Posts tagged ‘Rundown’

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April 30, 2013

MTV The Wrap Up: UK Rap Rundown [News]

I’m back after a week away sunning myself and sightseeing in Egypt and am ready to kick offThe Wrap Up‘s Rap Rundown again. I’m going to start with the man who excites most in the rap game; Mic Righteous. The Margate rapper released the visuals to ‘Up All Night’ taken off his recently released ‘Open Mic’ EP. The track is produced by TDH (Tom, Dick & Harry) and I like the grittiness of the video compared to most we see…

We caught a sneak peek of Sho Shallow’s new video ‘Bad’ as Rap Up UK released a behind-the-scenes video. The Brixton emcee reveals that this track was inspired by Wale’s ‘Bad’ because he liked the track and the concept.

Pound Sterling released his ‘Last Man Standing’ mixtape over a month ago and returned to drop a freestyle with a video spitting over Drake’s ‘5am In Toronto’ beat. This is one of my favourite freestyles I have heard as Pound Sterling sets some high standards with his flow and bars.

Paper Pabs from Bloodline took part in GRM Daily’s ‘Black & White’ where he talked honestly and openly about a few issues. One of the first things he questioned was “Is there even a grime scene? I think we need to rename it because I think UK rap is part of grime.” He went on to say they both need each other to balance and it needs to be renamed. What do you think?

USG’s founder Squingy released the video to ‘Rolling’ featuring Lefty. The instrumental draws you into the track instantly. The North West London collective are working on a USG album so look out for that coming soon.

As he gears up for the release of his new mixtape ‘King Of The Underground 2’, Joe Black drops a freestyle entitled ‘I’m Back’.  You might recognize the instrumental from K Koke’s ‘I’m Back’ track. Joe Black’s tracks always sound effortless and as he says in this freestyle, he makes it look like ‘light work’.

It is bank holiday next week so there are lots of events going on. On Friday, J. Cole will be hosting LoveDough which will see Cashtastic and Yungen performing on the night which takes place in Proud, Camden.

Saturday sees Musicalize return to Indigo2 and for me it is the best line up I’ve seen from this event. Kano, K Koke, Tyler James, Sway, Ghetts, Scorcher and Lunar C will all be taking to the stage in this not be missed night.

Streetfest is one of my favourite events of the year and sees an emergence of street culture come together in a car park in Shoreditch; music, clothes, art, skating and more. This year the winner of iTunes ‘Hip Hop Album of the Year’ Oddisee will be performing, supported by Dot Rotten, DJ Vadim, DJ Nikki Beatnik, Livin’ Proof and Supa Dupa Fly.

Lastly, on Monday Link-Up TV will be having their first ever live show at XOYO in Shoreditch with a line-up so far announced consisting of Squeeks, G FrSH, J Spades, Yungen and Lady Lykez.

I’ll be at all or most of these so see you there!

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March 27, 2013

MTV Wrap Up: UK Rap Rundown [News]

It has been over a decade since the crew first launched in the early 2000’s and last Thursday saw them reunite for the So Solid Crew Reunion Tour. The tour sold out and this was no surprise as the crew were instrumental in the development of the UK music scene. In particular, ’21 Seconds’ went straight to No.1, proving that this type of ‘urban’ music could reach commercial success and is still a well-known song in pop culture…

Ms Dynamite joined the crew for track ‘Envy’ getting the audience hyped to see the female MC joining the crew. Chip also joined them on stage and you could tell he was excited to be on stage with the crew who inspired him. Skepta unfortunately was meant to be performing with Megaman on ‘We Begin Things’ but police would not allow him into the venue.

Godfather of grime Wiley leaked what is set to be his last album ‘The Ascent’ nearly two weeks before its release date. His decision to do it was due to iTunes not letting him change something on the album and communication problems with his management.  Let’s hope his album sales still rocket as he deserves it.

Known for his hot freestyles and well-respected tracks, and with a constantly growing street buzz, Nines has always supported and represented his NW home of Church Road to the fullest. Unfortunately he is now reportedly in prison at Wormwood Scrubs for reasons unknown and unconfirmed at present. He tweeted “If it’s peak for me @ court make sure you give my new mixtape 2 skinny black and dem n***rs make sure I hear dat on da yard.” Let’s hope he’s out soon and we hear it too.

One of UK raps respected Fekky joined Charlie Sloth for Fire In The Booth, proving why he has earned this status and it’s not going anywhere. He lays down hard, truthful bars lighting up the booth.

Pound Sterling dropped his ‘Last Man Standing’ mixtape which sees a solid 19 tracks and contains some strong features from Skepta, Fekky and Jaja Soze. The tape shows his elevation and progress as an artist keeping the real, authentic rap there.

G FrSH released another video to a track off his forthcoming ‘Legoman 2’ mixtape. This time we see Sincere and Fekky join him for ‘18k’ with all of them dropping some big heavy-duty bars.

South London’s Political Peak has been on his grind, releasing quite a few videos recently. We saw him refix Drake’s ‘Started From The Bottom’ over a week ago. A day later and wasting no time he dropped motivational track ‘Get Money, F**k B***hes’ which saw another STR88CASH representative Kerz join him.

Meanwhile, Sho Shallow and Ard Adz have released the G.H.E.T.T.O EP – you can get the 13-track offering on iTunes now.

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March 11, 2013

MTV The Wrap Up: UK Rap Rundown [News]

I hit G Shock Sessions on Friday evening, the first one of 2013 and this was definitely one not to be missed. With a heavy-duty line up, people braved the rain to head down to the shop in East London and catch the live acts which included Scrufizzer, Saskilla, Mic Righteous, Dru Blu, McLean and Trilla…

When Shystie dropped the ‘Control It’ video featuring Azealia Banks last Sunday evening (March 3) to positive feedback, no one could have expected that her (ex?) friend Azealia was talking with her label about removing the video from the net. Whatever reasons she had for this, the New York diva did not come across well, as most people were backing Shystie and the video was re-uploaded. ‘Control It’ comes from Shy’s forthcoming ‘Pink Mist’ EP.

There was a lot of new music and videos out last week. We heard Wretch 32’s new single featuring singer Shakka. The track is called ‘Blackout’ and is the first tune to be heard from Wretch’s new album, giving us a little taster of what to expect. The album is expected to be released at the end of 2013.

Scorcher’s latest project ‘Simply The Best Vol 3’ was released in December last year and was heavily rated. A newly-released video sees him and Fekky going in hard over a trap instrumental called ‘One Time’ produced by Slic Vic.

In the lead up to the release of his single ‘Lay Down Your Weapons’ featuring Rita Ora which came out yesterday (March 10) K Koke did a bit of promo, which included an SB.TV twitter hijack, a USG cypher from himself, Aystar, Geko, Squingy and Lefty and a music video for ‘Do Dis Ting’, dedicated to the USG supporters. ‘Lay Down Your Weapons’ got to No.17 in the charts last night.

The USG team’s youngest member Geko along with their newest recruit Aystar dropped the video to ‘Play Around’, which sees the two proving that even though they are young, they can go in and lay down bars along with the best of them.

Sho Shallow and Ard Adz revealed the tracklisting to the general public for their new EP ‘G.H.E.T.T.O’ which is set to drop on Tuesday March 12 and will see 13 brand new tracks from the duo. Their video ‘Brixton Boy’ was due to be out last night, but due to technical difficulties it didn’t get released – I’m sure it will be out soon.

Link-Up TV put together a documentary on UK rap recently. The documentary was done in light of the UK rap scene gaining a lot of attention and to praise its success. It looked at the past, present and future and talked to rappers including Wretch 32, Mike GLC and Giggs. Make sure you check it out.

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March 6, 2013

MTV The Wrap Up: UK Rap Rundown [News]

Last week saw two of I Records artists going to Tim Westwood’s crib for a session and one of them releasing a track. Young Mad B’s video ‘Come So Far’ showed the rappers emotion and depth; he also laid down some bars for Westwood. Dru Blu also had a lot he wanted to say, passionately dropping some reality lyrics in the crib. We also saw another Westwood crib session, this time from North London rappers Squeeks, Joe Black and Kaz who showcased their effortless bars. I wonder who Westwood will be bringing in next…

Yesterday (March 3), Shystie released the video to ‘Control It’ featuring ‘212’ rapper Azealia Banks. The video sees the femcee holding men on a leash as she asks if they can ‘control it, work it, show me you deserve this’ – it’s an interesting watch.

Disturbing London’s G FrSH called on DVS and Scorcher to lay down verses and Loick Essien the hook for the new track ‘Welcome To My Life’.  They all work well together on this track.

Sneakbo gave a free track away last week, refixing his ‘Zim Zimma’ track over various popular electro and bass instrumentals, giving it an extra party vibe.

Big Tobz released the ‘Behind The Music’ EP last week, and he also delivered the visuals to the track ‘Line Em Up’ with Jobey, courtesy of Link-Up TV. You can download the EP for free now.

Political Peak starts to pick things back up again this year by dropping this hot new freestyle for the streets and impressing with his wordplay. He also dropped the video to ‘My Moment’ off his latest mixtape ‘Dreams 2 Reality 2’.

Mr Mitchell begins 2013 with the new track ‘The Give And Go’ with a dubstep inspired instrumental and the main character in the video played by Mic Righteous.

Rap Up UK released another mini biography documentary last week; this time the spotlight was on South London rapper’s Ard Adz and Sho Shallow, who had previously been on the series talking about other artists. The documentary shows their journey and called them the ‘most exciting rap duo in the urban underground’.

Sway joined GRM Daily for their Black and White series to discuss a few topics last week. He spoke on matters to do with his own career, elevation and how he perceives the music industry. Interestingly, he explained that record labels do not buy you respect and credibility – you have to earn that yourself.

*published on Monday 4th March

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February 19, 2013

MTV The Wrap Up: UK Rap Rundown [News]

Last Sunday saw the release of Mic Righteous’ ‘Open Mic’ EP and on Tuesday (12) he held a launch party in Camden with special guests. Support acts consisted of one of London’s finest female DJ’s – SB.TV’s Melody Kane, rapper MyNature, lyricist RoxXxan, grime’s Big Narstie and ‘the people’s prince’ Charlie Sloth…

Mic performed all of the tracks from his EP and the recent Radio 1 Live Lounge cover of ‘The Power Of Love’ with singer Lucia. Vocalist Ella Chi also joined him for my personal favourite track off the EP, ‘King Of Hearts’. Everyone was excited to see English Frank join Mic on stage along with wordsmith Akala. It really was a special night and it was great to see Mic captivate and wow every single member of the crowd.

A mini biography documentary on Giggs was released by Rap Up UK recently, talking us through his come up, achievements and why he is important to UK rap music. It features artists like Ard Adz, Sho Shallow, Pepstar, Propane, Manga, D Dark and Squingy, who all gave their positive and respected views on him, showing how significant Giggs is to the scene.

Wretch 32’s biography video came out last night via the same platform, looking at his career from his huge underground success and being part of The Movement along with Devlin, Ghetts, Scorcher to his most recent mainstream success.

His ‘Crown Me’ mixtape dropped in December 2012 and became a much talked about and listened to mixtape; so it was only right for Ratlin to drop the video to one of the bangers off their entitled ‘Roley’.

Sneakbo released another video from his forthcoming ‘Certified’ EP, getting people geared up for the release. ‘They Don’t Know Me’ has a catchy beat and hook and is definitely one I can expect to hear in clubs. Sneakbo’s bars and flow sounds effortless too.

Young Spray hit up Fire In Booth on BBC Radio 1 with Charlie Sloth, starting off by spitting hardcore bars over the instrumental ‘Clique’ then ‘Renegade’ and ‘Home Town’. His lyrics switched to different subjects but irrespective are fueled by his passion and emotions.

A lot of heat was surrounding Bayoz Muzik last week as his ‘Death Of A Beatmaker’ EP was released. It has seven strong tracks and features some of the UK’s best emcee’s including Giggs, JME, Blade Brown, Gunna Dee, J Spades, Youngs Teflon and more. The tape has helped propel him more into the limelight and spark new interest and fans.

This is my favourite track of the week… ‘Passion’ comes from South London’s DVS. The piano led instrumental is beautiful and fits the various topics of the track, with the lyrics showing DVS’s depth and thoughts.

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January 24, 2013

MTV The Rap Up: UK Rap Rundown [News]

I hope everyone has been enjoying the snow over the past few days; last week was pretty jam packed and we have a few good events this week to look forward to! It looks like Chip has been having a hard time with singers recently, as he tweeted last week: “Hollering at singers for hooks does get long after a while. Time to start singing them myself here and there. #onthescene #actionman #GDS”

The Grand Hustle signee also headed down to Madame Tussauds last week, releasing a video unveiling East Coast and West Coast rap greats, Tupac, Biggie, P. Diddy and Snoop Dogg. Alongside it he wrote, “I wasn’t really allowed Biggie or Tupac’s music as a kid. The first I think I bought Biggie Smalls ‘Ready to Die’ and ‘Life After Death’ at the same time, I bought both at an age when I was actually allowed to have them as music on my own.”

Last week saw more videos from the USG collective. One from the youngest member Geko, who dropped ‘Night n Day’ off his recently released ‘Voice Of The Future’ mixtape. K Koke’s visuals to ‘Real Right Now’ from the ‘Pure Koke Vol 3’ mixtape was also released, as well as the behind-the-scenes to his latest single ‘Lay Down Your Weapons’ with Rita Ora – the video for that is out now.

A track for the streets and a big collaboration is also here as Pound Sterling joined Jaja Soze to talk about being ‘Real OGs’. Sneakbo has definitely been putting in the work this year, as we saw him drop the third video from his forthcoming EP ‘Certified’ recently.

SN1 representative Gunna Dee also has a mixtape coming out on January 31 and gave us a video from it – ‘4 My Town’ features singer Loick Essien and is produced by Wizzy Wow. This is a banger and I look forward to listening to ‘Hustler By Nature 2’ when it drops.

Cashtastic is back with Steel Banglez, who produced most of his tracks for their first one of the year, entitled ‘One Day’ which features three great vocalists – Abel Miller, A.R.I and Akua.

Black The Ripper headed to Amsterdam to shoot the video for ‘You Will Never Know’ which is one for the smokers and the first track to be heard from his forthcoming EP called ‘Married To Marijuana’ – the EP will drop on January 31.

There are a few good events happening this week – weather permitting I will be down at I Luv Live tonight to catch Ard Adz and Sho Shallow, alongside singers Tom Prior and Bobbi Lewis.

Saturday will see Musicalize go down at the o2 where you can see Chip, Krept & Konan and Professor Green take to the stage. See you there!

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October 31, 2012

MTV Wrap Up: UK Rap Rundown [News]

Winter is officially here! The clocks have turned back and the weather last week was unbelievably cold. Myself and The Wrap Up’s editor Maz braved the cold on Monday for Clement Marfo + The Frontline’s show in Camden, where they were supported by Charlee Drew and Josh Kumra. The collective are known for their rowdy shows and this was one of the rowdiest I have been to yet! The audience got soaked as usual by Clements water throwing antics and there was a big moshpit before Clement tore off the ‘no stage diving’ sign and jumped off the stage…

On Wednesday night I was invited to Tzar’s listening party for his new joint project with VersA Beatz, ‘XO.VS’ at a luxury penthouse in Westminster. We were treated to drinks and a spectacular view as everyone including rappers Bigz, Smiler, Mega and Mayhem sat down and listened to the full-length project, which is an ode to the high life and true love for luxury possessions. The two are already working on a follow up to the project, so watch out for that.

Benny Banks warmed up for Pusha T last week, and although I wasn’t there, he performed his new track ‘Trouble’ which is currently floating about online.

The video to K. Koke’s first official single was released – and what a moment it was. The video was more like a mini movie, a tale of struggle which showed Koke’s ability to appeal to a more varied audience but without losing his authenticity. Rappers can learn a lesson from this, as he shows you don’t have to compromise who you are.

Steel Banglez got the first play of his new track ‘Wafey’ on DJ Target’s show last week; of course it featured Cashtastic who works with the East London producer on a lot of his own tracks. We also hear some bars from Margs.

Young Don and Fekky had a few releases last week. Young Don released the video to his collaboration with Fekky called ‘ Gwup Boyz’  from ‘The Weather Man’. The 13-track mixtape was released last week and features UK rap peers such as J Spades, Squeeks, Ard Adz, Sho Shallow and more. Fekky also dropped the video to ‘No Worries’ featuring Slic Vic – look out for it.

Political Peak released the video to ‘Times Have Changed’ featuring Tayong off his ‘Dreams 2 Reality’ mixtape that also came out last week. The 19-track free download includes features from DVS, Jaja Soze and Exo and is definitely worth a listen.

Until next Monday!

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October 23, 2012

MTV Wrap Up: UK Rap Rundown [News]

Last Monday I hit the Jazz Café in Camden to catch one of the world’s best DJ’s, Jazzy Jeff. DJ’s Emily Rawson and Big Ted kept us entertained, spinning some old school jams as we waited. MysDiggi gave a witty performance and Blak Twang came on afterwards to show the crowd what UK hip-hop is all about. Jazzy Jeff gave us an outstanding performance mixing some modern hip-hop with classic tracks…

Azealia Banks was in London for the Mermaid Ball gig recently and Shystie was there to support and perform with Azealia, who later tweeted: “Shystie is better than any female with a mic in her hand right now”. Last Monday Shystie and Ms Banks got to shoot the video to their track ‘Control It’ and I can only imagine how great it’s going to turn out. With not many female collaborations as it is, these two have great chemistry and this is going to show on screen. I can’t wait to see the video!

Giggs told the world who he wanted to help settle his frustration last week since his release from prison, as he tweeted: “Da cover drive chick need to bring that sexy body over here, always wining up her self on TV stressin me out when I was locked up, she owes me”

Giggs also revealed his first video since his hiatus, ‘What N****s Want’; it was the moment a lot of people, including myself, had been waiting for. The track is set to be on his album ‘When Will It Stop’ which is due out next year.

Now it’s time to look at some standout tracks and videos from the week. Manchester rapper Lyrican enlisted 15-year-old USG member Geko to feature on his new track ‘Falling Down’.  Geko also had his own track that came out last night, which hears him talk us through some of his life and trials and tribulations in ‘From Young’.

London MC Melanin 9 who has a reputation for his conscientious rhymes and intelligent wordplay has a new release called ‘Landslide’. This is following on from his recent video ‘Organised Democracy’ off his new album ‘Magna Carta’ which is due for release on December 3.

Young Spray dropped the video to ‘Forgiveness’ from his ‘Hard 2 Kill Vol 2’ mixtape, which is out now. Mr. RTM’s new mixtape ‘Realer Than Most Vol 3’, hosted by Mykal Million will be also be dropping very soon, so look out for that.

Tonight I’m off to see Clement Marfo + The Frontline at Barfly in Camden for their headline show, and from what I’ve seen from them before, it’s definitely not one to miss. I’ll fill you in on what went down next week…

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October 16, 2012

MTV Wrap Up: UK Rap Rundown [News]

It’s been a busy week for me as I headed to various events that were happening around London, one of which being RWD’s 11th birthday party on Saturday. Room 1 saw sets from DJ Target, Logan Sama, Fonti and Bushkin as well a live set from Boy Better Know. Room 2 saw a hip-hop takeover as DJ Semtex and Shortee Blitz and others spinned the decks. I saw a few familiar faces in the crowd, including Clement Marfo and Roll Deep’s Manga…

In news, it seems that Wiley has signed another album deal for his upcoming album ‘The Ascent’, which is said to be released in February next year. Tracks on the album will include his hit No.1 single ‘Heatwave’ and second single ‘Can You Hear Me (Ayayaya)’ featuring Skepta, JME and Ms D. Standout features on the tracklist include Emeli Sande, Angel, Kano, Chip, Ice Kid and a mysterious line up of seven grime MC’s – I wonder who will make up the magic seven?

Fans were disappointed when Giggs delayed his video release by a day for NY who released her album yesterday, proving what a good friend he is. Watch out for the video ‘What N****s Want’ tonight at 8pm as it will be released via Rap City TV. I know I’m excited to hear what Giggs has in store, are you?

Charlie Sloth recently announced on his BBC 1Xtra show that he had a meeting with the MOBO’s bosses and they had agreed to let ‘The UK Rap Anthem’ be performed live at the award show. This reminds me of the epic moment when Tinchy Stryder’s ‘Game Over’ was performed for the first time there. ‘The UK Rap Anthem’ was made to celebrate the power and variety of the UK rap scene in 2012 and unites rappers from across the UK together on one track. It includes Mic Righteous, English Frank, Madhat McGore, Shotty Horroh, Flow Dem and more.

Rap City released ‘The Trap’ movie, a 48-minute piece written by Arnold Jorge, aka A Squeezy. It features UK rappers J Spades, Dun D, Margs and Fekky. If you haven’t seen it yet, it’s definitely worth a watch.

Joe Black surprised me with a mixtape last week! I didn’t expect there to be a ‘Realionaire 1.5’; I expected the north London rapper to jump straight to number 2. His first ‘Realionaire’ mixtape caused quite a buzz last year and I can’t wait for the next one. In the meantime, check out the free 20-track mixtape featuring some of rap’s heavyweights including Blade Brown, Squeeks, Margs and Fekky.

In other news, Dru Blu told everyone why you can’t mess with him and his ‘Clique’ as he spat some heavy bars over the original G.O.O.D Music instrumental. We also saw two other videos be released recently; one was Cashtastic’s ‘Alarm Clock’ and the other saw Political Peak release the video to ‘Jump Off’.

Until next week!

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October 2, 2012

MTV Wrap Up: UK Rap Rundown [News]

He has been one of my favourite rappers for over a year now, since the release of ‘Yob Culture’ and my first meeting with him last summer at the filming of the UK BET cypher. Mic Righteous has announced that he will be releasing an EP called ‘Open Mic’ in January and after his immensely impressive SB.TV session last week, I know this may well be the best we have heard from him so far…

He has also asked the True Tiger boys to remix his first single ‘Ghost Town’, which I expect will have a dubstep sound.

Cashtastic was busy on Saturday night as he shot the video to his new track ‘Alarm Clock’, tweeting: “Gunna wake the game up wid ‪#AlarmClock both song and video”, he tweeted this along with pictures from his Instagram account to give his fans a taster of what is to come.

K. Koke had a special surprise for fans last night as he had them guessing on Twitter what his ‘#KokeSurprise’ was. He then released a net video to a track called ‘Warning’, announcing that he would be releasing ‘Pure Koke Vol 3’, writing: “THE LAST PUREKOKEVOL3……… AFTER THIS IAINTPERFECT 2 D WORLD USG ATEAM RCA/ROC”. The last of the Pure Koke tapes will be out tonight at 8pm, so make sure you look out for it.

Last week we heard a bit more of what was to come from Giggs – I know I am definitely excited to hear some new music from him soon. He tweeted last Monday: “WHEN WILL IT STOP” still coming soon…” He also shot a new music video last Monday, so we should be hearing and seeing some new material from him in the immediate future.

Political Peak gave us a video of the behind-the-scenes action for his forthcoming video ‘Jump Off’ and then released the audio to the track. The club banger comes from his forthcoming ‘Dreams 2 Reality’ mixtape.

I spoke to him about the track, which sees him take a different approach his usual style: “A producer from Philadelphia came over to London to work with me. He showed me his sound that he’s got going on out there – then ‘Jump Off’ was created. The song is basically about bad girls getting treated like good girls.”

Youngs Teflon has been working hard and recently released the ‘Wrapping Ain’t Dead’ video from his ‘Tr!ll!n’ mixtape. The south London rapper has called on some UK heavyweights such as Skepta, NoLay, Joe Black and Squeeks to help him out with the free 16-track mixtape

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