The independent grime scene seems to be rapidly building momentum with more and more artists, both established and upcoming, releasing projects as free downloads to expose their music to a wider audience. However, not everyone gets the same sort of advertising. Enter the good folks at Promo Spot. They've painstakingly put together a website with the links to hundreds of free mixtapes that include the likes of Ghetts, Scorcher, Tinchy Stryder, P.Money, Dot Rotten, Black The Ripper, Marvell, Roll Deep....the list goes on! There's something for everyone and offers the chance to explore material from artists that you may not be familiar with so expand your horizons and head to http://www.blimeyworld.net/PromoSpot/
You can almost guarantee that at least 75% of people discovered this artist courtesy of SB.TV's A64 sessions. Since then, Ed Sheeran has gone from strength to strength. Having previously put out several EP's, January saw him release his "No.5 Collaborations Project" featuring tracks with grime scene heavyweights such as Wiley, Ghetts, P. Money, Devlin, Wretch 32 & JME. This independant release gained so much support that it topped the iTunes download charts, holding off the likes of Rihanna. Since then, he has signed a major label deal with Atlantic and according to the man himself last Friday, he's recorded his first album proper and already working on the follow up! Having released "The A-Team" as the first single and it's addition to the A-list at Radio 1, surely the second half of 2011 will see Ed Sheeran become the household name he deserves to be.
As for the gig itself, Sheeran is a natural entertainer. Equipped with just his guitar, two microphones and a loop pedal; his hour and a half set ran through his old material, some new tracks off of his forthcoming album and a couple of covers, culminating with the track that drew everyone's attention to him in the first place; the epic "You Need Me, I Don't Need You". As for the encore, Sheeran ditched the stage and his amplification and clambered into the audience for a few acoustic and acapella numbers. This man is a truly gifted musician and engaged the crowd from the second he stepped on to the stage, hanging around at the end to take pictures and sign things for the audience. He seemed a very humble individual and obviously passionate about what he does and this will no doubt be the motivation for what appears will be a very successful career.
Alright, so I may be a couple of weeks behind with the review but better late than never right?! Joe Cornish's genre-crossing "Attack The Block" takes the 'urban youth' slant to a new direction. Whilst the trailer portrays the film in a humorous light, the director envisages his production differently. In a recent interview with Empire magazine, Cornish suggests "...The film's a dark comedy, but scary and suspenseful first and foremost. The laughs come as a release".
Without ruining the story too much, the film revolves around five teenagers who midway through an attempted mugging are interrupted by an 'alien' crash landing next to them. Their reaction, naturally, is to kick the sh*t out of it and parade the corpse back through their estate. When more of these creatures begin to arrive, their bravado quickly gets the better of them and they end up holed up in 'the block', trying desperately to fend off the "gorilla looking, wolf motherf***ers".
For the first few minutes of the film, the almost cringey dialogue of the main characters, ('blood' & 'fam' concluding most sentences), make for uncomfortable viewing but this is gradually phased out and as the suspenseful narrative of the film takes over and the blend of action, sci-fi horror and genuinely funny asides from the young lads ("That looks like a dog!", "Well you go outside and try feeding it some Pedigree Chum!") work brilliantly together. Perhaps it's just my Film & Media background but to me, Cornish's film also carries a pretty deep underlying message that revolves around the apparent leader 'Moses' and his coming to terms with his lifestyle and the effect his actions carry.
Since the surprise success of Kidulthood, the last few years have seen several attempts to break into the British urban youth culture genre. The likes of "Shank", "4,3,2,1" & "Anuvahood" have personally all been disappointments but "Attack The Block" has bucked that trend. The clever writing, comedic values and the sci-fi twist on the stereotypically gritty and grimy perception of inner-city youth culture really adds to this production; both as a film and a message carrier.
"Attack The Block" is out now and probably nearing the end of it's run in cinemas so make sure you go and check it to avoid the wait for the DVD!
Alright, so this may not carry the same sort of vibe as the other stuff I post but this is definitely turning into my favourite song at the moment. I hadn't really heard too much about Jamie Woon until he was shortlisted as one of the BBC Sounds of 2011. His album "Mirrorwriting" gained some pretty impressive reviews so I thought it wouldn't harm me to check it out. It's hard to explain how the album sounds and a friend matched my initial sentiments when he heard it; you have to be in the right frame of mind really appreciate it. It's a relaxed affair; a blend of synths and electronic strings juxtaposing with mellow basslines that carry a certain dubstep-like element. It's a perfect album for unwinding to on (what will hopefully become) long summer evenings. This guy is definitely talented and as with myself, is definitely going to win over new fans as he tours this summer.
According to the people themselves, "GlobalFaction focuses on music with a wake up message". They're big supporters of positive and conscious Hip Hop and have become one of my first destinations when I hit up YouTube. There's been some pretty impressive material of late but this track has been on repeat since I heard it a couple of weeks ago. Chemo always delivers when it comes to the beats and when you add to the mix 6 of the country's finest MCs; Phoenix Da Icefire, Logic, Rewd Adams, Cyrus Malachi, Skriblah & M9, it's only going to end up as a complete masterpiece. Whilst the track lacks nothing, I'd love to have seen Kyza involved in this as I think he would've killed Chemo's epic production. Get a copy of the track and the instrumental for yourself for just £1.50! It doesnt even need thinking about! Hit http://globalfaction.bandcamp.com/album/vigorous-denial for the download and make sure you check out GlobalFaction's YouTube channel for more music http://www.youtube.com/user/Globalfaction
Not only is this tune big, it brings a little west country flavour as the video is shot in the home town of Techtonic Plates producer Chris Palmer, Weston-Super-Mare! Featuring K9, K-lash is back on fine form. Palmer's mellow horn-led beat is understated and so smooth, to the point where the melody and the two MCs seemlessly glide between one another. I'm pretty sure I've already said this but everything I've heard from Klashnekoff since, in my opinion, the lackluster "Back To The Sagas" has been heavy and if they continue in the direction of Stay Alert, I can't wait to hear more.
To mark the release of their 8th studio album, "Hot Sauce Committee Part Two", the Beastie Boys have released this video. Nearly half an hour long, its part promo, part comedy as the vid features tracks from the new album along with what appears to be half of Hollywood. The album captures the energy of a sound thats entertained for nearly 25 years whilst the occasional feature, particularly with Santagold on "Don't Play No Game I Can't Win", give the classic Beastie Boys rawness a new dimension. If you want a good laugh and you've got a spare 30 mins, ch-ch-check it out!
Let's kick this back off with some free music for you folks! First up are offerings from mainstream crossovers Tinie Tempah & Skepta. The duo, alongside Giggs, recently hit the US to promote the UK scene and all collaborated with G-Unit affiliate DJ Whoo Kid to drop individual mixtapes. Tinie's "Foreign Object" is very much him putting his twist on American artists recent exploits. Strangely featuring excerpts of a Russell Brand interview throughout, the first half of the mixtape seems a little bland with the similarity of tracks from Lil' Wayne & Rick Ross. Midway through however, after the Chase & Status smash "Hitz", Tinie seems to step up and his take on Katy Perry's ET & DEV's Bass Down Low somewhat salvage it for me.
Skepta's "Community Payback" is a blend of grime-tinged/ Americanised beats. He's always been adept at switching flows and the variety of beats showcase his versatility. There are features from his BBK cohorts, Chipmunk, Blade Brown and surprising collaboration with P. Money and Lemar (that somehow works). It's a step away from his recent chart destined productions and to me shows more of his energy and lyricism than "Doin' It Again" did.
Finally, my favourite, "I Ain't Even Charging Bruv" from Genesis Elijah. It's a shame that this guy is unlikely to get as much exposure as the previous two artists because he is ridiculously talented. Whilst free EP's often tend to be left overs or re-dubs of tracks in heavy circulation, every one of these 7 tracks is British Hip Hop at it's finest. It's hard to pick out tracks when everything is on point but Elijah's gruff tones gliding over "The King's Speech" & "Battle Cry UK" are bangers and his version of Skepta's "Mike Lowery" would put half the grime scene to shame. Make sure you get yourself a copy of this and look for his project with Krate Krusaders, "Before I Was Famous", it's fire!!
Technology is brilliant when it works. But when it doesn't and you're being held to ransom by your Internet provider, then its long! Anyways, an overdue switch of provider and finally I can get this thing back on road!!
