Live and Lyrics

Big Boi @ Heaven June 23

2011-06-26T07:42:00.000+01:00

reppin the A of course

The son of Chico Dusty did his thing (his thing: putting on dope rap shows ;)

Yes Heaven* I think Mean Fiddler or someone own it now..

Yasmin was the support, I missed this but was told she is a bit like Neneh Cherry.

Love the high stage. Thought I wasn't going to be able to see anything because I wasn't that far forward but pretty much everyone must have had the same (decent) view.

The videos in back were quite distracting for me, they have such colourful, fun videos, word to Brian Barber et al. And some of the clothes they wore.. I can't find the pic on Google but there is one where Andre is topless with a headband and some crazy stuff and Big Boi has this HUGE fur (boo) on, it's comedy.

It was so good to hear So Fresh So Clean again.
First half of the show was Outkast hits, second half Big Boi's solo. I didn't hear my favourites of his solo tracks: Unhappy, Hustle Blood, Night Night, Back Up Plan lol maybe they aren't the best concert songs.. but then I did find out what Kryptonite might be about by the joint microphone miming (huge erections) lol (wish my camera was on the right setting to catch it). General Patton was thunderous and Cutmaster Swift (UK?) tore it up on You Ain't No DJ.

I already mentioned on Twitter that my favourite quote of the night was Big Boi's TIMMY!! like shout of SHAKEITTT!! to the girls on stage during Tambourine. A diverse and enthusiastic selection! The girl in the green dress who brought it to Big Boi and friend (I didn't catch his name, even though he did a whole song introducing himself, sorry)

My favourite quote of the day after was from one shakee @MamoyoBornFree:

Big Boi was amazing! Better than I thought. When he did 'I Like The Way You Move' gyal like me was on that stage twerkin. Sorry suffragettes

Sums it up nicely. I like to think of myself as a rap suffragette lol.

People do still tend to underestimate Big Boi even though when Outkast were touring he was the one having the most fun on stage and holding it together (and I luurve 3000 but when I saw them it was Big Boi who was killin it).

He is both playful and commanding and very entertaining.

I saw Outkast once at the Astoria around Stankonia and their show was very densely packed with songs, it felt a bit short, they didn't do an encore (but on the plus side we bumped into them outside!!!!). This show felt similar but so much had happened, and we did get an encore! Maybe it was the early start time, I was home before 11.

Big Boi being 'playful and commanding'

Big Boi + a crew of ladies about to get their Sasha Fierce on

*famous gay club. My sister said, you went to the bashment gay night? (That was on Wednesdays) My friend Mike who I saw with his wifey and stood by (I love hip hop couples, they go to every show) joked that you don't want to get papped leaving there.

Saigon @ XOYO, June 24 (The Doctors Orders present..)

2011-06-25T16:51:00.002+01:00

Saigon

What an interesting man: tough, witty, 'concious', a little bit geeky (didn't know that.. he 'plays more video games than Just Blaze'), funny, frisky. Luckily, The Greatest Story Never Told manages to keep on telling..

I write Saigon @ XOYO but it was an actual Doctors Orders event with DJs billed but me and the rest of the crowd were there for one thing.. when I got there the crowd was in a predatory arc formation with the stage as the prey. No dancing, just waiting to pounce. Not that the barrage of big tunes were going unappreciated, there were noises of approval and salutes, just not much movement.

Not sure how long that had been going on for but DJ Snips addressed it and dealt with it, got the crowd to move in a bit, and move!

Saigon of course was the main event and despite the hindrance of a mic cord, he got busy..

I stood to the side of the stage to get a few pics and avoid the ruckus but still managed to get rushed by the rowdy South London lads whose continual brrraaapppss sprayed my arms. Say it don't spray it guys! /grumpyoldwoman

I eventually realised that this could easily be resolved by putting on my jacket lol and I'm sure I heard one of the guys say I'm glad she's leaving.. lol sorry dude I was there first! I was there solo as once again I totally misjudged the meetup group (I'm all Big Boi!!! Saigon!!! They were not.) Their loss.

Guys in the crowd were mentioning things about Jay-Z, Just Blaze and Prodigy. Whether they were trying to bait him (gossip bloggers? hecklers?) or just curious, I didn't get it. He was more interested in working his way around the corded microphone and showcasing new instrumentals (great beats) he had from Alchemist and (forgot the name.. the track sounded anthemic but wasn't Just Blaze)

His DJ was having a bit of a 'mare

Saigon, "they only paid me for 40 mins" (!)

Wonder how much that was? Anyway he didn't strop off, stayed entertaining the crowd until 279 was ready (perhaps the booze played a relaxing role), but once Saigon departed so did most of the crowd. Tried to get a pic of his lady friend's bashyyyy outfit but the man in front blocked the view...

In short: a nice underground performance like back in the days.

Blackstar, De La Soul, Rakim @ HMV Apollo, 10 May 2011

2011-05-14T17:18:00.002+01:00

I thought he (Rakim) should be headlining but was told that he wasn't commercial enough

This crowd were definitely primarily there to see Blackstar.. Rakim seemed quite small on that big stage but his anthems loomed large.

Posdnous kidded around with a girl who had the mean mug on during De La's performance saying "I came to see Mos Def!" No matter cos De La stole the show. True showmen!

De La Soul, they rocked it

Talib Kweli looking dapper (I know you can't tell because the pic quality isn't great)

Blackstar, a lot of people were disappointed by their performance, but there were plenty of moments of brilliance

Jay Electronica cameo - elusive with album's prolific with concert appearances (He joined Nas and Damo on stage the last time I was at the Apollo)

I lost my notes for this concert but that is about the size of it. Blackstar did a really good (genuine) encore and brought Rakim out and bigged him up. Mos dedicated a verse to him, Talib Kweli said how he was inspired to make the song Eternalists (am I eternal, or an eternalist?) by the R. Mos didn't mention his but he has Love (hook inspired by a line from Rakim's I Know You Got Soul). Rakim is so effortlessly cool. At times Mos Def was doing that jamming/vibsing thing he does on stage which is a bit frustrating when you just want to hear them rap. During the reggae interlude I looked around me and no one seemed to be feeling it much, but he's been doing that since Black on Both Sides so we can't expect him to change now *sigh*. Talib was quite low key in comparison.

Anyway complaints aside we need more shows of this quality please!!!

Just me and my baby, in our ride.. listening to Aston Martin music

2011-04-29T18:44:00.000+01:00

William drives his Princess from the Palace..

In my two seater, she's the one I would take...

his down chick.. one who lives by the code..

:)

If I knew how to do it, I'd put it up on You Tube:

We bobbin to the music this is how we do it(all night)
Breezin down the freeway just me and my baby(in our ride)
Just me and my boss no worries at all
Listening to Aston Martin Music Music

Drake (William around the time of their breakup):
Would have came back for you
I just needed time to do what I had to do
Caught in the life I cant let it go
Whether thats right I will never know(ugh but here goes nothin)

Lulu Cranks That for Comic Relief

2011-02-27T12:37:00.000Z

The likes of Noel Fielding (Wuthering Heights), Richard Webb (Flashdance) and Russell Kane (Crazy in Love) and their gender bending, sexually confusing routines are legendary but here's a legend in her own right getting her swag on:

EPMD @ HMV Forum, Feb 19

2011-02-23T11:43:00.002Z

EPMD (e dub with the crotch grab)

Erick and Parrish making pounds then converting them to dollars

Rodney P and Skitz were the able support, Big Ted the good host, Spin Doctor on the 1s and 2s (or whatever they use these days)..

The main (late to the stage) act were Erick and Parish:

a kin and not related, but you can call us cousins

Their show was a bit short .. no encore! WTF and Parrish seemed to want to get away even sooner than that, people grumbled and he said just playing (I dont think he was!) but every hit was packed in. Like E said it was not rap for the Apple Martini sippers.

Mcing and DJing from your own mind you know?.. How good was it to hear:

The employees of the year, yeah we back to work
I took time off, while other rappers got jerked
Due to the fact that they wack in their track
Have to go back and stack 'cause they lack
The ingredients... EPMD and Scratch for that...

*DJ Scratch cuts and scratches*

Live?

Very!

Danceable, hard, lyrical.. dope!
This was billed as their first show in 10 years (although they were here for Rock the Bells a few years ago). The last time I saw them was just after they reunited and the chemistry wasn't as palpable as it was this night. They kept hugging and really engaging with each other. They balance each other so nicely. P so grounded, E a little ethereal (maybe it's the green eyes, he looked so bright and mischievous) whatever he's taking/doing, I need to know!
After a Headbanger finale (thought Erick was being a bit sexist when he told the girls to step to the side.. but then did witness a girl accidentally flung halfway across the floor!) they didn't come back for an encore.. It wasn't curfew related because Spin Doctor came out and played a few tunes and there were plenty more hits in their stash. It was brief but enjoyable, not the epicness like you'd expect from such a capable duo. Maybe it was their statesmen like aura that prevented people from booing the shit out of them, but loads of people split as soon as they left the stage so either they were satisfied or worried about missing the last train..

Post show, P was at the back signing stuff and taking pics, which was love, E however was ghost like casper.. (they need to revive that slang)

Mark Ronson and The Business International @ The Roundhouse, 18 Feb

2011-02-22T15:28:00.002Z

Mark Ronson and the Business International

Mark Ronson genre spanner specialist brings his indie hipster/neo romantic/rap/pop/grime mega mashup* and strange hair to the Roundhouse.

It doesn't hit the spot every time, but it's fun.

The more I learn about MR, the more I like him, now I come to hear (via Doc Brown) that he used to DJ at Deal Real. I don't remember that.. but it makes me smile. A B boy in indie/pop clothing.. (like Zane Lowe :)

We entered the venue to the final strains of Wretch 32's Traktor.. a shame we missed his support set as he was the only the one on the bill my sister was genuinely interested in seeing.

GHOSTFACE KILLAH

SIMON LEBON
NICK RHODES
...BOY GEORGE
JONATHAN PIERCE
PROFESSOR GREEN
WRETCH 32
MNDR
CATHY DENNIS
ROSE ELINOR DOUGALL
ALEX GREENWALD
KYLE FALCONER
PILL
STUART ZENDER
ANTHONY ROSSOMANDO
THE LONDON GAY MEN'S CHOIR
JASON SILVER
CHRIS VATALARO
& MARK RONSON

Quite the lineup, imagine if he got D'angelo out here! I was all about Ghost (who I like to keep telling everyone said he was the Black Boy George) and the actual Boy George. This is what happens when you dont read the CD cover (always usually do, but this time just put the CD on in the kitchen on heavy rotation) I thought that the singer of Somebody to Love Me was a random soul dude. Then I watched a clip on You Tube and was tripped out to see Boy George.

I was also tripped out to see Simon Le Bon singing the hook on Record Collection.. I knew they collaborated but didn't think it was on this album. It was also trippy to see Simon, Wretch 32, Professor Green sharing the stage and Mark remarked upon it too. Would have been much more satisfying if Wiley had showed but we can't have everything.

What I do know is that this performance was it was a celebration of songs and songwriting.. Cathy Dennis, patron saint of pop songs was at the encore.. lol don't make me have to read the liner notes now to see her contribution I'm enjoying my slow revelations.

Everyone got their time to shine, MNDR did some craziness, Pill did his ATL crunk rap, Alex the diva sung sang the OC song ;) Pro Green did I Need You Tonight and a couple more. Ghostface interestingly did Cherchez La Ghost (Rose was doing a really good job on the hook until she fluffed the ohhhhhhohhhhh Ghostface Killah bit) and Raekwon's verse from CREAM and ODB's Shimmy Shimmy Ya'll repping the Wu. He was touched to see a Wu shirt in the crowd too.

I'm not sure how much the majority of the audience were into the rappers (Pro Green aside) but after Ghost's peformance Ronson was beaming and said he's never had Ghostface at a show of his before!

Boy George sang Do You Really Want to Hurt Me?
Dave McCabe isn't on that list above but he dueted on Valerie! And The Bike Song.

A tight band that included Stuart Zender (Jamiroquai) and Anthony Rossomando (Dirty Pretty Things). There was a lot of wow factor.. a little wtf factor.

I'm not sure how his album was received but you can tell Mark really put a lot of effort into working with talented musicians and creating original music that embraces all his influences.

(I really don't like that Broken beat song tho..)

Bang, Bang and MNDR

Professor Green stands in for Q-Tip with MNDR

Alex Grenwald, he has fun when he performs you can tell (maybe not in this pic)

Mark recalls his Tunnel days.. cut it up Mark (cut it off Mark - the hair)

when worlds collide: Simon, Wretch, Pro

Tony Starks aka Ghostface, not one for monochrome

Ghostface rocking the spot, the band were 'the business'

Jonathon Pierce's dancing was actually managing to pull focus from Boy George. Is that possible?

I will upload my shaky footage (couldn't stop bouncing) later..

*at one point, it looked like Pill was the dealer and the rest of the band were his clients.. #justsayin

ZAN (Zain Autism Network) Presents The Pioneers Of UK Hip Hop, Feb

2011-02-11T16:22:00.001Z

On Sunday I learned that even hypemen have feelings.. via Doc Brown’s stand-up. On Monday I was reminded that hip hop has a heart. As Doc Brown said (his show, un-famous which is as much about UK hip hop as this night was.. is fresh in my brain). He suggested that hip hop has a lot of heart and you could really see passion in the eyes of every performer that night at the Jazz Cafe.. MC D brought thoughtfulness - the piece about autism that he performed shld be played in schools, straight up! His protege supar nova brought hunger.. as did Artillery of Mudfam (class of 2011), actually the whole of the Mud Family were on it.. Skinnyman brought the jokes too with his ode to the smoking ban. (eff ur mum!) He wore a suit to this occasion! I remember that familiar feeling of seeing Skinnyman Mudfamily in north London hogging the stage (even if they are dope, they did used to stage hog)

Homeboy Sandman did not get the warmest of receptions (even though he is dope as eff) did two songs then bounced. The guy next to me noticed the “UK rap fans” to the left of the stage barely giving the time of day. smh

Rapscallion and Rodney P were the amiable hosts teasing the crowd with promises of the running man, the wop and some dances I hadn’t heard of which must have been unknown to most of (quite youthful) crowd there.

"I don’t feel no MC like I feel MC D" (Rodney P)

MC D has a track which samples him getting props from Guru on the radio, which was touching.. Black Twang’s final song was a tearjerker too, the whole set was a real highlight. So Rotten never sounded so sweet! He really moved the crowd.

The only disappointments of the night were that Klahsnekoff was MIA (no one mentioned it at the show, he didn't mention it on his twitter) and that the show was oddly paced and cut short, the Banana Klan had barely warmed up.. we only got one verse of Witness! (Roots and Klash were my main reasons for going!) There was one girl on stage during the Mudfam set but I don't remember her rapping.. and I would have liked to seen Ty and Shortee Blitz but it was still a good sampler, good times, good cause. They should make an ep.

I don’t think ZAN has a website, but Matt's company Mash Up films is here: http://www.mashupfilms.co.uk/ and has further info.

Why was I in the toilet when How’s Life in London came on?

What happened to bionic?

Wish MC D did some of his Silent Eclipse era work..
Where was Klashnekoff?

Who was the man who came on before Rodney P (London Posse)? Answer Mr TI2BZ (thanks MTV)

Is the Demon Boyz’ Glimity Glamity one of the greatest UK hip hop songs ever? It’s golden era goodness: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5owAQZUfSl4

Are you autistic? Take this test
My obsession with this blog seems to suggest I might be but I scored 22 (average). Would love to know what MC D’s score is...

Flava of the Month presents: Redman and Method Man, Nov 7

2010-11-14T20:15:00.002Z

It's all love!!!

M.I. M.I. M.I.A @ Brixton Academy, Nov 8

2010-11-14T19:54:00.003Z

At times it was like watching a crazy woman.
Her fans are very young and enthusiastic.
The visuals were fit inducing
The sound was heavy (but her mic levels were too low. Is this a Brixton Academy thing?)
THE INTRO..
TRYING TO GIVE US EYEACHE/EPILEPSY

dancehall sheik

fans on stage

Tequila

France: Hip Hop Champions of the world!

2010-10-16T17:49:00.005+01:00

The winner is.....

Vagabonds (France) World Crew Champions at the B Boy Championships:

LigOne (France) - World DJ Champion at the DMC DJ Championships:

Viva La France!
and England? Bboy hosts of the world ;) (also the UK's DJ Switch retained the crown in the battle for world supremacy, The Soul Mavericks were in the semi-finals and British B girls took home a prize.

BBoy Championships:

This year thanks to the London Hip Hop Meetup group I got to explore some of the other elements of Hip Hop. I've always attended rap battles and shows but never made it to see the B boys or DJs (unless they shared a bill with rappers).
Anyone who has been would tell you it is amazing. Good atmosphere, talented performers and Hip Hop Royalty (Crazy Legs, Afrika Islam) hosting!
The competition was fierce.. I really liked Russia (Top 9), they were STRONG.

The full list of winners is here: http://www.bboychampionships.com/content/view/289/221/

Crazy Legs!!!!

He and Afrika Islam were quite an unpolitically correct hosting duo. (NYC attitude?)

The walk off..

This young man (and crowd fave) won the walk-off (Fresh Award). Crazy Legs was a tough judge (you had to be co-ordinated down to the socks, shoes sparkling, you had to have the moves) but junior walked it..

A few of the Kyusyu Danji Jr. Crew (they put on a half time show)

Don't know his name but he was my favourite B Boy (from France)

Crazy Legs wasn't wearing underwear.

Afrika Islam refused to distribute the 15th anniversary sweatbands, keeping them for himself! He also joked that KRS 1 and someone would be at the afterparty, on their ipods.

UK B girls (Roxy, Eros, J - Kay aka the Spice Girls won the 3 on 3 B-Girl Battle. I think Roxy was also in the UK crew Soul Mavericks..

Crazy Legs complained earlier that the crowd never backs the Yanks, but they won a few prizes including Kid Glyde who won best footwork.

Flockey & Rae (Germany) World Locking Champions
Their set was hilarious, toilet humour and everything.. (popping.. locking.. I didn't know the difference until just now)

This guy won the Chief Rocka award (selected by Crazy Legs)

Nelson (France) World Popping Champion

He got booed by Salah fans but when he came out I was blown away.

The after party at Plan B was off the hook. We just popped in to have a look since it was free, but stayed for ages. I know I sound like a fangirl (I am) but it was like being in a movie. Everyone was dancing in cyphers (some were getting aggy since there were no judges to calm things down or tell people to step aside) Some (ok 1 of the Dutch boys) of the B Boys were somersaulting off the walls. Most of the B Boys were a lot smaller in real life (so tiny!) The music was varied including funk and house. Crazy Legs even started playing some Latin music at the end. I loved that when he kept saying, you should not be breaking to this music, find a girl and dance with her. (I personally could not keep up. It was so sweet when the DJs put out a call telling the B Boys that their coach was leaving. Crazy Legs was like, if you have cab fare you can stay. I was dead tired (even if I wasn't I couldn't dance like them) but I couldn't tear myself away.. suffered for two days after! The only thing that stopped it being perfect was I didn't get to see Crazy Legs dance.

I wish I had as many stories of the DJ finals but I missed the battles and only got to see the exhibitions from Grand Wizard Theodore, DJ Woody and DJ Shiftee..

LigOne with his new chromed out turntables

DJ Woody - Tony Prince In Technicolor

Grand Wizard Theodore (He invented scratching y'all!)

DJ Shiftee's Golden Years film

Next year the DMC championships are going to allow Serato to be used. Some people in the crowd booed this announcement. Is this why Technics no longer have an affiliation (No they have their own problems)?

Doom @ Brixton Academy; Black Milk @ The Jazz Cafe

2010-10-16T17:49:00.004+01:00

DOOM

BLACK MILK

The villain doesn't do soundchecks. People complained of the sound being too bass heavy, it was ok to me, I'm not sure if it's because I wear ear plugs or I have a high tolerance for shitty sound.

The 59.00 counting down on the screen adds a certain urgency to his set, but I wish he would do longer. All in all a good show. (***1/2 if we were keeping score (out of 5!)

Something about the D...

Black Milk and his talented team

Black Milk was a whole other kettle of fish. I need to get back to the books with this one. I think I have one earlier mixtape and recently copped Album of the Year thanks to the positive reviews. He translates VERY well on stage (and is fit), has a DJ, keys/singer, drummer and still sounds raw as hell. The show reminded me of the Jay Electronica Jazz Cafe debut earlier this year. There weren't as many familiar hip hop faces in attendance (although there was a Twyford reunion at the bar!) but BM is as charismatic, had fans screaming non-stop requests (loved how he pulled the card of the man on the balcony by asking him to spit the first two bars).

(:-0 Black Milk, Sean P and Royce 5'9 have an album coming out!)

The Return of Flava of the Month: AZ + Termanology @ Dingwalls, 29 Sep

2010-10-09T16:36:00.000+01:00

It's good to have FotM back again. It's the hip hop purist's spiritual home.

There are a few promoters holding it down in London, but variety is the spice of life...

Termanology

He spits mean, clean and clear. It's one thing to rap like that on wax but in person too? Didn't know this cat is from Mass. Also forgot he was Latino (accepts my late passes). Any Spanish people in the house? (**crickets**) His DJ looks like the PR Method Man.

Not only does he have a silver tongued flow, he has an ear for beats (Primo! Dilla). He's doing an album with Fizzy Womack (Lil Fame from MOP) called Fizzyology. (I loved that he explained the meaning behind the name)

From one great flow-er to another:

There were a fair few DJs in the house that evenin, blacking out!

AZ has an impressive back catalogue, and there were heads in the crowd singing EVERY word (wish I could say I was one of them.. smh how could I forget The Firm!)
He and his DJ did the hip hop test (lol so easy to score highly on that: Shook Ones, MOP etc)

Peep this video by The Hip Hop Chronicle:

Mystro

Mystro was the outspoken host who also performed and almost ended up in a battle with Jehst in the end. Got to love Flava of the Month for the battler thirst. (I nipped to the bar and was talked into buying his mixtape by his colleague "support UK hip hop!") If there were a lot of DJs in the house, there were even more mcs! The last time I left Dingwalls early I missed a classic battle between Chester P and Common. So I hung around to make sure there were no casualties before I went home.

Freestyle session at the end

Life and lyrics: August!

2010-08-31T14:58:00.000+01:00

LIVE

Sounded like the best shows this month were the Rock The Bells concerts. Midnight Marauders in its entirety? Please oh please oh please oh please oh please make this happen in the UK.. ATP? Anyone?

LYRICS

Rakim speaks to HipHopDX about UBR, Nas and becoming part of the musical universe again (and loving it).

Hip Hop gets on the map (but why does the icon have to be a gun, how about a mic? Oh..ic "plotting the gangsta terrain") courtesy of rap genius. http://map.rapgenius.com/

eg. Warren G, "So I hits a left at 21 and Lewis, some brothers shooting dice so I saod 'let's do this'" Regulate.

Using a bit more poetic licence, song lyrics are used as google map directions.. via BuzzFeed.

Wyclef sings about being counted out of the Haiti presidential race: "It's not Wyclef that you have expelled, it is the youth you have denied." BBC News.

Born in the USA chosen by anti-Ground Zero mosque protesters as their theme song, but Fairportfan of MOG wonders if they’ve actually listened to the (pretty dark) lyrics.

Student Taisha Sturdivant ponders the colourstruck nature of the music game (and movies). I recently had to unfollow a young cat tweeting about black girls being ugly (in 2010!)

This song's for them: Ms Chocolate.

Love and lyrics:

Frank Zappa

There are more love songs than anything else.
If songs could make you do something we'd all love one another.

The Guardian's Khaled Diab on the nature and reasons for Arabic love songs.

Fantasia gets some flack for “crooning homewrecker lyrics.”

Loving the Way You Lie:

Eminem and Rihanna's song and video causes some debate.
Jocelyn Noveck (AP), Is Em song a teaching tool?

O'Neill thinks Rihanna really is trying to make a contribution to fighting domestic violence — it's just that in this song, she's unwittingly glorifying it.
"She's narrating the story, and she's not judging it," says O'Neill. "And so she may not intend to be glorifying it, but she is."

Joe Carter (right wing Catholic blogger) goes a LOT further calling it amongst other things a “sadomasochistic fantasy.”

Lists!:

Time magazine’s 7 Beloved Violent Songs...
They need Millie Pulled a Pistol on Santa by De La..

The 10 Worst Lyrics From The 10 Richest Rappers. Sorry but Jay-Z has a lot worse than 'if you shot my dog, I'll kill your cat' (eg. everytime he mentions Bob Marley it falls flat) and P Diddy's 'money hanging out the anus is funny' (to me) and the Pharell let's shit on the peons quote is dope too.. lol

Rolling Stone's top Beatles songs of all time. Number 1, A Day in the Life.
Would I Wanna Hold Your Hand place so high on a British poll (no. 2)?

Musa Okwonga of The Independent compares Roy Keane to a Bjork song:

“It’s oh so still; you’re all alone and so peaceful until you fall in love…You’ve never been so nuts…” She continues, her voice rising as faithfully as the lava of Roy Keane’s rage: “The sky caves in/The devil cuts loose/You blow blow blow blow blow your fuse/When you’ve fallen in love…”

The Mafia are using football show texts and song lyrics to pass on messages to inmates. (The Australian)

A youth fined 225 quid after offensive (racial) lyrics were shouted from car.. ‎

Gibson pleaded guilty to breaching the peace by conducting himself in a disorderly manner, shouting terms such as "nigger", "rasta man" and "black" in the woman's presence.

They were (honestly) 50 Cent lyrics.

A new kind of Nerd Rap from Dual Core: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o92e3Z1Ofk8

Lyricists:

George Weiss passed away.
He wrote this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fxjL2Fac40Y and What a Wonderful World..

Washburn Review's You Tube pick of the week(Aug. 18) is another version of Jay-Z's song “Empire State of Mind” this time about Kansas.

Also see, Newport

Outstanding.

Btw is this the definitive Antoine Dobson bed intruder remix? Autotune the news version..

M.O.P @ The Jazz Cafe, Aug 25

2010-08-30T15:46:00.014+01:00

It's a 4 alarm blaze..
Everybody post up next to the stage!

Only managed to take one video:

This was one of the shows of the year, no doubt.

A Brandy infused night of fiyah!!! Half the dancefloor was a mosh pit (mash pit). They came out full blast (2 nights running).

Wu-Tang @ Brixton, Jay Electronica @ Cargo... meh

2010-08-14T16:59:00.002+01:00

Amazing artists, shame about the shows.

I'm not saying they were terrible.. but both fell a bit short, literally. JE was 38 mins.. how much of that time was spent talking or inviting people onto the stage and other diversionary tactics? Perhaps he is mystique-building but to me it was a bit infuriating. Loved the Fuck Solar t-shirt and You Tube shoutout though! Also loved one emcee's Larry David T-shirt ("Pretty good!") and the UK freestyles whilst Semtex dealt with his technical difficulties...

Pretty sure the Wu show was less than an hour (they came on an hour late). Yeah it was exhilarating in parts (Duel of the Iron Mic!!) but they were not giving you their all. Especially for the final show in a tour. Knowing they have all that classic material makes it worse. I'm sure the diehard fans loved it (each new batch of rap goers are getting their chance to appreciate the Wu, because it's a different crowd every time) I am usually one of the die hards, but I wanted a bit more this time.

Anyway here are some Jay Electronica pics:

Jay gets in the crowd

The back of Mr Hudson's head as he talks to Semtex and the photographer who kept putting his elbows in my line of vision!

Lyrics of the week-end: "I said I was amazing. Not that I'm a Mason"

2010-07-10T17:44:00.000+01:00

Jay-Z says he is not a Mason, on RR track "Free Mason," spouts some scripture, says Bitch and Shalt a lot, does a Rain Man (constructs a hot verse on the spot in his head) and a Lucas (EE fans).

How many lives does Rick Ross have? (one for each hot single it seems)

Chorus:

(Rick Ross)

I go to the grave before I be a bitch n!gga

You better behave you’re dealing with some rich n!ggas

Started in the ghetto now we worldwide

Multiplying and I pray to god we never die

(Jay-Z)

You n!ggas couldn’t do nothin with me

They put the devil on me

I would have preferred n!ggas squeeze the metal on me

Rumours of Lucifer, I don't know who to trust

Whole world wants my demise,

Turn the music up.

Hear me clearly

If y'all n!ggas fear me, just say y'all fear me

Fuck all these fairytales

Go to hell this is God engineering

This is a Hail Mary pass

Y’all interfering

He without sin shall cast the first stone

So ya’ll look in the mirror double check your appearance.

Bitch I said I was amazing.

Not that I'm a Mason,

It’s amazing that I made it through the maze that i was in

Lord forgive me, I never would have made it without sin

Holy water my face in the basin

Diamonds and my rosary shows he forgave him

Bitch I’m red hot

I'm on my third six, but a devil I'm not

My Jesus piece flooded

But thou shalt not covet

Keep your eyes off my cupboard*

I’m a bad mothafucka it’s Hov

Just so you love it..

(cue John Legend)

*It sounds to me like he is saying "keep your eyes off my coven."

Life and lyrics news: week ending July 3

2010-07-03T15:46:00.003+01:00

Life and Lyrics: Andy Murray wore a t-shirt with Method Man lyrics emblazoned on it! Where'd he get that?

Every time Snoop comes here the Guardian has a version of this article: (love the man, despise his lyrics)

Nevertheless, like Hannah, I really believe Snoop hates women. I will not spend another penny on his music until he has a Damascene conversion, admits he has been a misogynistic creep, and donates a percentage of his profits to end violence against women (I'm not holding my breath). He has given countless young men the permission to view women like he does – as worthless sex objects – and for that I despise the man behind the mic, no matter how good a musician he is.

I'll give her the last sentence but don't think he literally hates women, maybe I listen to too much misogynistic music and am desensitised.

Speaking of which, here is a piece where Texas teens discuss hip hop's influence on young black men..

NY Mag throw shade on Eminem's lyricism and the Dream's courtship advice:
Get Your Money Up, brag about having your money up, be rude. lol.

John Lydon talks about his approach to lyrics (Clash Music):

"I don’t know what it is, maybe its psychological, the tone of Uilleann bagpipes in me" he explained. "I know that words work best with music. I would love to have been a writer but I would always have been disappointed because I would always know that the written word is just not enough."

So does James Murphy from LCD (on Pitchfork):

...while I'm working on the music there's some lyrics-- maybe a hook-- that are kind of bouncing around. And I'm unconsciously kind of singing that to myself while I'm working on a song. So like, things start to expand and get meaning and have an overall kind of intent or tone. Then when it comes time to sing, I'll just set up a microphone and just go sing. Just do a take where I'll just make it up-- just automatic singing. And then I'll listen to that and there'll be things that I like.

Vince P would probably be interested to hear how Kanye West writes his songs. Kanye's been sued by him for allegedly nicking the Stronger lyrics: oh dear.
Maybe Murray could wear them the next time he's training. No snark, he's going to win Wimbledon soon!

NER*D and the Far East Movement @ HMV Forum, June 21

2010-06-27T23:20:00.002+01:00

The Far East Movement were fresh from supporting Lady Gaga on tour, they make a whole lot of noise. The best part of the show was when the monkey came out and inadvertantly started doing the migraine skank (he was mainly trying to keep the head on) during Go Ape (Shit).

So much energy from the F.E.M

We went upstairs to watch the rest of the show.. but even from here we could see Shay was mashed, he was all over the shop like a rag doll. There was no Chad :( and another hype man (don't believe we were introduced to him)

Shake it up! This was the best shot I could get of the two dancers (T&A). They were even wilder than the F.E.M. All in all it was a good show and teaser for the new album this autumn. Also a very nice birthday surprise ;)

Snoop and Tinie Tempah perform Pass Out @ Glastonbury

2010-06-26T15:42:00.000+01:00

This one is going out to my mum who loves both of these guys:

Sonar @ Night Fri 18 Junio, Barcelona

2010-06-25T10:03:00.011+01:00

This was one heck of an adventure. I didn't think I would go to a festival alone, but I was in Barcelona dagnamit and I wanted to see FlyLo. As I stood in the queue for the second time with my feet throbbing I heard a couple of Americans behind me asking themselves if it was worth it just for one artist. 60 Euros. The guy decided it was, but anymore and he wouldn't have come.

It was 65 Euros (bit pricey) on the door, and they only took cash didn't state this until you reached the pay point (after a fair bit of queuing) and the atm was a way away (well it might have been miles away) the cashier seemed to take pleasure in telling me this. At this moment I understood why people sometimes send poo in a box to people. But rather than do that, I'll complain on this blog. At Reading festival you can pay by card on the gate.

I suppose Sonar can't be blamed for me messing up my feet wearing gladiator sandals to trek around Barcelona a few days before. I suppose.

The Sonar bus was quite hard to find too. The bus queuing system was shit too. Unless you were at the back, then you got to jump to the front of the next bus. All the lines were bullshit and everyone was pushing in. That took ages. I was probably just mad because everyone around me seemed to be drunk (and British lol). At Glastonbury there are big long queues for the bus, but they are managed better, and the bus is free (this was 2 Euros).

When I queued up the first time I could hear Hot Chip playing, which was nice. As I left to find an ATM. I did consider just buying some drinks and sitting out there until it was over. You could hear everything ok, it was an alright atmosphere, similar to being on the edges of Carnival.

I ended up getting a taxi to the ATM and back again. The second time lining up to pay was more annoying as more people were cutting in. I probably got in there at about 1am which is funny because I started making my way to the place at about 10, after I gave up trying to find my tour group/then gave up trying to catch the England match (and what a terrible match that turned out to be).

When I finally got in I went straight to the medical tent and said mis pies duelen mucho!!!! I got a pain killer and had to write down my name and age (the list above had late 20s to mid 30s, lol I was one of old and infirm before the night began!) It was great in there because I had to use all my basic Spanish skills. Where are the toilets? Can I have an asprin? Understanding a girl who wanted some of my drink.

I gave her some, she took such a teeny bit.. then as I walked out I was like Oh my God, maybe this is one of those Barcelona pickpocket distractions, I let my guard down! But of course it wasn't. She was probably just washing down something (!?).

I said this before, but I am pretty sure that I was brainwashed at the Taste of Sonar (Doom Show) into attending this show by the sequence they kept showing on screen while we were waiting for Doom to come out. I had no business being at such a techno-ish event, but it was fun. Something different. The people were nice, bar a few who tried to strong arm their way to the front during The Sugarhill Gang set.

If I had stood outside and not paid to go in I would have missed Flying Lotus because he was in the Sonar Lab. However, I spent the first half hour in the wrong room - I was in the SonarClub listening to DJ Aeroplane and then LCD Soundsytem came on! I'm not sure how much I missed but what I heard was incredible. Whoever it was that said that the ideal way to catch him is in a festival setting outdoors, late at night was (probably) right. I'm sure it's even better if you're on something but I was already having an out of body experience thanks to the nerve endings in my feet wildin out. I got to rave with some people but did not bond with anybody really, I was the Sonar interloper...

Flying Lotus

ravers

Roska

Roska (I keep wanting to call him Eska) was a nice treat too.. I could relate to his set (who was the emcee? He was nice!) and catching Hudson Mohawke (I think) was a bonus. If they had managed to get Doom for the Spanish shows too, it would have been the best festival ever!

Three's a gang

The Sugarhill Gang are an excellent band to have at a festival. I say band cos the muscle decked guys played instruments and jammed as well as rapped. They really kept the party going. Seeing Rappers' Delight and Apache live was historic (for me). The poor soul who kept calling for R.D. must never have been to a concert before. Towards the end they were about to do a Bob Sinclar song and then were told they had no time and had to jump right into the Delight.

they sang a tribute to MJ

his beltbuckle says 'devil' he didn't appreciate me taking a pic

After seeing them, my work at Sonar was done! Everything else was people watching gravy. I went back to the Sonar Pub, then back to the Lab ( were very good) The journey home was a LOT simpler too. If only a young English dude hadn't offered me a seat on the bus by saying age before beauty. True at that time I felt (and probably looked) pretty decrepit, and this has all been written in a curmodgeonly manner, but when the music was playing and I looked up at the night, feeling the just-right Barcelona air (and no one was elbowing me) I got in the zone, I was reborn ;)

Peep the oficial pictures here: Sonar by Night

When Worlds Collide: The King Meets the President

2010-06-06T01:07:00.003+01:00

Zombie Thriller sounds like the one! James, Fela and Michael must be jamming to this in heaven:

edit, I actually forgot to post this before I went on holiday so this is very old now. But it really is an ingenious mashup, especially when they mix similar moods and themes eg. Beat I.T.T. and Earth Song vs Sorrow Tears and Blood (dl below).

Earth Song vs Sorrow Tears and Blood

Dres/Black Sheep @ The Jazz Cafe, June 4

2010-06-05T18:05:00.001+01:00

Don't call it a come b(l)ack (sheep)! I came in half way through the set so I can't really comment on the whole thing, but Dres is a humble dude who took a seat for one track who has a new album coming out end of June (it sounds pretty good!)

d.r.e.esssss

Like most of the Native Tongue family and rappers like Master Ace etc his flow was way ahead of many at the time so he hasn't needed to update his flow or anything.

He kept saying it took him a long time to get here, I can't believe this is his first time, wish there were more Londoners out to see him, but he felt the love (it was one of those shows were people could shout stuff out and he'd reply lol)

who's the blacksheep?

Weary the Black Sheep.. After some intense rapping, Dres took a seat (for an introspective song/breather lol)

Flavor of the Month got 2.5 run throughs. Once cos the DJ messed up, so they rewound. Then it got to Engine, engine number nine... and he stopped and said he'd do it again because we deserved it!

Dres has something to say and the style to say it: From The Black Pool of Genius drops end of June. I got a bit excited and copped the prequel EP and a signed "poster". (the drunk man in the cap told me it was free so I had an awkward moment when I told Dres I want one of those (lol he could have done me a deal.) Really what I wanted was the camouflage polo (have to stop standing on the merch side of the stage) those were hot.

meeting and greeting

After spinning Strobelight Honey (the bane of my clubbing days, I took a lot of that music seriously as an yout) - You like that one don't you? Yes! The DJ just seemed to have left some kind of playlist going.. he had joints on there. Different joints! Don't you just love listening to other hip hop head's playlists.. full of pleasant surprises.

Redman @ Lido, Berlin

2010-06-04T15:59:00.000+01:00

Special thanks to Mr Fabian Z for the words and pic!

Redman used to be one of the most consistent MCs in the 90's, releasing one quality album after another..but as his career seemingly slowed down over the past 10 years or so, I kinda lost touch with what he was doing. His scheduled appearance in Berlin on a cold May night was a good opportunity to see what I had missed over the years so I set out to check if his performance was worth the rather expensive ticket.

The evening started out with a really weak group from Berlin doing a bunch of boring songs, followed by some wannabe thuggish kids from Hamburg...you know it's a fun night when a gigantic MC wearing Thug Life pants gets heckled by a skinny kid in the crowd and doesn't even reply to it. Then some other guy walked onstage and started beat boxing, which wasn't all that bad but felt pretty random.

It wasn't until 11 PM that the show took a more professional turn when DJ O-Sun came onstage to warm up the crowd. His 20-minute-long set took the simple yet very effective approach to play pretty much every song that makes you want to jump up and smack people. After being treated to Simon Says and Pass The Courvoisier the crowd was already hype and after a dose of Ante Up and It's Bigger Than Hip Hop they were pretty much ready to tear the club up. But whoever was running the show this evening had other things in mind so instead of getting the main act, the crowd was exposed to another half-hour of Common, Kweli and Joni Mitchell's never-lying self.

Meanwhile 50 bottles of water were put onstage, not exactly the type of weapons I wanted to see in Redman's hands. Anyway, the show finally started at almost midnight as Redman and his nephew Ready-Roc took the stage and almost immediately gave the people what they wanted, doing about half a dozen renditions of the chorus to Da Rockwilder. It quickly became clear that this was going to be one of those rare nights when a really live crowd meets a performer who knows how to take advantage of it. Redman was prancing around the stage, hurling the first bottle of quite a few water bottles into the crowd after only a few minutes and warning everyone that hadn't noticed that "I'm a little fucked up tonight so bear with me"...he may not be the most subtle perfomer, but he definitely gets the job done with his commanding voice and he never slows the show down with endless monologues.

While the first part of the show was pretty good it was mostly stuff I wasn't too familiar with (aka his recent stuff). Thankfully Redman had other things in mind as he proclaimed that while he was happy that people bought his new records, what he really wanted to do was his old records. After a quick wardrobe change to make him look like his early 90's version he jumped right into "Time 4 Sum Aksion" which completely brought the house down. I still believe that some of those kids going crazy about it weren't even born when that song first came out, but hey who cares...

After that it really turned into a best-of-Redman show, with everything from Tonight's Da Night to Pick It Up to I'll Bee Dat...the show really turned into a nostalgic 90's affair, with Redman proclaiming that back in the days it was all about weed and music and not about money (he might want to think that over), his DJ Dice getting to show a bit of his turntable skills, etc...

Sadly enough there always seems to be a MC who has just passed away at these events, this time it was Guru's turn...Redman dedicated a song to him and opted not to comment on the "Fuck Solar" chants coming from the crowd.

Anyway, after a very fulfilling hour which felt more like 90 minutes, Redman actually took off his sneakers and threw them in the crowd (what do you do with ONE sweaty Nike shoe?). Pretty girls were picked to come backstage and that was it.

I guess the concert was pretty much exactly like his career...not really innovative, but the same things that you've grown to love over and over. And judging from his next projects this won't change anytime soon...according to him they will be called Blackout 3, Muddy Waters 2, plus him and Method Man are working on a sequel to How High and the plot will be "marijuana-related"....

So there you have it...next time you want to see a quality show with no surprises, make sure you don't miss him when he's in town.

I love this review because it almost mirrors my Method Man experience.
Next time Reggie, pls come to London too!

Ty @ the Jazz Cafe 31 May

2010-06-01T09:21:00.014+01:00

I am writing this ages after the fact but I want to record on here how dope the show was and how great the after party was too! Ty put together the whole thing and made it in to a proper event with more bang for your buck, by then end of the night there was a soul train and I had almost learnt the electric slide (unfortunately at the time of writing this I have forgotten it all). But yeah it was an amazing night and Ty is a fantastic artist.

Running order was:

DJs Man vs Wife
DJ Bounce
Black Einstein
Mr Thing
Ty (including singers like Erik Rico, Roses Gabor, Carol Thompson, Obenewa, Charlene Hector, Vula Malinga and more!)
Mr Thing
Erik Rico
The Boogie Bunch

Nice!

I remember once seeing him at Medicine Bar after I had a few glasses of wine and telling him how proud I was of him.. lol well I haven't had any this morning and I'm even more impressed now then I was then. Go Ty!

Ok the only time I wasn't impressed was when he forgot the lyrics to my favourite song from Special Kind of Fool, Happiness, but he played it off with a nice freestyle..

Blues and Soul review

Ty and (some) friends (quite a few emcees were in the house too):

Flight of the Conchords @ Wembley, May 25

2010-05-27T21:35:00.007+01:00

Just in case you ever wondered what the view is like from a seat in the furthest corner in the furthest row at Wembley Arena:

This is the view:

(don't get me wrong I was dying from laughter, even if there was a slight delay when we laughed or cheered)
Non stop laughter..
Cannot wait for the DVD.
To Woo a Lady at Wembley.

DJ Premier @ Jazz Cafe, May 17

2010-05-18T17:27:00.032+01:00

DJ Premier beat the ash cloud by hopping on Eurostar and coming straight to the Jazz Cafe to pay tribute to the late great Guru, and bless us with some signature beats.

The support DJs did a stellar job, really impressive but when Primo came on, he still managed to turn the vibe up a good notch or three. He literally filled the room with his aura (and beats.. they just got louder and louder!)

He had no hype men or anything (just a dapper but silent manager?) and worked his arse off. Last time he was here he gave a brief history of hip hop (I'm pretty sure he saves this sort of banter for his European audiences that he assumes don't know shit). This time he gave a run down of Gang Starr history. He explained the genesis of the group and how he was like the third deejay. A young cat mumbled something like why is he...? I couldn't hear it from my corner of the stage but Primo did* and had some words for him. Hope he enjoyed his moment of fame. I know exactly who said it because earlier on he pushed everyone on his way to the bar.

I noticed he definitely played more of the songs that were headnodders.. rather than his more musical productions. Big L got just as much love and a whole heap of DITC bangers got spun..

some weren't keen on all the emceeing Premier was doing but I loved it

Tatt says: "reputation is the cornerstone of power"

Gettin arab money?

who is the dapper dan?

dope tee

*note to Jazz Cafe goers. The people on the stage can hear you from stage left. It's that intimate. It happened to a friend of mine who slagged off the (nowhere near as famous but no less embarrassing) mc on stage..

She & Him @ Shepherds Bush Empire

2010-05-15T17:22:00.002+01:00

I was the tag along for this one, (I know and love Zooey from Elf* and ONTD) but it was a really enjoyable show...

She: Zooey Deschanel

Him: M Ward (Robert Downey Junior meets Mark Ruffalo - also adorable)

Together they make enchanting Rock and Roll (more the Shirelles than Hendrix).

I was told by security not to take pictures, but everyone in the crowd seemed to be ignoring that! I tried to take a few furtive ones but they didn't come out well. So may I suggest looking at Drowned in Sound's pix.

You may or not know already, ZD is adorable, I think she takes performing very seriously but her banter was very lulzy eg. "When you've finished tuning, I've finished talking," although not as random as that main talker from the support act (Chapin Sisters).

For the finale, they did a showstopping performance of I Put a Spell on You... (you can hear it here)

*There was one duet they did that had me thinking of Elf.

Suspect Packages Live: Phi Life Cypher, The Delusionists

2010-05-15T17:09:00.002+01:00

It's all going off at the Vibe Bar, a bar so huge you have no idea there is or where is the upstairs.. or at least I didn't...

I won't dwell on the hip hop meetup group shenanigans; although it did involve some racial profiling (we went up to every Asian person to check whether he was T)

During the show I was getting a major blast from the past on the wall. As they were showing old Westwood on TV i can't remember what it's called, Night Network, but it was one of the few places you could see rap on terrestrial telly.. brilliant.

The Delusionists had their live debut and got the crowd rocking.. A lot of their fam were in the house.

Out of all the hip hop world I see Mr Thing EVERYWHERE I go.. and guess what he was deejaying downstairs at a different event (quite the selection too - worth checking out) So we got two good raves in one.

Phi-Life Cypher are a neat duo.. I was wondering how long they'd be going for when Life shouted out that he was 41. fair dues. No wonder he spits so mean.

Nice hoodies too..

They freestyled for as long as they performed actual material. Then did a freestyle encore (by popular demand). I particularly liked the back and forth on the election before Life went in. Then the world cup. (I think they know less about football than me ;) Also Philly gave a shout out to Syed from Eastenders. lol excellent. I miss UK topical cypha rap!

http://www.myspace.com/philifecypher

Life and Lyrics: ending May 8

2010-05-09T15:56:00.003+01:00

LIVE

Robert Mugabe gives Sizzla a farm as a thank you for doing a show!

The Gorillaz MURKED IT at The Roundhouse....

Katie Melua reckons she had to Google some of her own lyrics before a performance.

LYRICS

The cost of using lyrics in your novel = a lot according to Blake Morrison. Eg. One line of Wonderwall = £550.

John Lennon's handwritten lyrics to sell for £700,000 Shame today's musicians are all about doing it on their phones: eg. Alicia Keys, Drake (freestyling from his Blackberry)

Kiss's Paul Stanley in the Metro.
‘I’m a great believer in not over-thinking lyrics,’ says Stanley. ‘You might become technically better as a songwriter but you lose what originally made your songs great. Tracks like C’mon And Love Me were written in 20 minutes – would they be better if they took two months?’

In NPR, Burt Bacharach and Hal David discuss their partnership and how a poorly received film put them off writing together.

Bacharach: "There's a song in the middle of the movie called 'If I Could Go Back' that Peter Finch's character sings. And it's about his longing — whether he stays in Shangri-La or goes back to England. He has a chance to do either one. And when we made the song for that particular soundtrack, it sounded great. I thought, 'Jesus, it's beautiful.' And then when you see it in the movie, you're sitting there and you just don't care whether he goes back or stays. It doesn't make any difference. You don't care about him. ... I didn't want to write anymore. Period. I drove up to the opening-night theater having just read the Los Angeles Times review, and I just wanted to get out of town."

Good:

They were giving away poetry in NYC's Battery Park for the eighth annual Poem in Your Pocket Day.

"She won't care if I'm a platinum rapper If she catch me with an empty Magnum wrapper," Fabolous
A look at the mention of Magnums (condoms not lollipops) in hip hop, in the light of a song competition to promote the brand. (as an overseas rap fan, I think Trojan gets more mentions)

"Mother, I'll always love her.." Mr T (Treat Your Mother Right)
Every day is Mother's Day in Hip Hop (apart from for Emimen) according to True/Slant

Bad:

Lebanese singer insists women stay at home, causes outrage.

A music instructor in California gave their class the wrong version (Probably the 1927 lyrics with all the N bombs) of Old Man River.

Ugly:

A Tory grime anthem? Thought that sounded like an oxymoron..

and finally..
When worlds collide. The Simpsons intro gets the Ke$ha treatment and ~~Kenny~~Kanye West battles Cleveland Jr (with hilarious consequences).

The London Hip Hop Meetup Group

2010-05-09T15:15:00.002+01:00

emo pic for emo post!

Community is a desire, continually replenishing itself as people seek voice and connectedness, in all their imperfections (Jeremy Brent)

Live music/performance is my passion, especially Hip Hop (ignores mentions of dats and records). Watching it not doing it.. I've got a bit of tinnutus in my left ear which doctors say probably isn't from working at a music venue.. more likely from shit ipod headphones and cranking up music on the train (if this is true then why did the ringing only start in the last couple of years.. maybe old age?) Anyway it's from years of standing near the speaker at subterania, having the hairs on my neck back quiver!

People used to ask me if I was determined to go to EVERY hip hop concert back in the day.. but we were all doing it. You'd see the same faces at every one with a couple of variations (especially at Subterania). My old website and this blog are testament to my dedication to hip hop concerts (and festival dabbling) but lately I have been having a problem getting people to come with. I always had my eye on the Yahoo Hip Hop club in London but I am shy.. so stuck to going to shows dolo. At least my blog proved to be a cover (I'm a reporter!) I wouldn't go to club nights alone, instead preferring to release my raving spirit in a concert (they usually have a good DJ playing tunes beforehand to warm us up anyway) and I have family that will come to the odd concert. My little sister came to see Ice Cube and Lench Mob with me when she was 10 (lol after I won tickets and my brother let me down, he is a big hip hop fan but unreliable). Sister power got us to an afterparty or two (actually just two lol) when were older.

Basically, if you have friends that aren't really into Hip Hop, or are into it but can't be bothered to go to shows (or maybe they are just a bit flaky...) or you already go with peeps and would just like to connect and network with other people with a similar passion for the music. Join up, it is free!

A good hip hop jam is such a communal feeling. Sometimes it can seem uninviting with everyone judging everyone else because 88% of the crowd are rappers, but generally everyone wants to have a good time and appreciate good music. Even when I stood alone waiting for my brother to arrive at Just Blaze/Alchemist, I was rapping along with some guys to Wu Tang. The whole place was united in their ire towards Solar led by Shortee Blitz (i think) "FUCK SOLARR!!" and I got goosebumps at some of the tunes they were playing...

nb. I also worry that I am becoming very much like George Clooney's character in Up in the Air. I think I chase gigs like he chased air miles... I can't BEAR missing anything.. I would have been a real mess if I didn't get to see that Doom concert. When the Gorillaz concert was announced. I became extremely anxious at the prospect of not seeing them.. before the tickets even went on sale! I might need help....

Alchemist + Just Blaze @ East Village, Fri 5 May

2010-05-07T23:46:00.002+01:00

It wasn't a soundclash, although Alchemist did have a Mobb Deep dubplate.. it was more of a love-in/exhibition of their back catalogue..

When I got downstairs it was just a bunch of men facing front, nodding heads. Sausage fest (haven't seen one like this in a while.. a girl at the bar nailed it when she said it reminded her of rap gigs ten years ago.)

Shortee Blitz was murdering the warm up set.. it was the purest of hip hop appreciation. The "Fuck Solar" chants were quite therapeutic. When he played Pun and Fat Joe's Twinz and it got to the deadinthemiddleoflittleitalylittledidweknowthatheriddled2middlemenwhodidn'tdodiddley... the crowd were yelling out (although the first time it sounded like diddididididididididididididiledidlee lol he had to do a rewind). "It's going to be a good night" Blitz said..

i am the girl with the lego hair ;)

And it was, although I didn't like the venue shape and position of the speakers.. I wormed to the front to take some pics but it was too rowdy for me and had to step out. I wish they had them up on a screen or something cos I liked watching their reactions:

just blaaaaze!

allllllllllllchemist

It also seemed to be getting louder and LOUDER as it continued, by the time PSA came on I was very worried for my ears. I'd already taken a sound break (sounding like a real old biddy now!) I remembered the story about Jigga jacking the idea for this song from Black Moon (Just Blaze did it up a treat whether the story is true or not) and deducted some points from my mental tab..

Anyway as they said at the end it wasn't a battle*.. but Alchemist gets extra points for rapping (yelling his verse from Hold You Down) and Just Blaze gets props for his Jay Electronica intro. I think Exhibit C was the finale requested by Alc. Then they played some things they forgot to play.. Just Blaze gave a shoutout to Nick Clegg (!).. then Spin Doctor came on to wrap the evening up.. How do follow a pair of titans like that? Play some Dilla of course ;-)

More pix available on the Doctor's Orders facebook pg

*if it was I couldn't call it, I've known and appreciated Alchemist for longer (from the stuff he did with Swollen Members), but Just Blaze, I love him, he's a beast on production..

Gorillaz @ The Roundhouse, Fri 30th April 2010

2010-05-01T17:33:00.004+01:00

It might be shit with regards to everything else but 2010 is shaping up to be a very good year for shows!

Basically, this show was a dream come true (for me).

You can see it streamed live on their website. Not sure how long for but it's there now.

The visuals were dazzling, the colours were so vivid (that artificial extra brightness like Fanta fruit punch I think that's what D said), the sound was so clear (but VERY loud - ears so sensitive) Jamie's artwork writ large is a sight to behold and then to see a giant Snoop with a telescope doing his Plastic Beach intro. It was something. He looked like a ringleader and there was a circus vibe despite the nautical theme..

The crowd was very mixed (definitely not hip hop) and what was good was that it wasn't that crushed in the jam either (not sure if this was because all the tickets were had up by touts because it was definitely a sell out). We weren't at the front, somewhere in the middle, and from time to time people kept leaving (stupid people?) allowing us to edge closer..

(edit: now with more pix!)

snoop dogg: welcome to the plastic beach

damon albarn

Mick Jones and Paul Simonon

It shouldn't have come as a surprise to see so many of the guest acts appear, but I was one of those screaming at the sight of Booty Brown (Dirty Harry) and Shaun Ryder (Dare). Shaun looked like he'd forgotten the words! (:-/) Gruff Rhys was very lowkey during his Superfast Jellyfish cameo..

*set list

We saw the setlist as we passed by the sounddesk and was pleased to see that Broken followed by Empire Ants was a go (I always play them together). As gorgeous as they sounded though it wasn't really get hype music, Dirty Harry came and dealt with that! The sequence of songs was great..

stylo

damon and the hypnotic brass ensemble

Yukimi Nagano from Little Dragon

I don't really like Plastic Fish the album THAT much tbh, it's growing on me. I think a Dangermouse/Dan the Automator beatmeister type presence is needed. This review might sound like a lot of complaining for someone who claims their concert dreams have been realised, but I'm not a great fan of the Hypnotic Brass Ensemble. I did really like them last night though. I don't like the song Sweepstakes or Superfast Jellyfish either but I did last night. I liked everything last night. lol

mos def- sweepstakes

where's jamie hewlett at? behind you

Everyone on stage looked like they were having fun (especially Mick Jones) Maybe even more fun than the audience, maybe.. but only because we had more to take in and look at! i was like *click* *click* zoom past this child on their dad's shoulders *click* *omg Bootie Brown!!* (i love him)

Bootie Brown can't be captured on film he's too fast!

"No fence, no stress, no rent, no superficial shit, this real flow" White Flag, Kano + Bashy

Gruff Rhys keeps it low key

It's Dare.. Rosie Wilson and Shaun (where am I?) Ryder

Gorillaz!

couldn't capture the whole ensemble but here are the strings (Izzy Dunn is in there). the background singers are missing :(

Someone taught Damon how to do a Bboy stance (maybe he always knew) he did a mean one during Feel Good Inc. The less typed about him the better *is still obsessed* <-- mainly because of songs like Kids With Guns. He gets it..

Bobby Womack came out and had a moment for Cloud of Unknowing and the screen behind showed some unsettling footage of people crashing into aircraft carriers and pushing helicopters into the ocean. I also didn't appreciate watching Noodle get carpet bombed, during El Manana that was nightmarish.
In a weird way I think it was better that Del and Snoop weren't there because of the way they loomed larger than life during their appearances. A slowwwer version of Clint Eastwood was the finale and the ghostlike apparition of Del.

Random aside: I can't quite get with the eco sanitary towels but after reading about a real life plastic beach (this isn't the article i read, this is probably worse) I do think about piles of Always Ultra washing up on some obscure south pacific island. :(

all I wanna do is dance..

*Set list in case you can't read it in the pic:

Orchestral Intro
Welcome to the World of the Plastic Beach (Snoop Dogg on the screen)
Last Living Souls
O Green World
Melancholy Hill
Kids With Guns
Stylo feat. Bobby Womack and Mos Def
Rhinestone Eyes
Broken
Empire Ants feat. Little Dragon
Dirty Harry feat Bootie Brown
White Flag feat. Kano and Bashy and the Syrian National Orchestra (who did a special intro)
Superfast Jellyfish feat De La Soul and Gruff Rhys
Murdoc Vid
Dare feat Rosie Wilson and Shaun Ryder
Glitter Freeze feat. Mark E Smith (although I didn't see him)
El Manana
Cloud of Unknowing - Bobby Womack
Cyborg Ident
....
Sweepstakes feat Mos Def, Hypnotic Brass Ensemble
To Binge feat. Little Dragon
Feel Good Inc feat De La Soul
Clint Eastwood (sounded rootsier)

(Imagine if Sweetie Irie came out and they did the remixed version!)

When Worlds Collide: Gorillaz on Jools Holland..

2010-04-29T17:03:00.000+01:00

I can't think of a more beautiful sight than this at the moment:

**gets excited**

Is it cos it reminds me of roots manuva meets coming up era ozomatli?

Mos Def @ Shepherds Bush Empire 13 April

2010-04-15T02:42:00.003+01:00

If there's a sold out night and then an extra date, you always feel a way going to the other gig. I always feel the artist is holding back. At about half nine when Dante was still not in the building.. it wasn't looking good.

The reviews on the internet varied from "amazing" to "awful." The latter was retweeted the most :( Mos Def remarked that the crowd seemed "serious." One blogger said the UK crowd was "tame."

I had mixed feelings but on the whole was well happy because 2 out of 3 meetup group RSVPs turned up!

Shortee Blitz was killing it on the decks but when he said Mos Def would be on at ten it wasn't very crowd pleasing! That meant only an hour at best (11pm is the curfew). A lot of his set involved vibsing and jamming from the overlong Fela like instrumental intro to a rare groove break in the middle. In a two hour set ok, but this was time that could have been spent rapping (!) It was pretty nice when he took to the drums and got busy to Quiet Dog Bite Hard especially the second half when he sped right up rapping and drumming!

The set list was heavy on The Ecstatic (Auditorium, Supermagic, Twilight Speedball etc. I'm not that familar with it..) It would have been nice to hear him spit Stylo.

It wasn't awful, but it wasn't worth £30 (Goddamn it Soundcrash!) and it compared unfavourably to Method Man at Matter and Doom at the Roundhouse who both did short sets. (Wonder if touring with Doom has had a bad effect on him!). Mos did seem a bit distracted, it was strange when he kept saying, "I won't take up too much of your time." We paid to see you!! Maybe he wasn't feeling the love but everyone seemed pretty much into it. Level 1 was partying hard!

This charming man...

The latter half of the show really picked up, maybe because he performed Umi Says and Travelling Man (!). If he did No Hay Nada Mas.. lights out!! They played Roses and as Georgia Ann Muldrow sang on record he picked the roses off the turntables and threw them into the crowd. So sweet!

And we lettin you know y'all

At the show y'all

Doin' this for dough y'all

Get the phone call

And I'm ready to blow y'all

'Bout to go y'all

Been a pleasure to know y'all (Mos Def, Travelling Man)

Method Man @ Matter April 7 2010

2010-04-11T11:43:00.005+01:00

In brief: Ain't a damn thing changed!
Method Man still oozes charisma,
He is still as popular as ever.
He and Street Life are an engaging duo on stage.
Hip Hop artists are always on a long ting.

I should have thought about point four before thinking I could bowl up and pay on the door(!) My initial level of enthusiasm wasn't that great but I thought hip hop meetup group, meth is a legend etc. There was a bit of a queue (it was only 8 something) and I asked if that was for ticket holders and found out it was sold out! I must have looked very sad (I'd missed the meetup peeps by now, but it's a bit rich if I don't even attend. I've heard this happens but that's out of order! Plus it's a really long journey) I went back to ask if there were any returns or people selling extras. No. The nice security man took pity on me and gave me a ticket! I love you man! (and Man Utd were beating Bayern Munich! We know how that turned out.. but still at that moment everything was roses)

matter is like a less brutal Oz

The DJ was rolling out the big tunes.. (the Roc Boys, Jay Electronica) etc and the crowd was set to anticipate..

Ledr P came out without Cilvaringz (who had some personal stuff to attend to) and did a very short set, but seemed like cool peoples. He actually warmed the crowd up (for meth)!

look how young the fans are! do they remember Karl Kani?

Ledr P moving the crowd

I had wormed my way into the far corner to take pics but was obstructed by a girl with a bun and another girl with a curly mane! My hip hop sense of entitlement was tempered by the girls who knew all the lyrics to the tunes.. but it didn't stop the guys behind them saying that they stunk. LMAO to me they smelt of booze, but one guy said they had BO. He said he saw me make a face when she lifted her arm (lol I made a face because her arm ruined my picture of Meth standing on the crowd). Wu fans are really nice (no snark).

Cheese!

(At one point, a flash of anger zipped through me, he set up Prop Joe, his own Uncle! This is what happens when you cram The Wire box set. Someone else yelled out Cheese! Hehe the only thing they share is their dress sense)

StreetLife and Meth doing a little dance

I have this exact pic from a Wu show: Sweaty Metty

T-shirt is ill

I also have this pic from Meth at sbe, he stood on their shoulders

Health and Safety was contravened in more ways than one that night.

I tell you what was new, this:

I've never heard him sing like that before! He seemed to genuinely be enjoying himself, beaming away, laughing, sweating it up and engaging with the crowd. However, at one point he stopped and just said that sometimes if you come to a show and the artist isn't into it, it might be the promoters fault. He started to go into one saying that the promoter had caused so many problems since they arrived, but then he caught himself and said lets get on with the show.

You came to hear that old shit right? (crowd roars) They proceed to tear up some classic Meth and Wu tracks. Yet the songs he did from B2 sounded fresh (actually I think he only did City Lights) and 4:21 tunes went down just as well.

When Judgment Day came on he started stage diving (he was caught every time not like at Shepherds Bush!) and doing somersaults into the crowd.

Meth said How High 2 is coming out soon, and shouted out Blackout 2 (but not Wu Massacre)

Like a growing number of emcees these days he had an anti social networking rant. Unsurprisingly Mr "they talk about while I live it" prefers real life connections and objects to grown men saying things like "I'll tweet you later" lol I hope this attitude doesn't rub off on Redman because he is posting up fire each night and wigging out on Twitter in allcaps.

Fall Out is his favourite song to perform live.
What the Bloodclot is his favourite song. It's so raw..

Smoke a Dutchmaster, have 'em screamin for the dutchess

Yeah, I gotta have it, so I strive to stack my papes

If I don't do it for mydelf, I'ma do it for Case

cuz that's my peoples, we givin you injections that be Lethal

Weapons, when niggaz start the half steppin

Then I get evil

but don't let that negative vibe right there mislead you

I'm humble, a fuckin Killa Bee, far from bumble

I sting you *BZZZT* and I bring you

Thirty-six Chambers of head banger, bitch

Wha ya deal with? I think the mic's on the fritz

Faggot soundmen, they be sabotagin shit!

Look up in the sky, it's a bird, it's a plane...

Meth-Tical, let the whole world know my fuckin name

What the Blood Clot!?!

Mary J Blige covers Led Zep

2010-03-25T11:33:00.001Z

It's not filthy but such a cover is long overdue, now all we need is the chris cornell + MJB collabo*
Universe, provide!!!
She also did Stairway to Heaven

* It sounds like it could be horrible, but it won't be.

Avett Brothers @ Gibson Studios, London 15 March

2010-03-23T21:35:00.002Z

Q magazine said that the Avett Brothers are like Kings of Leon (beards, rellies, southern) so I entered a competition to see them play in London (stank q!). Apparently they are more like: Mumford and Sons (who came first?). Anyway they are v good, and I'm late to the show, but musically they are more folksy and rootsy, compared to KOL's raw blues.

I liked the story one brother had about him misusing the word cronies (he meant to say something closer to compadres) that was very cute. Also enjoyed their very loose interpretation of "several" (they kept saying they had "several" songs left) especially as we got there quite late.

When the applause died after the last song I wondered if there would be an encore. No one was demanding one, but no one was leaving. When they came back out they said that one of the record company guys had told them that I know they're not being very vocal but they would like an encore lol. It was such a dry crowd (I'm not discounting myself) a: let's watch and absorb crowd (include myself in that). (Edit) we missed the loud American lady that was yelling at the beginning.

Gibson studios is very interesting, looks like it would be nice to explore. There were cool photos (Were they from Q shoots?) on the walls: thin Amy W flashing her stomach, Paul Weller and a Gallagher wrapped in an embrace, the singer from the Raveonettes.. A good one of Gnarls Barkley, they were all about 1100 pounds a pop. I didn't want to look even more bumpkinlike by taking pictures of the photos.

(Edit)In their own words:

Souls of Mischief @ The Jazz Cafe 14th March

2010-03-20T22:28:00.005Z

I really like this pic (Tajai selling merch at the end of the night)

The London hip hop meetup group is getting smaller and smaller! This time it was just me, but i will keep carrying the torch!!

Charlee Brown and Sarah Love held it down nicely until Skandal "I'm all about the housing benefit" came out. LOL he should go on question time. Ideological differences aside, he can spit a bar and seems to have a good ear for a beat so big him up for that.

Genesis Elijah was cool too, a very funny breh and a different kind of subversive from Skandal (more fight the power than drain all the power/fuck a 9-5) and a hype man that threw out dvds like frisbees.

dropping some jewels:

I need not explain this
A Plus is famous,
So...

Only three members took to the stage and no one mentioned the fact that Aplus was missing. He is my favourite member so :( I didn't want to make a faux pas like I did at Doom (thinking that Hoe Cakes was on OD) so I kept quiet, but me and the girl next to me did exchange looks like, something's missing.

They have more than enough energy and lyrics to entertain even when down by a quarter but damn, I love the A Plus parts, he raps so clearly and cocky.

They did "Make Your Mind Up." Just the first verse. which Opio did (A Plus lyrics. That is one of my favourite 12"s ever. The remix of this song where they do each others verses.. every rap crew needs to do that. Someone also needs to put it on You Tube (it will take me forever) the bass line of this is so dope, coincidentally it sounds like Prince Paul....

The first verse is the best thing on that song anyway.. For a few songs they did just one verse, which is good for momentum and keeping the energy up (it's like Tim Westwood's DJ style) but shortens the show significantly..

Tajai was giving off Will Smith in I Robot vibes (that can't be bad!) They look more or less the same, except with more facial hair. Well tbh Phesto looks exactly the same. They all did a 'my time to shine' track Phesto's was "Background Check" from his new album (which was hot, then when the DJ started cuttin... fire!)

Phesto busts a Larry Grayson hand movement j/k

Opio, "I don't do drugs, I smoke weed"

I remember feeling like I had been manipulated after they'd made a speech about love and left the stage to the sounds of Bob Marley. Yes, I felt good, but I wanted more dammit!

Feel the good vibrations..

An irate fan came up to the merch stall (where Tajai was doing a roaring trade) and was yelling about the no show by A Plus. He told me he heard it was due to "personal problems" and without A Plus, there is "no fucking souls man!" Not quite, but I felt him.

A taste of DOOM at the Roundhouse 5 March 2010

2010-03-06T18:06:00.037Z

AKA: a taste of Sonar @ the Roundhouse.
edit: Now with pictures courtesy of Lukas Winn!

DOOM by Encosion

The level of geekdom in the Roundhouse was pretty high last night... a guy and a girl were arguing over whose t-shirt better repped the Madvillain. The girl had one with the banned cover art from KMD’s Black Bastards (well the re-release). The guy had an Empress Sharhh tee over a Fondle ‘Em one.. I think the girl won.

Probably cos I was the girl.
Whoah the actual album work is a LOT worse than I remember.

He wears a mask so when you dodge his face

Each and every race could absorb the bass (Ballskin)

There were hardly any people in the round at 9ish, listening to the sounds of the Lex DJs one was having a spot of technical trouble with on) but playing a very nice underground rap set. Doom was due on at 10.. of course that wasn’t going to happen. It would have been a lot better if the DJ continued to play but now we faced an empty stage and the house sounds.
I had a great position, one row from the bar, but no memory card in my JFHdhfsdjkfdshjkfsd camera djlsajdlsajldsajkdjsakd and one bar of battery life in my phone FAIL

Ay, If i may interject

If you don't know, but you must know if you ever heard any of his material, DOOM is a funny mf, with a twisted sense of humour. The DJ finally took to the podium at around 10:45 and a bunch of men came out rapping to Accordian. My friend was like that’s not DOOM, that’s not DOOM. LOL the man in the mask was not rotund, and was White (or mad light tho)!

Another man in the cap had the physique but he was playing the hype man role. We started pointing and jeering and the man stopped and ran off stage. LOL the next few moments were such a whirlwind of emotions. 28 POUNDS! How dare he? Omg this is hilarious/embarrasing.. wtf? Etc. Then as quick as we could process the shock, the motley bunch returned this time with a man in a mask, crown and cape: DOOM.

Villain, you won't find him in no gym (Gazillion Ear)

Although it took me a few to be absolutely sure. The voice was right, then I go by the gut. Finally I compared the beard to the beard on the picture on the screen behind. Also the doe eyes..

some say it's the eyes
some say the accent..

mm food: mf doom

What a funny mf.

Doom, your reputation precedes you Wail 'til you crack and see what "weed" do, you dweeb you

Reading Twitter comments before the show, everyone was worrying about whether he was going to show, and if he showed if it would be any good. Some were saying that his abysmal track record was part of the appeal, excitement. He is the super villain. I thought, no it’s just disrespectful and rude. I kept checking the Sonar site for information (thinking of going to Barcelona for the show. For a few I even thought of going to France. Lol) and I was perturbed by the lack of mention of their site. Then there’s all the MOSDOOM drama in the States/CA.

All we could do was remain optimistic. After the Paris sightings, things looked pretty good, but still not 100%. Regular hip hop shows are bad enough let alone this. Post show I'm wondering am I just happy he turned up, or am I happy cos it was a good show? Sometimes I am just happy to have seen an artist, to tick them off my list.. so it doesn’t take much more than that.

One review of the 'dam show was that he “sucked monkey balls.” My brother (who turned up extremely late, dead bent and wasted away my phone battery power) said he could not hear any of the lyrics (as many other complained) but I could hear every word. Apparently if you were in the first two rows you were fine!

Doom came out bigging up Trinidad, "all day" (didn't know his mom is Trini, and his dad is Zimbabwean - he's mixed diaspora like me!) He later said, I’m HOME, I’m HOME London.. waving a british passport. That surely can’t be his passport can it? He was born in Hounslow.. I remember him telling DJ Greenpeace on his show once.

Middlesex stand up!

Doom and the DJ (also Doomposter!) by LukasWinn

Sinister don't know what he saying but the words be funny (Cellz, Born Like This)

After he finished "Cellz" he said, "I love that song!" I was just enjoying the raw hip hop, thundering, magnificent music, juddering through my body (my poor, poor ears were sore despite wearing earplugs). Such fantastic production, so dense and visceral, you can only experience that live.

And Doom (or the Doomposter) did not suck monkey ballz. He was far more animated than his flow might suggest and way more agile than his frame suggests too. Leaping about, constantly working the length of the (pretty big stage) throwing shapes and poses, he was pretty entertaining.
And he showed London so much love.

After about five songs he went off, which was a bit worrying, but he probably did about an hour. Considering his back catalogue, that’s piddling, but his songs are pretty short and the show was intense. What song did he do and then say he loved it. He did a lot of Madvillainy, Geedorah tracks, but as I was informed after the second encore, Operation: Doomsday songs were glaringly omitted (I thought Hoe Cakes was on OD).

I think today I'll make the ladies say, "Ow"
And maybe fuck around take a bow.. (Change the Beat - Viktor Vaughn)

I found the whole experience thrilling, but due to work commitments (and only being obsessed with DOOM)couldn't stick around and taste the rest of Sonar.. Hopefully I get to go to Spain and see the rest!

When he hit the stage it's like a gauge to the rib cage
Break the mic like a rock star, break a guitar
Jump off the stage like, yee haw (Kon Queso -Mm.. Food)

Encosion has a beautiful set of pics on Flickr
and Lukas Winn does on Facebook!

Stylo to Steelo to You know my Steez!!

2010-03-04T10:34:00.000Z

Whenever I see a mention of Gorillaz' Stylo that's my chain of thought..

Gangstarr

The beat is sinister, Primo makes you relax
I'm like the minister, when I be lacin the wax
I be bringin salvation through the way that I rap
And you know, and I know, I'm nice like that
Work through worldly problems, I got the healing power
When the mic's within my reach, I'm feelin more power
Stealing at least three minutes of every rap radio hour
It's often easier for one, to give advice
Than it is for a person to run one's own life
That's why I can't be caught up in all the hype
I keep my soul tight and let these lines takes flight
The apparatus gets blessed, and suckers get put to rest
No more of the unpure I got the cure for this mess
The wackness is spreadin like the plague
MC's lucked up and got paid but still can't make the fuckin grade
How many times are wannabe's gonna lie?
Yo they must wanna fry, they can't touch the knowledge I personify
I travel through the darkness carrying my torch
The illest soldier, when I'm holding down the fort
("You know my steez" Method Man vocal sample)

This is baldhead slick's steez, like he says on the first verse, he comes with mad love plus the illest warlike tactics..

702

You know how I do,
And you know how I flow,
Can I get your name and number,
Cuz I like your steelo.
And I dig the way you move,
And the way you do your thing,
Baby you can bring it on,
You can swing it this way.

I know they pronounce it differently but still.
For 2-D Stylo = love electricity

Oh stylo, (juice)
Go forth,
Blossom in your soul,
When you know your heart is light,
Electric is the love.

Like Gangstarr, the Gorillaz also have a good if unrelated video too.

It's all love.

Thoughts and prayers going out to GURU.

When Worlds Collide: Janet Jackson + Machel Montano + Pitbull

2010-02-28T12:54:00.000Z

Heartbeat Love produced by Rodney Jerkins..
Looking forward to the video.. and a (more Soca sounding) remix!

DL link

Jay Electronica @ The Jazz Cafe Feb 18th 2010

2010-02-20T21:44:00.003Z

I have been sleeping on JE for some time.. but luckily the Jazz Café and some timely links came through and changed my perspective. Just in time for the hiphopmeetupgroup to try and get its meetup on..

So there was one member at the Jay Dilla tribute at Scala (me) and this time we doubled it to two.. lol Hip hoppers help me out here, it’s meant to be a meetup GROUP! Anyway thanks to L for coming and I will try and promote it better next time.

Anyway, this was the second night of his UK debut and this one had Sway and Semtex. Semtex wrecked it on the decks but the majority of people were in that face-the-empty-stage-wait-for-the-main-act mode, exerting as little energy as possible.

Sway kept his hood up from the moment he came in the venue til when he left. We didn't think that was a good way to engage the crowd.. Although his set was shorter he probably did the same amount of songs as JE, unfortunately he could not remember many of his lyrics.. smh. Luckily he has enough charm and wit to get over..

Maybe it was nerves. Nah.. Sway: "Any MCs in here?" Roughly a quarter of the audience. You’re all gonna get murdered when my mixtape (The Delivery) drops! The songs sounded pretty good. Sway is a very stylish emcee with strong wordplay.. good thing he raps then..

He hit the stage quite late… and his set was relatively short (the innanet suggests he has tons of songs) but it was worth it.. In his crowd pleasing bomber jacket with London emblazened on it and backing shots of JD, he chatted and rapped and gave an excellent insight into the world of Jay Electronica...

He is not married to Erykah Badu (as he pointed out to a heckler who said, "I love your wife!")

He has 3200 BBM contacts (he told someone who complained that he hadn’t replied)

He will listen to your beats, get in the crowd and rhyme with you, and won’t punch you if you grab him and you are a man (just an observation)/he can handle a swarm of adoring bboys with aplomb (ahh the homoerotic nature of rap!)

He will shout you out if you are attending your first hip hop show (Elaine, I hope you enjoyed it!)

Is fond of mentioning his waves.. (does have some fine waves).

He grew up on Rick James but will spare a lady’s blushes (please can someone tell me what it was he asked the ladies on the first night? He refused to say it on night 2)

He’ll swap a(n ok) Dilla t-shirt for a leather bomber.

He’ll compliment your outfit.. or your city’s dress sense.

He is humble (shouted out Gilles and Benji B and Semtex and said his UK presence would be nothing without them). He also rejects being the next hip hop saviour saying it’s about us and not just him (he doesn’t want an Obama type backlash).

He has a strong voice (like Pharoahe Monch or KRS-1) that sounds great live, especially when he stops the track to emphasise a verse (eg. on Dimethyltryptamine) and the lyrics to make you stay tuned anyway, even as they spiral off on tangents.

He didn’t bring a lot of instrumentals with him.

You might be ashamed of your internet usage but he is not! Also, he will probably flirt with you on the internet if you’re a lady.

His DJ TJ from Detroit once toured the country with heat (not just on the decks/laptop) and no one knew..

He is from Newalins and believes they blew the Levees (who could blame him)

He is not afraid to be geeky (referencing Tesla, megatron always splitting the atom), hood and honest.

He can move a crowd AND get every member to put one finger up in the air for Dilla. Everyone!

Also.. he scrubs up well

I was surprised that the show ended when it did, but I also felt that I had witnessed something special (we all did). The makings of something great.
Jay Electronica; his light is brilliant!

Lyrics of the week: Sade, Be That Easy

2010-02-13T12:40:00.001Z

This anecdote from her interview with the Times (amazing btw) is so bloody poignant and explains a lot about Ms Adu's music:

“My mother left my father because she found it impossible to live with him, although they loved each other very much. It was hard for my mother because he was the man of her life. On her wedding day my father gave her a red rose and when he died she threw it in his grave. She’d kept it for 30 years. That was the moment I realised how deeply she cared for him."

I couldn't decide between Skin and Bring Me Home, but since it's V day tomorrow and those pair are a bit dark, here is Be That Easy:

It's a wistful, glass half or full half empty affair..

But I could have been falling free
Falling all these years
Now it's easy to see
Sun on my face, wind in my hair..

...it couldn't be that easy

Full lyrics at songlyrics.com Sade, Be That Easy

A review of Soldier of Love for Afripop (cough*by me*cough)

Common's impromptu performance of The Light..

2010-02-13T09:32:00.000Z

If Nas spat some bars at the end it would have been perfect!

Life and Lyrics: news 25 jan - 5 Feb 2010

2010-02-06T16:43:00.002Z

Live-ish

When worlds collide for Haiti.. Chris Martin and Beyonce

and Mary J Blige, David Foster and Andre Boccelli, so beautiful.

Gilles Peterson releases backstage Q-tip footage

Life and Lyrics..

Some lyrics upset Carla Bruni.. A news story about a celeb who doesn’t like a song about how her celebrity is distracting from real news.

The We Are the World remake gets an extra rap verse.. penned by Will I Am (or LL Cool J depending on what you read. I'm going with WIA)

Haven't heard either yet but it seems We are the World is crushing Everybody Hurts. WATW has Bizzy Bone AND Vince Vaughn! Think they have the edge.. I get chills at the thought that the poem will be read by MJ’s kids, hope Blanket gets a line or two.

Ke$ha says her new single Blah Blah Blah feat 3OH!3 is flipping the script on the fellas.. Two wrongs don't make a right bb ;)

In the run up to Carnival, there's been a call for better lyrics from Trinidad (well not better but more varied)

Started making trouble in my living area..

Lol at the poor dude who was duped into reciting the Fresh Prince theme tune live on air.. just lol

Do you love rap? Chima Anya does..

2010-02-06T15:18:00.000Z

and in a characteristically rap way he makes no bones about it:

I'm not mad.

Lyrics of the week: Ahhh, I'll think I'll call it a bull..

2010-02-05T22:50:00.002Z

Every week someone is doing something with a Bob Dylan lyric (you'd think he had a way with words or something). Recently his song Man Gave Names to all the Animals has been published as a children's book.

Full lyrics here at sing365.com

He saw an animal that liked to snort
Horns on his head and they weren't too short
It looked like there wasn't nothing that he couldn't pull
"Ah, I'll think I'll call it a bull."

Link to book

This isn't it but it looks nice too:

Enter The Magical Mystery Chambers!! Wu vs The Beatles

2010-01-21T18:08:00.002Z

<a href="http://wutangvsthebeatles.bandcamp.com/album/enter-the-magical-mystery-chambers">Wu Vs Beatles (Intro) by Wu Tang Vs The Beatles</a>

It's funny no one has done this before.. it's dope

Life and lyrics news Jan 1 -16

2010-01-17T23:19:00.016Z

Turn off the lights, and light a candle

RIP Teddy Pendegrass.

Live: Justin Timberlake beatboxed for Brother Ali in Wyoming (once he'd been recognised). aww..

Lyrics:

Study shows that music with a positive message has a beneficial impact on listeners

On average, those who had heard songs like Michael Jackson's Heal the World responded more quickly and picked up almost five times as many pencils as people in the other group.
The Guardian

That's no subliminal diss, but someone will find it..
Masta Ace
Complex lists Jay-Z's subliminal disses (and some quite overt ones too)

Kano's "foul-mouthed" (and violent) according to the Times, when all he's done is help promote the diploma..

He said he wanted to "inspire people, but not in a way that’s patronising and preachy." Unlike the Times' headline.

The holy

The Vatican (unofficially) love Bono's religious lyrics

The unholy

Wired list a bunch of blasphemous lyrics..

Veteran with violent lyrics

A veteran in the US is in trouble for sending a rap song to the Pentagon (you can hear it here). Protesting the Stop Loss order or threatening his superiors.. or both?

Veteran against violent lyrics

The Gleaner has a story about an Iraq vet hopes to return to Jamaica and talk to students about peace and non-violent music..

peace

"This ain't a football song.." (FA says no 2010 anthem)

2010-01-17T23:16:00.001Z

Three Lions on my chest
You know I can't go wrong

John Barnes

The FA have said that there won't be an official England world cup song!

Let's hope they change their mind, hopefully there will be an outcry. They should let Wiley, Damon Albarn, Pete Doherty and Keith Allen (he always seems to be involved) get together and get busy. Sway or Dizzee can write the rap..

The England team is a lot better looking now.. but this song will always be the shit:

If they updated this, with emceeing by Rio Ferdinand, it could be epic ;)

I cannot wait for the world cup.
I know exactly what song they need to use for the highlights too.. I think it's South African (link later)

Live and Lyrics 2009

2009-12-31T19:37:00.001Z

Just off the top..

Favourite lyrical performance: Black Thought Reality TV

Album: Only Built for Cuban Linx II

Performances etc inside...

Best live show inside: Q-Tip @ The Roundhouse

Best live show in a field: Q-Tip again (lol) or Blur @ Glastonbury

(Kicked off quite an obsession for me!)

Best performance on a TV:

(The American Music Awards was better but there was no stage invasion)
Everytime Dizzee Rascal performs on TV it's pretty amazing too..

Best club thing: tie between True School @ the Westbury

and J Rocc and Madlib @ Deviation Fabric:

(probably because Madlib rapped into my camera!)

Fiercest lady with electrifying breasts (literally): Lady Gaga @ Glastonbury and the end of the Bad Romance video

When worlds collide to magnificent effect, Blakroc:

Even rock grumblers Mos Def and Raekwon got on this (brilliant) album.

Favourite show I worked at/watched: YYYs @ Shepherds Bush Empire or Mr Hudson.

Greatest live show that didn't happen: MJ This Is It.
:(

Happy 2010!!

Kanye West nano 09 rap-up and wordle: "I sold my soul to the devil, I know it's a crappy deal"

2009-12-31T18:53:00.000Z

Always entertaining and out there.. here's Ye's (pretty mild considering) 2009 Wordle*:

I sold my soul to the devil, I know it's a crappy deal, it came with a few toys like a happy meal.
I’m spaced out god, I be on that moon talk, I wonder if God ask Mike how to moon walk

A couple of bars that neatly encapuslate Kanye's 2009.

And a couple more:

I'm so anxious I'm getting anxiety
Begging one of these fucking fashion houses to hire me
They say you've been an asshole...

Some choice Kanye lyrics from the last twelve months:

Never gave in
Never gave up
I'm the only thing I'm afraid of

No matter what
You'll never take that from me
My reign is as far as your eyes can see

Amazing

You worry bout the wrong things, the wrong thing
Anyway, they don't know you like I do

Paranoid

Oh they got it all you can see they got it all
They got the cars the boat and the beautiful house by the shore
And you know there's more
But I can't take another minute of y'all

Supernova

So what we gon’ have – desert or disaster?

Knock You Down

With the gray pup'on, anything Ye' poop on
Will explode, cuz I am the shit and
This is my commode, uh oh there they go
Talking bout how yuh boy clothes extra tight
I just remembered that my lime light extra bright

Maybach Music 2

* forgot to include his MTV I'ma let you finish... quote.

"Bling" a word of the decade

2009-12-18T13:35:00.000Z

Lil Wayne but in Hollywood it's Little Wayne

Sure, it's been in the dictionary since 2003 and not really used these days, but it is amazing how beloved the term "bling" is in the UK media.. and here it is cropping up as a top 20 word of the decade for BBC news. It got out of hand many years ago when a fairly stuffy museum used it in an exhibition title.. Pretty sure the curator of that hadn't heard of the Cash Money Millionaires:

I'm not sure who gets the actual credit B.G., Gillie or Weezy. It seems to be Lil Wayne since he did the chorus, plus he gets extra props for recontextualising it on Hollywood Divorce:

You can call me a roller
Your grill's glistenin'
Spent a hundred thousand on mine to feel different - what's the real sense of it?
Uhhh Bling bling, I know
And did you know I'm the creator of the term
I just straightened the perm and let it sit too long, they just makin it burn
Make a movie of our lifestyle ..

An evening with Andre Agassi

2009-12-11T03:32:00.004Z

not quite what I had in mind!

When the high/lowlights of Andre's autobiography hit the headlines, I (like most of his fans) was surprised but not bothered (never really liked his mullet, sympathise with the drugs). Andre is IT for me with tennis. Ivan Lendl used to excite me when I was young, but Andre really captured my imagination.

After college me and CB tried to wander up to Queens to see if we could catch a peek of him (we didn't really know where it was, if only I had the organisational skills and stalking dedication I have now). I missed him every time I went to Wimbledon but am glad I got to see him somehow..

I arrive just in time to hear Andre explain how he hated tennis! I must've missed that one. I knew he didn't like it as a kid.. but it seemed he hated it for much of his career. He said it was one of things that when he told his wife (I'm assuming Steffi) and she replied "don't we all?" made him know she was the one. He calls it a "hate love relationship."

At 27 when he hit rock bottom Brad Gilbert asked him are you going to quit or start over? He thought about his options and decided to start over and decided to take ownership of his life. He mentioned how many people did jobs they didn't like and made it work.

Andre said tennis is the loneliest sport in the world: you play alone, on an island. You hear so many players talk to themselves, then give themselves the silent treatment. You can tell that Agassi just wants to chat and be with people. He is not a machine.

The atmosphere was reminiscent of his press conferences at Wimbledon, and how he would play with the interviewer as they ate it up like putty. I don't know if he realises how much he turns on the UK crowd, he is such a relaxed speaker, so honest and funny. He did go off on a lot of enjoyable tangents, and only once did I think, what is he on about? (When he answered a question about drugs testing).

Andre said the book was about forgiveness and some of his final words were about wanting his children to have empathy more than money or accolades.

His father was a Christian Armenian who was forced to live in Iran during the genocide (does Serj Tankian know this?!) The routine he made his children follow was: wake up play tennis, then brush your teeth. He saw how it affected his older siblings and decided the only way out of this (constant correction and practice) was to be perfect.

He told stories (I'm sure they're in the book) of his 5ft7 dad knocking out big truckers and his mean granny. How he woke up from heart surgery and told him about how he should have played to Sampras's backhand. On another occasion he mentioned his dad giving Sampras back chat when his phone went off during a critical stage of their match (Andre was visibly delighted retelling this story).

He got up to do an impression of Pete Sampras serving (and one of Boris Becker) pls note the booty

Sampras

I don't think the rivalry is dead. Pete actually beat him again recently! He makes these cracks about how Sampras beat him, (again!) and he does a very good impression of him (not in a mocking way) just to show how he looks when he concentrates. He admits that he doesn't get him, but does he really not get him? He tells a story about a parrot and him and Pete in an interview and another time when Pete tells him his is going to marry an actress (Andre was married to Brooke Shields at the time and said, "I'm allergic to actresses"). Can't wait to read the book, but I am waiting til Christmas as it is a present.

Even though Sampras says complimentary things about Andre, it feels like they aren't completely reciprocated. (Pete didn't diss Andre over the drugs thing, but it seems that Andre took exception to the non-comment)

Drugs

He said that people like Nadal, Navratilova, Safin and a couple of others who said I haven't read the book but (and then proceed to comment) need to be quiet.

Body language = "closed"

I think this is during his Becker story

Becker

He told a funny anecdote about his rivalry with Boris Becker (basically he kept beating Boris because he could read his body language, specifically his tongue, it was fun.) Then one day (1995 semis) Boris beat him and was blowing kisses to Brooke Shields (!) during the game, then talked smack about him to the press. He said when he was leading 6-2 in the final set, he just wanted to put down the racquets and fight. He injured himself he hit the ball so hard..

He said they called him BB Socrates (because he thinks he is a philosopher but his words would trip him up sometimes).

The whole year that followed he had "Only Boris on my mind," the summer of revenge he called it. It was when he had the all those wins in a row.

Actually he goes off on a tangent during this story which was in answer to why he felt like he lost on purpose to Michael Chang.

I don't think he actually got his revenge but someone correct me if I'm wrong.

Q&A

The first lady was in the front row (quite a feat) and her voice was quivering, she said as you can tell I'm very excited to be meeting you.

1. She asked him about his bright colours, coming to Wimbledon and being a rebel.

He said it was very intimidating coming here and being treated like a stranger. You can't go in that dressing room it's for the champions. You can't wear this. But he said it is here that he "learned to bow."

2. Was about Tiger and role models.

He said nothing about Tiger's situation and just asked why are we so quick to rush to judgement. That we should pull for him and his family and offer support.

3. What's better your return of serve or Steffi's forehand?

He said, when I am playing against her, it's her forehand because to be able to return I have to have my eyes on the ball. Smooth :)

4. Asked him whether pleasing the fans (my words) gave him any positive memories or helped him resolve his differences with tennis.

(I think not really). He said, "I reserve the right to be conflicted about the game" but then he said some nice stuff.

5. Asked him when he came to terms with his relationship with his dad?

In the hospital room when he made the Sampras comment. Although by that point he felt that he had moved beyond him/that. He said he realised that he'd underestimated his mother's strength (and her power over his dad.)

6. Why is cover pic sad?

Not sad, it was taken before he got the grey hairs but showed that he had a long way to go.

7. re: Wimbledon. 1st grand slam.

He said it was his second greatest achievement, his first being his fake mullet (!)

For 8. Andre talked about the schools and children but I was concerned by now about the amount of people leaving to queue up for the signing. Would you encourage your children to play tennis?

No. That's when he made the remark about the value of empathy.

This lady told me no I couldn't have a dedication, another moved me along when I went to shake his hand lol

Andi Agri?!

Kidz In The Hall drop a free album: The Professional Leisure Tour

2009-12-09T04:33:00.000Z

Can't be bad..

L-R-G presents:

13 original tracks from the group which was mostly recorded last month on the road during Kidz In The Hall's National US Tour and this is certainly reflected in Grizzly Man, We Gone (well, the whole set) and the irate girlfriend skits..

Click Here To Download The Free Mix CD

In their words: your favourite rapper's girlfriend's favourite rappers.. ;)
Is it cheatin if you're only married to music?

Mighty Healthy: Life and lyrics (week ending Dec 5/6)

2009-12-06T04:43:00.003Z

"It's important to actually listen to and think about the lyrics of a song and not just the beat." (Shaquilla Terry, age 15 of Boston)

Life

US teens have been ranking songs for their health using a system inspired by food nutrition labels.
The project is the outcome of a seven-week course the teens, ages 15 to 19, attended as part of the Boston Public Health Commission's aim to promote healthy relationships and combat youth and dating violence.

"We are giving them a tool that will help them make an informed choice about what they put into their bodies."

Using a "sound relationships" label guide users weighed up the number of healthy relationship themes, such as respect, equality, and trust and opposing themes like possession, disrespect, and manipulation.

Unsurprisingly the "hottest" songs are unhealthy:

Unhealthy

1. Break Up, Mario (feat. Gucci Mane and Sean Garrett)
2. Blame It, Jamie Foxx (feat. T-Pain)
3. Paparazzi, Lady Gaga

(Surely 50's Baby By Me should be higher!)

Healthy

1. One Time, Justin Bieber (Justin looks about 8. It would be a bit disturbing if this whippersnapper had unhealthy relationship songs out already!!)
2. Miss Independent, Ne-yo
3. Replay, Iyaz

See both top tens here

A balanced musical diet makes sense, but not sure how much attention people pay to labels..

After rinsing MJB's My Life all day... don't follow with Back to Black.. you might want to try some... mmm well not overly keen on that top three.. Black Eyed Peas (they made the healthy chart)

Links: CBC news
Boston Public Health Commission

Lyrics

A good week for Bob Dylan, his song A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall was adopted by the United Nations as the unofficial anthem of the climate change talks in Copenhagen.

I heard the sound of a thunder, it roared out a warnin',
Heard the roar of a wave that could drown the whole world,
Heard one hundred drummers whose hands were a-blazin',
Heard ten thousand whisperin' and nobody listenin',

http://www.bobdylan.com/#/songs/hard-rains-gonna-fall

Not so good week for Pete Doherty, he offended his German fans, by singing the Nazi era National anthem..

Yeah Yeah Yeahs @ Brixton Academy Nov 30 2009

2009-12-02T01:18:00.003Z

Oh yes!

They had a never ending supply of exploding glitter/ticker tape.. It was definitely the prettiest show I've seen at Brixton.

Duchess Says

I was pleased to see that I hadn't totally missed Canadian art rockers Duchess Says. It seemed like they put on quite the performance. The singer (A-C or Annie-Claude) was out deep in the crowd when I arrived. It wasn't packed yet and everyone was congregated around her, I looked around like wtf and caught eyes with a bemused reviewer taking notes. When she returned to the stage she sang, screeched and spun about. Eccentric and watchable she jumped like a bunny then roared..

At the end of their set A-C asked a guy in the audience his name, Dave (it had to be). She yelled CONGRATULATIONS! (?)

The house music or whoever was DJing in between played hipster hop.. I heard a strange version of My Mind's Playing Tricks On Me and a robotic Hypnotize. By now the venue was full. They'd thrown some kind of sheet up and were rolling out the eyeballs..

Someone on twitter astutely called the gig a mixture of pageantry and rock and roll. That sums it up. The intro was Runaway and the YYYs little shadows were magnified by the huge sheet which dropped as the strings quivered and the sound grew. I was too far forward and at a funny angle to appreciate the visual effect but got a good look at Karen 's typically magnificent outfit. It was slightly reminiscent of a Peroni bottle, although I think she may have been a butterfly. She struck various poses, looked amazing.

Peroni!

Dripping with alchemy

Shiver stop shivering

The glitter's all wet

You're all chrome

They did this song/interlude called Shake It (new to me) and she slipped into something more comfy. It was a tentative but impressive start. It felt so intimate you were aware of there being three small people (and some assistance but I couldn't see them from stage left) on stage cranking out a huge and beautiful noise. By the time she kicks out the glitter to hit Black Tongue, the show is soaring.
I was by the speaker (bad) at a perfect 45 degrees from Nick Zinner. Every time I tried to take a pic of Nick and Brian or just Brian, and Nick moved slightly, Brian would disappear completely. Brian is like Louis Theroux on the drums, but sexier (on Miles Away **wow**)

When Brian drums it looks like the sticks are going to fly out of his hands, it looks like he is holding them so lightly but sounds so powerful, I need to watch more drummers because I don't know what it is I'm seeing. I like it.

Nick is the truth and probably the reason why we're all there just tearing it up and looking like it's nothing.

Karen O deep throats the mike, primal screams, throws shapes, works multiple costumes and blows water like a whale, all with the sweetest smile on her face.

They would draw in at the start of most songs before exploding into their different directions, as if to remind you of their pyramid power. I'm sure a touring bassist/keyboard person must have been there but I didn't notice them.

Karen O is a warrior, a warrior

Heads will roll

Sometimes I think I'm bigger than the sound

During Cheated Hearts it sounded like Karen's voice was tiring, that is my only criticism she wrecks her voice on stage. She's a punk soul siren! I don't know if they do this every time but when it got to the ooooh ooooo ooohs bit, Karen had the entire front row (L-R) have a turn. Maybe two people were in tune, but it was a nice moment! One man took it as an opportunity to declare his love. Join the queue bb..

Karen returns in a robe like thing for the encore and says, this is your end of 2009 love song (Maps). Nick's playing looked effortless and sounded lush. At the end of the song she says "I do" I'm not sure if she just married the whole Academy there. Then pow they hit us with the crazy one two: Art Star/Date With a Night and were out. (first night conciseness).

Set list:

Runaway

Shake it

Black Tongue

Phenomenon

10x10

Gold Lion

Zero

Miles Away

Skeletons

Soft shock

Cheated hearts

Heads Will Roll

Y Control

Encore:

Maps

Art Star

Date With the Night

So if you like YYYs who else would you like? I can't believe they are the only band like that I love. I don't mean influences really, more if you like them you'll love:

So far I have got Siouxie and the Banshees, TV on the Radio, The Sounds, maybe The Kills...

Life and lyrics (week ending 28th Nov)

2009-11-28T18:52:00.002Z

The Muppets cover Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody

This post is spiralling out of control a bit but it is a round up of the week's live and lyrics news..

Black Roc The Black Keys/Damon Dash project dropped!!!! The Blues keeps going.. even though cats like Simon Reynolds wish hip hop would hurry up and die. (pff we never die. We just multiply ;)

Speech Dabelle has parted ways with Big Dada, she's mad about record sales. I don't think Big Dada is the kind of label that drops artists that don't sell, whereas most majors are. I think she's crazy. If her next album is anything like she describes though, I'm all over it:

"I want it to be a mix of Ray Charles, a song like 'Georgia On My Mind'," she said. "I want it to have the atmosphere of Pink Floyd's 'The Dark Side Of The Moon' and the drums of J Dilla."

Life:

Since they love to villify metal and rap, it's surprising (but good) the press haven't jumped on this: a boy who had been bullied and was severely depressed committed suicde and had some Rammstein lyrics (bestrafe mich - punish me) scrawled on his arm. RIP

Milun Tesovic, the 24-year-old founder of Metrolyrics was named the top student entrepreneur in the world

Live:

Masta Ace and Ed OG are touring the UK, on Sunday it's Mos Def @ Hammersmith HMV Apollo. Sandwiched nicely in between is the Beat Junkies alumni Jrocc, playing at Scratch's 13 1/3 birthday party. I found my tickets for the YYYs on Monday (they are for pick up at the venue. lol)

J-lo slipped on her bumpsie at the AMAs but it wasn't anything major and Adam Lambert kissed a boy.

Speaking on CBS' The Early Show, he said: "I admit I did get carried away, but I don't see anything wrong with it - I do see how people got offended and that was not my intention, my intention was to interpret the lyrics of my song and have a good time with it."

Copyright © 2009 The Press Association. All rights reserved.

Lyrics:

LA weekly made a word cloud out of the lyrics from Pet Sounds.. God looms large

Weezer's Rivers Cuomo is more sincere than people think, he tells the Intelligencia:

"I don't think I use satire and irony nearly as much as other people think I do. In a number of cases, I've done lyrics 100% sincerely and those lyrics have been interpreted as being satirical. The entire song Beverly Hills, for example, is completely sincere, exploring my craving for celebrity. But many listeners think I'm satirizing celebrity."

also:

"I've always been a huge fan of Jermaine Dupri's songwriting and Lil Wayne's rapping. Yeah, they're from a totally different world, musically speaking. But that made it all the more fun and challenging for me. To figure out how to integrate their ideas with my ideas and with Weezer's sensibility and chord progressions and melodies."

Spanish bbs get a Flamenco album with music for adults, lyrics for kids. (I'm thinking this is good for students of Spanish so WANT)

Britney decides living in sin is no longer the new thing, changes lyrics. Maybe she, like me randomly got wind of this Schiller revival. He had a thing for two sisters:

"To be able to live only in the two of you, and you in me – oh, that is an existence which would put us above all other humans."

Schiller wrote the lyrics to Beethoven's Ode to Joy, apparently this is Europe's anthem so if you live there get to know. This week I discovered: that song has lyrics; there is an awesome crew called the Army of the Pharoahs who are touring Europe but not the UK and Masta Ace and Ed OG recently (June)put out an album. So much to learn.. so little time..

Bang bang.. that awful sound..

2009-11-25T23:57:00.002Z

If only Rihanna put as much ferocity into her music as she does her visuals. When Russian Roulette premiered there was a lot of criticism about the dramatic final gunshot, perhaps there were worries about the Deer Hunter effect or even the Christopher Walken effect.

Everyone assumed it's about Chris Brown (or at least what Ne-Yo thinks about Chris Brown) and in a way it sort of is. She explains in this excerpt, "You know that somebody could get hurt in the end, and you're just terrified that it's gonna be you."

A gun is a popular symbol, suggesting power or vulnerability depending on what end of the barrel you face, and offering endless sexual connotations (Maybe Russian Roulette could be a secret ode to giving head!) On Happiness is a Warm Gun, John Lennon sang, "Mother Superior jumped the gun" (Mother Superior being Yoko) and "When I hold you in my arms and feel my finger on your trigger." It was too hot for the BBC back then. Some say it could be about Heroin, something else thrilling (and deadly).
2pac's more explicit on Me and My Girlfriend about his love for his wild gangsta chick/pistol.

I love finger fuckin you, all of a sudden I'm hearin thunder
When you bust a nut, niggaz be duckin or takin numbers
Love to watch you at a block party, beggin for drama

(Full lyrics here)

The cold hard sound of a gunshot in a song is a quick and effective shortcut to sexy, dangerous and "edgy." A single shot jolts and demands your attention, as in Rihanna's song or the end of Biggie's Suicidal Thoughts. Rounds going off are staccato and rhythmic, and the sound of a gun cocking back is filled with menace. Is it attention-seeking or pushing the envelope? Here's a six shootin list of songs that utilise gun sound effects:

6.
The predictable
50 Cent, Heat

50 Cent probably has many songs laden with gun sounds, Guns Come Out is another example. The continual sound of the gun cocking and firing is relentless much like the man himself.

5.
A shell packing cupid?
Raphael Saadiq, Rifle Love

Sounds scary to me. This song put me off Raphael Saadiq (for a time).

It sounds a lot better than it reads but it's miles away from the sublime Skyy Can You Feel Me. Catchy tho..

4.
The sexy R&B 90s throwback
The Whitehead Brothers, Your Love is a 187

Gangsta rap was at its height and this Philly pairing weren't shying away from the west coast G-funk sound or the gun as metaphor for sex. This song was their biggest hit. Just in case there's any confusion:

Baby the things you do should be against the law
But there ain't no law that says that you can't
Break me off, baby you can pump like a gauge
or go faster than an automatic tec
that's why a 187 is the way I describe your sex

3.
The ill:
Wu-tang Clan, Careful (Click Click)

Yo somethin in the street went, BANG BANG
Makin it hard for you to do your THANG THANG
Somethin in the street went, BANG BANG..

Sparse, eerie and percussive; imaginative, real and scary, there's guns and boxcutters and people out to get you. A Wu-tang (and RZA production) high on an album that got mixed reviews. This video was shown on MTV (Europe at least) blurred so much it lost its meaning, what a nightmare.

2.
The big hit (pun intended)
MIA, Paper planes

Sometimes MIA hooks sound a bit confusing, but this one is clear:

All I wanna do is **gun shots cash machine chachings**
And take your money.

It reached #4 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #19 on the UK Top 40 (although I'm sure it was #1 on UK itunes) and her shots were censored on Letterman (to her annoyance, but she still did the arm movements). The sound effects replace words and MIA says they can be interpreted in many ways. I thought the song was about stick up kids but in a rundown of her album in Fader she says:

[The sample of the gun reloading and then the cash register ringing] was a joke. I was having this stupid visa problem and I didn’t know what it was, aside from them thinking that I might to fly a plane into the Trade Center—which is the only reason that they would put me through this. I actually recorded that in Brooklyn, in Bed-Stuy. I was thinking about living there, waking up every morning—it’s such an African neighborhood. I was going to get patties at my local and just thinking that really the worst thing that anyone can say [to someone these days] is some shit like: ”What I wanna do is come and get your money.” People don’t really feel like immigrants or refugees contribute to culture in any way. That they’re just leeches that suck from whatever. So in the song I say All I wanna do is [sound of gun shooting and reloading, cash register opening] and take your money. I did it in sound effects. It’s up to you how you want to interpret. America is so obsessed with money, I’m sure they’ll get it.

1.
The poetic
Cher or Nancy Sinatra, Bang Bang

OK, cheating a bit with this one because there is no gunshot in the song. Although this is how the song is introduced at the beginning of Kill Bill Volume 1. Who didn't jump at that part?

Nancy Sinatra gets all the props thanks to Kill Bill but it was Cher who sang it first. Peep her 80s rock version (Lady Gaga eat your heart out with the non pants?)

It's emotional and CLEARLY metaphorical: their guns were made of sticks! He shoots her down (breaks her heart)! These ladies both inject pathos into the song, but it is interesting to note that Sonny penned it, and MIA also says that the producer (male) put the sounds into her song. Ne-Yo wrote Rihanna's Russian Roulette.. A couple of the other songs on the list may concern women but is all this really just another manifestation of men's ongoing obsession with the phallus?

Shout to the Audio Bullys and Kardinal Offishall who surprise surprise added in some actual gunfire to his version.

Addendum: By chance I came across a more recent contender. Lloyd's track "Pusha." He's already got the cocaine imagery going for him, but then on the chorus sweetly sings: "Kobain, Kobain*gunshot*she blows my brains"
Wow
It's actually quite good lol

KRS-One and Buckshot: You want that soft pop shit you better book another sound!

2009-11-25T13:28:00.001Z

Krs and Buck have been kind enough to offer some survival skills.. and a Tron like video..

It's dope but I think I prefer the video (and song) Robot (another anti auto-tune track)

That's edutainment. Both videos were directed by Todd Angkasuwan (he has a nice showreel).

Survival Skills the album is out now..

To me MC means move the CROWD: Mariah Carey lights up Westfield, SOM heat up Covent Garden

2009-11-20T18:21:00.000Z

Mariah Carey @ Westfield; Souls of Mischief at Carhartt Store.

Hello? No I can't see shit!

Yesterday I went to see MC turn on the lights at Westfield. My sister is a big Mariah fan (this used to sadden me, but I have mellowed out about a lot of artists lately) and based on her experience of seeing Lemar turn on the lights last year. I was looking forward to hearing Mariah sing maybe one song.

A said that Boyz II Men were in town too so we were thinking we would hear One Sweet Day. LOL.
The billboards had the schedule in pink type: 6pm arrival at the Southern Terrace, 6.15pm turn on the lights, then some signing (new album isn't out here) then a photo call something to do with her new perfume. Isn't Mariah always late? Oh that's just rumours A said. I was sure I had seen her say it herself somewhere.

So there was about an hour of awkward filler from Trevor Nelson and his co-host doing the outside link (from about 10 to 6) and some tunes from the DJ. She'll be here in a minute (20 more minutes) repeat and lots of intermittent screaming. The boys behind us were complaining and saying they were going home, but they didn't move. Neither did we, I guess the thinking was well we've waited this long. Lord knows how long the people at the front had been waiting.The boys behind me were making me laugh discussing her back catalogue (which consisted of the busta rhymes tune and touch my body).

A few kids were jumping the barriers and poor A was getting flashbacks to being crushed at the Jay-Z Ally Pally show, she said she had a better view now than then. People were just jammed together and passing out (at Jay-Z), sounded very shabby (and dangerous).
Eventually MC appeared an adoring public, she was introduced as the world's biggest female artist. I think she is the USA's biggest selling female artist. Love how people just repeat myths as fact- everyone buys it (I had this argument before with someone and at that time it was Madonna, I'm sure MC will eventually overtake her because she started almost ten years later. Who will retire first? Madonna will probably keep going on purpose!)

Anyway. There were some bangs and glittery ticker paper stuff fell from the sky. No doves or white kittens! We were at the second set of barriers, and everyone in front of us started climbing up on things to get a better look, I could just see some hair. So ended up looking at the screens.

The young boys behind us and in front were like, "she's fucking sexy!" She looked good, but all we could see was her wide booty as she greeted the kids.

Mariah said she'd never been to a mall in London before and that she was surrounded by "so much cuteness" (I think there were some little kids on stage with her, unless she meant her fans) then with a wave of her wand the lights (same as last year) were on. They started to play one of her christmas songs and I think I heard her sing a line or two (maybe it was a hunger hallucination).

Then she was whisked off somewhere (well they were running 45 mins late). A lot of people left after that (us included) so I don't know what happened next. I hope it didn't involve singing or Boyz II Men. I should have just stayed at home and watched it with a full belly (we were starving). They probably showed the it on the local news.

ITN has good footage of Ms Carey.

Last week, I tried to go and see Souls of Mischief at their album launch in the Carhartt store Covent Garden. I spent an age looking for parking, then I drove through the street it was on and saw people spilling out everywhere. No entry for me. I hung outside for a bit, you could hear everything but just saw steamed up windows and some sardines. After I had my mocha, saw someone I know, I was out. It was too cold even for me, the original loafter.

93 til Infinity my favourite song ever! (or top 5)
***arghh!!***

This is what I saw:

Get there early or not at all!

Carl Sagan: The surface of the earth is the shore of the cosmic ocean

2009-11-14T02:49:00.001Z

Recently we've waded a little way out

And the water seems inviting...

When I read about Stephen Hawking guesting on a song I was be/amused, but it's good: peaceful ambient production and mind-opening lyrics. Throw Dr Octagon on an extended version and we're really really good.

The single was released in celebration of what would have been Carl Sagan's 75th birthday on Monday 9th.

Don't get it mixed up with Carl Sagan's Dance Party on itunes (like I nearly did).

Love the cameo by SH basically says we don't know the answers of the universe: "Our image of the universe today/Is full of strange sounding ideas."

This blogger has the full lyrics and a brief explanation of the song, it's pretty self-explanatory though as the samples are taken from TV documentary footage of Sagan breaking concepts down..

The sky calls to us

If we do not destroy ourselves

We will one day

Venture to the stars

Mr Hudson @ Shepherds Bush Empire Nov 11 2009

2009-11-12T22:46:00.008Z

(I watched enough to write something on it.)

Supernova: a rare celestial phenomenon involving the explosion of most of the material in a star, resulting in an extremely bright, short-lived object that emits vast amounts of energy.

Well, Mr Hudson is pretty hot right now... but with two albums he is probably more than a flash in the pan.

The audience looked like the cast from Skins so I had very few customers (which was good for me) Maybe, they were students of Mr Hudson.

The first support act sounded a lot like to Hot Chip to begin with but with more guitar. They were good.
It took me a while to realise that the second support act was Speech Debelle, even though I was looking at her and admiring her hair. The double bass on stage should have been a clue, and her distinctive voice, but I was slow to catch on. She's quite low key and the hypeman was more vocal (@lukaswinn nailed it when he said she needs to work on her stage presence) a girl near the bar was sending her mad energy and said, the audience don't realise who she is.. It seemed like they were just checking her out, wondering when Ben Hudson was making his appearance, but by the end they were into it. She had them all yelling "pullit!"
I've only given the album one quick listen (the night before strangely enough) so I'm glad to have caught her live. I can see how she won over the Mercury jury, I don't know who her competition was but her music is sweet and genuine (check this final track out).

I couldn't eavesdrop hard enough to fully catch the same girl at the bar explaining to another that The Library (the band) still existed (they just don't have shared billing).

The lights were set to dazzle and stun as Mr Hudson performed White Lies (much better than his MOBO performance). Unfortunately I was relieved for my break at this point(!), but clocked the trousers (jeans?) white and tight in front, baggy in the bum (read into that what you want). The last time I saw such tight pants on that stage was Seal. There were screaming girls. He is tall, slim and the albino hair works for him, he looks striking on the White Lies single cover.

I loved the fact that he has a steel pan in his band, and there were a good few songs where you can hear it predominantly: "Too Late, Too Late" is one of them (the live version is so different to the MHATL version).
All the songs had a good knock to them, and the slow and mid-tempo songs sounded best (admittedly most of them are slow-ish). "Instant Messanger" seemed to end abrubtly (but that's how it goes) then went into upbeat almost country style song (maybe this is the one he describes as Deliverance meets Sade).

They smoothly mixed the Library era with the new songs, I'm still trying to identify the "I hope you get the connection" one.. (help me out internet!). The finale was "Upon the Heath" (Library era). He has a very interesting voice, extremely English sounding. He was recovering from manflu and it held out 'til the encore which included rapperless extra Hudson versions of "Young Forever" and of course "Supernova." By now he was dressed in top to toe white reflecting in the stage lights.. he can count himself luminous. There may not have been vast amounts of energy (there was energy no doubt!) but a sure slow burn.

When worlds don't collide to your liking: Guardian music's "rubbish indie-rap crossover" game

2009-11-11T00:15:00.002Z

Create your own rubbish indie-rap crossover game

I think it's basically inspired by the fact that Keane are working with K'naan (haha poor Keane, it might not be that bad.. they have this one tune that's kind of funky (one with the whoooos) and is having a pop at UK indie bands, but Young Forever is a lovely collaboration.. better than Beach Chair (although it's more or less the same song, B saying "are you happy Hov" is very sexy but the freestyling? at the end of YF is sweet)

Home Coming > Forever Young = Supernova > Beach Chair = Paranoid >>> Lost

Anyway pick four numbers for the "solution to making a lacklustre collaboration" eg. 2009

(2) Scouting For Girls
(0) Drake
(0) Rapper has designs on lead singer's wife
(9) Shit sandwich, hold the bread!

I love that one of the options in the fourth catergory is, "it's not bad until the lead singer starts to human beatbox." I'm sure the EMAs and Bono's 'rapping' sprang to mind:

I would do anything to see Jay Z and MGMT on stage.. but apparently they turned him down.

On the plus side: Doom has an EP coming out that will feature Thom Yorke, TV On The Radio's Dave Sitek, J Dilla and Jneiro Jarel. Not crazy about the Gazillion Ear remix (that track needs new lyrics) but can't wait for the rest!!

Kanye West turns his lyrics into picture book

2009-11-10T13:59:00.000Z

Kanye%20West%20turns%20his%20lyrics%20into%20a%20picture%20book%20

from the Chicago Tribune.

The illustrations are lovely, someone should leak this online or he should give copies out free, because he doesn't have much respect for books:

"Sometimes people write novels and they just be so wordy and so self-absorbed," West said. "I am not a fan of books. I would never want a book's autograph.
"I am a proud non-reader of books. I like to get information from doing stuff like actually talking to people and living real life," he said in a Reuters article.

Failing that someone could get it for me for Christmas. Thanks.

Some people make really self-absorbed albums too [cough], that's ok I still love music.

Lyrics of the week: Night Terror + the best female lyricists around today

2009-11-09T23:08:00.001Z

Bjork, Kate Bush, PJ Harvey, MIA* and Patti Smith

No arguments there but how about these:

Erykah Badu
was born under water, with 3 dollars and six dimes..
She was dope to begin with and improves with each album:
Soldier:

What am I talkin 'bout?

Erybody knows what this song's about
They be tryin to hide the history
But they know who we are
Do you want to see
Erybody rise to the next degree?
Raise your hands high if you agree
Just say yessireeeee oooohhh
Full lyrics available at lyrics mode

Looking forward to New Amerykah Part Two (Return of the Ankh) (dropping 2010)
Also check: Green Eyes, Tyrone, Love of my Life, AD 2000 and Cleva

Karen O
She is so economical with words and conjures up vivid images and captures emotions.. I love when she speaks to the river in the song below. It told me I'm small, then it swallowed me down. If I make it at all.. I'll make you want me...

All my favourite lyrics are on Show Your Bones but apparently it was a terrible period for the group :-o So also see Skeleton, Dull Life, Down Boy, Rich, Black Tongue and all their singles.

Amy Winehouse

Obvs she has a lot of issues in her life, but on Frank she was particularly brilliant: (Back to Black too but she was funnier/cockier/wise beyond her years on Frank) Also her "Me and Mr Jones" is in direct correlation to Badu's: Pick your afro daddy skit from Baduizm
Also see: the whole of Frank. Tears Dry On Their Own, you know the tunes..

Jean Grae

Good female rappers could form a lyrical league of their own. Jean never tries to cross over, which means a lot of people are missing out on one ill lyricist.
She is very prolific but peep: Taco Day, Negro League Baseball, Knock is my favourite song by her.

*BTW If MIA is going to get the props then maybe Justine Frischman should too.. she's obviously still got it if she was involved in Arular. And SANTIGOLD who is just as fresh:

Also see: Golden Boys (performed by Res); that whole album (How I Do), Shove It

A lot of the replies to the NME post suggested Laura Marling. She was in the group Noah and the Whale.. (maybe she still is) and she has a solo album out. The song "New Romantic" is venturing into Kate Nash territory.. but "Night Terror" is really impressive. Maybe I am just excited because she mentions Shepherd's Bush Green (I know I am) but it's also a haunting folk song.

I woke up and he was screaming.
I'd left him dreaming.
I roll over and shake him tightly, and whisper "If they want you, then they're gonna have to fight me,"
(Oh, fight me)

I woke up on a bench on Shepherd's Bush Green
With a candle at my chest, and a hand on his knee.
I woke up it was dark there was no-one in this park at this time, oh why do I keep finding myself here?
Oh, fight me.

Full lyrics are on SongMeanings.net

Nneka @ ULU November 4th 2009

2009-11-06T23:53:00.002Z

Some other guy (Jay something) was doing a show in Alexander Palace. I have tried to get a review from my siblings who attended, but all I got were complaints about the venue (someone was cutting costs perhaps) and the time it took to get back. My brother keeps saying Jay-Z is bigger than Elvis and my sister said.
Guess we'll all get to see it when the video for "Young Forever" comes out because they shot some of it that night.
I don't think I missed anything much after seeing him at Glastonbury. It can't have been more epic than that. *consoles self* This review seems to agree.

I was on a mission to see Nneka, she won the MOBO for best African act. I'm not all clear on this but technically shouldn't she be up for best International act? It doesn't matter, she is good.

She reminds me of Neneh Cherry (just the tone of her voice, but Nneka's is more powerful) and for some reason I kept thinking of Michael Jackson when I was watching her.. I have no idea why. I definitely caught Bob Marley influences (from the way she dressed and the way she sang on stage) although her sound is more Damian Marley.
I see wikipedia also thinks she sounds like Neneh.. and I also see that Neneh's dad is from Sierra Leone! I always thought she was Nigerian. Hello new cousin!

As a Nneka newbie I also appreciated the explanations and she gave to introduce each song. Wrote a review which hopefully will appear on Afripop's website but here are some more pics..

(the bassist is clearly from the same tribe as Adebesi in Oz)

You can see the passion in her face, she told (and showed) that. She rails against hypocrisy, fights for love and just wants to remain true to herself... She has a song about how we procrastinate about doing the right thing/giving something up that was spot on.

It was a definite ~~mis~~education, perfect for ULU. The (what sounded like) romantic love songs were also gorgeous too.
I expected to hear more rapping, only caught some at the end but I liked how she reps the whole African diaspora in her music. Particularly liked the reggae tunes..

Link: Nneka's MySpace

Shakira Did it Again, raises the bar*

2009-11-02T19:00:00.000Z

This past weekend I was "overtired" and found myself having an argument about Cheryl Cole's performance on X Factor. Silly I know, but then I came home and saw this video online and erased all negativity from my head. She might sound like a goat but she is the GOAT when it comes to (dancing in) videos (sorry Kanye):

The male dancer is Daniel "Cloud" Campos (ontd told me so). I wonder who choreographed it?

*instead of swinging from it.. but that was cool too.

I told you I was freaky: FOTC album drops today, touring soon, cheering up Monday

2009-11-02T18:03:00.000Z

I do this shit weekly:

Flight of the Conchords' new album is out today in the UK.. and apparently they will be in the UK next year to do a show/some shows (it has been a very long time since they were here, just thinking about getting the tickets is stressing me out!)

She makes me want.. she makes me want to get on top of herrr. (oh Jemaine!)

This is a perfect parody of Usher and R Kelly's Same Girl, ok it is easy target, but they did it so perfectly.

I think this album might even be better than the last one (although the first series is much better than the second season, if that makes any sense).
Too many dicks on the dancefloor
Carol Brown:

Hurt Feelings (Tears of a rapper) .. I relate a little too much to this one

The day after my birthday is not my birthday mum.

I don't even like the title track and it is making me lol irl. If this doesn't cheer you up this Monday, I can't help you.

(From the last album, I have never seen this video before!)

I've been roaming around I was looking down on all I see: Use Somebodies..

2009-11-02T14:43:00.000Z

If KoL are on You Tube I'm sure they've seen a lot of Use Somebody covers cropping up:

Someone like you and all you know and how you speak:

I hope it's gonna make you notice

Painted faces fill the places I can't reach

Countless lovers under cover of the street

Off in the night, while you live it up, I'm off to sleep
Waging wars to shake the poet and the beat

I was sure that Leona Lewis did one too, but I think that was Snow Patrol (Kelly Clarkson did though!). They're all so clean (Ms Clarkson aside). I will wait patiently for Mary J Blige to do it.. it's just a matter of time!

Someone like YOU

Vanity Kills... We Were Once A Fairytale: Kanye West/Spike Jonze Short Film

2009-10-19T01:07:00.001+01:00

If you get bored, scroll to near the end, it's worth it..

It would have been excellent if Kanye had made Ian Brown's Vanity Kills (he wrote it for 'Ye but decided to keep it) or they had used it at the end..

D.I.V.O.R.C.E: Nas vs Usher

2009-10-12T22:42:00.000+01:00

Usher is going to let it all hang out on his new album Raymond vs Raymond after his marriage went pear-shaped. It did the trick on Confessions. He didn't write the new single but his wife is not impressed

He did it better with Burn..

Speaking about his next album Nas told MTV UK: “This is a record that right now I’m scared of making y’know cos, I don’t know what’s gonna happen as far as I don’t know what I’m gonna say.

“I feel like I’ve put so much of my personal life out there. I feel like I’m one of the guys you don’t really hear about him on paparazzi/fan magazines all the time.

“But (now) I just feel like my life is so much out there that it’s kinda like, man, I don’t even know how to put it in words how I feel about putting this record together. I’m a little nervous to tell you the truth, that’s all I can say.”

If your ex is a musician too, you probably shouldn't start telling your side of the story on wax anyway. But surely there will be the odd bar dropped here and there..

These are my top three Nas in love lyrics:

3.
"I dropped out of Cooley High, gassed up by coke-head cutie pie"
Memory Lane

2.
"If I want Chinese then you buy me a wok
If you want barbeque I call Professor and Ock
'Cuz u... point out my enemies, someone who's into me
But not a hyper chick- someone with the proper energy
A girl that's into me who won't fuck all my enemies
And you could be the one 'cuz I'm lovin' ya energy"
Hey Nas

1.
"Say hello to the man, goodbye to the gigolo
It was difficult for me to find a chick I want"
Getting Married