Giggs
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20 Jul

Posted at 16:55h in Music, Reviews
A weekend of events celebrating hip hop at the Southbank Centre in Central London kicked off on July 14 with a presentation by UK rapper and poet Akala breaking down the musical history and origins of hip hop music,joined by Sona Jobarteh who is a member of one of the five principal kora playing, also known as Griot families from West Africa and the first female kora player to come from this prestigious musical family.

31 Jan

Posted at 10:20h in Reviews
On 25th January MTV brought their Blackberry sponsored Brand New for 2011 project from the TV and internet screens and live to North London’s KOKO. The first night of the MTV live shows, the sold-out concert featured an urban line-up with Tinchy Stryder headlining [pictured above]. I’m continually impressed with how many mobile phone and technology companies are beginning to understand the real commercial prowess their technology can enable. Blackberry, who’ve long-recognised that their unique selling point is communication, invited audience members to add the event’s special Blackberry Messenger pin to send messages, which appeared on a big screen between performances. Performances were also segued with VTs of the Brand New for 2011 candidates, which include two of the night’s acts, RD and Jessie J.

23 Jan

Posted at 22:05h in Features, Music
Any fans of UK dance music might recognise this burgeoning producer and beatsmith by his Government name - Darren Williams - because Mr. Williams, although now known amongst the cool kids as Star Slinger, had released two dance 12” vinyl records as at 2007 to relative success. Thankfully, dance music became quite limited and constraining to the musician/producer (boring if you like) and he re-discovered the widely varied and eclectic vinyl-collection he had been unscrupulously building up for quite a few years. You see, Darren Williams is also an avid record-store visitor and collector of Vinyl and in April of 2010, Star Slinger – the beat tapes producer was born.

15 Nov

Posted at 16:42h in Music, Reviews
Tinchy Stryder has always claimed to be on cloud nine and in 2009, he very much proved that the sky is the limit. The number one selling male artist in the UK was just one of the many accolades which came from the young superstar, whose early Grime days seem like a lifetime ago. Striking a fine balance between stylish verses and big, dance anthems, the Stryderman now finds himself courting the attention of an audience made up of raucous teen fans, respected industry figures in the UK as well as a certain Head of Roc Nation. So what does that mean for his third album Third Strike? Will the prying eyes of all these interested parties force the Golden boy to take a more predictable route? Or does a young man who has gained so much musical power, use it to his advantage to squeeze out a differing sound altogether?

19 Jul

Posted at 16:55h in Music, Reviews
Hip Hop in America has no qualms about pushing/pimping Gangsta Rap to its mainstream - in the UK, however, it’s a different matter. Various government organisations and politicians have been vocal and proactive in their attempts to censor gratuitous music from flooding the charts - which makes for a very interesting scenario as the UK’s answer to Mobb Deep and Jeezy launches his album to the masses... Giggs’ metaphoric rise has been a bumpy one; whilst his maniacal raps and gutter production have created a buzz which any bigshot American rapper would be proud of, rumours of censorship within various industries have been rife; something the south London rapper has been very vocal about. Nevertheless, the SN1 General lets us have it. Just how it resonates with the public remains to be seen.

20 Apr

Posted at 12:30h in Reviews

When it comes to producing a solid mixtape, Sway knows a thing or two about this specific field. Entering the game with two smashing compilations (This Is My Promo volumes 1 and 2) and recently having his second entry hailed as Mixtape of the Decade at the Official Mixtape Awards, each Sway mixtape should be held in high estimation due to the quality of his portfolio. In anticipation of his Signature part 2 album, the DCypha squadron gets back into the mixtape driving seat to provide more quick witted teasers to set the pace for his forthcoming release.