Political Peak drops Wise Up featuring Ard Adz and Blacker a track taken from his Dreams 2 Reality mixtape giving us a taste of whats to come.
September 30, 2012
Political Peak – Jump Off [Audio]
Political Peak switches it up for his new track Jump Off which is definitely one for the clubs. This is his debut single off his forthcoming mixtape Dreams 2 Reality
September 11, 2012
MTV Wrap UP: The UK Rap Rundown [News]
I’m back after a week’s holiday in the beautiful country of Croatia for Outlook Festival, where I caught Akala’s set and the Don’t Flop Battle alongside much more. I had no technology out there, which was wonderful, thus missing my last week’s rap column. I’m back now and here to fill you with this week’s happenings in the wonderful world of rap…
Whilst I was away a new Rapper Tag UK came out. Rapper Tag has been going on for just under a year and is an online cypher that started off with Mystro. You get a wide array of the UK’s finest spitting their bars before tagging another deserving rapper to join in.
Dubbledge tagged Iron Brayd for the latest one, who at the end appears to tag in North London’s M9 aka Melanin 9… watch out for his Rapper Tag video.
Political Peak released his video for ‘Tears In The Rain’ featuring Exo who sings the hook. The track is taken from his forthcoming mixtape ‘Dreams To Reality’, which is set to drop on September 29. You can catch Political Peak supporting the Maybach Music tour on Wednesday.
Ratlin and Squeeks joined forces for their new video ‘Not Gonna Change’ featuring singer Karina, bringing us into their world and discussing the past and present. True Tiger released their EP ‘Eye Of The Tiger Vol 2’ with one noticeable track for me called ‘Even In Death’, which hears Mic Righteous spitting over the producers beat.
Rap City recently released a video from their ‘Lost Files’ series. ‘Not Guilty’ comes from Joe Black’s ‘Realionaire’ mixtape which came out last year. We should be seeing Joe’s ‘Realionaire 2’ soon as he recently tweeted:, “NO MORE TWEETS UNTIL #REALIONAIRE2 IS READY.”
The multi-talented artist/radio presenter/battle rapper Mr 13 brought us a video release called ‘Kick Back Part 2’, which was shot at the 2012 Nottinghill Carnival and comes from his recent EP ‘Pain Is Inevitable, Suffering Is Optional’.
I was at the USG clothing shoot on last week with Squingy, Lefty, K. Koke and Exo for their new merchandise collaboration with Avit Clothing. Squingy was also shooting parts of his music video to the track ‘Deeper’ from his ‘Wrighty’s 1st Son Part 2’ mixtape. Watch out for the music video to ‘Deeper’ coming soon!
If you’re looking for something to do this weekend, head down to Peterborough for the Boombap Hip-Hop Festival, which takes place between the 14-16 September and features artists such as Kyza Smirnoff, Dabbla, Phi-Life Cypher and Jehst.
Until next time!
August 15, 2012
MTV Wrap Up – The UK Rap Rundown [News]
To kick this week’s Rap Rundown off, lets talk gossip. Professor Green went on a bit of a Twitter rant last week, lashing out at his label, writing: “Why would your own record label hinder you? Answers on a postcard.” He then went on to say “Dignified silence is pointless. A rushed second single, the ‘Remedy’ video a month late and now similar problems with the ‘Avalon’ video unfold…”
Answering some people’s tweets, he added: “Just to reiterate something for the stupid, my problem isn’t that they take that money, it’s that there are people not working for it.” Obviously he was frustrated, but he did point out that “there are a lot of people who are amazing at their jobs @ EMI.” I think Pro G was just about to quit smoking and was rather stressed at the time, so maybe his label won’t take it to heart!
London has been buzzing with energy and major events since the Olympics began. On Saturday I went down to Puma Yard in Brick Lane to catch one of my favourite bands, Clement Marfo + The Frontline. They wowed the crowd yet again, bursting with energy and getting us all moshing. Professor Green headlined the gig; but we got a surprise as Usain Bolt turned up to DJ with Manny Norte. I also attended the RWD x Adidas party, which was at a secret location in Shoreditch. Performances there came from Wretch 32, Scorcher, Bashy and more…
The USG team have kept the tracks coming strong, with Squingy releasing a track featuring Preecha entitled ‘Everyday’. Their youngest member Geko also released a net video for the track ‘Life Ain’t Easy’. It’s safe to say that the team are definitely putting in the work.
With the Olympics closing ceremony taking place and the Paralympics due to start, Calibar showed some love for his hometown, giving us ‘It’s A London Thing’ featuring Splurgeboys. We also saw an SB.TV Warm Up Session from him over the ‘Stay Schemin’ beat, where he spat: “Excuse me for being late on this beat, I’ve been away for half a year, meeting after meeting just planning my career.”Squeeks talked about the developments in his music career when he dropped the visuals to ‘Changes’. Political Peak had a similar theme in mind as he talked progress and perseverance on his new track ‘Tables Turned’, which is the first track from his forthcoming mixtape ‘Dreams 2 Reality’ which will be available on September 1.The rapper everyone has been talking about, J Spades, has been in the studio with Tinchy Stryder and they have already shot the video to their new track titled ‘Lead Role’ – make sure you watch out for that one coming soon!
August 12, 2012
Political Peak – Tables Turned
Political Peak talks progress on his new track Tables Turned the first track off his forthcoming mixtape Dreams 2 Reality
July 9, 2012
MTV Wrap Up – THE UK RAP RUNDOWN
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 is the 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.
July 9, 2012
LIVE REVIEW: WIRELESS FESTIVAL – LONDON (7-8 JULY 2012)
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.”
February 14, 2012
Political Peak – Guns & Roses (Prod.SL)
Political Peak has released a free downloadable EP Guns & Roses
Download it here Political Peak – Guns & Roses
January 30, 2012
Ard Adz ft Sho Shallow & Political Peak – 90’S BABY
Ard Adz releases the video for new track 90’s Baby featuring Sho Shallow and Political Peak .
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