With name and cover artwork archly referencing Blue Note, Rebirth of Yule is a lovely Christmas themed mix offering a warm and relaxing backdrop to the most chaotic time of the year. Produced by Kid Vector, who has always had complementary things to say about us, this mix is free so take advantage of the season of goodwill and pass on the recommendation to friends.
..did he ever leave us? Possibly going on an epic journey through the Himalayas in-between releasing The New Danger in 2004 and this years Ecstatic while finding time to churn out the underwhelming True Magic in a wooden studio shack on a mountain somewhere in-between. Well, no, probably not but it makes for a suitably striking headline. Mos Def appears galvanised after releasing the excellent Ecstatic earlier this summer and if this sampler of 24 Hour Karate School from Kanye West’s blog is anything to go by the creative juices are still in full flow.
And check out the new video for Supermagic, also proving that Mos isn’t averse to sporting a sartorial favourite amongst 80s terrace casuals, the Fred Perry polo. Nice.
The clock is ticking and, if like me, you leave it until Christmas Eve before buying presents (a sure fire way to both feel under pressure and get in the Christmas spirit) then you might be looking for purchase inspiration. First up 55DSL have hooked up with Adidas Originals and Barcelona designers Vasava to produce a new set of commemorative tees. Obviously with the snow falling this might not be a great time to a release a t-shirt series… but the toothpaste inspired one looks pretty fresh and will obviously keep until warmer weather arrives.
The second image is a shot of the Krylon spraypaint lamp. These beauties have been around for a while and I keep meaning to pick one up. They are a really innovative way of recycling packaging to create something useful and unusual.
We’ve got an exclusive and rather good interview with Mr T in the new edition of Bonafide and with this in mind we thought we’d post a heads up about the excellent downloads currently available on his site. The Annie Mac Five Minute Mini-Mix is a great introduction to his jaunty Sheffield soundsystem and deserves to be played loud! Also worth checking is the video for the brilliant ‘Fill Up Mi Portion‘ that archly references both Little Shop of Horrors and Pac Man and the great promotional photography art directed by fellow Steel City creatives Peter and Paul.
Bonafide is produced by people who care. It’s crafted outside of our 9-5s as something that we’d like to read and know there are a loads of people out there who like it too. Our aim is simple; provide original coverage on where hip-hop has been, is at and where it’s heading. For issue 03 DaM FunK and co. are here to set our musical, artistic and fashion frequencies to 2010 and beyond.
For this issue we some how managed to convince one of our favourite, and modern music’s most imaginative art directors to design our front cover. And Jeff Jank (Stones Throw records) certainly comes up with the goods in this comic book-inspired cut-up of a Strong Arm Steady/Planet Asia/J Rocc image - dope to the power of a gazillion. …Read More.
On Friday night I went to the excellent Cracked exhibition at the Mews of Mayfair, something of a cultural dichotomy to find this mischievous graffiti housed within the heart of London’s bourgeoisie shopping district, but thankfully it avoided any class clichés and was a nice space with dope work.
I also met Fred, the curator of the show and publisher of the book Crack & Shine, which is surprisingly the first in-depth look at the individuals and crews behind London’s burgeoning graf scene since the late 80s. Check back for a full review coming soon. As you can see it’s a handsome swine and though £30 might seem steep it’s sure to impress as a Christmas gift this year, that and a copy of the new issue of Bonafide, of course.
DOOM has been feverishly busy this year, releasing BORN LIKE THIS the GAZILLION EAR EP earlier this month, which includes remixes by Bonafide favourite Jneiro Jarel and Thom Yorke, and UNEXPECTED GUESTS sandwiched in between on Gold Dust, of which we have 3 copies to give away. To stand a chance of winning just answer this simple question; who is the man behind the mask? Send your answers into mailbox@bonafide.com with DOOM in the heading.
VA, In the Christmas Groove (Strut, 2009)
Ever wondered why there aren’t many funk and Christmas albums out there? If so, this album is for you. Out on Strut – home of Breakestra – In the Christmas Groove is the latest of the label’s impressive range of crate-digging compilations, which also include looks at disco, reggae, and afrobeat. For this reason, In the Christmas Groove was never likely to be a collection of novelty songs. Instead, what we get (for the most part) are stories of Christmas in the ghetto and how the festive season can help lovers get it together, all set to familiar sounding funk beats and melodies. Some of these tracks are pretty good: Milly and Silly’s “Getting Down for Xmas” and Electric Jungle’s “Funky Funky Christmas,” for instance. However, the really good songs are interspersed with some pretty average and poor ones – though your opinion here is going to have a great deal to do with how you feel about children’s choirs and smaltzy Christmas songs.
Overall, then, In the Christmas Groove is a bit hit-and-miss collection. There’s no doubting, though, that it’s the best Christmas funk compilation anyone’s ever put together. CR.
Christ, have I really been (trying to) write music reviews for free since 2002? The Streets legendary debut Original Pirate Material was one of the highlights of my stint as a reviewer at Lancs University newspaper, Scan. As the decade draws to an end, The LP has garnered lots of fresh critical acclaim. Personally I think it’s pretty spot on to be talking about it as one the definitive albums of the noughties. From the beautiful photograph of an illuminated tower block by Rut Blees Luxemburg and more casual inside artwork snapped by Ewen Spencer to the insightful vignettes concerning life for twenty somethings, it was brash, reflective, clever and incredibly different. I always remember listening to the opening of Turn the Page and being blown away and then amazed that the momentum carried through to the last track.
Looking at it, eight years on, the only downer I can think of is the whole raft of mockney ‘urban artists’ it generated. Still imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.
Props for 679 for having the ability to recognise a talent when they heard it. The only thing that baffled me then, and still does today, is why they chose to use Don’t Mug Yourself instead of the track All Got Our Runnins. The latter appeared on the promo release of the album, and if you’ve never heard it, is a secret classic.
Adult Swim have produced some excellent free downloads over the past few years. The latest offering, Alt Remix, in conjunction with Rockstar Games, is a fresh and diverse affair. As the visual suggests it traverses both the future and the past and to quote Tricky, is ‘Brand new, You’re Retro’. With remixes by Hudson Mowhawke, Flying Lotus and El-P, amongst others, it’s on the outer limits of electronica.
