Archive for January, 2008

The Rap Exchange

Thursday, January 31st, 2008

Going down on February 21st and 22nd, the Beijing to London rap exchange will take place at the Linbury Studio Theatre (at the Royal Opera House).

Taking centre stage will be the Mandarin hip-hop crew Dragon Tongue Squad, who will be getting down with British Chinese scratch master DJ Kevin Quan (aka DJ Phat) and Suki Mok, who’ll be adding a little Spanish guitar flavour.

Adding on, there will be a masterclass taking place on February 16th, which will be open to 12 hip-hop artists. Places are on an invitation only basis, and you can apply be emailing over your CV to jih-wen@chinatownartsspace.com.

God’s Gangster

Tuesday, January 29th, 2008

Most of these ‘American Gangster’ mash-up remix projects get the bozack big time, but Quincey Tones’s ‘God’s Gangster’ puts a fresh twist on the trend, blending Nas’s vocals from ‘God’s Son’ with brand new beats made up of samples from the same records used to make the beats on ‘American Gangster’.

Cop it by clicking here, and don’t forget to peep Quincey’s work on the soon-coming EMC album - his track ‘Winds Of Change’ is a definite stand-out moment.


Uncle Murda Shot

Saturday, January 26th, 2008

More hip-hop artist drama news, this time forwarded on from HHC’s unofficial Uncle Murda photographer:

“A rap artist who named his latest album ‘Respect the Shooter’ was shot in the head as he sat in a parked car in Brooklyn, police sources said Wednesday.

Uncle Murda, whose real name is Leonard Grant, suffered a graze wound in the 10:30 pm shooting Tuesday on Linden Blvd. in East New York, cops said. Grant, 27, was not seriously injured, sources said.

Grant has a rap sheet dating back to 1997, which includes an arrest for attempted murder of a cop and drug charges.”

RIP 50/50

Thursday, January 24th, 2008

Some sad news to report:

“It is with great regret that I inform you of the passing of Carl
‘50/50′ Fearon, original member of The UK’s World Famous/Imfamous Hip-Hop Supergroup, The 57th Dynasty.

“A tribute page to the life and legacy of Carl “50/50″ Fearon has just been set up at: http://www.myspace.com/rip5050

HHC’s condolences go out to all family and friends.

Drunk ‘N ‘Fif

Wednesday, January 23rd, 2008

MadMan The Drunk Reporter interviews 50 Cent. Allegedly. Click here to check it.

Triple Darkness Launch Party/Kidz In The Hall ‘Drivin’ Down The Block’

Tuesday, January 22nd, 2008

Last night the launch party for Triple Darkness’ excellent ‘Anathema’ single went down at Herbal, with Blak Twang, DJ Vadim, Pyrelli and Yungun also passing through to show support for the crew.

Click here to check out more Triple Darkness goodness.

Moving on, you can check the new Kidz In The Hall single, ‘Drivin’ Down The Block’, by clicking here (and watch out for the remix with Pusha T and The Cool Kids).

Oh, and that’s not just a Masta Ace vocal sample - he re-recorded the part especially for Naledge and Double-O.

Nas Flicks

Thursday, January 17th, 2008

Some blog or the other has managed to unearth two pretty decent unreleased Nas videos (for ‘The Unauthorized Autobiography Of Rakim’ and ‘These Are Our Heroes’).

Click here to travel across the world wide interweb as if by magic and check them out.

Girls On Top

Tuesday, January 15th, 2008

Kicking off on February 3rd, the Girls On Top show will be the UK’s first all-female graffiti exhibition. It takes place in Canterbury at the Frission Gallery and you can check out more by clicking here.

The Scenic Route

Monday, January 14th, 2008

With everyone still in 2007 review mode, we’ve switched up the previews section of the current issue of HHC (out now! And with a free CD! And free old school and golden era mini-mag!) and posted up the top five section of our top 50 albums of the year list.

Click here to check it out, including a genuinely surprising number one pick…

RIP The Beats

Friday, January 11th, 2008

Sad news reaches us that Mike Skinner’s The Beats label is to be no more.

The home of Professor Green, Example and the Mitchell Brothers, they released a small stream of very British product, and always looked like they were having a good laugh doing it.

“The Beats represents me growing up,” said Skinner of the decision. “Spectating was more nerve-wracking than performing.

“What I’m doing now is looking for the thing you can create that embraces the next generation. I’m really into what you can do online and I’d
rather be at the centre of it”.

Beats fans can cop their last mixtape with the Pro Green and Example cover of HHC by clicking here.