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Even as a millionaire
Beanie Sigel was still standing on the same corners and hanging on the same blocks he did before the fame. While as street as they come, this hasn’t always worked out in his favour. There’s no question that musical authenticity has always been on his side, but unfortunately the wrong side of the law is a side he’s all a bit too familiar with.
Easily one of the most consistent rappers in the game, it’s pretty hard to downplay or negatively discuss any of his work. A hustler turned superstar, he first stepped on to the scene as part of
Jay-Z’s Rocafella roster that would soon set the industry ablaze. Later independently setting up
State Property with
Freeway, Peedi Crakk, Oschino, Sparks and the
Young Gunz, Beans has always had his finger on the pulse.
Now with more pending legal cases than
DMX, he not only publicly fell out with his friend and mentor, Jay-Z, he was also shunted out of a shoe deal by
Dame Dash, which resulted in their friendship expiring also. It’s almost as if the world decided to throw everything at him just to enjoy watching him climb up out of it, because that’s exactly what he does every time.
With that said,
This Time is his farewell album for the moment -
he reports to prison for a two year stint on September 12th due to unpaid taxes. Standing at 11 tracks in length, beats, rhymes and life is what’s on the menu, and boy does it taste good...
Billy Cobham’s position as one of the finest drummer’s in Jazz can be traced back to the glory days of the '70s Jazz-fusion era playing on a number of seminal recordings, most notably Miles Davis’ Bitches Brew and Tribute To Jack Johnson. His foray into this new burgeoning sub-genre continued when he joined the harder rocking side of the fusionists, Mahavishnu Orchestra. Once their original line-up dissolved after three rapid and groundbreaking albums Cobham, tired of in-band fighting and being a hired hand, took the leader’s mantle and formed his own band Spectrum.
Since then he’s been firmly established as a marquee name and continues to attract sold out crowds wherever he performs - February 23, the penultimate performance of his six-night stand at Ronnie Scotts, London being no exception.
"All my inspiration comes from Ahmad Jamal" - high praise indeed from anyone but when it comes from an esteemed voice such as Miles Davis, you get an idea of how much a talent Ahmad Jamal is and the kind of influence he’s had on the Jazz world down the years.
Now in his 83rd year, Jamal continues to regularly tour the globe and release albums to critical acclaim. In support of last year’s Grammy nominated Blue Moon, Jamal on the Grand piano and his trio - double bassist Reginald Veal, drummer Herlin Riley and percussionist Manuel Badrena - entertained a sold out Barbican on February 8th for what turned out to be an unforgettable night. 
Many a jazz legend has passed through 
In 2009 I discovered Fresno, CA rapper Fashawn and his incredible indie debut Boy Meets World. The Exile-produced album was one of the year’s strongest, and like so many great hip hop albums, it was a stunning life-up-until-now story. Ever since, dropped Fashawn has faced the Nas-like challenge of matching his debut whilst trying to tell the slightly less interesting story of his life as it is now. Unlike Nas, the West Coaster has shown a remarkable degree of consistency with his post-Boy Meets World releases.
Recent projects such as Higher Learning 2 and 
Submotion Orchestra have steadily been building themselves a buzz since the release of last years Finest Hour album won themselves a loyal following with their distinctive blend of Jazz, Trip-hop, Electro and Dubstep. On October 12, the three quarters full converted theatre of KoKo played host to the 7-piece group as they performed tracks from their two weeks old second LP, Fragments, as well as older favorites. 
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. 
As hot as 50 Cent and G-Unit were back in the early 2000’s, 
Sterling Simms is for grown folks; adults only. The Philadelphia born R&B singer's latest mixtape, Mary & Molly, is the soundtrack to the fast lane. Offering up a startling, wide-eyed peek into the steamy and sometimes scary world of fame, Mary & Molly feels like a sex-crazed haze, a raunchy emotional stupor fueled by the drugs this music is an ode to. 
The lineup assembled to celebrate Jamaica’s 50 years of independence reads like a Reggae hall of fame. An abundance of legendary names past and present from Jamaica’s rich musical heritage are spread over 12 nights of performances celebrating the Caribbean Island’s influence on the music world. One such name was always likely to loom larger than most on the lineup, and its no surprise that Damian, Stephen and Julian Marley were given top billing with this, the first of a two-night stand at the O2 Indigo (26th July).