Quick Interview with 7th Dan

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M9 AKA MELANIN9 - GODZ INK REMIX (FREE DOWNLOAD)

New/old unreleased track from my brother M9.
Posted originally on HIPHOP is AWOL
You can get it free right here
Check it on youtube below.

Cyrus Malachi feat. Ray Vendetta

Cyrus Malachi drops a new banger produced by Seventh Dan and Ringz of Saturn and featuring Ray Vendetta.
Free Download here
Black Anthema ep coming soon

Phoenix Da Icefire Launch Party Next Monday

When: Monday, December 7, 2009
Time: 7:00pm - 9:30pm
Where: 55 NEAL STREET, LONDON, COVENT, WC2H 9LL

Carhartt is hosting a special one off event at its Neal Street store in Covent Garden, London.

Alongside an exclusive performance from the man himself Phoenix Da Icefire will be: Triple Darkness and The IRS plus extra special guests Cappo & Endemic - performing tracks from their 'Needle Drop' E.P! Charlee Brown and ('On The Radar Vol. 5' artist) DJ Roast will spin and Kingpin will host.

** Free Drinks will be provided by Mean Time Brewery **

Juice Aleem 'Jerusalaam Come' Launch Party **New Details**

Juice Aleem, UK Hip Hop leftfield legend? £3? All these artists: Blackitude, Cipher Jewels, Serocee, Triple Darkness and more? Yeah you know you wanna go. If London's too far then I hear there will be another party, possibly in Birmingham.

***Juice Aleem's 'Jerusalaam Come' launch party has changed venue to the Mother Bar, 333 Old Street (above the 333). Same line-up, doors 9pm, £3 pay on the door***

'The DJ Sessions' - VA - Jabba Tha Kut (Mix CD review)

Blam! Jabba Tha Kut’s new double mix CD could be decribed with that one word. It’s terrific! Jabba has selected just under 20 of the best UK tunes and the same amount of US tunes and has mixed, cut and blended them together most expertly to create a pretty joyful listening experience.

I couldn’t have chosen a better play list myself – familiar and now-familiar tracks form a back-to-back wall of thumping Hip Hop. The opening tracks on both the UK and the US CD absolutely bang – Constant Creation’s anthem ‘Staying Hardcore’ and ‘Do It Now’ by Mos Def and Busta Rhymes are so heavy! English guests include Sir Smurf Lil, Triple Darkness, Skibadee, Brotherman, Jack Flash, Lowkey, Dirty Diggers and Kyza. On the US disc you get the aforementioned Busta and Mos, Sean Price, Marco Polo, O.C., CL Smooth and Reks. The underground is thouroughly represented on both CDs with the lesser known names providing absolute fire to rival the famous guys.

This one will definitely be returning to all manner of music players in my life and I can honestly say it has put me onto a few artists who I’ll be looking out for – Aboriginals for example, who appear to be a modern day Native Tongues – lovely. Thanks Jabba and HHB Radio!

It's being released on 23rd February 2009 and if I were you I'd go here to find out more and to buy it!

'Strange Fruit' - M9 (video)

Tune into M9's new video for single 'Strange Fruit'. It's beautifully shot in sepia and the images and footage of Britain illustrate the message perfectly. The added text is a nice touch and overall this is a really well done, top class video:

M9 Interview

Certified Banger: I’d like to get right into talking about your release ‘144,000’ but it’d be good if you could give a quick resume of your history.

M9: My musical history starts from the age of 13, writing rhymes with a friend called Propaganda, we then formed a team known as Anarchy. I used to attend a local youth club that was dedicated on getting teenagers into music, from there I learnt, more into the mechanisms of the production side, my first real recognition outside my area was a track I made with a close friend called Skriblah Dan Gogh from Terra Firma, we recorded a track known as ‘Cold’ from there I linked with Chemo and I decided to make my own project, known as Hi Fidelity in March 07. Now I’ve approached my new project a year later with a different offering.

CB: Before we get onto what influences your lyrics, can you tell us who influences you musically?

M9: The message I portray stems from common things I learnt in life, then comes what the average person is oblivious to is what caught my eye, such as black history, and cooperate decisions in high places, which affects every single individual on a daily basis. But as an artist I was highly influenced by Mobb Deep, Wu-Tang, Nas, Dead Prez, Kool G Rap, AZ, Ras Kass, Def Squad, Onyx, Pete Rock. To me each artist mentioned all have different elements to bring to the table with unique qualities.

CB: The thing I’ve been bursting to find out is where your ideas come from. Do you read a lot of books?

M9: I wouldn’t call myself a heavy reader, coz the greatest lessons stems from experience. My thoughts combust from many different universes of emotions and experiences, the forces that surround me all strive to achieve similar goals; that’s knowledge, wisdom, success and health. So we constantly bounce off each other, influencing and inspiring towards many different plains.

CB: More specifically – what’s the reasoning behind calling the album ‘144,000’? That’s a biblical number, found in the book of Revelation referring to 12,000 people from each of the Tribes of Israel…how does that fit in?

M9: Yes the concept of the chosen few is spoken of in Revelation 14:1, I acknowledged that and wanted to find out exactly what it meant. The means of going into what it really meant led me to a great teacher known as Malachi Z York, who wrote many books on this subject and beyond. What I found led me into the conclusion on the state of planet and the evil entity that governs it, which had me applying this to my music hence the title.

CB: What interested you in historical societies and religions in the first place? Do you draw comparisons between then and now?

M9: Of Course. I aint here to deny change, but the problem is to tell the difference between artificial and natural change. I think we’ve shifted far into artificial change and this leads to many abnormal occurrences. That abnormal vibration sparks something inside me and my team to reach out and notify others that may not have the ability to detect the abnormality.

CB: What are your views on religion today? Do any of you take a particular religious stance?

M9: Me and my team take no stance in any form of religion. We deal with reality, I think religion deals with a lot of division, we aint into that.

CB: Do you consider yourself intellectual, as a scholar?

M9: I put no labels on my mental abilities. What makes a scholar is only what he/she has been told by another person, that’s not complete. The element missing is self experience of which no outside entity can have an opinion or view on.

CB: On the Triple Darkness album especially, you and the others married street commentary with your knowledge of and thoughts about these things to produce a very original album lyrically. Was that a decision you made?

M9: It being labelled original would be the conclusion people may have on it, but our aim was to just put out what we saw was wrong with the world alongside our unique taste in musical production. We never gathered in a meeting to intentionally make an original album. That’s just how it came out.

CB: The absence of guns, gratuitous violence, disrespect of women (and all those things that ill informed people think Hip Hop is) is very welcome. Is this your way of leading by example?

M9: Our aim was just to make real hip hop, which means being real to yourself. Our lives don’t involve guns girls and cars, so you won’t hear any mentioning of us being in first person view, when it comes to those subjects.

CB: Your producers really came up with the goods, their production really suit the lyrical content. Who was involved? Did you give them a brief about what the sound of the album should be?

M9: I worked the closest with Jon Phonics and he was very patient & understanding on getting exactly what I needed. As he would know I’m a very ardent person when it comes to lacing a beat. Many times I would have him going back to the drawing board, but I really appreciated his determination. With Chemo I laced paintbrush over a different beat I wasn’t particularly proud of. I asked him if he could re-make a version and he pulled it off.

CB: How would you describe the sound of your new album?

M9: I would like to think of it as great offering for real hip hop heads to listen to, but it only being just a project means its not all I have to offer.

CB: Are you trying to get a message across? Are you trying to make people think? Is your work more personal as a means of therapy or self expression?

M9: Way I see it is, people should be thinking for themselves anyway. I would be very afraid for the future, if it took my project to make a person think about life. My music gives me a therapeutic feeling, knowing I can offer the planet a positive force to combat the negative.

CB: To close, is there anything you’d like to add, anything you’d like to say to the people who are buying and supporting your music? Anything you’d like to say to the people who aren’t?!

M9: To people buying, please continue to support to keep this form of hip hop alive, sitting back and doing nothing only leads to a tsunami of music which lacks an original substance of real message, governed by people with a lot of artificial power.
The path hip hop has gone down has forced a lot of real artists to go independent, which means the only thing keeping the movement alive would be the supporter.
So please continue. To those who don’t just remember, you not supporting the movement by bootlegging only adds to the downfall of any future activities musically.

'144,000' - M9 (album review)

‘144,000’ is dark, so if you don’t like dark Hip Hop shove off. Or you could stay, read and give it a chance. ‘Anthema’, the album by M9’s group Triple Darkness, came at a time when I wasn’t feeling rap’s more gloomy side. It changed my perspective and this album cements my new perspective in place. Over the last month, with the varying strains of UK Hip Hop pouring through my letter box, I’ve begun to marvel at the variety in our scene and I’ve begun to enjoy the diversity. It’s good to be able to go to one album for one vibe and to the next for another. My mind is open, is yours?

Sonically ‘144,000’ is in much the same mould as ‘Anathema’; it’s almost a second Triple Darkness album as Cyrus Malachi and Nasheron feature heavily throughout. On the whole the output isn’t as focussed as their group effort, perhaps due to the swollen track list and lack of departure from their status quo.

The album still has its engaging moments though and if you’re into lyric dissection you’ll have a field day here. M9, apparently a follower of nuwaupian teachings, is heavily influenced by what you and I would consider to be strange ideas, and often leaves the listener in the dark rendering some lines devoid of meaning. Where M9 applies his understanding to society things do become clearer.

The production, provided again by Chemo, Beat Butcha and this time Jon Phonics, is focussed and appropriately synergetic. Expect the dustiest loops of murky soul, jazz and film soundtracks.

If you haven’t already, pick up ‘Anathema’, school yourself, if you like that buy this when it drops on November 10th on Dark Matter Records/Kilamanjaro. It’s being distributed by Dented and will be available at your usual UK Hip Hop go to shop.

M9 Album Launch Party October 2nd

If you're in capital city (that's London y'all) tomorrow night then get to the Carhartt Store on Earlham street to catch M9 launching his new album '144,000'.

Also on the bill are rhyme pals Triple Darkness, Jehst, Kyza and Micall Parknsun. It's hosted by Big Cakes and Roast and Charlee Brown will be DJ'ing.

Oh and the entry is free and the beers are free. Get there at 8pm to get in!

Triple Darkness Support Red and Meth

Triple Darkness are supporting Hip Hop legends Method Man and Redman tonight at London's Shepherd's Bush Empire. If you're around there, get yourself there. There are still some tickets left here.

Also have a look at their video for 'Anathema', made by Baby J's film company:

Triple Darkness - 'Anathema' review

Reviewing an album whose title you’re scared of wrongly pronouncing is a daunting task but here I am listening to ‘Anathema’ by Triple Darkness and writing some words about it. According to the wealth of all knowledge, Wikipedia, Anathema can mean any of a few things: “something lifted up as an offering to the gods”, “banished” or “set apart”. Any of those definitions could be the reason for the naming of this album.

It was whilst MC Cyrus Malachi was “banished” from society with what may have been just a dictionary and a book on ancient systems of religion, that he really sharpened his lyrical skills, leading eventually, post release, to the line up of him, Nasheron and M9 (aka Melanin9). – Triple Darkness.

The beats, provided entirely by Beat Butcher and Chemo, really hit hard (as you’d expect) – I don’t recommend listening to this quietly. The production is largely dark and haunting, suiting the lyrics to a T. The guest list features features some high profile names in UK Hip Hop: Kyza, Skriblah and Blind Alphabetz.

The intelligent rhymes are what really “set apart” this crew from the rest, whether commenting on today’s streets or civilizations of days bygone you can rely on them to provoke thought; even if it is ‘What on earth does that word mean?’. The MC’s are not only socially and historically minded; Triple Darkness boast spiritual awareness unrivalled in the UK scene. That’s not to say they’re religious nuts, it’s just that they think of more than the usual carnal delights associated with Hip Hop – the reason why they may consider this album to be an “offering to the gods”, not that it’s easy to tell which gods they believe in.

I really recommend picking up a copy of this well presented piece of work unless, that is, you’re scared of having to think a bit more than during the average Hip Hop listening session.

Certified Bangers: ‘Anathema’, ‘Pyramid Warz’ & ‘Guerilla Penmanship’
Top Lyric: “Certified mic veterans, codex adeptus//With no thoughts of penance, only steel vengeance” (Hook from ‘Anathema’)

Jon Phonics - 'Half Past Calm' review

Jon Phonics forms beats in the 90’s mould - no bad thing. ‘Half Past Calm’ proves that sampling and flipping classics is still a relevant art form. The beats are evocative, an essential element when working with MC’s – they have to be inspired. The guest list is a nice selection of current names including MC’s from Triple Darkness, Verb T, Sir Smurf Lil’ and Mr. Drastick.

Jon Phonics provides the MC’s with more than decent backdrops for their deep thoughts. Even scanning through the track listing provides evidence that these rappers have something to say; they have been stimulated by the quality of Jon’s music. Each track is a solid head-nodder and at 12 tracks long the formula isn’t tiresome. This CD provides the perfect soundtrack for either an evening in or a car journey and the weight of the beats means that many tracks would sound awesome on a club sound system.

Sets like this should revive hopes of Hip Hop’s health in 2008. If the masses were listening to music like this they wouldn’t be moaning about Hip Hop’s lifelessness. The fact that this brilliant release is totally free does provoke the question: ‘How will Hip Hop survive and stay alive when the music is given away?’. The answer I think is that we’ll have to wait and see, this change is only just beginning to take place and who knows, this new business model may reap many rewards. Certainly, if the free music in question is as fine as that of Jon Phonics, artists should have no problem with garnering a following.

Certified Bangers: ‘Nothing Wrong’ ft. Mr. Drastick & Luc Skyz, ‘The Lion’s Den ft. Cyrus Malachi & ‘Jealousy’s a Bitch’ ft. Mr. Drastick & Verb T.

Top Lyrics: “And there’s no war, but there’s many ills//Over love many innocents are getting killed//over hate, many enemies relate//tryna come to a compromise, they conversate” (Verb T on ‘Alternate Take’)

Download 'Half Past Calm' here!