Diversity of Hip hop and RIP Derek B

First up RIP to Derek B, a pioneer in the UK rap scene who has sadly passed at the age of 44, a definite loss to the game Derek made history repping UK as the third rapper to grace stage of Top of the Pops! I've got a copy of his classic 'Bad Young Brother' in the crates and hopefully will spin it if I manage to get the next VS podcast on the go.

Recently I have been enjoying a variety of new ish recently, all of which shows the diversity of the hip hop artform. Videos below but first be sure to check the my man Vice's most recent Basement Sessions Podcast, featuring a great article on the Brick City Boutique (wicked hip hop market/night) and also a little interview with yours truely. http://basementsessions.podomatic.com Go check it, some great tunes also! Anyways....

Genesis Elijah has long been bubbling around the scene, I've been loving his bars for time... his rugged and gritty flow belies a sense of justice and struggle for equality that underpins the body of his work. Enjoy this new video

Next up, King Grubb has stepped it up a notch with the first big budget video from the Blah Records camp...check King Grubb - Ritalin Adventures, produced by Lee Scott
Taken from C.O.T.D - Brick Pelican (The Greatest Mystery of All)
Bootleg style... Shot on location in Oswaldtwistle...

Last but by no means least is the big homie Scholarman's new video, another ill slice of boombap...the video is a of nice parody/story intriguing type, apparently the first one of a 2 part set so stay tuned folks!

Krate Krusaders - Free Download

If top notch production, gritty heart felt lyrics and mad concepts is your thing get your media players tuned into the Krate Krusadas 'Volume 1' selection, a great showcase of their considerable talents proving a sound board for some of the cream of UK talent.

Nowadays feat Ahmas reflects on the dismal situations of many of the UKs youth, viewing situations as he's "been there 24/7 like kids in care." A beautiful beat with slick piano and subtle background vocals complement the emcee for a very enjoyable tune despite the raw, bleak verses.

Pscience ft Clarity, Farma G and Cappo features a great academic intro that puts us in the mindframe for the oncoming verbal assault. All 3 emcees smash the track but when Cappo says his flow is developed in a hyperbolic time chamber in a pitch black cell, you can't help but believe him. On 'Life's a grind' Fenetik informs us he stays high like a giraffs sternum, and the hip hop loving metaphores keep coming over a nice floppy piano loop interspersed with some wicked cuts.

Concept tunes don't always float my boat but Saga Sphinks's dive into insanity is well worth analysis...taking pictures of tourists, I'm a figment of my own imagination, my mind's got a mind of it's own...give you a taste of the nicely documented of the mania over a simple piano driven track reminiscent of classic Marly Marl.

The whole set is packed with gems that need to be chewed on and digested, so I won't go on, form your own opinions although gotta particularly big up the monumentally ironic greatness of 'Respect your Elders'with Remus and of course The Krusaders themselves truly show their mettle with a wicked wicked MPC set. Check it and enjoy.

Also check www.tkkhiphop.blogspot.com for the Krate Krusader's blog, including info on Akil the emcees world tour dates that they are managing...big tings I can testify to the show in Ipswich was heeaaavvyy!

Whole Heap Of Madness

First up - Raekwon oh gosh welcome back sir! Just picked up the Cuban Links 2 jid-oint whilst on an ill-advised drunken market trip and yeah it was worth it, Wu Banger in full effect, go check it!
London Town has been buzzing with hip hop lately, check the pics for some of the latest happenings, including a wicked hip hop kareoke night with an incredible impression of Tim Dog doing Fcuk Compton...also Chima's album preview party was heavy as hell, where I ran into the ever hardworking Mystro and also Skandal who played me some unreleased bars on an Ipod; the kid is coming hard! Props to all the crew partying hard for Juice Aleem's party!

Not only London moving, also good ol' I.P. Town been reppin with the man Truth and the Rapsploitation crew holding strong with a sell out heavy Akil (of J5) show. Hip Hop feels to be in a good place at the moment, I got a review of Krate Krusaders dope album coming soon. Not many dope videos in the inbox lately so holla if you know of some dopeness!

Hip Hop Kemp 2009!

Hip Hop Kemp! Hip Hop Kemp! Was the battle cry to be heard until 4,5,6 in the morning accross an ex military base in the remote centre of the Czech Republic. Hundreds of different languages, nationalities, styles and skills were repped to the fullest in this insane global hip hop gathering. I love hip hop but I think I met people out there who properly LOVED hip hop. It was dope as hell and I gotta big up my wingman Conweezy for rocking through it with me (plus the lovely London girls we were camping with...holla!)

So many good artists I cant really begin to do a review of it all;p just some honourable mentions to those who tore the place down rediculously; Reks (We crowd surfed the dude), Reef the Lost Cause, Termanology, Devin the Dude (insane) Camp Lo (beyond immense)and J-Live who stepped the plate up with an ill set of live spitting plus DJ'in similtaneously. The whole event was cool, the local town has some marvelous arcitecture...there is even a lake into which Jimmy the most hip hop Scot ran in fully clothed and ruined his digital camera (It was 1o in the morning and we had been up drinking since 7 after 2 hours kip!) Anyway enjoy the photos, holla if you're in any anf big up to Fallacy who also ripped the place up and kindly posed for photos with us! (Respect to Black Twang also, I'm pissed off cos he was the only artist I missed like a dumbass)

Michael Franti - Don't Give Up On Me

As the front man for The Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy I always had a lot of time for Michael Franti as an uber concious lyricist, but his more melodic efforts I think suit him well. This was a nice accompanyment to the trailer to the new Micheal Moore film "Capitalism : A Love Story" that you can check here. A super blog post is coming soon on Hip Hop Kemp so make sure you check that! Sorry bout a lack of posts lately; have been overwhelmed by Summer in London and getting a job as a Bibliotherapist! Go google it! :)

Poaching as Usual

I'm sure Certified Banger are going to start yelling 'Get Off Moi Laaaand' if I keep robbing all the stuff posted there, but stuff it I'm a raven and CB keeps throwing up gems. As such check these two videos showcasing the ends of the hip hop spectrum represented in the UK...not as different as they might first appear, I reckon they demonstrate how our scene is embracing all the elements of reality, fun, lyricism and self motivation that hip hop was based in. Enjoy.

I wish this happened on my tube journeys!

Props to Oh Word! for reminding me of this slice of fun!