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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