Bonafide set out with the aim to celebrate hip-hop. Our aim was to explore ‘old-school, mid-school and new-school creativity’, five issues on we’re proud to present the old school x new school issue. In hip-hop chronological order we speak to the Godfather of it all, Grandmaster Flash, profile EPMD, the funky Long Island duo from the golden age of rap and get crazy with ‘the lazy hustler’ and fourth Beastie Boy, Ricky Powell. Still in NYC, we speak to a leading voice for alternative hip-hop, EL-P, who, nearly 15 years on from the release of the Funcrusher Plus (as part of Company Flow), reveals that there’s plenty of drive left in the tank. From the West Coast we catch up with the revered turntablist and Beat Junkie, J Rocc.

In the new-school side of the magazine, we break bread with those responsible for some of the most exhilarating new sounds in British urban music. We have exclusives with DELS and Ghostpoet as they launch their careers with original and nuanced albums. For this issue’s roundtable we speak with the men behind Numbers, the Glasgow based record label that has rewritten the rulebook on how techno, electronic, R’n’B, house and hip-hop music should sound. And the resulting mutant strain of bass music is destroying dance floors the world over. On the visual side, we delve deep into the Brainfeeder psyche, speaking with designer and artist Charles Munka about his contribution to the label’s distinct art direction.

Buy an issue via the Bonafide shop and you will receive a redeemable code (sent via email within 48 hours) for a free copy of DELS’ Gob EP, including the original single and remixes by Dave Sitek of Tv on the Radio (catch a listen here), Untold and Ry9n. While stock lasts.

You can also buy Bonafide in the TATE Modern bookshop, Rough Trade, Fopp, Magma, all good online and physical record stores and for the first time, HMV, from May 15th.

As usual we’ve raised the stakes and aimed to put out something that you won’t find anywhere else. A UK themed issue from the red and blue colour scheme to the fashion imagery through to the innovative musicians and artists we’ve spoken to, issue 04 celebrates our very own local originators.

Peep the roll call of exclusives. On the music tip we’ve got exclusive features with the bedrock of UK hip-hop. From the grey High Plains of Huddersfield, Jehst and the YNR crew, cover star Klashnekoff reloading for his next saga, the cerebral thoughts of Ty, electronic pioneers Coldcut/Ninja Tune and Daddy Skitz. Also in the mix is the un-definable Jamie Lidell, floating vocals from Fatima, the relentless underground warrior Cappo and Radio 1xtra DJs Benji B, Mista Jam and DJ Target.

On the visual side of things we chat to street artist agent provocateur D*Face, visual storyteller Slinkachu, dope designers Oscar and Ewan, and include illustrations by some of the UK’s finest pencil wielding talent.

Oh yeah, and from across the Pond, the one and only Mutha Fecking Gaslamp Killer drops in for a cup of tea. Cop your copy here or from the usual stockists including TATE, Fopp, Magma, Rough Trade and all good record stores.

Yup, that’s right kids, for a limited time only you can read all back issues of your favourite art design and music magazine (or ‘a fucking hip-hop guide book’, according to Raekwon) online at Issuu.

We enjoy wasting the day away on the Internet whilst pretending to do work as much as the next person, but Bonafide is essentially a print magazine and in order to keep it that way we need to sell it. And to encourage you to buy it we’re giving away a free album from the legendary BBE records with every 2 issues ordered via our online shop. And that’s what we like to call bullshit free marketing.

As usual we’ve raised the stakes and aimed to put out something that you won’t find anywhere else. A UK themed issue from the red and blue colour scheme to the fashion imagery through to the innovative musicians and artists we’ve spoken to, issue 04 celebrates our very own local originators.

Peep the roll call of exclusives. On the music tip we’ve got exclusive features with the bedrock of UK hip-hop. From the grey High Plains of Huddersfield, Jehst and the YNR crew, cover star Klashnekoff reloading for his next saga, the cerebral thoughts of Ty, electronic pioneers Coldcut/Ninja Tune and Daddy Skitz. Also in the mix is the un-definable Jamie Lidell, floating vocals from Fatima, the relentless underground warrior Cappo and Radio 1xtra DJs Benji B, Mista Jam and DJ Target.

On the visual side of things we chat to street artist agent provocateur D*Face, visual storyteller Slinkachu, dope designers Oscar and Ewan, and include illustrations by some of the UK’s finest pencil wielding talent.

Oh yeah, and from across the Pond, the one and only Mutha Fecking Gaslamp Killer drops in for a cup of tea. Cop your copy here or from the usual stockists including TATE, Fopp, Magma, Rough Trade and all good record stores.

From the deepest darkest depths of hell, via north-west London, comes the latest instalment of Bonafide Beats hosted by Kashmere The Iguana Man and mixed by Jazz T.

Kashmere was a central figure in UK rap as the genres popularity and creative powers soared during the mid 00s, releasing records on both YNR and Breakin’ Bread his humorous and often Hermetic musings contain clear Kool Keith and (MF) Doom influences while being undeniably British.

This mix acts as a pre-cursor to the brand new album Kashmere stars in…Galaktus: Power Cosmic with production by Zygote and Jazz T. Based on a shared love of comic books and science fiction Galaktus is a murky listen full of smoky jazz samples and tough drums while Kashmere’s flawless demonic flow proves why he is one of the countries most original MCs.

Jazz T – A Story
The P-Bros – Caviar inst.
Ramson Badbonez – Knock Knock
Kashmere – The Ark (Boot remix)
Kool Keith – Get Off My Elevator inst.
Kashmere – The Power Cosmic
House Shoes – The Makings
Gap Mangione – Diana In The Autumn Wind
Jaylib – The Official
Kashmere – I Am Galaktus
Ramson Badbonez – Welcome to the Darkside (Boot remix)
Ramson Badbonez – Heavily Stoned
Gangstarr – The Remainz
Jyager feat.Jehst  -The Session
Tame One – Bitch

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.

Inside the magazine we delve deep into the psyche of some of the most exciting MCs of the last 20 years including the polemical Mr Lif, renaissance man Raekwon the Chef, avant-garde sound sorcerers Anti-Pop Consortium and native tongue pioneers De La Soul. As well as getting the lo-down from two of the finest purveyors of modern funk, Malcolm Catto and Dam Funk who reveals he’s “more Gary Numan” than Sly Stone. On a slightly surreal tip we speak to an animated Jamaican commando who lost his arm in a secret zombie war – it could only be party animal Major Lazer.

We also continue our theme of exploration into the art & design of music promotion speaking to Jeff Jank and closer to home,  Jonathon Cooke from Village Green, the team behind Fabric’s distinct art direction and countless album covers. Continuing on the UK angle we get down with Sheffield club kid-come-Radio 1- tastemaker Toddla T, beat boxer extraordinaire Shlomo and Task Force’s Farma G who reveals another side to the rowdy rap group.

In support of issue 03, exclusive images, interview tasters and one or two specials will be appearing online in the coming months. But with a diverse roll call of major league talent, why not check out the visuals and then head over to our online corner shop and find out what all the fuss is about by treating yourself to a copy?

Photography by Amalie Rang

Check out the dope new video for Fatima’s Warm Eyes with production by Dam Funk. We’ve interviewed the first lady of Eglo for the forthcoming issue of Bonafide magazine, a UK special, coming very soon…

Bonafide is proud to have been selected alongside 23 other creatives to represent London for the Nike (RED) TIED TOGETHER campaign, a noble initiative to raise awareness and support for fighting AIDS in Africa. Here’s the low-down;

“TIED TOGETHER is an epic journey in response to a global health crisis. Five cities. 120 hours of racing. 24 hour relays.

NIKE, (RED) and people in London, New York, Milan, Berlin and Paris are lacing up and moving through the streets of their city to help fight HIV/AIDS in Africa. 24 teams of London’s most creative ambassadors have joined forces to raise awareness of the ongoing battle against this disease and to help the people suffering from it.

Journeying through the city, each team has devised individual t-shirt designs and routes to broadcast their support and rally behind the cause.
The accompanying exhibition showcases London’s very best talent interpreting, expressing and pressing home the urgency and severity of this worldwide issue.

NIKE will contribute 100% of its profits from the sales of NIKE (RED) Laces to the Global Fund and to support soccer-based programs to help fight AIDS in Africa.”

For the event we have joined forces with graffiti chicken-phile-supreme Emilski on the art tip and Compound One and Astrophonica records head DJ Fracture for an hour long madcap Milk and Anchovies mix over at fellow project collaborator Mixcloud, props to MisterJohn for the hook up!

Keep an eye out on the site for further updates this week, this is going to be bigger than BIG. Almost.

Check out the offensively dope tee-shirt below, number 14 for a reason baby!

Eelus kindly helped with some visual candy for issue 01 of Bonafide and it’s great to see that his first solo show has just opened. Running from the 25th February to the 6th of March, The Colour Out of Space demonstrates how much he has grown in confidence and matured as an artist. For the musings of the man behind the spray can check out his blog where you get to see how everything comes together.

The Vauxhall Beatbox Championships are back, offering you the chance to win a brand new Vauxhall Corsa SXi. Beatboxer, to give the car urban bumps, presumably not included as part of the soundsystem.

Beatboxing is blossoming at the moment – something we explored in issue 03 with an exclusive interview Shlomo – and is hotbed of imaginative talent.  

If you think you can follow previous winners including Beardyman and MC Zani, then pick-up-the-mic, if you can’t then go along and get a ringside seat at a set of nights than are guaranteed to go booooom.