Devlin’s talent has long been unavoidable, large in part due to his presence on the microphone and his ability to spit deep and intelligent lyrics while walking the fine line between the mainstream and underground sections of grime. Though the budding MC has been out...
Bobby Womack has had a tough 2012. Early on he fought with pneumonia and was then diagnosed with colon cancer in March. Thankfully both were treated successfully, but it would take time to tell what effect both had on a man whose career has spanned more than 50 years. After a few releases in the '90s following his battle with drug addiction and a 2000 Christmas album, the legendary singer took a step back from the limelight, and appeared to fade into what seemed like retirement. That is, until he re-emerged in early 2010 on “Stylo”, Gorillaz’ lead single from their third album Plastic Beach, which also featured Mos Def, now known as Yasiin Bey.
His work with Blur and Gorillaz frontman Damon Albarn eventually lead to his first album in 12 years, The Bravest Man in the Universe; a well-received release co-produced by Albarn and XL Recordings owner Richard Russell that retained his soulful roots while embracing emerging genres including dubstep, grime and street bass. At the HMV Forum on November 27, Womack treated fans to a performance that covered both his entire career, and convincingly showed that his talent still has the strength to continue for many years on.
October 12th saw a gig tipped as "Hip-Hop show of the decade" take place in London, featuring the two components of critically acclaimed duo Madvillain - masked maniac rapper DOOM and the extremely talented producer Madlib - supported by a number of heavyweights and up and coming artists from both sides of the pond, including J Rocc, Freddie Gibbs, Kutmah, Illum Sphere, Dels and Jehst.
With a career spanning 15 years, 6 studio albums, over a million album sales and several high profile awards, Beverley Knight has long been lauded as the reigning 'Queen of UK Soul' by mainstream media, however she is not without her detractors. I doubt there are many who would deny Beverley's vocal abilities, nonetheless many have criticised her material as not being up to standard, and she has so far failed to have that 'mega-hit' which has catapulted her to super-stardom.
Last night I got the chance to catch Aussie soul singer Danieal Merriweather during his multi-city tour in support of his debut album Love and War. I have already made my feelings known on the album, and I was eager to see what it would sound like live.
Before I get into a review of the show I just want to mention Daniel's support act, London based singer Rox. I was semi-familiar with her work through her myspace page, and have been keeping up to date with the progress on her upcoming debut, so when it was announced she was supporting I was more than a little excited. I arrived just as Rox was finishing up her opening song and the buzz in the crowd suggested she had done well. She then went into the song I'm most familiar with, 'Page Unfolds'. To say she killed it would be an understatement! The crowd were young, and so I expected them to not pay much attention to the non-headline acts (that seems to be what usually happens), however she had their full attention. She also sang 'I Don't Believe', the fantastic 'Rock Steady' which would have been THE perfect summer soundtrack, and finally 'Breakfast In Bed' which really had her belting it out. It's safe to say that she gained herself a fair few fans in Birmingham!
When Daniel took to the stage the crowd went wild, and it was obvious that he has become
I should have known I’d arrived in the future the minute ‘Little Dragon’ sailed in on a wave of fizzy, electronic, reverberations. But at that point I thought it was still the 13th of March 2009. Little did I know that the band had taken my sense of hearing – and to some extent my sense of sight – on a melodious temporal excursion to some far, distant and debonair region of time.