Thankfully the typical British summer was very un-typical this weekend and was on its best behaviour for this year’s highly anticipated Wireless Festival.  With a new sponsor (Barclaycard) and format (two days instead of four) the new and improved Wireless Festival promised a lot and delivered on all counts.  Taking over London’s Hyde Park for the weekend revellers where treated to high energy live performances from artists of the moment all  in the heart of London.  Although a huge live music fan festivals don’t really sit well with me – the prospect of camping, mud and portaloos don’t cut it I’m afraid.   Saturday was headlined by Basement Jaxx with performances from Dizzee, The Streets, Master Shortie and FrankMusic  it was Sunday’s date that I was looking forward to.  The line-up read like the UK Top Ten – Tinchy Stryder, N Dubz, Flo Rida, Alesha Dixon and of course headliner Kanye West but it was the up and coming acts that really got the crowd going with acts such as Mr Hudson – who is going to be huge!! But the highlight of my day was undoubtedly one of the pioneers of hip hop as I know it – Q Tip.  To say he rocked the crowd was an understatement  complete in his outfit of red jacket, black trousers and white socks in homage to the late, great Michael Jackson.  The Wireless Festival is fast becoming one of the places to be in the all important festival calendar.  If you love live music you need to find yourself at Wireless Festival next year – you won’t be disappointed.  

July 2009

Cargo was the stage that hosted March's special ILUVLIVE. With snowfall raining on February's parade ILUVLIVE regulars were eager to get back into the groove with this extra special line-up.

Ras Kwame and Twin B presented the night on top form with jokes aplenty to warm the crowd up. Charlie Brown was the first to open the night with his soulful vocals and eclectic beats he was a crowd pleaser through and through brimming with charisma.

Reggae and ska influenced Ava Leigh presented her debut single 'La La La' introducing a new vibe to ILUVLIVE with the amazing full band complimenting her vocals. This was followed by an unprecedented open mic as Ghetts was running behind schedule. The talented Professor Green along with impressive vocalists stepped up and entertained the crowd.

Crazy Cousins burst onto stage bringing that infectious funky vibe that proved irresistible to the crowd. 'Bongo Jam' was as popular as ever including an exclusive performance of their forthcoming track 'Electric Slide' that got the crowd moving like never before.

Ghetts had more than enough energy to make up for his late arrival, animated as ever he called on the females in the crowd to complete his track 'Sing For Me' which went down a treat.

The eclectic MPHO brought a smile to all the ladies when addressing the 'screw-face gyal' – all agreeing with her sentiment. Her single 'Box n Locks' was her final offering which wil be released later this year.

He was the centre of the buzz, the discussions and the hype and Sway delivered satisfying the crowd with a 25-minute set. His first track a freestyle themed 'Happy New Year' was controversial as ever and took a swipe at NME magazine as well as voicing his opinions of the UMA fracas and recession.

'F ur Ex' was next up featuring new Dcypher Records signing Rapture and was great to hear live with more vibrancy than I remembered. Sway had the crowd's full attention as he switched the mood turning his focus to a tribute to close friend and model, Kya Bousquet with his track 'Pray for Kaya'. The crowd reflected deep respect and were moved by Sway's emotive performance as he performed like he was speaking directly to her. 'Saturday Night Hustle' closed what had definitely turned out to be a night of mixed, yet raw emotions. Successful as always the night leaves an impression on all that attend and leaves room and imagination for the next one.

The next ILUVLIVE is on 6^th April at Favela Chic.

Kim Williams - March 09

Singer Eric Benet’s colourful personal life has been well publicised- he famously cheated on Hollywood beauty Halle Berry, and later admitted to being a sex addict.  This has to an extent overshadowed his music and phenomenal gift, perhaps explaining why he has not become as huge a star as many would argue he undoubtedly deserves to be.

The soulful crooner first burst onto the scene in 1996 with the album True To Myself, yet it was A Day in the Life three years later which really defined certain parts of the 90s, spawning R&B classics such as Georgy Porgy and Why You Follow Me, propelling him to the forefront of the urban music genre. In total he has released four albums, most recently Love and Life, following a three year hiatus.

Already a huge hit in the US, the record has produced hit singles You’re The Only One and The Hunger, the former being nominated for best male R&B vocal performance at the Grammy awards and making the Billboard Top 20 Hot R&B Singles.

And for the first time in years, he was back in the UK to put on a series of three intimate gigs at the famous Jazz Café in London’s trendy Camden, showcasing his new material as well as older tunes such as Love Don’t Love Me and Love Of My Own. Due to the absence of Tamia, he didn’t perform the smash Spend My Life With You, which was nominated for a Grammy back in 2000, and is widely recognised as one of his biggest hits. Apart from this notable omission, most of his other well known tracks were included, and particularly for those who have followed his career to date, the night was a real trip down memory lane.

A natural performer, you could see how comfortable Eric was on stage, interacting fully with the audience, his confidence shining through. The venue was at full capacity, and it was no wonder that the shows were sold out. Benet’s soulful voice was on top form throughout the hour-and-a-half concert, and sporting a shorter haircut than before, he was looking more gorgeous than ever.

The atmosphere of the gig was stylish and sexy, and will no doubt go down in soul music history when he’s playing much bigger venues in the future.

www.ericbenet.net

Anna Nathanson – March 2009

www.annanathanson.net

HUGO URBAN RULES, the popular nationwide music initiative returned to London with the freshest talent representing the UK and the Sugababes performing to the crowd at Cargo.

Over 200 bands and musicians entered HUGO URBAN RULES by uploading their music to the website, and just 15 were invited to audition. The entrants were blessed with advice from the industry's finest – having the opportunity to work on their stagecraft, vocal technique and how to break through the music scene.

Radio 1Xtra's Twin B was the delightful host for the evening introducing the winner of Hugo Urban Rules – XO Man, Kiss FM DJ Manny Norté and of course the Sugababes.

XO Man performed some of his tracks and his unique style impressed the audience – with ever more interesting lyrics "my microwave it don't spin no more". Sugababes commented on his music and his personality: "We loved his track 'Lady Dog' and there's definitely star quality about him."

The crowd were also blessed with classic urban beats from Kiss FM's Manny Norté that got everyone shaking a leg between sets.

This year's HUGO URBAN RULES had a new addition, not live mic, not even b-boy but a live art battle! The fiercely competitive art collective Monerex had an hour to create their masterpiece on a white wall amidst the crowd with only markers to claim their title.

As the Sugababes came on stage their performance was electric with a five-piece band they pleased the crowd and raised the roof with their best hits, including the new single 'Girls'.

The night was vibrant, buzzing and left the audience fulfilled with UK talent and HUGO Fragrance goody bags. We can't wait for the next HUGO URBAN RULES.

Kim Williams - Dec 08

Craig David is back an on top form. He performed at the Shepherd's Bush Empire on June 17th. I'm glad we arrived early otherwise there would have been no way we would have seen the man himself over hundreds of jumping and screaming girls. I rarely see this much love shown to an artist throughout a performance.

I was hoping for him to perform plenty of his old school hits and thankfully he did, Fill Me In being the highlight of the evening. He switched up Last Night by chopping the track up with Nicole Renee's classic Strawberry.

Watching the slicker than average (he's still looking good) Craig David perform made me yearn for the 'old days' of Fill Me In and Rewind, when So Solid Crew were hot and Ms. Dynamite was still around. I'm barely 20 but I'm starting to feel older already.

Rashmi Shastri – June 2008

"The energy ya'll give us, we're gonna give back to you!"

That's the first thing that Method Man said when he appeared on stage at this sell out show at London's Shepherd's Bush Empire, along with his long term collaborator Redman.

The crowd had been waiting a good three hours for the dynamic duo to grace the stage, and when they finally did, they didn't disappoint. In fact it was one of the best crowd responses I've ever seen at a gig, with near constant jumping throughout.

As the pair went through timeless classics such as How High and Da Rockwilder, everyone's hands were in the air, and hell, I even felt the floor move a couple of times.

Despite the annoying timing of the show (10pm on a work night), tiredness soon wore off as Meth and Red whipped the crowd into a frenzy, even stage diving a couple of times. Method Man, adorned in a jewel-encrusted t-shirt, flew off a speaker and into the crowd, much to their visible delight.

Wu-Tang favourites such as Ain't Nuttin To F*** Wit were not forgotten, and the crowd showed their appreciation by cheering and displaying their 'W' signs high in the air.

Support came from newcomer Lady Lykez, as well as Pyrelli and the brilliant Triple Darkness. It was a show not to be missed and it definitely didn't disappoint.

Anna Nathanson - Apr 2008

If you were in the vicinity of SE1 on that Friday you would definitely feel something was jumping off big time in the southeast side of London town.

Definitely one of the places to be in London!

Waheed Cole

Rhyme Time is literally self explanatory!

This explosive night kicks off at 8pm, show starts at 9pm and night goes on until 1am. @ The Big Chill House, 1st Floor- 257 Pentonville Road, N1 9NL, With hosts Toju the Militant Black guy, Dirty Gooner, The Analyst and Dj Souledge. Admission is FREE all Night

Waheed Cole

Just imagine half way through your working week feeling under the weather and a friend hands you a CD of an artist you’ve never heard of and says “I think you’ll like this album”. Simply put I loved it and instantly became a fan to the point that I listened to the album all day at work and it kept a smile on my face that got me through that particular tough day. This amazing new talent goes by the name of Nayo with the titled album African Girl.

I found it so refreshing, relaxing and most importantly far away from the normal crap blaring from your average radio stations these days.

I was also lucky enough to go and see her showcase in a cosy intimate venue in Soho, London in which she was breathtaking! I was standing by the bar as you do overlooking the stage which was a moderate size with a five piece band just quietly jamming with a backing vocalist, not too long after Nayo was introduced to the full house looking beautiful when she took a few elegant steps which was in front of the stage and she got behind the mic and that’s all she wrote.

She performed seven wonderful songs in which for me the tracks ‘Sparrow’ and the extremely moving tune that she dedicated to her late father called ‘Last few years especially stood out. The audience applauded at every interlude in which her radiant persona shined through as she cracked a few jokes and made the atmosphere even more relaxed. The band was amazing and they played with a real zest behind her soothing voice.

Nayo has an angelic voice that will capture any imagination and set it free she’s also effortlessly creative with it; its one thing having a unique voice and not know what to do with it. That is so not the case here! She knows exactly where she wants to be with her voice which is far from your contemporary. All in all she was fantastic and definitely a star in the making.

Got talking to a lovely lady who happens to be Nayo’s friend who flew in from Chicago that same day to see her best friend perform now that’s dedication for you! 

Waheed Cole

London-born, JA-raised dancehall/hip hop artist Aynzli Jones looks set to shake up the charts in 2008.  Mercury Records latest signing treated an intimate crowd to a taste of 'whats to come' at The Old Blue Last in Shoreditch last week.  Although his debut album won't drop till summer '08 his double single I Don't Listen/Red is available from December 3^rd. 

With Kiss FM DJ Manny Norté on the decks Aynzli bounded on stage and gave the audience an energetic sample of some of his tracks with the track Red standing out for me.  This west Londoner is definitely one to keep an ear out for next year

Check him out for yourself here and for more check out his MySpace www.myspace.com/aynzlijones

Ihunna - Dec 2007 

On Saturday 1000 of the fastest men and women in London descended on Battersea Park to compete in the first Nike+ Supersonic event.  Throughout October prospective runners were invited to attend one of three 100 m time trails held across the capital in the hope of being selected to enter the 1K final.

Although the final was intended to be evenly split between men and women it was obvious that not enough women had entered so basically it looked like every female who turned up for the time trails made it through.  Hosted by choreographer Kimberley Jay and Rodney P friends and spectators cheered the young runners on as they raced to complete the floodlit course, to the sounds of some uplifting drum & bass, to be handed an iPod at the finish line.  That wasn't the best bit…the fastest female and fastest male won the grand prize of the chance to attend ANY sporting event anywhere in the world AND they were able to bring two friends! (I bet the winners were popular that night!)

Olympic medallist Mark Lewis-Francis came to show his support alongside fellow Brit athletes Harry Aikines-Aryeetey (world's fastest junior sprinter), Montell Douglas, Asha Philip, Jemma Simpson and Tim Benjamin.  "Anything that gets more people into the idea of competitive running is good for our sport and potentially good for our medal hopes in the future. What's great about Nike+ Supersonic is using music as the way to take athletics and running to that new audience," said Mark Lewis Francis.  South Londoners Jermaine Hayes and Helen Ewing walked away as the fastest male and female bagging the top prize.  The night closed with an exclusive performance from Dizzee Rascal and indie group The Enemy. 

Ihunna Eberendu – Nov 07

The 5^th annual Kickers Urban Music Awards launch party was held at Cargo in Old Street on Monday 1^st October.  The event started off with an assortment of camera crews and flash photography interviews taking place and plenty of free drinks for the attendees.  CEO of UMA Jordan Kensington took to the stage with UK soul sensation Terri Walker, Kickers marketing manager Hugh Sweeney and UB40 front man Ali Campbell whose group is up for the lifetime achievement award.

The audience were then treated to a screening of last year's first UMA America awardshow, which was hosted by the now incarcerated Foxy Brown.

The UMA national unsigned Act performances were up next.  With over 75,000 entries after a nationwide search it was whittled down to just 20.  Artists who stood out for me were Channel 4's Musicool contestant Mr Midas who gave an energetic performance that definitely had the crowd bubbling.  Other impressive performers were the Birmingham duo SPARKS & SCARCE with their equally impressive dance moves and interaction with the crowd.  However the biggest accolade of the night was reserved for an all male vocalist group called UFO. Keep an eye and ear out for these guys; they had the crowd demanding more of their sultry vocal ability.

With the press launch over it is fair to say that the Kickers Urban Music Awards is shaping to be the biggest yet.

Don't forget to vote for EUT for Best Website!!

The Kickers Urban Music Awards take place on 3^rd  November 2007

http://www.kickersuma.co.uk

Amaru Don – Oct '07

New York based group Gym Class Heroes breezed into London for the second time this year with their blend of alternative hip hop to perform at The Forum in Kentish Town.  Although the group is on their third album the success of their latest album As Cruel As Schoolchildren and in particular the single Cupid’s Chokehold has catapulted them into the public eye. Fronted by their MC, Travis the group showed that live performances were what they did best.  With Travis at well over 6 foot complete with tattoos, facial piercings and long hair whilst the rest of the band’s look borders on nerdy GCH don’t look like your average hip hop group.  If gangsta rap is your thing then the group may not be your cup of tea.  Not that they are at a loss for fans judging by the crowd who consistently predominately of teenagers (and girls for that matter who appeared to have panic attacks every time Travis spoke) who easily sang along to every word.  They say time flies when you’re having a good time and it did just that until finally the group closed with their latest single Clothes Off  by doing just that – not pretty! 

Unless you have been living in the North Pole for the past three years, you would have no doubt heard of the multi-platinum artist Akon.

The Senegal-born native and current reigning king of hip pop R&B vocal hooks has guest-starred with everyone from Gwen Stefanai to Snoop Dogg; performed a one-off concert at London's Hammersmith Apollo.  I went down to check out the man who has been making headline news with his on stage antics/stunts, which allegedly include throwing someone off the stage and doing a 'sex romp' dance routine with a 16 yr old girl.

So, its 10.00pm and Akon was due to be on at 9.30opm, however we're soon introduced to Akon's crazy DJ/hypeman, DJ Benny Dee, who definately hyped up the crowd by dancing and jumping on every piece of stage equipment whilst spinning club bangers, like Lethal B's Pow in which produced a shocked and then hysterical reaction from the crowd, dare I say this set was more entertaining than Akon?

Okay, so after 10 minutes of pure energy, Akon arrived on stage in blue jeans and a white top, opening with his cover version of Damien Marley's Jamrock.  We were all up out of our seats as he continued to perform all his chart hits such as Ghetto, Soul Surviver, Smack That and I Wanna Love You but slowly it all started to feel like the energy DJ Benny Dee had created had started to expire.  However Akon did keep us entertained between songs with banter with his DJ and with a little help
from two female concert goers – one of which threw  bra on stage whilst the other jumped on stage.  At this point everyone was anticipating what he would do next - in relation to the recent headlines, but he merely just said, 'I aint getting arrested for this s#!t' before sending her back stage to security.  Another entertaining point was when which Akon, in humour, refused to carry on with his set unless the audience cheered loudly enough which immediately led the crowd to instantly boo him, something in which I don't think he and his three band piece expected, however he carried on but needless to say the high point of the evening was indeed him performing Locked Up, which everyone was looking forward to and once again the energy returned to the auditorium.

In conclusion this show proved to put forward that Akon does not bring anything extra to a live performance, nothing more than you could see at home on TV, maybe he has not come a long way in terms of developing as a solo performer instead of being consumed with just generating more money or credits to his songwriting hook skills for others, even though he is good at it.  In short terms, next time he's in town, I will stay at home and watch Big Brother instead

Shereen Beckett – July 2007

One of the best things about being a member of SonyBMG street team is that I can give you exclusives on some of the most popular artists around.  Saturday was no different, with me out on the roads of West End, doing promo work for Amerie, who’s new single Take Control is out now.

Best known in the UK for her No 1 hit single 1 Thing, Amerie was back in the UK doing an exclusive performance at GAY.  Amerie performed four songs in total, starting off with her new single. With her posse of backing dancers, it was an entertaining show, with the inclusion of her 1st hit (Why Don’t We) Fall in Love following the new single.  Amerie looked great, in a little black and white dress.  Whilst the dancing was more or less on point, I felt that Amerie could have sung more during her performance so that I could get a proper sense of her vocals live.  Ending with 1 Thing, Amerie concluded the show with a great, extended finale, which was well appreciated by her fans in the audience, and probably gained her a few more.

Amerie will be back later on in the year to do a few shows - if you like her music and my review, you might want to go catch her because I’m sure those tickets won’t be around for long.

Isabel Affum – Apr ‘07

Ministry held host to a glamorous night of partying on Friday 23rd March, with sexy Latino sounds and salsa dancing supplements to get party-goers in the mood. Upon entering the club, we were greeted by a scene of London clubbers salsa-dancing the night away to some of the world's most lavish, Latin music. Although it wasn't one of Ministry's busiest nights, we still managed to soak up the serene, Latin atmosphere the London nightclub had to offer.

Any disadvantages to the night were drink prices, which, compared to other surrounding night clubs, were lavishly expensive. Over the years, Ministry has built itself up from the corner club disco it was once recognised as thanks to the range of artists and celebrity guests it attracts. Although their repertoire is still increasing, with the likes of Plan B in Brixton and Amadeus attracting larger crowds, Ministry needs to step up their game to making their clubbing experience more pleasurable.

Bertan Budak – March '07

This Valentine’s Day a host of exceptional soul artists took to the stage at East London venue Cargo to raise money for the ACTL (African Caribbean Leukaemia Trust). The night was also put on to pay homage to recently deceased Lynden David Hall, DJ Swing, J Dilla and DJ Swing.

UK soul sensation in the making Jimaine Morris gave a brilliant performance and then made a speech about the importance of being on the bone marrow register, particularly in the black community. At the age of 17, bound on a successful music career, he was suddenly diagnosed with Leukaemia and given just six months to live. It was only when an anonymous donor from America was found that his life was saved. His speech had an affect on everyone present, and Host Nesha from 1Xtra vowed to sign up the next day, urging everyone else to do the same.

As volunteers collected donations, long running established artists shared the stage with newer names, and they all had one thing in common: talent to die for. Each person was just as good as the last, and just when you were thinking it couldn’t get any better, you were blown away again. It just goes to show how much talent exists right here in the UK. 

First up was EMI artist Shawn Emanuel, who not only performed popular songs such as ‘Better Believe It’ but also newer material, such as ‘The Spot’, and beautiful ballad ‘Keep Me From The Rain’, a surefire future hit. Then it was Glaswegian L-Marie’s turn to captivate the crowd, giving Amy Winehouse a definite run for her money. Next up was girl band Poetiquette, who dazzled the crowd, and Romina Johnson, whose soaring vocals stopped everyone in their tracks. Brilliant Bugz in the Attic vocalist LiriqL followed, and Don E then took to the stage, showing off some smooth dance moves and sexy soul anthems such as new track ‘Hot Tonight’. The night ended with the legendary Noel McKoy joining Roachford on keys, both of whom had given amazing solo performances earlier on in the night.

The fact that it was Valentine’s Day couldn’t have been more appropriate as you could feel the love in the room, regardless of whether you were attached or single. The music was raw and from the heart, soulful and uplifting, but with an underlying deeper message. In the words of Jimaine Morris, “People should not be dying. Do your bit and register today. There’s only a slim chance that you’d actually get called up, but if you do, don’t see it as an inconvenience, see it as a blessing, you’re saving somebody’s life. If it wasn’t for a lady in America who I’d never met before, I wouldn’t be here tonight”.

For more information and to join the bone marrow register, visit The ACLT’s website www.aclt.org today

Anna Nathanson - February 2007

Mariah Carey needs no introduction. She is an award-winning superstar with total sales of her records in excess of 165 million worldwide, making her the top-selling female artist in history. Leading Italian fashion house Pinko announced Mariah as the new face of their London inspired fashion brand.  The Pinko campaign featuring Carey was shot by photographer Michelangelo Di Battista and art directed by Giovanni Bianco. The images depict Carey in strong sultry poses wearing Pinko's signature urban designs.

I was one of the few media and fashionistas to receive an invite to Pinko's cocktail party to celebrate the new campaign at their newly refurbished store on Brompton Road. The store was lit up and there were paparazzi and police surrounding the area, not to mention the many fans waiting outside in the cold to catch a glimpse of their idol. Inside the store was a different story, it was full of glamorous people sipping on the never-ending glasses of pink champagne and cocktails, and waiters handing out canapés (tiny sized food to us little people). As time went on, more and more celebrities arrived including Kimberley Stewart, Calum Best, Duncan from Blue, Ronan and Yvonne Keating, Benny Medina (Mariah's manager) and JC Chasez (from 'N Sync).

Suddenly the cameras outside started clicking like crazy and I caught a sneaky peek of Naomi Campbell (a previous model for Pinko) outside posing with her new look hair style. Not long after, Mariah Carey herself joined her looking relaxed but she spoke little words. They entered Pinko together and the paparazzi took photos of them. Naomi went off to circulate while Mariah was whisked upstairs. The place was packed and everyone wanted to speak with Mariah. Making our way back down the stairs was a mission and Benny Medina was looking a bit frustrated, he said, "Why can't people think of not going down the stairs like everyone else?!" and then started bopping to a Mariah song.

After only about ten minutes, Mariah and her entourage made their way to the door. I was introduced to her by Michael Richardson and she autographed my invitation (bless her) which proves she never turns down autographs no matter how busy it is around her. Michael let me know where they were having dinner so I made my way there. San Lorenzo's on Beauchamp Place had paparazzi waiting outside already to take a few more shots after dinner. The restaurant was very cosy and they had their own big table on the top floor with candles scattering the surface. Benny Medina, Michael Richardson, Connie Filippello, Mark Sudack and Mariah were all there together and looked like they were having a grand old time. I said my goodbyes and went home while they went back to Claridge's. I finally met Mariah Carey, my favourite singer and most probably the most talented person I will ever meet.

www.mariahcarey.com
www.pinko.it

Rashmi Shastri – Feb '07

Marvin the Martian, a 26 year old UK rapper from south London decided it best to demonstrate his talents to a small audience at The Fly, New Oxford Street.

Although slightly late, he really did make an entrance by literally flying onto the stage to begin tracks from his pending album. Accompanied by his fellow DJ and hype man, they wasted no time and soon the rather odd looking crowd were on their feet, intrigued by the antics of the energetic three on the disco lights lit stage. Who knew a basement could look so glamorous?

Wearing his 'special jacket', Marvin performed his new up beat single entitled, 'Guns of Brixton' portraying the gun culture in London city which the rapper told us should be available in May.  Belting out tracks inspired from his struggle of homelessness to trying to make it as an established artist, Marvin still provided the crowd with humour and a great performance.

Although amazed by how much liveliness his set had, Marvin told us, “My performance tonight was very laid back. Usually I’m jumping off of things"

Currently unsigned, he is in negotiations and hoping to bring out his album later this year.

www.marvinthemartian.co.uk

Precious Lancaster-Okoro – Feb ‘07

Hip hop legends Big Daddy Kane and Doug E Fresh stormed into London last night for an historic performance from two of the founding members of rap music.

As Big Daddy Kane came off the stage he told EUT "My performance tonight was really special; I wanted to give British fans something they would never forget. People identify with the style, I was happy to come here and give the crowd everything, one of the best performances of my life." His rap legend pal Doug E Fresh said he too had felt something very special "Tonight was about making history, giving people something they would always remember, I felt a really incredible electricity in the air tonight."

Hosted by Normski, the party also featured some of the finest talent from this side of the Atlantic. Norman Jay, Patrick Forge and A Guy Called Gerald all kept the crowds pumped in preparation for the main event. As the lights came up on the end of a long evening a young fan told us "This was the most including rap show I have ever seen, the energy in the room was mind blowing, this has been the best night of my life."

To get the duo, who are regarded in the hip hop community as the 'two best rappers in the world', to perform together was a major coup for the organizers. The popularity of sportswear with the early pioneering rappers on the streets of New York helped Puma persuade the pair to come to Britain and give British hip hop fans a very special treat.

Words by Justin Stoneman.

Image: Paul Hampartsoumian

30/11/06

Hailing from Houston, 2006 has been the year Chamillionaire really blew up on the UK radar, with his massive #2 single Ridin'.  His current album may be his first major-label debut (through Universal), but don't get it twisted, Chamillionaire ain't some fresh kid off the block.  Since his teens he has grinded independently and consistently killed his hometown's mixtape game with his lyrical ability, earning him the nickname The Mixtape Messiah and gaining a cult fan following in the process- selling over 100,000 copies of his own releases.

Looking like a crunked up, chopped & screwed, dirty south version of 50 Cent, Chamillionaire stormed out on stage to a half packed Forum venue (maybe due to the reschedule date, who knows?), the crowd that was there had indeed come ready for a banging night. Opening his set with a series of tracks from his many mixtapes to get the crowd pumping, such as his Bodyrock refix of Terror Squad's Lean Back, and the hilarious Still In Love Wit My Money, which found him throwing money into the crowd.

An artist that truly thrives on audience interaction, he was determined to get the audience sweating and working, requesting, '…Everyone in this joint needs to be jumping to the roof', and cutting the tracks to re-insist they keep the energy up. With his Chamilitary TV crew filming audience reactions, Chamillionaire had the crowd doing no less than 5 dances, including the birdcall, bodyrock, the money dance, and the wind.

Chamillionaire got great vibes on his tracks throughout the night, but he had a tendency to lose some of the hype in between, as he paused in track changes.  That could have been mixed in a lot smoother to keep the energy on a consistent level. It didn't seem to affect the crowd love though, as soon as a fresh banging beat started pumping again at full blast, they were back bouncing along to his riddims.

Stand out tracks of the night included spots from his album Sound of the Revenge such as, Grown & Sexy, Ridin, Fly as the Sky and Picture Perfect, but the show stealer was the Scott Storch produced Turn It Up.  None of his many album artist guests made it to the show, but Chamillionaire made up for that by dropping in his own features including the Ciara collab Get Up, his bars on The Game's One Blood remix, and his verse on Trick Daddy's Bet That.

Sway's surprise appearance caused a huge cheer, however, after two attempts to spit his verse he scrapped the backing track and chose to do it acapella- which left the audience a bit bemused.  But nonetheless he smashed it with his performance of Up Your Speed, before running off backstage.

With endless plugs, the audience was sure to know that his Sound of the Revenge album is out in stores, and with 1.2million album sales behind him, Chamillionaire is at the forefront proving that dirty south rappers have a lot more to offer, and with his inimitable style he has injected a freshness into the hip hop scene that can't be sniffed at (even by all you hip hop purists out there!)

Zunobia – Nov 2006  

The European Urban Music awards ceremony was launched in the UK, France, Germany, and Amsterdam with plans to expand to Asia, US and Africa. The Urban Music Awards was born out of the need to build a worldwide and independent awards ceremony to recognise the achievement of urban based artists, producers, club nights, DJ's, radio stations, record labels and artist that are or were previously unrecognised within their country of origin and are a product of the current Underground Dance/R&B, Hip hop, Neo Soul, Jazz, Grime, Garage and D&B music scene.

Last night we witnessed performances from Nathan, Lauren Tilly and the one and only Coolio. Well deserved nominees Akala, Doctor, Soundbwoy, Omar and UKMusic.com all became winners with the legendary Jazzie B who won the Lifetime Achievement Award. While he accepted his award he expressed "the need to become a community and stop the nonsense" which was greeted with healthy applause.  The comedic hosts of the evening were Ras Kwame [1Xtra and Channel U] and Kelle Bryan [of girl group Eternal].

There were many celebrities and artists that dotted the evening including Aml Ameen [The Bill], Baby Blue, Pyrelli,  Jocelyn Jee Esien [Little Miss Jocelyn], Mathew Knowles [Beyonce's manager and father] and Zena [ex-Misteeq member]. Zena said, "I've had a brilliant time. It's wicked that it solely represents UK music. Urban music isn't getting recognised as much as it should be and there are so many talented people out here." Among the others hanging around in the press room were the Big Brother girls, Makosi, Aisleyne and Vanessa. Vanessa said, "I presented an award last year as well and had an even better time this year. We need more events like this to recognise the talent in the UK and give them more opportunities."

The primary reason of the Urban Music Awards is to get people together and show that Urban music is not dead and we have some talent of our own in the UK. Maybe it wasn't as flash as something like the MTV Music Awards but that's not the point. The point is that we're doing something to better ourselves and are showing people that artists in and around these genres should be looked at seriously, and not just be stereotyped as youths in hooded sweatshirts that will rob you at gun point. 

www.urbanmusicawards.net 

By Rashmi Shastri

The first ever grand finale to the HUGO Urban Rules competition, which will now be running annually, took place earlier this month at The Village Underground in Shoreditch. Close to 400 artists sent in demos, and finally the big day had arrived. 

For the last two months, contestants battled it out for a unique chance to grab the coveted trophy, record their music in a top London studio, be part of a massive PR campaign, feature on an exclusive limited edition HUGO CD, perform on MTV, and get the chance to be interviewed by leading magazines.

After narrowing it down to the final three; rapper Blemish Blackstorm, R’n’B/pop singer Daizy and soul crooner Chris De Montague, it was now time to pick the winner. The previous finalists were also invited down for a unique day of music industry schooling, consisting of vocal and dance training, as well as exclusive master classes from industry veterans such as RWD Magazine editor Hattie Collins and Mervyn Lyn, Vice President of A&R for Sony BMG’s RCA label. Not only this but Sway and Joe were also at hand to give the stars of the future personal perspectives of the industry. A spokesperson for HUGO Fragrances explained; “This event is all about providing a platform and nurturing and developing new talent”.

10 am, The Day Begins

I was invited down to witness the course of the day, as well as interview one of my musical heroes Joe prior to his performance. And so I headed down that Tuesday morning, ready for an interesting and insightful experience, which would finish with a superb, intimate concert featuring the winner as well as Sway, Terri Walker, Scratch from The Roots, and of course Joe, who had flown in from NYC especially. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but soon felt at ease as I entered the building, a small venue tucked away in an anonymous side street in London’s east end. The first person I bumped into was Sway. “These events help everybody involved”, he told me. “The people who are not the winners are gonna go away and work harder, they’re gonna use this opportunity as fire, and those are usually the people who make it in the industry. The people who get to the top of the industry are not always the most successful people when they’re coming up, and that’s why they’ve got so much drive and energy and why they go so far. The same can be said for winners; after today there’ll be more of an expectation for the winner to want to work hard, so it benefits everybody”.

The attendees, made up of contestants who’d got through previous rounds of the competition, slowly started to arrive, and the day began with some choreography sessions and vocal training, before the panel of experts took their seats at the front for the question and answer sessions.

The Q&A Sessions

 “The reality of this industry is that it’s a hell of a lot of hard work”, said Hattie Collins, editor of top music magazine RWD. “I remember seeing Sway years ago outside the MOBOs selling his mix tapes. And even now, if you arrange to meet him, he’s always on time; he keeps to arrangements. You have to have that work ethic and determination to back up your talent”.  “Only you can be responsible for your career”, confirmed Sway. “You’ve gotta be 100% on top of your business. You can be as creative as you wanna be but ten years down the line, you’ll be kicking yourself that you didn’t take control of the business side of things”. Joe agrees. “I had to start from the ground up. It wasn’t handed to me. It takes that kind of determination to make it in this industry”, he added.

The Grand Finale

Those words of wisdom said, it was time for a lunch break, as MTV roamed around, interviewing the attendees. I spoke to rapper Blemish backstage, who, for as long as I’ve known him, has always maintained the kind of work ethic just talked about. “I think Chris is gonna win it”, he told me. “I’m a bit nervous about going up there in front of the judges but I’m gonna give it my best shot. If I win this it wouldn’t be less than I deserve, I’ve worked hard for years. I’d take it in my stride”.

The music began playing and DJ Twin B addressed the judges. “What we have here today is the freshest talent; they beat hundreds to get down to the final three. First up we have Chris De Montague, a 19 year old Economics student who grew up in Jamaica and now lives in Stockwell, South London, he blew everyone away when we first heard this raw talent”. And boy did he do that again, belting out two self-written soul-infused numbers with all his heart. “Next up”, the DJ continued, “we’re gonna go into some hip hop. Blemish Blackstorm is very well known in the UK rap circuit. He’s extremely well respected and that’s why he’s here today”. And as usual the South London representer tore it up, performing a fast number first, before slowing it down and coming with some conscious hip hop, captivating everyone present. Next up was Daizy. She confidently worked the stage, showing off some sexy moves and demonstrating her vocal skills, as well as a catchy selection of self-penned songs, which had Sway bopping his head.

The Verdict

After a nail-biting wait and some delayed deliberation from the judges, everyone was finally called back to their seats. “And the winner is….Daizy!” The newly crowned starlet had won the coveted trophy, and after being presented with it on stage, can now look forward to HUGO Fragrances supporting the early stages of her career.

By then it was about 4pm, time for another fag break. I bumped into Sway again outside, who had this to say about the result; “Daizy was the most ready product; she was ready to go. She had commercial appeal, she was attractive, she could sing, she had the right type of songs that could fit in mainstream radio today. Whereas Blemish, he reminds me of me. He’s a hustler, no matter what happens today, Blemish is gonna go out there and do his thing, standard. I seen Blemish on the streets selling CDs from before I was. He didn’t really need this as much as she did. And with Chris, he’s got an amazing raw talent but he still needs to work at it, he’s only 19. The way I see it, they’re all gonna get very far, it’s all just a matter of time”.

It was then time for me to head to the hotel around the corner for my interview with the one and only Joe. I asked him what he made of the contestants. “Chris still needed a lot more time, a lot more work and understanding of the industry. Blemish is one of those already developed artists who probably wasn’t really for this type of contest. He’ll probably be out in the next three-four months with a record anyway. Daizy had more of a package, she had the look, the image, she had a voice, and her songs were a little bit better than Chris’”.

7pm…Back to the Show

After our chat, Joe excused himself to take a kip before his set later on that night, so it was back to the venue, where I caught up with Daizy. “I’m thrilled to have won this”, she told me. “I can’t believe it, I’m totally speechless. I want to thank HUGO for giving me this amazing opportunity”. She then took to the stage, finally getting to showcase her talent to the now filled to the brim room.

500 guests made up of music industry figures and fans came down on the Tuesday evening to show their support. UK artists such as Ty and Shawn Emanuel were seen it the crowd, enjoying the warm up to the show, sipping on the free HUGO inspired cocktails that were flowing at the bar. We were then treated to a 45-minute set from one of the UK’s most underrated soul queens Terri Walker, who gave a captivating performance. Scratch from The Roots provided some fantastic beat boxing and turn table magic, before Sway appeared on stage. “Industry! Up your Speed!” he shouted, addressing the audience, before putting on a 45-minute concert. The secluded east London spot was dressed in red drapes, and MTV were around again covering the night. Then Joe stole the show with a legendary performance, getting everyone singing and swaying along to his unique selection of R’n’B classics.

The star-studded audience left with goodie bags containing HUGO perfume and other gifts, the end to a fascinating and insightful day, and no doubt the start of something very big.

By Anna Nathanson

www.myspace.com/anna_nathanson

You can read Anna Nathanson’s interview with Joe in New Nation newspaper, released in November.

This event will be aired on MTV at 7pm on Saturday 29^th October and then repeated over the next two months.

The competition continues in Birmingham in February and Manchester 2007. You still have time to submit your demos, so for more information, and for the chance to attend these finals, please visit www.hugofragrances.com

Friday the 13^th - bad luck for some, but obviously LL Cool J wasn’t worried about that.  When you’ve been in the rap game for over 15 years, such superstitions are nothing to worry about.  An expectant crowd were waiting for the hip hop veteran, making an appearance in London as part of his European tour.  The crowd was split into three groups: the girls who loved LL, the boys who were after the girls, and those who respected the influence of LL in the rap game.  Entertaining us as the opening act was The Streets’ new talent Professor Green who represented British hip hop to the fullest.  One thing I’ve noticed with opening acts is that if they are not chart known (e.g. Kano and Dizzee Rascal), they don’t always get the best response from the crowd.  It was the same with Professor Green, but he managed to overcome this by rhyming over some well loved hip hop beats in between his own music.

One thing LL Cool J learned was not to keep a London crowd waiting.  After teasing the audience with snippets of his tunes and hyping up the crowd, LL didn’t come out and there was a lot of booing – Welcome to London LL.  This happens regularly at hip hop gigs I’ve been to and a note to the headliner(s); don’t come out late because the crowd don’t like it, they get less time seeing you perform, and after getting there early to get a good view, they’re probably looking to eat after the show (eating options get limited after 11pm).

Well, LL came on and all was forgiven.  Opening with a video montage pasted with words such as ‘legend’, ‘innovator’ and ‘actor’, we saw LL’s achievements from over the years, and yes, he’s a talented man.  First song ‘Phenomenon’ emphasised this, with LL blinging all over the place, pure energy and attitude.  Of course, the girls were going wild, throwing knickers, bras and themselves at LL.  Performing hits like ‘Hey Lover’, ‘Love You Better’, ‘Doin’ It’ and ‘Hush’, LL had the girls eating out of the palm of his hand.  Coupled with the flowers he threw to ladies in the crowd, the trademark lip licking and inviting some lucky ladies onto the stage (which is when things got crazy because almost every girl tried to get up there; you know some people got hurt!), LL could do no wrong.  For those of us who admire LL Cool J for other reasons than his body, we got to hear old classics ‘Mama Said Knock You Out’, ‘Round The Way Girl’, ‘Loungin’, and his verse on ‘Fatty Girl’.

As a part time fan of LL Cool J (some songs I like, others I don’t, never bought any albums…), I was pleasantly surprised by the show.  It was entertaining and involving, with something for the oldest to the youngest fans.  Ladies Love Cool J-and yes, they did.

Isabel Affum – Oct ‘06

HUGO Fragrances launched HUGO URBAN RULES back in August to find new music talent from the UK.  Via a number of workshops headed by leading industry heads applicants were invited to submit their demos for consideration. 

The winners' prize was a once in a lifetime opportunity to be the opening act for an extraordinary line-up which for the London date included Joe, Sway, DJ Scratch, Terri Walker and UK beatbox champion Faith SFX. 

Beating off stiff competition R&B artist Daizy emerged as the London winner and opened the show in East London performing to a packed audience consisting of industry and competition winners.  As with a lot of industry events most people were paying more attention to the free bar rather than the performers who individually are excellent but as a package awesome. 

Big shout out to HUGO Fragrances who put on a great line-up and good luck to Daizy  who will also be featured on a HUGO CD and gets the opportunity to record a track with a top producer as well as a photoshoot and one-on-one advice on how to get ahead in the music business.

Ihunna Eberendu - Oct 2006

Simon Says come to 93 feet East club and see Pharoahe Monch and that's what many did.  The trendy location in the heart of Brick Lane embraced a mature, cosmopolitan crowd.  People from all backgrounds came to support the underground king of hip hop.  With his album supposedly going for £200 on eBay, it was no wonder that many people jumped at this rare opportunity to see him in person.  One excited fan expressed "I paid £13 to get in; I would have paid £50.  He's mint, one of the best out there; his skill and delivery are so on point."

Being a natural born leader which he is, Pharoahe showed this quality when he asked the crowd to pump your fists in the air for the fallen soldiers; this request was fulfilled within seconds.

Working with other music legends such as Mos Def, Tribe Called Quest and Nate Dogg, his musical experience shone through the night.  With his obvious disappearance from the music scene, many fans have been wondering what has this star been getting up to, for the last couple of years?   From tonight's performance it seems as though he's been concentrating on his new album.  Promoting his new material, with tracks like 'Desire' left many fans mystified as they weren't familiar with his new tracks.  Many others were left unsatisfied, as he didn't play any of his original material from the days of 'Organized Konfusion'.

One hip hop head felt robbed by the underground legend as he explained, "He just done his new stuff, he didn't play any of his stuff from the 90's.  I've seen various artists and Pharoahe Monch is one of the greats. I don't think he thought we were ready".

Pleasing his audience later in the show, Pharoahe started to perform some of his more familiar Tracks like 'F**k You' and 'Oh No', this enticed the crowd to the max and got them more hyped.  Many of the crowd were shouting back lyrics and jumping around like hooligans.  Nothing could prepare anyone for the reaction when 'Simon's Says' was performed, people were getting squashed and jumping into one another.  One supporter even tried to jump on the stage to vibe with the main man himself.
Finishing the show after eight or nine tracks Pharaoh left the stage, the crowd decided they hadn't had enough and chanted "We want more, we want more…" Listening to the loud demands, Pharoahe reappeared on the stage to do a final encore.  Surprised by his choice he performed 'Simon Says' again.  He obviously enjoyed the response he got first time round. .  As he watched the crowd's reaction he seemed satisfied and made his exit.  A few members of the crowd were left lingering around the stage, praying that the hip hop star would come back, but after a few minutes I'm sure they got the message.

One hungry fan went on to say that, "…this was the best performance I have ever been to."  Once you had a taste you were left wanting more, so Pharoahe take the hint from your fans and don't leave them for so long again.

Miacah McCalla – July 2006

In the middle of a hot Wednesday afternoon, Pharoahe Monch sat next to the DJ booth in an intimate London bar and humbly addressed the room of journalists and DJs. It’s been seven years since Pharoahe came out with Internal Affairs, and everyurbanthing were eager for him to talk us through his forthcoming album, Desire. Three tracks in and the room clapped and cheered after each track, some songs evoking full-faced smiles on their energy. What we heard, was fresh.

The themes of artistic freedom and record label politics reoccur on the album, aptly expressed in ‘I’m Free’. The track was inspired by his feeling after leaving Geffen Records; Pharoahe wasn’t happy with the way Geffen handled Mos Def and Talib Kweli’s last projects, and decided to cut loose. The album’s title track ‘Desire’, produced by The Alchemist, showcases Pharoahe’s mature and impassioned flow as he spits,”Slave to a label, but I own my masters”. The first single ‘Push’ has a strong, soulful gospel-inspired beat, produced by Pharoahe, and features Tower of Power on the horns with Pharoahe singing the chorus! The first street single ‘Let’s Go’ is produced by young Detroit-based producer and MC Black Milk (who produced on several Slum Village albums).

Pharoahe’s own production is remarkably tight; some of the strongest tracks on the album were produced by him. He’s clearly been listening to a lot of soul - Desire is full of thick, soul and funk-inspired beats and samples. ‘Hold On’ is slated to feature soul queens Lauryn Hill and Erykah Badu, whilst ‘Walk Alone’ (produced by D12’s Kon Artis) will feature the legendary Aretha Franklin. Aretha liked the song so much she has agreed to re-sing it for Pharoahe because he couldn’t get sample clearance. In ‘So Good’, Pharoahe even fits in an unexpected sample of Tweet’s ‘My Place’, from the Southern Hummingbird album. The playback conjured thoughts of the soul-based hip-hop of A Tribe Called Quest and J Dilla’s soul-infused production. But before you scream ‘Backpacker!’, Pharoahe keeps the album varied with banging beats you could imagine Ice Cube rhyming over, such as the hard-hitting ‘What It Is’ – a solid contrast to the soul-soaked preceding tracks.

Perhaps with the awareness that perceived ‘conscious’ hip-hop can only sell so much, he stated “hip-hop is moving away from radio and towards internet”. Consequently, he will make a 15-minute short-film for online distribution only, to illustrate stand-out song ‘When The Gun Draws‘. The song, a sequel to ‘Stray Bullet’ (which he recorded in 1994 as one-half of hip-hop duo Organized Konfusion), conceptually tells a story through the eyes of a bullet. ‘Body Baby’ showcases Pharoahe’s “best Elvis Presley impression”, and is set to be the second single. Pharoahe’s had a bit of fun with this album, but in doing so has managed to treat typically clichéd topics in an original (and musically-dope) manner. Take the song ‘Bar Tap’, for example. He expresses the exhausted subject of temptation in a club, but without lowering his lyrical wit to the gratuitous nature of most club-banging hip-hop on the same subject.

Feet tapping, eyes closed, and entire body nodding to the sounds of his album, Pharoahe Monch is definitely feeling himself. He continues to deliver the skilled wordplay displayed on 1999’s Internal Affairs, whilst his lyrics here are less brash, his production is anything but throwaway, and his sound has longevity. Pharoahe Monch is back, and it’s a good look for hip-hop.

Desire and the single ‘Push’ are due to be released in late 2006, on Universal.

Words by Marsha “Ms Marsha” Gosho Oakes.

[www.myspace.com/missmarsha]

Warm, striking shades of pink, red and green, alternately beam onto skyward-reaching beige brickwork as the sky dims above doves perching on protruding architecture… Somerset House is The perfect live music venue in London this summer. The picturesque setting had to make do for visual entertainment as Corinne Bailey Rae was particularly unexciting on stage, clad simply in a floral-patterned ‘gypsy’ dress and timidly addressing the crowd. Perhaps I’m being harsh; after all, Corinne’s humble disposition is a refreshing antithesis to the extreme ego displayed by many artists who experience sudden public success. My gripe is that she -just- sang, rather than giving any sense of performance. There were a few exceptions – there was occasional on-stage ambience, such as when atmospheric smoke billowed around Corinne and soft, slow notes echoed from a keyboard, followed by Corinne’s delicately woeful voice singing “I was just waiting for your phone call, when they came along to say /That a rose done chased you clear away…”, the opening lines of ‘Choux Pasty Heart’.

‘I’d Like To’ was a crowd-pleasure, with its up-tempo summer vibe, and a small throng sang along to ‘Put Your Records On’. Corinne sipped endearingly at a mug of water throughout the show, bashfully making light, sometimes awkward, conversation with the watching assembly. Towards the end of her set came the subtle exquisiteness of ‘Seasons Change’, which she announced as a Stevie Wonder-inspired piece packed with expression through sounds that words can’t express. The concert ended short of its 11pm deadline as she modestly thanked the large crowd for attending, regretting that she didn’t yet have more songs to sing. It would have been interesting to hear more material that wasn’t on the album, or to have heard the songs performed differently than their musical arrangement on the album, but I’ve gotta give it to her: Corinne’s voice was sharp and album-quality, as she consistently sang through her entire album. From my point of view, her live show could do with some X-factor thrown into it, but perhaps I’ve just missed the conservative point.

Words by Marsha ”Ms Marsha” Gosho Oakes.

www.myspace.com/missmarsha

On The Rocks night club was the best way to describe the evening with the band the Dualers.

The location in the heart of East London resembled the stereotype grimy, dull and dark, but the atmosphere inside gave the venue life. The non existence security made it easy for any one and everyone to bounce into this dead end night club.

Shocked to see the majority of the crowd was middle aged, mothers, fathers and grandparents would have felt welcome. This scene resembled the era of Nat King Cole and Billie Holiday, blasting old school Rhythm and Blues anthems with a soft touch of Jazz.

At the beginning of the night men were parading around with their crisp bowler hats, black blazers, slick hair piled on with gel and to add the icing to the cake with a polished tie.  Being more interested in dancing to the music instead of acquainting themselves with the opposite sex.

Women were left enjoying themselves in the middle of the dance floor doing their own revamped version of the Twister. Not noticing one youngster in sight, those who weren’t shaking a leg, were socialising at the back of the club with alcoholic beverages and cigarettes.

As time pushed on more people started to enter the building and make there way to the dance floor. Getting caught in the mode listening to old school revival music, it brought back memories of a typical Sunday morning with  the music blaring, the scent of rice and peas slowly creeping up the stairs, as you do the house chores!

Getting back to reality the venue became ram jam, with excited people waiting for the Dualers to bring on their live set. Not being too impressed before hand the Dualers changed my mind and brought a lot to the plate.  Owning the stage with a remarkable entrance the live band exploded with the sounds of trumpets, saxophones and garters, it was heavy, as it turned into a jazz night.

Four minutes into the set, two male vocalists joined the band, being brothers adding their husky voices and own flava completed the final piece to the puzzle. Performing “Truly Madly Deeply”, which was a big hit for the Dualers for 2005, this track spoke of Jazz, Rhythm and Blues and Mellow Reggae.  Another track called “Travelin” resembled the sound of the previous song, this sound became repetitive.

These guys got the crowd hyped, especially one brother who gave off a lot of positive energy, he made the crowd his own.  Having his own word “Ya Do o Li” this was a bit hit with the crowd as they chanted it back. He even went to the extra mile of doing his own dance move, which was perfected down to a tee. The rest of the band fused together to create a unique sound, which exploited four different flavas, Rhythm and Blues, Jazz, Soul and Mild Reggae.

For those who love this kind of music they could come here all day, every day listening to the Dualers.  Parents be warned! Leave your kids at home as this night didn’t cater for the younger generation, hearing old school  tracks can became a little tedious. 

By the end of the night this evening became enjoyable, people were on their toes, husband and wives dancing, people socialising the whole works. The Dualers came through for their dedicated supporters.

Miacah – June 2006

We’ve been treated to some great R’n’B concerts in recent months, most notably Joe and Tyrese who came over and wooed the crowds a few months back. This time around it was Jaheim, with extra special support from 112 and Ginuwine…not one to be missed! So we headed down there in anticipation of what was to be a night of great music from the soul man who brought us ‘Ghetto Love’, ‘Still Ghetto’ and most recently ‘Ghetto Classics’. We were particularly looking forward to him performing his latest material; after rinsing the new album I couldn’t wait to hear personal highlights such as ‘Chosen One’ and ‘Fiend’.

The venue was packed out to the brim, the show had completely sold out and it wasn’t hard to see why, what a fantastic line up! First came 112, who opened with the 1996 dance floor classic ‘Only You’, reminding us that they’ve been in the game for over ten years now, going from providing backing vocals for B.I.G. to worldwide fame in their own right. They took us through all their hits, from ‘Dance With Me’ to ‘Peaches and Cream’, dancing throughout. Then Deron showcased a selection of brand new solo material, which is sounding tight. In short, the bad boys of R’n’B were on top form. Then came Ginuwine, bumping and grinding his way through joints such as ‘In Those Jeans’ and ‘Same Ol’ G’, all the time working the stage to maximum effect and driving the female crowd wild. Finally he performed his biggest hit, debut ‘Pony’, after putting on a knock out one-hour performance.

After much anticipation, the star of the show himself, Jaheim, appeared on stage, wearing a shiny brown outfit and equipped with a few dozen red roses. He started out with well-known hit ‘Could It Be’, complete with full live band. So far so good, but as the show progressed it became increasingly clear that although headlining, Jaheim could not follow up the great performances from his “support” acts. First off, he barely moved at all, and as his backing dancers were so energetic, it became hard to concentrate on him, and our eyes started trailing over to them instead. On top of this, he didn’t really attempt to involve the crowd at all, and at certain points it was hard to miss the fact that the atmosphere was dying. He hardly spoke, and on many songs, the sound quality was so bad that it was hard to make out the words, even on well-known tracks. He took us through material from all three albums, from ‘Fabulous’ to ‘Just In Case’, with the crowd singing along. At one point he wripped off his shirt and dived into the crowd, walking along the front row, much to the delight of all the screaming ladies, who were going wild at this point. All too soon though it had gotten to the end and we realised that he’d only performed one track from the new album, predictably ‘Every Time…’, leaving much better tunes unsung. Right at the end the intro to ‘Chosen One’ started playing, but Jaheim just left the stage, no proper goodbye’s or thank you’s, and worst of all, without performing what is one of the stand out tracks from the latest album! Surely he’d want to support his current album sales?

Considering people had paid £30 to attend the sell out gig, it left a lot to be desired; let’s hope that next time he’s over here, Jaheim takes a few dance classes, fires his sound person and actually performs the songs he’s meant to be promoting! Not a wasted night however, 112 and Ginuwine were well worth the wait, and Jaheim, although giving a lukewarm performance tonight, still holds the crown as king of chilled R’n’B.

Anna Nathanson

Neighbourhood night club was the right choice to hold the official launch party for the multi talented Clifford "Tip" Harris aka T.I, celebrating his movie premier ATL.  The underground location in the heart of West London was ideal for this event, as it show-cased the raw hip hop vibe and atmosphere.

On arrival the streets were filled with fans pushing and shoving to get into the venue whilst outside street teams wore black and white t-shirt's exploiting the new album "KING".  Posters and flyers were plastered inside and outside the venue.   This night was obviously T.I owned.

The night was BIG and had Kiss FM entertaining the crowd, playing the latest hip hop joints and reggae tunes which edged the crowd to perform the latest dance hall moves such as "The Duty Whine".  If you didn't know, you would have got know by the end of the night.

The suspense built up as the Kiss FM DJ's made an announcement that T.I was in the building.  It was well worth the wait as Mr Harris made his grand entrance to the stage.  He stood there literally for five minutes observing the crowd, as the club erupted.  Looking more like a fashion icon he strolled centre stage with his, white rimed bug eyed glasses and performed his latest single "Why You Wanna".

Pleasing the crowd with his performance it was hard not to get caught up in the hype. Ladies and gents no longer acted in a civil manor, as the boys tried to bully their way to the front and the girls were left climbing over each other, to get as close to the hip hop star as possible.  Mobile phones lit up the venue as many tried to get a glimpse of T.I to capture a memorable photo.

As he entertained every corner of the stage, heads and bodies turned to his every movement like the Pied Piper.  As he performed his anthem "Bring Em Out" the crowd switched to mini T.I's mimicking his dance swagger, leaning to the side and swaying fingers to the beat of the music.  This tune definitely got the crowd "crunked up".

Getting lost in the hype and atmosphere you could have believed you were in the heart of New York as he performed with his whole entourage behind him, vibezin and rapping along to every word.  UK celebrities such as Westwood, and Ace from the Ill Out Show seemed to be impressed with the new 'King of Hip Hop'.

Ending his performance with the club banger "What You Know" the crowd was left dazzled by his live performance and the ice on his watch.  You couldn't have asked for a better show it left you screaming for more.  Hopefully his new movie "ATL" reflects the performance he put in that night, as everybody left in high spirits.

Miacah McCalla – June 2006

Who do we call on when we need a host to represent home-grown music laced by some of the finest talents in UK urban music? Simon Cowell? HELL NO NO! I said talent, not manufactured Barbie and Ken dolls!! Hailing from the UK’s promotional platforms, Channel U and 1XTRA are our favourite presenters Ace and Invisible. This new monthly event is in aim to showcase our favourite artists in Hip-Hop, Grime and R&B, a night filled with astounding artistry that we could title our very own, British Music.

The opening night to this event went as well as expected and although the venue wasn’t packed out it was certainly reaching at maximum capacity of true UK supporters. Highlights of the night included MC Loudmouth and his crew Quality Control who consist of Mentalist, Silent, Locksmith and Smasher ripping up the stage with some overwhelming spittage!! Towards the end of their performance they announced that their vocalist hadn’t shown up so they decided to pull in a soulsta from the crowd, but she was so on point with the improvisation that she couldn’t have been someone random flexing her vocals the way she did!

What made this show incomparable from any other event was the live band playing throughout the night. Hearing Grime beats played by a live band wasn’t something everybody’s used to, and it was off-putting. But luckily for them they had some sensational MC’s outshine any sound from the band. Other highlights included top MC’s Mercston and Ghetto who are right now the listeners favourite MC’s whose open mic performance just wasn’t enough to please the crowd, they wanted to hear more! Even Ace and Invisible were eager for more of hyper maniac MC Ghetto!

The venue was heating up at this point and when Skepta stepped on stage with his huge hat, just the sight of him raised temperatures! He stepped up with JME who performed some classic tracks from ‘Boy Better Know’ Mix CD, if it wasn’t for the live band this would have been a fantastic performance, but once again their experience in standing above their surroundings paid off. Besides the 10-minute wait between each performance, the anticipation was cured with more exceptional performances by the likes of Aftershock, Swiss, Broke ‘N’ English, Davinche and Katie Pearl.

Ace and Invisible are the Britons Batman and Robin, saving our home-bre talents and representing them to maximum exposure and we definitely look forward to more nights hosted by our heroes.

Reviewed and written by

Nina Carmela

A night full of live instruments, DJ scratching, Hip-Hop MCs and beat boxers too, the showcase Hoochinoo is a perfect outlet for artists' to breakthrough, like it says on the flyer, "extravagance all the way through," Hoochinoo's catalogue of talent, made the crowd move.

Hoochinoo's astounding line-up had the crowd hyped, uplifted and overwhelmed by a well-accomplished selection of un-established talent. Held in a venue renowned for top underground events - 100% Dynamite and Warp Records nights, Electrowerkz warehouse style venue brought that ideal grimy underground feel to the showcase.

Alive and kicking since 2002, Hoochinoo has become a training arena for the unsigned and un-established. Hoochinoo's alternative angle is carefully selected by promoters', which allows all forms of experimental Hip Hop acts to be included, this distinctively, distinguishes Hoochinoo, as a unique and refreshing, showcase to alternative hip hop.

Hosted by Dramacide, who nourished the crowd with supplements of raw energy, Hoochinoo's audience maintained a vibrant vibe throughout the night. The night's leading acts, Phonetix, Intrigue and Iamgery, distinguished their excellence, which highlighted and signified Hoochinoo as a stomper. 419-Records, knows how to spot talent.

I Arrived at Electrowerkz at 10:30 pm - just in time for Dramacide's snappy freestyle and DJ AK-ONE's, 30 minutes of phat scratches, tight mixing, of party classics – both old and new. Shortly after, Intrigue and Imagery graced the stage, demonstrating their diverse and elegant style –sounds ranging from Bass-strings to Piano-keys.

The audience were left shell-shocked, after absorbing, Intrigue and Imageries, hard-hitting, conscious lyrics.  Hailing from, Wembley, North West London. These two MCs are proving to be the most engaging and most impelling underground acts, London has seen since Klashnekoff. Their opening track: 'Buried Treasure', featured on their promo funk CD - instantly gained attention.

"2006, war hypocrites and politics, conspiracy theory, 9/11 cover-up history. Princess Dia - finger pointing at the Monecki, I see the Imagery, beyond the T.V."

These two MCs were undoubtedly, the highlight of night. Throughout the performance, Intrigue and Imagery, effectively played with the audience, people got involved and moving.

Following up this remarkable performance was Phonetix who consist of two MCs, Malandro and Charly L who are two successful artists steadily maturing in the underground UK Hip Hop scene. These MCs raced on stage, opening with their highly acclaimed track: 'Stop Me' – which is currently rotated on Channel U. Phonetix demonstrated a decent performance, which irradiated the audience at some points - but they weren't, by no means ground breaking. 

Other acts featured on the Hoochinoo's line-up were Virgo and Lowercase, DJs: AGEE and Ononymous and Hoochinoo's resident Kashmere who all gained a noble reception from the audience. Once again Hoochinoo has proved to be a success and we look forward to more nights filled with exceptional up and coming talents in UK Hip Hop.

Reviewed by Nathaniel Smithen

Fresh Fest '06 has been hyped up for months, with hip hop heads the UK over leaving their diaries free for the 29^th April to come down to Brixton Academy for what was billed as a celebration of original hip hop culture. After all, the last time it took place was back in the Eighties, where LL Cool J et al. graced the stage for one of the most legendary shows ever. We were promised a top of the range selection of break dancing, emceeing, graffiti and beat boxing, not to mention performances from some of hip hop's greats, such as the all-mighty Doug E Fresh, Kurtis Blow, Big Daddy Kane and Biz Markee. In short, the night was set to be big!

For those of you who went, you know what happened, for those that missed it- it went a little something like this…

9.30 pm, enter Brixton Academy. Despite waiting around for a few hours for anyone to actually appear on stage, the vibe was good. Several hundred hip hop lovers had already congregated and were nodding their heads to the tunes being played (mostly New York hip hop, probably to signify the genre's birth place), clutching their beers and in some cases spliffs, and everyone appeared to be enjoying themselves. It was surprising how many people in the crowd seemed to know each other; just a quick walk round killed some time as I was surprised by how many familiar faces I ran into. I guess London's hip hop heads stick together. Then Lords of the Underground put on a heavy set, with most people rapping along to their tunes, such as "Chief Rocker", almost blowing the roof off the Academy. Once they'd got everyone hyped, Kurtis Blow entered the arena, dressed in his trademark head to toe white outfit, and still busting the break dancing moves, despite the fact that he's soon to hit the big 5-0. Last time we saw him was at Planet Hop late last year, and judging by the crowd response, it's no wonder he's becoming a bit of a regular in the UK these days. He spoke of yesteryear, saying that back in the day, hip hop was about "having fun, having a good time and having a place to be". He then took everyone back to 1980, with classics such as "The Breaks", getting everyone cheering and dancing along. Several mini break dancing battles broke out in the crowd, illustrating that everyone was feeling the atmosphere. Kurtis then announced that "George Bush is an arsehole", before going into his thoughts more by doing a song about him, again leading to the inevitable cheering. So far, so good.

But then disaster struck. Rumours started going round that Big Daddy Kane was not going to show, and the crowd, many of whom had come a long way just to see the legend, where getting increasingly pissed off. To make matters worse, the stage had been vacant for the past hour, and the last straw came when the DJ disappeared, leaving the Outkast album playing, to the point where it got to the interlude after track six! Suddenly dozens of bottles were being thrown at the stage, and the chants of "boo!" were getting louder and angrier. The DJ reappeared and optimistically shouted "Somebody say 'Yeah!'" to which he was sent off by more persistent boos.

Finally, Biz Markee saved the day, appearing in all his larger than life glory, and setting the place on fire with some old skool classics. Furthermore, feminist rapper Roxanne Chante joined him, collab-ing with the giant and dropping some freestyles, repping for female hip hop. Everyone seemed content, until we realised that it'd got to the end of the night and not only had Big Daddy Kane left us in the lurch, but where was Doug E Fresh? Come to think of it, where were all the break dancers and graffiti artists that were supposedly turning up?

All in all, I'm not complaining, I had a decent night, but nowhere near as decent as I was expecting. For a night as hyped up as Fresh Fest, where tickets were going for as much as £100 a pop on Ebay, we were expecting a whole lot more. What we were given seemed like a poorly organised and badly put together pale imitation of the original extravaganza, and I'm not sure people will bother turning up if it's repeated next year. They'll have to promise us a totally unmissable line up, but then again that's what they did this year and look what happened…gutted.

By Anna Nathanson

This event was proposed to create awareness to the youth of the community about the dangers of life's habits that cause life-threatening diseases, not just to themselves but also to the people who surround them. People need to realise that this generation holds a significant impact to their youngers as they are the ones who can influence good health and well-being. Skies The Limit Entertainment and rapper Vizualies have put on various shows over the years and this one was the Urban Youth No Smoking Fundraising Event which had not only showcased talents in singing, rapping and dance, but they had also pulled in guest speakers to explain the importance in the youth coming together and supporting these charities.

Every show has its hosts, but this show had H.O.S.T.S! Peaches and Jackson were comical throughout and I was sure to walk out of this venue needing stitches from so much laughter! Besides from the hosts giving a tremendous intro, opening the show was the sensational performance from female soulsta Joy. We already got a taste of her voice whilst she was rehearsing her track 'Baby Girl' that just blow us away just from that practise run. When Joy stepped back on stage she received an overwhelming welcome and applause from the small crowd, who says you need a record contract to gain a fan base?! Subzero twisted the show into a dance flex that made us all wanna jump on stage and strut our own booties! Kay-J brought us back into Hip Hop mode with a deep rhyme fest followed up by Vizualies who didn't surprise us with his self journal telling rhymes, and who also introduced 10 year old Futurelise who gave us a glimpse of his future stardom!

Rap artist English Kid got carried away flexing himself off the stage as well on the stage during his performance! This ego ness prepared us for the hilarious comedian, Barbatunde who mimicked your average dilemmas of parent evenings at school and the fashion of today's youth. Very entertaining! The Mckenzie Sisters sang a fantastic accapella and just from this one song we can see that Floetry have some competition right therr!! Creps loving Alaye blessed the stage with, 'Move, Dance, Wine and Flex…' along with a sampler taken from his forthcoming mix tape. Ciara's look alike, R.V, was next on stage followed by Pyrelli who didn't want to get off stage!! Lil Simms was the outro to the night and although this chick is just at 12 years of age absolutely nothing fazed her! If she were battling with Shystie or Lady Sovereign she would have won with just one line!

One guest speaker who stirred us up with emotions was 20-year-old Yannik who came to share with us his experience with cancer. This moving story included a poem that he wrote which can be viewed in 'Real Talk' along with a brief chat with Yannik. With the help of guest speakers aiming to educate their audience along with some entertainment to lift the tensions off from 'Real Talk', the organisers of this event had absolutely great intensions for this show and EUT looks forward to forthcoming events.

Review by Nina Carmela

Human beatboxing has been a significant element in Hip Hop since day one and without the help of mimicking beats; MC's wouldn't have found their rhythm and flow for their verses. For example, back in the day before the Hip Hop music genre was produced in the studio, a typical stereo typed scenario would be a group of MC's spitting verses over their opponents beat played with their very own vocal chords.

Now that UKHH is steadily holding its ground its time to represent the scene as a whole, not just the artist. The Queen Elizabeth Hall staged a night dedicated to exceptional rap artists and beat boxers that left the crowd owing and ahring the whole way through! The first half of the night were blessed with performances by Faith SFX who flexed his vocal-beat-chords leaving everyone's jaw dropped to the floor along with Grimers MC Purple and Lady NY lacing over this human beat-fest. With this just being the introduction to the night and with the help of UK DMC Champion, DJ Matman, it had already driven the crowd into a phenomenal hype. This proving that Hip Hop can be flexed straight from the streets to one of the most formal venues in London City.

Rap duo Foreign Beggars opened the second half to the show representing an old school Hip Hop vibe along with their British swagger and gritty rhymes it was one of the most memorable performances of the night. Their presence welcomed us with their energy and drive from start to finish and their sound took us back to the days when crowds were chiming, 'Wu Tang, Wu Tang'! When Shlomo stepped up he looked as if he was one of the stage crew about to change around the sets, but he surprised us all with his sensational beatboxing. Shlomo went from classic Hip Hop beats right through to some old skool classics and with the help of his loop machine the crowd were overwhelmed from this uncanny skill.

By this point the entire crowd wanted to hear was beatboxing and were a little disappointed at first when Killa Kela started singing for the first 10 minutes of his performance with his Spit Kingdom fam. However, MC Trip smashed up this performance BIG stylee! At one point it looked like he was fighting for breath whilst he rhymed at 90 BPM! When Killa Kela started beatboxing his well-known 'Milkshake' and Pharrel beats, the crowd finally got what they came to see. Overall it was an entertaining performance and we look forward more human beatboxers stepping up their game and sharing this remarkable skill.

Nina Carmela

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