Category: Reviews
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An Elegy For Easterly by Petina Gappah | Book Review
‘An Elegy for Easterly’ is the first book by Geneva-based, Zimbabwean writer and lawyer Petina Gappah. It is a collection of short stories about the lives, loves and derring-do of various citizens living in the country formerly known as Rhodesia. I admit I approached an ‘Elegy…’ with some trepidation. The more than questionable antics of…
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Mos Def – The Ecstatic (Downtown Music, LLC)
Mos Def – The Ecstatic (Downtown Music, LLC) Mos Def is one of the most powerful Hip Hop icons/activists in the field today. He is held in highest regards throughout various artistic and political arenas. His musical ventures, though, typically create both positive and critical remarks from fans and reviewers alike. His latest Hip Hop…
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Raheem Devaughn – The Art Of Noise
Raheem Devaughn is one of those rare, chameleonic artists that can blend perfectly within most any musical environment that he enters. He personifies his stylistic shape shifting on The Art of Noise, his latest musical venture. The album boasts 18 complete tracks and only one interlude – a feat rarely seen in music today. But…
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The Observer | Theatre Review
THEATRE REVIEW: The Observer Reviewed by Tola Ositelu The Observer written by Matt Charman and directed by Richard Eyre is set in an unnamed African State on the cusp of its first ‘free and fair’ democratic election. The Observer of the title is deputy chief of the British observation team Fiona Russell (played by veteran…
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The Observer | Theatre Review
THEATRE REVIEW: The Observer Reviewed by Tola Ositelu The Observer written by Matt Charman and directed by Richard Eyre is set in an unnamed African State on the cusp of its first ‘free and fair’ democratic election. The Observer of the title is deputy chief of the British observation team Fiona Russell (played by veteran…
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LIVE REVIEW: The Roots @ Royal Festival Hall, London (13th June)
The legendary Roots crew from Philadelphia were the perfect choice to represent Hip Hop at this year’s Meltdown festival at the Southbank. The annual event celebrates eclecticism, originality, reinvention and improvisation in music. No other band in Hip Hop could have readily embraced the ethos of the festival and effectively demonstrated the array of musical…
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Homecut – No Freedom Without Sacrifice + Launch Party
Homecut’s frontman Andrew Brooks, aka Testament wasn’t to know that the day he chose to launch his album ‘No Freedom Without Sacrifice’ , Wednesday 10 June, was to be blighted by a tube strike. That gave certain lazy Londoners the excuse not to show up, even though the venue was in central London (Brick Lane)…
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Daniel Merriweather – Love and War (J Records)
Rating: 3.75/5 Daniel Merriwether first burst onto the scene as the featured vocalist on Mark Ronson’s hit cover of The Smith’s ‘Stop Me’. There was quite a buzz around the single and so Ronson repaid the favour by producing Merriweather’s debut album Love and War. First things first, the album has Mark Ronson’s name written…
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Mica Paris – Born Again (Rhythm Riders)
Rating: 3.5/5 After a 10 year hiatus from the music industry, one of the best soul singers to come out of the UK returns with her new album Born Again. Mica Paris is probably best known for her hit 1988 hit song ‘My One Temptation’, however subsequent releases failed to have the same impact. Although…
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Mica Paris – Born Again (Rhythm Riders)
Rating: 3.5/5 After a 10 year hiatus from the music industry, one of the best soul singers to come out of the UK returns with her new album Born Again. Mica Paris is probably best known for her hit 1988 hit song ‘My One Temptation’, however subsequent releases failed to have the same impact. Although she continued to…