This is my first UK Rap Rundown column; here I will be bringing you the week’s highlights in the UK urban scene – I hope you enjoy it! I haven’t even been back from the BET Awards in L.A a week yet and have already attended a festival – Hyde Park’s Wireless. I was pleased to see underground rappers Political Peak, Sho Shallow and Ard Adz get a packed out tent and an amazing crowd reaction – it proved how well UK rap is doing…
Of course, Sneakbo smashed his set too. Sway did an old school hip-hop style set, with verses from Wu Tang, Tupac and Mobb Deep. Roc Nation signee USG member K Koke also performed on the Sunday supported by his fellow crew members.
In other news, Scorcher has replied to Dappy’s ‘Tarzan 2’ diss which hears him say: “I still roll for my hood and I wear my chain, f**k a Top Boy Scorcher he can’t do the same. Real recognise real, how many albums have you sold to date?”
Scorcher wasn’t too happy with Dappy and replied via an SB.TV video called ‘Rockstar’. The MC dropped punchline after punchline, saying that he is an “underground king, you could never be my equal” and “you could have a mill still look like a tramp.” He also mentions Tulisa and the now infamous tape that her ex-boyfriend leaked to the world.
Personally I liked Dappy’s ‘Tarzan 2’ video; unfortunately he had to re-shoot and re-release the video due to the heavy controversy it received. Props to Scorcher; he went in on the diss track and I feel he is the better man in this situation.
The video that caught my attention last week came from Donae’o. I was at the video shoot for the track ‘YDKAM’ and know there’s going to be a lot more to come from the ‘Party Hard’ singer on his album. He told me: “It’s going to have a lot more hip-hop and R&B, there’s a want for it, so I can put it out.”
The song ‘You Don’t Know About Me’ features some of UK rap’s hardest lyricists, such as Joe Black, Squeeks, Dru Blu, Ratlin and Lethal B.
Another interesting one was the Labrinth produced ‘Watchtower’ by Devlin featuring Ed Sheeran. It isthe first single from his forthcoming album ‘A Moving Picture’.
Leicester based R&B singer Luke Bingham was also recently joined by Play Dirty’s Krept & Konan for the track ‘Shut It Down’. I really like the beat to this track and Krept & Konan really give the song that hip-hop edge it needed. I predict big things for Mr Bingham; he has the voice, the style and looks to match.
This weekend was the one everyone was waiting for… Wireless Festival! On Saturday, I caught a few tracks from the beautiful Rita Ora, which included ‘How We Do (Party)’, ‘Hot Right Now’, and ‘RIP’. She looked every inch the Roc Nation princess in camouflage combat trousers, black crop top and black beanie hat…
I had to run to see the amazing UK act Clement Marfo + The Frontline, who sent everybody absolutely mental as one of the first acts on at the Pepsi Max Stage. Frontman rapper Clement and singer Kojo exuberated energy, gaining lots of new fans.
Tulisa was up next on the main stage after Rita, opening with N Dubz songs. She showed her ex what he was missing by wearing a black low cut bra style top, with her midriff bare and a high waisted, short black star print skirt. She then dedicated ‘Titanium’ to her ex, saying “this is to my d***head ex-boyfriend, Justin f****** Edwards!” She also performed a track from her new forthcoming album called ‘Leave Me Alone’.
I then ventured to Barclay’s Unwind Stage to catch Sneakbo, where I saw Political Peak, Sho Shallow and Ard Adz performing. Sneakbo then came out and the crowd went even wilder. He performed ‘Yo Sexy’, ‘Call Me A Naija’, as well as doing covers of ‘Imma Boss’, and ‘Oliver Twist’. Of course he then ended with ‘Show Me The Wave’, and recent release ‘Sing For Tomorrow’.
UK hip-hop’s savior Sway was next up on the Barclays Unwind Stage; again you could tell there were hardcore fans in the audience as he performed ‘Up Your Speed’. ‘Still Speeding’ was definitely a crowd pleaser and his latest single ‘Level Up’ left the crowd unable to control their high.
I then went to see Taylor Gang general Wiz Khalifa who looked very indie in a bowler hat, long t-shirt, black skinny jeans and denim jacket, performing his well-known tracks ‘Roll Up,’ ‘Work Hard, Play Hard’ and closing on ‘Black & Yellow’.
Fans gathered early to see The Weeknd. From the ‘House Of Balloons’ mixtape he sang ‘The Morning’, ‘The Party & The After Party’ and ‘Wicked Games’. He also played tracks from the infamous ‘Thursday’ mixtape, which the crowd enjoyed the most. His solo performance for me was the best of the night; his vocals were 100% and you could hear every word of his stunning voice.
Next up was Ms Nicki Minaj. She got carted to the stage kicking off her set with ‘Roman’s Revenge’, ‘Did It On Em’, and ‘Beez In The Trap’. When ‘Moment For Life’, and ‘Starships’ came on, everyone was singing along. Near the end she did a dancehall inspired set, singing and dancing to songs like ‘Who Am I’ by Beenie Man and Tony Matterhorn’s ‘Dutty Wine’, where she showed everyone how it was done by wining on stage. ‘Superbass’ and ‘Monster’ were the closing tracks for the first lady of YMCMB.
Despite the rain, it was then time to see the artist everyone was waiting for – Drake. Coming on looking every inch the superstar, he was dressed all in black with touches of gold. He opened with ‘Underground Kings’, and ‘Lord Knows’ before quickly moving onto ‘I’m On One’ and ‘Over’.
He then said: “London is like my second home, I don’t give a f**k about the rain tonight.” The Weeknd came out to join him on ‘Crew Love’ and ‘The Zone’. Drake almost brought tears to The Weeknd’s eyes when he put his arm around him and told him, “I remember when I met you in Toronto, I knew you were going to be the greatest musician alive.”
Nicki also came back on stage for ‘Proud Of You’. The crowd joined in with Drake for ‘Take Care’, filling in for the missing Rihanna. He made the females falling for him judging by their love struck eyes! Despite the bad sound quality from the main stage, Drake put on a brilliant performance and proved why he was the headliner for Saturday and no one else.
Sunday’s Wireless saw Hyde Park become a lethal mudbath. The day was an eventful one, with the ‘King Of Hearts’ Lloyd taking to the stage to wow the ladies in the afternoon. UK soulstress Cleo Sol also represented in the afternoon, performing her new smash ‘Never The Right Time’. Other memorable acts included rapper K-Koke, StooShe, Labrinth, Flux Pavilion, Rizzle Kicks, Jessie J and J Cole.
Rihanna headlined Sunday’s event, which unfortunately was impacted by the poor sound quality, as it was for Drake’s set. Kicking off her set late, the star demonstrated her love for Egypt with an Arabian themed stage. The singer performed tracks like ‘Hard’ ‘Live Your Life’ ‘What’s My Name’ ‘Where Have You Been’ ‘S&M’ and finished off with ‘Umbrella’, at which time it was actually raining.
The 24-year-old’s headlining set was finished off with fireworks and bouncy balls being thrown into the crowd, before she told her adoring crowd: “Thanks for staying to watch me in the rain… Only in London would you guys stay to watch this show.”
Scorcher was not happy with the lines ‘I still roll for my hood and I wear my chain, f**k a top boy Scorcher he can’t do the same. Real recognise real, how many albums have you sold to date.’ Dappy said about him in Tarzan 2. Scorcher has come back with a very good diss track listen below…
French Montana throws a pool party in Miami inviting friends Rick Ross, Drake and Lil Wayne along. Pop That will be on French’s Excuse My French album which should be out in autumn.
TMZ confirmed the news yesterday that Usher’s stepson Kyle aged 11, from estranged wife Tameka Foster Kyle has been declared braindead after a jetski accident in Georgia.
Kyle is pictured next to Usher
TMZ said…’According to our sources, Kyle Glover (son of Usher’s estranged wife Tameka Foster) has not experienced any brain activity since he was admitted to the hospital. We’re told there has been no decision yet as to whether or not to take him off life support.’
Kyle was riding an innertube when a jetski struck him leaving him unconscious.
Mikey J is not just a producer, although some know him best for the work he has done with Kano; producing London Town, Home Sweet Home and Not For The A List and the newly released EP Random Antics. What some might not know is that he is also a classically trained singer, with his voice being featured in many songs. Not stopping there, he has also been heavily involved in the dance world, starting up Boy Blue Entertainment with a friend, and winning the Laurence Olivier Award for Pied Piper. There is more to this man than meets the eye.
How did you get into producing and was there anyone in particular who influenced you?
I think it was an amalgamation of my love for music overall, experimenting and putting music together. Music and production back then was more analogue, I got into it when I was 14. No one in specific got me into production, it was the creation of music which got me. I was in a studio and saw guys making music, and I just thought I want to do production.
How do you start making a tune? Do you make the beat first or the bassline, or do you get inspired by a sample, talk me through the process.
It depends really. Of late I’ve just been playing with ideas and sounds and putting them together. You could hear a sample and just be like yea bam. The Kano track Layer Cake, well I was watching the film Layer Cake, the Michael Gambon speech and I thought this talks about what I’m going through at this point in time, I’m going to make a track inspired by this. Or it could be you get a job and it’s the artist that inspires you. Now I’ve got The Maschine, I just have more fun with my music. It’s the No1 source where I begin my material now.
What programs do you use to make your beats and why?
The Maschine which has it’s own software attached to the hardware. I use Logic Pro mainly to make my tracks or loops into full songs. I use samples from all kinds of digital software out there.
Your work had been very varied from dance theatres and shows to production and engineering. How do you juggle so many different things at once, and which one do you want to pursue the most?
It’s pretty hard, I don’t have much of a life. I just like to put my head down and work. I don’t get to see everyone often, but my friends and my family are very understanding they know it’s a part of me. No one nags me saying where are you, they are very supportive. I don’t get much time; my weekends are usually spent in the studio. I get down time every now and again. Juggling everything is exactly what I do, but it can be tough. It’s allowed me to do so many different things, produce music for films, TV, shows and theatre. As long as I’m doing music I’m fine.
Do you feel that by taking the hip hop dance scene to a wider audience in the theatre that it’s helped it to become more understood and mainstream?
Yes defiantly. Flawless are doing their thing now they did the Chase the Dream tour. Zoo Nation has got a piece called Some Like It Hip Hop. Now we’re starting to see that hip hop is more viable, people are understanding it more. It’s getting more prestige in the dance world, you don’t have to go and see Swan Lake. When you see hip hop dance it’s really exciting, that’s what makes people come.
You’ve been working with Kano for a long time now including the albums Home Sweet Home and London Town. Why did you feel it was the right time to bring something out together again?
We did a track that was a personal for him for one of his friends. It had been a while, he was doing his thing, and I’ve been doing my thing. I just had a jam with him after we made the track for his friend and I said, ‘we should just do something.’ So he said ‘OK cool.’ He came over that Sunday, and literally I just made a couple of beats, and it just ended up being Random Antics. He was leaving and said this tracks cool I’m going to go now, I said I got one more, and he stayed and we did another. Random Antics is the perfect way to describe the project, it just happened randomly.
Have you got any exciting projects coming up that we should know about?
We got a new show with Boy Blue. We’ve got a new show up in Ipswich were doing for 2 weeks, up at DanceEast. I’m making all the music for that, so I’m going to be working on that for the next few months. I’ve done a track with Chronz from RD, that’s come out sounding nice. I’m working with quite a few artists, so you will be hearing them soon
Mr Mitchell, aka Tony Mitchell formerly of the Mitchell brothers, who were signed to Mike Skinner’s label The Beats, came back onto the scene last year as a solo artist. He released his first solo track ‘Off The Coathanger,’ followed by his first solo mixtape, ‘The Night I Thought I Was A God’. His first solo release this year, ‘On The Rooftop’, will be out on March 25th followed up by a second single ‘Wolfcry’, and an EP. Flavour’s Shireen Fenner talks to Mr. Mitchell about The Mitchell Brothers, being a solo artist and what to expect with his new music.
You caught Mike Skinners attention by slipping a CD in his back pocket. What advice would you give to up and coming artists who are hoping to attract attention from DJ’s, labels and artists?
Always do what I did; in anyway you can force something to be done basically (laughs). Always put a CD in an artist who you find inspiring’s bag. Always do it the difficult way never the easy way.
How influential were The Streets to your musical direction?
It helped me out a lot, because working with Mike inspired me a great deal with writing, with thinking about music in a different way. He taught us specifics, and making a simple subject seem bigger when you’re writing it. I’ve always kept that knowledge and added it to what I had already. Now I can’t say I’m complete because I’m always learning when it comes to music, but its good to have someone like that teaching you stuff, and helping you out technically when it comes to writing music.
The Mitchell Brothers split in 2008. What was the reason behind the split?
We grow as adults, and I guess at the time I was writing music that didn’t make the albums ‘A Breath of Fresh Attire’, and ‘Dressed For The Occasion’. When we split it wasn’t a great time, but the more time that had passed the love for the music I had written had grown. I suggested to Teddy at the time, “what do you think of me going solo?” Obviously it was hard to digest at the beginning, but I don’t think he said the idea was a bad one. As time went on it just happened.
Was it hard being a duo and working alongside someone so closely, and then becoming a solo artist and not having someone else to share the pressure with?
I mean it’s always going to be hard. It’s like having a baby and your girlfriend walked out on you (laughs). Fans were probably questioning us about what we were doing. We were good writers and we dedicated a lot of time to writing, and I feel because of that we both could last as solo acts. When I’m on the stage and I look to my other side, he isn’t going to be there.
Formerly the Mitchell Brothers and now Mr. Mitchell. Is there a reason why your family name is so key to your identity? Did you not think a more drastic name change would be helpful in distancing yourself from your musical past?
No because I don’t want to run away from my musical past. I want people to remember me and know where I’ve come from. By calling myself Mr. Mitchell it was easier for people to digest rather than if I’d changed my name completely. By calling myself Mr. Mitchell I haven’t erased what me and Teddy built together. I feel the word Mitchell is important, I feel it was paramount that I left that name.
Where do you draw your inspiration from for your songs?
Through the pioneers, through listening to all different types of artists, from Jay Z to Kanye to Ian Brown to Chris Martin to Stevie Wonder. I’m a lover of music full stop, so I think when you listen to a broad sound; it allows you to learn a lot. I get my inspiration from that and I get my inspiration from real life. I think the best music to make is the music where people can relate to it. They can take a piece of that painting that you’ve painted, and they can say, “ah I’m going through that, I know what he’s talking about”.
You have consistently been described as innovative and unique. Is it a challenge to remain different and fresh especially given that you are not new to the music industry?
Yes it’s definitely a challenge, because now I’m trying to find a balance in terms of brining that uniqueness and still being credible and cool at the same time. I feel like now I’ve found that balance. I find that balance by listening to new music and different sounds and reading books. I still try and keep being creative and innovative, but without possibly going a step to far. There are some people who might not be able to digest that creativity.
What do you bring to the industry that makes you stand out from other artists?
I bring real music. Real music that says what people go through around me. I don’t make music to sound cool. I make music with a meaning. I feel that artists today should make more music like that. I also feel that artists should put themselves in the music. I’m a firm believer that when your writing a song write the chorus, write the bridge write the hooks. Don’t just do things the conveyor belt way where you just give the song to the artist, and that person writes you a song. I believe in making real music and that’s my path.
Why should people be listening to Mr. Mitchell?
I’m making music that I feel like they want to hear. They could be driving to work, or be in a bad mood and need to listen to one of my songs, or be in a happy mood and listen to one of my songs. I write music for the people. If the people want someone where they want themselves to be heard, or they want a song that will relate to them, then that’s why they should listen to me. I make music that’s sincere and honest.
What was the reaction to your first solo work last year, and in particular your mixtape ‘The Night I Thought I Was A God?’
I feel a lot of people liked what I was doing, in particular visually. I stayed away from radio, a lot of the stuff I did was promo work. I got a lot of good feedback; it was always going to be difficult for me to come back as a solo act. The fact that they acknowledged me was fantastic. When I did ‘Off The Coathanger,’ the video was seen as something very creative and different. That’s how I wanted to start off; I wanted to come into the scene saying something without saying something. Now is where I’m going to be judged (laughs).
If you had to choose one track to best describe and showcase you as an artist, both past and present, which one would it be and why?
‘Routine Check’, it was about a real situation in terms of the topic being harassed by police, and having that altercation with police that a lot of youngsters go through, and myself. It was just the way we went about it in putting that picture to people for them to like it, for them to like the funny side of it, but understand the seriousness of it as well. At that time with a lot of artists it was cool to be macho, but bringing that wit and humour for me was important.
Tell us about your forthcoming single release, ‘On the Rooftop?’
It’s about wanting to be like the bird on the rooftop. What I mean by that are people in bad situations and wanting to get away from those situations. Sometimes when you look at the rooftop, and birds fly off the rooftop and they go to another destination. It’s not that easy for us to do that. In some ways I’m saying I want wings. Another reason why I made that is because that is what is in my surroundings. When I come out of my house, that’s what I see, I see rooftops. That to me is a symbol, not only of London but also of the UK in general.
You have an EP set for release this summer. What can we expect from it?
Real good, energetic music. Music that you can play in your car, music that you can play in your home. It still has that cool sound, but at the same time has that concept that you can all get into. Good well-written music. I’ve got Mic Righteous in the studio right now, so that should be fun.
50 Cent has given us four tracks from his free album in the lead up to this release which dropped today. 5 (Murder By Numbers) is to celebrate his 38th birthday, and is the lead up to the Street King Immortal album.
As per with Trey Songz this is a steamy one for the ladies. Dive In is set to be a track on Trey’s new fifth studio album Chapter V due at the end of August, and is 20 tracks deep.
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