Acne + Banksy

Banksy is back and apparently was caught on camera doing it. Check it out at The Times of all places. They too may be jumping on The Guardian's 'jumping on the bandwagon' bandwagon. Saying that, Banksy is probably far too 'old hat' for The Guardmeisters.

This will get you a free track and a place on the mailing list.

Stuff and things

Alright Dawgs?

This is a post to say:

Thanks for your visits, we're now past 20,000 (Next landmark 100 posts)

I'm going to a Yorkshire Terrierz gig tonight courtesy of http://www.leedshiphopscene.co.uk/ so look out for a write up of that on this and that site.

Big up to http://www.xchannel.blogspot.com/ which is a new and most excellent aggregator for music blogs. Go add yourself if you're a blogger, it's upped my site visits. Cool.

Here's a cool blog about Graf, check the instructions for how to do a Throw up, might go practice in me cellar.

Here are couple of tunes for you to tide you over, get your fix of UK Hip Hop here:

Jehst - Nuke Proof Suit
Stig of the Dump - Ill Billys ft. Subliminal
The Brotherhood - One

Freshhhhhh (ish)

If you haven't already, go to Kid Acne's Website and try to work out how to get on the mailing list. If you do then you could get emails from him and I wont have to tell you what he says in them. Here's a sample:

"They asked me to paint a wall in Rough Trade East last month so i turned up with a couple of cans of paint and drew a picture. Someone decided to film it so now you can see it on You Tube. Who'd have thought watching paint dry would be so minty? Well Arty. Check it!"

Worth it eh? If you have been ignoring him so far, well, the time is up, you need to take notice. Oh and that's his picture up there and do watch that video for his kooky artwork. Ah what the haybales, I'ma put one on here:

Reet good. That's enough about him, let's do listen to something else now. This music isn't a secret or anything so don't think that I think that I'm magic or special for posting it, just have a listen and write me a nice comment about something because I miss getting comments.

Atmosphere have made a nice summery song for you to listen to. You may also like to bemoan the lack of a British summer this year (or the fact that it came and went at Easter) OR you may like to construct one of those false hazy day memories and pretend summer actually occured here. Nice anyway.

Still on a feel good vibe (Thanks to HHC for reviewing a thouroughly unsuitable track for a Hip Hop mag for bringing this one to my attention) is Andrew Thompson with his 60's sounding ditty 'In This Town'. Your mum will like it.

If you were Ed OG and you just had made a new crew and you needed someone to do a sing-song rap chorus and you didn't have enough dollars to get Nate Dogg or Cee-Lo, who would you get? Yeah you would, it's Devin the Dude who makes Special Teamz 'Long Time Coming' fun.

Big Shug is from the Gang Starr camp so it makes sense that DJ Premier would give him a few beats. This year he has and it sounds like this: Big Shug - Play it (download it then play it and it will sound like it should)

Modulok is from Canada and he makes moody but not angry far out alternative rap music. This one is called 'Jungle made of Glass'. Y Society also do a similar line of more leftfield underground Hip Hop. The MC is Insight and the beat maker is the superbly named Damu the Fudgemunk, yeah! They have a track full of almost wrong sounding, nearly clashing notes (and raps) called 'Never Off (On & On).

Future Cut have a done a remix/versus thingy with Fallacy (who I touched (no homo - I shook his hand really)the other week, how good?!)(I use alot of brackets don't I?)(Maybe I should go into shelving) I think the vs. means ft. but anyway its called 'Drug of Choice'.

Sorry the tracks aren't all id3 tagged up, I forgot to do them, do it yo' delf

Y Society - Never Off (on & on).mp3
Atmosphere - Sunshine.mp3
Modulok - Jungle made of Glass.mp3
Future Cut vs. Fallacy - Drug of Choice.mp3
Special Teamz - Long Time Coming ft Devin the Dude.mp3
Big Shug - Play it (DJ Premier).mp3
Andrew Thompson - In this Town.mp3

UK Exposure #1 - Skrein, Young Kof, Yungun, Verb T

>>Mission: To make people aware of some current UK Hip Hop artists through words and audio downloads<<

>>Commence Mission<<

Name: Skrein
From: North London
Record Label: Dented
Worked with: Foreign Beggars, DJ IQ, Shamless, Plan B, Verb T, Dubbledge & Stig of the Dump...
Other info: Has a mixtape out called 'The Eat Up' and is currently touring with Verb T & The Last Skeptik.
Sample Track: Where It All Started

Name: Young Kof
From: Liverpool
Record Label: URBeatz
Worked with: Nutty P, Logic, Lowkey, Alex Blood, Instinct, Karizma...
Other info: You can go to his myspace and download a whole mixtape for free.
Sample Track: 80's Baby (Calvin Harris Remix)

Name: Yungun

From: North London

Record Label: Silent Soundz

Worked with: Mr. Thing, Harry Love, LG & Lopez, Doc Brown, Tommy Evans, Jehst, Asaviour, Kyza...

Other info: Has an smooth relaxed voice, is very funny, also goes by the name of 'Essa' and is bringing out a new album called 'The Middle Man'.

Sample Track: Jacking 4 Breaks (With Mr. Thing)

Name: Verb T

From: South London

Record Label: Silent Soundz

Worked with: The Last Skeptik, Harry Love, ED O.G, Sway, Kyza, Jehst, Syanide, Kashmere, Karizma, Yungun, Ramson Badbonez...

Other info: Currently going by the name of Verb T100 (alongside Kashmere who called himself Kashmachine) and has a whole album with Harry Love and another with The Last Skeptik

Sample Track: March ft. Sway & Kyza (From 'The Broken Window' with The Last Skeptik)

To be continued...

Back in the Day #5 - Grandmaster Flash - Adventures on the Wheels of Steel

For a song to be featured more than once on this blog it has to be a good one; this one is. Grandmaster Flash as I'm sure you'll all know was a pioneer of turntable techniques and had a pivotal role in making Hip Hop what it is today. His waves have caused more than ripples outside of Hip Hop too; Annie Mac's Minimixes would simply not exist without this man's vision and skill.

'Adventures of Grandmaster Flash on the Wheels of Steel' doesn't exactly have a snappy title but it is a memorable one and the track does what it says on the tin. It IS an adventure; a genre defying skip through some big party type records of the time. I say genre defying because it is but it is unmistakably Hip Hop, this is what Hip Hop DJ'ing is. It is my belief that Hip Hop DJ'ing does not consist of playing Hip Hop or Rap tracks, it's all in the method and technique. Any type of music can be mixed (i.e. beatmatched, faded, looped etc) by a Hip Hop DJ, this being the perfect example.

There are still many exponents of this style around nowadays but I think the reason Flash did this so well was down to the lack of prejudices in Hip Hop's early years. People seem to have become more closed minded. The folk who would have been jamming to this in the parks of New York in the very early 80's just wanted to hear the best of everything, they just wanted good music to dance to. Hip Hop has branched off and progressed from this but we must remember that at the heart of it all is good music that transcends limitations of genre and only promotes, to quote Chic as sampled here, 'good times'.

Here's the track:

Grandmaster Flash - The Adventures of Grandmaster Flash on the Wheels of Steel

Here are the tracks Flash mixed together to create this never boring classic, they're all classics in their own right:

Chic - Good Times (Sampled um, on 'Rapper's Delight')

Queen - Another One Bites the Dust

Sugarhill Gang - 8th Wonder

Spoonie G & The Sequence - Monster Jam

Grandmaster Flash & The Furious 5 - The Birthday Party

Blondie - Rapture (Listen for the Hip Hop references particularly Fab Five Freddy and Flash!)

Incredible Bongo Band - Apache (Sampled also by Sugarhill Gang on 'Apache')

And here are some covers/tributes:

Scratch Perverts - Adventures on the Wheels of Steel

Freddy Fresh - Adventures on the Wheels of Steel

Here are all the tracks in a pack entitled 'adventures'

Stig of the Dump & Dr. Syntax @ New Bohemia

Missing a Beer & Rap night in Leeds would be akin to not attending my own birthday party, so I went. New Bohemia, a Leeds based club night (acclaimed by the barometer of all that is cool, The Guardian, as 'Musically Brilliant'), constantly create line-ups of marvellous artists to fill their bills. Twas them that put on the Task Force night I reviewed a couple of weeks back and their latest effort was just excellent.

Stepping into The Faversham felt like arriving to a home away from home. The people were looking fresh (dress wise, not in the sense that they were all nearly drunk) and the music was sounding more than welcoming. We got there just in time to get to the front and to establish our places a few minutes before the night's headliners hit the stage.

Accompanied by B-Boy stances Stiggy Smalls and Doc Synners made short work of introducing themselves and launched into their first track ('The Introduction' by Stig). The whole set was fast paced and included classics from both rappers; 'Fatty and Speccy' introduced us properly to the duo, 'Subcultures' was performed acapella and 'Tax utilised his guest spots on Foreign Beggars 'Glacial' and Tom Caruana's 'Straight Up' to maximum effect; he rocked the crowd. Stig didn't dissapoint either, his stage presence isn't just down to his size but rather the way he combines witticism and lyrcism clearly enough for all to hear him. 'Rhite Whino' provided the sing along chorus and double time raps (Syntax also proved he's nice with his fast raps too in acapella mode) and 'A dose of Godzilla Slang' brought the more hardcore beats and rhymes from both rappers.

The finale left me breathless with a nosebleed (thanks to the girl who gave me toilet paper for that and sorry to my bro and Wiz for getting my blood on them) and aching muscles the day after. Syntax and Stig casually proved that UK Hip Hop heads pretty much all like Rage Against The Machine by having their DJ throw on 'Killing in the Name of'.

After the staight up mentalist behaviour of all involved DJ's Noah and Kid Kanevil managed to calm things down a couple of notches whilst still keeping the place moving. Highlights were Jurassic 5's 'Swing Set' giving the opportunity for some alternative dancing and all the Hip Hop classics that make me dance like a dinosaur.

I've got to say thanks to Dr. Syntax and Stig of the Dump for being real down to earth guys who were willing to shake hands with adoring fans (me) and in Stig's case, to pause for a kodak moment with me (the picture came out rubbish, it was dark). Peace also to Eliphino, a truly nice guy.

If you are ever near Leeds, check New Bohemia's site to see what they have planned. If you like Hip Hop, Funk, Breaks, Jazz, Soul, Swing and all that goodness chances are you too will feel at home with them.

Dr. Syntax - Subcultures

Stig of the Dump - Rhite Whino

Stig of the Dump - The introduction

Stig of the Dump - A Dose of Godzilla Slang ft. Dr. Syntax

Stig & Syntax - Fatty & Speccy

10Shott Memory... Refresh

Thanks to Lisa Stanway for the Photo of Tenny in Morocco.

Heres a likkle update and ting ‘bout 10Shott. I’ve been keeping in touch with 10Shott's manager, Guy Stanway (who I must say is hugely efficient in letting me know what’s going on).

5th September

“Slightly more news…After the article I have been chased by two labels who wish to see us but I have put them off until after the video for memory blank is complete which, as you know, we start shooting on 22nd. We have also been offered a HUGE gig which I am currently negotiating..........gigs in Russia and Latvia..........two videos are now being made, one for Memory blank and a big budget one for tin soldiers which will commence as soon as memory blank is complete. In short he is busy and we haven't started yet!”

21st September

“LOADS happened since our last meeting........we are going to Brazil to discuss second video........New York in 5 weeks and Egypt in 3 to write second album. Keep watching HHC for more news and keep in touch for he is about to break.”

18th October

“Everything’s going great! The albums nearly finished and sounding amazing. We've filmed the video for the track 'memory blank' and are going tomorrow to see how it's looking. The release of the single 'memory blank' has been held back ‘til January due to the Christmas rush but the video will be submitted to all the stations in December. I've attached the advert that will be appearing in next months Hip Hop Connection which includes the single cover for you to have a look at and put up on the site if you want to.

We're hoping to start another video soon for the track 'tin soldiers'. We believe the concept is fantastic and since the video is going to be animated the possibilities for what we can do are endless. Should be big. We're really looking forward to this one!

As you may know 10shott had an article in HHC and they raved about him. We're only hearing positive things about him and all involved in the project feel there's no reason he isn't gonna blow... and he's gonna be huge!”

10Shott also myspaced me today:

"bless for that king!!!!!ya man had a wicked weekend there (Brazil)...wat an experience!!!its all movin the right way!!!!speak wit u soon!!!tenny tenn!!"

Listen to these tracks to get you going for when that single drops (I've heard it, it does drop, like an Adrock "MMMmmm Drop!", it's hot.)

From the 'Ghetto Brick Road' Mixtape:

10Shott - Sketz (This chick, I shoulda took her to the market//We hooked up and I was interupted by her armpit//Whoo//So with the odours and sweat//I purchased a triple pack of Eau De Toilette...And plus you got some powder on your face//You turn around there's foundation lookin' crowded in the place)

10Shott - Name of the Gun (My clique don' even know the name of this gun//But what we do know if we aim it you'll run - Yes, it's to the beat of 'My Band' by D12)

10Shott - Badman (To the 'Batman' theme tune - awesome!)

If you can, get hold of a copy of this. It's a truly entertaining, 30 track deep mini-masterpiece with nuff comedy moments as well as serious ones.

Simple Sample

The day I wrote the last 'Back in the Day' post (Trouble Funk - Drop the Bomb) I heard a track I'd not heard before. The track was 'Don't Push it Don't Force it' by Leon Hayward. This is the other track DJ Skribble sampled on the Busta Rhymes featuring 'Everybody Come On'. Check it out it is pure disco funk.

Also the other week I heard 'Dynomite' by Bazuka. If you remember the band Len (of 'Steal my Sunshine' fame), then you may remember their follow up single 'Cryptik Souls Crew'. That track was basically a replayed version of 'Dynomite' featuring raps by the bands members. This is also pure disco funk and you should also check it.

Leeds by Example

Support your local music scene.

I’ve had my ears tuned into UK Hip Hop for some years now and I thought that was pretty broad minded since Hip Hop is generally considered by the uneducated masses as America’s baby. Over the last few months however, I’ve gradually been drawn towards the vibrant sounds of my neighbouring towns, Leeds in particular. My original statement is a result of my dabbling in what’s bubbling just below the surface.

Last Thursday night the HiFi club in Leeds played host to ‘Leeds By Example’; a showcase for up and coming Leeds Hip Hop artists. Thanks to LeedsHipHop.co.uk for the free ticket and compilation CD, much appreciated!

The night kicked off nicely with tracks and freestyles from the 9 Lives Clik. Chief Wiggum (congratulations on the baby) and Eliphino opened up nicely and got the assembled heads bouncing some. The highlight of their set was Wiggz and Sammy D trading a capella rhymes.

Next up were Junkyard Tactics (known by Channel U viewers) who brought the energy for sure. J. Bravo is a lively MC who blatantly enjoys being on stage with mic in hand. Amongst other tracks they performed ‘On Road’, ‘Takin’ Ova’ and a really bouncy track that I really want to get my hands on, unfortunately I don’t know what it’s called.

The biggest act of the night was Breaking the Illusion. BTI were two of the original four bods who set up the UK’s most successful Hip Hop label; Low Life Records. Unfortunately things seem to have turned sour between old Joey Brains (Braintax) and Tom (MC from BTI) as can be heard on BTI’s track ‘Joe’. Just to go off on a tangent for a minute: It seems BTI are not the only ones who have fallen foul of Braintax, it looks like Chester P of Task Force now has beef about money/record labels/payment etc and rumours are Joey and Mystro fell out on tour. Anyway…back to Leeds and BTI. BTI (now one man) was accompanied by a 3 piece band who provided an interlude and a highlight of the night. Their Hip Hop instrumental medley consisted of Snoop’s ‘Gz and Hustlas’, Busta’s ‘Woo Ha’, NERD’s ‘Lapdance’, P Diddys ‘Bad Boy For Life’ and loads of other classics in a straight up rock but still Hip Hop style, in a word: elating. Unfortunately Tom lost his voice after a couple of songs but kudos for him for still completing his set somewhat hoarsely. My favourite track was ‘Mr. Bouncer’, it got me bouncing and singing along in my oh so excellent patois.

Guess how many mans there is in the crew Northern Hostility? They literally upstaged anyone else that night with their 26(ish) strong posse, there may have been more of them than audience. A shout goes to the guy who did a very long freestyle, I liked him. Then I went home to bed because I had to work the next day.

The Leeds scene is very much in it’s infancy but through sheer determination and a big dollop of skills it is making itself a sound and a niche. The benefits of supporting your local scene is that you are bound to find like minded individuals and you can experience it live and for next to nothing; now who doesn’t want those things? A masochistic hermit maybe but last time I checked Sitemeter I didn’t have any readers under such a category. Get out in your town or nearest city and find out what’s going on, whether you like Hip Hop or people who play moogs you’ll find it and you’re like as not to enjoy it. Go. Do it. Now. Or whenever there’s a gig next.

See what you think:

Breaking the Illusion - Joe

Breaking the Illusion - Mr. Bouncer

9 Lives Clik - Live an U Learn ft. INC

Junkyard Tactics - Takin' Over

Northern Hostility - Redesign Rhyme

Stay tuned for more Leeds Hip Hop exposure and a review of this Friday when Brighton's Beer & Rap visit us.

Back in the Day #4 - Trouble Funk - Drop the Bomb

Trouble Funk sometime recently with an engineer.

Trouble funk again so I won't bother you with the same old same old. I'll just tell you why I've posted this; because it's influential in Hop Hop. The Beasties sampled this on 'Car Thief' and DJ Skribble used the introduction on 'Everybody Come On' which Stanton Warriors mashed with Mr. Reds 'Can U Feel It' to create the radio friendly breaktastic 'Everybody Come On (Can U Feel It'.

Trouble Funk - Drop the Bomb

Beastie Boys - Car Thief (Thanks to DieMonster for that, I couldn't be bothered to upload it)

DJ Skribble - Everybody Come On

Stanton Warriors - Mr. Reds vs. DJ Skribble - Everybody Come On (Can U Feel It)

Back in the Day #3 - Grandmaster Flash & The Furious 5 - Freedom

Aww no, they didn't?!

'Freedom', the group's first release on SugarHill Records in 1980 was their first to enter the R&B charts. It peaked at a respectable #19 and was the first of 10 of their records to make the charts during a three-year span from 1980 to 1983. The record featured the first 'MC', Melle Mel.

This record is an example of the tag team rhyming that was typical of the group. The boys trade lines to an uplifting disco beat, the vibe of which is missing in todays scene. The bass line is awesome and the claps bring the live party sound into your earphones. This, along with the oft quoted lines that have since become cemented into Hip Hop lexicon you could lie back and imagine you were in the Bronx in the 80's.

The kazoo solo was obviously jacked by Jurassic 5 (on 'Concrete Schoolyard') some 15 years later as a homage and as proof that the 'vibe they energise' is not extinct.

Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five ft. Melle Mel - Freedom

Jurassic 5 - Concrete Schoolyard

Jazz...well you can call it that

Download all tracks here - so tight they're ziplocked

Hip Hop has had a long and sometimes fruitful relationship with Jazz. But Jazz is like Marmite, and so is Jazz Rap. I don't even know much about either genres, simply because I have greater musical interests. For me, Jazz is music to relax to. One of the most relaxing things about it is that when listening I don't have the urge to know who it's by, what it's called, when it was released or where I can buy it. I just listen to it and if I never hear it again it's OK. I don't dislike it, I'm just not obsessed or even that interested.

Rap and Hip Hop, on the other hand, compel me to do the exact opposite: I hear it and regardless of quality, I want to know more. To be honest, this constant striving to hear more music and to know more about it is quite depressing. I have to tell myself that loving music isn't just about hearing something new or amassing great quantities of mp3s, CDs or Vinyls. I have to remind myself that I should be thankful for all the music I already own, love and know about. There's no way I'll ever hear it all anyway and life is not a competition to amass music or knowledge either.

So when I do hear something that I like but am not overly obsessed with then it's quite refreshing, and that's why I'm posting this now. Having said what I have, this post (and for that matter, this blog) shouldn't exist but no matter how tiresome I find myself at times, I'm still me and I still do these things.

The tracks I've chosen to post today are all Jazz Rap related. You may enjoy listening to them without bothering to find out more, you may enjoy them so much that you do want more but in the spirit of this post I'm not going to say much about the tracks or the artists.

Soweto Kinch is Birmingham's trendiest (only?) fad. He is trained in the art of saxophoning (actual terminology) and also happens to have the gift of the gab.

Soweto Kinch - Ridez

Soweto Kinch - Expansion

Guru of Gang Starr has put together some excellent tracks with various Jazz and Rap stars. Pick up a Jazzmatazz album to sample his work (or download these to have a listen).

Jazzmatazz - State of Clarity
Jazzmatazz - Living Legend

Jegsy Dodd is a scouser who is into spoken word; he's quite thought provoking.

Jegsy Dodd & The Original Sinners - The Day the World Stopped Working
Jegsy Dodd & The Sons of Harry Cross - 8000 Miles Away

US3 do a nice line in Jazz Rap, what they do is sample Blue Note recordings and then have people rap over the results.

US3 - Cantaloop (Flip Fantasia)

Digable Planets and A Tribe Called Quest were doing their thing in the 90's with jazzy samples and rapping and it all sounded pretty nice.

Digable Planets - Cool Like That

A Tribe Called Quest - Jazz (We've Got)

Go Tim, it's your (50th) Birthday

Understand how it's about to go down UK. My fiancee just dropped the bomb on me, the Westwood is 50 bomb! I knew he was old and have heard many myths about how old he actually is - well done Tim for maintaining the mysticality that surrounded the number of your years for so long. I can't believe he's 50, he is doing pretty well for himself, most middle ageds in broadcasting are well past their prime by now and have resorted to presenting generic channel 4 versions of BBC programs. Westwood is still well down with the kids innit, he's only a couple of years younger than my dad!

In ten years time, where will he be? Something inside of me is screaming 'Eurovision, Eurovision, please present Eurovision drunk like Wogan'. Apparently he is now moving to 1Xtra after the appauling decision to remove Rodney P and Skitz from their thrones. Wonder when he'll hit Radio 2?(I've already heard them playing 2Pac and US3 on there so it could be his time)

Anyway, he's had a good career, not a particularly popular career (I do think he is a bit of an idiot and most of the time I can't stand him) but he has repped UK Hip Hop (not so much now) and he has been shot (so he is as legendary as BIG, Pac, Jam Master Jay, Big L, Scott La Rock et al) and he does play hot tracks about seven times in a row and he does pimp cars out and he does get big rappers (whose records he only ever plays when they're on the show) to bow down and kiss his pinky ring; so it's not all bad is it?

Happy Birthday Big Dog.

Task Force/Broke 'N' £nglish review

Last week, Tuesday night, 10.00 pm; yes, I should have been in bed on account of the fact that I am a working man whose day begins at 7.00 am. Alas, I was just queuing up outside the Stylus venue in the bowels of Leeds University’s student union waiting to see some Hip Hop heroes. Here is a brief recount of the happenings down there that night in the form of a top 5 of things that happened:

5. Local Hip Hoppers Dot to Dot’s (couldn’t really hear if that was their name, you know hip hop sound systems are rubbish), Chief Wiggum, awesome beat boxers Mega Mouth and Balls Deep and crew Don’t Talk to Strangers repped the city. DTTS were blighted by numerous problems; they had forgotten a backing track and only had the vocal track (they should have lip synched) and then the power on the stage went off leaving them to rhyme freestyle for a hot minute. Sadly the girl they had brought along to sing was drowned out by the beat due to the lack of experienced rap gig sound engineers.

4. Sinical of DMC fame gave us the pleasure of a pleasantly technical DJ set.

3. Broke ‘N’ £nglish played their game where they freestyle about 3 topics suggested by the crowd. One guy who seemed to have paid his entire ticket price to make this happen lunged to the stage and made sure they heard him shouting ‘orange, orange’. Now orange, as we all know, is a word that doesn’t have any proper rhyming words. Yes Eminem did rhyme it with ‘syringes’ but that didn’t really work and it was annoying to boot. Basically B’N’E obviously have encountered this guy’s counterparts before as after ending a line with ‘lozenge’ Strategy totally berated the ‘t**t [who] asked me to rhyme orange’! Backed up by DJ/MC Konny Kon they gave a good, energetic show. Check out their myspace and their radio 1 podcast (that was the first time I heard them).

2. Task Force slightly annoyed the security by announcing ‘the rowdy part of their set’ (after a pretty rowdy first half) and encouraging people to do all sorts of unruly things such as starting a mosh pit, pogo jumping (a la the punks) and stage diving. Heads took them up on their offer and the big ol’ bouncers begun to bounce very angrily. The show was stopped after they dragged one guy outside and Chester P announced that he was getting stomped outside, this notice concluded in half of the gig-goers and half of the artists and their entourages rushing the security out the back. Task Force were accompanied onstage by Inja (and his big grin) and DJ Louis Slipperz and they basically rocked in a truly rock ‘n’ roll style.

1. Fallacy was there (and he shook my hand)! Pretty much all night UK legend Fallacy was stood at the back of the stage admiring the energy of Broke ‘N’ £nglish and Task Force. Task Force passed the mic for a guest verse at the end of their set.

Big up to New Bohemia who know how to throw a party and how to book a good handful of artists. Check out their myspace to see the other events they have organised in Leeds. It was a shame I had to go at 2.00 am because DJ Format had just kicked off his set in fine style with ‘Sunshine of Your Love’, maybe next time eh?

Here a couple of tracks so you can get a flavour of the music if you've never heard it before. The Task Force track is actually my favourite tune at the moment:

Broke 'N' £nglish - Manchester Sh__
Task Force - The Last Tune

Collected and Collated

I haven’t done post like this in a while and there are some tunes I just want to put on here for your evaluation; you never know, you might find a new favourite song.

Download the collected and collated collection here

First up; some Chali 2na related stuff: I found this remix yesterday of Z-Trip’s ‘Mass Hysteria’ featuring Chali on sideload yesterday, it’s pretty cool so have a listen. Also Aceyalone’s (pronounced A C alone) latest ‘Eazy’ also features 2na and that’s cool too.

The other week I went to see ‘Superbad’ and although I didn’t think it was that amazing, it did have some very funny parts. It also featured The Coup’s ‘My Favourite Mutiny’ which is a favourite of mine and is available for free download at their website along with ‘We are the Ones’, both off their ‘Pick a Bigger Weapon’ album…some legally free music for you.

Whilst we’re on the subject of free and legal music Kid Acne from Sheffield, Yorkshire has made his ‘South Yorks’ track free to download when you join his mailing list. And check this out: In the highly esteemed HHC Richard Watson wrote this: “A self-explanatory Boogie Down Productions classic takes a Lancashire detour on ‘South Yorks’”. NO! It doesn’t take a Lancashire detour, South Yorks means South YORKSHIRE, dumbo, two entirely different counties. How stupid can you be?

That tune by Kid Acne is almost a cover song and on my astral wanderings through the blogosphere I found this Klaxons cover of No Diggity. It’s brilliant but I wish they had sung the rap too.

Jay-Z is apparently bringing us a new album; his first concept album entitled ‘American Gangster’. It sounds entirely original and is something to do with a film. Has he not got enough money and enough pies for his fingers? Anyway the track ‘Blue Magic’ is worth a listen. Thanks to whoever blogged this in the first place.

Have you heard of Hieroglyphics? No…not that ancient writing from Egypt but the Hip Hop crew. They’ve been around for a while and make some classic boom to the bap Hip Hop with samples and everything. Their track ‘Classic’ samples a well known classical piece of music (although I don’t know what it is but I do recognise it) and you need to listen to the end of the track that comes before it on the album ‘Full Circle’, you’ll know why when you do.

Here’s a bit of a classic track; the track that really made people sit up and take notice of 50 Cent. ‘How to Rob’ basically goes through all the big rappers and how 50 would rob them, good eh?! This is a bit of a taster of something I think I’m going to do to follow up the hugely popular Top 100 Rap Singles. It could possibly be called something like modern classics and will include all those Wu-Tang joints and big tracks from the 90’s, ya know the sort.

My man over at Eclectic Hermit did a bare funny post about the Mysterons so you should go there after listening to this to read it and to download some more goodies. Here’s ‘Moving Coils’ to whet your appetite for instrumental Hip Hop in the vein of RJD2 and Aim.

Last one: (and thanks to ‘Put Ya Boots On’ for this) Demon Boys’ ‘Glimity Glamity’ is a classic piece of UK Hip Hop, I prefer this track to the Hijack and Hardnoise stuff and it’s got that classic Hip Hop dance-ability about it.