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LEADER OF THE NEW www.hhcdigital.net HHC DIGITAL #003 UNDERGROUND CONTENTS JUNE 2009 HHC DIGITAL#003 03 THE LISTENING

04 MIX MASTER!

05 BITE BACK!

06 TANYA MORGAN www.hhcdigital.net www.twitter.com/hhcdigital 08 NEWS FLASH: ESLAM JAWAAD [email protected] 10 CHECK OUT MY MELODY EDITOR Phillip Mlynar 11 THE PANEL (001) 347 731 1288 | [email protected] 12 PUGS ATOMZ DESIGNER April Hill | [email protected] 13 FEAR OF THE RAP WRITING Adam Anonymous, Cee Banger, Arsenio Billingham 14 FLOW FASHION Corin Douieb, Robbie Ettelson, Jo Fuertes-Knight, Mike Lewis 16 Chloe McCloskey, John W McKelvey, James McNally, Tom Nook Doc Nostrand, Chris Schonberger, Quincey Tones, Lucy Van Pelt, 17 TWITTERISHLY Richard Watson 19 DETROIT IS NOW! PHOTOGRAPHY Kristina Hill, Mike Lewis, Alexander Richter 32 FINALE FRONT COVER Kristina Hill 34 D.ALLIE ADVERTISING & SPONSORSHIP 36 KYZA [email protected] 40 M.O.P. EXECUTIVE PUBLISHER AND HEAD OF 46 OF THE MONTH: MICROWAVE OVEN PROGRAMMING Andy Cowan 48 ALBUM REVIEWS PUBLISHED by Just One More in association with Ink Ltd. All material (c) Just One More 2009. All rights reserved. HHC Digital 50 HOME STYLE may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form, in whole or in part, without the express written permission of the publisher. 52 OPEN UP Hip-Hop Connection is a registered trademark of Infamous Ink Ltd. All rights reserved. DISClAIMER While every effort is made to ensure the information in HHC 53 DEEJAY CHARTS Digital is correct, changes can occur which affect the accuracy of copy, for which HHC Digital holds no responsibility. Contributors’ opinions do not 55 ON THE GO: necessarily bear a relation to those of Just One More or Infamous Ink Ltd 40 M.O.P. or HHC Digital’s staff. The publishers disclaim any liability for those impressions. And 56 THE UNKUT COLUMN Dynamics Plus can go eat poo...

HHC DIGITAL #003 2 THE LISTENING THIS MONTH’S FREE MP3 STASH... Back again with another top notch selection of free music for your listening pleasure, you know how it works: Cop the intricately-blended Last Skeptik-crafted mixtape version here, or grab full and complete individual tracks from the end of 4. FRESH DAILY ‘BREAK A LEG’ (HIGH WATER) 11. ESLAM JAWAAD FEAT. ‘REWIND DJ’ (RPEG) each interview and review throughout the mag. Now go ‘head 5. K-DEF ‘REDCOATS ARE COMING’ (GHETTO MAN) 12. BRAD STRUT ‘BELIEVE’ (SHOGUN) and get to downloading... 6. FREESTYLE MASTER ‘BIG BAD CITY’ (POWERCUT) 13. D. ALLIE ‘EVERY WHICH WAY BUT LOOSE’ 7. KYZA ‘SIN CITY’ (DENTED) ( OF MIND) HHC DIGITAL MIX 003 8. FINALE FEAT. ‘ONE MAN SHOW’ (8 BIT ) 14. THE DELUSIONISTS ‘TO THE NEXT’ Click the play button to download! (FAT BEATS) (BEATS LAYING ABOUT) 1. LAST SKEPTIK INTRO 9. FAT RAY FEAT. AB & BLACK MILK ‘TAKE CONTROL’ 15. LOUDMOUTH MELVIN ‘TOP TEN LIST’ 2. PUGS ATOMZ FEAT. ‘WAIT & SEE’ (SOFLO ENT) (FAT BEATS) (LAST SKEPTIK REMIX) (WHITE) 3. TANYA MORGAN FEAT. ‘MORGAN BLU’ 10. DJ SPINNA FEAT. ‘LYRICS IS BACK’ 16. MOP ‘BLOW THE HORNS’ (E1) (INTERDEPENDENT) (HIGH WATER) 17. BLACK MILK ‘MO POWER’ (FAT BEATS)

HHC DIGITAL #003 3 MIX MASTER! THE LAST SKEPTIK ON THIS MONTH’S MIX...

Taking a break out from grooming his cats, The Last Skeptik speaks semi-real words about HHC Digital 003’s free mix…

What three words best describe the mix? “Not DMC standard.”

Big up your remix of Loudmouth Melvin’s ‘Top Ten List’... Which track surprised you with its unexpected dopeness? “It’s incredible. It’s not bigger than Jesus, but it stands up to “Fresh Daily’s ‘Break A Leg’ made me reminisce: It’s exactly the Odin. Loudmouth is one of the best rappers in the country.” type of tune I’d run to Mr Bongo’s and buy on a Saturday morning in between a Snapple, assorted crate-digging and general weekend japery. Nowadays I just spend my Saturdays in pet What sandwich best describes this month’s mix? supermarkets throwing tantrums in the Kibble aisle.” “Veggie-meatball marinara and cheese, with fries too.”

HHC DIGITAL #003 4 just what those ships are doing and how much food aid they’re whipped the crowd up into a frenzy in the first 25 minutes, but trying to deliver the Somalian nation... Cynicism’s great if it’s this frenzy only lasted another ten minutes as they decided to BITE BACK! founded on accurate information. call it a night. We all thought they’d come back on for an encore Tony Wright but they didn’t and the crowd grew restless – and rightly so. READERS RESPOND Tonight the biggest rip-off that I have come across at a Hi! hip-hop gig for many years as we all paid the best part of £20 I giggled much when I read your STEPHAN! [Home Style 002] (which isn’t far off of Brixton Academy!) to see De La perform 35 FREE EMUSIC And, with being proud of listening to the show, and the promise

MP3s! HHC DIGITAL #002 a medley of tracks that failed to impress – especially from ital.net www.hhcdig of being sent something nice, I say to you: JUST COMING! Dave who was walking around on stage like he couldn’t find Ehe, his favourite toy (probably ’cos he’d thrown it from his pram Hickey x ‘ONLY BUILT 4 CUBAN LINX 2’ IS GO! over the sound quality). I hate to say it but the organisers and GHOSTFACE, SPEECH DEBELLE, TANYA MORGAN, PAUL WHITE Can’t you kids just quote 30 Rock like the rest of us? De La should be shame-faced right now for ripping their loyal Hello, fan base off – I want my fucking money back! I’ve just come from watching the legendary De La Soul at a Kind regards, (Missed last month’s issue? Click the cover above to download!) small venue in Exeter, Devon. At first glance it seemed that I’d Joe Foster, The Heartbroken Kid, Exeter. Hey, be one of a lucky 130-odd people to get up close and personal Anyone else noticed a dip in the quality of live rap shows? [In response to Steele’s comments on Somali pirates last with the Plugs and after a long drawn out two and a half hours issue] Suggestion to General Steele – Do some research into of good warm up acts, out they came. Sure enough, they Wanna rant about rap? Holler at us on [email protected]

HHC DIGITAL #003 5 TANYA MORGAN BROOKLYNATI’S FINEST...

“We aim to bring the art of the album back,” declares Von Pea, the Brooklynite third of everyman rap crew Tanya Morgan. “They say the album format is dying but that’s nonsense to me. We made a complete album with ‘Brooklynati’ and that’s what the ‘city’ is about.” Actually, by fusing hometowns to create their sophomore set’s titular boho metropolis, Von and Cincinnati kids Ilyas and Donwill have created more than just a bumping long player, their Brooklynati website flagging up the city’s attractions (Tiggalo’s House Of Worship, anyone?) in immaculate multimedia style. “The website is definitely elaborate,” agrees Donwill, “but that’s because Brooklynati is as real as we make it. It’s not just an album title – it’s a state of mind.”

HHC DIGITAL #003 6 On ‘Plan B’ you imagine scenarios in which you abandoned Why did early ’90s Brooklynati rappers Hardcore Gentlemen your rap careers. Have you ever considered quitting? never make it past their debut single? Von Pea: “I used to want to quit all the time! Being a musician V: “Honestly, they were too much like and biting just and living your life can be difficult as hell. Trying to pay the bills, wasn’t allowed.” find and maintain love, raise kids, be a good friend, brother D: “Well, you know they had a pretty bad drug problem too. and son, and deal with all the shit that comes with living out Sex addiction, gambling... They were plagued by a bunch of your dream isn’t easy. I love the highs so much though, that personal issues around that time. They blew up too fast and the lows don’t get to me anymore.” Ilyas: “All the time. It’s like being in an abusive relationship. Hip- hop is like a first love that rarely ever gives love back until you MAKING HIP-HOP say you’re gonna . Then right when you get comfortable she’s back to being a bitch [laughs].” “IS LIKE BEING IN AN ABUSIVE RELATIONSHIP On ‘We’re Fly’ Donwill gives props to Todd Shaw. What are your favourite moments from the Too $hort back catalogue? it messed ’em up. They still hang out in front of Jurx Records V: “‘Promoters pay me 10 Gs just to breathe on the mic!’” trying to get people to buy their shit. Sometimes I’ll still” see Donwill: “$hort Dog is the dude. How could you not respect ’em in Yancey Park in bubble coats in the dead of summer. that guy for what he did and is still doing? My favourite songs They are definitely some strange guys but there’s no doubt are: ‘Pimp The Hoe’, ‘Don’t Stop Rappin’’, ‘Ain’t Nothing But they deserve their respect.” A Word’, ‘Hard On The Boulevard’... name songs of his (‘Brooklynati’ is out now.) for days.” ‘Morgan Blu’ feat. Blu

HHC DIGITAL #003 7 ON PROFESSOR GREEN GETTING BOTTLED... NEWS FLASH! “It’s alcohol. When people are drunk they get stupid. Under normal circumstances, if you were sober, the chances of you ESLAM JAWAAD TALKS doing something highly offensive are low. You wouldn’t grab someone’s girlfriend’s ass for no reason, but when drunk that’s CONSPIRACY FACTS a different story. I rarely drink; ‘cos I get stupid when drunk. NOT THEORIES... I’ve been involved in altercations which might render a lyric somewhere but it’s not worth it. I wish him luck .” STICKY-FINGERED POLITICIANS… “Politics always has an ulterior motive and it’s usually economic BNP UPROAR… so corruption is standard. Should it happen? Absolutely not. “I don’t understand how they’re allowed to exist. I’m Does it happen? All the time. I’m more interested in how they with protecting rights and freedom but with them it’s too use taxpayers’ money to bomb innocent civilians in the Middle extreme. Their current wave of popularity is really riding East, that’s more shocking than using the money to clean a on this anti-muslim sentiment. Sometimes they play it moat. Cleaning your moat, that’s a peaceful activity! It happens smart with what they openly say but they’ll always get all the time but there are more sinister things that politicians found out having these crazy racist rants somewhere.” get involved in. The hysteria in the news tends to make us stray Jo Fuertes-Knight away from more important things that are happening.” ‘Rewind’ feat. De La Soul

HHC DIGITAL #003 8 ADVERTISEMENT

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Pantone 426C @ 10% Pantone 426C @ 10% HHC DIGITAL #003 9 THE JBS ‘FOOD FOR THOUGHT’ “I had a lot of James Brown 45s as a kid: ‘Sex Machine’, CHECK OUT MY ‘Escapism’, ‘Get On The Good Foot’... I’d been an aspiring hip- hop producer since ’83 and went to my first recording session in ’85. When sampling became a part of hip-hop music, I embraced it whole-heartedly. People like and MELODY Ced Gee brought it to fruition, and I’d say Marley is single- DJ SPINNA’S MUSICAL PICKS… handedly responsible for putting James Brown samples on the map: In ’88, 60% of hip-hop records had ‘Funky Drummer’ “You’re talking to a man that has 50,000 records in his as the beat!” collection!” laughs DJ Spinna when asked to name-check his classic . With his own ‘Sonic Smash’ set promising a ‘’ return to the “straight boom-bap”, here’s his cornerstones... “I’m a big Tribe fan. The samples they were using were pretty much unheard of – they put Eugene McDaniels and RAMP on ‘SONGS IN THE KEY OF LIFE’ & the map. By the time ‘Midnight Marauders’ came out they had ‘INNERVISIONS’ totally reached a point where they knew their concept as a “I was three years old when I first heard ‘Superstition’. I group and how to make an album. This is the definitive Tribe remember Stevie on Sesame Street playing it and my mom album, from the songs to concepts to the interludes, even the telling me he was blind but not fully understanding what being computer chick speaking – ‘Keep bouncin’’!” Doc Nostrand blind meant and trying to see behind his shades. I’ve been a (‘Sonic Smash’ is out June 30th.) Stevie Wonder fanatic since day one.” ‘Lyrics Is Back’ feat. Torae

HHC DIGITAL #003 10 DR SYNTAX “I first heard Eminem with ‘My Name Is’. I thought he was hilarious. He had crazy multi-syllabic THE PANEL rhymes, ignorant punchlines for days and didn’t take himself too seriously. He was pretty much the most exciting thing WHAT WAS YOUR in hip-hop for a while – he didn’t sound like anyone else, he FIRST IMPRESSION sounded hungry, and raised the bar technically.” KASHMERE “I’m not totally sure – I was blazing loads around OF EMINEM? them times. From what I remember it was a regular day. I went round to see a friend who I’d just hook up GHOST with sometimes and play tapes and one day he was like, ‘Listen “I first became aware of Eminem while driving a to this kid!’ I heard the verse and just thought, ‘Damn!’ A little van through Manchester! They were playing ‘My while later I started hearing other shit, thinking this dude is Name Is’ on Radio 1. I remember that people had told me it fucking dope. It was just next level; before him had was good and I remember hearing it and laughing, thinking it quite spit it like that. Eminem changed , shook the was pretty dope, that the beat was sick and that he was clever. whole thing up, and it was dope because it seemed unanimous Then I was like, ‘Damn, that’s the guy from the Shabaam with everyone that he was dope, you know what I mean? That Shadeeq ‘5 Star Generals’ track! I was a bit slow to catch on, doesn’t always happen in hip-hop so when it does it feels great. but I liked what I heard.” Shame about the Bruno incident though...” Corin Douieb

HHC DIGITAL #003 11 Atomz – the name hails from his graffiti days, after ditching “20 other attempts” including near misses as Pervert and MC Clue PUGS ATOMZ – caught the rap bug during the peak days of EPMD, and De La Soul, and found his rhyming feet ... during the Hiero-sparked freestyle era.

“Moscow was crazy!” says , Illinois emcee Pugs Atomz, “My first rhyme was at school, when we were asked to write having just jetted back from a European jaunt with DJ Vadim. a poem about God,” he recalls. “When I recited what I had “It was strange to see armed soldiers in uniform everywhere, written everyone started saying, ‘You’re !’ I thought, from outside the train stations to even at the corner stores, ‘Yeah, you know, I can do this.’” and the architecture was real utilitarian. But the sky was amazing, and the people were so into the music, besides the Now with a plethora of projects prepped to drop before the language barrier. year’s out, from free download mixtapes (‘Road 2 The Top’) to a side-group distraction as The Gents (“It’s on some real “It felt like when I first got into hip-hop back in Chicago,” he grown man shit – we perform in suits and ties!”), the kid with continues, “where it wasn’t so accessible, and where you the versatile style is going all out to etch his name on the couldn’t just walk down the street and immediately see people worldwide rap map. As that man the great Datty X says, “Pugs who obviously listened to hip-hop – you had to seek it out.” has got the skill and drive to make progress in this industry.” Doc Nostrand About to drop his ‘Roof Top’ album, headed up by the mellow (‘Rooftop’ is out June 16th on Slo-Flo.) collabo with “kindred spirit” Sadat X, ‘Wait And See’, Pugs ‘Wait And See’ feat. Sadat X

HHC DIGITAL #003 12 Now, I don’t think I’m alone in being disappointed by X-Clan’s comeback album, ‘Return From Mecca’. Apart from the ‘sin- gle’ (in quotes, because there was no actual 12-inch, cassette or CD released), it was basically a huge mess, leaving our in- FEAR OF trepid Brother J lost in a sea of ill-advised guest rappers and producers. So it was no surprise that the follow-up popped with little to no fanfare or ‘blog buzz’ – in fact, I didn’t realise until pretty recently that ‘Mainstream Outlawz’ actually came THE RAP out back in January! OFF YOUR RAP RADAR... A once-over of the producers wasn’t too promising: Craig Rip, If you enjoy your hip-hop street level and gritty but you After that album, the next stage is ‘The Custodian And Friends’ The Are, Apokalips… Who on Earth are these guys?! Fat Jack haven’t heard of The Custodian Of Records yet (pictured, sort set, and he’s also producing a full album for Solzalez, one of and DJ Quik may have been total mismatches, but at least we of), then I think it’s only a matter of time. He’s an underground the Brick City artists featured on ‘The Burton’. He’s let me hear knew who the heck they were. Why were they opting not to deejay/producer whose debut album, ‘Burton Music’, just some tracks in advance, including collaborations with Tame 1, use Ultraman? He clearly understood how to produce for J bet- dropped digitally on Domination Records (WTF, Domination, Shawn Luv and Pace Won (yeah, it doesn’t get anymore Jer- ter than anyone since Paradise. But, I’m pleasantly surprised to not even a CD?). He’s a sample based-producer, in the vein of sey than this!), and I can tell you: Custodian is the first up-and- report this album actually works: the new guys knew how to Large Professor and Showbiz, so you won’t hear all the synth coming producer I’ve been excited about in a long time. (Well, lay a foundation for J’s commanding voice, the guest emcees lines and Apple software library sounds you get on the radio him and , but Custodian’s material is more raw – fit, and it’s all around the album ‘Return...’ should have been. today. It’s rugged ’90s throwback stuff, and he’s got a pack of seriously.) So look for this guy’s name in the credits of some of It’s not perfect, but it deserves to be heard – so go check it be- like-minded, up-and-coming emcees with him. your favorite albums down the line, no doubt. fore Brother J retires for another decade. John W McKelvey

HHC DIGITAL #003 13 FLOW FASHION RAHSAAN

“My first single is called ‘The Sneaker Store Terrorist’, so it’s taking that addiction and making a profit off it,” says Florida kicks disciple RahSaan while hitting up Wealthy Hostage in . With a background in design (his designs for Mecca were rocked in The Wire), and his own footwear store about to

open (The Stock Exchange), here’s the fly guy’s science... PHOTOGRAPHY BY KRISTINA HILL

HHC DIGITAL #003 14 When did your addiction to sneakers start? “When I was 15. Until that point I was only allowed to wear Payless sneakers, like XJ900s! When I got my first pair of Air Force 1s – the mids, white and navy blue – it was tenth grade and from that day on that was all I wanted to wear. For the next ten years I wore nothing but Air Force 1s. Then I started getting into Adidas shell-toes and Air Max.”

Do you keep your old sneakers? How large is your collection? “I was born in Guyana, and I still have a tight hold on my homeland, so every couple of years I bag up my leftover sneakers and ship ’em over for underprivileged kids there.”

How long have you been coming to Wealthy Hostage? “Two and a half years – they know me well in here! It’s one of the dopest sneaker spots that I’ve been to in City.”

What are you wearing yourself at the moment? “Red Japanese edition Air Force 1s, with the air bubble.” (Check out www.wealthyhostage.com for more.) ‘Savior’

HHC DIGITAL #003 15 FLIGHT OF THE CONCHORDS (HBO) Get ready to folk, as they say, with the ELECTRIC DVD release of series two of the antics of New Zealand’s fourth most popular folk RELAXATION parody duo. ROBOT CHICKEN: STAR WARS EPISODE II THIS MONTH’S () Dropping in July, this one does what it says HOME ENTERTAINMENT on the tin, mashing up elements of the two worlds. Warped Adult Swim-style comedy AGENT DJ HERO then ensues. (ROCKSTAR) (ACTIVISION) The latest from the bods behind the all- Packaged with a turntable-shaped controller, and featuring METALOCALYPSE S1 conquering Grand Theft Auto franchise, new title Agent is being input from DJ Shadow and Z-Trip plus tracks from Eminem and (ADULT SWIM) touted around as “the ultimate action game”. A lofty claim, Jay-Z, the latest in the musical sim genre plugs straight into The animated story of the world’s most but set against a Cold War backdrop, and with a stealthy dose the ones and twos. “A deejay has the ability to use music to extreme metal band, Dethklok, this one’s an of espionage weaved in to proceedings, it’s one RockStar just control people’s emotions,” says Jigga of the game, and the all out rock fest. Also includes murderous might pull off. Either way, all will be revealed later this year title will feature exclusive content from both the Roc man and kittens and the vocal talents of when it drops on the PS3. Eminem. Out this autumn. Mark Hamill.

HHC DIGITAL #003 167 STILL AVAILABLE! SU 001 ISSUE

CAM’RON is Using Twitter

@J2TheMwah Cosign on bursting onto the stage through giant flip charts – FLIPSET in the building!!! LOL!!! 7:18 PM today, from twitteriffic DOOM! NO HOMO!!!! THE SUPER-VILLAIN ON BUKOWSKI, BEER 5:50 PM today, from web AND BECOMING A GAZZILLIONAIRE Meant to type no homo just then. Tweeting with this iPhone www.hhcdigital.net HHC DIGITAL #001 WILLIE ISZ, CHARLES HAMILTON, DANTE ROSS & MORE! app’s a big fat pain in the ass. Mo homo. 5:50 PM today, from web Video turned out great, especially the Swingball action. Mo homo. DOOM, WILLIE ISZ, DANTE ROSS, MOBONIX 5:49 PM today, from web

Shooting latest budget video in my man’s back garden. 002 ISSUE Paddling pool should look bigger with the right framing. 2:27 PM today, from twitteriffic 35 FREE @J2TheMwah Had idea for our Bosses tour. Let’s start with EMUSIC

MP3s! HHC DIGITAL #002 a giant PowerPoint presentation showing our resumes. And ital.net www.hhcdig use that race car noise. 10:14 AM today, from TweetDeck Watching Clarissa Explains It All. Miss having the budget to sample dope TV themes. ‘ONLY BUILT 4 CUBAN LINX 2’ IS GO!

9:03 AM today, from web GHOSTFACE, SPEECH DEBELLE, TANYA MORGAN, PAUL WHITE

RAEKWON, GHOSTFACE, SPEECH DEBELLE

HHC DIGITAL #003 177 ADVERTISEMENT

HHC DIGITAL #003 18 DETROIT IS NOW! THESE DAYS IF IT’S DOPE IT’S MOST LIKELY FROM DETROIT – AND THESE ARE THE CATS WHO HOLD THE KEY TO THE D’S UNDERGROUND DOMINANCE...

BY RICHARD WATSON • PHOTOGRAPHY BY KRISTINA HILL

HHC DIGITAL #003 19 “Don’t nobody care about us/All they do is doubt us/’Til we blow the spot/Then they all wanna crowd us...” Phat Kat, ‘Don’t Nobody Care About Us’

Its noise – a rumbling, rugged-sometimes-smooth assault on the neck muscles and frequently the gut – had been audible for some time, but 2008 was the year Detroit’s hip-hop community followed through on the oft-heard instruction of its dearly departed talisman J-Dilla and turned it up a lil’ louder. Elzhi (‘The Preface’), Fat Ray (‘The Set-Up’), Black Milk (‘The Tronic’), Illa J (‘’) and (‘Ode To The Ghetto’) were fixtures on both end-of-year top ten lists and each other’s tracks, hammering home the point that, ebbing with talent and a sense of community, the D might currently be the most vital and vibrant spot on the rap map. Now, in ’09, with Eminem bringing the blockbuster back to hip-hop, and a “DETROIT MUSIC IS decade on from his game-changing ‘The Slim Shady LP’, it’s HEARTFELT AND ANTI- time for the D to rule rap – from the bottom up. COMMERCIAL” There’s a certain poetry to Detroit’s newfound standing as the epicentre of authentic hip-hop. If the culture began by

HHC DIGITAL #003 20 giving a voice to the unheard and disenfranchised, then who the artists are not trying to appease the industry, so I think the better to grab the mic at this moment than the residents of a music is becoming a lot more heartfelt and anti-commercial. city that has never known the glamour and notoriety of more It’s back to the underground and the feeling is so real. I’m fashionable hip-hop hotbeds? A city synonymous with struggle; starting to feel a lot of the local artists that’s coming out now where hustling and grinding are daily routines for damn near because they’re being honest with the music. They’re not everyone, from big time ball players to nine-to-fivers? And yes, trying to portray that commercial sound that everybody in the definitely the resident rap talent, too. music industry loves so much.”

“Detroit is a blue collar city,” says Phat Kat, a stalwart of his After years of hearing talent-light, bling-heavy rappers set their hometown’s hip-hop scene since the mid-’90s, “so you get a shopping lists to insipid, ring-tone ready beats, the appeal of blue collar emcee; a working class emcee. We’re not iced-out Phat Kat, Fat Ray and their hard grafting, heart-spilling peers and driving Bentleys and everything, but we’re surviving off of isn’t hard to fathom, least of all when the rumbling of their the music and it shows in the music.” tracks often seems rivalled only by the rumbling in their bellies. Fat Ray, an emcee with a similarly no-frills persona, seems “DJ PREMIER WAS buoyed by what he views as a classic, rose-growing-from- “Yeah, it’s hunger, man,” relates Hex Murda, who, as concrete scenario. manager of Elzhi, Black Milk and Guilty Simpson, has a better GIVING ME PROPS understanding than most of the fire that fuels his city’s FOR ’THE TRONIC’” “The artists in the city feel like nobody’s gonna help them current rap ambassadors. “It’s like when you come out and in the situation that they’re in,” he observes, “so the music you’re a Detroit cat – whether you’re Black or Guilty or Royce comes out a lot more honest and a lot more raw. It’s really like or whoever − you gotta let ’em know: ‘This is what I do, this

HHC DIGITAL #003 21 is my lane, y’all can’t come over here. Y’all can do whatever Whether Detroit is as overlooked as its artists frequently good underdog story? How many other rappers have had their other shit you wanna do, but this is Detroit shit right here; claim on record hardly matters when that us-against-the- lives immortalised on screen in a rap remake of Rocky? it and you can’t fuck with it’. It’s a hunger world attitude is so intrinsic to the Motor City mentality. While and desire that these guys have to let people know, ‘You keep easterly neighbour New York continues to an exude an air of “He really got it done for the city,” says local legend DJ House overlooking us, and that’s cool ’cos we right here’. entitlement like a once-storied sports franchise perennially Shoes, who got his start deejaying at fabled hip- bereft of silverware, Detroit plays with a chip on its collective hop club St Andrews back in 1994. “No matter what anybody “I don’t know, man. Sometimes it feels like you banging your shoulder, grinding and scrapping for every point and – behind says, he sold like 35 million records and he’s a product of his head against the wall, but if you doing this just for recognition the 8 Mile-wide scowl – revelling in its underdog status. environment, which is Detroit, so that’s great.” you might as well quit and go work at the post office.” While it’s easy to disassociate the mega-selling Eminem Still, while Em’s self-determination took him to the top of the As Black Milk underlines, “Being from Detroit, I’m condident from the D’s 2009 roster of ravenous underground rhyme- pop charts, his success – perhaps because the involvement with what I do and, at the end of the day, I’m the type of artist spitters, there’s no denying that Marshall’s incredible ascent of undisputed Cali kingpin Dr Dre muddied the geographical that makes what I wanna make and if I’m satisfied with the is testament to the against-all-odds attitude in which his waters somewhat – didn’t exactly have the music industry project then it really doesn’t matter what outside people think hometown is steeped. Em’s trailer park back-story gave decamping to Detroit. In fact, one of the factors distinguishing about it. him the authenticity usually considered lacking in his pale- Detroit artists from their cross country counterparts is the faced predecessors (Detroit’s majority-black make-up and lack of even local-level infrastructure at their disposal. Your “It’s crossed my mind to deliberately make a commercial- segregated streets making his rise a virtual photo-negative average player in, say, the Bay Area’s aggressively indigenous sounding track before,” he adds, “but whether it’s from being retelling of the textbook rap-to-riches story), and while, of scene can afford to throw up the thizz face at outsiders from Detroit or something else, my brain won’t let me do it! course, his skills on the mic spoke for , they too baffled by the stunna shades and side-shows before ghost- I’m always just trying to create something new and fresh that were steeled in the fiery battles that went down at spots like riding their way to the radio station and promoting their no one’s heard before.” the city’s legendary Hip-Hop Shop. You want a local-boy-makes- latest CD to legions of fiercely loyal local fans. However, with

HHC DIGITAL #003 22 local labels and radio support virtually non-existent, the D’s troopers often seem to be struggling against resistance not from the world outside their city, but from their immediate surroundings. But it’s a state of affairs that only seems to offer more fuel to their fire – and at the very least it’s certainly not something that Hex Murda is losing any sleep over.

“Radio is gonna be radio and it’s gonna do what it does,” he shrugs. “It’s gonna play what the advertisers need it to play. You’re not going to listen to the radio and hear three or four “LYRICALLY, ELZHI’S ONE Guilty, Black Milk and Elzhi records in a row. I’m not even trying to be delusional and think to myself like it’s possible. I don’t OF THE DOPEST EMCEES need to change the radio because, on some real shit, fuck the radio. The internet is here now. I can get shit out quicker on I’VE EVER HEARD” the internet than I can on the radio. It’s instant. I can put a record up tomorrow and a hundred million people will hear it. It’s global, so why should I care about the radio? I mean, the radio is good at making people famous if you want to be heard locally. That’s cool, but at the same time we got XFM stations now. Black Milk and Guilty and Elzhi get play on Sirius and that’s nationwide, worldwide.”

HHC DIGITAL #003 23 Make no mistake: That nationwide, worldwide audience has been essential to the D’s come-up, with heads from Europe and Japan voraciously collecting catalogue from the city’s “THE SIMPLICITY IS artists and showing up en masse for live shows. WHAT MAKES DILLA’S

“When we do shows that take place overseas it’s amazing,” BEATS GREAT” enthuses . “I was in Paris one night with Illa J, Aloe Blacc and on the ‘Dilla Changed My Life’ tour. After the set, I spun for like five hours and the energy from the crowd was consistent from beginning to end – they were going fucking crazy; every word from every song, even the obscure shit. Cats have no idea. The love we get over there is so much more intense than anything we get back home.”

Crucially, while supporters of the city’s music may hail from all four corners of the globe, they can broadly be characterised as one demographic: hip-hop fans desperately seeking that increasingly elusive fix of, well, good old-fashioned hip-hop. To some extent, Detroit’s ascent is the result of impeccable timing: Many well-seasoned hip-hop heads were unwilling to lift a Juice-filled petrol can to Lil Jon and friends in the

HHC DIGITAL #003 24 wake of the indie scene’s turn-of-the-millennium implosion, is primed to stop the Big Apple’s rot just as soon as their label and though the new generation of blog-rappers isn’t without frees them seems somewhat pointless when a slew of Detroit talent, there’s a suspicion that many of them will prove as artists are busy dropping the type of creative but structurally trendy and transient as their much-maligned skinny jeans. sound street music that we used to take for granted from the five boroughs. Detroit’s finest, though, display a relationship with hip-hop’s glory years that goes way deeper than a throwback font on a “I’ve been telling people for a good few years that Detroit is smedium T-shirt, serving up music that appeases ears raised like the new Bronx,” relates House Shoes. “People are looking on the late ’80s/early-’90s hip-hop staples without sounding to us for inspiration.” overly safe or retrogressive. Sure, the buzz coming out of Detroit may not be as radical as the sounds that have shaped Hell, even Noo Yiddy’s own boom-bap standard-setters have the crunk or hyphy movements or even, for that matter, their ears cocked to the mid-west. Britain’s own scene, but then that’s half the point. It’s the balancing act perfected by the D’s great and good that “Just recently I was over in Phoenix for Sha-Money’s One- makes their output all the more impressive − fans who came Stop Shop producer conference,” recalls Black Milk, “and up on can nod their heads to Black Milk without DJ Premier was on the panel giving me props. Even though feeling like they’ve heard it all before. he’s on the album [adding scratches to the track ‘Matrix’ with “I’M ALWAYS TRYING and Sean P], for me he’s the biggest legend TO CREATE SOMETHING Perhaps the greatest indicator of the Motor City’s rude health out of all the hip-hop producers, so props from him make me THAT NO ONE’S HEARD is that these days, bemoaning New York’s creative stagnancy feel like I’m where I need to be musically. It’s the same as when BEFORE” or speculating about which bureaucracy-beleaguered emcee was giving me props out in Cali.”

HHC DIGITAL #003 25 It probably shouldn’t come as a surprise that creativity is that – while certainly conforming to the time honoured beats- such a key component on the Motor City production line. Few and-rhymes blueprint − sounds genuinely different to that American cities boast a musical heritage as broad-reaching as emanating from the more traditional hip-hop hotbeds. Detroit (its nicknames, Motown and Rock City, nod proudly to genre-spanning past glories and, whatever Eminem’s personal “Guys like Detroit’s Most Wanted, Awesome Dre, Vince, tastes, it’s no slouch in the stakes, either), so it’s only Smiley and all these other cats, they had kind of a sound too,” natural that the D’s hip-hop vanguard draws influence from contends Hex. “They had their own sound, and the sound that across the board. For every gritty, street-spitting Phat Kat or we have now still goes back to that mentality that those guys Royce Da 5’ 9” (and if you like your gulliness a little less Fader- had just in the street. But as far as music, yeah, at this moment friendly, there’s always the antics of the Eastside Chedda Boyz in time you can say, ‘That’s a Detroit cat,’ when you hear a “I’m definitely paying attention to what’s going on over in the and their one-time vicious rivals the Street Lordz), there’s dude rhyming or when you hear a certain type of track; the city of Detroit,” says Show, production maestro for New York’s an adventurous, avant garde offering from or way they chopped the drum or something, ‘That’s a Detroit legendary Diggin’ In The Crates crew, an outfit synonymous and his crew, now transplanted dude.’ , Detroit’s Most Wanted − all these guys had their with the type of music now deemed largely MIA from hip- to Brooklyn. Which only makes it all the more remarkable own lane. We’re trying to build our own lane, too.” hop’s established birthplace. “As long as you know what you that the city has, over the last few years, begun to cultivate are doing with the sampler, then I’m down with it, you know something approaching a signature sound. “What we’re seeing isn’t just a new thing,” says Waajeed. “In what I mean? Let’s be honest, when it comes to listening to hip- so many ways Detroit is so different to so many other places hop music, a lot of times people don’t even try to get creative, The first wave of Detroit artists worked wonders for local pride, across the world. That directly affects our originality, our ideas so as long as those guys are creative, I don’t care where they but did so largely by proving that the D could keep stylistic pace and our stance on the world and feeds into the sound you hear come from, man. These guys from Detroit, they’re soundin’ with their colleagues in New York and . By contrast, now. It’s been kinda like a building process over the last ten good to me.” the Detroit artists making noise today are cranking out music years that’s made it the kinda focal point it is now.”

HHC DIGITAL #003 26 That Detroit hip-hop catches the ear and nags the neck with a sound so distinct from the competition is due, in no small part, to the dusty fingered movements of one man in particular. While people’s champ Proof was the mayor of the Detroit hip- hop scene, and his peroxide pal became its pop superstar, the main architect of the city’s signature sound is the man who, after dropping a couple of resolutely local hits, conquered – yes! – New York and LA before officially welcoming us to Detroit: the inimitable J Dilla.

A look at some of Dilla’s earliest assignments – specifically his work as musical choreographer for 1996’s official reinstatement – evidences the very qualities he would later display in abundance as a Detroit figurehead: a heart for classic hip-hop combined with an ear for innovation. His brassy, broody board-work on De La’s ‘’ single “I HOPE DETROIT ARTISTS provided the perfect backdrop for the Plug boys’ seething state-of-the-union address, while the mixed reaction to Tribe’s KEEP THAT UNDERDOG FIRE Ummah-led move into woozier musical territories on ‘Beats, IN THEIR SOULS” Rhymes & Life’ is at least partly attributable to the fact that, while others merely claim to be, James Yancey was genuinely

HHC DIGITAL #003 27 on some next shit. Ironically, Dilla would spend the next rabble-rousing duties, Dilla firmly established the D’s facility decade crafting music entirely in keeping with the intrepid for robust rap bangers with fidgety, off-key inflections; music golden era spirit once embodied by Quest and friends, and faithful to the streets but not enslaved by its strictures. when the world eventally , the biggest beneficiary was the producer’s hometown. So idiosyncratic yet instantly recognisable is The Dilla Method that, when asked to pinpoint his late friend’s technical Throughout his tragically curtailed career, Dilla almost seemed innovations, Waajeed – who began his own beat-making to be moving backwards – beautifully, weirdly backwards like career after borrowing, and later buying, a broken MPC2000 in the video for ‘Drop’ (yep, another Jay Dee from Dilla – can’t quite put a finger on it. “I can’t really say sure-shot). While many a board-basher has smoothed out what his technical thing was – it was him, you know what I’m their sound for commercial consumption, Dilla often appeared saying? I think the simplicity is what makes Dilla’s beats great. intent on scuffing his up, amplifying his aesthetic eccentricities A Dilla beat is very similar to a conversation with Dilla: Jay to (im)perfect a sound that was – and is – distinctly Detroit. didn’t really say much, but what he did say and how he said it Despite spending his final days in more tranquil Cali climes, was simple, so you got the point; it was like a slap to the face. Dilla never stopped repping for his hometown, and for every It was firm, to the point, and it left a taste in your mouth and Busta or collabo he handed out heat to his Motor left you something to think about.” City brethren. Even the 2005 JayLib project ‘’, ostensibly a cross cultural collision of Dilla and west Today, of course, Dilla’s sound and spirit live on not merely coast maverick Madlib, became an advert for the new Detroit in mixtapes, t-shirts and limited edition mixtape-and-t- aesthetic. By keeping pace with his notoriously experimental shirt collector’s packs, but also in the music of his peers. playmate while roping Guilty Simpson and Frank n’ Dank in on An undoubted Dilla disciple, Black Milk has continued in

HHC DIGITAL #003 28 his predecessor’s cracked, filtered path while increasingly so did his February 2006 death, along with Proof’s passing broadening his sound in a way that would surely have the great just two months later. Two very different personalities (one man nodding his head from on high (Black recently hinted that as gregarious and sociable as the other was introspective and his follow-up to the eclectic ‘Tronic’ will be Beatles-influenced), studio-bound), both were bonafide Motor City royalty when while Dilla’s baby bro Illa J is, with the help of his late sibling’s different tragic circumstances made them the highest profile archived beats, quite literally carrying on the family name on additions to a list of deceased Detroit rap talent that already debut album ‘Yancey Boys’. included AWOL’s DJ Homicide, Wipeout, Icewood and Proof’s former D-12 bandmate Bugz. We know how Detroit Still, Dilla’s influence extends far further than just individual responds to getting knocked down though, and while we can CVs, his innovations key to his hometown’s current rude health. only speculate on how strong the city might be with Big Proof While it’s arguable that no other city in hip-hop currently does and Dilla Dawg still alive, the resilience of their peers in the ‘hard’ as well as the D (check Phat Kat’s unnerving, Dilla- wake of their passing is there for all to see. (“Before it was all “There’s no AD, there’s no BD,” he insists. “It’s a Detroit produced ‘Cold Steel’ for a song as chilly and tough as its title), cliks,” confirms Phat Kat, “but the passing of Dilla and Proof movement. Even despite J’s greatness, I really kinda hate this the city’s damn near incontestable in its ability to temper brought us all together.”) idea of before-Dilla and post-Dilla. There was a movement prior those asphalt-ready beats and frequently frostbitten rhymes to J and there’s a movement after. We should be focussed on with the type of warm, honest-to-goodness soul that’s been a It’s this same one-for-all ethos that Waajeed believes should be the city as a whole. Because of Dilla’s passing, all of a sudden local staple since Jay Dee and his fellow Slum Villagers started the true recipient of the spotlight, the Triple P man cautioning everybody’s focussed on his great achievements and it’s almost to circulate the piecemeal charms of their ‘Fan-Tas-Tic Vol 1’ against Dilla’s lionisation by fans and journalists, and, despite like an afterthought where the media and popular culture just back in 1997. his adoration for the man who sold him his first worse-for- kinda looks to ‘Donuts’ and all of Dilla’s current records that wear bit of kit, refusing to co-sign a Detroit rap timeline with kinda have a story behind them. It’s bullshit because it’s a lot While Dilla’s life left an indelible imprint on Detroit hip-hop, James Yancey at its centre. more going on.

HHC DIGITAL #003 29 So do the players at the heart of Detroit hip-hop see themselves company of other artists who share in the success of Detroit as part of a movement; practitioners of a region-specific hip- and what we all have as a whole, which is a movement.” hop sub genre – or simply a group of emcees and producers who share a postcode, personal friendships, and a penchant The most exciting part of all this? The fact that this Motor City for proper hip-hop? movement shows no signs of slowing down. Elzhi’s ‘The Set- Up’ and Fat Ray and Black Milk’s ‘The Preface’ were, as their “There’s a circle of people I could count on both hands that do titles suggest, intended as mere curtain-raisers for ‘proper’ a certain genre of music,” opines Hex, “whether you want to albums, while this year has already seen a relapsing Eminem call it Detroit hip-hop or whatever. There are definitely fans, returning to pop glory, upcomer Finale building his rep with especially overseas, that latch onto the music kinda like people ‘A Pipedream And A Promise’ and Dilla giving us another “There isn’t a hero or a saviour or a particular person that did with and only listen to Detroit shit, but as a posthumous reminder of his dopeness on ‘Jay $tay Paid’. Still defines the sound of the city. Black Milk is not that, Dilla’s not whole, even though we’re all a crew and we all work together, I to come, there’s Elzhi’s ‘The Feed’, a possible Slum Village that. People should stop treating it like a phenomenon, ’cos don’t think it’s as big as the crunk thing. It’s just Detroit people reunion, and the tantalising triumvirate of Black Milk, Guilty I know what happens with phenomenons. A couple of years have a kinship in their music thought process.” Simpson and NY Boot Camper as . from now, the thing that T-Pain uses on his voice is going to be “It’s gonna be what people expect but not really what people a joke ’cos everyone’s using it, and I want to make sure that “Lyrically, Elzhi’s one of the dopest emcees I’ve ever heard,“ expect,” teases Black Milk of the team-up. “It’s gonna be on a Dilla is not put in that phenomenon basket where people are says Fat Ray, talking about that kinship. “When he asked me different vibe – but still smacking.” saying ‘‘Donuts’, ‘Donuts’, ‘Donuts’…’ and then ten years from to be on his ‘Fire’ remix it was an honour. It was a good feeling now it’ll be like the fucking ‘Thong Song’ by Sisqo. I’m hoping hearing so many great Detroit artists shooting for one common Waajeed also remains optimistic about the future of Detroit to bring attention to people like and T3; everybody, as goal, which is letting the world know that we are capable of hip-hop, despite – or perhaps because of – his pessimism for opposed to the smaller picture of just Dilla and Black Milk.” making hit music. It’s definitely a good feeling to be in the the city’s socioeconomic situation.

HHC DIGITAL #003 30 “When New York had its toughest economic times and some of the most racist, corrupt motherfuckers running the government, out came hip-hop, and I think that it takes that pressure and that energy and anger and an SP1200 sitting there to make that happen. That’s what’s going to happen with Detroit. With the automotive situation and , I think that the greatest is yet to come because Detroit is so fucked up and shit is real, you know?

“So I hope the artists keep that underdog fire in their souls,” he continues, “and keep seeing Detroit as a place that’s slept on as opposed to a great mecca. Some people are holding us “BEING FROM DETROIT I to that now and it’s still not even true.”

CAN’T MAKE DELIBERATELY Waa probably needn’t worry about his Motown peers losing COMMERCIAL TRACKS” their fire, but at this rate it’s going to get harder and harder for his hometown to duck rap music mecca status. Detroit the most underestimated plus underrated city in this hip-hop game? Surely not for much longer. Black Milk ‘Mo Power’ Fat Ray & Black Milk feat. AB ‘Take Control’

HHC DIGITAL #003 31 FINALE A PROMISING START... BY PHILLIP MLYNAR

The latest emcee to fly off Detroit’s never-slowing underground sugar-coated, it’s not super-planned out, and we’re not about conveyor-belt, Finale’s recent ‘A Pipedream And A Promise’ to say it’s messed up when it isn’t - it is messed up. Whatever was wrought through with traditional D-Town grit as well as you heard about what goes on in Detroit, whether it’s where featuring nods to the city’s heritage with a Dilla production I grew up on the east side, Conant Gardens where Dilla and and vocal input from first-wave Detroit ambassador Awesome Slum Village started, or the west side with Big Tone, Detroit is Dre. Here’s his snapshot of the Motor City... going to be Detroit. The music is pretty accurate.”

Is the Detroit portrayed on records the same as the real You’ve talked about how it took Proof and Dilla passing away Detroit experienced by anyone who lives there? to bring Detroit to the world’s attention. How do you look on “If it’s a rapper who is really from Detroit then it’s very Eminem’s contribution to putting Detroit on the map? accurate. Detroit, the way we approach music, this is what it is, “I would say Em did what no other rapper in Detroit could you love it or you hate it. Detroit is going to be Detroit: it’s not possibly do. He put Detroit on the multi-platinum-I-sold-20-

HHC DIGITAL #003 32 So is there a strong sense of unity in the Detroit scene? Or is What about now? that something that outsiders have just assumed? “There aren’t many venues in downtown Detroit – it’s been “There is now, but there wasn’t before, ’cos there was a lot of run-over by stadiums and construction. It’s being taken over circles. Before, with an artist like Dilla or Proof, or Wipeout or and companies are swooping in. There used to be dope venues Blade Icewood or D, everybody in Detroit had their own like Mahogany where I saw Proof battle like 50 rappers in a individual circle. The way it worked was, there was a Dilla circle, row! That spot is gone now. The only spot building up right and there was a Proof and D12 circle, and a Big Herc circle. now is called Five Elements Gallery.” When Dilla and Proof passed away we kinda came together and said we need to overlap these circles – we had to figure Is there any crossover between the hip-hop and the techno out a way to help each other out. Detroit was separated, but scenes in Detroit? we’re learning how to come together now.” “I’m actually working on an electronic hip-hop project with . When you look at Detroit playing a big part in techno What were key hip-hop venues when you were coming up? music, it’s automatic. When me and Invincible was coming up, million-records level. He’s without doubt one of the greatest “There was a spot in Pontiac, where I met One Be Low if we had a contract to look over, we’d go over to Underground rappers to ever do it and he took rap to the highest level – he co-produced the Binary Star record, which in my eyes is a Resistance and have the homey Mike Banks look over it. And possible. But what Dilla and Proof did was give the inner city definite classic – and it was called Crazy Moe’s, in downtown I was just over there a couple of weeks ago listening to beats, hope and solidified it. Eminem gave it the push we needed, but Pontiac. This was on a Monday, then on Tuesdays there was a ’cos , a G-Unit producer, he’s got access to their Dilla and Proof gave it the hope. I mean Eminem took Detroit spot called Lush Lounge, which is the place where I met Guilty whole back catalogue. They brought him in to mix up electronic and put us on the Grammys! So because of that we were then Simpson and Black Milk and Hex Murda. And then there used music with hip-hop.” able to see Proof rockin’ on stage with Em at the American to always be open mics at the Shelter and downstairs at a (Finale’s ‘A Pipedream And A Promise’ is out now.) Music Awards.” place called St Andrews.” ‘One Man Show’ feat. Casual

HHC DIGITAL #003 33 D.ALLIE DETROIT’S NEW WORDSMITH... BY PHILLIP MLYNAR

It’s just after 3pm on a lazy afternoon and Detroit success, but I guess I go against the social law: I went to lyricist D. Allie is whiling the day away in a coffee shop, jotting college and have a lot of friends who went on to become down a new rap verse in his rhyme pad. Asked about the stock-brokers and got into securities shit and they’re like, ‘Are last line he’s just crafted, he offers to kick the whole verse, a you feeling successful?’ I’m like, ‘Of course I feel successful, I capella, live from the barista bar: “So many thoughts on the wake up every day and I get to create things!’ Everybody has mind,” he begins, before ending some 60 seconds later with, their own definitions of success.” “The only question of success is: What’s your definition?/Yeah, I’m missing the fortune but that’s only monetary/I gain wealth How does being from Detroit affect your music? from the love that I share with my family...” “I love the city, man. That’s another thing, all my friends I went to college with left the city. People always ask me why Is that a truthful answer about your definition of success? do I stay here? They’ll say there’s nothing going on and ask “Yeah, I believe so. Everyone always wants to talk about why don’t I move to New York or LA ’cos that’s where music

HHC DIGITAL #003 34 have in Detroit is that we do not have the push of a record different pieces come together to create one grand art piece, label here, or even the push of a PR firm being based here. as opposed to the melting pot theory of America where How do you know I’m here? I could make the best music in everybody has to ultimately become the same. So let’s go the world, but at that point it doesn’t really matter if nobody with: ‘From the bottom up to the top’.” knows who I am. But there’s a lot of cats across the world who are starting to support us, like Gilles Peterson – he plays What’s the first word that comes to mind when I say J Dilla? Detroit music more than Detroit plays Detroit music!” “Genius.”

In broader terms, if you were the mayor of Detroit what Awesome Dre… would your first act in charge be? “Pioneer.” “First of all, let me preface this by saying that this is not a job that I would ever want! But I grew up always believing in Invincible… grass roots action, so I’d want to start from the bottom up, “Conscious.” is happening. I’m like, ‘No, there’s great music going on here, as opposed to the top down. It starts with the people, so just it’s just that nobody hears about it!’ People aren’t ready for create plans and actions to make the people think that they Favourite Eminem album... the type of music we’re creating, but that’s starting to change can make a change, as opposed to just hearing orders from “It’s definitely a toss-up between the ‘Slim Shady’ and ‘Marshall with artists like Black Milk and Finale.” the top down that they never really get to see the effects of.” Mathers’ albums, and those albums are very pieced together, like you know all the tracks run together properly, but I think So what one thing would help artists in the Detroit What would your slogan be? the first offering – well, ‘Infinite’’s the first first offering – but I underground scene? “Maybe something goofy and back-packer-ish, like ‘Similar think the ‘Slim Shady’ album, definitely.” “Money is always an issue! But I think the biggest problem we differences’! I always liked the concept of a mosaic, where ‘Everywhich Way But Loose (Talking Ears)’

HHC DIGITAL #003 35 FIVE FOR FIVE: THE KYZA OPINION...

BY CHLOE MCCLOSKEY

London emcee Kyza is back with a hot new album. Or mixtape. Actually, he’s not too sure himself, explaining, “I don’t wanna call ‘Shots Of Smirnoff’ a mixtape, but I’m coming to the reali- sation that it is.” Either way, the 28-year-old is in rude form on it, and here he talks to HHC Digital about vices, violence, and why being the Kelly Rowland of Terra Firma ain’t so bad...

HHC DIGITAL #003 36 1. BOTTOMS UP... used to beatbox and rap and freestyle on the spot. It was re- “I was very much into drinking at one time. That’s why they ally ’80s – proper gold rope chains and track suits and Kangol, used to call me Smirnoff,’ cos I literally used to drink pint glass- then going into the ’90s with the Kid ‘N’ Play thing with the es of Smirnoff, no chaser, real talk. I was 18, young – I just liked fades and routines and that. And I was a very good dancer – I getting drunk. We used to go to people’s house parties, me could do caterpillars and windmills until puberty hit – then I and my boys, in north, south, east and west – we were got too big! little travelers. We’d arrive and go to where they were serving the drinks; they’d be like, ‘Know what Kyza’s having... Smirnoff!’ “As for music, I was into Eazy E and and Rodney P and And I’d pour it out, glug, glug, glug, glug – chick dancin’ front London Posse. ‘Gangster Chronicle’ was my first UK hip-hop of me, woo! Ravin’, making faces shit like crazy... Those were record. I had KRS-One, ’ ‘Jimbrowski’ and Eazy the days. Now my tolerance for alcohol has just gone down. E’s ‘Eazy Duz It’ – that was my first record. I used to play that I don’t smoke either. I’m not what you’d call ‘healthy’ but in when my mum was at work and think, ‘He said fuck, he said terms of vices, I am. My only vice is women.” bitch! Ah, this is heavy!’ Ho, motherfucker – it was probably the first time I heard someone say motherfucker; I was like, 2. THE GOOD OL’ DAYS... ‘Can you even say that?’ It was so foreign to me – but I loved it. “I got into hip-hop because of my older brother and cousin. I And now, in terms of new school emcees: , es- remember going to the cinema watching Breakin’ – Turbo and pecially – his wordplay and flow are ridiculous, and Ozone and all that. We used to have our little crew and we he’s very, very underrated.”

HHC DIGITAL #003 37 3. THE TERRA FIRMA SPLIT... “I didn’t want to be a forgotten person. It wouldn’t have been fair to myself. There are many reasons why we split, but I’m not prepared to divulge that information right yet. I wasn’t going to be happy just being in Terra Firma and just being a rhymer. There is always a ‘star’ in a group scenario – look at Pussycat Dolls, Destiny’s Child, N’Sync. There is always one who stands out and that was Klash – he was the ‘leader’, the ‘figurehead’, but then you got your Kelly Rowlands and your Mel Cs. Yeah, I’m the Kelly Rowland of Terra Firma, haha!”

4. THE UK SCENE... “The UK game is too oriented around how ill you are as an em- cee; it’s all about skills or punchlines and people have lost the focus of making good enjoyable music for everybody. People don’t seem to be bringing the musical element to the game – bar people like Foreign Beggars and some others like Pirelli. I’m not going the typical route of punchline hip-hop, or the ‘on

HHC DIGITAL #003 38 the road’ thing talking about drugs and violence. It’s a bit of a but at the same time, a bit of eye candy and female support fusion of both – that’s my contribution. wouldn’t hurt.”

“The peak of the UK scene is gone. The peak was when Klash 5. STOP THE VIOLENCE... brought out ‘Sagas...’, when brought out ‘High Plains “Violence is not as prominent in UK hip-hop as it is in grime. Drifter’, when we were doing Kung Fu in Camden, when Task- Violence seems to be the central theme in grime. Grime em- force was doing ‘Music From The Corner’, and yeah, when Ter- cees seem to be obsessed with being violent and aggressive. ra Firma was out as well. Then all the crews broke up – Terra Fair enough – that seems to be where the energy comes from. Firma broke up, Poisonous Poets broke up... I know dudes my age who are still going wild on road: ‘No one can’t tell me naffin’ blud,’ they say. [Sarcastically] This is a re- “Plus nowadays the connection with the female audience is sult of people feeling ‘disenfranchised’. Kyza Sayso, the psy- the missing link in UK hip-hop. You go to a grime jam and there chologist, has come to the conclusion that they don’t know are a lot of females about, but at a typical UK hip-hop night, how to deal with their emotions properly. If they appear emo- there will be four girls in the place and they will be them bel- tional – it’s deemed weak. Man gotta be hard out here, bruv, ly-top-wearing trustafarians with combat trousers! It doesn’t hard body. That’s why I like being me as a rapper – I don’t have turn me on seeing a girl waving a Stella in the air at me. I need to come across as being ‘hard body’.” incentive to keep working hard! In Newcastle, there were (‘SOS: Shots Of Smirnoff’ is out now on Dented.) dudes who knew every word to every tune – that was cool, ‘Sin City’

HHC DIGITAL #003 39 A new MOP album? Why not? Billy Danze and Lil’ Fame’s sound – that concrete-hard, testosterone-brewing, rugged alchemy still rooted in Brownsville, Brooklyn – has never made even a scintilla of a glance towards being fashionable or trendy, so M.O.P. in the stylistic crapshoot of oh-nine hip-hop their blend is as hearty a tonic as ever.

Nursing a hangover from the night before – though breaking out the traditional bottle of Henny long before the clock hits three in the afternoon – Billy and Mash Out Posse lifer Laze- E-Laze are in boisterous form, joking about a back-in-the-day fight they had over in the area of BK (“A great fight!” laughs Danzenie), while Fame’s largely content to leaf through a magazine, perking up only to try out a mock London BLOW THE HORNS! accent on the way up to the roof for the photoshoot. So with THE MASH OUT POSSE ARE BACK... lead single ‘Blow The Horns’ name-checking MOP’s “five By Phillip Mlynar • Photography by Alexander Richter albums, six deals” pedigree, we got the men from St Marks to take a trip down their back catalogue memory lane. Salute!

HHC DIGITAL #003 40 What’s your favourite track from the ‘To The Death’ album? the TV and he was coming to the studio to do the record with Billy: “Mine is ‘To The Death’, the actual song. That album was me and it was fuckin’ amazing. And DJ Premier produced it. If Select Records, our first shot.” I’m not mistaken that was our first feature.” Laze: “The funny thing about that record with Premo was we What were the studio sessions like? did it at our studio and we made him use a he Billy: “Studio sessions was great, all kinds of Jack Daniels and didn’t use and he was mad as shit! He was going to fight me that E&J, my god! My liver is still recuperating! I’m still looking for day! All the artists like Fame and Premo, they’re real particular transplants and stuff like that! It was a good time because, like about their equipment. Premo made ‘Brownsville’ and ‘Stick I said, it was something that we had never done before. It was To Your Gunz’ off an MPC60 – he was so fuckin’ pissed off at fun and it’s not like we missed out on anything that was going me but those records were amazing.” on in the street, ’cos anything that was going on in the street Fame: “What he normally use?” we brought with us to the studio and put it on wax.” Laze: “A 950. I gave him a 3000; that’s back in the days when I was using a 3000.” How about ‘Firing Squad’? Billy: “That was on Relativity. My favourite joint was ‘Stick To Moving on to ‘First Family 4 Life’... Ya Gunz’ with . For me, it was because it was Kool G Billy: “That record... Damn, it’s a lot of great records on that Rap: I actually met him when he came off the elevator to come album: ‘Down 4 Whateva’, ‘4 Alarm Blaze’, Downtown Swinga to the studio. I’d never seen this man a day in my life outside of ‘98’, ‘Brooklyn/Jersey Get Wild’...”

HHC DIGITAL #003 41 What was the like recording it? And ‘Warriorz’? Billy: “We were working more with Premo then over at D&D Billy: “‘Warriorz’ is my favourite track on ‘Warriorz’. I love it! studios. It was a good feeling ’cos now you actually felt like At that time we were on .” you were a player in the game, like you were really on the field, ’cos would pop through one day, or Jay-Z would come by; How was that? Premo’s there, would pop in... Billy: “That was great because going on Loud, they had Wu- “We had a good time recording the album ’cos we actually Tang, , and Pun was over there. Everything had got the chance to work with different people – OC was on worked for them at that point. They whole set up was they that album, , Heather B, – it was a good could handle street music, so it was great to go over there. album, a well put together album.” Of course we came out with the DR Period produced ‘Ante Up’ and people went nuts over it. They put it out and all How would you describe D&D at the time? around the world people were able to get the album. It was a Billy: “D&D was like your hallway, like your block where you good situation, and I thank all the guys there for giving us an hang out at. You go up the block and pass the people who opportunity to further our career.” live on this side and you’re cool with them, then you go a little further up the block and see somebody else, then you turn the Can you remember the first time you preformed ‘Ante Up’ in corner and there’s someone else that you can hang with... It a club? was always good times in that studio.” Laze: “The Limelight, in New York.”

HHC DIGITAL #003 42 Billy: “And it was so hot; somebody passed out. It was steaming hot, there was a broken AC or something, it was like 2000 degrees, it was hot as shit...” Laze: “The story behind that was that Peter Gation, who also owned the Tunnel, didn’t want MOP to perform at The Limelight, so in spite to us because we’d been on the radio and everything, he made them turn off the AC. That was to spite MOP. But we packed the house.”

What was the reaction to the song like? Laze: “Well the story behind ‘Ante Up’ was that at the time ‘How About Some Hardcore’ was the record that people were coming to see, and ‘Ante Up’ didn’t have that same sort of reaction immediately, except for a certain section just going crazy, but everyone else was looking like, ‘What’s this? Something new?’ It was only after a couple of months later when it started going off, when [Funkmaster] Flex started whiling with it...

HHC DIGITAL #003 43 “But I knew ‘Ante Up’ was going to be a hit. With every new out on the stage and there was ‘MOP’ signs and then people Laze: “‘Marxmen Cinema’ was Fame’s idea. He called one day song, I look to see if it affects the most aggressive people and started waving actual mops! A bunch of fuckin’ mops! At that saying, ‘Yo, I want to start a new thing called Marxmen – you then I figure it will filter down and eventually affect everyone. point I was like, ‘Shit is out of control!’” know, like a double thing like actual marksmen and men from But that particular day at Limelight, it was aggravating, it was St Marks, ’cos we from there...’” hot, everybody was mad, the group was pissed off, people Billy: “[Laughing] The man from Marks!” were falling out with each other... So to put that song in the Laze: “That was the first mixtape that we put out that was middle of that scene...” “ROC-A-FELLA just all new, weird themes. We was having not really beef with AND G-UNIT Roc-A-Fella, but they was having beef, so we was like that ain’t What’s the wildest thing you’ve ever seen in the crowd when WERE TWO DIFFERENT gonna stop us putting records out...” performing ‘Ante Up’? ANIMALS…” Billy: “I think the wildest shit was the picket signs, the home How was it being on Roc-A-Fella versus G-Unit? made picket signs – just a mop!” Billy: “Um, it wasn’t no difference to me at all, ’cos whatever Laze: “Hip-Hop Kemp, right?” How about the Marxmen project? going to happen with MOP was going to happen with MOP: Billy: “I was like, ‘Holy shit, mops!’” Billy: “The Marxmen was... At that time we were being more this was the year we were signed to Roc-A-Fella and then Laze: “We were in Prague, at this big festival with about 50,000 creative, just playing around with the records, ’cos in my we left; this was the year we were signed to G-Unit. To me, it people. It was a European festival where you camp out for the opinion there was no real competition. At that time no one wasn’t no real difference.” whole weekend. We were headlining day two, so we’d already could touch MOP. So we were just playing around with records Laze: “It was two different animals. is one type of been there for two days solid just drinking, and then we came and starting to show our fans a different kind of light.” dude, so you can have a good relationship with somebody

HHC DIGITAL #003 44 and with another person it’ll be another type of relationship. Finally, bringing things up to date, what about the new album, Roc-A-Fella was more a three-headed monster; no one person ‘The Foundation’? owned the company. We was cool with Damon [Dash], Jay-Z Billy: “The first single’s the war call!” was an artist and Biggs was on the behind-the-scenes business Laze: “Blow the horns on them! Are you tired or sleepy? Blow side. Creatively, Fame and Jay was on the same page, Billy liked the horns on them! This album’s totally been put together Dame ’cos he was crazy and loud and shit, and Biggs was just in-house – I think Fame is the best producer for MOP, and I a cool dude to be around. don’t think that his talent is recognised production wise yet. “Roc-A-Fella enjoyed when you was having a good time, they I think it’s going to be years in the future when people start liked that; but G-Unit was a label a little different where guys to appreciate him and just what he can do when it comes to was like, ‘We gotta prove ourselves to you all...’ People really producing hip-hop music.” was trying to dismiss 50 Cent as a guy who couldn’t make it, so Billy: “‘The Foundation’ is very hard, driven, traditional MOP I think he was like, ‘Fuck all y’all! You tried to shit on me!’” music that MOP fans will get energy from. It’s not for those people who just want to walk around looking ‘cool’ – you’ve Was it a frustrating time being on those labels? got to get involved with the music. So big shout to everybody Billy: “It’s always frustrating not getting to put a record out, who helped with making the album – and everyone else can but we like to be on the stage so it’s just about having a good kiss my ass!” time regardless of whether we’re on the stage with 50 Cent or (‘The Foundation’ it out July 7th on E1.) Jay-Z or or just MOP – it’s always fun. ‘Blow The Horns’

HHC DIGITAL #003 45 SKANDAL

First off, if you’re gonna listen to this album and fully appreciate it you need to listen to it loud, and preferably ALBUM with your head next to the speakers. Okay? Ready? Here EMINEM ‘RELAPSE’ goes... Dr Dre’s production throughout the set has to OFTHEMONTH (INTERSCOPE) be the finest we’ve ever heard on an Eminem album. With the good doctor providing every beat bar one this JACK FLASH has given Eminem the chance to concentrate on his EMINEM’S LATEST GETS lyrics and it shows. From the start to the finish we’re DISSECTED BY MANY MEN... Few emcees fulfill your expectations with a long-awaited astonished by flows, morbid topics and subject matter, album, but Em probably exceeded them. Dre’s beats genuinely laugh-out-loud punch lines and statements – With the blonde man from the Motor City’s latest album either are a slap in the face to wake you up and remind you he not to mention great hooks, skits, and that good ol’ Slim being a vital shot in the arm for a stale hip-hop scene or the still has some of the nicest compositions in the game; Shady controversy we all know and love, all culminating last stand for blockbuster artists in a daily decaying arena, who Em connects with his former twisted self and brings a in the hardest hip-hop track I’ve heard in ten years, better to take its pulse then a selection of the finest artists darker tone to this essentially set and ups his ‘Underground’. In fact, ‘Crack A Bottle’ seems to be the from the UK (and – ho, ho! – The Last Skeptik)? Here’s their lyricism – on the tenth listen you’ll still be picking apart his only track I’ll skip after eight listens, and that’s not a bad take on the oh-niner’s biggest release to date – average mark syllables. Its good to have a mainstream album out that look for the album. I’ll give this four and a half out of five, out of five and concluding thoughts to follow... focuses so much on skill, flow, character and concept. and I hope you all enjoy it as much as I do.

HHC DIGITAL #003 46 GHOST THE LAST SKEPTIK

Avoiding all the hyperbole, I was pleasantly surprised by To be honest, I’ve always respected Eminem as lyricist, the amount of good tracks on ‘Relapse’. Unquestionably but everything after ‘The Marshall Mathers LP’ was just a great talent, Em has put together his best work for so corny that it made me wonder where the rapper a long time, and ‘Underground’, ‘Same Song & ’ who spat so uncompromisingly on ‘Role Model’ had and ‘Deja Vu’ are highlights. By no means a classic, it has gone. I really didn’t even want to listen to this album, some good moments – there’s just not enough of them. but after literally forcing myself to switch it on I found that there’s actually quite a solid project on the table. To me, that’s not really so much due to Eminem’s typically K-DELIGHT silly voices and irrelevant celebrity digs, but down to the great Dr Dre’s incredible engineering work and pretty Eminem uses his vocals like a multi-layered instrument – much perfect production throughout the 20 tracks on MOB RULE... it’s just a shame that on ‘Relapse’ he should have gone offer. As a rapper, Eminem is undeniably a talent, but it’s with some other producers to vary the sound a bit. ‘Crack only when he figures out he can get by without having So, what have we gleaned from our panel of practicing A Bottle’ is a stand out (though really not sure about 50 to always please a pop audience that he’ll truly produce hip-hop chaps? That Em’s latest is better than you might Cent’s verse!), while ‘Medicine Ball’ is probably my choice the top-to-toe classic that his oldest fans – and his lyrical imagine, what with all the hype, but still not the classic tune. Not his best album, but still packed with mad lyrics talent – deserve; ‘Relapse’ still leaves him coming up Marshall’s talent deserves. Rounded-up, an average 3.7 and flows, and as dark and twisted as ever. short on that tip. out of five becomes a very decent four stars then.

HHC DIGITAL #003 47 ALBUMREVIEWS

5 O’CLOCK SHADOWBOXERS & FACTOR BRAD STRUT ‘THE SLOW TWILIGHT’ ‘OWL HOURS’ ‘FALLOUT SHELTER/REJUVENATION’ (WHITE) (FAKE FOUR) (SHOGUN)

Just when you were starting to think that you were More technically Vegemite than Marmite in the love- Life in London has clearly had an affect on the vocals of the only person convinced that hip-hop bods sampling it-or-hate-it regional stakes, the type of left coast hip- ’s Brad Strut, with the Lyrical Commission emcee Cat Power would be a good thing, up pops a bi-coastal hop AWOL One et al practice might not always translate sounding almost authentically home grown on an EP that US duo who, somewhere in the middle of creating a thoroughly outside of their local spots, but the addition finds him adopting the persona of the last man on earth concept album based around noir flick Blast Of Slience and of in an executive producer role and cameos from over Beat Butcha’s widescreen beats. The synth-propelled throwing around hearty lyrical references to the GZA, have those premier hip-hop drunkies Tash and E-Swift sure do ‘No!’ and eerie ‘Believe’ stand out, but this near companion spliced in a lick from indie rock’s shyest live performer perk up proceedings here, with their typically liquor-loving piece to Jehst’s ‘Nuke Proof Suit’ is best consumed whole. to swanky effect. Guitar heavy throughout – check vocab boosting ‘Waste The Wine’. Throughout Factor’s Jehst also pops up in remixer role (along with M-Phazes ‘High Noon’ for an eerie treat – this is likely better than beats keep a consistent vibe, and the regular guest slots and Chemo) on ‘Rejuvenation’, a second CD of anything rock-related Weezy will stumble into. Tom Nook for once bring nice variety to the mix. Lucy Van Pelt that wins with a similar quality. Andy Cowan ‘Weak Stomach’ ‘Stand Up’ feat. Myka9 & ‘Believe’

HHC DIGITAL #003 48 ALBUMREVIEWS

DELUSIONISTS FRESH DAILY K-DEF ‘THE PROLUSION’ ‘THE GORGEOUS KILLER’ ‘BEATS FROM THE ’90S VOL 2’ (BEATS LAYING ABOUT) (HIGH WATER) (GHETTO MAN)

Hailing from the decidedly unsexy climes of Lowestoft, In a world where cats are trying painfully hard to keep up Another dose of dope ‘does what it says it does on the tin’ Delusionists pick the expected fare of small-town fixations with the next flash-in-the-shit-pan trend, it’s a treat to hear beat business straight from the vaults of the man still best to fuel their debut EP – namely, smoking weed, pulling someone who rocks a flow that pays strong homage to the loved for ‘Real Live Shit’, here you know the steelo: hard, women, and the realities of life outside the limelight. But great , and just like the original Slaughtahouse classically-wrought and commercially-uncompromising like a refreshing gust of East Anglian air, rapper-stroke- man, Brooklyn’s Fresh Daily does enough on this 13 tracker rhythms from one of the ’90s most underrated producers. producer Benjamin Black successfully breathes new life into to suggest he’ll be in it for the long term. On-topic tracks East Coast in style to the end, tracks like ‘Redcoats Are old conceits: On ‘To The Next…’ the verbal jester presents about boobs (‘Two In The Shirt’) and video games (er, Coming’ – equal parts head-nodder and sinister vibe creator the countryside’s answer to Jay-Z’s ‘Girls, Girls, Girls’, ‘Video Gamin’’), plus a guest spot from the Tanya Morgan – remind you that even in the oh-niner’s geographical rap nobbing everyone from fat birds to village bicycles with crew and production from Spinna and Ski, seal a darn melting pot there’s something undisputable about the comedic gusto. Accessible and punchy! Chris Schonberger attractive package. Doc Nostrand power of the basics done well. Arsenio Billingham ‘To The Next...’ ‘Break A Leg’ ‘Redcoats Are Coming’

HHC DIGITAL #003 49 tracks on Bashy’s debut album ‘Catch Me If You Can’. Finally, it HOME STYLE sees the light of day! Juice Aleem’s debut solo sees the one time New Flesh man YOUR UK RAP ATTACK… (pictured) covering a vast array of topics over production With MPs being taken to task over expenses, I have to come varying from electro-dub to straight up hip-hop beats. The clean with my own fiddles. I regularly take stationery, soap, first single is ‘First Lesson’. shampoo and conditioner when I stay in hotels and use a friend’s Starbucks free wifi password. The real crime is that I Micall Parknsun leaps back into action on YNR with his amazing don’t even use conditioner. Three MPs have already resigned new single ‘All 4 Hip-Hop’. Produced by M-Phazes it also and formed a spin-off party called the MP3. Sorry. Before features a Jehst remix and versions of ‘Still Here’ produced by rummaging through the stationery cupboard to see what I can Apa-Tight and Chemo. pilfer from HHC Digital HQ, here’s some music news... South Londoner Jay Full Stop is set to blow up this summer Mixed by DJ No Names ‘SOS: Shots Of Smirnoff’ is Kyza’s with his ‘City Meals’ album on Run The City Records. A regular finest work to date. ‘Love & Music’ and ‘Sin City’ have already on the live scene, Jay aka Jarvis Vincent showcases his dexterity troubled the airwaves and it’s nice to hear the album lives up on the mic as well as getting his own imprint off to a flying to their high standard. start. Check www.runthecityrecords.com for more.

‘Who Wants To Be A Millionaire’, ‘Sorry’ and ‘What About Me’ It’s hard to say Funky DL without saying ‘MOBO winner’ first. aren’t the ramblings of a disgraced banker – they are in fact The young lad took the UK by storm almost 15 years ago and

HHC DIGITAL #003 50 has enjoyed success here as well as in the US and Japan. After a hiatus he’s back on BBE with full lengther ‘The Interview’. IN THE SPOTLIGHT HOME STYLE’S TOP TEN The real treat is the bonus ‘London Convention’ featuring 1. PANACHE FOR THOSE TOO LAZY MCD, Skinnyman, Blak Twang, Ty, Rodney P and more. TO READ THE COLUMN… How long have you been rapping? “Nearly ten years! I was known as the drum’n’bass emcee Ghost can’t stop churning out the good stuff and this time it’s Suddz, but as Panache hip-hop is my main genre that I 1. Micall Parknsun ‘All 4 Hip-Hop’ (YNR single) his collaboration with Devorah and their band Lingua Franca. live and practice every day.” 2. Kyza ‘Shots Of Smirnoff’( Dented album) ‘Money’/‘Work & Play’ is a summer smash, while also on What are your main musical influences? Breakin Bread is the uber-funky ‘Freak’ by The Killer Meters. 3. Juice Aleem ‘Jerusalaam Come’ (Big Dada album) “I have a lot, from Wu-Tang and to Roots Move over VV Brown, Duffy and The Noisettes – the real Manuva and even other genres like drum’n’bass 4. Lingua Franca ‘Money’ (Breakin Bread single) queen of soul/ is here. and .” 5. Jay Full Stop ‘City Meals’ (Run The City album)

Describe your style in three words… ( ) Finally, look out for The Razzle, a London collective with 6. Inja ‘Hat Low’ promo single “Organic, vintage, panache!” touches of Latin, soul, funk, dub and rock running through 7. Bashy ‘Catch Me If You Can’ (GG) What do you have coming up, music wise? their great EP ‘Wrong’un’ – to these ears there’s definitely ( ) “My mixtape ‘24/7’, featuring DRS (Broke N English), 8. Funky DL ‘The Interview’ BBE album something of Reverend And The Makers about the delivery Dawn Raid, Bigz and Shotty, and the free download 9. Scrabull ‘Bad Boys’ (Seventy Recordings single) on the title track. ‘Headcase!’ which has at least three emcees on each 10. Steve Stranger ‘The Bloggist’ (Fist single) and every track!” Next month we’ll be giving you tips on insider trading and (Check www.panachetunes.com for more.) letting you know how to ride the bus for free using a Panini ‘Music Makes Ya Move’ feat. Bigz & Caroline Quine (All available from www.RapAndSoulMailOrder.com) football sticker and some hairspray. Mike Lewis

HHC DIGITAL #003 51 Also heading sideward is beatboxer extraordinaire Killa Kela’s comeback 12-inch, ‘Built Like An Amplifier’ – complete with a Sway remix to boot. Subsequent album ‘Amplified’ jumps ADD- fashion betwixt genres, inviting along Bashy and backpack OPEN UP stalwart Lateef. HIP-HOP AND BEYOND… Not enough syllables? Don’t fret: tongue-twisting Cali emcee Where better to begin this month’s leftfield picks than true has a new record! ‘Jhelli Beam’ doesn’t satisfy like Open Up favourites? Nowhere, yo, so cop ‘The Malaria EP’ predecessor ‘RoadKillOvercoat’, though props for featuring from Manchester’s premier grime chatters Virus Syndicate, madcap Bay Area indie-rockers Deerhoof. which rips from schoolyard taunts within lead track ‘Anything’ onward. Merkin’. -based UK dubstep dude More party? From the musical ballpark of fellow Tampa Milanese’s new album ‘Lockout’ is just as hot, fire-spitting rhymers Yo Majesty, cocksure teenaged rapstress Domique mouthpieces from Europe to South Africa guaranteeing Young Unique couples innocently wide-eyed flows with beats thermometer-smashing results. from YM’s Brit production team Hardfeelingsuk. Expect a Best of the rest? Sure. German duo Ancient Astronauts similar scale break out rather soon… (pictured) get space-rap on album ‘We Are To Answer’, Big-haired erstwhile The Beats chap Example is back with the golden age as seen through a kaleidoscope. Keeping it a bang, taking it high tempo on single ‘Hooligans’ over an What are up to right now? Releasing Serengeti & continental, French lady Flore’s buzzing electro-bass tune electro-house banger from Dutch dance deejay Don Diablo Polyphonic’s brain-busting ‘Terradactyl’, aided by ‘We Rewind’, chopping up Rodney P and Shunda K, should (try garbling that pissed). Warning: possible frustratingly and cameos. Cross-coast at Def Jux? Well, ’s new decimate dancefloors from here to Lyon. And we’re out… manicured teens clubbing soundtrack content. free EP bodes mighty positively for his full-length return. Adam Anonymous

HHC DIGITAL #003 52 DEEJAYCHARTS

DJ MK (WWW.DJMKSWORLD.COM) DJ ECLIPSE (THE HALFTIME SHOW/FAT BEATS) DJ CRO (MAIN INGREDIENT/CRATE ESCAPE) 1. JAY-Z ‘DOA’ 1. FEAT. ‘CHOOSE YOUR SIDE’ 1. MICALL PARKNSUN ‘ALL 4 HIP-HOP’ “Jay kills it, breaking down how Auto-tune has helped make “Another LCN banger over a hypnotizing Alchemist track – “Parky sounds right at home on this massive tune, and with hip-hop stagnant in the last 12 months. Real talk.” proving again that LCN is .” the Jehst remix changing the vibe up it’s back of the net!” 2. FEAT. & DILLA ‘24K RAP’ 2. DJ JS-1 FEAT. LARGE PRO ‘LIKE THIS’ 2. ‘OFFDAMENTAL’ “Three years after his death and Dilla’s music is sounding “Heavy drums with a melodic sample all brought together by “Amazing unreleased Don material using ‘Nautilus’ to great ef- better and better. Been killing this on the radio show.” cuts and scratches – pure hip-hop, never selling out.” fect – still sounds better than most rappers out now!” 3. RAMSON BADBONEZ ‘GET OFF ME’ 3. SOUL KHAN FEAT. ‘KNUCKLE PUCK’ 3. PHAT KAT ‘NIGHTMARE (SUFF DADDY REMIX)’ “One of the best emcees in the UK – this dude is a serious “Produced by Brown Bag representative J57, this is “Suff manages to transform and improve on the original – problem on the mic!” reminiscent of the early indie days.” remix competition winner and rightfully so.”

HHC DIGITAL #003 53 DJ ELEVEN (THERUB/DJELEVEN.COM) BENJI B (DEVIATION) SPIN DOCTOR (THEDOCTORSORDERS.COM) 1. GHOSTFACE ‘FOREVER’ 1. DRAKE ‘SAY WHAT’S REAL’ 1. JAY-Z ‘DOA’ “Neck and neck in the race with Q-Tip for leader of the Old Guy “Drake really goes on on the best beat from ‘808s And “When Jigga talks people listen, but will this really see the end Rap movement – I’m geeked to listen to this on repeat.” Heartbreak’ – one to watch, and I think he’ll deliver.” of the Auto-tune?” 2. DJ WEBSTAR FEAT. JIM JONES & ‘UPTOWN’ 2. DOOM ‘GAZZILLION EAR’ 2. BUSTA RHYMES ‘HUSTLER’S ANTHEM ’09’ “Harlem’s the only neighbourhood in that matters “My favourite cut from the current LP, using a couple of my “This tough little cookie is still killing it in both the club and to hip-hop (sorry Murray Hill!) – here’s a new anthem.” favourite Dilla beats.” streets alike!” 3. DORROUGH ‘ICE CREAM PAINT JOB’ 3. BUSTA RHYMES FEAT. COMMON ‘DECISION’ 3. J DILLA FEAT. DOOM ‘FIRE WOOD DRUMSTIX’ “A near perfect southern rap song from outta , complete “Not feeling much of the new Busta LP to be honest, but this “A tag team of two of hip-hop’s most unique talents is always with Saved By The Bell reference.” cut is quality.” gonna be heat!”

HHC DIGITAL #003 54 1. CANNONBALL ADDERLEY QUINTET ‘CAPRICORN’ moves along thanks to the drum groove, not to mention the “The Soul Brother sampled the sax legend on ‘In The simple but infectious melody from the muted . A great ON THE GO House’, the opening track off ‘The Main Ingredient’. Pete took summer tune, and you’ll recognize the chords on the intro the beautiful two-bar Fender Rhodes loop and put his stamp from Pete & CL’s classic ‘Carmel City’.” 1. PETE ROCK all over it, bringing out the bass in trademark fashion. It’s the rawness of the live recording that gives ‘Capricorn’ such 4. MEL AND TIM ‘GROOVY SITUATION’

On The Go character, especially the distorting of the rhodes.” “Not to be confused with ’80s pop act Mel and Kim, this

Capricorn CANNONBALL ADDERLEY QUINTET

From This Day On Welcome to HHC Digital’s new ’60s soul duo recorded many a great party song and ‘Groovy EDDIE BO

Enchanted Lady MILT JACKSON BIG BAND fantasy playlist column, where we 2. EDDIE BO ‘FROM THIS DAY ON’ Situation’, with the pair’s superb harmonies, big horns, and Groovy Situation MEL AND TIM

I Ain’t Got The Love THE AMBASSADORS – big leap of faith required – send “How could anybody not want to dance to this classic from excellent backing band, is certainly one of those. Pete & CL fans

By Quincey Tones home grown producer-on-the-rise Eddie Bo? ‘Here comes the king’-style horns, fast flamenco will pick out guitar parts used on ‘’; fans Quincey Tones back in time and get guitar run on the intro, and a funky beat and bassline drop – all might also recognize it from the Anchorman soundtrack.” him to peek around the corner and elements used on ‘The Creator’. From there on in it’s nothing peep what our favourite sample- but hip-swinging soul.” 5. THE AMBASSADORS ‘I AIN’T GOT THE LOVE’ happy hip-hop producers were “Making up the other half of the ’94 single ‘I Got A Love’ is this listening to as they grew up as shorties. This month, what 3. MILT JACKSON BIG BAND ‘ENCHANTED LADY’ similarly-titled soul gem – Pete sampled the intro horns and songs were shaping the future sound of a knee-high Soul “Another great jazz sample, this time vibraphonist Milt scratched the hook line for his version.” Brother Number One? Jackson with assistance from his incredible band. This track (Check out mo’ Quincey at www.myspace.com/quinceytones)

HHC DIGITAL #003 55 pretty much had a problem with 75 percent of New York but UNKUT PRESENTS: has posthumously appeared on tracks with Nas and virtually everyone else mentioned on ‘Hit ’Em Up’.

BACDAFUCUP! Possibly the most ridiculous incidents have been the blend of Rappers – whatever you do, please try to avoid dying a violent Biggie vocals onto Ghostface and Raekwon’s ‘Three Bricks’ and death. Sure, there are ‘6 Million Ways To Die’ if you believe The Chef’s subsequent ‘Letter To BIG’. You go to the trouble the raspy warnings of 9 Double M (better known as Nine), to dedicate an entire venomous skit to the guy when he was but those who are unfortunate enough to be gunned down in alive and kicking, and now that he’s passed it’s all love-love? their prime are then forced to endure another lifetime’s worth of indignities. Don’t even get me started on ‘paying homage’. Whether it’s Jay-Z reciting chunks of the Black Frank White’s rhyme book, The real losers are the fans, who not only have to deal with shameless imitation of ’s flow, or everyone who’s ever the loss of an artist who they connected with on a musical driven through Detroit ‘channeling’ Jay Dee and chowing rap magazine and website? “But none of those people were level but are then sentenced to endless abuses of their legacy. down on his unorthodox drum patterns – shit’s disgusting, B. platinum artists!” Tell someone who gives a shit – the fact that While I’m the first to get giddy with excitement – or at least they weren’t is all the more cause to give them some shine. At marginally interested – when unheard demos surface, Blogs are equally to blame – every year I have to wade through least we can take some small solace in the knowledge that we it almost never ends there. As ‘Born Again’ demonstrated, the same old dedications to the same old late rappers and beat won’t have to stomach their catalogues being stripped bare tacking your a capellas onto new beats crammed with a makers – and yet Scott La Rock, Subroc, Too Poetic and by the hungry vultures that are record labels and bitch-ass who’s who of current ‘rapper dudes’ is usually embarrassing remain as mere footnotes? Will KL from , Party Arty bootleggers. for everyone involved. Especially for someone like 2Pac, who and Tony D (pictured) receive annual memorials at every major Robbie Ettelson

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