On Wednesday I’ll be going to the Betsy Trotwood in Farringdon for Maptalks - an event upstairs in a pub where friend and collaborator William Eckersley will be taking part in a *Discussion on the documentation of abandoned London buildings and the changing cityscape, looking particularly at what makes a building ‘useful’.*
He put together a book of photos of London’s derelict and abandoned buildings called ‘Left London’ for which I wrote a brief Introduction.
Come and share your thoughts!
February 25th, 2007
Long time Heatwave associate Yungun aka Essa drops science on what it’s like to be a rapper here in the UK in an article he wrote for the Comission for Racial Equality.
I love his evocation of the conversation at the photocopier when he has to explain his second career. His comment that *Certainly, in my own experience, it is the most ‘ghetto’ of hip hop fans that have praised me the most for embarking on a career in the legal profession* perhaps reveals the gap between the perception of who makes / buys / listens to hip hop and the reality of people’s values and aspirations.
February 21st, 2007
The biggest one drop reggae tune for a minute now has been Come Around by white bermudan singer Collie Buddz. His name is actually Colin and his plaintive singing style sends shivers down the spine. On the buttons for this one is Massive B’s Bobby Konders - he also dropped the insane, rave influenced March Out riddim at the end of last year - who turns in a powerful, hip hop influenced one drop production which shows that slow and skanking reggae can still be forward thinking.
Regardless of his deal with Sony, Collie Buddz’ success is guaranteed: white singers and deejays have enormous appeal in the European reggae market, where the desire to emulate Jamaican culture is far stronger than the British tendency to adapt it for our own ends, as in grime and d*****.
Busta adds more fire when he jumps on the track in this unreleased version and spits in his most unreconstructed yardie style. (thanks to Sinden for the hook up).
February 20th, 2007