A in' t nuttin' b ut a G (irl) thAn g !
CREDITS Editor Carla
Fawns
Writers Carla
Fawns, Jenny Lewis, Daria Wilcocks, Courtney Jones Contributors- Nikki Beatnik, Verena Stefanie, Jean Le Roux
Art Director Carla GRAPHIC Design Chris
Lee - www.newformassociates.com
Printers Sharman Fashion Stylists Lizzy Photographers Ruth
& Co.
Kaplan, Lauren Brown
Ossai, Sophia Sabados
HaiR Leigh Hair/Make-up Models Rachel
Fawns
Keywood Solo Beaumont
Haddon (Nevs Models) Elena and Ellen C (Profile Model Management) With thanks www.amplifydot.com www.djnikkibeatnik.com www.kidsofgrime.com www.rockthebelles.com Other photographic credits www.gregoirebernard.photoshelter.com www.outlook.com www.betterneverthanlate.blogspot.com Contact: editor.supaflymag@gmail.com
EDITOR'S LETTER Supafly was born out of my love of music, real, good honest music, forget the charts and the pumped up plastic pop stars that infiltrate our ears and eyes on a regular, I’m talking music with heart and soul. My love affair started aged 13 when I heard The Roots featuring Erykah Badu ‘You got me’ for the first time. I should have been sleeping ready for school the next day but it had become a regular occurrence for me to lie in the dark and listen to the radio (there were no iPods back then… imagine!). That night hearing this song gave me goosebumps, it changed my whole perception of what music was about. Since then I’ve been hooked on music with a deeper connection such as neo-soul and hip hop. Music that makes you think and teaches you something; philosophical rhymes over tight and mellow beats. That’s where my heart lies, but through producing this issue I’ve met some amazing girls who have fallen in love with everything from Dubstep to Grime, Hip-Hop to Soul. It seems we all hold a certain genre close to our hearts, and like a crazy crush we just can’t seem to shake that feeling it gives us when the beat drops, and the butterflies hit, some of us are truly in love with music. In this issue we’ve interviewed girls who are representing through rap and writing beats and some who are translating their passion through exhibitions and club nights. There are fashion shoots because you can’t be Supafly without a little swagga and style, but its all about being real, we’re just expressing another way music has inspired us, so expect kicks and gold over heels and hype. There’s much more to enjoy don’t take anything too seriously, everything in here is there to make you smile and inspire. So kick back, put on a dope album and enjoy!
Carla Fawns Editor
PRODUCTS WeSC Headphones ‘Real headphones for real people’ WesC design some of the freshest headphones around, with multiple colour ways and designs there’s a style to suit everyone. These pastel ‘Bongo’ style will keep your ears looking fresh to death all summer! WeSc £64.99
Eastpak Its all about self expression with these limited edition Eastpak bags designed by Antoine Peters. The bags come blank and have a colouring book vibe allowing the owner to get creative with some felt tips and spare time. Eastpak £42
The Boombox project Before Ipod’s and personal music players there was the Boombox! A fashion statement in itself the Boombox has been credited for spreading the sounds of hip-hop in its early days and has become an iconic and historic symbol within urban culture. Photographer Lyle Owerko loves them so much he has made this bad ass book, documenting the machines and their owners from back in the day to the present. Available at Urban Outfitters, £15.99
WAH x Models own Last year WAH and Models Own teamed up to bring us the nail art pen, allowing us all to go mad and pimp out our nails with leopard print and stripes. This year they’ve teamed up again to bring us cracked effect nail varnish, a varnish that shrinks when drying creating a ‘graffiti’ effect…nice! Available in a variety of colours. WAH nail salon £6
KA tropical KA producers of refreshing Caribbean drinks such as sparkling black grape and pineapple soda have brought out a still version of their popular Fruit Punch flavor! Sit back, stick on a bit of reggae and think of the Caribbean! 49p
Vans Vans are up their with Converse when it comes to convenient, comfortable and cool footwear. Our favorite style has to be the Atwood, simple and modern and available in a variety of colours, bring on the summer! Vans £37.99
Kids of Grime Documenting the grime scene since 2009, Verena Stefanie Grotto founder of Kids of Grime has just put on her first major exhibition at the Pure Evil Gallery in East London. Her raw and gritty, and often candid, photography depicts all aspects of the scene from raves to studio sessions, and features a number of prominent MCs Wretch 32, Skepta, Jammer, Griminal and Durrty Goodz to name a few. Inspired by music and special moments in history Verena aims to capture images and footage which document the scene’s authenticity and share it with the world. “I want those that are not into Grime so much to get more into it, and understand it is not just hype, it’s a real culture, there is a story to tell that anyone can relate to it, no matter what your background is.”
WHEN I FELL IN LOVE WITH...
Hip-Hop Written by Courtney Jones
"Girl I wanna go way back, ahh yeah, check this out!"
OKAY THEN.
The year was 96 or 97 meaning I was 4... Or 5. My brother had this one cassette tape, well I’m sure he had many more, but I weren’t interested in those, because this tape had one particular song that would make me cabbage patch in my booster seat. The song I’m referring to is indeed the infamous ‘Crush on You’ by Lil Kim feat Lil Cease. As soon as I heard the beat, my lil/large head (I grew into my head it’s all good) would start auto-bopping. Never mind the fact I had no idea what a slut, hoe, or freak was at the time. I was just satisfied saying “TRUEEEEE!” Even now when I hear it, it takes me back to a much happier, simpler time, sitting in my Mums white Vauxhall Cavalier pretending I was an iddy biddy Lil Kim. Yeah I know thank god I never knew what she looked like at the time, or I could have been a very wayward child. Fast forward a few years to Primary School, and a young CourtneyKACHING could be found in the playground with her brothers Sony Walkman, she managed to steal. Rapping along to some Busta Rhymes “YAHHHH YAHH YAAAH YAAAH YAAAH!” maybe some Tupac, because of course what would Hip Hop be without him. Or sometimes I’d even indulge in a lil’ Big
Pun, oh yeah I was one deep 8 year old dude. None of that weak S Club 7 shit for me. The older I got, the deeper I delved into the
Being a female, I can’t finish this fly ass piece of writing, without speaking on my Hip Hop Sistas, those who made it
world of Hip Hop. The first single I ever bought was a Methodman & Redman CD. This was promptly confiscated from me and given to my brother, when my Mum heard the profanities. I know, sad, I didn’t even get my pocket money back, the cheek of it.
possible for a young girl like me to even consider being a female rapper. Mc Lyte. If it weren’t for her and her deep voice, you’d say Rah Digga who? She stepped up and showed the world that you could be a female, have a deep voice, and not have to be sexyfied (my own word copyright applies) to make it in the industry. She pioneered the way for the Missy Elliots, Da Brats’, Lil Kims’, Nicki Minajs’ and many more (note how I put Nicki’s name AFTER Kims). Personally one of my favourite Female Rappers nowadays, is Shawnna. (Yes, the one from Ludacris’ DTP) If you’re not sure why, I would URGE you to go to iTunes and buy Block Music. Fuck sleeping; people are just in a coma on her. I know she’s planning a comeback soon, and I seriously hope she doesn’t disappoint. So LOOK out Nicki! Oh and when Remy is free, it’s gonna be a PROBLEM! Mark my words. Now some say Hip Hop is dead, and that it’s lost its purpose. But personally as long as Common, Nas, Biggie, Tupac, Bahamadia, Ice Cube, Slum Village, The Pharcyde, and Mos Def are in my iTunes. Hip Hop will live on every day in my life. And even though I have love for so many other Genres, I will forever wave the ‘I love Hip Hop flag’.
As I sit here listening to Mos Def – Mathematics I don’t understand how you can’t love Hip Hop. I believe my love for the Genre, is what made me different from most school girls all those years, I was never the prettiest and I was never boy crazy. But you could be sure I was in love with Music, and when the mp3 players came out, it was a WRAP! This year I got my ass in gear and went to an event called ‘Dilla Changed My Life’, I knew about J Dilla prior to the event but I never had an abundance of his music. I’ve never in my life experienced what I experienced that night. Imagine if you will, thousands of people bouncing in unison, for the love of Dilla and for the love of Hip Hop. When they played Stressed Out – A Tribe Called Quest, I was close to tears. I don’t know whether it was just the vibe I was feeling or the Kush finally hitting me. But either way, it was a beautiful thing. And if you was there I know you know exactly what I mean.
MC Lyte A Tribe Called Quest Common Slum Village Nas
DUBSTEP Written by Daria Wilcocks
Dubstep is a funny one isn't it? I'll put my hands up, every time someone asks me what kind of music I listen to and I go off into the usual 'I'm really
open mindeD' spiel then embarrassingly whisper that 2-syllable word a small part of my soul withers. Anyone who actually grew up with the Dubstep sound will understand what I mean by that now in a world full of Britney ‘Dubstepped’ tracks and general commercial take on all things wobble. So in 2011, about a decade after the genre was even given a name I’m trying to place why I first starting to like Dubstep, or basically anything involving BASS so much in the first place, and what keeps me going back to it. Part of me reckons it’s ‘cuz of my primary school days and feeling a strange connection with the garage and 2-step vibes our old caretaker was blasting at many a school disco. Part of me wonders whether it’s simply a part of my being to be attracted to large, urban soundscapes. The last time I went home I was
skimming through my Reception handwriting books and the only sentence I managed to write in full was ‘I really like loud music’-no word of a lie. No wonder all the hipster kids of our age are feeling the garage and house revivals, we all wanna be free as our 10 year old selves munching on Space raiders and getting high off Panda pops. Anyway, naturally I went through my teeny-bopper phase when Bewitched and S Club 7 were the best thing since sliced bread, but looking back there was always that part of me that managed to take notice of grittier sounds. I dare anyone to listen to the first All Saints album and not tell me that it is a slick, slightly dark and brilliant R&B record. Cut to my teenage years and I always felt a little different to my peers, obsessively listening to the darker garage sounds of Horsepower Productions and Zed Bias coming out around the late 90s and getting goosebumps anytime a sick bassline dropped. All this excitement on the bus to and from school! Then of course that hurricane period of my life came about, my ‘first love’. Suddenly from 18 I got caught up with a boy that was literally like the Britannica encyclopedia of underground electronic music. I can remember many a night sat smoking on his bed in his grotty student flat at the beginning of our relationship and being made to listen to this new undefinable sound coming straight from the big smoke itself, London. The sound of course was ‘Dubstep’ and
the kind of artists I was hearing were Mala, Loefah, Headhunter and the like. Well, I say new but I’d only caught on a few years after Dubstep was truly taking shape. Now to an 18 year old Northern lass, desperate to escape to bigger and better things, this kind of shift in my musical tastes was, and remains, a defining factor in the person I am today and the community I socialise with. Finally I felt at home with sub-depth beats, fuck the boring bar music I was forcing myself to enjoy on a Friday night out with the girls. There was always something deliciously naughty about hearing such sexy bass, and being told wonderful fairytales of dank clubs in London that could satisfy such pleasures. Not just that though, it was the whole vibe of the ‘scene’ that pulled me in. A pure love for the music, and a positive community feel every time I took myself off to the West Indian Centre for Subdub or Wire club in Leeds. A few years and life experiences later and I’m lucky enough to have spent my uni time living it up in South London, and truly experiencing Dubstep when it was at its height in clubs like The End, Plastic People and Mass. Now that Dubstep as it first began is dying a sad, inevitable death I look back at the last decade and smile. I’m not a hater either, I’m loving being a part of the sprawling melting pot of the ‘bass music’ scene now. It’s hot and still cooking.
ZED BIAS MALA LOEFAH HEADHUNTER PLASTIC PEOPLE
JUST IC
T FOR S The
N i kes on the feet
make my swag complete.
Nike Air Max £54.99
Nike vandalÂŁ60
Nike pegasus ÂŁ69.99
DJ NIKKI If you like your hip hop DJ NIKKI is a name you should be familiar with, named as one of the worlds hottest DJ's, she has spun for Kelis, Alicia Keys, Jay-Z, and Beyonce to name a few, alongside this she is considered a style icon mixing street style and vintage effortlessly. We chat to her about her kicks collection and style inspirations. First off: trainers or sneaker? I’m British, so I say TRAINER!!!! Unless I’m with Americans in which case I will translate for them.
You’ve been a collector for years, when did you first catch the bug? I guess I always liked trainers from being a teenager when we would go raving. I pretty much love shoes though, I used to design shoes freelance when I was studying for my degree at Art College.
Why do you love kicks? Trainers for me signify fun & street style and also music. Different era’s of shoe are so linked to music and memories for me. I also love color so I love interesting designs and limited edition shoes.
Out of your collection what are the favorite pair and why? I love my Reebok Freestyles as I fronted the campaign for the 25th Anniversary and they are so retro and cool. I also love Pumps & my Bespoke Nike Air Max with my name on are pretty fly.
Are there any kicks on your wish-list? Erm there are always kicks with my name on somewhere... would like some Nike’s in Red Green and Yellow
Are you loyal to a certain brand? I appreciate different styles from all the main brands, Nike, Adidas, Reebok although I hold a special place in my heart for Reebok. Adidas as they have supported me throughout my career. I also love what Lanvin are doing right now with their trainers and I nearly bought the studded Louboutin trainer, what stopped me is my friend told me they were super uncomfortable! But aesthetically I love those shoes. I have a degree in art & design so I can appreciate good design no matter which brand.
Do you favor a certain style of kicks? I do love a high top! Describe your everyday fashion style: My style is very British, slightly eccentric, I mix vintage with designer & high street.
How has music influenced your style choices? Music has absolutely influenced me and my style throughout my life, from Salt n Pepa and Big Daddy Kane in my early years spinning Hip Hop and influencing my love of trainers, through to rock n roll. Music and fashion are completely linked and I am in love with both art forms.
Do you have a style icon? My style icons are my Grandmother, my mother, Keith Richards, Iggy Pop, Grace Jones, Pat Butcher and
various different era’s 70’s, 80’s & 90’s mainly.
What are your style inspirations? I take inspiration from everywhere, I find London especially inspiring. I also love Vintage looks, I love to look back at my favorite era’s of vintage 90’s Versace or 70’s YSL.
Any style tips? Always dress comfortably and to what suits your body shape. I also love to dress to my color moods depending on each day, that is a fun way to go. Invest in good bags & shoes.
Favorite shop to buy clothes and kicks in the UK? I have to say I love shopping on- line, so I love Asos as they do same day delivery, their customer service is great & they stock everything. On the High Street River Island have great shoes, as do Topshop as well as their Unique & Boutique ranges. I love Net- A- Porter also for shoes & high end, I blog their stuff all the time. Beyond Retro and Absolute Vintage are good for bargain vintage finds and the Reebok Lounge in Shoreditch is super fun to go into and hang out to get one- off trainers! I am also a huge fan of Feragammo shoes, I have about 5 pairs in different colors & Burberry is my style crush. It is worth saving up for Burberry pieces, they are so well made and will last forever. Favorite shop to buy clothes and kicks abroad? Collette in Paris is great. In LA ‘The Way We Wore’ for vintage in New Zealand ‘Cassius’ for sunglasses- they are the best glasses in the World!
T-Shirt £18 by Topshop Necklace £8 by H&M Boxers £12 by Calvin Klein Short £16 at Topshop
Hat £4.99 by H&M Polo top £65 by Lacoste Jacket £35 by Beyond Retro Skirt £44 by American Apparel
T-shirt (stylist’s own) Shorts £30 by Adidas Socks £9 by American Apparel Trainers £60 by Adidas (Schuh)
Hat £8 at Beyond Retro Earrings £5 by Claire’s Accesories Jacket £35 by Topman Jeans £55 by Levis
Bandana £8 by Urban Outfitters T-Shirt £35 by Urban Outfitters Hoodie £24 by American Apparel Dungaree’s (Stylist’s own) Shoes £85 by Kickers
Earrings £5 by Claire’s Accessories T-shirt £25 by Topshop
Hat £10 at Beyond Retro T-shirt £35 by Nike Jacket £46 by Urban Outfitters Shorts £28 by Topshop
Jacket £40 by Beyond Retro Top £25 by Topshop Leggings £18 by H&M
Bra top £28 by American Apparel String vest £7 Pants by Adidas (Stylist’s own)
accesSories
Earrings vintage versace,
(belt worn as choker) urban outfitters.
Earrings Moschino, hair piece and arm cuff boutique in nyc.
Hair piece and necklace custom made by Tyuwellery, earrings vintage.
Sunglasses Asos, earrings and chain brick lane.
Earrings and choker custom made by stylist.
earrings freedom @ topshop
sunglasses Topshop, earrings stylists own.
Earrings Danielle Scutt for freedom @ topshop
FLY G
GIRLS Supafly interviews 3 girls r e p r e s e n t ing in
Grime, Dubstep a n d S o u l
JANSET
"I don't do it because I want to be famous, its just something I've always done"
Describing the music she produces with her partner in crime Anton Flanders as 'STINKY' Janset Sayer is one half of Dubstep collective Stinkabell. Having signed an exclusive license with DJ Hatcha's Sin City label just weeks after she completed a law degree, Stinkahbell have been getting support from Dubstep heavy weights such as Plastician and their first single 'Something in your eyes' is set to drop in June. Whatever stink they're dropping seems to be working.
When did you first get into music? I started doing music when I was about 11 I started writing bars, that was more Grime stuff and then I started doing Hip-Hop. I’ve always played piano as well from being about 9 so I was always making my own songs and tracks, rappin and playing piano. And now the Dubstep thing has really taken off for us that’s been about 2 and half years.
And where did the name Stinkahbell come from? Basically I use to always have my hair in a bun and one day my friend said to me, I looked like an evil Tinkerbell because I had a bun and black eyebrows so it came from there. Then the whole stinkah thing, its like “this tunes a stinkah” and we just combined it. It’s good because there’s no gender to it so it works and its funny.
Anton's your partner in crime and other half of Stinkahbell, where did you two first hook up? I met him at a thing called Deal Real which was a HipHop thing back in the day, everyone use to go there and just lurk and spit, people like Pro Green would go there it was cool and that’s where I met him.
So you were more into HipHop in the beginning? Yeah it was more Hip-Hop but since we started doing Dubstep I couldn’t imagine a genre that we’re both more suited to. It makes sense coz I play instruments, making Dubstep comes naturally, the sounds and everything work really well for me. I’m glad I found Dubstep in the end, and now hip-hop is more of a hobby.
You did law at uni which is so different from making music... Yeah it’s a bit mad! I think before the Dubstep thing kicked off I’d always been doing music, neither me or Anton are in it for the fame I don’t do it because I want to be famous, its just something I’ve always done. I’m interested in loads of different things I use to do acting, dance, things like that but the thing I stuck to was music. I choose to do Law because I loved it and I found it interesting, I thought it would be a good back up and when I’m ready I might go back to it, but right now the Dubstep is picking up and we got our little thing going on so that’s what I’m concentrating on fully.
Dubstep's such a male dominated genre how do you deal with that? I’ve always been a person who has close male friends. Coming into a genre that’s dominated by males, they don’t know what kind of girl
I am and its just funny to me, if they try to move to me I’m like ‘come on babe no one's here to do that’. I think once you pass that stage where they realize your not like that and you are about the music then the respect is there. When they see me drinking beer and smoking zoots their like ‘ah shes one of the mandem’.
There are so many sub genres in Dubstep now, what kind of Dubstep would you say you make? I think it’s a bit of everything to be honest its just stinky, our Dubstep just stinks! Sometimes it can be nice stinky other times it can be hard, minimal, funky but I think we’ve got our own little sound that we stick to but I can’t really describe what it is… just stink!
Have you seen your fan base grow from when you first started out? Yeah for 2 years we kind of hibernated and all we concentrated on was making tunes and we didn’t even try to holla at anyone, we just thought when we get to that stage where people hear and approach us because they like our music that will be cool. That happened with ‘Something in your eyes’, and that’s opened the door, now our tracks get played on 1xtra and Kiss, so we gotta keep up the work. We get people who come to every set and we didn’t notice it until recently and someone said ‘we’ve been to seven of your gigs’ and its like wow that’s every one we’ve had in the last few months so for them to research where were gonna be its makes you think, its crazy!
What's the future for Stinkahbell? Hopefully gigging at a lot of places, there’s a few places this year that were quite big like Cable and Sin City Takeover at Fabric and they played a lot of our tunes there and soon enough we should be having a residential set at Fabric as well so that would be good. The next thing is the release in June and the plan after that is an album so it's all looking good.
A-dot
"I'm not a feminist with this hidden agenda for women to take over the world but it just so happens that right now, women are going in hard"
Remember her opening line in the female remix of Game Over? 'Err vagina... monologues'? If you do, you'll know A.dot ain't messing around, with clever lyrics full of attitude she's waving the flag for female MC's right now. If not where the hell have you been? As well as featuring on tracks with a variety of artists such as Ice Kid, Jessie J and Ebru, she released her single Born Ready earlier this year, and is due to release a second single Semantics featuring Kano in June, there will also be a mixtape dropping sometime this year too phew! Where did the name Amplify Dot come from? I was always A dot C with ‘A dot C’ representing my initials and middle name. That quickly got abbreviated to A.Dot or Amplify Dot.. coz you gotta turn me up!
When and why did you start MCing? I’ve been rapping for as long as I can remember. I used to rap along to Salt n Pepa when I was tiny, imitating their American accent and everything – cringe! But my love for it never faded and I started MCing properly at about 14, minus the American accent.
So you done the Game Over female remix and now your new tune Born Ready also features an all female line up on the remix. There seems to be a bit of a theme. Are you intentionally
pushing the female thing or is it just the way its happened? I’m not a feminist with this hidden agenda for women to take over the world but it just so happens that right now, women are going in hard. Myself, RD, Lioness and Envy got together for the first time at the Born Ready remix studio session because (Along with Stush and Booty Luv) I wanted my favourite girls on there and it turned out so well that Game Over was a natural progression. We recorded both songs within the space of a week!
Recently MTV' done the top ten UK MC's and there wasn't any females on there. Do you think 2011 is the year female MC's are going to get recognized? I think its overdue so yes definitely, I’m sure one of us will get a top ten single this year. Female MCs have always been present since the early days of Monie Love and Ms Dynamite but I think this could be the year when we really kick the door down. Mz Bratt, Envy, Shystie, Lioness, Roxxxane, Blue, Leshurr – we’re like an army! You can’t contain us, not this year.
Is it more difficult to get respect as a female MC in such a male dominated genre as grime? Girls MCing is like women playing football – its not considered the norm. But then women are traditionally the ones in the kitchen, that doesn’t make Jamie Oliver any less of a bad man behind the stove.
So what were your musical influences growing up? Growing up I listened to a lot of my parents' and uncle's music which was everything from De La Soul and Bob Marley to Jimi Hendrix or The Carpenters and I loved it all.
My personal favorites from my teen years were people like Lauryn Hill, Missy Elliot, Salt n Pepa and Jay Z. I was always a massive Heartless Crew fan as well and when So Solid Crew came along, being from South London that was it!
If you could work with anyone UK , US or otherwise who would it be and why? Jay Z – he’s my idol. I’ve got a painting of his face hanging in my living room. I’m obsessed.
Who are you rating for 2011? For me 2011 will be all about Lioness, Lady Leshurr, Katy B and Jessie J. And I’m privileged to have worked with 3 out of 4 of those…. Girl power! I’m also interested to see the dizzy heights that Ed Sheeran reaches because someone that talented has got to be the future.
Have you got any other collaborations coming up? I think a lot of people only really know me from features after tracks like Ice Kid’s ‘The Rain’ and ‘Game Over Female Takeover’ so maybe I should give it a rest?! No chance! I’m on a track called ‘Prisoner’ with an amazing new singer called Ebru and an upcoming Lioness track called ‘Bad’
What are the future plans for A-dot? I’m just trying to save the world, you know – the usual. My next single is called ‘Semantics’ featuring Kano and that drops in June alongside my mixtape.
ebru
"I wanna go round the whole world it's a global vision for me, touring, Wembley. I really want to be well known"
Don't be fooled by her petite frame and cute smile this girl has a voice so powerful it could bring a grown man to tears (we have seen this happen!) Ebru is repping Soul and Jazz to the fullest performing in and around London with her live band. Having caught the attention of Rod Temperton (Cosongwriter of Michael Jackson's epic Thriller album) and releasing her first single 'Prisoner' earlier this year she also has an album in the pipe line. We can only predict big things for this lady! So when did you first start singing? I’ve been singing since I was about 5 but I first got on stage when I was around 13 and remember singing Christina Aguilera’s ‘Genie In A Bottle’ I use to love her haha then after that I carried on. When I’d just turned 17 I met Anthony Marshall and I have been working with him ever since. We write together and he’s taught me how to write songs, I had ideas and life experiences but I never really knew how I would transfer that into a song so he’s helped me a lot with that.
Are all your songs written from personal experience? A lot of them yeah, if not mine it’s somebody else who’s close to me, like a friend or something. But the song ‘A Matter Of The Heart’ is something I did go through, I was in a relationship where I knew I shouldn’t have been there I was being treated like crap. You use you heart instead of your head because you're in love with that person.
When you sang that song we noticed a few guys getting emotional too... My moto is ‘If I don’t convince you I haven’t done my job’ even with guys I want them to connect to the song, even if you haven’t been through that experience you can still sympathize with that pain.
What are your musical influences? It’s a mixture for different reasons; Beyonce, Michael Jackson and Prince for their entertainment factor, they’re very good performers and when they’re on the stage you know that they own that stage and their confidence radiates out. Etta James, she’s got pure emotion in her voice, she could be singing about bread and you’ll know it! I try and put that into my singing. I’ve grown up listening to a lot of different types of music but there was a lot of R&B; Boyz II men, Mary Mary, Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey…
If you could collaborate with anyone who would it be? I’ve thought about this a lot but I’m not too sure, I find it very hard to find people who are positive and talk about real things. I don’t want to work with someone just because they have a name or just to help my career I’m not that type of person. I’m sure the right opportunity will come at the right time with the right person. It would need to be someone with a lot of passion who are true them self.
So they need to give out a strong positive message in their music? Yeah not all about up in the club, I find that kind of music pretty degrading to women it's like were not objects! I get really frustrated when I see young girls who want
to get plastic surgery or look a certain way, and I’ve had that myself going into this industry but I’ve had to accept myself for who I am. I’m a small girl I’m never going to have Beyonce hips but its just loving yourself for who you are, it’s a process. We all have stretch-marks, varicose veins, were going to get wrinkles, get spots…the media paints this image of perfection but no one's perfect.
What message is it you want to put across in your music? I ultimately want to connect to people and help them with whatever they’re going through, I find it really frustrating in music when its just all about sex or drugs or up in the club drinking. I mean its fine to go out and have fun, but I feel like behind every face there’s things going on inside and we hide behind a mask and say ‘I’m ok’ but then go home and may be dying inside. I just want to help people to know your not the only person going through whatever your going through and there is a way out, no feeling is forever. Not everything has to be really deep obviously but my first album is a period of my life where I have been through a lot of pain.
When is your album out? It’s kind of finished now but we’re just trying to get it all right. I don’t want to release a good album if no one knows about it, then it goes to waste. So I want to promote it, take my time to get it right and not rush, I don’t want to be a one hit wonder!
What's the goal for the future? I want to go round the whole world it’s a global vision for me, touring, Wembley…I really want to be well known.
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eve Style & flow/ 6 Lyrical content/6 Contribution to the game/6 Crew/Alliances/5 Style/fashion/5
TopTrumps
TOTAL/39
TopTrumps
nicki minaj Style & flow/ 5 Lyrical content/5 Contribution to the game/2 Crew/Alliances/6 Style/fashion/6
TopTrumps
TOTAL/24
TopTrumps
missy elliot Style & flow/ 8 Lyrical content/7 Contribution to the game/10 Crew/Alliances/6 Style/fashion/5
TopTrumps
TOTAL/36
ROCK THE BELLES
On the last Friday of every month Rock the Belles comes to East London to showcase some of the UK's most talented female artists, DJ's and creative's. With free nail art courtesy of Wah, a pop up photo shoot, DJ battles, and a host of amazing live acts it's a night not to be missed! We chat to the creator of the night Emily Rawson to find out more.
We love the concept and idea of Rock the Belles. What made you want to do the night? I think there are some really talented female DJ’s who aren’t getting as much exposure as they should have, obviously there are loads of talented female artists, I think UK female artists are probably blowing up more than male artists right now girls like Jessie J, Yasmin, Ellie Golding…there are so many. I think I just wanted to create a platform for creative strong women in music and obviously I DJ myself and I like to think I’m quite a creative and strong female and there are lots of other girls who shared my perception on things.
It doesn't seem to be an in your face girl power thing, but a celebration of female in music and female creative's in general... I think its really important for females to support each other, like a sisterhood vibe-which I feel is exactly what Rock The Belles does.
What kind of crowd do you get? How do males who come along react to the night? Women love the night, some guy’s love it and some guy’s get scared off by it. Some guys are kind of jealous like ‘why are you discriminating against men’ but its not about discriminating against men, its just empowering women.
In March you had Eliza Doolittle and Rose Gabor amongst others, who else have you got or hoping to get in the coming months? We’ve got Yasmin in April and Ms Dynamite live in June, and in May were not sure but we might get Romy from The XX.
So even though it is a very fresh event and only in its fifth month, where do you see this going in the future? We’ve approached some festivals and hopefully were gonna do something at Lovebox but we’ll see what happens with that. Taking it to the next level, getting sponser’s involved so we can book bigger acts and bigger venues, that’s kind of the road we want to take it down but I think we’ll give it until summer and establish it as a regular solid monthly night with a regular solid crowd and then we can look at taking it further.
events
What: Bump Where: Plan B
What: Hip hop Karaoke Where: The Social
Bump at Plan B has rapidly established itself as the most fun, credible and diverse night in the South and has stolen some of Dalston’s and Notting Hill’s shine to become one of the best regular urban parties in London. Every Friday night Bump mixes dubstep with dancehall via garage, with lashings of new and old school hip hop, all wrapped up in a pretty bow of a great atmosphere and sexy regulars. Bump is an alternative urban night, without the attitude! Expect an across the board mix of dancehall, bashment, hip hop and the best in party music.
Putting a fresh twist on the ancient art of karaoke, Hip-Hop Karaoke lets you get on the mic and act out your rap fantasies to the fullest, whether that includes teaming up with friends to rock through a Wu-Tang jam, giving a new gender twist to a Salt-N-Pepa standard, living the lyrical highlife like Jay-Z, celebrating summertime with Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince or acting all crazy like ODB. You can now find HHK every Thursday at The Social. It’s no exaggeration to say that this is a legendary night out.
www.plan-brixton.co.uk
www.thesocial.com
What: I luv live Where: Cargo
What: The Boiler Room Where: Corsica studios
What: Supa Dupa Fly Where: Jazz Cafe
Launched in London in June 2004, ILUVLIVE is the UK’s premier home-grown live music night where you can see the freshest new talent first. With few live showcases open to home grown music, ILUVLIVE has helped numerous performers present their artistry with a full live band to music industry virtuosos, journalists and fans alike. Each night features six to eight acts all playing with a live band plus the legendary ILUVLIVE 60 second open mic. Anyone can sign up for the open mic but the 8-12 slots fill up fast and the competition is ferocious with the act most popular with the audience winning a coveted slot at the following weeks show
On a Tuesday night, here’s what London’s electronic music fraternity in their twenties are up to: they’re sitting down on their sofas, firing up their laptops, pouring themselves a drink and tuning in to watch live DJ sets via a webcam hooked up to a warehouse space in Elephant & Castle. Since its inception the Boiler Room has become an internet and dance music phenomenon. It’s not strictly a club, but a weekly online Ustream broadcast. It isn’t quite a club night and it’s not quite a radio show, but Boiler Room is one heck of a party for your ears and, clearly, there’s much to tune in for
Supa Dupa Fly brings back the golden days of 90’s Hip-hop and R&B on the 2nd Friday of every month @ Jazz Cafe Camden . The music is ONLY 90s HipHop and R&B, so expect to hear Dr Dre, Snoop Dog, KRS One, Wu-Tang, Nas, Bigge, Tupac, A Tribe Called Quest, Gang Starr, LL Cool J, Missy and all the hottest 90s R&B joints from R Kelly, Donell Jones, Montell Jordan, TLC, Destinys Child and loads more good stuff. Plus live performances from Rizzle Kicks & Hepz Tagoe. Selected Pints & Vodka mixers £2.20, so even the drinks are 90s prices!
www.myspace.com/iluvliveuk
www.boilerroom.tv
www.venues.meanfiddler. com/jazz-cafe/home
festivals
Lovebox
One Love
Outlook
Eight years old, Lovebox has become a must do event on the bristling summer social calendar.
Bringing Reggae and the Message of Bob Marley to the People – One Love, One Heart – with 200 + Reggae Dub Acts from across the world converging over 3 days!! The event we have nurtured promotes the peaceful message of the music championed by Bob Marley. The Festival continues to grow to meet all the demands our customers love – Music, Art, Entertainment, Sustainable Living, Fair Trade Fashion and Food and Drink.
Held in an abandoned fort in Pula in the stunning region of Istria, Croatia, Outlook is at the forefront of bass driven music featuring some of the biggest names from the most vibrant and cutting edge dance scenes around. Located on a peninsular surrounded by the ocean just across the bay from Pula, the venue is the perfect destination for sun soaked daytime beach parties and on the water boat parties. When the sun sets and the soundsystems up at the Fort begin to rumble the festival turns into an entirely different beast.
Held annually on London’s oldest public park bordering Bethnal Green, Hackney, and Bow, the capital’s most creative and socially dynamic quarters, Lovebox as a festival, an urban event or “happening” is without comparison. Line-up includes: Example, Katy B, Roll Deep, Jessie J, Santigold, Kelis, Shy FX
Line-up includes: Mad Professor, Aruba Red, Robbo Ranks, David Rodigan, Congo Natty, Ras Kwame
Line-up includes: Pharoahe Monch, Jenna G, Newham Generals, Girl Unit, Jehst, Zed Bias
Secret Garden Party
Park LIfe
A crazy festival party where everyone joins in and brimming with ideas and creativity that takes place at Mill Hill Field, at Huntingdon, in Cambridgeshire.
Once the mecca for raves with the legacy of the Hacienda Manchester shouldn’t be underestimated when it comes to partying!
Set in a 10 acre landscaped garden, bordering a river and lake, The Secret Garden is a garden-party-gone-crazy. As well as music there’s loads of activities for kids and adults alike, and it is more of a party experience. The festival has been granted a permanent licence with a capacity of up to 26,000 for each of the four days
Park life is a 2 day festival held in June filled with some of dance music’s biggest names. Held on Platt Fields the festival (which was a massive hit last year) has expanded for 2011 with more arenas and acts performing.
Line up includes: Leftfield, Blondie, Nero, Sub Focus, I am Kloot, Martha Reeves and The Vandellas
Line-up includes: Chase & Status, Grandmaster Flash, Annie Mac, Skream & Benga, Labrinth, Yasmin
G Side
Sound of Rum
Kito
The Deal:
The Deal:
The deal:
These guys have been around for a while now (releasing their first album in 2007) a lot of people have been left scratching their head as to why Stephen Harris and David Williams aka G Side have never blown up and, considering some of the shit out there being labeled as hip hop, so are we.
Style:
if you don't know yet...
Mixing a southern influence with hypnotic melodies the group have drawn comparisons with Outkast, although their unpredictable discography had us drawing all sorts of comparisons from 3 6 Mafia to Pretty Ricky (yes really!) amongst some mediocre offerings there’s some real gems.
A 3-piece south London based band with female MC, Kate Tempest spitting clever and conscious raps over drums and bass. Respected rappers Roots Manuva and Scroobius Pip have been raving about Tempest’s writing abilities and delivery which you can catch in full flow on their debut album Balance released later this year.
The Dubstep scene is a one, which is generally dominated by boys from the UK, but standing out and making her mark amongst them is Aussie producer Kito. She is signed to Skreams label Mad Decent and has been busy making her mark as a world class beat maker around the globe.
Style:
Style:
In the bass heavy and often dark world of dubstep Kitos melodic beats usually accompanied by sweet vocals gives an atmospheric and euphoric feel. Don’t get us wrong you can still skank out hard to this, but it just has a cleaner bouncier feel from the darker tear it out style tunes.
The Boxettes
Cyhi Da Prynce
The Deal:
The Deal:
With a husky rasp and strong London accent Tempest could be compared to a female Jamie T, her natural flow sits comfortably over instrumentals influenced from afro-beat, hip hop and jazz.
Described as ‘alternative acapella’ The Boxette’s are a 5 piece female vocal group who will change your view on what a girl group is…thank god! Members include female beatbox champion Bellatrix, as well as amazing vocalists and other beat box talent.
Style:
It’s pretty rare to say we’ve never heard anything like this, but in The Boxettes case it’s true. They’ll leave you as open mouthed as is humanly possible whilst producing viable music which has massive potential (listen to the Free remix by Doc Melody on YouTube to hear where we’re coming from).
When you join the likes of Common and John Legend on Kanye West’s G.O.O.D Music label you know big things lie ahead. Having released his mixtape Royal Flush at the beginning of the year and being named on XXL’s Freshman 2011 list he is now working on a full studio album.
Style:
His flow will have you flexing an involuntary screwface and theres some really strong melodies throughout. Lyrically Chyi ain’t really saying anything we haven’t heard before, but theres a light heartedness and nice vibe there. The stand out track for us has to be living wonderful which has us daydreaming about driving through the Miami sun in a convertible Cadillac, which is never a bad thing!
Mac Miller The deal:
Although he has been putting in work since 2007 the buzz started for the Jewish 19-year-old when he released his project K.I.D.S in August 2010. Signed to Rostrum records the Pittsburgh native has collaborated with friend Wiz Khalifa (the two of them share a love of the herb) on his new mixtape Best Day Ever. Expect big things from him.
Style:
Words that spring to mind when listening to Mac Miller: Soulful, chilled, summer, spread love, party, 90s, herb, real…you get the picture. His style has been described as ‘throwback’ by many, reminiscent of a mixture of groups such as De La Soul, A Tribe Called Quest and The Pharcyde. His music is just good and honest (the best kind) spreading positive vibes.
Frank Ocean
Random Impulse
The deal:
The deal:
2011 looks like its going to be a massive year for OFWGKTA (or Odd Future to make it simple) The group is led by rapper/ producer Tyler, the Creator, and also includes rappers Hodgy Beats, Earl Sweatshirt, Domo Genesis, Mike G, singer Frank Ocean, producers Left Brain, Syd tha Kyd (who is also the group’s engineer) and Matt Martians and other non-musical members.
Style:
From early on Ocean has been compared to Drake, which is a tricky one because there are similarities, but it takes a lot away from him if we tag him with the overly autotuned sounds of Drake. Oceans album Nostalgia has a really nice feel through out, we love almost every song so there’s no skipping which is a rarity these days highlights include Songs for women and Swim good.
Its difficult to pin a genre to Random Impulse, backed by a drummer, bassist and secondary guitarist, he raps his selfwritten songs whilst playing electric guitar, influences range from hip hop, grime and indierock. He started out as a bog-standard grime MC, but his love of indie made him rethink his approach and he taught himself to play guitar. He now produces his own music, ingenious refixes of well-known tracks and is currently touring the UK (sponsored by Jagermeister). He will be signed in months.
Style:
Random is incomparable to anyone else because his style is all his own. We won’t throw any names into the mix - but let’s just say his cheeky, self-deprecating chats in between songs and his energetic MCing/guitar-playing performances will ensure you have a good time watching this talent.
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