hip hop
The Correspondents, Café de ParisSaturday, 14 January 2012
“He’s a praying mantis,” said the girl next to me, “but sexy.” True enough, even if Mr Bruce is a gangly long-limbed performer rather than an actual insect. I’ve seen him twice this year already, and he’s completely compelling on stage and as a... Read more... |
theartsdesk Q&A: Musician GonjasufiSaturday, 14 January 2012
Gonjasufi, AKA Sumach Ecks (b 1978) was raised in San Diego by a Mexican mother and an American-Ethiopian father. His musical ability first came to more than local prominence when he appeared on the Flying Lotus album Los Angeles in 2008. His own... Read more... |
CD: Wiley - Evolve or be ExtinctWednesday, 11 January 2012
It's become a fairly common trope for herbally enhanced rappers to hype up their individuality by referring to themselves as an “alien”, but with Wiley you could believe it. In “Can I Get a Taxi”, the odd extended skit that forms the centrepiece of... Read more... |
CD of the Year: Rustie - Glass SwordsMonday, 19 December 2011
If 2011 was the year when dance music's natural tendency to fragmentation was taken to extremes, this album was the one that bound those fragments together into one demented but scintillating vision. Russell Whyte – Rustie – comes from a very... Read more... |
Red Bull Music Academy: a caffeine boost for the music industry?Tuesday, 06 December 2011
I almost feel duty bound to make a declaration of interest here. I have done several pieces of paid writing for the Red Bull Music Academy, including a piece of course material for this year's Academy, and a few days ago I went to Madrid to see the... Read more... |
CD: Baloji - Kinshasa SuccursaleFriday, 02 December 2011
Some critics have lazily compared Baloji to Somali rapper K’nann: both are African rappers who had lucky childhood escapes from countries about to descend into war and chaos, but beyond that they seem to have quite different approaches to what they... Read more... |
Robert Glasper, London Jazz Festival, Kings PlaceFriday, 18 November 2011
There aren't too many pianists who excite jazz aficionados and hip-hop fans in equal measure. But then no other artist has been inspired equally by hip-hop beats on the one hand and Thelonious Monk on the other. And while it appears increasingly... Read more... |
CD: Joker - The VisionThursday, 27 October 2011
Joker, aka 22 year old Bristolian Liam McLean, is one of the most individual talents of the dubstep/grime generation. His long run of dancefloor-directed single releases, some originally recorded when he was in his early teens, showed natural gifts... Read more... |
Some Like It Hip Hop, ZooNation, Peacock TheatreThursday, 27 October 2011
The title is a warning, as is the cheesy grinning poster - this is going to be Fun with a capital F, and Feel-good too, and Family Friendly. And it is going to clean up hip hop’s badass image. I was already prejudiced against it before I sat down.... Read more... |
WHY?, Duke of York's Picture House, BrightonWednesday, 26 October 2011
Ah, the Duke of York’s Picture House, the oldest consistently operating purpose-built cinema in the country. It’s a beautiful venue, just over a century old, and almost too comfortable. It’s been jazzed up a few times over the decades and, tonight,... Read more... |
Black Power Mixtape 1967-1975Friday, 21 October 2011
This is a strangely kaleidoscopic approach to documentary. A selection of recently unearthed footage and interviews which shows the Black Power movement in the USA through the eyes of idealistic Swedish film-makers, now re-edited and framed with the... Read more... |
CD: Spank Rock - Everything is Boring and Everyone is a Fucking LiarThursday, 22 September 2011
First off Spank Rock, has nailed the second best album title of the year. It’s sweary, bleeds punk attitude and nails a point - rather than the usual focus-grouped opaquely resonant crap bands come up with (best album title of 2011, by the way:... Read more... |
