Out Now

This is Rajah, the confectionary kingpin who's the Official Stockist of the Back II Life DVD mixtape. He runs Newsagents all over town and as part of a special introductory offer/extravaganza every Saturday for the next 4 weeks 20 copies will be available for FREE from a different one of Rajah's shops (1 north, 1 south, 1 east and 1 west) upon request at the counter.

The first drop of 20 FREE copies is this Saturday 29th November at Marshall News on Marshall Street W1, just off Carnaby Street.

Alternatively the first 20 callers FROM Saturday to ring Rajah can leave their name and address and get a copy sent out FREE of charge.

Information on the next three shop locations can also be found by calling the big man on +44 (0)7841 465 474

La Joie

I Love French Hip-Hop. Have done since i first heard IAM Classic L'ecole de micro d'argent. That was 1997, back when you used to watch Ricki Lake. Here is the current French Hip Hop King: Booba.

Rain Mayne

[Image via/ClayPanPete]

L.E.S Artistes - Konrad Remix[mp3]

[courtesy of OldMoney [at] Attorney St]

New Raps

Short & Sweet

"True Feelings" - 88 Keys

"Stuck" - Harmony Korine for Thorntons


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Living In A Concept

Dupli.Casa, Ludwigsburg, Germany

[img source/David Franck]

"Lovespace" - Flowside[mp3]

[+ more]

Grace

[images via/andrea klarin]

Young 'n' Bold: Platform

Please get acquainted with Platform. Recently launched by renowned Big Smoke DJ Blaise Bellville - Platform is an information hub 'for the yute by the yute'. Covering everything from Music, Fashion, Politics and Film. Aimed at the teenage creatives who command respect and recognition, the Platform team gives a voice back to the young'uns that are "illegal" participants [by law] of the London night scene. Peep it, for an exclusively fresh insight into the mind of London's generation next. Read Platform.com

5 Generations of Throwbackin'

Elivis in the 60's

Frank in the 70's

The System in the 80's

69 Boyz in the 90's

Aaliyah in the Noughties x 2

Michael X

"I am Brother Michael Abdul Malik, formally Michael de Freitas. Thanks to some overzealous journalists. many of you now know me as Michael X. What's the difference? I'll tell you in due course..." A Trini 'bwoy' rolls off a boat into 1950's London. Ten years later he's the most famous black man in Britain, but who was Michael X? The 'authentic' voice of black bitterness' (Observer 1965) or the ex-Rachman henchman for whom politics was just another hustle?
This play is moving, touching and poignant in this new dawn : One Fist Slaute

Renaissance Manye [Part 2]

"What good is a ear if a Q-Tip isn't in it!?"

This Album is already in my top five of '08. Don't steal it from the interweb. Go out and buy it - your mini me will appreciate your taste in musica - twenty years down the line when its lost and found collecting dust in the attic somewhere.

Monocromatico

Curious deaths of some Burmese Kings

Nandabayin laughed to death when informed, by a visiting Italian merchant, that Venice was a free state without a king. (1599)

Theinhko killed by a farmer whose cucumbers he ate without permission (931AD). Theinko's Queen, fearing civil disorder, smuggled the farmer into the royal palace and dressed him in royal robes. He was proclaimed King, and was known as the 'Cucumber King'. He Later transformed his cucumber plantation into a spacious and pleasant royal garden. NEVER TOUCH A BURMA MAN'S CUCUMBER YO!

"The Drop" - Unitz [mp3]

Edge Of Arabia

Every now and then, we are blessed with an exhibition that contradicts the cliche ridden format that is projected by the mainstream media. Edge of Arabia is a perfect example of this. The exhibition currently on at the Brunei Gallery, London, is a conglomorative showcase of the work of 17 contemporary artists from the Arab world. In the West we have been brainwashed by the tabloids - so much so that it has become an intrinsic part of our defensive instinct to immediately associate Islamic culture with terrorism and little else - nonetheless we are all fully aware of the fact there is more to the culture than we are led to believe. Before the existence of this exhibition the idea of such free thinking and awe inspiring work from the Muslim world would only have been an incongruous figment or your imagination. This is why it's important to have tangible evidence that moves away from the prescribed stereotype.

I could sit here for hours talking about the Art in intricate detail, but dude won't bore you with sentimental spiel. So if you can, take the time to enlighten your mind about the beautiful and overlooked contemporary art scene that is finally emerging from the East. Its more than worth it, plus the only cost involved is getting off your jaded ass, seeing as there is no admission fee. Take a friend - It is on until the 13th of December yo!

[+more]

Phone HomE

"2008 marks the 60th anniversary of the arrival of the SS Empire Windrush at Tilbury Docks, Essex. The arrival of 500 Caribbean men and women in the UK from Jamaica is an important landmark in the history of modern Britain, symbolising the beginning of a modern multicultural relationship which was to change society significantly over the following years. As a symbol of the variety of different communities who have travelled here and enriched the cultural life of Britain, the Empire Windrush is unparallelled."

Press the * then say Hello is a series of 14 poetic portraits by Manchester-based artist Dinu Li. With references to paintings by Vermeer, Li has photographed customers in internet café phone booths, calling home, their bodies in one space and their minds elsewhere. Exhibition is on at the Manchester Art Gallery from the 15th November - 22 February 2009.

[+more]

Like Us...

"Think Different" - Nujabes [mp3]

"Making Planets" - Edan [mp3]

"Oh" - Mikey Green [mp3]

"The Whistler" - Claude Vonstroke [mp3]

"Get Retarded" - Canibus [mp3]

"Not For All The Love In The World" - The Thrills [mp3]

"Alright OK" - Inglish [mp3]

Back II Life

Here is a heads up from our peoples over at The Boy King , regarding their new visual project 'Back II Life'.

"Back II Life is a mixtape that features short film, music videos, mini documentary, performance and interviews with natives of the London scene... Taking you from A-Z on an epic journey through the everyday, a city travel show through London Town with visuals to make your head nod. From Hype MCs to cornershop queens from Trend setters to High-Street dwellers. Featuring exclusive interviews, performance and music videos from Jammer, Silverlink, The RZA, Errors, Lady Lykez, Lets Wrestle, Real Gold, Ult Cult and shorts from film-makers Sean Conway and Luc Rioche"

The DVD will be available at the end of the month at a secret location. For more info peep Jamhot

Back II Life DVD Mixtape Trailer

Tomozzow

Tomorrow at the ICA - the block is going to be on fire, courtesy of Work It. Be sure to find all the naughty 90's throwback kids paying homage to the era that gave us the GameBoy, LA Lights and the infamous "Ze roof, Ze Roof, Ze Roof is on fire" house soiree. No backs up on the wall, just pure oldschool jamming vibes. Its going to be big - BE THERE!

95 South - “Whoot There It Is”

Clout

Our sister magazine, Pop'Africana featured on Fader.com

Peep It
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It takes 2, baby

Absolutely sublime

Undercheck Overcheck

Spoil your girl yeah yeah...
Verdugo

Whores Never Learn

That Whorish Wench is at it again - bringing you the rawest, uncut stories of the metropolitan hustle we call life. Here is his latest pod on our generations 'rebellious' version of city beatification; Graphic Language.

Feed Your Own Before You Leave Your Home Yo!

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Renaissance Mayne

[images via Philippe Ramette]

"Crafty men condemn studies, simple men admire them, and wise men use them; for they teach not their own use; but that is a wisdom without them, and above them, won by observation. Read not to contradict and confute; nor to believe and take for granted; nor to find talk and discourse; but to weigh and consider...Histories make men wise; poets witty; the mathematics subtle; natural philosophy deep; moral grave; logic and rhetoric able to contend..." Francis Bacon

Nu Favorite Band[s]

These songs are on repeat all day, everyday.

"On A Train" - Francis & The Lights [mp3]

[+ Francis and The Lights]

"Twice" - Little Dragon

[+ Little Dragon Myspace]

NOBODY

CARES

IF YOUR

PUNS WERE

INTENDED

Friday's Throwback

Diplo "Banned In Libya"

One Step Forward, One Step Back

For the majority of people around the world the elections of November 4th must seem like a breath of fresh air. Change, in this case, is good.

In light of this step forward, it was sad to see the Golden State vote one step back, in favour of Proposition 8, stating:
“Only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California."

This reversed the court's decision, made only months previously, that same sex couples could get married. This, from the people of Cali, supposedly one of America's most liberal states.

For many gay and lesbian couples in California now, it is a case of ‘Yes, We Could’ve’ rather than ‘Yes, We Can.’

D.R. 4 PM

I can only hope Dizzee's right. If ONLY we started caring about our own politics as much as we care about America's.

Can we honestly only get the youth interested in political issues by showbizzing it up? Slathering it in a saccharine coating of celebrity sap? Make it more X Factor elimination than General Election, with £1.50 text voting and howling studio audiences, just to make it palatable? Maybe. Maybe Heat magazine has changed the rules of politics for the young. But, then again, Tony Blair tried that in the Brit Pop era, and just look what happened to him...

A Modern Promise

Our attitudes towards one another officially began to change as of yesterday.

There's always the danger that an oppressed group will seek to rise from a position of disadvantage to one of advantage - thereby subverting justice. Yesterday, the world was given lawful proof that predisposed ideas of supremacy based on class, race or religion are slowly becoming a thing of the past. Many revolutions have been centered on destroying something. This time, we witnessed a constructive revolution - a coming together of the people. In this revolution, the quest is for the minority [religous, ethnic, et-cetera] to get into the mainstream of American life. A revolution calling on the nation to live up to what is already there in an idealistic sense. Part of the job of leadership is to keep the hope alive and yet keep the flame of righteous indignation burning, the healthy discontent that will keep a revolution moving. We all have to recognise that, while everything has "changed", paradoxically, everything still remains the same. It is just the beginning of the change to come. The change that we are all looking for will only begin with a positively kinetic change in our mindset and our actions...

WHAT DIVIDES US UNITES US
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All I Need Is One Mic

As the fanfare dies down, the ticker tape nestles on the floor and the last drop of champagne has been consumed, I will look back at this election and ask myself one question. How?

How is it that an election process can last 4 years, and not be boring? How can the term maverick be deemed a good thing? How could the rumbling undertone of racism be counteracted with exaggerated sexism? How can a plumber with deluded aspirations become a symbol of the middle class?

America: manifest destiny, the American dream, the house with the white picket fence, a slice of apple pie, mom and pop stores. This young nation has a chance to do something as a country it celebrates. A reinvention. A rags to riches story .Just like Britney, Whitney and Madonna.

The kids are the future and if this election has done one thing well, it is inspire the youth. Have a gander at this:

∈merica

What is the first thing that comes to mind when you hear the word America?? There is an infinite amount of imagery that is synonymous with the "Land of the Free" - from its infamous landmarks, Mount Rushmore to the vigilant torch wielding [French] Lady on Liberty Island. Then there are the less significant objects that are immediately associated with everyday Yankee life - say for example, the over sized Yellow school buses that ironically mirror the nations child-like obsession with super sized production and consumption. Then again these are all symbols of the United States that have transcended generations, so what exactly has America come to symbolize for our generation??? According to the incoherent ramblings of fictional madmen, in Spike Lee's 'Do The Right Thing' America is all of the below.

"a Dago, wop, guinea, garlic-breath, pizza-slingin', spaghetti-bendin', Vic Damone, Perry Como, Luciano Pavarotti, Sole Mio, nonsingin' [Italian American] motherfucker"

"gold-teeth-gold-chain-wearin', fried-chicken-and-biscuit-eatin', monkey, ape, baboon, big thigh, fast-runnin', high-jumpin', spear-chuckin', three-hundred-sixty-degree-basketball-dunkin' titsun spade Moulan Yan [African American]."

"Slanty-eyed, me-no-speaky-American, own-every-fruit-and-vegetable-stand-in-New-York, bullshit, Reverend Sun Myung Moon, Summer Olympics '88, Korean kick-boxing son of a bitch. [Asian American]"

"Goya bean-eating, fifteen in a car, thirty in an apartment, pointed shoes, red-wearing, Menudo, meda-meda [Puerto Rican, American]"

Put simply America is a xenophobic nation of immigrants. Culturally polarized, racially divided and politically misled. A nation of immigrants that has never had an immigrant leader. Lets hope all of this is about to Change, because the implications of this Change for you, me and the world can only mean good yo!

[Obamarama]
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