#MusicVideoMonday: New Banger - Kano

Okay. It's nothing new. We all know how much I love Kano. I'm not gunna go on about it. Love love love that Kano seems to be stepping back in the scene with both feet now. Although his sporadic droppings are much appreciated, the news of his a new Kano album coming soon has made me very excited. 'Hail' was our first teaser of what to expect, and 'New Banger' is the second. Both are equally full of...

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J-Grime

So when people ask me what I am doing, my answers are increasingly along the lines of either; "revising empirical investigation in trait-emotional intelligence" or "skanking out to Japanese grime". (Very juxtaposed answers I know, but, evidently, I like to like to keep life interesting). In response to the former, the next line of the conversation is then usually "huh?", and in response to the...

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Kanye West x BBK Concert KOKO

So, yesterday was just set up to be a good day from the start. I beat all my gym targets. I got free cake at Uni (which just cancelled out all my work in the gym). I finished work early and got back to my flat in actual daylight. My Boohoo order had arrived. Yes. Life was bubbling along nice and gently so I thought I'd drop to a softer simmer for the evening and get some uni work done. That is...

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Skepta - SHUTDOWN

I've been waiting for Konnichiwa ever since Skepta dropped Blacklisted. Then he switched creative direction with the dropping of That's Not Me, and got me even more excited. Then literally every move he has made since has built up the anticipation more and more. The dropping of his new single, SHUTDOWN, is no exception to the rule. Exclusively brought to us through Fader, the new single was apparently...

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Kanye, the BRITs and the Grime Scene

What Kanye did at the BRITs tonight made me happy. Very happy. As in, push-your-statistics-lecture-notes-to-the-side-and-pull-out-the-Poomplex-mixtapes-to-commemorate-such-a-wonderful-moment-happy.  The UK "urban" music scene hasn't valued itself for a while now. We do not celebrate our own talent. This is because the wider mainstream UK music industry fails to really acknowledge...

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Lady Leshurr - Queen's Speech

Lady Leshurr has always been one of my favourite MC's. And yes, please note I did not say "favourite female MC". She's got a tighter flow, better bars, stronger charisma and sharper delivery than most of the boys on the scene. When it comes to freestyles (and, to be fair, pretty much every other bit of work she puts out) Lesh will always absolutely body it. And when I say body it, I mean...

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D'Angelo on Saturday Night Live

The dropping of Black Messiah, reminded us of what we have missed from music. And no, I'm not just talking about D'angelo's soul caressing vocals laid over hypnotic beats (that can be product of nothing other than delicate craft). I'm talking about the questions conjured, the issues outlined and the message so wrapped within the music, it still penetrates the trance his voice puts you into. The...

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Shakka & Frisco - Walking With The Elephants Remix

You're most probably familiar, in fact overly familiar, with Ten Walls' track, Walking With The Elephants, as it circulated the radio waves and club scene last year. Just as you thought you'd thought that crazy central horn section of the song just wasn't as exciting as it used to be, Mr 2 K's, with help from Mr Frisco/Frisc-FLOW has revitalised its beautiful grunginess in his latest remix. If...

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