny’s down with that.” A bond between Skinny and Gritty has grown over the countless hours in the back of a tour bus getting block up. It’s not uncommon on tour for Skinnyman to bring out Humurak for an encore to run through some out material, or just freestyle the night away. It’s a case of two people who share the same love for the music. Skinny saw that in him and just wanted to help it grow. “We was given the blessing of being coming acquainted with Humurak D Gritty when we was all supporting Goldie Lookin’ Chain,” says the veteran Mud Family representer. “And he was only doing Wales’ leg of the tour and we thought it was necessary to persuade GLC to let him continue the rest of the tour as a proper support act ‘cos we thought he was that good. Since then his profile has raised so much. He’s brought out his own material, he’s doing his own thing independently. He’s got sound players producing for him. He’s really raising his profile. He’s also backed by one of the freshest ears in the game, which is DJ Killer Tomato – his skills are outstanding – phenomenally outstanding. His attitude towards life and music is beautiful. So the combination between Humurak and Killer Tom…expect nothing but bigger and better things from them. They’re putting out straight bangers. That’s the kind of person we need representing for Great Britain, let alone from just Wales or Cardiff.” Breaking news: Tesco’s across Britain are on red alert. All copies of Rags to Rags are stacked where the staff can keep an eye on them. Humurak D Gritty’s Rags to Rags is out now on SFDB Records. For all other Gritty news visit www.kinggritty.com
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BIG DADDY THING!
When I first met ParkE, aka Micall Parknsun, I was intimidated by his enthusiasm. 'Damn' I thought to myself, 'if someone doesn't put this guy's music out he's gonna kill someone!' Thankfully, five years later nobody's dead and his debut long player is set to drop on Sit Tight Recordings. I caught up with him over some trees and a beat tape. WORDS JEHST PHOTOGRAPHY MAYA NJIE So, what’s up with the name, man? Why Micall Parknsun? Everybody knows who Michael Parkinson is - the legendary TV presenter… Well, my first name is Michael. What? Spelt M-I-C-A-L-L? Nah, it’s not spelt that way. That’s cos I like to just take all the mics. You like to take the Michael? Yeah. I take the Mic-all. All the mics. Parknsun came about by me asking a lot of questions and me like, back in the day at school like, man used to just take the mick a lot and, you know, basically try and be the frontman but was always the geek. So like, if there was a fight going on you’d see me there in the middle of the fight- “yeah man, you know, he was the one who said your was mum this and reh reh reh”…heh heh!! So what’s the name of the album and when is it dropping? I dunno about the dropping part but…the album is finished and it will be coming out this year. It’s called “The Working Class Dad” Break down the title… Well…me being working class, from a working class background, and me now, I’m a father obviously, (and) now a lot of MC’s I feel…or, a lot of Hip Hop in the limelight I feel is not directed at normality, normal things. I’m a normal person you know what I mean? I work, I ain’t afraid to work. Even if I had a Grammy you know? I ain’t got no dough I gotta go and get a job. Eventually I will have to go and get a job regardless,
regardless of this album being out or not I’ll have to get a job so… you know what I mean? So, I named it that title for a specific reason to show obviously my son and my family and myself that if you put your mind to it you can still do something and still live and be a normal person ya nah mean? Go to the pub and have a 9 to 5 and still do shit. You don’t have to be a gangster and wear a New Era (cap) reh reh reh…(starts rapping) “I get paid to murk the rave…” (laughs) You can still get paid to murk the rave and go home to your wife and kid d’ya get me? But…I’m just trying to be real with you. So you’re trying to bring some family values back into Hip Hop? Yeah man because like, you know, a lot of people have forgot that. A lot of Hip Hop now is about how many times you’ve been popped or…you know what I mean? You don’t hear records about “yeah man, ya get me, I work in Woolworths and uh, I’m waiting for my bloody rebate for my tax and…” That’s the real. You don’t hear no real shit like that you just hear like “yeah man I got popped” or “I used to sell crack” or reh reh reh… All that shit…they’re selling sneakers off (the back of) that shit now!!! It’s like you see a Reebok ad and in the past where it would have been like some sporting hero who’s scored this many goals or this many baskets or whatever, and now it’s “Oh! Man got shot nine times…Reebok” like
shooting each others a sporting event now for the youts… At the end of the day that’s his (50 Cent’s) grind. I’m not gonna hate other artists for what they’re doing. I’m just trying to be me, ya get me? So… I can’t be watching them. I gotta be true to me. I can’t be true to them because them people ain’t feeding me, my wife or my kid… So what’s up with the beat making? You didn’t really do any beats on your album? I done two So who’s done the beats? Jehst done one, Apa-Tight done one, Beat Butcher and obviously commandeered by DJ Green Broccoli Greenberg…(laughs)…Green Broccoli Green Giant Greenberg… aka Lennox Leonard The Fourth… (laughs)… some shit yeah?! Yeah, he fucked it up for me really… L-Jizzle, aka L-Gza-Genius…so how did you hook up with LG? It was mad. I met him ages ago right, like when I was in a group, before it became 2Halves it was NWC (North West Collabo)… That was with Kyza as well right? Yeah. It was me, Kyza, Ahmos, Ram and a guy called M.E (Marcus Explains) I remember seeing you man come up in a ram-out Deal Real when it used to be Pete Real running it, before that whole shit got taken over. Do you remember that? Skinny was hosting… Excalibuh was on the turntables and…yeah…I met LG through a mate of mine Whore, cos I used to write (graffiti), I used to be part of a crew called CBM, I still am kinda. Mace writes for them, my boy Mace um…I met him and then I met Whore and his mate was obviously DJ LG and I met him from there and then like we didn’t link for a while…and then I linked Skriblah through Kyza like years after and he happened to be doing a twelve (“Dredd Ting” b/w “The Inevitable” feat. Diamond Ruff) with Lenny (LG) cos Lenny had a label… So you man hadn’t even really linked at that point? Yeah we’d linked up but that’s when we started working together, after that. We’d never really had a chance to work together. I used to spit freestyle like when man was going through some of his beats and that but never really had a chance to actually record anything or do anything. And then when we linked up again it was off the hook… Off the hook indeed, Mr Parknsun! The working class (don) dad(a) is still as hungry as he was when I met him years ago. Only now he moves with the quiet confidence of a family man with a plan. One of a rare breed of rappers who can not only throttle a mic but also bang out a banger on the MPC, Micall Parknsun has got the skills to pay the water, gas, lekky and phone bills! Nowadays a bad diet of blinged-out Hip Pop has got the kiddies misbehaving. Time for Micall to hit ‘em over the head with some good old fashioned Hip Hop family values…Just you wait until your father gets home! Jehst presents'Micall Parknsun 'Dunya (My World)' b/w Verb T 'Temper Temper' (taken from the album 'Underworld Epics Vol. 1' ) is out now on High Plains Music/Low Life Records. Micall Parknsun 'The Working Class Dad' is coming soon on Sit Tight Recordings.
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GHOST &THE
MACHINE What gorgeous wallpaper we have here? Wow! Big Smoke brings you two heavy masterminds in the game, Ghost and DJ Mentat on the right. Both have successful radio shows and 12' singles out right now. In this smokey bar they each are plotting their next moves. WORDS GHOST & DJ MENTAT PHOTOGRAPHY JAKE GREEN Your Favorite beat you have made and why? M: W.i.g.m.h.t.y is still one off my favorite beats because of how it was received. But still I don’t know if I have a favorite as I change my mind to often. The beat I did for Duurty Goodz is kind of different G: It would have to be a toss up between Round Trip and Borrowed Ladder. They’re both forthcoming, but in terms of the vibes I got whilst making them and how they sound now I’m amazed I made them. Your Best Beat of all time and why? M: If I had to narrow it down to one beat it would have to be Movements off Mr. Smith’s Brand New Second Hand. I’ve listened to that track/album more than any other and it still gives me goose bumps that are a bonifide classic for me! G: Maybe T.R.O.Y in terms of Hip Hop. Your Ideal MC Collaboration and why? M: I’ve enjoyed working with a lot of people already, and all have been really good to work with, but I suppose my ideal collaboration is Skinnyman still, he never fails to emerge himself deep in a track, always bringing you the most heartfelt lyrics. Skinny always knows how to bring the best out of a beat. But I would also like to collaborate with U.S. rapper and producer’s Oh No and Kan Kick they’re both dope.
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G: I’m lucky in that I already work with people who are ideal cause they come with what I have in my head my idea of how I’d like the lyrics to be. But I’ve always rated Aceyalone and Nas. What other Producers do you rate and why? M: DJ Premier – Standard. Do I need to explain? Joe Buhdha – Sick beats, a quality producer. Pete Rock – No one does it Like Pete, the soul master. Dag Nabbit – Up & coming and never one to stick to a format. Evil Ed – Always dope beats. Kan Kick – He’s beat programming and bass lines are ridiculous. There are too many, I could go on all day. G: Lots at the moment, Evil Ed, got that classic straight up sound down. Beat Butcha got heat and Chemo too, names to watch for in the next few years DJ IQ is really impressing me right now. DJ Shadow, not ever afraid to push the music, musical Hip Hop and beats like no one else can do. Jay Dee, again musically just ridiculous, and grooves to die for. Pete Rock just inspired me back in the day, the horns! Primo, what else do you need to say, Prefuse 73, damn this guy is sick, ideas and creativity blow me away sometimes. Madlib, guys just sick on the Hip Hop shit. Jus Blaze, just makes some dope music. There are loads really, but straight off the top... What makes you unique? M: Wait till the album drops and you’ll find out! G: I reckon the musical vibes, but listen to the album and you’ll see. Your favorite Position? M: Number One, or Doggy, whichever way you see it! G: I have several; behind the MPC is one of them.
GHOST'S QUESTIONS FOR DJ MENTAT: If you had to work with either Céline Dion or Cher who would you choose and why? Well both of there voice’s are kind of grating so I would properly go for Céline I heard Cher is a bit of a nutter and I don’t think she’s it to her UK Hip-Hop so much as Céline. What record do you have in your collection that you’re most embarrassed about? Probably that old classic slice of Hip-Hop the Anfield rap ft heavy weights John Barnes and Peter Beardsley, it was funny at the time now I just think why! If they invited you onto Fame Academy would you go on? If yes than why and if no then why? It would have to be No, I’m too selfish to be stuck in a house with 10 other morons chatting utter shit. Do you think Tony Blair makes a good Prime Minister? No because he’s a c*nt The A Team or Knight Rider, and Why? Got to be the A team, I use to have an A team van, well it was a tent, but they had made it look like the A team Van from the outside, it was dope. Where do you hope to be in 10 years time? Well hopefully Céline and me will be well on the way to completing are sixth album together, then will probably sack Céline and work with Cher.
MENTAT's QUESTIONS FOR GHOST: Which one would you go on a date with, Pauline Fowler or Peggy Mitchell and why? It would have to be Peggy Mitchell, that’s a difficult choice obviously as they’re both great catches, but Pauline so grumpy all the time and moans, so Peggy wins it by a breast. What was the most embarrassing moment when DJ’ing? These things aren’t that half as bad as they use to be, but two moments stick out, the first is a drunken DJ classic, most DJ’s have done it at some stage, getting drunk and accidentally taking the needle off the record that’s actually playing, the other special was doing a live show with Kashmere and Verb T one time, and we had a little routine over some instrumental tracks from other artists, and I accidentally put on a vocal version of one of the tracks, I’d had a few drinks. What winds you up the most? Not having enough time, ever. What makes you the happy the most? Inspiration. I heard a rumor that Osama Bin Laden was President Bush’s love child, who was the mother? That’s obvious, Pat Butcher. Where and what do you see yourself doing in 40 years time? Hopefully with a nice back catalogue of releases, my own studio, helping others do music, some where in the sun. GHOST does the midweek session every Wednesday 8.00 til 10.00 on Itch 105.15 FM and DJ Mentat has a show on Force 106.5 FM on Wednesday nights 10.30 til 12.
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Name: GHOST (left) Age: N/A Location: West London Crew: Musicforheads Label: Breakin Bread / Musicforheads Productions
Name: DJ MENTAT (right) Age: 24 Crew: N/A Location: Secret Location Label: Beat Asylum
BIG SMOKE MAGAZINE Location Hatton Wall London EC1 Art Direction Jonathan Bailey Styling Gemma Simon Special thanks Dan at the Hatton Wall.
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ARTS SCRATCHIN BREAKIN OPEN-MICS I'm sure that most of you Hip-Hop headz out there are vexed like me with the as usual ignorant multi-media overdose we are bombarded with concerning the behaviour of 'Teens out of control !!' ,'Lazy violent yobs' and 'Maruading gangs of menacing hooded ASBO hoodlums' WORDS DOM WEIR DON'T BELIEVE THE HYPE In particular the usual links to Rap music, Urban culture and the way that graffiti is often used as the background for hooded youths to parade themselves in pictures that are then used in articles about crime and crumbling communities. As followers and creative artists representing Hip-Hop culture, I feel we are in a unique position to reach out into our communities and get involved with the ‘chavs’, ‘wannabee gangstas’ and ‘yeah but no but’ generation, by offering up your skills and time in Hip-Hop workshops (and maybe earn a bit of cash too!). We can be those positive role models they so rarely have in their complicated lives, and show them what respect and Hip-Hop culture are really about, rather than the bling and g-string brigade we see on our TV’s and in our magazines.
GET INTO IT GET INVOLVED Whilst I am very aware that there are many out there keeping the skills alive inspiring, educating, having a laugh and discovering new talent, if YOU ain’t on it and want to know more, get involved! I hope to provide inspiration and information from some battle-hardened vets to wet your appetite and help keep the real culture alive and proper. I linked up with two graffiti artists and workshop experts, two Hip-Hop lovers who work with young people, a human beatboxer, a DJ and a young developing MC, and asked them to share their thoughts and experiences. Here is some info about them and what they do; 24
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ased in Brighton, David is the brains behind the Rarekind family, a collective of innovative, professional artists based in Brighton and London. He has designed for a range of Debenhams t-shirts and done murals for Harvey Nicks, as well as countless Community and Youth Projects in Brighton and London. His shop in Brighton is an intimate gallery, and also stocks music and other Hip Hop affiliated items. Steve aka Asto has been painting since the nineties. In the summer of 2004 Steve along with his friends Max and Jo Vidler established the B-style project. By February ‘05 they had a tight package of Hip-Hop workshops funded through various community funding opportunities. They delivered workshops on various estates in Bournemouth, and managed to acquire the services of Hip-Hop artists such as Louis Slippaz, Carpetface, Second to None breakers, DJ X-rated and others, to work with young people between 10-21. This culminated in a showcase at Bournemouth’s biggest club. The young people had the opportunity to perform on a big stage with a class PA system, and they all ripped it up!!
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What do you do in your sessions, and why did you get involved in workshops? David: It’s mainly focused on graffiti and UK Hip-Hop, to me it’s important to appreciate your own cultures. I have mainly been doing graffiti workshops, the main reason I like doing it is because when I realized what graffiti and Hip-Hop had done for me as a person I wanted to show kids that it could help them too. To me graffiti teaches you about respect, pride, confidence
and of course culture and art plus many more (life skills.) Steve: I’m a street artist, I do commissioned murals and workshops. After many years of illegal painting I got busted for the fourth and final time - I was looking at a jail sentence and a fine that went well into the thousands. This is when I decided to take a reality check. I saw a poster in the hall about Hip-Hop workshops, and when I saw they were advertising for graffiti tutors I had to investigate. After a big debate about me being under 18 the event director agreed that I could teach my first graffiti workshop. What are the main benefits to the youths? David: It’s all about bettering yourselves as human beings, being proud of yourself and others. Steve: Many of the young people that take part in our workshops have attitudes, and many other social and personal problems. Doing Hip-Hop workshops is a great outlet for them, as it gives them the chance to express themselves freely and be themselves, be it though their lyrics, art or dance. After the first hour or so of youths being in a B-style workshop environment it became clear that there was no attitude, no discrimination and no playing truant. Instead there was respect, passion and trust. What are the main benefits to you professionally and personally? David: Working with kids always keeps you grounded. Steve: I like making a difference in young peoples lives, as what happens when you’re young can affect your future. I have also benefited a lot professionally and as an artist. I have turned painting illegal graff and almost going to jail into a legitimate and positive business, which pays a good wage. Any funny or memorable moments in particular? Steve: One thing that always sticks in my
head is the time when I had some paint go missing from a workshop. I was completely unaware that any had gone but on the last day one of the youths came to me with a box and said, “I’m really sorry but I took these on the first day”. To me this just goes to show that by giving them time and educating young people by incorporating things that they love and enjoy like Hip-Hop, in return you get respect, attention and most importantly the job gets done.
WHO'S GONNA TAKE THE WEIGHT? Andy is a youth worker who has previously worked on Youth Inclusion projects, and now runs a centre. He has brought the real Hip-Hop to the club, and heavily supported the B-style project. He currently runs breaking, DJ and MC workshops and music production, from the club to the next generation. Jon works on a sessional basis for the YOT (Youth OffendingTeam). He is also part of the ISSP (Intense Surveillance and Supervision Programme), which targets the most active repeat young offenders, and those who commit the most serious crimes. Which groups of young people do you work with? Andy: Any, however our main user group would be described as “disaffected” or “NEET”(Not in Education Employment or Training), or whatever buzz-word seems to be flung around at that particular time. Honestly, it winds me up how people categorise others. So I work with any young person who walks into my club, regardless of history and label. Jon: I work with those at real risk of facing a custodial sentence - many of these young people have had no real chance in life, I’m the last chance saloon for some of them.
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Can you think of any positive outcomes for young people and your self i.e. change in attitude, offending, taking up chosen skill, etc.? Jon: The benefits have been various from a workers point of view it engages, and opens a communication that is often hard with a group of young men and women that have nothing in common with adults and authority. It also shows young people how a culture is developed to what they see know, and how others have learnt to express themselves in similar ways and for similar reasons. Some young people I have worked with have began to show lessons learnt and ways to express their feelings and skills in more constructive ways, that are enabling them to think and understand why, how and what they were thinking about themselves, as their identity was forming.
MAKE THE MUSIC WITH YA MOUTH Bevis is a beatboxer from Portsmouth who is closely linked with the Go-off crew, who present Pompeys’ premier Hip-Hop night. He is a chef by trade and seized the opportunity to work with young people to test his skills, and also to open up new career opportunities for himself. He became an integral part of the B-style project and delivered workshops in Bournemouth, Southampton and Portsmouth. To find out more about beatboxing check http://www.humanbeatbox.com/
What do you feel are the benefits to the youth from these workshops? Bevis: Learning this shit now, there gonna tear it up later in life. So far as beatboxing goes it doesn’t cost anything, perhaps the only expense is keeping your mouth in order, so toothpaste and mouthwash with a little lip balm!! Beatboxing is instant, you can drop it anywhere, and people are fascinated by it - if they’re hanging around in a park they can do it, chuck in a budding MC, there you go!! It’s cool to rap, graf, spit, battle, break, it helps gain that respect from others. What are the main benefits to you professionally and personally? Bevis: It’s interesting for me for working out how I do some of my noises, and how I then can translate this over to a pupil, it’s fulfilling man, giving something back, passing on the knowledge. It’s cool having people look up to you, and the smile that shows when they nail something they have been trying to do. I’m starting to believe that I am doing something positive, working in a area which I love, and have a lot to give that
is only positive. I hope I can pass that positivity on. Can you think of any positive outcomes for young people, ie change in attitude, offending, taking up chosen skill etc? Bevis: Direction!! Once you’re focused on one part of your life, everything else seems to follow. I mean if you succeed in one thing it’s only gonna help you realise that you can succeed in all things you do - HipHop has this strange stigma in this country that it is all bad, all pro guns and demoralising to women, and yes I cannot say it isn’t there, but it is no way as bad as it is perceived. I think youth crime starts from boredom, so yes if focus is put on something else it has gotta be a good thing.
What groups of youths do you work with? Co: I’ve worked with many different groups, the first one was an all Pakistani group of young males. As an English Asian I felt I could reach out to them, make a connection in a positive way. Then I worked with a youth group, we made a tune, then with a school exclusion group on DJing and making mix CDs and tunes on computers. I’ve also done workshops in villages and colleges. The ages have been from 12 to 20. What are the main benefits to you professionally and personally? Co: It’s great to see a youth taking an interest in something and then pursuing it as a career, and then getting the feeling that you
“Graffiti is a culture that can give you a good basis to living life… You learn how to respect yourself, to be proud and have courage” WHAT IS A DJ IF HE CAN'T SCRATCH? Co has been DJing for ten years; he runs a record label specialising in D’n’B. He has released many 12”s and an album, and Knowledge magazine listed him as an ideal template on how to set up your own label. He is part of the Urban Takeover family, and he has led DJ and scratch workshops alongside myself to many youth groups. He has recruited some of these young people to work as DJ’s, MC’s and producers within his company. www.dopeammo.co.uk. What hip hop related workshops have you done and what inspired you to get involved? Co: I have done various DJ workshops over the years for the local college and council. The main reason I got involved was because I wanted to put something back into the local community, and let the youth know, especially those who had little or no direction, that they could find something like music and pursue it into a career like I have done.
have put them on track and out of trouble. Also I have taken on some of these youths on work experience in my studio and as DJ’s, MC’s and street teams. One of them won a demo comp on 1xtra!
YOU MUST LEARN! Luke is a young man I worked with on a summer project - he was into MCing, but more for the kudos rather than as an artform. One of the workshops was street poetry run by Manchester street poet Mike Garry, Luke engaged really well and from that point on used writing rhymes in a new context.
How did being involved in the Splash Project and Hip-Hop workshops help you grow as a person? Luke: Yeah them hip hop workshops that we did were good, because at the time we were all lads who weren’t too sure what we were doing with our lives, or where we were going, and it was a good chance to have a laugh together and talk deep about certain issues we’d never thought about discussing. We were all able to learn new things from you guys, and at the same time we learnt from each other. It was a good chance to go places too, and to see things, just do something other than hanging about parks drinking and getting in trouble. How’s life for you know? What you at? Luke: I’m getting things together now, and things are looking on the up! After the project I went to college and did a B-tec in Graphic Design, then made it to Uni! I’m in Coventry and livin’ the student life! I’m still writing, it’s just a case of recording. I could do with some studio time to be honest rather than using all this shoddy home stuff. I think this web mic has had its day! I’m gonna get some of my music up on soundclick…here’s somethinh I’m writing at the moment. Peace! www.soundclick.com/rippaakajoeshmoe
HOW CAN I BE DOWN? I hope that this piece has opened up some new ideas, and made you think about getting out there and using your skills for the greater good and development of hip hop culture in the UK. Remember kids; “Rap is something you do, Hip Hop is something you live”. (KRS-One, ‘Rap Vs. Hip-Hop’). Email me at domskiwdc@yahoo.co.uk or log on to bigsmokelive.com for the full Article and Links.
When did you start MCing and what was going on for you? Luke: Started MCing back in 2000/2001, as I came to the end of my school years. I left school, went through some changes, had some bother here and there but still kept on my feet. I think MCing could be one of the reasons why I kept going through it regardless of what anybody else said, because I was able to get my feelings down on paper and express myself. When something is written down on paper it can seem a lot clearer than when it’s all jumbled up in your head with other shit. BIG SMOKE MAGAZINE
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“Sway is one of the most prolific UK talents not to step to the begging bowl of the major label industry. He’s lyrically gifted, with a unique British sense of humour” Ras Kwame
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THIS IS MY FEATURE VOL 1.
FROM GHANA WITH LOVE Music consumers looking for an ounce of sonic truth in this saturated hip hop age are under more pressure than ever not to fall prey to PR fiction. Derek Safo, better known by his alias Sway, is one producer and rapper from Hornsey on a mission to abort any misconceptions that he might be just another chapter in that book of hype... WORDS CHANTELL FIDDY PHOTOGRAPHY JAKE GREEN
t’s the age old story - you work the underground circuit for a number of years and then bang, you drop a tune, a real heater that suddenly propels you onto lips of the many. In Sway’s case ‘Flo Fashion’ did just that and now the time has come to back it up. Where Sway’s profile is concerned there seem to be two main schools of thought at work. The general consensus is that he’s the biggest talent to have emerged from the UK underground in a long time. On the other side are those who are yet to be swayed (pun intended). On first impressions it would be easy to get it twisted - just another spitter from the ends, his pants worn baggy, cap down low and fresh sneaks. Then there’s the three mobile phones. But stereotypes done, don’t get him twisted. If you don’t respect his music you’ll at least respect his business or mind. A composed, analytical thinker, he’s also without the arrogance and attitude that harpers so many. He’s quick witted, sharp and always one step ahead. “I’d just describe myself as tall and the most good looking ugliest person you’ve ever met”, 22 year-old Sways says thoughtfully, with what transpires to be a rare grin creeping across his face. “Honesty, personality, understanding, loyalty that’s very important to me.” He doesn’t smoke nor care for alcohol much, preferring instead to be 100% in control, a trait that’s seemingly mapped out his path (and the interview, which despite being a great length, doesn’t see him lose a bit of concentration).
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Sway’s road trip in life has had it’s shares of twists and turns. Born in England after his mother unexpectedly went into labour en-route to Ghana from Amsterdam, he spent his first few years of life back in Africa with his grandmother, while his mother returned to London to set up home. Like most things in his life he sees this as one of those events that happened for a reason. “She just saw opportunity in England. We were from a semi- wealthy family in Ghana, my grandad owned petrol stations and a timber business, but there was so much more that could be done for me here.”
Your history seems important in your music? It is. It should be important to everybody. In order to find out who you properly are, you need to know where you’ve come from, the elements that made you and understand them… the more you find out the more you can decipher the future and put your life in a direction that will be prosperous. Are you proud to be British? Yes, a lot of elements in me, London made. I’ve got a lot of characteristics and things I don’t think I’d be doing if I hadn’t been raised in an environment like London. I can only be real, I’ve been in London for 18/19 years. All I really know is London but at the same time, when I go home at night it’s like being back in Ghana.
What do you hold your strongest views on? Belief in God. I’ve been bought up in religious conflict. I’m not Muslim but if I sway towards any religion it’s Islam, but there’s too much that counteracts the society I’m living in at this moment of time. It’s direct conflict being a Muslim doing as I do. There seem to have been a lot of UK rappers who’ve come out of the Nation of Islam, has the Nation ever tempted you? Nah, the Nation of Islam and Islam in general are two different things. The Nation is very geared towards racial issues and black power, I’m not a pro black person - in the same way a black person can stab me in the back so can a white person. As far as I’m concerned you love the people you love and the other people don’t matter… I’m not into this all black people sticking together, at the end of the day you’re always going to have conflict. You have war in the world, in your street, in your house... it’s got nothing to do with black people. Weak people or people who don’t know their purpose feel the need to stand for something and will use any excuse. Islam to me represents living the right way. In a similar way to Rastafarianism? It’s similar but there’s no person, no living man to look up to. In Islam every man is equal with everybody including women, only women are not really equal to men in what they can do in society. <BIG BIGSMOKE SMOKEMAGAZINE> MAGAZINE
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So they’re not equal then? They’re equal value wise, you need a man and a woman, but men are in charge only because of the characteristics of a woman. A man is like the strong bear. Some women are cool with the female role of the man bringing home the food, but some women, especially now where there’s so many broken homes and girls are being brought up to be their own fathers, they don’t respect men any more. Who did you vote for in the recent election? Labour. I don’t know too much about the parties but I know when you’re on that voting list there’s more opportunity and it’s easier to get a mortgage. I don’t like Blair though, he’s fake. Why not vote for someone else? They were the only people I knew and as far as I’m concerned I don’t have time to try to change the country. Labour are already in power, they’re all gonna do the same thing, they all say they’ll do this and that, they’ll all from the same tree. How do you think we can get people to vote again? Voting is bollocks to me full-stop. I’m not too concerned about politics because I don’t know enough about it. Maybe If I researched it more, you never know it might be a field I go into later in my life, but I’m not going to pretend I know a lot about it and penalising things or people. It’s very possible that I’ll go into politics actually. There’s one track you have forthcoming which has an anti-abortion message, do you ever consider whether you might isolate your listener when you write bars? That track’s called Deep Breath and goes through lots of different sexual downfalls. I have an opinion, I’m not saying ‘don’t do it’ or ‘it’s wrong’ I’m just saying I wouldn’t do it and I’m against it. I believe if you’re willing to do what you did to get to that stage you should deal with the consequences. Life is a different thing to writing a rhyme, you can make a mistake on a bit of paper and start again… if you have the potential to bring a healthy person into the world then try your best at it. It’s a gift. If you’d been 15 and got a girl pregnant do you think you’d have felt the same way? I dunno. It’s a view I’ve held since the subject matter’s been close to home to me. I’ve thought about it, you know getting a girl pregnant, I think ahead a lot. Even when you do think ahead mistakes and not just mistakes like accidents happen. You could be the most conscious person but there’s one day you think you’re invincible. Do you think part of our problem is youth think ‘the world’s against me’? Of course, it’s an excuse, ‘the system messed up so I stabbed five people and went to prison’, no, you stabbed five people because you wanted to and you got caught, that’s why you’re going to prison. If you wanna be cool go and work in Sainsbury’s. It will get you enough money to save a bit, get yourself a deposit and a credit rating. You can work with the system you just won’t be as rich as Puff Daddy. 28
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As a young man, is adult life what you expected? By the time you’ve realised what life is about you’re nearly there anyway. A lot of people have blinded themselves into thinking life is hard. It’s not. If you want it work for it, if it’s fathomable reach for it. From a young age Sway had expressed a love for words, penning to tracks like ‘Turtle Power’ and reciting them at school assembly. Other favourites included Kris Kross’s ‘Jump’. But despite his articulate and informed nature he claims he can count the number of books he’s read on two hands (his favourite being Iceberg Slimm’s ‘Pimp’). Arming himself with his school boy tag Sway, he began penning rhymes, initially to jungle (his cousin DJ Ink is in Metalheadz) before moving onto hip hop. He soon began rolling with locals like Pyrelli. “We met on the streets. My mate had told me about this rapper Pyrelli and everyone argued who was better, I didn’t care until heard a tape that shook me up. I didn’t know people in the ends were spitting like that. The only thing I had over them was the Britishness - they had American twangs. My cousin, DJ Ink in Metalheadz, annihilated one of my first tapes because of my fakeness.” It was still beats that interested Sway more than rapping, fame just not appealing. Even now he still expects to have more success long-term with his beats rather than his rhyming. It was at 16 that Sway began entering open mic competitions, and even got to the last round at Dingwall’s where he was then beaten by Taskforce’s Chester P Hackenbush (asked by Big Smoke whether he’d now win a re-match, Sway refused to comment). Regardless, it was the push Sway needed. Weeks later with his Tottenham trio Phynix Crew, they reached the Choice FM Rapology ’99 final. Soon after Phynix Crew joined forces with another collective to form ONE. Sick of battling, they switched their attention to making songs. But with school done, he’d progressed onto study sound engineering at college and with part time jobs at Gap and composing ringtones, Sway was equally busy saving up enough money to build himself a decent home studio. It was here he began concocting his solo work and marketing plan, a plan that many a major label could take note from. ONE went onto record the album ‘Onederful World’, selling around 2,000 units, Sway having produced nearly 50% of the project. Around the same time due to frustration he began pushing more solo material and his debut release ‘On My Own’ (championed by DJ Excalibah) stirred the industry up. “I really wanted the group (ONE) to work, it was a phenomenal group of eleven people, to this day I don’t know a group with so many talented individuals, but real life caught up with them. Some had babies, had to come out of their house, you know too old to live with parents, then there was work… I had to keep going.” With his attention focused, Sway moved on, putting his plans into action alongside his DJ Turkish and “favourite rapper of all time” Pyrelli. With his transgression from jungle
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“He’s a very big MC with a good brain on him, he knows what he’s doing mate plus he’s a good character and a versatile guy that’s why he’s in between two scenes” Bruza BIG SMOKE MAGAZINE
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to Hip-Hop already accomplished, the grime scene with its new found flexibility towards styles of music and emceeing began to open its doors. He remains one of the few artists, bar the likes of Klashnekoff and Skinnyman, to have bridged such gaps. “Hip hop heads think I’m quite grimey but the grime cats think I’m more of a hip hop artist. I think ultimately it’s because I’m entertaining that I’ve got that respect from both sides.” The sell-out mixtape series, ‘This Is My Promo’, has proved a great catalyst. Volume 1 included punchlines to rival a Ricky Gervais script, showcasing a cross-section of his rhyming talents, from the cheeky to the serious over both self-produced and well-known tracks such as Usher’s ‘Caught Up’ and J-Kwon’s ‘Tipsy’. Volume 2 took the formula progressively further. “That was the plan exactly. Next Dan Greenpeace came. I’m not signed to him, he’s distributing the ‘This Is My Demo’ project. After that it’s back to Dcypher and we’ll do the next album, and might get a deal or we might go with Dan again because he’s done such a good job. It’s a worthwhile investment though, I’ve worked hard to get to this level I can’t see why someone wouldn’t put money in because they’ll make it back. I don’t see anything as favours, everyone’s going to earn out of it.” With critical acclaim coming from media across the board, the Metro to Hip Hop Connection, it was only a matter of time until the remixes started coming. First there was Taz’s ‘Cowboy Film’ followed by work with Terri Walker and a cameo alongside Mike Skinner on The Mitchell Brothers ‘Harvey Nicks’. He also admits to those for Jamiroquai and Akon that didn’t make the cut. There was also supporting Dizzee Rascal on tour. “Dizzee and I have talked about working together, but I’m not on Dizzee’s level as far as publicity’s concerned. If I was to do a track with Dizzee now, In London it would be alright because I’m getting more popular, but to Canada or something it would be like Dizzee’s bringing me through which isn’t what’s going on. With The Mitchell’s it’s different. We’re all up and comers even if Skinner was endorsing it. Terri Walker, she’s R&B so I helped her as much as she helped me. I’d never pressure Dizzee to do something.” So what makes a good rap to you? Being able to convey a message clearly, being able to bring the listener to where you were when you wrote it, have people close their eyes and have them in a similar place to you intended them to be. Also delivery, clarity... the way you structure things. What’s the difference between an MC and a rapper? They’re the same to me. I’m more concerned with how people hear my music - OK the average British hip hopper who hasn’t heard of me and hears MC Sway might be put off, turn the page because they were ignorant... that’s the only way it could be detrimental, but if that’s the case I don’t want those kind of people listening to my music. 30
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Are you a battle rapper? I won’t lie, I’ve still got it in me, sometimes I itch to go at certain people but it’s childish. Do you enjoy listening to grime clashes? Some of them are good, like Crazy Titch V Bruza cause I couldn’t figure out who won that. I like them both a lot, that was the first time I’d seen Bruza and I was like ‘I’ve got to work with this guy.’ Your production company Dcypha has teamed up with Alliance, what’s the deal? My older cousin helped me financially to build a studio, I had some money saved, did a few hustles and we formed Dcypha and I made ‘This Is My Promo Vol. 1’. Then there was another group Alliance run by a guy Puffy (he looks like Puff Daddy). I needed money to shoot my first video but I couldn’t get clean money and we wanted clean money, there’s consequences when you use money from certain people or you use certain money. We knew Puffy earned money in a good way, but he was the last person I went to. We went to people I might have mentioned earlier, people with money,
“This journey, the one I’m on right now, it’s the best I’ve ever been on. Ultimately it’s taking me to wherever it feels I need to be. That’s what this is all about.” I’d worked for, I’d done favours for. I always said I’d pay it back because I knew when my mixtape came out it was going to sell… Loads of people turned their backs on me, people I considered friends and stuff like that. Puffy was like “you’re getting popular, I’m trying to launch my artist Biggz, show me the ropes and I’ll help you out.” I started taking Biggz to radio with me. He took a lot of short cuts, a lot of grinding I’d done to get into position. With that we started Dcypha Alliance. That was just to do ‘This Is My Demo’ because we all get what we want out of it. Onederful World to now, musically has it changed? You can see the transformation, it’s blatantly obvious what’s going on. From ‘On My Own’ to ‘Onederful World’ to ‘This Is My Promo’. I was humorous, then life was dulling my spirits, things started getting gloomy - it took another trip to Ghana in 2003 where I was able to review my situation, who’s who, what’s what, where I was heading and all of that. It hooked me up. As soon as I got back I recorded ‘Flo Fashion’. The darker side was definitely creeping in on ‘Onederful World’ though.
Destiny’s Child are fans, any other celebrity fans you know of ? Tricky, he tried to sign me to his label actually. I’m mad but not as mad as Tricky. He’s really dark but I’m a very colourful person, I mean the label was called Urban Poison. I liked him but I don’t know what he saw in me cause I’m not a dark artist, I have dark elements and streaks... There’s a few others I don’t want to say that have got in contact with me. I don’t want to use other people to equate what I’ve got going on. Who are you listening to right now? The last album I bought was Common, it’s alright. Before that I re-bought Slick Rick cause someone had stolen mine. UK wise no one’s really dropped an album I’ve got. I like Kano a lot, he’s one of the most talented, him and Ghetto, Ghetto is underrated because he’s in Kano’s shadow. Ghetto reminds me of what Pyrelli is like to me. People mention me a lot more but Pyrelli is right here too and he’s serious. Do you ever regret anything you say, I was surprised you did the Fuck New York track? I’ve been around a lot of DJ’s and I know hype is the promo tool to use. It builds reputation. I’ve been doing dubs from before Pepsi but that was just the first one that came out back in 2003. I was confident in giving this to radio as a marketing tool because I have a cousin in America who told me Tipsy was a big hit. I thought I’d capitalise off the push the record company over here would do. Some people did warn me about ‘the consequences’ and calming it down, I understand what they’re saying but…” Some people think you’re now signed and this is just a continuation of your cleverly devised marketing plan? Nah. People are calling, it’s getting deep but I still haven’t even got a manager. My press officer contacted me. I’m always interested to see how far someone will go, like to get me on a track cause that’s how much effort I will put in when I work with them. I like to see people work hard. So deal or no deal, Sway has his work cut out to deliver an album that lives up to promise, but he’s trying not to leave a stone unturned, dealing with subject matters from abusive relationships to his outlook on London in what he describes as a cleaned up version of his mixtapes. Producers at the mixing desk are Shucks, Turkish, Shanobi, Wonder (Dizzee Rascal ‘Respect Me’), Terror Danjah (Kano, Shola Ama) and of course Sway himself. “I’ve changed this album so much, I think I need to hold stuff back, then I think I can’t because people are watching me. I’m trying to keep a balance because I want my second album to be explosive. I don’t want people to be like ‘Sway’s first album was the one’. I’ve seen too many artists do that and not top their first. You can hear that in my mixtapes, I’m getting more intense.” Talking like ‘This Is My Album’ is only the prologue for now the case is adjourned but whatever the verdict, Sway’s adamant he’ll take it in his stride. Sway's 'This Is My Demo' Album is set for release late September early October. For more info log on to www.swaydasafo.com.
Location: Cab Office London E2 Art Direction and Styling: Jonathan Bailey & Jake Green
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THE RISE OF UK HIP HOP DOWN UNDER Ok, aside from the fact that most third generation Australians have British relatives resulting from the First Fleet arrivals (aka Invasion Day), when it comes to music, especially hip hop, do we really relate? Well, the answer is undoubtedly an emphatic 'YES!' WORDS JOSIE STYLES SINCE THE EARLIER, MORE FORMATIVE YEARS of the UK scene, acts like the Cookie Crew, Daddy Freddy, Demon Boyz, Thrashpack, Gunshot, Hijack, Derek B, 3wyzmen (so dreadfully wack) and London Posse, have filtered down to Australia and garnered the attention of a very small but hardcore group of antipodean fans. Cassettes of UK hip hop, both original and dubbed, flew back and forth across our vast country and by far the most popular of these was The Music of Life ‘Hard As Hell Series’. They had distribution out here through Mighty Boy and actually had a somewhat significant profile. The much revered and sampled ‘Hustlers Convention 1989’ tape with Daddy Freddy, Demon Boyz, Duke and Merlin was also popular in Sydney but copies of the tape soon made their way all around the country. The next distinguishable chapter in the evolution of UK hip hop in Australia came with the release of the London Posse self titled 12” in 1987/88. Unfortunately for us, there has never been a prolific Caribbean influence in this country (hence our small, but dedicated Reggae scene) and for the first time, thanks to Roddie Rok’s yardie slang and Bionic’s toasting, Jamaican patois was readily accepted by a wider ranging audience. The superb beatboxing of Sipho (RIP) was also a highlight and spawned a new generation of beatboxers in Australia. For some who were (and still are) active in the Australian HipHop culture, the sounds and styles we were hearing from our UK ‘cousins’ were very influential in the early developmental processes of the homegrown scene. This is most apparent in our first real success story, Def Wish Cast. Def Wish Cast were and still are the archetypal Sydney Hip-Hop crew, with all members proficient in every element of Hip-Hop culture. Many groups have made very valuable contributions to the local scene, industry and culture, but few crews have been as well-rounded and have had such a large impact as Western Sydney’s, Die-C, Sereck and Def Wish. With uptempo production that was influenced by the electro craze of the mid-late eighties; an 808 kick drum that hit ya in the guts, and 3 hardcore rappers (one of which had a double time, ragga flow influenced by Britcore acts such as Gunshot, Silver Bullet, Demon Boyz and Hijack), Def Wish Cast had an inimitable style. They released their ‘Mad As a Hatter’ vinyl EP in 1992 and subsequently were the first local hip hop group to tour nationally. Sure there were wack acts like Sound Unlimited Posse doing the rounds but most underground heads ignored them and embraced the very credible Def Wish Cast. Their album ‘Knights of the Underground Table’ (released only on CD and cassette), became THE manual 32
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for Australian Hip-Hop. The video clip for the album’s single, "A.U.S.T." gave a face to Australian hip hop and was fundamental in shaping generations to come. However, the comparisons between UK and Australian hip hop don’t just start and end with the Britcore trend of the late 80’s. We really seemed to identify with the whole UK “I’m gonna do it my way” attitude, and we still consider ourselves more closely related in terms of production techniques and lyrics. Perhaps this is partly due to the fact that the UK has always played an underdog role to the US and when the UK said “F**k it, we got our own accent, sound and style and we’re proud of it”, Australia soon followed their lead and we too have our own definitive sound now. Whilst one of my favourite memories from my early ‘underground’ love affair with UK Hip-Hop is walking down Sydney’s Liverpool St with several local hip hop notables when I was about 13, rapping along with them to the words of Hijack’s “Style Wars” and “Horns of Jericho”, some of us older (ahem, more mature) types may remember seeing DJ Fingers on the BBC documentary ‘Bad Meaning Good’ (circa 1987/88) cutting up Tom Jones. Then of course there was the Derek B and DJ Scratch tour in 1988, with them being the first ‘UK hip hop’ act to tour Australia. DJ Pogo and ‘the world’s greatest DJ’, Cutmaster Swift followed suit soon after, touring our sunny shores around 1989, and they would be the last of our British counterparts (unless you count the Scratch Perverts) to visit until the millennium when Taskforce rocked shows in all of our capital cities. Since then, we have had Rodney P and Skitz, Roots Manuva, DJ Vadim and Yarah Bravo, Harry Love, Mr Thing, Braintax, Mystro, Disorda, Sarah Love, Juice Aleem and Lotek all bless us with tight shows, and although crowd attendance isn’t overwhelmingly large, the interest in UK hip hop has increased significantly in the last 6 years. I put this down to several inextricably linked developments: the Internet and being able to purchase UK hip hop online, the introduction of UK Hip-Hop into Australian record stores by Shogun Distribution (primarily through Boombox Distribution in the UK) and the collaborations between UK and Australian artists. Since 1999, a string of successful collaborations have been released. Riding on the back of their 2001 Australian tour, Highbury Estate graforiginees, Taskforce recorded while they were here and their tunes remain the most popular OZ-UK collaborations to date. They combined with Obese Records CEO, Pegz and Downsyde’s Dazastah on the impressive club joint “True to the Art” b/w “12”
Apostles”. They also managed to lay down some vocals at Jolz’ studio spitting pure fire and brimstone alongside Raph Boogie (Mnemonic Ascent) and Brad Strut (from Melbourne’s most notorious street crew, Lyrical Commission) over a cheeky Johnny Osbourne loop. The resulting track “Forward” was hailed as an instant classic and still gets rinsed at every hip hop jam. This wasn’t Brad Strut’s first UK collaboration however. He also collaborated with Lil Angry Man on “Walkabout” taken from the Beefeaters ‘Can of Worms EP’. The “Walkabout” remix is also found on Lyrical Commission’s debut album ‘The Stage is Set…’ which was the first Australian hip hop album to get sales and media coverage in the UK in 2002. Muskrat (from Adelaide’s Fuglemen) had previously released his “Garden Ponds” 12” in the UK in about 1999 but it didn’t fare as well as expected. In 2003, the OZ/UK collaboration between MAS Productions and Seanie T, “7 days of Herb”, appeared on the first ever Australian hip hop compilation to be distributed by a major label (Warner). ‘Straight from the Art’ attracted a lot of media attention and was made album of the week on the national radio station Triple J (equivalent to BBC One), which ensured that an entire new audience was hearing UK hip hop. Most recently, Evil ED and Melbourne’s A-Love hooked up for a tune while she was over in the UK, and the resulting “Captains of..” can be found on ‘Straight from the Art Vol 2’ and Evil ED’s debut album, The Enthusiast’. On Rodney P’s last visit to Australia, he took the time out to record with party-starter favourites, Koolism. Surely named after the vybes they create, “Warm and Easy” is one of the standout tracks on Koolism’s latest album ‘Part 3: Random Thoughts’. There are many projects and negotiations in the works which I’m not at liberty to tell you about (hehe deal with it!) but you know they’re gonna be dope. To me, it’s always been about the music and, having been a fan of underground UK hip hop for the best part of 17 years, I feel that it has come full circle for us arse-end of-the-earth Aussies. The artists that my generation grew up listening to and being influenced by are now recording with us, touring our country to promote their product (and have a smashing holiday in the sun!!). Not only that but some of our more established artists like the Hilltop Hoods are touring the UK, getting reviews in UK magazines and websites, and getting airplay in clubs and on radio. What started as parental guidance from the UK pioneers has now evolved into an organic mutual friendship. The future IS now… Special thanks to Mez (Two-Up, Morlocks), Hau (Koolism), Mark Pollard (Stealth Magazine), Sean B, DJ Ransom and Blaze for lending their time. Hau (Koolism) Photo courtesy of Ed Lang.
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You don't know who the Colony are? Of course you do. Well if you don't then you're about to find out. Big Smoke met up with the Colony at the 'Museum In Docklands' on West India Quay to talk about all things Colony related. WORDS DAVE PAGET PHOTOGRAPHY JAKE GREEN
THE COLONY RULE W here better to meet with this diverse and talented group than at a brand new showcase of one of the regions most influential industries and communities. It certainly reflects the crew’s make-up and work ethic, with each member contributing a unique talent and style to the Colony sound. To introduce the Colony as a crew; words perhaps do not do justice, their recorded output both as a collective and individuals, and their live performances are the only real introduction to them, but as words are all we have we will persevere. The Colony first began to build back in 1999, with Sir Smurf Little and Willow the Whisper meeting in College, and connecting with Grimlok and Conspicuous the Coroner through Homegrown internet radio show, down at Brick Lane. This didn’t all happen straight away, and the Colony took a while to emerge, not unsurprising when you consider the amount of talent that was passing through the studio in those days. Conspicuous recalls that it was around this time that he and Willow met Grimlok (who you’ll know as a champion and veteran of the battle circuit) although it wasn’t until slightly later that they all connected.
With this much variety of talent in one crew it’d be easy to expect them to be insular or isolate themselves from other artists, but that simply isn’t the case. The extended family including future names Ophkea the Black Hand, Kiff & Propaganda, T Bear, Bleu Cobane, and known talent like Shameless. With a very definite British sound (and by British we mean a sound that reflects the diversity and creativity within the nation) the Colony produce music that remains true to foundations of Hip-Hop whilst bringing their own individual take on it, embodying the serious, humorous, conscious, battle and just about every other angle including the kitchen sink. Smurf is quick to espouse the groups conviction that between them they provide a very rounded team where everyone should be able to identify with different aspects of each group members personality, Grimlok being the often aggressive punch line oriented rapper, Willow the crowds champion, Conspicuous the well balanced spitter, and Smurf the story
teller. At times it’s possible to suggest that Cons and Smurf share a likeness in approach, and Grimlok and Willow, at times Willow and Conspicuous, and so on. So the possibilities that these MC’s provide in different combinations is pretty exciting, and for once it’s easy to see just how much respect each MC has for one another because their verses generally coalesce well rather than compete on a track; check “Branded” on Evil Ed’s LP for evidence of this. Certainly, all four MC’s are keen to remind us that they constantly learn from one another, improving with every verse dropped, and rather than being competitive see each others verses as inspiration as much as a challenge. So what’s the latest from the Colony? Well, Smurfs just finished his debut single for YNR called Outside, the video’s wrapped, and he’s looking forward to completing his album, with production from Jehst, LG and Conspicuous we can expect something rather nice. Conspicuous the Coroner has a single out featuring Shaun Escoffery called ‘Focussed’ replete with a hot video in preparation for his debut LP “Backgammon” due in September (and work having commenced on a joint album with Evil Ed), and whilst Willow and Grimlok aren’t telling us exactly what they’ve got lined up, it’s abundantly clear that there will be a few nice surprises in store in the coming months with Willow working on a mini album as we speak and with Grimlok penning hot lines nonstop (Check Grimloks verse on the Skeptic & Conflix 12” just dropping for example). The Colony, much like any fledgling outpost of society, is keen to let us know that they are here to stay. Having suffered the positive and negatives of the UK Hip-Hop industry, they believe that how you get back up after being knocked down counts just as much as how you handle your successes, Conspicuous citing Mike Tyson, and how he’s never been the same since the time he was knocked out as an example of how sometimes peoples confidence and self-belief doesn’t recover following a major setback. Similarly the Colony share the belief that competition is healthy, and that true fans of the music will pick up their records to sit alongside other
artists in their collections, pleased that the UK Hip-Hop scene is growing with the likes of Anti Heroes from Liverpool, Associated Mind from Cardiff, M.S.I. and Moorish Delta from Birmingham all putting out records at the same time, how else can the scene grow? Certainly not off a belligerent or apathetic scene where you’re only likely to see the same few records by the same artists propping up the UK section in your local record store. Whilst we’ve been focusing on the homegrown scene up until this point Conspicuous reveals that the Colony have been busy on the international front with a collaborative mixtape with NYs Stronghold, and for those of you who don’t know the mixtape will feature the Colony alongside such artists as Poison Pen, Life Long, Breeze Everflowing, C Rayz Walz, Mic Terror, Vast air, Immortal Technique and Stealth Index. With two versions of the mixtape, a US and a UK version containing a slightly different balance for the respective audiences its clear to see that the Colony have a strong plan for their future. It certainly sounds like an exciting 12 months ahead as far as Colony releases are concerned, and it’s nice to see that more UK artists are putting serious plans into action, as an example for the UK scene the Colony certainly represent a mindset and conviction that we can all appreciate. So far in this article I’ve describes the colony as a crew, a group and a team, but as I said at the beginning it’s the Colony who can best introduce themselves, and so I’ll close with the last comment from their interview that best explains the mechanics of the colony “The Colony, we don’t see ourselves as a group, we are a foundation. When we work together we work together, and we enjoy working together, but we are also individuals, that’s our strength” and much like the citizens and employees of the old docklands of London, it’s the individual talents of each member and their ability to work together to the best possible end that takes that foundation and builds upon it to create a lasting impact. Keep an eye out for the deep impact that the Colony promise to impose.
“The Colony, we don’t see ourselves as a group, we are a foundation. When we work together we work together, and we enjoy working together, but we are also individuals, that’s our strength” BIG SMOKE MAGAZINE Location Museum in Docklands, West India Quay, E14 4AL - 10am to 6pm - www.museumindocklands.org.uk
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MOVE OVER WILL ASHON If Ryan Proctor liquidised and was reincarnated as a tune, it would be Hip Hop by Dead Prez. The deep kick-ass bass and the hook alone sums up this writer's passion and knowledge and as the Bigger Than man says himself 'I am hip hop'. WORDS BETHANY HEADLEY ILLUSTRATION DUNCAN HILL HE’S BEEN IN PRINT FOR OVER 10 YEARS and for the last five has written the fortnightly hip hop column in Blues & Soul magazine, taking over the likes of Tim Westwood. His interview list includes Mary J Blige, Will Smith, The Beatnuts, Pete Rock and CL Smooth and you would be hard pressed to find a UK artist that he hasn’t written about somewhere along the line. Big Smoke met him to find out where it all began, the occupational highs and lows and if he ever thinks about anything other than hip hop. ‘At school there was this kid who came in telling everybody his big brother had this record that had swearing in it so we got him to bring it in. He brought in this crusty tape with The Message on it. Most people wanted to hear it because of the shock value but when I heard it just blew me away. Some of the lyrics were about quite in-depth social issues for someone of that age but it was something about the sound of the record that was just hypnotic, it drew me in. Later on, another friend’s brother was DJing Run DMC, LL Cool J, early Def Jam stuff so we’d be jumping on his decks after school and at nine years old we was like – ‘WOW, this is incredible’ so that was how I got into the music’. He definitely fine tuned his taste at an early age, which explains his on-point knowledge about whatever artist you may throw into the conversation. He is the Rain Man of hip hop. But at 10, how does jumping on his mate’s decks materialise into a career
as a hip hop journalist? ‘In about ‘86 I started to think about writing about hip hop. I always enjoyed writing at school and picking up magazines like Blues & Soul (my friend’s brother used to buy it so I used to read the column 20 odd years ago that I now write. Very bizarre). I used to write stuff from about 10 – 11 years old, pulling pages out my exercise books making my own magazine’. From the late ‘90’s he was writing for a website called purejam.com and then, after meeting through a friend, throughout Uni he was writing for Matt C’s magazine called Downlow and working with him on Fat Boss when that was set up. For any budding writer out there Ryan Proctor should serve as an inspiration because it’s not as easy as it sounds. He wasn’t paid for his work and it was all done between work and studying and the hard slog doesn’t exactly set you up on a career path. ‘After Uni, I tried to concentrate on writing, making phone calls, chasing people up. I was getting no response which was quite demoralising. I started questioning myself, thinking maybe there wasn’t a place for me but I sent my last 2 reviews to Trace magazine. The next day I got a call from one of the editors who passed them on to Will Ashon, the music editor. There were certain writers who I grew up respecting and Will is still one of the best music journalists without a doubt. He actually called me up and there I’m sat in Milton Keynes like ‘wow – this is happening’. Then in the summer of 2000, Matt called
me up and asked me to take over his column so for the last five years, every two weeks I’ve been writing for Blues & Soul’. All respect due because he still works full time (in a bank of all places) but there must be some perks? ‘Big Daddy Kane is arguably my favourite MC’s of all time so to get the opportunity to interview him was one of those things where you have to think, ‘I hope he’s not an arsehole’. He wasn’t. After the interview we went back to his hotel and were up until 6am just talking general hip-hop stuff. To sit down with someone like Kane and actually have him say that he really enjoyed doing the interview and just to talk on a one to one basis was definitely a highlight of my career. That’s the one and only time I’ve ever asked for a photo. And I got his autograph. Yeah… the interview with Big Daddy Kane, the interview with KRS One and the interview with Chuck D – those three have been highlights’. You see… its not as bad as all that and the guy gets paid to do this shit. Yeah the day job pays the rent but what you gonna bet on his fat trainer collection? He’s even interviewed Nas. That must have been a buzz, ‘To be honest, when people ever ask me if I’ve had a bad interview with anybody, Nas is the only person that springs to mind. I came away feeling he had an opportunity to say what ever he wanted and he basically said very little. I’ve still got a lot of respect for Nas as an artist, I still think he’s a great lyricist and
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he’s got a lot of talent. It was at the point when the whole thing with him and Jay Z was going on and obviously he’d been doing the press rounds at the time and had clearly been asked the same questions over and over again. But as a journalist you still have to ask’. Disappointments are inevitable but looking on a brighter side it’s encouraging to hear him talking about his experiences and good to learn he can get away from the 9-5 every now and then. ‘A record label had flown a few of us to New York for two days to interview Busta Rhymes. I met him but the interview never happened because Busta had enough and didn’t want to do it. I mean, it was great for me because I got to go New York, see some friends, buy some records, interview De La Soul and I ended up doing the interview with Busta over the phone about a week later’. Nice one, that’s what you call a bonus. It’s difficult to work out wether he has any other interests because no matter what you ask him, the conversation always ends up in the same place. He lives and breathes it. ‘It’s hard for me to remember a time when I haven’t been listening to, or passionate about, hip hop. It’s something that, because I got into it so young I’ve never known any difference. I don’t care about the industry because I didn’t get into it for that. I got into it because of the music. It is my hobby; I don’t get away from it. I get up in the morning and I’m brushing my teeth at 7am to a CD. I walk out the house I’ve got my headphones on, I get to work and I’m thinking about who I’ve got to call that day, or what I’ve got to do that evening for the column. It sounds corny but at the end of the day it’s who I am.
Check Ryan's fortnightly Hip-Hop column in Blues & Soul Magazine.
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15 years ago London Posse defined the UK hip hop sound by mixing up Cockney slang and Yardie patois over Hip-Hop beats full of reggae influences - their sound was distinctly British and they provided the blueprint that has allowed every UK MC since then to evolve. If like me, you were a big fan of London Posse, you might find some of the following a bit hard to read. WORDS TURNA PHOTOGRAPHY JAKE GREEN
ionic is back on the scene after a few years on the down low and he has plenty going on that he wants you to know about – while happy to speak about London Posse it is immediately clear that he doesn’t really give a fuck about what most headz would say was the best UK hip hop group ever. “I never really thought London Posse was that big anyway because being big means selling records worldwide and London Posse never really did that – when we first come out it was me, Sipho, Biznizz and Rodney, and that was the picture on the front of the record. I came into that group because of Sipho, and when he left after the first tune it was weird because he had brought us all together. I knew Biznizz but I didn’t really know Rodney and we were two separate entities, living two separate lives but in a group together. From the moment Sipho left we were all just hanging on, people wanted us to do shows and make records so we just went with that, but to me it was always with the intention to come out of it at some point and do my own thing.” Before we get to that point lets go back and see where Bionic was coming from and how he ended up crashing into London Posse in the first place; “I met Sipho around them times breakdancing in the West end at Covent Garden, but the real key to the whole thing was a Slick Rick & Doug E Fresh show at Camden in 1986. I saw Slick Rick on stage all blinged out, looking good with some wicked tunes, the place was going mad and then he says he is from England! We said ‘WHAT?’ and couldn’t believe he was originally from England as he was coming over from America all big time. From then I decided that hip hop music is what I wanted to do and that’s when I linked Sipho, who had been inspired by Doug E Fresh’s beatboxing and that was the flex we started on, and that’s why for me a lot was lost when Sipho was gone.” “When the money started to dry up in the breakdancing thing I was back to the ghetto and as dancehall was the big thing it was all about chatting, my bredrin Bully got me into the chatting thing when I was around 14 or 15 rolling with the bike massive chatting ragga on sound systems. I was into the early UK sounds from South London like Saxon, Coxsone and Young Lion. From around 1983 they were very inspirational for me with deejays like Daddy Rusty, Daddy Sandy and Peter Levi chatting in an English style, this was even before I started to chat so they was my inspiration from early times. All my bredrins were into dancehall and that was all they listened to, but I had a different flex because my cousin introduced to me to Bootsy Collins and all that west coast Parliament sound, basically a whole heap of American music that most of bredrins didn’t really know – so later on when west coast hip hop started – I understood it better as I knew all the Bootsy samples.” “Around the time that I was chatting on sounds my Dad died and so I was fucked up in the head and that was my rob-a-man days on the street, just looking after myself and trying to get through each day – for about a year I was pretty mash up and then I met Sipho again and he
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was working with Big Audio Dynamite doing his beatboxing. He was going on tour but needed another MC as well so he asked me to come with him. One day there was a video shoot at Samantha’s and we rolled up there with all these girls and got paid as extras. There was a meeting about this tour with BAD later that night so I just crashed that meeting, let off bare lyrics and next thing I know I’m in the group! So I was part of it even though I had just turned up that day out of the blue. BAD bought me on the tour with Sipho and Rodney and after that I said to them ‘I only chat, I don’t really rap so if we are going to do this rap thing properly we need to go to America and see what’s going on’. So we went to New York, lived in the ghetto and went to the big hip hop parties and lived it on road, we had a wicked time and did nuff things out there. Sipho and Rodney came back to England and I stayed out there a few months longer and roughed it, living the ghetto life. When I came back we did a second tour and Jaz from Big Life said if we wanted to put out a tune, Big Life would release it and from then that is where the group properly started. When we were in America everybody kept saying ‘Yo London Posse’ and that’s where the name came from as everyone kept calling us that.” In my own humble opinion London Posse did release some really good records over the next few years and because nothing like that had been heard before they really hit a nerve with UK hip-hop heads. They showed that it was possible to have a unique UK identity within music and in much the same way that UK dancehall artists like Tippa Irie had bought UK reggae to the world a few years earlier, London Posse did it for UK hip hop and alongside Demon Boyz they really put London on the Hip-Hop map. But all was not well within the group as Bionic says; “If you go back through all the old interviews that London Posse did you would see from what I said then that I was never really that into it. I used to drop bare shit about how I was pissed off. When people ask me about London Posse they don’t really want to hear what I have to say because it’s destroying their image and their dream of what London Posse represented – but what can I say? There were some good tunes but they could have been much better but my heart just wasn’t in it a lot of the time. I often felt like I was doing more than my share and after ‘Money Mad’ I saw people saying it is about the rob-a-man times - this is my street flex , this is me and bredrins on road doing their hustle, us being seen as a badman group – but we weren’t really a badman group. I know some big time criminals and all these rappers talking all this small time shit – when the real criminals talk in the pub telling their stories that is the real gangster rap! That is proper tings! In hip hop now it’s standard to talk bare fraff about being something you ain’t, painting an image that’s just hype, so when people see you ‘off stage’ they think that is your real persona – people are fronting and all these type of things is what has made me want to release some new music.” “I have never really been one of these people who beats their head against the door talking about British rap. Everyone is always crying about how no one is responding for it in America,
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“With London Posse I always felt that I wasn’t 100% in it and that was why I dropped out” we need a good record deal and blah blah... Fuck that if you’re British and you rap then just do it – done. The whole point is flying the flag in other places – taking the music out of England and flying the flag abroad – if you can’t do that then you shouldn’t be in the game, mate! This is ghetto music and you need to speak to the ghetto people and that means that you can’t be scared of certain areas and at the same time say you are a rapper. Rap is supposed to be about having something to say that can help the ghetto society but mostly it is bare niggas who just want to show an image and get girls. Being an MC is a ghetto thing and that means you have to be able to go to ghetto places and run it – you have to take it stateside and get heard over there, how are you going to get big but you don’t want to go to America? When I’m out there I see bare French and German heads, Yardies, African man dem all rolling out there in the ghettos – where is the English man? All American heads ever used to do about English people is cuss them talking about Frank Bruno and all that shit, it’s changed now and they know we are more on it but America is still where you have to make it if you want to be big in the rap game.” “With London Posse I always felt that I wasn’t 100% in it and that was why I dropped out in the end. We could have been much bigger and we could have taken it to America and done much more stateside but we weren’t big enough for America. As soon as I left and it was just me on my own then I could go to America and make things run. When Tricky bought me over to America things ran! He helped me loads and just threw me in the studio and made me learn more. I’m not a producer but I made the last London Posse tune ‘Style’ and by bringing in the jungle influence that I was getting deeper into at the time we made something totally original and new. I was linking with Stevie Hyper D a lot and he showed me the jungle scene and that really got me inspired with MCing again – I wasn’t going to become a jungle MC but it opened my eyes to new things. Before ‘Style’ there was a heap of London Posse tunes that never got released, made by different people and we had to let off money to them, which was annoying because when we did it ourselves that was the tune that people wanted to put out! So when Tricky put me in the studio and said ‘no samples’, I had to just deal with it and as a result I learnt loads and he really helped open mans minds to a whole world of new possibilities. This work in America led to work in Brazil and from the Brazil flex has come all the music I am dealing with now.” When a duo split up one of the first things that is asked is do you still see the other person? – what’s the score there?... “I still speak to Rodney when I see him round the place, this ain’t some primary school thing, but we always were two different people right from the start. To be honest I have tried to get away from that past and I don’t want to live off that name. People came to me asking if I wanted to do shows when Wordplay re-released the ‘Gangster Chronicle’ album. I ran a mile from London Posse ten years ago, how do you think I am going to want to come back and do some crusty old show now? What the fuck is London Posse anyway? Other 44
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than some small time group in England from the 90’s – we had a few tunes but we weren’t really anything big – if we had never put out that rob-a-man tune then someone else would have and they would have got all the boost. That’s why I let Natty talk me back into a doing a new hip hop track as the music business is quite sweet for the youths now, it’s not like how it was before. I’ll drop one tune and see what the reaction is, see if people really are as eager to hear me as I am being told” “Me and my bredrin are working on building up a new label ‘Six Million Dollar Records’ linking with Inigo Flo and putting out good quality music. I’ve always been associated with hip hop and ragga but really I’m just on a music thing and so I want to push out different styles that people wouldn’t normally hear. I’m working with this kid from Birmingham called Vader who is rough and I want to bring him through. Apart from that I only really work with girls – bare man want to work with me but at the moment I am working with a wicked vocalist called Aina and a female MC called Candy Floss. The first new tune to be released is going to be called ‘Get Naked’ and this will be dropping in summer with this new Brazilian style of music I’m feeling. All the work I did with Tricky and the time I spent with him in America, as well as the time I have spent going to Jungle raves in London has really bought me to a whole new level with my music.” He drops me an accapella of the new tune and people need not worry – the trademark Bionic flow is still there and the lyrics to this first tune are HEAVY! I am sworn to secrecy regarding some ideas he has for the release but if they happen as he plans then everyone is going to know about it. Bionic has been listening to a lot of different music over these years, keeping up to date with dancehall and drum and bass, checking a lot of African music and the most exiting thing for him now is the Brazil sound, but he hasn’t really been listening to any UK hip hop as he feels there is much more to life than that. “The brazil thing is like the original Miami bass sound but done in a Brazilian style. It’s their version of hip hop or ragga, I call it Brazil Bass and it is the ghetto music of Brazil talking about life in the favelas – police, soldiers, girls, sex, and drugs - everything that affects life in the ghetto. When my people out there have explained to me how deep the lyrics are, I wanted to spread the word and get people to know how good it is, what they are singing about and how they are dropping it – it’s bad! The whole world is missing out on what is happening out there in the Brazilian ghettos, my man DJ Pachu from Rio is my executive producer and he’s been helping me to get the authentic sound and feel to it. I met him at a big ‘Rock in Rio’ festival and from that I did some other venues in Brazil. He used to bring me to all the clubs out there and so I want to bring that vibe to England and hopefully bring them out here as well to do some DJing and some shows with me – I want to bring that Brazil flava to the world.”
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ON ONE HAZY AFTERNOON WALKABOUT IN AMSTERDAM FOUR YEARS ago, I was stumbling from cafe to cafe on the scout for some fresh graph to photograph when I spotted some guys playing street football on a basketball court. Nothing unusual. Stopping to watch, it seemed to take me a few minutes to sober up and realise there were no goalposts in this game and it seemed like a showboating exercise. Joe Cole and then some! What I saw next though made my jaw drop tenfold as in one move of devastating skill and deception when I was witness to one guy back-flicking the ball over his opponents head with consummate speed and guile and before the ball had even touched the ground stabbed it between his open legs. 'NUTS' was my instinctive shout, whilst the guy who had just been mugged stood motionless and distraught with everyone around him laughing and berating him. This was street football in its rawest form I thought, and with the chants of 'Panna, Panna' echoing in my ear, I had just bore witness to an initiation! Panna, a Surinamese word, which when translated means 'to destroy' and what is roundly known on Hackney Marshes as a nutmeg. The birthplace of Panna Knock Out (PKO) was on the streets of Amsterdam, primarily in the multi-cultural neighbourhoods where goalposts were scarce but legs and balls aplenty, so to improvise, legs became substitute goalposts. It caught on. Why? because if you enjoy football, it involves everything, rhythm, style, performance, the whole picture and that's why people watch it anywhere they can. Now an established organisation, with official yearly homegrown and international Nike sponsored tournaments, Edwin Van Zaane, the founder of PKO stresses its ancestry dates back much further than 2001 (the 1st PKO tournament). "Street football has changed. 10 years ago it was all about scoring goals and winning, now, it's about tricks, technique and making fun of your opponent." Devised and designed by Edwin himself, with help from ex-street player Edgar Davids, PKO has evolved from the football you see played on the streets. It has rules. Taking place on a 6m by 4m court, it's a one-on-one contest lasting three minutes. Score more goals than your opponent, you win but if you nutmeg him at any time, regardless of time remaining or goals scored you are the king and win at your opponents expense and humiliation. It's a brutal way to lose, in front of hundreds but it earns you respect. "Every panna is special. It means you're the boss, the top man. But to give one without hitting the legs, that's the ultimate buzz!" - Lenny Netteb, PKO champion 2002.
The UK crowned its first champion last year, amongst fierce competition from subsequent heats all around the country, Luke Findley from Wolverhampton was the victor, nutmegging his opponent in the final to mark a memorable first tournament and snatching the ÂŁ5,000 prize money to boot. The popularity and awareness of PKO is increasing rapidly, not just in the UK but worldwide. As clichĂŠd as it might sound, socially, PKO gets kids, who are marginalised on the side of crime and drugs off the streets, as the tournaments provide a vehicle to vent frustrations and show your true skills, and, just like graffiti, self-expression is king. Players strut onto the court like heavyweight champs, demanding attention, owning the moment until they get traumatised. Music, especially hip hop, plays an integral part in the make-up of how players get motivated. Once the hip hop starts pounding out of the speakers, the blood starts pumping, the head starts nodding, your brain orders your feet to dance with the ball and then you know, you're in the zone. However, the crossover from football to PKO is difficult, not everyone (me included) has the skill to succeed because if you only play on the street, you never have the awareness, insight and discipline to make it happen on the pitch. You need that. PKO creates very skillful and technical players but the pace set is slow, on a pitch you would never be allowed to hold onto the ball for so long without getting tackled. So what does it take to succeed? Three things. Technique - to set the trap and steer your opponent so that they open their legs. Flexibility - as all opponents are different so being a one trick pony won't get you very far. Mental Concentration - as the pressure of playing in front of hundreds wanting to see humiliation can make you buckle...or open your legs. GAME OVER!
CAN
YOU FLICK IT? WORDS RUBEN COCO
Thanks Edwin Van Zaane@nike.com, Essel Sports Agency in Amsterdam
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Since the days of our promo issue in 1999 Phil Knott has regularly contributed to Big Smoke. The following pages are a showcase of his talent. WORDS & PHOTOGRAPHY PHIL KNOTT
“ The Rza was shot at Milk Studios West N.Y.C. He arrived with his personal shaolin master/trainer in the arts. He was really cool and layed back. A great little shot.” BIG SMOKE MAGAZINE
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â&#x20AC;&#x153;This shoot was in Atlanta, he was driving a mad old car, dressed in crazy gear, but it all worked, again that southern hospitality, we went on a crazy tour of their hood/manorâ&#x20AC;&#x153;
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“Common was very calm, cool, polite, he got a few good vibes from the local people, he just got on with it.” BIG SMOKE MAGAZINE
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“We’ve gone to somewhere in the middle of America. He was playing a gig that evening, I think I only had about 1 hour to do the shoot, yet again, an easy going character.”
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WHO'S WORLD IS THIS I'm sorry - I refuse to continue this interview unless you remove the masks... WORDS BETHANY HEADLEY PHOTOGRAPHY CHRIS McKOWEN THE HORSE AND PANDA ARE BECOMING increasingly excitable as the interview progresses and it is time to take control. After all, this is a serious matter – Kung Fu is taking over the world and we need to talk business, not robots or Maureen from the photocopying shop. It’s hard to believe this phenomena began six years ago with £40 and a couple of teenagers but there you have it. ‘There wasn’t anyone of our age, 16, that had houses or flats’ Leo the panda explains ‘and we didn’t have the money to be going out raving, spending up at the bar, we were too big to go to the park so we thought ‘we’ll get some places and have parties’. And Kung Fu is born, hosted by the Mighty Mystro each month, a Natural Born Spitter, residents Harry Love (Medication Records) and Sarah Love rocking the one and two’s and Kevlars party warm up. Its not just been born… its grown from a club night put on by a couple of kids to a whole lot more, and home to the best internationally known resident DJ’s and host London could ask for. So, where did it come from and where is it going? ‘The name came from a computer game. We decided that it was gonna be our night so we photocopied the cover for our first flyer’ says Charlie the horse. Its deep stuff we’re uncovering here (It was a toss up between Kung Fu and The Johnny Henry’s Testimonial). But let’s be serious for a moment - these guys are due a big amount of credit for the hard work they have done. They dedicated themselves to their passion at an age when they could have been fucking around, turning it into a culture, a way of life, turning passion into a stable platform for hip-hop lovers and artists which must have been a hard task. ‘It’s more than we can explain or take credit for – it’s out of our hands in many ways because so many people are involved’, explains Charlie, ‘Solo One, who dresses the venue and is our resident graffiti artist, turns that place from a rock venue to a hip-hop club. Without the support from Unorthodox Styles, Crooked Tongues, the resident DJ’s, the performers and supporters and everyone else involved, Kung Fu would be nothing. They all have to be given their dues’. 51
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You could never refer to it as nothing these days, its got too much history and is too solid. It’s been the levelling compound of a cultural movement, seeping in everywhere, filling every gap and then going off to find more. ‘Basically’, says Sarah Love, ‘Kung Fu is an umbrella that a lot of things come under. A part of that is artist representation, a part of that is the nights that happen every month and the events we hold, the flyer pack service, the DVD, all the people that are involved and now our clothing range’. Teaming up with Amy Griffith, global Fashion Consultant and Stylist who’s worked with Agent Provocateur, Lulu Guinness, Carmen Electra and Spoylt, Kung Fu are developing their fresh, new clothing range. Ladies, you better practice your best strut because you’re gonna wanna look hot in your new garms. ‘We’re all about representing for the ladies as well as the men. For the girls there’ll be more of a girlier feel to it than
“Kung Fu is an umbrella that a lot of things come under. A part of that is artist representation”
there has been on the hip-hop front because they have been overlooked in the past’. Don’t worry fellas, your stuff is still there and by winter ’05 the original Amy Gstar from Stockton California is gonna be putting some bad ass cloth on your backs, ‘I like to listen to what people want to do and want to wear. I’m about providing quality stuff and I don’t want people to buy some shit T-shirt. I want people to buy something that they wanna wear every single day and be proud of it’. Sample pieces have been spotted on the more fashion conscious bods around London and the style is looking good. Its not just clothing that Kung Fu has their hands on. Art is always on the agenda. Tales of the Unexpected showcased artwork by Abigail Anderson, painter of Jehst’s stunning album cover, Falling Down (Oct ’03), and Scott Forrester’s photography has been exhibited in Where’s my Wristband. You can expect to see more exhibitions in the near future but in the meantime, world domination is taking place. This seems strange because a part of what is attractive about Kung Fu is the family vibe, the feeling that you are in a place where you belong. Spectators feel like they’re watching THEIR performers so how could it work worldwide? ‘Kung Fu wants to affect a small group of people in a global environment, exposing people to the UK scene, taking what we’ve created and exploring it in different scenarios, making it a global thing, bringing the hip-hop culture to another area’. Sarah reports ‘the vibe I’m seeing out in Australia and South Pacific is that they’re curious about what’s happening here and there’s an awareness of Kung Fu. It’s been a totally positive experience’. Sarah, Harry and Mystro have been a big hit down under, getting bookings for tours of Australia and New Zealand, magazine features and plenty of air play. Amy has been taking the clothing range to Hong Kong, New York and Australia and in Hawaii there are two bars dedicated to Kung Fu and the UK hip-hop scene so, if you’re doing the hula hula this year, check out Lulu’s and The Fox and Hound. Word on the Hawaiian streets is these places are smashing it. ‘It translates in every country. People come out of clubs and get so excited about saying the word they fly kick their mate into the curb trying to pull off kung fu moves. People like that little logo’, Leo adds. There’s no language barrier when it comes to kung fu so you don’t need to worry about speaking the native tongue when you head off to your exotic holiday location this year. And don’t forget, if you’re lucky enough to own a Kung Fu T-shirt, slip it in your suitcase because you just don’t know where that night is gonna turn up next. Big love to Mystro and Harry Love (Extended Players and Medication Records Respect) who couldn't be at the interview. Duty calls! Kung Fu, is every 3rd Tuesday @ Underworld, Camden and at the S&C on every 1st Friday of every month.
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S ' T I IE T N A E E S ' TIM
ill w u o T y we're e i n ea s, and can S d r a varie le. He to e h e l) 'v le itt fI youw his sty just a l (UK loyacord kno talking ard rap one re s with not from h - on o sound or. We go e ragga the tw kill f nd out pur fuses could to fi to an and ls you uildford ly, due 't find skil t to G rtunate e didn were wen re. Unfo error, w rd... We lford!!! mo ustics Guildfo et in I dating aco ch in to me commo ally.... mu posed is ac eventu sup kily he ght up Luc we cau and
WORDS BETHANY HEADLEY PHOTOGRAPHY JAKE GREEN BIG SMOKE MAGAZINE
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’ve just seen Lloyd Brown in Germany” Seanie T says casually, sitting back in his South London studio. He goes back for time with the UK’s most outstanding reggae singer; “yeah, we were in a play together in ‘99 called ‘Black Heroes’, about black history and great kings of Africa”. Between his eclectic style of hard-hitting UK driven hip-hop and pure sound system dancehall, would you expect a budding actor? You see Seanie T perform, listen to his beats and lyrics, look at the list of people he’s worked with and you might expect to meet some hard bastard out of the film ‘Shottas’ or something. If you do come across him though, you will find a modest, grounded man with focus and direction, a calm and relaxed demeanour, a father of two with a deep rooted passion for music, football, his children, and a man whose ultimate Dream Team makes a lot of sense. His numerous collaborations and long standing history with MOBO award winner Roots Manuva and the infamous Blak Twang have put him up there with the best, but more recently he’s smashed it with his Dark Horizons projects. Strictly representing a UK sound and opening doors for understated UK talent. “I wanted to promote the artists”, Seanie T says as he explains the motivation behind Dark Horizons, “I was upset that nobody talked about the UK artists. I’m travelling these different countries, seeing people in the 1000’s going to see Blak Twang, Roots Manuva or Rodney P and then I come here and they’re not shown no love”. Roots Manuva is the best selling UK urban act around and Rodney P’s a legend himself, so why feel the need to put these already successful artists on the album? “I had to have Rodney P on because from London Posse to now, he sounds like Rodney P, he hasn’t changed, he’s the foundation. Rodney P is the Godfather of UK hip-hop and people need to recognise that ,and if people wanna pick it up for Roots Manuva or Blak Twang and they see smaller artists like Karl Hinds or Pesci then those artists get their platform as well”. It’s clearly working. Seanie now finds himself having to go out and buy a 12” by Champaign for a DJ in New York “I’ve got to pick up that tune and I’ve got to put it in the post” he say’s as he talks about the positive effects the two Dark Horizon projects have had on the artists so far. It’s not just the exposure to the outside world that the artists are getting though, its exposure amongst themselves. Part of Dark Horizons and Darker Dayz has been about creating the right atmosphere for artists to meet each other and feed off the energy that was created in his studio. “I was in sound systems from when I was about 11 or 12”, Seanie remenices, “I was growing up in England on Saxon Sounds and Tippa Irie, Papa Levi and Peter King, that’s the school that I was coming from”. With that heavy influence and Seanie’s sound boy mentality, it’s easy to see where the concept behind Dark Horizons came from. “If you go to a studio in Jamaica or New York, all you’re gonna find is ALL the artists hanging around the studio vibing, Elephant Man, Beenie Man, all the man there hanging around the same studio, you’re making money off your dub plate from all the
I
sound systems coming in, sound systems from foreign, so you’re constantly vibing”. He’s done shows with Ward 21, spent time working with Bounty Killer and Capleton, so knowing music as a posse movement, it’s only natural that he would want to inject that vibe into these projects, fusing a UK homegrown sound with reggae music.””In England, nobody knows you unless you seen them in a magazine so it was good, bringing people together like that. Everybody in the studio at once, people outside, people smoking, fried chicken, some drink. I mean, what do you need more than food, weed, beats and good company as an artist?” His project has hooked up Mystro and Lloyd Brown (imagine Lloyd’s clear vocals with Mystro’s quick tongue… Oooo), Keith Lawrence is keen to work with Pesci - these are the sort of links that means something. It must feel like an accomplishment. “Yeah, but it’s not been about me. I tell every artist, you represent yourself on Dark Horizons. Without these wicked artists and their skills, Dark Horizons is nothing.” There is no denying that everybody has worked hard on the project, but part of its success comes from Seanie T’s absolute love and dedication for his work. “I’m a proper fan of music and the artists. Redman is my favourite artist but I can listen to most people like I listen to him. I see everyone as an individual and to me there’s some proper
Darker Dayz, the ‘Let It Be Known’ track featuring Karl Hinds, Pesci and Spoonface. The beat is the same but the ‘Goin’ True’ EP sounds completely different and is bussin’ it big with Seanie. “Keith Lawrence is my DJ. I claim him in a dancehall way. I rate him and that is how I rate him, he is one of my favourite DJ’s and he always comes first”. They work well together and put on a wicked show for the launch party at Plan B’s Return of the Boom-Bap with Spoonface, Karl Hinds, Pesci, Joker Starr and English Kid. With everything going on, how does he relax? Football is what Seanie T gets up to away from the music game, which might not be relaxing but it’s definitely taking time out. He used to play Sunday league with Paul Ince and, even with his festivals, sound systems, and EP launches located in the four corners of the world, he still manages to turn up for football training every weekend. “I teach football in Hackney on a Saturday morning for three - six year olds and that’s the best morning of the week. It’s fun trying to watch little kids kick the football and it’s beautiful getting them to do little stop turns and drag backs”. It’s good to find a family man who’s not just about music, lyrics and a money making industry that, in his own words “fights down negativity. People love to hate and it take too much energy, which is why I don’t have time to focus on negativity”. Instead he focuses on the good things in life, the positive influences surrounding him and being a good role model to his kids. “Influences are just life, I’ve got my kids, things that are around me every day y’know. I’ll tell my kids I love them and I’m proud of them. They look up to me and they’re dependent on me. If I don’t try to do the right thing by them and set their minds straight in the right way they gonna be claimed by the streets”. It doesn’t look like that will happen anytime soon though. They’ve been winning football trophies throughout the season and Seanie is clearly proud as he’s been mentioning them since the interview began. Sound systems and football feature equally in Seanie’s life. Wherever he goes he is drawn to them, getting involved in a sound system here and a football project there. He was in his second season of running a football tournament in Jamaica when the hurricane hit in September ‘04, so, when he gets that back up and running, you can expect him to be training the team to his Dream Team standards. The line up:
“I was growing up in England on Saxon Sounds and Tippa Irie, Papa Levi and Peter King, that’s the school that I was coming from”
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good bredda out there. Drew Horley (Ancient Records), Roots Manuva, Keith Lawrence (Muzik-Ed), Brownie Man the Brown Love Sound Jamaica, G Vibe, some proper bonafide people”. Dark Horizons has been a big part of Seanie T and he takes it wherever he goes but it’s not his only project. He was doing the opening parties with Blak Twang, Samy Deluxe and Joni Rewind on the Sam Ragga Band’s Germany, Switzerland and Austria tour. “They were working with a big artist in Germany called Jan Delay and the last song of the show they used to ask me to come on and sing”. Two albums later and he’s one of the lead vocalists, although he’s quick to point out “I’m just vocalist. There is no Führer, no leader, in the band”. There is quite a UK following in Germany - Mystro and Karl Hinds have had sell out tours, Estelle, Blak Twang and Roots Manuva all have a big fan base. The Sam Ragga Band is a successful, white reggae band. “Germany, to tell you the truth, is really commercially based. There is no underground like in the UK so when nothing is happening commercially, nothing is really happening”. And you guessed it… the music magnet runs with Too Delicious, a South German sound system. Boy – this guy has his fingers in a lot of pies. So what’s next for Seanie T? He’s just collaborated with Keith Lawrence at Muzik-Ed Productions on the ‘Goin’ True’ EP, released 20 June ’05. It’s a beat Keith produced for
SEANIE T – MANAGER FOR FC REAL HORIZON. Goal – Dino Zoff Defenders – Roberto Carlos, Tony Adams, Sol Campbell, Lillian Thuram Midfield – Zinedine Zidane, Patrick Vieria, BIGGIN IT UP FOR D’SEANIE T IN THE MIDFIELD (for anyone who is not familiar with Real Horizon, D’Seanie T is Seanie T’s son), George Best Strikers – Thiery Henry, Pele with Maradona, Johan Cruyff and Ian Wright on the subs bench. Nice
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It’s definitely Seanie T Time, without a doubt.
Location Response Photographic studio Art Direction Jonathan Bailey & Ben Roucco Styling Laura @ Lokation (0207 274 3155) www.lokationco.com Head Illustration Tom Green (1967) Seanie T Wears: BLACK SUIT CHARLIE ALLEN (020 7359 0883) WHITE SHIRT THOMAS PINK (020 7498 3882) BLACK BRACES THOMAS PINK BLACK BOW TIE THOMAS PINK BLACK SHOES SEANIE T'S
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PSYCHOLOGICAL MUGGERS The last form of raw, uncensored expression and free speech. You are living in a police state of mind. Change your way of thinking and anything is possible!!! PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY OF THE D.D.S. CREW ITS 2005 AND A LOT OF THINGS HAVE HAPPENED IN THE LAST 30 years since the birth of Hip Hop and the coming together of the ancient arts. Money controls many things including the powers that watch over us, who makes the decisions on how to control our lives? We are led to believe that everything is under control, that the eyes that watch follow us everywhere, and that nothing goes unseen. True? Rap Music is big business now and so is DJ’ing. Graffiti isn’t big business yet, but it has become a household name. Just like Pimps to Prostitutes, every other clothing label, music company, magazine, advertising and artistic director is trying to use it to his or her own ends. Not willing to pay writers the wages their nights spent perfecting their skills and weeks spent sitting in government cages deserve. Promotion, free entry to events, clothing and a couple of free drinks is alright if you like that kind of thing but try paying for your shopping with it and see how much food you come home with. Also everyone’s a “Writer” these days, whether they write or not. People are coming out of the woodwork left, right & center, claiming to be so-and-so who used to paint this and that. Giving people the so-called “true” history of the London graffiti scene - some of them haven’t even been living in London for more than a few years. The essence of Graff is slowly being diluted like everything else - You’ve got people who claim to be legal or “Professional” writers - What the Fuck does that make the rest of us? Amateurs? Don’t get me wrong though - Its nice to do a piece, without all the stress, having to look out for the Bullies in blue ready to lock you up. Relax with some friends, have a drink, smoke, or just a breath of paint fumes. Getting paid for it is all good – we’ve all got to eat somehow, and living off something you enjoy is what everyone would really like to do. However, although this might be something that writers do. Just because you do this, it doesn’t necessarily make you a Writer. Diluted squash is good when you’re thirsty, but there isn’t nothing like Pure Freshly Squeezed Juice. Writing and being a writer isn’t even always about the actual writing on things. So many writers these days don’t even know what “ridin’ the lines” is all about, they just go to the yards, paint, get their photos or get chased, get in a car and go home. Real hardcore writers have the system in their blood. They love it. Just to be on the underground, traveling on a Little Met, having jokes with their crew, scoping out 68
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plots, bombing, meeting girls, getting drunk or buzzin’, duckin’ from ticket inspectors, traveling the Big Smoke. It’s a feeling that maybe only writers feel or understand, like the best high you ever had, you don’t need money, good clothes or a car - maybe just a marker pen or a can of spray paint, and if you drink, a couple of racked up brews. There’s nothing like coming back from being away - inside or abroad and getting back on the line for the first time. There’s no place like home, the Yellow Brick Road runs in a Circle here. Meanwhile the authorities turn the city into Alcatraz. Infrared camera’s, laser trips, movement sensors, 10ft fences, razor wire, security patrols, helicopters and dogs. They wrap their babies in plastic covered windows, scratch proof stickers, ink resistant paint and outsides resistant to paint. Not Guantanamo Bay, but London Underground. London Underground chooses and tries not to run trains with graffiti on especially full colour pieces - however, unfinished scrappy productions and tags, even covering the windows have been known to run for days - possibly to enhance the misconception that Graffiti is messy, mindless and an eyesore. Don’t let them see the Masterpieces, they might ask for them to stay? (There have been a lot of masterpieces) Descriptions and quotes describing Graffiti, with incorrect meanings and words relating to more serious crimes (psychological mugging - as used by Tim Otoole, Manager Director of London Underground) - are used to paint a picture in Joe Publics mind of destruction & terror on the underground. Having travelled on Tubes covered top to bottom with full colour burners, I have witnessed more appreciation than expected from both old and young - even positive compliments from the systems own foot soldiers. The only negative view received were that passengers were unable to see out of the window - however this never stops London Transport covering bus and tube windows with adverts. Hey, If they’re being paid, London Underground will cover entire trains with adverts including the seats - for example the Yellow Pages Circle line train & the United Airways Piccadilly line train in service a few years ago, not to mention the numerous buses and Docklands trains plastered with adverts. What our oppressors do not realise is that the harder they make writers lives, the harder the writers make theirs - less colorful burners are done, but instead more damage - tags, quickly filled in pieces, maximum coverage in minimum time. The weapons of this war are ever changing, writers come with concoctions of
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inks and dyes mixed with each other, mysterious chemicals like teams of mad scientists, to ensure their names remain even after the beast has licked itself clean. So new cleaning techniques are developed and the names disappear again. Now the writers attack again but harder, with a venom more poisonous, burning their names into windows like a farmer branding cattle to prove ownership. The new breed of younger writers are hardcore, like an armed militia. They don’t care one bit, they do graff’ like maniacs, burning out within a couple of years like suicide bombers - Its rago - “Don’t worry about CCTV, so what if I got an ABSO, I’m going jail anyway so why care?” And there are always more soldiers coming up through the ranks to take their place. 1000 soldiers with Anti Social Bombing Orders. Kids go to jail for minor graffiti offences and come out little monsters with anger in their hearts - far from rehabilitated, more determined to get their name up, more impassioned to let society feel their anger and unleash other skills they may have learnt whilst spending time in one of London’s Zoo’s. This is what happens when the authorities fail to understand, so harass and alienate a whole culture or group of people. Menacing phone calls to young writers from the real childish delinquent bullies, some of whom are also known as the Graffiti Squad. Tube Drivers post threatening messages & statements aimed at the kings of this culture - talking on TV saying they’ll give writer X a good kicking. House raids at all hours of the day and night. Kicking off your door with a stab proof vest and a video camera. 5 to 10 officers taking your house apart because you had a pen in your pocket or a photo in your wallet, Confiscation of computers, mobile phones, phone books, clothing, magazines and more, only to be returned after 3 months when the charges are dropped. They tap into graffiti websites and check up on phone calls and text messages like the MI5. If you want to paint and stay as safe as possible you can’t speak on phones, can’t look at Graffiti on the Internet, don’t write emails about Graff’ or keep any Graffiti related articles at your house. Even writers painting legally commissioned works are not safe from these bullies. Some writers have been told that only the Bullies in blue themselves can give the permission to paint Private Property, even though the owner of the property has asked and paid money for the property to be painted. If the Writers decide to continue with the commission they are impolitely informed that they will be dragged off and locked up for a day. 2004 was the year of the ASBO, another tool used by the beast to oppress the youth and restrict our human rights by making things that by law are legal, illegal for an individual to do.
* Breach your ASBO conditions and face up to 5 years in jail. * 14 year olds banned from communicating with each other for several years, even Gangsters, Terrorists, and organised criminals do not usually get such
restrictions to their lives and these are children we are talking about, who’s only crime was to write on a train. Other young people are banned from travelling on the Underground or public transport. All that ASBO orders for graffiti mean that it is illegal even being in the vicinity of any form of paint what so ever, even if it is in the possession of someone else and they have no knowledge of this person possessing it. This includes house paint, pens or anything else and some orders last for up to 10 years. What will they do if they want to decorate their house, or if they have a son or daughter and want to buy them some crayons or paints? Meanwhile the war on terror goes on and London Underground spends millions on CCTV, Fencing and security, Lighting and more, but still camera’s get moved or sprayed out, lasers get eluded, fences cut, security patrols watched, noted and tubes get tagged and painted because writers are dedicated. Writers don’t do this for money, and not all writers do this for the fame. If you’ve got the Virus, there is no antidote except maybe age (but only in some cases), and the only way to avoid the side effects of frustration, depression and loneliness is to write. That’s why real writers are some of the most hardcore but laid back people around. The plague is apparent in almost every nation. Writers are probably one of the most hooked up group of people worldwide that you know nothing or very little about. More widespread than Al Qaeda, but yet not here to cause terror or harm to any living being on the planet. A writer can reach another country across the globe, make a few phone calls and within a few hours paint with a complete stranger who doesn’t even speak the same language. Every city’s full of sleeper cells waiting for the call to war on trains. London Underground blames Graffiti for creating and increasing the fear of crime and terror on its network, but in general writers never really hurt or terrorise anybody. While people sit at home watching their civil liberties slip away, dreaming of revolution, Writers live the revolution, taking whatever liberties they want. Okay they might not be changing much in society, but at least they keep the authorities on the run and under pressure. Maybe writers should stop doing Graffiti completely and move to another country with the rest of London’s youth and then the authorities will have to find another scapegoat to lay blame on for the problems in the city that we all live in. Stop wasting money on anti graffiti operations, schemes and spend it on something more beneficial to the whole of society. You can never stop writers making a mark. Dedicated to all those with “the virus” and all the ASBO kids. And to Joe Public, don’t let the authorities pull the wool over your eyes! MOOD, VIZO, MINT, TERA, ERMINE, RECKLESS rest in peace.
“Kids go to jail for minor graffiti offences and come out little monsters with anger in their hearts - far from rehabilitated, more determined to get their name up” BIG SMOKE MAGAZINE
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LIKE YOU DON'T KNOW... INTRODUCING JONZI D & MC MELL 'O' Jonzi D is a pioneer of British Hip Hop culture. As a B-boy and MC he has toured with the likes of Gangstarr, worked alongside The Roots and has been dedicated to the development of Hip Hop theatrics globally. Curator of East London's Saddlers Wells Theatre and innovator behind the Breakin Convention, Jonzi D has brought the cream of international breakin to the UK, uniting ages, creeds and countries under one roof. WORDS DA SCRIBES PHOTOGRAPHY DA SCRIBES
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riend and fellow trailblazer MC Mell ‘O’ has been rapping and breakin since Hip Hop’s first inception in the UK. The MC’s career as an integral part of the UK Hip Hop movement alongside artists such as London Posse, Blade and Gunshot, in the late eighties/early nineties is legendary. Today Rappers Ty and Jonzi himself hail him as an inspiration.
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Settling down with a cuppa at the Well’s Theatre café, Jonzi marvels at his first encounter as a young rapper with the already respected MC Mell ‘O’ circa 1988 “I shat myself immediately …damn…the god of UK rap, what do I say to this guy??…But it turns out he was the most chilled humble geezer.” Pushing at the air around his head to accommodate his new ego MC Mell ‘O’ maintains, “Jonzi wasn’t a total stranger to me. I used to see him all the time at the warehouse parties back when they was Hip Hop before the Acid [rave] thing came in, he used to bus’ this red leather bomber jacket, he looked like a soul boy so he stood out, where you had your Boogie Boys, Hip Hop type boys, your Jazz boys, and your social slags like me…who move in different circles.” Growing up in a Hip Hop community, as it was when Jonzi and Mell 'O' first rhymed, head spun and tagged is a huge contrast to today as MC Mell ‘O’ reminisces “I was goin' Covent Garden with my shoulder length hair, my big baggy Gas pants, my cut off [belly] top, talking like yeah I'm Turbo from breakin’.” Chuckling on the memory he resumes, "all my boys on the estate were like WOA! FREAKY!” Taking it back to bring us forward MC Mell 'O' reflects on the music that not only introduced him to minor thuggerry but also kept him safe, "Hip Hop was one of them things that made me go, I don’t' need to do that stupidness, I don't need to rob, stab or hurt someone - Hip Hop gave me a sense of who I am I didn't need to prove it to somebody else.” Holding the thought the MC reveals, “BUT Hip-Hop also turned us into thugs - we go to clubs - we ain't payin'. Security let us in or we're going through you - this is our area. Still they know we're goin’ in there breakin’, gettin’ on the mic' and makin’ everybody dance." Jonzi picks up the thread, “In my community the Hip Hoppers were exempt from violence, Hip Hop was a way of winning against each other, a survival technique, it helps us get out the desire to own something when you got nothing I'm gonna own the fact that I can dance and you cannot take that away from me…unless you battle me - but we can still walk away physically without blood." From these humble days to the commercial tyranny of the mass media, Jonzi takes us through the developments of Hip Hop in the industry, “The recording industry have played a big part in severing Rap from the rest of Hip Hop. The whole Rap thing has become it own monster and has turned
“The whole Rap thing has become it own monster and has turned into an UGLIER monster than it was already. It’s lost its focus, become diluted into this thing…” into an UGLIER monster than it was already. It’s lost its focus, become diluted into this thing…that in my opinion is basically selling corporate America. Mentioning brands in every track, talking about extreme violence in a very one dimensional manor, not like back in the day with Schoolie D, when you had a sense of what he had experienced.” Concluding his point Jonzi leans forward looks me straight in the eye with utter disbelief “Now you MUST have guns, you MUST be tough and KILL people, and be ignorant and eventually… you get to bling.” We have all witnessed how the mass media suffocate the reality of Hip Hop but when did this false perception occur? And why is it used as a vehicle for violence? Jonzi attempts to clarify the answers, "Since the first Gulf War Hip Hop has changed. Prior to that Hip Hop changed every year - then all of a sudden the voice of Hip Hop music was taken away and given this one dimensional gangsta thing." Unveiling his thoughts on a conspiracy theory he continues, "Which I think is more to do with creating a climate that will inspire war, frustration, selfishness, individualism - all the virtues of corporate America." The connection between rap and war has been well documented (Davey, M. Fighting Words, The New York Times, 20 Feb 2005) but it's in our everyday lives where this connection becomes scarily real as Jonzi furthers his point, "50 Cent is a recruiting salesman of war - You can get shot 9 times and you still won't die!" Despite this being the loudest and most distorted view of Hip Hop as far as the media is concerned. Hip Hop is alive and kicking and bigger than it has ever been before. Parallel to these changes Jonzi highlights the developments in Graffiti and Breakin’ “Graff is developing into some other 3dimensional level – there are architects who are coming from a graffiti tradition, (check out http://masterplan.ooo.nl). Where Breakin is concerned it’s going to some next level shit AND the girls are representing hard like boys, Compagnie Revolution (Female-led French crew) at the Breakin Convention is one example – just one.” MC'in is also diversifying but as Jonzi expresses “you just don’t hear about it.” Artists including Zion I, Aesop Rock and El Producto are all on the top of Jonzi’s list but it’s South
Africa that breeds his strongest recommendation, “Hymphatic Tabs has no shape or restriction, he’s like – I got lyrics and they’re gonna fit and when I do it – YOU figure out how I dunnit!” The UK is surprisingly absent from Jonzi’s breakthrough artist register. Why does he feel the UK isn’t producing? Is it due to a lack of resources? ‘I don’t think money is the key, it’s about presenting excellence, it’s about going out there and doin’ it - the UK has suffered from a lack of support from society.” With a belief that a dark past still lingers, MC Mell ‘O’ suggests, “It’s not only about being resourceful, I think society is still fearful of the young black youth element in Hip Hop and not wanting it to get to a certain level…UK cats with talent, brains, style of dress, speaking all these issues and to me its not encouraged.” Taking the point back to the days when Public Enemy were refused entry into the UK, Jonzi explains ‘What artists like Public Enemy and KRS One did, is they took the destructive elements of youth and focused them into an articulate clear political agenda where you had young rural white kids, and kids like us at the time listening to the same lyrics and bein’ like YEAH! And it brought us together.’ Unity is something that threatens control but is this why Hip Hop in the UK is being held down? The possible reality of this becomes far to close to home as Jonzi elaborates, “That's not what the powers that be need, really and truly in a capitalist society you don’t need unity, you need division and individualism that’s the reason Hip Hop in the UK is still on the same path - Hip Hop inspires unity and it always has done.” From local to international, Mell ‘O’ locates the social impact of this unity, ‘We’re living in a time where Hip Hop is global, human interaction IS global. If you’re not thinking like that, your thinking individualistically and your going to get into company with that small mentality. If people are linking across waters, across lands, in different areas of the same country, the mentality is positive on both sides, no matter what angle you come from.” The MC illustrates his point, “If a man come with a lyric that made other people say DAMN & it makes them step up their game and come with a better lyric or a B-boy whose been practising a 7 day week, come up with a move that people were just like NAH! Another B-boy is gonna say I gotta get something more than that.” If Hip Hop is global and unity is the key to pushing our urban movement forward, whether you’re a Breaker, MC, Graff Artist or DJ, from the UK or beyond. As a legend has once said: we must unite on the basis of what we have in common... Jonzi D is currently working on a graffiti inspired play entitled TAG and preparations for Breakin Convention 2006 are well under way. For more info visit: www.jonzid.com, www.breakinconvention.com
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