It’s probably no mere coincidence that ill Manors, the third studio album by rapper, singer, songwriter and film director Plan B, has emerged at the height the Olympic euphoria evoked by the London 2012 games. Where the event’s opening and closing ceremonies aimed to congratulate the multiculturalism, talent, creativity and all round success of the city and in fact the state, Plan B’s rugged, abject and sometimes sinister poetry seems to have provided an alternative commentary.
If you weren’t at ILUVLIVE on Monday, you missed out. You probably already knew that before the doors opened though, from the second you saw the line-up; after all, it isn’t often that two of UK music's finest take the stage on the same night, let alone share it. But ILUVLIVE pulled out all the stops for a special in which Kano and Mikey J presented his recently released free EP, Not 4 the A List.
After performing at The Roundhouse in London on the 17th of this month, Talib Kweli invited SoulCulture down to the studio the next day, where he was joined by Akon affiliated UK emcee Sway to record a song together.
He later refers to other homegrown talents Kano, Estelle, Ty, Roots Manuva and Blak Twang as some of his favourite local artists, but refers to an overall sense of the UK scene as being "real goonish right now," judging from what he's seen online.
"Goonish rap for the sake of being goonish, it comes off real cartoon-ish..." he states. "I saw some stuff that just came across as, like, 'You don't even have to try that hard, dude'," recalling a time S.A.S "ran up on" him outside the BBC in the past.
In-between recording and shooting a music video in London, Kweli spoke to SoulCulture TV about his displeasure at the gig of the night before, his experiences of the UK's Capital and why he chose to shoot a video here for a song from his new album, Gutter Rainbows.
He also discusses how he perceives his growth across albums and another album he is also working on titled Prisoners Of Conscious, describing the forthcoming Gutter Rainbows project as "like the early outtakes of Prisoners Of Conscious, but embellished upon."
He names some of his favourite self-penned verses as
The next generation of Grime spitters are privileged to have a handful of emcees whose blueprint to success has paid off in dividends. Dizzee Rascal’s mainstay at the peak of the charts and Tinchy Stryder's status as a record selling artist have been heralded by both the wider audience and the underground communities – due to the financial gains they have received from their success. Standing tall as many critics' choice emcee however is Kano; East London born, akin to Tinchy and Dizzee, but has won praise for keeping his sound predominantly enriched in a murkier sound, even when exploring different directions. With a back catalogue labelled "Genius," "Underrated" and "Pure" across his three albums to date, Method To The Maadness aims to further compound the positive responses of critics - ranging from the Fleet Street bigwigs to Grime Forum’s hardcore following.
It’s hard to fathom that Kano has graced the music scene for well over seven years now. An underground artist whose sound has remained grounded in the murkier Grime sounds, even when experimenting music’s most influential figures, his successes have been one of the more ‘genuine’ triumphs. As he returns back to the format which requires no chart single, superstar cameo or formula, the east London dynamo is in the perfect zone for his verbal assassination of varied beats. Whilst 24’s Jack Bauer may delve into situations much deeper than offering a fresh 64 bars, can The 7 Day Edition overcome the obstacle of appeasing to those who feel his best days are past?
The Pied Piper currently running at the Barbican Theatre [London] until 14 March is an up-to-date version of the well-known children’s tale and Robert Browning poem, ‘The Pied Piper of Hamlin’. But it’s the Pied Piper with a Hip-Hop/Nu-style dance twist.
The show is the...
It’s probably no mere coincidence that ill Manors, the third studio album by rapper, singer, songwriter and film director Plan B, has emerged at the height the Olympic euphoria evoked by the London 2012 games. Where the event’s opening and closing ceremonies aimed to congratulate the multiculturalism, talent, creativity and all round success of the city and in fact the state, Plan B’s rugged, abject and sometimes sinister poetry seems to have provided an alternative commentary.
If you weren’t at ILUVLIVE on Monday, you missed out. You probably already knew that before the doors opened though, from the second you saw the line-up; after all, it isn’t often that two of UK music's finest take the stage on the same night, let alone share it. But ILUVLIVE pulled out all the stops for a special in which Kano and Mikey J presented his recently released free EP, Not 4 the A List. 
After performing at The Roundhouse in London on the 17th of this month, 
The next generation of Grime spitters are privileged to have a handful of emcees whose blueprint to success has paid off in dividends. Dizzee Rascal’s mainstay at the peak of the charts and Tinchy Stryder's status as a record selling artist have been heralded by both the wider audience and the underground communities – due to the financial gains they have received from their success.
Standing tall as many critics' choice emcee however is 