illsun vs. supa

2009-12-17T13:58:00.002Z

Ant & Dec Camp Tour

2009-12-17T09:56:00.002Z

2009-12-01T11:57:00.002Z

Brian Ormond

2009-10-20T13:40:00.002+01:00

Rock The Bells

2008-08-09T10:51:00.002+01:00

I spent an age bragging before my trip to Boston and Rock the Bells and since being back I've been pretty quiet...

Well here is the reason:I saw 30
seconds of Nas & 3 mins of ATCQ. Gutting.

I flew 6000 miles round trip to watch 3 1/2 mins of an 11 hour show - truly horrifying.

BUT it wasn't all a disaster - alongside Lil Emma and Semtex we managed to secure interviews with everyone on the bill. So instead of giving you the lowdown on the sets it'll have to be the inside scope on some of the classic rappers that we caught up with.

A lot of the guys lower down the bill were mad cool - Wale, Cool Kids were on great form. Murs was hysterical raving about being a West Ham fan and BOB was a top guy very chatty and interesting (even though his music isn't exactly the greatest...). Highlight for me was meeting Jay Electronica - not all his music is classic but I think he is greatly talented and have to rate him for walking around all day with a sceptre in his hand!!

The middle section of the bill was as jaw dropping as you can imagine - Ghostface & Raekwon were as intense as you'd imagine. Rakim (check out GK's post here) was a frickin legend - totally cool, very relaxed he was telling us about his new album which apparently features Sinead O'Connor - god only knows what that'll sound like... The Pharcyde were in a pretty bad way - they look like the years have been hard and the infighting in the group was pretty hard. It was really sad to watch I loved their music growing up and to see them all crazy and moody was really disappointing. It was Redman who caused the biggest buzz backstage though - high as a kite and in search of some chicken...

SemtexTV - REDMAN, JAY ELECTRONICA, GREEN LANTERN, AND SUPERNATURAL from DJ SEMTEX on Vimeo.

Ready for the swagger?? Only one group got time with the headliners - Mos Def, Q- Tip and Nas who? Us. Mos was really uninterested in answering questions and ended the interview by saying "Can I go now?" hilarious!! Q-Tip had some good banter about Obama but on the whole was pretty downbeat about ATCQ - which was sad but somehow to be expected. Nas was awesome - very articulate with loads to say about the Untitled album.

Ready for the outrageous plug? If you want to hear the three specials I made out there -
August 8th Rock the Bells Special, August 15th Nas Special August 22nd Legendary Crews Special all on 1xtra.

And you know I had to find time to throw a four up for both Tribes - big up Phife ATCQ

If you want more insight on the goings on and more videos it's all about djsemtex.com.

24 Hours in Hip Hop

2008-07-16T02:26:00.002+01:00

The last 24 hours have been mad eventful - some crazy moments and some really budget ones. Lets wheel it back to 3pm Monday - I rolled into Bureau alongside some good friends and some colleagues to witness Chi-town's finest Common breaking down his new album Invincible Summer. If you haven't been to Bureau it's a small swanky central London spot and the room was buzzing with expectation as Common strolled in. After a few moments chatting to people Common kicked off the playback. The set list looked like this

I loved Be and Finding Forever but I have to say free of Kanye's influence dude sounds like he is having a party - the album sounds very European very upbeat and hopefully catchy enough for the pop kids. I had the pleasure of meeting Common and hanging out for a chat - tune into 1Xtra on Friday from 10pm to hear how it went down.

Common rapped the album at us which was a bit weird but at the same time was inspiring - Gladiator sounded stupidly big. To see more photos check here.

From there I rolled with DJ Semtex to hang out in Camden - have I ever mentioned I hate Camden and its flaming crack heads. We headed backstage in the Electric Ballroom which was so scabby you can't imagine to hang out with a crazy motherfucker named Ice Cube

Cube is in the middle of some long ass tour but we managed to shoot the breeze for a few minutes about Detox (are we ever gonna hear this?), movies and his love of the UK. From there we jumped in a cab across London village to Somerset House to watch more Chicago Hip Hop.

Lupe Fiasco at Somerset House - he tore it down in a major way. First time I met Lupe I wasn't sure that he had star quality. Today I eat my words the guy was on fire, the show was tight and the crowd were enthralled.

Saw a couple of tribers in the place - shout to Magdi who was making me laugh my arse off.

Lupe finished the show and next time he is a venue near you check him out because the show was definitely on point.

After that we called it a night although there was a small bid to find Redman who we'd seen in a green Volvo earlier on!

Wednesday was the exact opposite - big talk no results. We were meant to be meeting the full Wu Tang for an exclusive gig but as is their way there was a complete no show and we ended up sat around in Maida Vale for a couple of hours basically doing nothing...

Overall a pretty awesome couple of days - shame about the Wu but that's life. If you want to read Semtex's thoughts hit his blog here.

If you were at any of the shows let me know your thoughts: Common, Cube, Fiasco??

The Cool Kids Instore

2008-07-02T22:48:00.000+01:00

In typical fashion I arrived far too early but it was cool as the vibe outside was pretty fun basking in some rare UK heat. Once the doors opened we waded in to get some free cookies and doughnuts (the Bake Sale - get it??). Before long the room was popping - shout to the DZL for throwing up the four...

It wasn't long before the fours were catching...

and again with Jason On It

Before long the moment was upon us

The Cool Kids were on great form and the tracks from the Bake Sale sound tight esp Black Mags which thumped. If you wanna see more photos check here. They are playing the Scala in London tomorrow night and if you get a chance check them out cause judging by this performance they are set to blow. As a side great to see them signed to XL a label I have a lot of respect for.

We went to Africa and kicked its ass

2008-05-19T21:23:00.000+01:00

I recently bought myself an entry level digital SLR and headed off to the furthest regions of Namibia to chance my eye. So here is a couple of shots from the trip which I’m pretty happy with!

The Namibian Desert

Some Hallmark ish

The world's most grim football pitch

A giraffe trying to kick a zebra in the arse (he missed animal lovers)

Big shout to my boy Notorious who killed it with loads of shots but I bloody love this one (is that vain??)

Am I getting soft??

2008-04-29T20:39:00.000+01:00

The reality is most people work in jobs where the hobo look isn't appreciated, have girlfriends who don't appreciate face hugging a mammoth or generally have some sense of grooming

These things mean nothing to me

I've been cultivating this bad boy for a couple of months now - it's a mixture of pure laziness and singledom but you can't knock it's beauty.

After the joys of chin stroking I had to face facts I was beginning to look homeless so I figured it was time to get myself sorted out so after a recommendation from Mr. Hudson's Myspace Blog I found my way down to Sharp's Barbershop in London.

I'm not really a massive grooming kinda guy but there was something very luxurious about spending an hour chatting football, and sitting with warm towels resting on your face.
The outcome? pretty good - shout to Paul

The debate in my head is now have I become too soft? Is this level of grooming too much or is the new level to be upheld? Have I become a Jessie?

Wayne's World Party Time Ecstasy

2008-04-20T15:22:00.000+01:00

So in an outrageous piece of shameless slef promotion here is part 2 of the big Lil Wayne interview with DJ Semtex. Wayne is weirdly captivating - dude is so wasted. Check out the four cup sizzurp combination - Coca Cola must be so pleased!!!

The big Wayne's World Show goes down this Friday on 1Xtra ft Kanye West, Dj Drama, Little Brother and loads more. Make sure you check it out or listen again the following week.

Also gives me a good chance to point out DJ Semtex's blog is up and running in as serious way. check it out here

Reasons Why I'm Single 1

2008-03-13T12:30:00.004Z

This morning I woke up to a text message from a girl I have met a few times. Lovely girl very bright and interesting. Now we have only ever met in a work capacity so I pretty much only know her through that.

She text me this morning to ask me what my favourite restaurant was. Now instead of pondering this or getting my game on. I decided the best thing to do was to call her and bark addresses and phone numbers at her in an agitated fashion. After I put the phone down I suddenly pondered - was she asking me to go for dinner? Problem is now that I behaved so randomnly I'm not in a position to call her and make small talk in case she was asking me out.

Christ why does it have to be so confusing... I'm so single

Paying for Cool...

2008-03-11T12:59:00.001Z

I'm really unsure how I feel about this - last year there was a story that McDonalds were paying people for mentioning Big Macs in records which is pretty bloody low. Then Nike had the Classic record with Premo, Nas, Kanye, Rakim & KRS-1, which I have to admit I did like quite a bit but now Smirnoff have a whole set of tracks which they have commissioned. They are reworkings of some truly important hip hop moments - Criminal Minded & The Light amongst other things. You can get them here if you can get passed the annoying flash site

My displeasure falls into two sections first of all why the hell are the guys killing their own records for a bit of money - c'mon guys none of you are broke and secondly when did hip hop just bend over for the man? I'm not against people takin some cash or seeing an opportunity but this is degrading our culture for no foreseeable gain

Am I too upset?

Chalk it up as one of those days.

2008-03-08T00:19:00.002Z

I've spent today in the company of some very dear friends on the run up to their wedding in just over 14 hours time. The whole run up has been some 15 months in the making and I'm very honoured to have been part of the process and to have played my part albeit a very small one in the proceedings.

The one awkward part of all this is that it has put me in very close proximity with my ex girlfriend. To be fair to her, which is still important, she has been great all day and if anything any awkwardness has been my fault. I consider myself to be a fairly normal guy but on this one I'm falling apart at the seams. When I look at her I feel lonely and sad. I know that we will never date again and that in its self is perhaps not a bad thing but the intoxicating paralysis I feel won't go. When it is the two of us I feel like the sad teenager I once was, unable to handle the emotions that raged through me. I'm 28 years old - I've been through two tough breakups and here I sit thinking maybe I haven't learnt a fucking thing.

As I type this I feel a bit like a Kwiksave Carrie Bradshaw.

Do we ever truly get over loss?
How do you stop loving someone?

Apologies for my self indulgence tonight - normal chit chat returns with the next post - hopefully!

Lil Wayne is the Future

2008-03-01T00:43:00.002Z

I spoke to Biz this morning and he mentioned he was with some people yesterday who were debating about the quality of Weezy.

I will make this clear, here and now; there should not be and will be no debating from here on in.

Lil Wayne is the Future.

He is about to drop the hottest album of the year The Carter III which is now scheduled for end of March and is set to be absolute fire.

I quote:

"Fuck Em, Fuck Em even if they are celibate" - I'm Me
"I Play Fair Like Rollercoasters and Clowns" - Little Brother - Don't Go Breakin My Heart
"When I was 5, my favourite movie was Gremlins, that ain't got shit to do with this, I just thought I'd mention it' - Sky's the Limit

The list goes on and on - The man is a genius and anyone who disagrees is wrong.

This ends the announcement. I'm off to chase down a ticket for his UK dates and pray I don't get shot.

The Cool Kids ...

2008-02-23T19:22:00.000Z

Dropped by on Semtex's show last week and they were very very interesting. For the first part they were really flat but then when Semtex started talking about eating Kangaroo in Australia they went off on a massive tangent and they were pretty bloody funny.

They also freestyled over classic Nas and I have to say they handled their ish

check it here ...

shout to Semtex 1Xtra - Friday 10-12 Saturday 12-2

Screw Valentine's Day

2008-02-15T13:53:00.001Z

Screw Valentine's Day

Bit harsh?

No

I recently (well 4 months ago) split up with a long term girlfriend and have managed to not speak to another girl for a third of a year. By not talking I mean avoiding small talk, possibly awkward moments the full works.

I arrived at work this morning having delayed my departure from my house for 5 minutes in case the postman arrived (he did - water bill in my ex girlfriend's name). I opened my inbox to find a world of pain from two days off and loads of random Viagra emails, but wait what prey tell is this.

A facebook request from an old college friend. One that I had harbored a crush on for some four or five years. The wonderful Katie Red very cute very kooky but fiercely intelligent. As I logged on intrigued by this turn of events what did I see but a poke from the aforementioned Katie. Now not being 17 years old the world of social network dating baffles me.

A poke. What could this mean?
Do I dare to dream on this day of unrequited love?
Have the gods conspired to bring me joy in this dark hour of singledom?
Has Cupid's blind shot grazed me?

I mean I haven't seen her in a while and I know she is working out of the country but maybe there is a chance a brief glimmer of possibility.

I clicked on her page eager to see her again.

in case you are in any doubt - yes that is her in her wedding dress....

Shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiitttttttttttttttttt ain't right

Fuck Valentine's

The End of Something

2007-12-31T15:38:00.000Z

2007 is done.

As I'm writing this there is only 8hrs 20 min left. It's the first time I can ever remember wanting a year to end so badly. In real terms its just that the year has been backloaded with turmoil.

The start of 2007 began with a job in the monkey tennis department of a company coming up with ideas that went nowhere fast. Pretty depressing I managed to get out unscathed and followed it with a nice little break in Sicily which turned into a mixture of gorgeous moments and strangely sombre occasions. I returned to my current job in time to have to let a few colleagues go and enter a strange time for both me and the company. As the leaves fell off the tree in late August I turned 28 and got mugged, nearly lost my job, nearly got a beating for youtube, missed a trip to NY, landed a murder trial for jury service which obliterated December and is eating into January nicely - stay off the crack kids and to top it all off I lost a girl who meant a hell of a lot to me.

So as the year rolls out I'm looking at the first one in a few (since 2001) where there is more in the loss column than in the win, funny how they both had girl issues in them. I guess everyone needs those down years to make the most of the opportunities that come up. I have for the most part been very fortunate but maybe this year I lost some of my hunger. Got too comfy. I'm not going to get into writing about hopes and aspirations today. That is all for tomorrow today is an indulgent wallow in what has been a lame year and there is no point trying to resuscitate it:

clear

So with two fingers to what has come before I bid farewell to a miserable year and wish those of you partying a massive night. Spill some liquor for 07 cause its dead homie.

See you on the other side.

The Best of 2007 Runners & Riders

2007-12-30T20:19:00.000Z

So every year I put together my favourite songs of the year in what turns out to be a fruitless exercise that takes hours of my life. This year its kind of hip hop heavy which is cool because I genuinely feel that hip hop has had a good year bar Soulja Boy and MIMS (as a side note MIMS gets props for referring to himself in the 3rd person as Microsoft MIMS - that doesn't even mean anything...)

So to this year's list - lots of acts that are best described as Chimney Sweep music (Adele, Laura Marling, Jack Penate and even Mr. Hudson to some extent). None of these acts are new or particularly ground breaking but there is a warmth and energy to the records that makes them ooze class. As pop dumbs down to little more than dance moves and gyrating girls its nice to see some young acts proving they have some sense and depth.

The Hip Hop moves from back pack (CRS - complete album please) to the pure absurdity of Swizz Beatz (I met him this year nice guy ridiculous but cool all the same) .

Shout to Dizzee, Wiley & Benga/Coki make UK music to be proud of.

Honourable mentions to a few acts who missed out because CDS only run to 80 mins;

Tarrus Riley - She's Royal

Lethal B - Police on my Back/Come Up

Skinnyman - Warriors' Chant (cause I don't own it)

Calvin Harris - Acceptable in the 80's

and finally Dan Le Sac vs Scroobius Pip - Thou Shalt Always Kill (massive record but just missed out).

any thoughts on anything I missed or is better hit the comments.

The Beginning

2007-12-30T19:15:00.000Z

So I've just managed to get this in before 2007 is done. Its been a strange old year but one of the things that I wished all year is that I'd kept some sort of record of what was going on when and where my head was at. So this is going to be that place some of it will be boring as .... and some of it maybe a tad strange but if you got here by accident or have even god forbid come back to these ramblings then thanks for passing by.

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