We’ll leave the hyperbole for the next issue’s review but BBE have assembled an almighty compilation to crown 10 years of the Beat Generation series. The producers involved have transcended hip-hop to be considered some of the most accomplished and influential musicians of their era, we’re talking J Dilla, Marley Marl, Madlib, Pete Rock and Will.i.am.

To celebrate the good folk at BBE are offering up a treasure chest of musical goodies for competition prizes;

1st prize – Marley Marl Re Entry (vinyl), Beat Generation compilation, J Dilla Welcome 2 Detroit, Pete Rock PeteStrumentals, Will i. Am Lost Change (all CD) and The Beat Generation Anniversary Singles Collection Presents Jay Dee (WAV)  

2nd prize – one of five copies of the Beat Generation compilation and last year’s excellent Off The Track Vol.3 (rare ghetto disco, funk & African boogie) by Kon & Amir

To stand a chance of winning you need to let us know your favourite BBE 12″ by either following us on Twitter, if you don’t already, and Tweet the message to two of your buddies using the button below or liking us on Facebook, leaving a response on our our wall. You can enter through either platform but entering through both will improve your chances of winning.
Competition closes May 25th and the 6 winners will be chosen on the creativity of their responses at random.

Far from being just the big guy in a shower hat behind Eminem, Detroit rapper Bizarre boasts a musical legacy to rival even some of today’s more high profile rappers. Ahead of the launch of his solo album, Friday Night at St Andrews Bizarre took the time to speak to Bonafide about the hip-hop legacy of his home city, MC battles and oh yes, the shower hat.

So to kick off, where is St Andrews and what’s so special about Friday Night there? “The name St Andrews refers to a club in downtown Detroit where we all started out. Fridays nights was the dope night, the night where we would all get up and spit our stuff. I started there, D12 started there, Marshall (Eminem) started there.” Is this the club featured in Eight Mile? “Yes the very same, but you know it was a lot madder than that- this place was pretty freaky you know. The people who went there used to look so different. People used to laugh at you for going there.“ So are you trying to catch that vibe on the record? “ Yeah you got it. Hip hop today’s kind of funny you know, people are doing that euro discos stuff and auto tuning all over the place? I think I need to, I got to, bring some of that rawness back, we come from the street and that what we be representing”

For all its post industrial gloom Detroit has consistently produced world beating musical acts across all genres, any reason for this? “Yeah you right, Berry (Gordy) put this place on the map, and then us and also not forgetting my brother Jay Dilla. We stuck in the middle you know? Between New York and the West Coast, you might say that we got the best of both worlds.” Tell me about Jay Dilla, you were working with him when he was relatively unknown? “Yeah, he was a genius flat-out. I love that boy, and I miss him so much, the things he was doing were unbelievable. I know he gets props but he deserved more you know? I think he could have gone on to rule the music world, not just hip hop but every kind of music. I got a loads of his stuff that aint never going to come out, and its raw man you just wouldn’t believe the styles he was capable of.”
So who’s making the music now that Dilla is unfortunately no longer with us? “This record has been produced by local producers, the new kids and the up and coming. I think if we are keeping it street then it’s the kids who are going to make it happen.” No turning to Dre or any of the big boys to get a sure-fire hit then? “If it’s about St. Andrews, it needs to sound raw and it needs to sound live. Every song on this album, I can hit it live, it’s something I can see myself performing.”

And it’s that ability to pick up a mike and genuinely rock the house that seems to lead to where Bizarre is at the moment. “It’s the battles man, the battles are where I’m from and that’s what hip-hop means to me personally. I can step up to anybody, and I’m pretty sure that I can take them, that’s what this record is about. If you want pop then that’s fine, if you want the real thing then St Andrews is where it’s at.”

It’s refreshing to speak to somebody who has had such a close brush with superstardom and not only lived to tell the tale, but still shows such genuine respect for his roots. Bling culture generally means a rejection of where you are coming from in favour of where you are at, but Bizarre doesn’t feel that way at all. “No man, for me it’s the street and it will always be the street and that just me.” No Hollywood career or perfume range then? “Fuck no; I love the beats too much.” He laughs every so slightly sinisterly down the phone.

As Bizarre’s PR breaks the conversation up to signal another interview, I manage to ask the one question that I have been dying to pose all night. So what’s with the shower hat? “Why not.” he laughs, “I was goofing about in the hotel and it just kind of came to me. I wanna’ be a bit different you know? Not like all them other rappers. Hell who doesn’t?”

Toby Hemming

It’s not often we post about gigs, in fact it’s editorial policy not to (unless you pay us, nod-nod, wink-wink) but The Doctors Orders have pulled together an almighty line-up next month featuring Just ‘rap on it, even if it’s average the beat  will shift half a million units in the States’ Blaze going deck-to-deck with The ‘you don’t know much about me but I produced half your CD collection’ Alchemist. “Oooh yeah!” to quote my 4th favorite wrestler. The show goes down on Thursday 6th May in East Village and you better be quick as there’s just 200 tickets left, fingers crossed we will have an interview with one if not both of the super-producers next month.

Introducing a new monthly column shining a modest sized spotlight on all that’s good, bad and downright awful in the crazy world of music blogs, and anything else that I can just about get away with including.

I’m a bit of cynical wanker who moans a lot but it’s a new year, the UK’s easing it’s way out of a crippling recession ( 0.1% economic growth, yeahhh boyyee!) and Arsenal are still, somehow, in the title race so I’m going to begin on an optimistic note…

Starting with L-Vis 1990, a name so ridiculous it could only belong to a plug in or a Mad Decent affiliate, it’s the latter, of course. United Groove has been smashing dancefloors for a while now and has rightly been given the remix treatment from Buraka Som Sistema, MJ Cole and this particular offering from Kingdom, a deep, hypnotic groove that gets under the skin. It’s good, if a little surprising, to hear and see the renaissance of MJ Cole in 2009 and from one og(arage  head)to another, Donae’o releases his new single Riot Music in March via Shy FX’s Digital Soundboy imprint, complete with remixes by Skream, The Nextmen and his label boss where sharp digi d+b stabs, aggy snares and sirens juxtapose nicely with Donae’o's soulful vocals. The video’s pretty basic yet effective, utilizing that most stylistic example of cinematic despair, Mattheir Kassovitz’s masterpiece La Haine. Check it.

Someone I’m not particularly feeling from the Mad Decent stable despite blog hyperbole is Gucci Mane. Dude sounds like he’s got a glob of snot stuck at the back of his throat in a rap style not dissimilar to YouTube phenomenon, Rehdogg. But make your own mind up about the Southern jailbird here.

From one phenomena to quite another, Drake was the undoubted success story for mainstream rap in 2009 and fellow Canadian A-Trak has given hit single ‘Money Loonies to Blow’ a typically trendy club remix via Fader. Closer to home and a little more taxing on the bandwidth comes Mos Def making a rare press appearance on Benji B’s Radio 1Xtra show, well worth a listen as Mos reveals some of his own musical influences including Frank Zappa, Shuggie Otis and John Coltrane.

A lot of people keep asking whether the new issue of Bonafide is available in physical shops and the answer is a resounding yes! If you peer to the right of this page you will see a list of ‘Stockists’ but if you’re finding my words to engrossing to look away the new issue is available in all Carhartt  UK stores, Magma, Fopp, Noise lab in Manchester, Rough Trade and ‘all good record stores’ and if it’s not ask your ever so friendly record store clerk to stock it. Or you could buy a copy from our online shop, just saying.

It’s Tuesday and you know what that (sometimes) means!?! Black Elvis is in the building! Any cool kid worth their salt would have copped the first issue of Bonafide magazine where we interviewed the great man in a so-so example of music journalism, well, in a marginally inferior effort I present to you excerpts from my own interview with Funk Igniter Plus (UMC days..). Where our Tuesday hero displays all the humility we’ve come to expect. Not.

You’ve often been associated with, or even arguably responsible for, the Horrorcore and Acid Rap genres. How do you think they’re doing now? Are there any artists from those scenes that you follow?

Kool Keith: I invented Horrorcore. I don’t listen to those groups who try to sound like me very much, it bores me.

The paranormal and sci-fi influences is a strong theme throughout your work, why do you think it is that some people, or musicians, are better at connecting with their sub-conscious/imagination than others?

Kool Keith: I don’t put limits on my self or my creative flow. I write what I feel. One day I might write about eggs, one day I write about bitches, the next I might write about chopping up bodies in the basement. I’m a creative writer in my music and lyrical genius.

You are also known for an interest in conspiracy theories, one of the biggest floating around at the moment is that 9/11 was engineered by the American Government, i.e. ‘an inside job’, what’s your take on that?

Kool Keith: It could be true, you never know. I believe aliens exist. I seen one in the projects one time wearing a gold chain and smoking a blunt.

One of my favourite Dr Octagon songs is ‘Blue Flowers’. Is it a reference to the killer drug, substance D, from Phillip K Dick’s sci-fi classic ‘Scanner Darkly’?

Kool Keith: No it’s really a song about a blue flower I found one day by a purple pond.

Do you think that drugs are a help or hindrance to the creative process?

Kool Keith: A lot of musicians take drugs. A lot of them died or killed they selves though. I think it can sometimes help open your mind to new ideas or sounds. I used to smoke dust back in the day, that’s some ill shit.

I read somewhere that you are a big fan of Paris Hilton, would you consider a collaboration?

Kool Keith: I’d like to do a photo shoot with her. I got some nice outfits for her to try on…I’m a photographer, I got 1000′s of pictures in my private collection.

You can check the rest of the interview here. NB, never attempt to interview Kool Keith via email.

Week after week we post some mind bending hip-hop celebrity news. Many will be aware of Joaquin Phoenix’s recent decision to quit acting to pursue hip-hop ambitions.

The performance suggests that a Def Jam contract hasn’t been forthcoming, however more revealing is Casey Afflecks deadpan response in clip one. This suggests that someone’s pulling wool (sic. beards) over our eyes and there’s an echo of the great Bill Murray’s claim that he was ditching films to play in the NBA. This got me thinking about others in the public eye who’ve dabbled in spitting rhymes. Recent attempts include the footballer formally known as Andy Cole, an effort that sadly doesn’t live up to the title billing. There is also Fulham FC’s / MC Clint ‘Deuce’ Dempsey – props for the artistic re-invention of a football pitch as a ghetto backdrop. Anyway, the 30 minutes spent researching this had me pining for the Golden Age of part-time rappers. John Barnes, the OG of the amateur profession. Recognise.