Life in a jail house nuh sweet...

Lots going on this week so I'll type as fast as my poor, cold little fingers will allow. Let's start with something as sweet on the ears as it is on the eyes.

Nadine Charles is, as you can see/hear, a proper singer. Not only can she 'sang', she also has a charming, even alluring, stage presence and a wicked sense of humour, so if you ever get the chance to see her perform live grab it with both hands and don't let go.

Not so sweet, but just as tasty, 'Reign Of Fire' is the latest video from Genesis Elijah's 'I Ain't Even Charging Bruv' EP and was shot while he was on tour in Switzerland. You'd have to be cuckoo (clock) not to download it, after all, he ain't even charging...

Speaking of freeness, be sure to check out Rapsody's new release courtesy of DJ Booth 'For Everything'. On point as always, this is Rapsody's third full length release this year and would be a bargain at almost any price, with production from 9th Wonder, Amp & Khrysis and features from Freeway, Kendrick Lamar and more.

Cappo's back with a new EP available as either a digital download or physical CD called Gusto Grizwold: International Vacation. If you purchase the CD you get the download version for free while you're waiting. This is just a precursor to the album proper due for release next year (which isn't that far away now).

Filmed by Grillaras Pictures, 'Jail House Rock' is the latest single from Leontre and the Gully Bank Musik crew. Good to hear that reality music is still alive and kicking in the Jamaican music industry. Hopefully, this attitude will rub off on Reggae's nephew Hip Hop and all the chopping up Maybachs and such will disappear up its own arse. We shall see...

Dukus has let fly a new EP produced by Crankz called 'Disturbed' and, as the name suggests, it's not one for fans of My Little Pony. I must confess that I know very little about Crankz, but I'm definitely going to find out more after this.

Scram Jones has a new, free 16 track 'mixtape' called 'The Hat Trick'. It's a mostly solo effort but he does enlist help from Mike Maven and Alchemist, which is never a bad thing.

A quick reminder (or heads up, if you were previously unaware) that Skillit's Birthday Bash is happening tomorrow at The Social, 5 Little Portland Street, London W1W 7JD. Featuring live performances from Skillit himself plus music from DJ Locky Stylez & Chris P Cuts. In the meantime 'Jump Up & Down' to his new video on a track produced by Jukeboxx and directed by K-Nite.

Another event of note (although there's been mixed reaction to this from the group themselves) is the UK premieres (yes, that's plural) of ‘Beats, Rhymes & Life: The Travels of A Tribe Called Quest’ featuring a live performance from Phife Dawg after the film. The two nights, 21st and 22nd, are hosted by Spin Doctor and, if you hurry, you can still get tickets for the second night.

"Enough!", my fingers cry (or would if they were able to speak). I bid you adieu till next time.

One Love, Spy!

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Heavy Smoke

This week has seen the passing of two iconic figures from the African American world of entertainment; Heavy D, rapper, producer, A&R and, more recently, actor and probably the only man to strike fear in the heart of Muhammad Ali, 'Smokin' Joe Frazier.

Now I won't pretend that I am one of Heavy D's greatest admirers. To be honest most of the music I heard from him was a bit too twee for my liking, but I do acknowledge the effect he has (had) on his fans and offer my genuine condolences to all the family, friends and followers of the 'overweight lover' that are left behind. And to think that he was the same age as me...

Joe Frazier was a boxing legend, from the days when it really was a sport worth watching and the phrase "heavyweight champion of the world" was almost held in as much awe as "President of the United States of Amerca" (although it must be said that the latter has lost a lot of its shine too). Frazier was one of the few prominent people to publicly back Ali in his fight to be reinstated by the boxing board following Ali's refusal to be drafted into the US Army. Frazier even petitioned the then president, Richard Nixon.

Once he was cleared to fight again, Ali went on to 'accuse' Frazier of being an Uncle Tom in the build up to one of their infamous world title bouts. This was a step too far (and one that Ali later public displayed remorse for) as far as Frazier was concerned and led to an irreparable rift in their relationship.

I will always be a fan of Ali, but I never took props away from Frazier. They even made records about his legendary clashes with the likes of Ali and Foreman. I can't think of any modern day boxers (or any other sports people) that would inspire musicians to make music about them.

Fortunately, it hasn't all been sad/bad news over the last few weeks. For example, English Frank's latest release 'Road To Riches', which features the vocal talents of Cerose, is available on iTunes for the paltry sum of seventy-nine English pennies and, as you can see/hear, is really rather good old bean.

Alternatively, you can grab yourself a whole EP of quality baps and booms for free - 'BEHOLD!' is the result of a collaboration between Superior Thought & OphQi, collectively known as S.M.R.G.. The EP features guest appearances from Young Prince, Big Frizzle, Iron Braydz and more and is further proof that Hip Hop music (and culture) has not put its foot anywhere near a bucket.

You may recall the God Loves Grinders 'mixtape' released by Grand Central earlier this year. Well, if 'God' exists at all, he/she/it must really love Mr Drastick & K.I.N.E.T.I.K. because they haven't stopped putting in work and are due to release 'GLG vol. 2' early next year. In the meantime, they've given us the teaser above to sate our appetites. Sorry lads, I'm still hungry and greedily looking forward to the whole set.

Crossing over to the other side of the Atlantic, I'm very pleased to announce the return of Line For Line with their new album 'Showcase'. You'd think that with so many members of the group vying for attention that there wouldn't be any features on this album, but they still managed to squeeze in the talents of General Steele and LaWanda Michelle on to the 15 track set. Check out the first single, 'Clap Your Hands' for free.

Staying in the US, a duo of emcees/producers known as the Architect Lordz have a new thang too, the 'Smoking After Dark' EP, which is available as a digital download for whatever price you choose starting at $1.00. It appears that the old saying is true, big things really do come in small packages and certainly at a small price.

Right then, I'm off to shake two foot with my missus to the sounds of Loose Ends at the Jazz Cafe. See ya next time.

One Love, Spy!

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Many are called...

Nice and raw, two words that aptly describe the latest offering from the prolific pen of Cyclonious. His new mixtape, 'The Chosen', is 13 quality tracks which include collaborations from TB, Dark Matter, Nate and more, although my personal favourites are the Wu-ish solo effort 'Out On Sight' and 'They Don't Care About Us'.

One of the 'more' in the previous paragraph is Raggo Zulu Rebel, yet another member of the seemingly endless People's Army. I first was aware of him through some of his collaborations with bigCakes but, as you can see from the example below, he has a catalogue of works in his own right.

Sticking with the Army, due for release at midnight tomorrow is Lowkey's official album Soundtrack To The Struggle. Containing tracks such as 'Terrorist?', 'Obamanation' and 'Voices Of The Voiceless', which features Immortal Technique, this album has been looked forward to by Lowkey's remarkably loyal fans for some time. Pre-order it now from iTunes and attend the launch party in Islington next Friday.

Apparently, I have some (but not much) Klout, which is nice. So I'd like to take this opportunity to thank all my Twitter and Facebook fam for your continued support and friendship.

One Love, Spy!

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Foundation

Here in the UK, October is designated 'Black History Month'. Personally, I'm quite ambivalent about the whole thing. On the one hand, I totally understand the reasoning behind it. As an Afrikan (my preferred expression for 'Black people') myself I am well aware of the injustices and disparity suffered by Afrikans throughout the ages and that things have hardly improved even today. I also have personal experience of the so called 'education' shitstem in this country and, from this experience (and I accept that this was a good few years ago), I know that in History lessons Africa and its inhabitants were only referred to in connection with slavery and the 'Scramble for Africa'. Perhaps things have moved on since my school days but I seriously doubt it.

On the other hand, by adopting this one month per year to highlight the historical achievements of Afrikans, we're almost giving permission for 'Black History' to be ignored for the other eleven months. Also, those that have a genuine interest in 'Black History' will seek it out regardless of what the calendar says, and those that have an interest in keeping Afrikans down will use 'Black History Month' as fuel for their Fascist fire - "Why do the niggers get their own month?" "What have they done to deserve it?" et cetera, et cetera...

Anyway, regardless of my personal misgivings, I'm still pleased to see a group of (comparatively) young folks making the effort to change history back to mystory. I would have been even more pleased if they'd managed to include contributions from some of our sisters but you (or me in this case) can't always get what you want.

On a completely different subject, you may recall me telling you about Dray Delta and his Flow Reel Two mixtape earlier this year. One of the tracks on it was an amusing beseech by Dray to the women who wear ill fitting Ugz (or however it's spelled) to stop it. Fdot1 took it upon himself to inject a layer of quality into the production that was lacking from the original mixtape version, which leads us neatly to the video above.

I confess to being very ignorant when it comes to Scottish Hip Hop, so I have no clue whether Madhat Mcgore is a big name, small name or no name at all up there. However, I don't really give a fuck about a person's reputation, especially in the music game. While I don't think that this is the best thing I've ever heard, it is very far from the worst and, IMO, is at least worth a listen or two.

Enough from me for another week, but please feel free to keep me up to date with whatever project you're working on by hitting me up on Twitter or Facebook.

One Love, Spy!

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Heat

No, I'm not referring to the recent improvement in the weather pleasant though it's been. I'm talking about the new video from Configa featuring the vocal talent, and I do mean talent, of Jaz Kahina. The track's called 'We On Fire' and is taken from Configa's 'Calm Before The Storm' project, as mentioned last week, which proves that whatever, whoever says Hip Hop ain't dead.

Late as usual, I first happened upon Jaz on her combination with Illaman 'Talkin' 'Bout God' and have been one of her fans ever since. If you feel the same way, don't miss out on 'DJ Slademan Presents Gone' (feat. Agallah) for more goodness.

On a different tack for a minute, allow me to remind you of a prodigious singer/songwriter who celebrated her Earth Strong this week, Leontre. You already know that I grew up with Reggae as much as (if not more than) Hip Hop and will love it till I die, so it's always a pleasure to hear real authentic Reggae still being made. Everything I've heard from the album (not that it's finished yet) so far has been stellar. So, Ms Roberts, there's no point in wishing you the best as you already have it.

Back to the Hip Hop, this week's seen the release of J Live's 'S.P.T.A.', pronounced "spitta", it's short for said person of that ability, which aptly describes this educator to a tee. It's still possible to get a signed copy of the album on CD. How's that for reaching out to your fans?

Also new is Charity Starts At Home by Phonte of Little Brother and The Foreign Exchange fame. Once again this is further proof that Hip Hop is far from the Reaper. Don't hesitate, just buy this shit now!

Back to the UK, here's the latest video from People's Army veteran Genesis Elijah. Known for producing more bangers than the Wall's factory on bonfire night, Genesis spectacularly fails to disappoint us once again.

Next week the NHS is teaming up with ACLT in a drive to promote donating blood and bone marrow. If you're in London West End, Croydon, Birmingham, Leeds, Nottingham, Liverpool, Manchester, Bristol or Leicester and you're able, please feel free to call ACLT office on 020 8240 4480 to book an appointment.

If you're one of those people that changes your mobile on the regular, please consider assisting ACLT by donating your old phones in an envelope marked 'Free Post ReCyclewise ACLT'. All phones (not stolen, of course) regardless of their condition will be gratefully received.

One Love, Spy!

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Feed your mind

You're probably aware by now that I'm a fan of the Associated Minds crew and their philosophies on Hip Hop and music in general. Well it seems that I'm not the only one (of course I'm not, but I'm just making a point here) as their recent collaboration with Eatgood Records shows.

'The Highball EP' features, as you would expect, just about every emcee, composer and producer from both cliques in a concentrated mass of musical mayhem.

Another, smaller, but equally potent crew that I'm a fan of is the Quaranteam, of which Skillit is a member. Taken from his 'As Seen On TV' EP, 'Tom Shanks' is Skillit's latest single and, to my ears at least, is a parody of the violence so often promoted in Hip Hop and Grime these days. Maybe I'm reading too much into it? Maybe Skillit is just a violent motherfucker? But, having met him and seen him performing, I don't think so.

This is a previously unreleased track from M9 who, literally, gave us the excellent 'Orion's Stencil' last year. Fortunately, for me at least, there were some physical CD's to purchase of this project too but they don't seem to appear as on option on the download site anymore. I'm glad I bought mine when I did.

Not exactly new (released in August) but still worth a mention, especially given my absence from the blog world in recent months, is Configa's 'Calm Before The Storm'. Once again this Toon producer adds boom to baps and comes up with a tasty sandwich with all the trimmings. Unlike his previous release, 'Pac To The Essence Vol. 1', this one is only available as a download but I'm hoping his upcoming album 'Inside The Echo Chamber' will be available in a physical format. We shall see.

Before I go, a quick heads up on a forthcoming event; ELZHI will be appearing at the Jazz Cafe on Thursday, 3rd November with a live band plus support from Yungun, Mr Thing and Spin Doctor. For more details and/or to register your interest check out the Facebook page for the event.

One Love, Spy!

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Monday morning feeling

Okay, it's another Monday, I'm tired after the weekend and I need something to pick me up. Thank whatever you believe in for Grand Central! Two of the hardest working emcees in the UK game right now; Kinetik & Mr Drastick, are always ready to push themselves only this time they've drafted in some extra help from Trademark Da Skydiver and Ms. Galaxy.

Directed by the multi-talented K-Nite 13, the video moves away from the tried (or should that be tired) and tested 'performance' paradigm. Whether that was a deliberate strategy by the director or the result of the artists not being available for the shoot I don't know, but either way it makes a nice change.

Also brought to my attention (by Hood's Hottest among others) is the new freestyle from Stylah. Not the most exciting video in the world (like I can talk...) but I'm not a movie critic so we'll let it slide (if you'll pardon the pun).

This blog has been a little erratic in terms when I put up new posts, not exactly reassuring for 'regular' readers. However, I do like to share stuff on my Facebook page too, so feel free to have a browse and/or post your music/video/event up on it. Whenever I have the time (and inclination) I'll re-post your stuff on here to take it to a different (wider?) audience. So, until next time, have fun if you can but try not to spoil it for others.

One Love, Spy!

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Web 2.0

It's been a long while (too long?) since I've posted anything to this blog. The reasons are several (most of them Federal © P.E.) and include the disappearance of Melody One, the internet station that I was broadcasting on. However, before the station disappeared, I had already stopped broadcasting (albeit only temporarily, or so I thought) due to a combination of poor health and problems with my ISP.

During this time out my wife and I had a little discussion along the lines of me agreeing to completely redecorate what was the 'control room' of my 'studio' and in exchange I would be able to move the whole kit and caboodle into a larger room at the back of the house. So that's what happened; I completely emptied and redecorated the smaller room (from carpet to ceiling) and then proceeded to put my 'studio' back together in a one room scenario, i.e. in future the vocalists/performers and I will be in the same room together.

Being the king of originality that I am, I called the 'old' studio "The Web" - Spy da Man, geddit? "Web 2.0" will be more productive, if you'll pardon the pun, than the old one was, certainly toward the end of it's days anyway. As the images depict, I am also ready to pick up where I left off in terms of internet radio - much easier access to my records and much more space and comfort all around.

So my next quest is to find a station that will take me as I am or, if I'm not able to do so, set up my own station. The problem with the second option is the consumption of time and money that it will require in order to do it properly. I don't want to start something and then not be able to see it through. On the other hand, if I'm controlling it I won't be subject to the whims of others.

We'll see how it goes but in the meantime I'm going to concentrate on putting some more beats together and see where that road takes me.

As you know, if you've paid any attention to my previous posts, I also have a day job and, without giving away too much, it involves working with disadvantaged young people. One of the things that we do to redress the balance is to organize group activities for them. So, combining my love of music with the work that pays for my music was a no-brainer for me.

During my hiatus from the blog world I arranged for a small group to visit and record at Fdot1's "Lil' Rock Studio" over the course of a couple of days. It's one of the best experiences we've had in a group activity and that's all down to the wonderful hosting (and producing) skills of Fdot1. I seriously can't big him up enough for all the time and effort he put into those two days, especially considering his personal discomfort at the time. So partly in way of thanks and partly because I love this track to the bone, here is the video for the Vivid Beatz produced 'She's So...' from the album 'Money MusicK'. Enjoy!

One Love, Spy!

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