Sunday 29 January 2012

Kano & Mikey J curate I LUV LIVE - Monday 16 January 2012

I went to I LUV LIVE last Monday night (16 January) and boy was it a good night. Gutted that I couldn't make Eskimo Dance at Proud 2 the Saturday before, I was adamant not to miss this!! I LUV LIVE is a bi-weekly event that takes place in London with established British artists, up &coming talents and an open mic session at the end. On Monday 16 January Kano and Mikey J curated an evening of musical talent and sheer madness!!

I arrived at about 20:30 entering the busy live music venue XOYO in London's Old Street, a basement venue hidden amidst a mish mash of the old East End and recently renovated warehouses home to the trendy elite of Shoreditch.  I walked in to a good male-female ratio crowd with a good vibe & surprisingly no attitude. The dress code was relaxed, fashionable street wear - obviously you had your ladies who were dressed up just in case they should get the chance to meet Kano.

Ruby Ann Patterson
As my friend and I arrived to the DJ playing background music we tried to settle in and find a good spot within the audience. Ras Kwame, host for the evening, was a good choice as he is cheeky and keen to invite the crowd to get lively.  Despite Ras Kwame's efforts people are still arriving and the crowd not warmed up yet. About 5 minutes in, selected by Kano, nineteen year old musician Ruby Ann Patterson from Manchester takes to the stage as one of the warm up acts. Ruby Ann Patterson, a pretty female musician with a nice soulful voice displays her musical talent by playing the piano throughout her 3 track performance including a comical song she wrote entitled 'Good Bye' dedicated to her Ex.  Not a bad start to the night, by the end of Ruby Ann's performance the crowd starts to fill up with the dressed up ladies beginning to make their way up to the front of the floor towards the stage.  

Roses Gabor
DJ Jay Diamond steps in to fill the gap again before Roses Gabor comes to grace the stage. Roses Gabor, a female rapper and singer, has good interaction and banter with the crowd which helps to warm us up slightly. Having toured with artists such as the Gorillaz Roses Gabor glides through her 3 track performance which includes the popular 'Stupid' produced by Redlight.  Roses Gabor has a mixtape coming out on 31 January, I'll be sure to look out for that.

Ghetts
After a slightly painful 10 minutes of DJ Jay Diamond spinning or should I say skipping tracks, (a little embarrassing - bless her) I begin to anticipate the arrival of Ghetts, one of the most underrated MC's in the game, who you either love or not sure about. Ghetts, one of the heavyweights of grime appears on the stage starting the party with the uptempo 'She Likes To'. I saw Ghetts last live about 3 years ago and ever since rated him highly as the amount of energy this man brings to the stage is incredible and this is when the night really gets started . Then one of the most controversial tracks of last year 'Who's On The Panel' kicks in but the crowd are fully warmed up by the 3rd  adn 4th tracks 'Artillery' and 'Red Pill'.  You can download Ghetts' latest mixtape 'Momentum' released on Christmas Day here
Ghetts & Mercston



It was a slow start but with the crowd now fully warmed up Ghetts finishes his set cue for Kano to come out next. The DJ comes back out having resolved the jumping tracks issue and Ras Kwame assures the audience that Kano will not come out until he can hear us chanting his name and so the crowd participates 'Kano, Kano' we start to chant. This is it, the climax to the evening, Kano charges on to the stage spitting 'East London Madness' to the track 'Random Antics' into a vintage style vocal microphone. After a few pleasantries Kano's aim is clear, he is here to showcase the 'Not for the A List' mixtape, so with no more messing about it's straight on to the 2nd track 'Alien'. At this point I catch Ras Kwame arms folded, bopping his head in the corner - jeez talk about more more cool than Samuel L Jackson. After 'Alien' Kano goes on to explain that the latest mixtape 'Not for the A-List' is a project not made for radio but instead about having fun and taking it back. This is when Ghetts comes back onto the stage to perform 'House of Pain' a duet from the mixtape, through which, the pair remain seated. The performance gets a little emotional and you really can feel the pain coming from these two as they perform 'House of 'Pain'. It's clear that Ghetts and Kano have a special musical chemistry and should the day come where these two make a mixtape, it would be crazy for sure.

Kano & Ras Kwame

After this I lost track of what was going on as the crowd went crazy for Wretch 32 who made a special guest appearance for  the track 'ET'.  Feeding upon the hype within the audience Kano and crew finished the night off by having fun spitting over old grime beats taking us back to the early noughties when grime veterans where just starting out.  Over all I LUV LIVE was a memorable and great night out - not bad for a £10 ticket. I will definitely try to make the next one.

Tuesday 24 January 2012

NEW VIDEO: Young Talent - As Soon As

Here at UrbanVoice UK we like to encourage individuals trying to take the musical route to success. I present to you the latest video for unsigned artist Young Talent with the track entitled 'As Soon As'.  Hit that 'like' or 'dislike' button down below if you're feeling Young Talent and his flow.
This video from Young Talent 'As Soon As' is taken from forth coming mixtape 'Success Awaits'.



Success Awaits will be available for free download via www.mixtapemadness.com on the 24/01/12

Follow on Young Talent on twitter:  @Talent_TruStarz @TruStarzEnt

Monday 23 January 2012

MIXTAPE REVIEW: Papo - 'Knowledge is Papo (The Arrival)'

In the last couple of weeks I've been introduced to Joe aka Papo who released his first mixtape last week (15 January 2012). 'Knowledge is Papo (The Arrival)' is a 12 track mixtape with a variety of Hip-Hop tracks.
There is the already YouTube popular 'I'm On', a smooth tell tale of London life growing up in the 'endz' to the cheeky and naughtier lyrics found on 'Dirty Deeds' and 'Roll, Bang, Giggle'.  Papo has kept his London accent spraying life related lyrical themes with a voice that can definitely flow well over a beat or two. The overall compilation of this mixtape reminds me of late 90's, early noughties, underground US Hip-Hop defined by artists like Talib Kweli, Mos Def, Q Tip.

UrbanVoice UK Opinion: I'm always a bit skeptical of UK Hip-Hop artists as it is very difficult to be unique, true to your background and British all at the same time - something that very few British artists can accomplish. Papo delivers a well-rounded underground hip-hop style that has original touches throughout the mixtape with a fresh and UK inspired storyline - THANK GOD!  Papo is not imitating here and for a first mixtape, it is a good one. It is the honest 'Boy To A Man' track that brought a smile to my face and makes me want to hear more about Papo. You can see that Papo has been working hard and intends to send a mature flow through the speakers. This mixtape is well worth the download.  I will watch this space with Papo as I believe that there is more to come from this London Rapper.

UrbanVoice UK Score: 3.5 (Definitely recommended)

You can dowload Papo's mixtape here: http://www.mediafire.com/?waycrav3p0t0zwa

Follow Papo on Twitter: @thatguypapo
Check out Papo on YouTube here

Saturday 7 January 2012

NEW VIDEO: No Lay - Drugs

This next video 'Drugs' from No Lay has been popular in the past week and just like the track's title it is a little addictive.  No Lay, one of the most established female MC's in the UK, is going in haaarrrdd on the bass heavy 'Drugs'. With  the instantly recognisable Ms Dynamite sampled and production from AD No Lay compares her flow to Class A Drugs and rightly so because I have had this tune on replay for the past week.  Time to go Cold Turkey?!... This Video comes with a warning - HIGHLY ADDICTIVE, Enjoy!

https://twitter.com/#!/NO_LAY

Drugs is available to download from iTunes HERE and is taken from No Lay's EP 'He Said She Said I'm Bad'.

NEW VIDEO: Dot Rotten - Are You Not Entertained?

1Xtra's Hot for 2012 candidate Dot Rotten is back with his latest video and track 'Are You Not Entertained?' And he is definitely here to work it.  The energy and drive on this track shows that Dot Rotten is hungry and fighting his corner as one of the UK's finests MC's.  If you don't agree after this track my guess is that you will never agree.  Enjoy the video - I told you we're off to a flying start in the UK and it's only day 7 of the year.  


The new single from Dot Rotten will be available to download on 5th March. Let's support it!!

www.facebook.com/dotrotten
www.twitter.com/itsdotrotten
www.itsdotrotten.com

Music video by Dot Rotten performing Are You Not Entertained. (C) 2011 Mercury Records Limited

DIRTEETV.COM Mixtape Available to Download Now

Wooooiiiii!!! The DirteeTV.com mixtape has landed!!! Dirtee Stank Recordings presents the 25 track mixtape with features from Dizzee Rascal, Scrufizzer, Footsie and D Double E. The mixtape is grime heavy and very, very British. Even though Dizzee has done very well commercially it's good to hear him spitting over this style again, it's so natural and right for him. As well as Dizzee Rascal, Scrufizzer, Footsie and D Double E are also most welcome on this mixtape. Grime masters like Chronik and D Double E spit on the track 'Grime Superiors' which is a track that does exactly what it says on the tin.  We even see the likes of Kano and JME jumping on one of my favourite tracks  'Pumping It Out'. 
My favourite line is from the straight talking 'I Ain't Like You' on which Dizzee spits "2 grand for a table at the club, you're a mug, there ain't no love, they're just there to use ya" Bro's stand up and pay attention if you don't already know, Dizzee spits nothing but real on this track. 'Gassed Up' is another banger, it's not even a sing-a-long but it's got me bopping and singing-a-long.

Don't delay, Download today!

UrbanVoice UK Opinion: This mixtape is what you would expect from grime veterans.  A nice grimey mixtape to start the year, with enough tracks to please everyone, no frills, straight grime, simples!

UrbanVoice Score: 5/5

You can download your DirteeTV.Com Mixtape today:  http://dirteetv.com/

Friday 6 January 2012

Romeo Enters The Celebrity Big Brother House

Having not been on Twitter since 2010 I was a bit surprised to see Romeo from So Solid Crew follow me on Thursday.  After hearing about the Celebrity Big Brother housemates be revealed I understood why.  So Solid Crew MC Romeo was among the 'stars' who entered the Celebrity Big Brother house on Thursday night (5th January).

Romeo joined former soap actresses Natalie Cassidy and Denise Welch, glamour models Georgia Salpa and Nicola McLean and retired rugby player Gareth Thomas on the reality show, which is being shown on Channel 5.

The line-up was completed by footballer Ryan Giggs' sister-in-law Natasha, Playboy twins Kristina and Karissa Shannon, Reservoir Dogs star Michael Madsen, dancer Andrew Stone and The Only Way Is Essex cast member Kirk Norcross.

UrbanVoice UK wishes Romeo well and hopefully he goes on to win the show.  Let's see if he lives up to his name and if he becomes a hit with the ladies?!
You can follow Romeo on Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/RomeoLondon

Skepta - Hold On

Skepta, what a nice and positive way to start 2012, which is why you are my first video post of 2012.  Loving the positive energy flowing off Skepta's latest track entitled 'Hold On'.  This is a good motivational track for those who are working hard to achieve their dreams - don't give up!


Hold On - the brilliant brand new single and video from Skepta which is out now in the UK. Download now on iTunes.

Twitter: http://twitter.com/Skepta
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/SkeptaOfficial
Website: http://www.doinitagain.co.uk

Happy New Year & New Years Resolutions

Hey, hey! How's your 2012 going so far?  I hope you had a lovely break for Christmas and New Year.  I saw in the New Year at Anaya Night Club in London for a Willy Wonka themed night and the DJ's were crazy!!! Peeps were dancing ALL night! There is no better way to start the new year other than with good friends and GOOD MUSIC!! 

We see the start of a New Year as a time for new resolutions, new hobbies, new friends, new job, new YOU.  We also see lots of new music starting the New Year off with a bang.  A few years ago I stopped making resolutions that I can't keep (like not eating chocolate for a whole year) as it just wasn't realistic.  I now only set achievable and realistic goals for myself that focus on things that i need to do before the year end.  I managed to meet all of my 5 goals that I set last year and it feels good, like you're actually accomplishing something.

One of my goals for 2012 is to get more involved with the urban music scene and to develop the UrbanVoice UK Blog.  With so much music from so many great artists rolling out all the time it's sometimes hard to keep up but I promise to do my best.  On that note, what will you see from UrbanVoice UK this year?
  • More Videos
  • More Reviews
  • More Tweeting (follow me on twitter @urbanvoiceuk)
  • NEW: Reporting from live shows and events
  • NEW: More Interaction with Artists
I will continue to only Blog about UK urban artists (the rest of the world gets enough attention anyway) showcasing our talent to the world as well as support, support and support our UK urban artists!!

Happy Reading and Happy New Year, I hope you can keep those New Years resolutions better than I can and that 2012 is kind to you.

Please spread the word to your friends, family, local shop keeper, mum's cousin's friends aunty about UrbanVoice UK uvuk.blogspot.com

Tevec xxx
UrbanVoice UK
Supporting UK Urban Talent
uvuk.blogspot.com

Top Tunes of 2011

Unfortunately my internet has been down over the past week and I haven't been able to post as much as I would have liked.  In the spirit of 'better late than never 'I present to you my favourite and most memorable songs of last year 2011.  Here we go!!

Lethal Bizzle feat Various Artists - Pow 2011


Flux Pavillion - Bass Canon



Cleo Sol - High (Artful Dub)


Wretch 32 feat Example - Unorthodox


Sneakbo - Wavy


Labrinth - Earthquake


Mz Bratt feat Dot Rotten - Speeding By



Donea'o - Check My Swagga Out



Ed Sheeran - You Need Me, I Don't Need You


Naila Boss feat Melo and Keyz- Garden
 
 
Giggs - Monsta Man
 
Wiley feat Ed Sheeran - If I Could

Ghetts - Who's On The Panel


I could go on all day but I have to stop there - hope you've enjoyed some of my favourite TUNES from last year.