Can't Stop Fanatics

learn your lessons

noreply@blogger.com (Craig Abs) — Sun, 25 Jan 2015 11:34:00 +0000

It's been way too long between full length Jazz T/Zygote production album. My past description of the Boot Records duo's organized chaos still stands as this 'Lesson' suggests. The resultant album, Run The Changes, is on its way.

woooooooo woooooooo (aka the noise that owls make)

noreply@blogger.com (Craig Abs) — Sun, 25 Jan 2015 11:21:00 +0000

THE FOUR OWLS & PRIMO!?!?!.....next month on 12" vinyl, nuff said.

who is paul mccarthy?

noreply@blogger.com (Craig Abs) — Sat, 03 Jan 2015 14:26:00 +0000

When I was growing up my musical education was based on the Golden Era of Hip Hop. My ears were dominated by such lumnaries as Biggie Smalls, Nas, A Tribe Called Quest, NWA, Cypress Hill, De La Soul, The Gang Starr Foundation, The Likwit Crew.... I could go on. Yet that didn't stop me from expanding my musical horizons. On the contrary, by the very nature of its construction Hip Hop music encourages any listener with even the slightest inclination, to give themselves a musical history lesson simply by reading (and by consequence investigating) the sample credits of albums released by the artists I have just listed. But even with this in mind should those that cried ignorance on twitter in the last few days really be upset by the teens and tweens lack of 'Beatletastic' knowledge?

The musical landscape has changed. Popular urban music is not sample driven anymore, EDM has put a totally different spin on the structure of today's mainstream charts and the facebook generation have a collectively short attention span.

On top of that, a number of the popular artists they look up to for more than a few months are either using their twitter feeds to attack those who paved the way for them, or don't acknowledge them altogether. Amalgamating all of these factors with the influence of an increasingly throwaway society, makes it is easy to see why some of the modern worlds younger consumers have no idea who Sir Paul McCartney (or McCarthy as some has christened him) is and just how inestimably wide his musical net is cast.

But being that Sir Paul first cast that net more than half a century ago i would question how many of us are really that surprised at the apparent lack of scope shown by some of Kanye's more wide eyed fans. I am personally more concerned by the snobbish, snide and occasionally abusive reactions to some of the highlited tweets. Don't forget that many of these tweeters are under 18. Taking the mickey and giving them a ribbing is one thing. But to resort to crude name calling and aggressive belittling in the name of someone as squeeky clean as Sir Paul is probably more insulting to the man himself than those who sent the tweets in the first place.

But Social snobbery has always been an issue among music fans. Certain factions of fans across all genres are well known to turn their virtual, comment laden noses up at those who aren't as knowledgeable as they are. Rather than educate the 'newbies' and in doing so enhance the profile of the artists and music they hold dear, they choose to castigate those who don't 'dig as deep' as they do and even verbally attack DJ's who don't move a crowd with the correct vinyl pressing of a song. These are people that want to keep some artists to themselves yet have no problem turning on those who don't know about others.

Okay so Sir Paul is probably a special case in this regard but far from considering such a lapse in musical knowledge an affront to the arts, shouldn't we be praising the fact that through Kanye Wests profile, many of those recently enlightened minors and young adults will be on YouTube as you're reading this, becoming familiar with We All Stand Together, the beautiful Maybe I'm Amazed and the iconic (and McCartney penned) Hey Jude? After all we are talking about a man who made his first chart appearance in 1963, the musical equivalent of 10 lifetimes.

Just because I know who Bob James, Roberta Flack and Johnny 'Guitar' Watson are, am I entitled to feel let down by the fact that my daughter had to give some of her friends a basic run down of Sir Paul's quartet based exploits? Should I feel "proud" that she is in a position to do that? Or perhaps I should take the reasoned view that, as with all aspects of knowledge.... a question is only easy when you know the answer...and nobody knows everything.

p e a c e

the original version of these ramblings can be found at MoonProject.com

keep it true

noreply@blogger.com (Craig Abs) — Sun, 28 Dec 2014 09:24:00 +0000

Apparently this is an old accapella that Crossbone T saw fit to remix. Quite simply, THIS IS MY JAM RIGHT NOW! more please Amy....

@Amy_True

marseille & bristol sitting in a tree... r a p p i n g

noreply@blogger.com (Craig Abs) — Sun, 28 Dec 2014 09:19:00 +0000

If there is one thing that I absolutely positively cannot criticise the good people of France on, it is their gift for producing many great disciples of Hip Hop. Mer2Crew are one of the many and Incorruptibles is the result of a 'cypherical' meeting of Hip Hop minds. The album is Remise a Flow and it's out now.

Me2Crew - Remise a Flow

kamanchi you sly dog you!

noreply@blogger.com (Craig Abs) — Sun, 28 Dec 2014 09:07:00 +0000

Thankfully Kamanchi Sly compromised any of his Hip Hop sensibilities for his latest single. I just hope that there are enough of us enlightened heads out there to fully appreciate this. Or maybe some younger folks will jump on board.

Sidi Ifni is now a city that i intend to seeformyself, thanks to....

noreply@blogger.com (Craig Abs) — Sun, 28 Dec 2014 08:58:00 +0000

Chemo is making superb use of his alter ego. In Morocco is a stunning piece of 'instrumentalism' and Sidi Ifni (a city in Morocco) is a superb example of it. Just enough of a Hip Hop element to get the heads involved and more than expansive enough to price some inner ears. Don't Sleep folks!

Buy:Telemachus - In Morocco here

diggi deluxe

noreply@blogger.com (Craig Abs) — Fri, 21 Nov 2014 13:13:00 +0000

I will say it every time, I am a sucker for live instrumentation in Hip Hop! Mys Diggi is releasing a deluxe version of his superb Mystrogen LP and this is to be one of the extras on there. The Son Veneno band (via Harry Love) on the beat. Emjoy!

every little sticking plaster helps... doesn't it?

noreply@blogger.com (Craig Abs) — Fri, 21 Nov 2014 12:47:00 +0000

The Band Aid project is exactly what it says on the tin. A sticking plaster and oh so partial solution to what could potentially become a global epidemic (no I’m not scaremongering, just stating a point of fact). It was the same with the songs previous incarnations and will be so in the future whenever Sir Bob, or whomever takes the reigns, deems it necessary to once again assemble the Pop music Avengers.

Call it pompous, call it big headed, call it profile raising, call it ego massaging, call it a Jesus complex, the intention and goals of Band Aid as a project should not be questioned. No tax is being taken, no costs are being recouped and many of the artists involved have postponed lucrative projects to be involved. Indeed, when the songs creator-in-chief says “I don’t care if the songs crap buy it anyway” the end game is there for all to see. So why then, are there reviews of the song available via some blinkered but very well known websites?

Surely the authors of such diatribe must realise that, regardless of the charitable intentions of 99.9% of the earths consumers there will always be the few that are positively, or negatively influenced by any such prose and, therefore, may or may not purchase a song created to convey a message and help people less fortunate then ourselves. Should I be seeing comments online of people saying they bought the song because they ‘liked it’? Should the cause be at the forefront of their reasons for buying the song? Or is the fact that they bought it in the first place enough?

I have listened to people suggesting that the cause and the song be separated and that we should be looking into other ways of utilising the brand. Making the most of the brand should be a given but is suggesting any kind of dilution of said brands biggest draw lunacy? It is one of the most identifiable songs in music history and is the one thing that more than one generation of consumer can identify with. I would have thought however, that recruiting YouTube stars Alfie Deyes, Zoella and Joe Sugg (12 million subscribers between them) to sing the iconic reprise is a stroke of marketing genius and a superb way to connect with a younger audience.

To those of you who have actually seen fit to critique the song, most of the buying public don’t know any of the verses word for word (me included) or the intricacies of what is being said. We support the cause and of course we wish that the release of such music, the original cause of which is still an issue, wasn’t deemed necessary in the first place but we do know two things. The easy to recite hook and that our money is being shunted towards a great cause. Do we really need to know anything else?

Yet I am the same man who preaches to all who bless me by perusing my musings, the power of the message that is being (and can be) carried through music. So negatively portraying Africa exclusively as some kind of undernourished society desperate for all the money it can get is obviously wrong and should be corrected. Those that are portraying it some kind of new world paragon of industrial might are also wide of the mark. It does house many of the worlds fastest growing economies but the wealth has yet to be shared as it should be. But who in their right mind thinks that any of this crossed the minds of the folks that chose to take part in something that they wanted to do simply for a good cause?

Artists work hard for their varying fames and fortunes and are in a privileged position of because of it. Their influence is far reaching and for better or worse, the actions of millions around the world are based on the fruits of their labours. The very nature of their business demands a critiquing of their endeavours but isn’t Band Aid 30 and other charitable songs of this nature beyond such analytical positioning? Surely the consumers choice on such matters should come down to their belief in the cause, and not the chorus…. right?

originally posted at Moon Project on 17.11.2014

one for all.... and all for one

noreply@blogger.com (Craig Abs) — Tue, 11 Nov 2014 18:27:00 +0000

Logic is back (as if he ever went away). This time he has teamed up with the RU1 Fam to help the masses 'Overstand' via new album, We Are One. Thought provoking, insightful and at times melodic, this is one of those albums that comes completely out of the blue and succeeds in opening many eyes... or in this case the minds eye. oh, and The Last Resort on the beats can't be too bad either can it. More clips and a link after the break. Don't sleep!

and.....

Buy: Logic & RU1 Fam - We Are One

bey bey see

noreply@blogger.com (Craig Abs) — Mon, 03 Nov 2014 22:55:00 +0000

So... the Queen 'Bey' has done it again, if recent (and very naughty) photos are to be believed. Nicki Minaj, Justin Timberlake and Rihanna are to be the guest vocalists on volume 2 of Beyonce's self titled, formerly surprising opus. I'm not going to add to what many have already covered regarding the rest of the albums particulars. That can be done when someone outside of Columbia's top brass has actually heard the fruits of Lady Carters labours.

I can't help but wonder though, if this really was the work of a rogue employee, or whether a guerilla marketing guru's lightbulb lit up above his head before exploding in an orgy of supreme social hive mindedness. Think about it, most of us would obviously buy the album in a heartbeat when we found out it had actually dropped. But the lady's last album broke records in the first week of its release and to break them again with the very next release would be something I would definitely be thinking about if I were in her position. The easiest way to break that record is to make sure that we all know when its due. But the trick is to do that without seeming to be falling back into the promotional habits of 'normal' artists. And voilà, the picture that sets a few million tongues wagging is released.

This is a lady for whom, despite the intense privacy she and her husband try to convey (lift altercations permitting), staying at the top of the chart fed tree is par for the course. After the MI6 level of security that surrounded the last years videothon I simply cannot see how such a lapse can take place on the very next project without a thumbs up from someone in a position of power. And all it cost for such a feat is the kilobytes of data it took to get the photo out to the masses in the first place.

Who knows, maybe i am the musical interpretation of David Icke? Thinking a little too deeply about an obvious piece of photographic opportunism for my own good? Or does Beyonce have to once again thank the mind that, by conceiving such a shrewd game of Chinese whispers, has probably paved the way to another record breaking week for the Carter household?

p e a c e

750 bottles of beer on the wall....

noreply@blogger.com (Craig Abs) — Fri, 31 Oct 2014 10:22:00 +0000

Really nice Aussie neck snappers are the staple diet of 750 Rebels new release, Kold Heat. Not much else to say really. Peep the additional DJ Premier inspired niceness after the break. Enjoy!

buy: 750 Rebels - Kold Heat

chemistry got him out of a jam

noreply@blogger.com (Craig Abs) — Thu, 30 Oct 2014 20:47:00 +0000

This is my Jam man! (pun intended). This clip is slightly eerie but then again so is the wonderful tune. Chemo (or Telemachus for that matter) can do no wrong. The album, which Chemo produced from start to finish, is out on 1st December. Can anyone say pre-order. Enjoy!

Sharknado 2... the first was popular enough for a sequel!?!?!

noreply@blogger.com (Craig Abs) — Thu, 30 Oct 2014 20:34:00 +0000

The Lincoln lads are back on the scene with a quality piece of freeness. All four tracks are nice but the remixes are where things get cranked up for me. Plus Iron Braydz too. Clip and link after the break. Enjoy!

Heavy Links - Natural Disasters

you sleazy little so and so

noreply@blogger.com (Craig Abs) — Sun, 26 Oct 2014 14:36:00 +0000

This onecame at me from nowhere. From Greasy Vinyl, the same camp that brought one of my recent favourite releases (Jman's Auronography) to mass audiences comes this FREElease from Sleaze. At ten tracks deep and a hazy Boom Bap heads dream one would be mad to miss out.... so don't! Enjoy.

Grab: Sleaze - The Rise Of Isaac Roberts

i love chocolate flavour.... oh, not that kind of mousse

noreply@blogger.com (Craig Abs) — Sun, 26 Oct 2014 14:22:00 +0000

Another super nice track and clip from those Moose Funk peeps. If you haven't taken a more detailed look at these guys don't sleep folks.

did action man ever have a kung fu grip?

noreply@blogger.com (Craig Abs) — Thu, 16 Oct 2014 02:37:00 +0000

An interesting piece of promo freeness from a Jazz trio thathat admittedly, I'd never heard of before now. I only caught on because Confucius MC holds court on the mic on 2 tracks. The EP is 6 tracks deep (smile) but is only one file (frown) but is more than worthy of your attention. Enjoy.

The Grip - The Grip Tape

its a play on 'network southeast' for those that aren't aware

noreply@blogger.com (Craig Abs) — Sat, 11 Oct 2014 16:25:00 +0000

Remember the good old days? When the term Boom Bap had a simple definition. Tony Blair was still the man. Knight Rider and Airwolf re runs were still cool and Arsenal's defence moved forwards in unison (those were the days)? Are you like me, making regular, Golden Aged acoustic excursions to satisfy the craving? Tony Olabode was supposed to deliver what would probably have been the UK's first class ticket to that fabled destination. However the obligatory record label wrangles and contractual disputes rendered that a non starter. 18 years later however, comes the South East London residents own interpretation of the phrase 'better late than never.

Lets be honest, to myself and those of you reading this review with genuine interest, the emancipation of Dettwork Southeast is long overdue. But in the cold light of day this is a niche release of sorts. An album highly sought after by those in the know who are well versed on a particular era of music from a certain part of the world, or those studious enough on modern UK Hip Hop to have been self schooled on what Tony Rotten means to the culture. But even after putting those camps together and adding on international equivalents, that is still quite a select group. Quite frankly from the outside looking in, for Sony to have remastered and released this album in the first place (albeit with virtually no promotion) is quite something. Luckily the nostalgia fest (in more ways than one for Londoners) is worth the wait.

First and foremost this truly is an album of its time. With all the booming kicks and crashing snares on display there is absolutely no confusion as to which US coast is the influential host of this party. DJ Rumple and the Twang himself keep the formula straight, with no chasers which, when held up against many of today's more elaborate equivalents, wins the inherent battle of longevity with relative ease. I defy any 'heads' out there to feast their ears on Heads & Tales, Real Estate, Tai Boxing, Don't Let The Fool You and B.S. Survivah (to name but a few of many examples) and not flip the same "full on nostalgia mode" switch that I triggered. To spout monikers like Buckwild or Nick Wiz is far less an exaggeration than it is a factual point of reference.

Tony himself is the archetypal representative of a mid nineties inner city London that I remember very clearly. That deep and forceful low key tone a comfortable fit for the horns and jazzy warbles that dominate the majority of Dettwork's soundscapes and considering the time that has passed since this LP's original conception the term 'fashionably retro' springs to mind as oppose to out of touch. References to Acton (my hometown), Bally (not ballet) shoes, The Trocadero, West Ealing (a regular haunt of mine in those days), British Rail and being a 'gallis' (primarily because I wasn't one) were more then enough to push me over the edge and into an ethereal state of historic daydreaming. Consequentially the regeneration of slang like marga, butters, garms, arms house, beans and chuckin' it, is something that I am taking into serious consideration.

Hip Hops malleability and previously overabundant sample use make it a gateway to many other genres. But when an uncomplicated approach is done well its spoken format means instant accessibility for damn near anybody. Especially for the uninitiated newcomers who choose to look past its initially rebellious nature. The better exponents of the art, and the results of their labours tend to induce a little more substance (whatever form that may take) than their more run-of-the-mill peers. Dettwork Southeast at nearly 20 years old, does just that and with the beats on show, you don't have to come from my neck of the woods to appreciate it.

Buy: Dettwork Southeast HERE or HERE

rip john ritter

noreply@blogger.com (Craig Abs) — Sat, 11 Oct 2014 16:14:00 +0000

And now for something different.... but still bloody superb. I copped the album and it is more of the same. Another Mortal Kombat nostalgia inducing clip and link after the break. Enjoy!

Buy: Confessions Of A Normal Human Being

steptoe and son never got down like this

noreply@blogger.com (Craig Abs) — Sat, 04 Oct 2014 15:16:00 +0000

High Focus' resident soul man is back with a limited edition vinyl only (so far) release. Put That Soul On Me is entirely produced by Dirty Dike and also includes the instrumentals. The main pic however, is from a lovely piece of pop tinged soulful freeness for those of you that want to try before you buy. It really is a quality listen and i am surprised that even in the blogasphere that there hasn't been a little more coverage. Clips, stream and links after the break peeps. Don't sleep!

Wolves by ragnboneman

Rag N Bone Man - Wolves / Buy: Put That Soul On Me EP

aaaah the kingdom of croydonia, i know it well

noreply@blogger.com (Craig Abs) — Mon, 29 Sep 2014 17:02:00 +0000

You Can Take The Cracker Out Of Croydon is out now. Enjoy

danger, mickey, mighty, rasta.....

noreply@blogger.com (Craig Abs) — Mon, 29 Sep 2014 11:32:00 +0000

It looks like The Mouse Outfit have taken their sound to new places since the superb Escape Music (which is still in regular rotation on my Sennheisers) was let loose upon the masses. The visuals are superb and brings back memories of me salivating over the Busta Rhymes and Missy Elliott clips of late Golden Age origins. Enjoy!

so polish it then!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Craig Abs) — Mon, 29 Sep 2014 11:21:00 +0000

The Triple Darkness roster has been amended somewhat but the effect on my neck is still the same. It aches from all the bloody head nodding! I didn't see any album details fellas. I do hope that this is not a one off. Enjoy!

the 1970 team rule but the '82 boys were more entertaining

noreply@blogger.com (Craig Abs) — Thu, 25 Sep 2014 19:38:00 +0000

This is nice, very nice and regardless of my lack of understanding Portuguese any decent head will recognise that there are plenty of syllables on show so dudes got skills.

a masterful display?

noreply@blogger.com (Craig Abs) — Wed, 24 Sep 2014 23:40:00 +0000

For those that don't know, Mastermind is the quiz shows quiz show. Regardless of the case some might put forward for University Challenge, in my view it is the pinnacle of 'Boffindom'. BBC's iPlayer, far from being simply a catch up service, is a haven of undiscovered and quite superb programming. Radio 1Xtra is (like it or not) at the forefront of the UK's mainstream 'Urban' movement. But was putting the three entities together to bring about Hip Hop Mastermind my beloved genres dulling down, or certification of Hip Hops universal mainstream acceptance?

Part of Hip Hops attraction to most of its fans is it's edge. The rebellious "you can't tell me what to do" attitude that, in varying degrees of concentration, permeates every aspect of its existence. It was a way for (most of) us to get rid of our anger and frustration and angst. It was a way to build a connection with friends. It still is all of those things for a huge number of the worlds population. Yet, as much as it brought parts of 'my music' to a larger audience, I couldn't help but feel that something about Hip Hop Mastermind.... something I couldn't quite put my finger on, didn't sit right with me.

Maybe it's the fact that the BBC didn't even go outside of it's own talent pool to find the contestants. Maybe its the fact that (and this might be my own paranoia kicking in) host John Humphreys gave off an unmistakable air of "why am I doing this?" Maybe its the fact that if Lethal Bizzle is going to choose Wu Tang Clan as his specialist subject, he really should know the name of the Clans first single and Ol' Dirty Bastard's classic first LP. Maybe it's the fact that the people compiling the questions don't get that just because shady market demographics experts decided to include R&B and Hip Hop in the 'Urban' bracket, it doesn't mean that they are one and the same.

Hip Hop has a habit of facing that type of conundrum. A new fad unexpectedly takes root, or new gimmick is formulated by the inconsistent record label powers that be and the Traditionalists go into a 'traditional' meltdown. The problem with that argument is music and tradition simply cannot coexist and haven't done so since the comet hit. It thrives on opinion. I can dislike David Guetta and Flo Rida collaborations as much as I like but all I have to do is throw on something a more in my.lane and I'm home free.

A part of me has to think that this latest incarnation of man vs chair has been done with the best intentions, and is not merely a self congratulating publicity stunt for 1xtra. Hip Hop is all the things I have previously mentioned but above all else it has always been about breaking new ground. Whether its the birth of yet another new sub-genre, a twist on old school classics or (for better or for worse) tearing the roof off of the genre mashing party, Rap is thee most non exclusive club in music. The brain behind Hip Hop Mastermind (1xtra's Aled Hadyn Jones) is a member just like I am. Universal approval or not, surely the least that those who carry its biggest torches can do, is adhere to club policy.

Click here to catch Hip Hop Mastermind on the iPlayer now