Another track sent to me that I quite liked so thought I'd share.....
This one comes from a Walter Ego, a UK funky producer from Sheffield. Make sure to leave a comment to express your thoughts on this one
MOFO riddim - Walter ego by Walter Ego
Sunday, 9 January 2011
New Video: Natalie May - Closer
Natalie May made a remarkable entrace into the homegrown music scene when she teamed up with Rudimental to bring us the UK funky banger Sexy Sexy. Now Natalie May is back and has stepped over to the dubstep genre and teamed up with a producer named GKid to bring us Closer. The video filmed in Clapham and Waterloo Bridge, London during a snow spell, I can't help to think how cold she must have been during some of these scenes......
The track has already received major support being played on radio stations such as BBC 1Xtra and featured on many DJ mixes and music blogs, however there has been some criticism floating about the track, that it lacks creativity; the production sounds too similar to Magnetic Man's I Need Air and vocals sound too similar to that of Katy B. I cannot deny that I can understand the angle these criticisms are coming from, but I can still appreciate this track as an original piece of music. Whilst there must have been heavy influence of the aforementioned during composition, what was produced still shows undeniable talent.... As in I am feeling the sound of Natalie's vocals!!!
The track has already received major support being played on radio stations such as BBC 1Xtra and featured on many DJ mixes and music blogs, however there has been some criticism floating about the track, that it lacks creativity; the production sounds too similar to Magnetic Man's I Need Air and vocals sound too similar to that of Katy B. I cannot deny that I can understand the angle these criticisms are coming from, but I can still appreciate this track as an original piece of music. Whilst there must have been heavy influence of the aforementioned during composition, what was produced still shows undeniable talent.... As in I am feeling the sound of Natalie's vocals!!!
Closer is released via iTunes on 14th February 2011
with remixes from Ts7, Ramzi, Lucky Charmes and Rudimental
with remixes from Ts7, Ramzi, Lucky Charmes and Rudimental
Friday, 7 January 2011
DJ Hoes
I haven't posted many personal thoughts of recent, I'm due to update all very shortly as to what's happening regarding my new radio show etc.... There are a few loose ends which require being tied up. Look out for a blog post in the near future.
Anyway, what this post is all about......
Firstly I'd like to make it clear that this is not an attack I am pledging against DJs, they need love just as much as everyone else, but DJs tend to generally have a bad reputation amongst females. Some DJs wonder why...... I say ask your counterparts.
What I find worse is that so many DJs have girlfriends, wives and kids at home. Surely the woman who cleans your clothes and cooks your food deserves more respect than to be slept out on every weekend like it's routine in your relationship? Isn't it hard enough that she has to trust you as a DJ to earn your crust in the first place, why would you betray that? You trust her to cook your food, how would you like for her to betray your trust on a weekly basis? (Many a many DJs reading this aren't gonna want to eat dinner this Sunday)
As I said, this is not a pledge against ALL DJs...... Some are the sweetest and kindest people you'd meet with respectable morals. There are just some who really do let your side down. Stalking the club scene on a weekly basis, looking for their next victim of prey. To those I say, stick to the females who will sleep with you to get free entry in to a club.... You both lack self respect, therefore I think you deserve eachother and whatever STDs you can cook up between you.
To my respectable DJs: I love you guys and the music, entertainment and joy you bring. Keep doing your thing and don't forget to let YOUR ladies know how much you love them.
Anyway, what this post is all about......
DJ HOES!!!!
Firstly I'd like to make it clear that this is not an attack I am pledging against DJs, they need love just as much as everyone else, but DJs tend to generally have a bad reputation amongst females. Some DJs wonder why...... I say ask your counterparts.
As a female working within this industry, especially the club scene, I have to let it be known that the amount of DJs that think playing a few tracks warrants them a golden ticket into EVERY female's underwear is more than a small minority. I know there are some females out there that think getting with a DJ is gonna warrant them a place on a red carpet, but not all females think like that.
What I find worse is that so many DJs have girlfriends, wives and kids at home. Surely the woman who cleans your clothes and cooks your food deserves more respect than to be slept out on every weekend like it's routine in your relationship? Isn't it hard enough that she has to trust you as a DJ to earn your crust in the first place, why would you betray that? You trust her to cook your food, how would you like for her to betray your trust on a weekly basis? (Many a many DJs reading this aren't gonna want to eat dinner this Sunday)
As I said, this is not a pledge against ALL DJs...... Some are the sweetest and kindest people you'd meet with respectable morals. There are just some who really do let your side down. Stalking the club scene on a weekly basis, looking for their next victim of prey. To those I say, stick to the females who will sleep with you to get free entry in to a club.... You both lack self respect, therefore I think you deserve eachother and whatever STDs you can cook up between you.To my respectable DJs: I love you guys and the music, entertainment and joy you bring. Keep doing your thing and don't forget to let YOUR ladies know how much you love them.
Peace!!! xxxx
Thursday, 6 January 2011
Maxsta an Average Kid?
Let's keep it real, if you're not heavily into grime, you probably never heard of East London's Maxsta until he dissed Chipmunk during the build up of Pow 2011, but if you're totally out of touch you probably missed that too....
Coming up under the wings of Roll Deep's Danny Weed and DJ Target, Maxsta grabbed the attention of many with the release of 'East London is Back' during 2010 and has continued to graft his way up.
Part of the Adidas 'We Are London' advertising campaign, Maxsta is due to release his debut single..... While he is heavily tipped as one to watch in 2011 on the underground, there seems to be a heavily mixed reaction. Some feel that Maxsta has gone back on his word and has already diluted his sound to approach the mainstream market, while others feel that he has replicated the exact same person who he has openly dissed - Chipmunk.
Coming up under the wings of Roll Deep's Danny Weed and DJ Target, Maxsta grabbed the attention of many with the release of 'East London is Back' during 2010 and has continued to graft his way up.
Part of the Adidas 'We Are London' advertising campaign, Maxsta is due to release his debut single..... While he is heavily tipped as one to watch in 2011 on the underground, there seems to be a heavily mixed reaction. Some feel that Maxsta has gone back on his word and has already diluted his sound to approach the mainstream market, while others feel that he has replicated the exact same person who he has openly dissed - Chipmunk.
I'm not sure what the tribal dancer element of the video was trying to achieve, but I'm a good parent so I'll be telling my son to listen to Max.....
Released March 2011
Wednesday, 5 January 2011
J.Cole at the OFFICIAL Drake Concert After Party
Oooh Ooooh!!! Hands up if you're going to this!!!!!!
Sunday, 2 January 2011
TODDSKA
Toddla T & Roska Link Up... Becoming Toddska
Nuff Parking!!!! Nuff Girls!!!!
Friday 28th January 2011
Friday 28th January 2011
The Ending of The Streets
Barely into 2011, another legendary act is reported to be coming to an end. 10 years since ‘Has It Come to This’ was released under the Locked On label who had previous success with Artful Dodger and Craig David, the single reaching top 20 in March 2001, the Streets are soon to release their upcoming album titled ‘Computers and Blues’ which will be the last album released on their 5 album record deal with Atlantic.
Following the release of ‘Computers and Blues’ on 7th February 2011 and the subsequent tours, Mike Skinner is said to be writing a film… The stereotypical mind thinks along the lines of Guy Ritchie’s Snatch. Surely we can have more faith in the creativity of his mind to explore outside of the box and deliver something less expected. He does have an interesting mind after all.
Mike Ski
nner paved the way for British rappers such as The Mitchell Brothers, Example and Professor Green, who were also signed to his independent record label ‘The Beats Recordings’ which closed doors in 2007. The Streets will always be remembered for hits like Let’s Push Things Forward, Dry Your Eyes, Weak Become Heroes and personal favourite Blinded By The Lights.
nner paved the way for British rappers such as The Mitchell Brothers, Example and Professor Green, who were also signed to his independent record label ‘The Beats Recordings’ which closed doors in 2007. The Streets will always be remembered for hits like Let’s Push Things Forward, Dry Your Eyes, Weak Become Heroes and personal favourite Blinded By The Lights.The first release from the Computers and Blues album is
Going Through Hell on 31st January 2011
Going Through Hell on 31st January 2011
Saturday, 1 January 2011
Sad Times: Heartless Crew Announce Split (Video)
Bushkin from Heartless Crew says it all....
Make sure you continue to support the guys on their own future journeys. Legends in the UK scene. Wish them all the best!!
Peace Love & Pum Pum xxx
2011 UK Funky Going Forth
2010 was an odd year… UK funky progressed, got slated, got rated and also got frustrated. But why and how? More importantly how will it be overcome? What lessons can be learnt? What needs to be changed and what needs to stay the same? Having the title of the UK Funky blogger, I felt it only right to take a deeper look. Following analysis, here you’ll find the conclusion…
Coming through a year of spectacular growth, evolving faster than anyone could have forecasted, UK funky entered 2010 with a great level of uncertainty. The birth of the MCs and skanks having a strong ripple effect into many directions, difference of personal opinions were being expressed from the various counterparts that form the scene. New listeners turned on by the MC influx strongly divided, some became discouraged with the lack of new material and continued to follow the mainstream buzz away from the scene to other genres, whilst others explored the music deeper, still appreciative of the MC element of the sound alongside the others. The initial barrier to get music heard via commercial media outlets has evidently remained officially broken however, something that has to be credited largely to MC/Skank tracks like Head, Shoulders, Knees & Toes and Migraine Skank of the yesteryear, homegrown and international tracks dominating the club circuit can still be seen on TV and heard regularly on commercial radio.
What music that reaches past the commercial barrier though has remained very limited, meaning that a distorted conception is possessed by the majority of the public. Many who are guilty of being amongst those who were discouraged. Major label A&Rs who are no longer showing interest due to poor single sales the previous year, leaves the majority, if not all new releases to be done independently. By the time 2010 had completed the month of March, funky had been declared as commercially dead amongst the masses. Large groups openly stating that they didn’t like Funky anymore due to it being boring.
Quality music is still being produced. However with such major emphasis on the MCs in the yesteryear, DJs on commercial stations readily forsake them, for productions from peers within the circuit who they’d see on a regular basis regardless of the true quality. New producers regularly complain that it is very hard to be heard and feel that it contributes to the misconstrued commercial perception of the genre. Many outsiders feeling that they cannot take the music seriously in its participation to the overall growth of homegrown music, funky has become the mediocre genre standing beside its cousins in hope to somehow fit in. That said, a line from Ramzee’s ‘Hand In The Air’ was highlighted by the legendary Wiley and #UniteTheRaver soon became a Twitter trending topic with the varied persons from the entire homegrown industry joining in and discovering a liking for the track. Evidently the quality sounds of all elements of the genre are failing to breakthrough in their true achievable capacities.
Coming through a year of spectacular growth, evolving faster than anyone could have forecasted, UK funky entered 2010 with a great level of uncertainty. The birth of the MCs and skanks having a strong ripple effect into many directions, difference of personal opinions were being expressed from the various counterparts that form the scene. New listeners turned on by the MC influx strongly divided, some became discouraged with the lack of new material and continued to follow the mainstream buzz away from the scene to other genres, whilst others explored the music deeper, still appreciative of the MC element of the sound alongside the others. The initial barrier to get music heard via commercial media outlets has evidently remained officially broken however, something that has to be credited largely to MC/Skank tracks like Head, Shoulders, Knees & Toes and Migraine Skank of the yesteryear, homegrown and international tracks dominating the club circuit can still be seen on TV and heard regularly on commercial radio.
What music that reaches past the commercial barrier though has remained very limited, meaning that a distorted conception is possessed by the majority of the public. Many who are guilty of being amongst those who were discouraged. Major label A&Rs who are no longer showing interest due to poor single sales the previous year, leaves the majority, if not all new releases to be done independently. By the time 2010 had completed the month of March, funky had been declared as commercially dead amongst the masses. Large groups openly stating that they didn’t like Funky anymore due to it being boring.
Quality music is still being produced. However with such major emphasis on the MCs in the yesteryear, DJs on commercial stations readily forsake them, for productions from peers within the circuit who they’d see on a regular basis regardless of the true quality. New producers regularly complain that it is very hard to be heard and feel that it contributes to the misconstrued commercial perception of the genre. Many outsiders feeling that they cannot take the music seriously in its participation to the overall growth of homegrown music, funky has become the mediocre genre standing beside its cousins in hope to somehow fit in. That said, a line from Ramzee’s ‘Hand In The Air’ was highlighted by the legendary Wiley and #UniteTheRaver soon became a Twitter trending topic with the varied persons from the entire homegrown industry joining in and discovering a liking for the track. Evidently the quality sounds of all elements of the genre are failing to breakthrough in their true achievable capacities.
Although the thoughts of the outsiders have changed, relief is felt from insiders starting a new advancement. The MCs no longer hold such a large majority of the spotlight and DJ/Producers are beginning to receive long deserved recognition. Taking the music internationally, new growth and new audience has been achieved untarnished by the peer pressures of the club scene. Those who nurtured the sound during initial fruition have been constantly travelling across seas educating a global audience of the productions deep within the UK funky circuit. The international interest of the genre has continued to grow, many more producers from foreign countries have got involved, as well as DJs, listeners etc.
Many are taking the time to nurture the music; Donaeo, Princess Nyah, Roska and Katy B have made major contributions to the scene, this year they showed collectively that consistency and determination can lead to progression such as regular commercial radio play, international tours and top 5 selling chart singles. These successes have continued to motivate upcoming producers and artists trying to break through to the forefront of the scene. Footsteps stated at the start of the year that 2010 would be the year of the DJ/Producer - Focal points would change as a whole, the year being a starting point. He may have been correct. DJs and producers of the circuit are continuing to show large amounts of support for eachother and many DJs are now also producing the music.
Whilst DJ/producers are gaining more recognition, artists are still being strongly overlooked. Vocalists are being heavily overshadowed which is most evident within the club scene. PAs are still dominated by MCs, making it unusual to see a vocalist headlining an event. Whilst tracks are still being produced, they are struggling to be fed across to the public in more ways than one. Losing battle on both radio and within the club circuit, frustrations are understood.
With DJs, producers and artists working so hard throughout the year to gain similar amounts of attention as paid to the MCs, it’s unfortunate that although there have been various attempts to gain the same buzz originally created with their initial influx, none have been successful. Yet still there is a large network within the scene that manages to keep them at the forefront, keeping them the first thing the mind associates to the word ‘funky’. Some do continue to make consistent contribution to the overall scene, but at such a small ratio, is such strong emphasis justified?
Members of the scene with true passion for the music have continued to embrace the parenting house genre. Producers have continued to master their craft having great impact on the production levels. Many funky tracks being produced can be played alongside the veteran producers of the house genre without the obvious difference in quality that the genre was ridiculed for in it’s initial stage. Many producers are now working with record labels making official remixes, showing that some commercial interest still remains, even if not via major labels signing artists and releasing singles.
Going forth, the requirement of quality control is still strongly plaguing the progress of the genre. A scene conducted on personal networks and cliques as opposed to what is good quality. Does a successful business invest in what is the better product to market as opposed to what’s closer to home? Whilst good quality music continues to put up a steady resistance, the understanding of quality over quantity has been disregarded by many participants in all capacities making it harder to control.
The unity of the scene has been embraced once again, the main factor that spurred original fruition. With more vocal tracks starting to get through the barriers will young ladies be chanting in clubs to bring new anthems as were Do You Mind, Tell Me What It Is, Go and Frontline? Can the higher end MCs make tracks that can be gently blended in and appreciated by all as was MC Versatile’s Funky Anthem? Does 2011 hold a rebirth of the scene how it originally stood, this time having been regenerated with a much larger community?
Many are taking the time to nurture the music; Donaeo, Princess Nyah, Roska and Katy B have made major contributions to the scene, this year they showed collectively that consistency and determination can lead to progression such as regular commercial radio play, international tours and top 5 selling chart singles. These successes have continued to motivate upcoming producers and artists trying to break through to the forefront of the scene. Footsteps stated at the start of the year that 2010 would be the year of the DJ/Producer - Focal points would change as a whole, the year being a starting point. He may have been correct. DJs and producers of the circuit are continuing to show large amounts of support for eachother and many DJs are now also producing the music.
Whilst DJ/producers are gaining more recognition, artists are still being strongly overlooked. Vocalists are being heavily overshadowed which is most evident within the club scene. PAs are still dominated by MCs, making it unusual to see a vocalist headlining an event. Whilst tracks are still being produced, they are struggling to be fed across to the public in more ways than one. Losing battle on both radio and within the club circuit, frustrations are understood.
With DJs, producers and artists working so hard throughout the year to gain similar amounts of attention as paid to the MCs, it’s unfortunate that although there have been various attempts to gain the same buzz originally created with their initial influx, none have been successful. Yet still there is a large network within the scene that manages to keep them at the forefront, keeping them the first thing the mind associates to the word ‘funky’. Some do continue to make consistent contribution to the overall scene, but at such a small ratio, is such strong emphasis justified?
Members of the scene with true passion for the music have continued to embrace the parenting house genre. Producers have continued to master their craft having great impact on the production levels. Many funky tracks being produced can be played alongside the veteran producers of the house genre without the obvious difference in quality that the genre was ridiculed for in it’s initial stage. Many producers are now working with record labels making official remixes, showing that some commercial interest still remains, even if not via major labels signing artists and releasing singles.
Going forth, the requirement of quality control is still strongly plaguing the progress of the genre. A scene conducted on personal networks and cliques as opposed to what is good quality. Does a successful business invest in what is the better product to market as opposed to what’s closer to home? Whilst good quality music continues to put up a steady resistance, the understanding of quality over quantity has been disregarded by many participants in all capacities making it harder to control.
The unity of the scene has been embraced once again, the main factor that spurred original fruition. With more vocal tracks starting to get through the barriers will young ladies be chanting in clubs to bring new anthems as were Do You Mind, Tell Me What It Is, Go and Frontline? Can the higher end MCs make tracks that can be gently blended in and appreciated by all as was MC Versatile’s Funky Anthem? Does 2011 hold a rebirth of the scene how it originally stood, this time having been regenerated with a much larger community?
2010 was an educating year for the funky scene, it cannot be disputed that there was a strong downfall with regards to breaking the commercial barrier. Though funky would not be the first genre to go back underground after getting a taste of the mainstream market. With all vultures eliminated, the scene has been given space to solidify its foundations and be prepared the next time opportunity arises for homegrown takeover. The year has been musically won over by the grime genre which arose many years before funky. Truly united with all contributors of the genre working together to shine as equals, who knows what could be achieved in 2011 and beyond…
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