Event | Labsquared - True Hip-Hop and The Naked Soul (8th Sept 2011) Event Photos

 Photos courtesy of Sophie's Photography

Event | Labsquared - True Hip-Hop and The Naked Soul (8th Sept 2011)

God knows how much I tweeted, wrote and posted information about this event; the last Labsquared showcase was at the end of July and I barely made a whisper about it. This time though, I made sure any and everyone knew about True Hip-Hop and The Naked Soul. That means that if you weren't there... it was your fault and not mine!

Anyway, enough of the blame game. Seeing as I'm a certified hip-hop junkie and a member of singing/songwriting collective Labsquared, there was no way that I was going to let this event be a flop. Despite only four weeks of planning and rehearsing, the whole night was a success! The Lab crew performed well-known hits, opening with a stellar medley that opened with Jay-Z's Public Service Announcement and streamed into The Pharcyde, Missy's One Minute Man, Blackstreet's No Diggity and Nas' Got Urself A Gun, finally closing out with Murder To Excellence, Gigg's If Your Talkin'... and 'Ye and Jay's Otis. And that was just the first performance. The remaining performances kept the standards high with the team covering songs by Erykah Badu, Floetry, Frank Ocean and Hi-Tek. Meanwhile our featured artists, which included rappers Rolo, Tinyman and Craze as well as poet Marion O. and Grammy nominee Trenyce literally tore the house down with their amazing performances; Trenyce's rendition of Beyoncé's Love On Top had me bouncing from the walls (she took the song one octave higher than King B? Dayum giiiirl). The Labsquared band certainly outdid themselves with Sam on the bass, Junior on drums, Danel on keys and Bayo on guitar. If not for the them the night wouldn't have been as successful as it was so they all get big wet kisses from me! *mwah* The crowd were kept entertained by the night's crazy but charismatic host, Mr Ralph Hardy and in house DJ and producer Warren set the airwaves alight spinning the best in soulful sounds and classic hip-hop during the break. As soon as he dropped Hip-Hop by Dead Prez, I was away with the fairies. Believe me, I was on a hiiiiiigh. No kush though - life keeps me high enough, obviously! Our open mic section was just as blazing as our set - poets, rappers and singers all took to the stage to showcase their talent. Aamir's little "unprepared" sing-song was definitely my favourite open mic performance... this guy can sing!


Video courtesy of Yes Another Blogger


Overall, the night was a beaut. I loved the good vibes, all the good people that came out to support the night and the good music that played. I had a great time and I'm sure the next Labsquared showcase (which will feature R'n'B and nu-jazz) will be as entertaining as this one. Yessir. Once all the photos and videos are up I'll be sure to post them. For those who wanted to know what songs the Labsquared team performed on the night... Here you go :)

The Lab True Hip-Hop and The Naked Soul setlist (does not include the songs that the featured artists performed)

1. The Lab - The "It's Bigger Than Hip-Hop" Medley (songs featured: PSA - Jay-Z, Runnin' - The Pharcyde, One Minute Man - Missy Elliot, No Diggity - Blackstreet, Got Urself A Gun - Nas, Murder To Excellence - The Throne, If Ur Talkin... - Giggs, Otis - The Throne)
2. Sage - Let It Go - Hi-Tek
3. Cle-Mar- We All Try - Frank Ocean
4. Danel - Labsquared original
5. Gillian - Say Yes - Floetry
6. Yimmi Ray - Bag Lady - Erykah Badu
7. Cleo Starzz - To Zion
8. The Lab - Lost In The World medley (songs featured: Lost In The World - Kanye West, No Church In The Wild - The Throne f/ Frank Ocean, All of The Lights - Kanye West)


For more information about Labsquared and our future projects, visit www.labsquared.org and check out the team's Twitter feed @labsquared.

Video | Tarik Adams - Heaven Only Knows

Seems like I'm apologising to everyone because of my poor memory these days! I should have posted this video ages ago, but as usual I forgot. It was definitely worth the wait though! Heaven Only Knows, the second single from Tarik Adams' debut mixtape Tigers & Girls is too much of a banger. If you've been keeping up with my posts on here, you'll remember that I interviewed Tarik shortly after he released his debut single Wake Up. I'm in love with just how diverse he is an artist - Heaven Only Knows is a sensual track, laced with synths and an infectious chorus while Wake Up was definitely more electro/pop. The beautifully shot video directed by Dylan Knight tells a poignant story of lovers who literally have to dodge a bullet... I just hope she got there in time... *crosses fingers*

Watch the video below!

Video | Krept and Konan - Otis

How many times did you play this before you caught every bar? And don't lie. Fast emerging as wordplay kings in the UK rap scene, South London wordsmiths Krept and Konan take a stab at Jay-Z and Kanye's single Otis. Compared to other versions of the song (UK or otherwise), I reckon this is my favourite by far! The video is fun, the lyrics are smart; you can't really take much away from it to be honest! Good job lads.

Random | ...Excuse My Barren Blog Guys

You'll have to excuse this blogging block I've had of late - so many things have cropped up and that's kinda taken me away from writing anything substantial but I promise more posts! If you're looking for any more of my scribbles you can find them on my Tumblr, on the LinkUp TV blog or on the Pardon My Music blog which I'll be updating every once and a while. While away, I've done quite a few interesting things - went to see Erykah Badu in concert; if you read my posts regularly you know she's my favourite singer ever, so the show was top notch! Not that I expect anything less. Speaking of Ms Badu, I performed a cover of her 1997 single On & On at the LabSquared: Music Is Art showcase - it was a great night if I do say so myself. The whole LabSquared team did a great job and I'm sure our next showcase LabSquared: True Hip-Hop and The Naked Soul will be as stellar as the last! You can find all the details on the Facebook event page.



That's all I have to say for now, this post was never gonna be a long one, just a lil something random to let my readers know I'm still alive! Smooches to you all.

L'Introspective | "I Thought You Were Just Hip-Hop..."

I get this so often! It's like people are surprised  to learn that I listen to other genres of music besides hip-hop.My musical taste is so, so broad. Too broad sometimes - if that can ever be considered a bad thing. Whenever I think of my relationship with music, I always think back to my mum and how she used to leave all her CDs and tapes lying about the house. She grew up in the eighties so all I would hear her playing was this New Wave stuff and lots of soul and groove music. I remember coming back from primary school and loading up the stereo with CDs. We had one of those models where you could feed the player with five discs at a time so once one CD had played through, the next one would start straight away.

I'd play Tears For Fears, Sting and The Police and Madonna for hours and sing the lyrics word for word pretending that I was in some music video or something. When the only responsibility you have in life is homework, you can afford to spend the rest of your life playing ancient CDs. Michael Jackson was another obvious figure in my after-school living room concerts. The amount of socks I'd burn through trying to moonwalk? Innumerable. Not to mention me overplaying my Moonwalker video to the point of breakage. "Ya doing wrong... Ya doing wrong..." I want to go back to those days.

Whenever I'd visit my foster family during the summer and Christmas holidays, my foster mum would blast Bonnie Tyler, Meatloaf and Celine Dion all the time. All day. Because of her, Total Eclipse Of The Heart is forever on my iPod. I suppose living with two families and experiencing two totally different cultures all at once has made my musical taste so varied. But do you know how dope it is when I hear the randomest song on the radio from way, way back in the day and I can recognise it and sing along? I'm a music nerd, I swear to you. I get excited by that shit.

As for hip-hop, I only seriously got into it at the end of secondary school. It's not music that was foreign to me though - MTV Base, The Box, Choice FM they all played it. But I wouldn't sit and listen and go "oh yeah, that's hip-hop". I just liked the sound of it. When I was about thirteen/fourteen years old, my cousins had GTA: Vice City on Playstation 2 and three radio stations I would always listen to were Fever 105, Wave 103 and Emotion 98.3 since those were the ones that played all the music I loved. Kool And The Gang, Teena Marie, The Human League, Spandau Ballet... gold. The first hip-hop tune I really paid attention to though, was probably The Message by Grandmaster Flash. Cruising through the streets of Vice City was a vibe whenever that track played; even if you were going to whack Diaz or doing the odd drive-by on a PCJ 600, that track banged. That or Summer Madness. It's only in hindsight that I realise just how much of an impact that one game made on my whole life. Weird.

By the time I was fifteen, I was still listening to the old school tunes but Erykah Badu and neo-soul were my loves. Through those sets of artists I would be introduced to Slum Village and The Roots, with their 1999 Things Fall Apart album making the largest impression on me. It was just cool music and it made me feel different. I don't know how to describe that emotion but it's similar to an orgasm, except I'd be fully clothed and a casual tear would drop out my eye on the odd occasion. (I laughed as I wrote that, but I swear to you, that's the closest you'll get to understanding what I experience when I listen to music I love). Few songs make me feel that way, very few. But Act Too (Love Of My Life) is one of them. When I first heard it, I wept. Not because it was a particularly sad moment though. I just fell in love and it hit me so profoundly. If a guy ever makes me feel like that, I swear I will marry him in an instant. No qualms. Whenever I listen to it now I always think, this is me. Aside from Erykah Badu's Apple Tree, that's the song I relate most to in this world. And after that moment, my love for hip-hop snowballed into the madness that it is today.

I feel like I'm not doing myself justice by writing such a short post on my journey with music and hip-hop. So many things in my twenty years of living have influenced me. I know that if he were alive today, my cousin Richard and I would be debating about hip-hop for hours, probably eating jam sandwiches in his mum's kitchen. Then comes my close friend who introduced me to Lupe Fiasco all those years back after a heated discussion on MSN. Failure will forever be my favourite Lupe tune because of him. Not to mention, my dad and his vinyl player. The first record I ever played on it was Des'ree You Gotta Be and I always got in to trouble - I virtually tore up that 12" maxi! The crackle sound you get when you play vinyl records is one of favourite sounds though. There's so many people I haven't mentioned but I am eternally grateful for the music they exposed me to, whether purposefully or not. I owe so much to music simply because it's given so much to me.

It's the love of my life.

Music | What I've Been Listening To

As this week comes to a glorious close I thought I'd share all the albums and mixtapes I've been listening to. This past fortnight has been great for hip-hop with Rapsody, Jean Grae, Kendrick Lamar and Lil B all dropping a lil' something for the masses. They're all records I've been anticipating for a while now and I haven't been disappointed at all, which is a nice surprise. In other news Thursday night's Hip Hop Karaoke at The Social was good as usual. For an event that's been running for six years straight, I can only see it going from strength to strength - I read a couple bum reviews about how the venue was too small and that the performances were a bit lacklustre, but it's karaoke... not a concert in Madison Square Garden. The whole point of the event is to have fun and pretend that we're all rappers for the night. Well, that's my motive anyway. Check out my performance from last week... I've concluded that I could never be a gangster since my voice is too high and I could never convincingly intimidate anyone. Darn. Anyway, peace, love and hip-hop as always guys.

Rapsody - Thank H.E.R Now

Ever since Return of The B-Girl I've been a hardcore Rapsody fan. Her rapping style reminds me of an old school Jay-Z fused with MC Lyte and her voice against those signature 9th Wonder beats is like perfect hip-hop to me. Female rappers are so far and few between these days with only one or two lady rhymeslingers ever receiving the acclaim that they rightfully deserve. Anyway, that's a post for another time. This release sees Rapsody pay homage to hip-hop, relating her past experiences over soul samples provided by fellow Jamla signee Khrysis, Nottz, Amp and of course father 9th (or 9thmatic for whenever he decides to pick up a mic and lay off the beats for a while). 20 tracks deep though, Thank H.E.R Now managed to keep me entertained with a healthy dose of features including Pittsburgh cool kid Mac Miller, Raekwon, Big K.R.I.T and fellow rapper with a vagina, Jean Grae whose lyricism is second to none. So far, XXL have failed to put a lady on their coveted Freshmen cover and if anyone is worthy of a spot, Rapdiddy definitely is. I'm sick of seeing testosterone dominate hip-hop to be honest. But again, that's a post for another time. For now, salute the number one B-Girl of Jamla.

Lampin'

Blankin' Out f/ Jean Grae

Lemme Think

Kendrick Lamar - Section.80

I've only named two mixtapes as my favourite releases of the year so far, those being Lincoln Way Nights by Stalley and Elzhi's Elmatic. However Kendrick Lamar's Section.80 gets an honourable mention as of right now. The 16 track independent album from the Compton rhymer is pure genius and that's not just a meagre exaggeration. This record proves to be conceptual and imaginative, ultimately emerging a true multi-faceted piece of work. Covering range of themes, Kendrick succeeds at being lyrical, with a flow that dances over a selection of Sounwave, THC and Willie B beats. I can't say that I wasn't expecting this record to be good, but I definitely underestimated just how unskippable it would actually prove to be. Each of the six features slot perfectly into place created an amazing album. And for only £5.99 on iTunes it's the best money you'll part with this month. Believe me. 

A.D.H.D

No Make Up (Her Vice) f/ Colin Munroe

Kush & Corinthians f/ BJ The Chicago Kid 

Ice Cube - The Predator

From one Californian rapper to another we go. Ice Cube's 1992 album The Predator still gets the plays in, no doubt. Cube, who's considered to one of the most talented storytellers hip-hop has ever come across, who in his prime was so unreservedly aggressive (No Vaseline, Nigga You Love To Hate, Black Korea) and controversial, certainly made some of the best albums and songs of the early 90's, despite his breakaway from N.W.A. Although he went from Doughboy to flim-flam roles in kiddy movies, Ice Cube will always be gangsta to me regardless. This dude deserves a hand clap for flying the flag for West Coast rap and for spitting some of the illest raps and stories ever. It's always a good day if Ice Cube's involved.

Wicked

Gangster's Fairytale 2

Say Hi To The Bad Guy

Video | YJ, MANiC, Starz & Chockz - The Come Up Cypher [Ep.1]

"I hear cyphers all the time and only few impress..."


Well, this cypher certainly caught my attention. What happens when four upcoming rappers from London decide to go off on one track? Definitely a melting pot of genius, that's for sure. YJ, MANiC, Starz and Chockz all demonstrate a penchant for lyricism, each possessing a unique delivery and flow that propel them miles ahead of any challengers. Laced with wit and a wealth of wordplay, their verses are served up perfectly  against each other, with the baton swiftly being passed between each rapper with the termination of each bar. I don't know about you, but I definitely can't wait to hear more from these guys. UK rap is on the come up, ladies and gents.

And surely I'm not the only person who reckons Starz looks like a cross between Fabolous and P Diddy? Just me? Cool, cool.



Niiiice.

Remember | Michael Jackson

It's so weird that I'm writing a Remember post on a person I thought would live forever. My cousins and I would speak about the day Michael Jackson would pass like it was a fictional story or myth, not fully acknowledging the fact that the day might come around in our lifetime. Nobody actually expected that shit to  happen though. No-one. Michael Jackson was never supposed to die.

Two years ago to the day though, he did, without warning. I can remember being in my kitchen on my Blackberry, browsing through Facebook; a random status update letting me know of his passing. The state of frenzy that ensued was unimaginable; me keeping vigil at my widescreen, TV flickering between CNN, Fox News and Sky awaiting an official report. Not a single tear fell when that confirmation came but since that day I've been mourning ever since. Not a single word I write in this post could ever illustrate just how much Michael Jackson means to me; saying that he's an icon doesn't do him justice anymore. He is transcendent and I love him and miss him. He's given me music and memories I'll cherish forever. Rest in peace.

Video | Sean Price "Likes No Female Rappers"

I've been wanting to do a post on female rappers for the longest while now and Vlad TV's interview with Sean Price just reminded me. The video sees one half of Heltah Skeltah admit how he likes "no female rappers" which to me is odd seeing as there are many lady rappers I consider to be quite dope. Anyway, each to their own.



Also, don't forget to peruse Vlad TV's Top 40 Female Rappers list (which annoyed me seeing as they placed Jean Grae at #33 and MC Lyte at #7 when she should have in fact been #1, as well as a host of other questionable entries - Fergie? Lil Mama? Don't make me laugh) and tell me what you think about this "list". I thought it was quite stupid to be honest.

Music | Top 5 Soul Samples

Ever since DJ Kool Herc spun records at those legendary New York block parties in the seventies, extending five second breakdowns into "five minute loops of fury" and funk, hip-hop music has always had an intrinsic relationship with the soul, funk and reggae genres. With the evolution of rap music and technology though, many producers took those classic cuts and added their own spin on the them, creating timeless tunes that in part pay homage to the artists before it and lay out blueprints for the future generations of rhymeslingers and beatmakers alike. Soul samples are like gold to me when it comes to hip-hop music. I love hearing guys like DJ Premier, Large Professor and Pete Rock chop up beats by artists such as Isaac Hayes and The Stylistics and create something unique; that true head nod shit. That's the beauty of a soul sample, I think, the old synths and trumpets, the climactic crescendos - it's music in one of it's purest forms, sonically dope.

Listed below are my favourite soul records sampled by some of  hip-hop most coveted producers (along with a few wildcards too).

5. Caldera - Ancient Source



Rick Ross - Maybach Music 3 f/ T.I, Jadakiss & Erykah Badu (prod. J.U.S.T.I.C.E League)
Rapsody - Honda Accord Music f/ Skyzoo & Thee Tom Hardy (prod. 9th Wonder)
Pitch Black - It's All Real (prod. DJ Premier)

4. Kool and The Gang - Summer Madness



Pete Rock and C.L. Smooth - What's Next On The Menu? (prod. Pete Rock
Fresh Prince and DJ Jazzy Jeff - Summertime (prod. DJ Jazzy Jeff)
Erykah Badu - Certainly (Flipped It) (prod. Madukwu Chinwah)
Gangstarr - DJ Premier In Deep Concentration (prod. DJ Premier)
Big Pun - You Ain't A Killer (prod. Younglord)

3. Isley Brothers - Between The Sheets




Da Brat - Funkdafied (prod. Jermaine Dupri)
Jay-Z - Ignorant Shit f/ Beanie Sigel (prod. Just Blaze
Notorious B.I.G - Big Poppa (prod. Chucky Thompson)
Big L - Fed Up With The Bullshit (prod. Lord Finesse)

2. Isaac Hayes - The Look of Love



Jay-Z - Can I Live (prod. Irv Gotti)
3rd Bass - Gladiator (prod. Daddy Rich)
Kim Summerson - Choices (prod. Dr. Dre)
Snoop Dogg - G'z Up, Hoes Down (prod. Dr. Dre)

1. Michael Jackson - Human Nature




Nas - It Ain't Hard To Tell (prod. Large Professor)
Elzhi - It Ain't Hard To Tell (prod. Will Sessions)
Jason Nevins pres. Holly James - Heaven (prod. Jason Nevins)
Termanology - Pay Jay f/ Big Pooh, Joe Scudda, Chaundon (prod. J Dilla)

What are some of your favourite soul samples? Let me know!

Event | Hip Hop Karaoke

It seems like my Thursday evenings are going to forever be occupied from now on. Hip Hop Karaoke at The Social in London's Oxford Circus is the place to be every Thursday for any hip-hop head, karaoke lover. I went for the first time last week and decided to get up on stage and rep the ROC by doing a rendition of Jay-Z's Encore - I've rapped this song so many times in front of my mirror at home so it was definitely nice to have an audience this time! The vibe in that place was amazing, all love, no madness, no stress - just peace, love and hip-hop as I always say. So if you're stuck for something to do on a Thursday evening, get yourself to Hip Hop Karaoke, dude.

Here's the footage from my performance (I'm on my Fade To Black ish! lol)

"If you can't respect that, your whole perspective is wack, maybe you'll love me when I fade to black."

L'Introspective | My Life In Snaps.

Yeah. Just a random pictures post of what my life's been looking like these past few weeks or so.

(I've got the corniest grin ever on my face posing with bassist Alex Bonfanti after the show. I fancied him a little bit. That explains the "smile". Ha.)

This was at the J Dilla Tribute Show at Jazz Café on the 17th. A good night, with good people and great music. I got a bit loud when they wrapped up the show and decided to perform Common's The Light. Check el video chicos and chicas. Oh, I advise you never to have a debate about who is the greatest producer ever at a Dilla show, especially if your answer is not "J Dilla". I think it's DJ Premier. They didn't agree. Shoot me.

At the True Hip-Hop exhibition in Shoreditch. Finally got to meet the amazing photographer Mike Schreiber and hear him tell us about the ins and outs of his book. My favourite snap definitely was the Mos Def portrait (see above). He looks so innocent, no? Got my book signed too and met Mikill Pane. Ace.

On my lazy days, this is what I look like. And who better to listen to than the Punisher? I think the above pic is me listening to Super Lyrical featuring Philly rapper Black Thought. "Lyrically... it's suicide!"