We don’t do end of year lists at Bonafide but if we did Dimlite’s Grimm Reality would we be well up there alongside Shabazz Palaces’ Black Up, Thundercat’s The Golden Age of Apocalypse and Stepkids self-titled debut as some of the strongest releases of 2011.
Andy Spragg described Grimm Realityas “Ducking the cliché of ‘being taken on a musical journey’, Grimm Reality is more akin to going from ‘in here’ to ‘out there’, a sudden collapse of constraint into dazzling inventiveness.”

We have three copies of the album up for grabs, to stand a chance of winning one just answer this question: Which country is Dimlite from? Send your answers into the usual address, mailbox@bonafidezine.com including your full name and postal address details.
Competition closes February 25th.

Christmas has just gone but I’m already jotting things like the above onto next year’s list.

Conceived and handcrafted by Mr Simo and his handpicked team, each BoomCase welds a suitcase (preferably weathered, aged with a hint of retro) with speakers that go BOOM! Taking three weeks to build to customised options (solar charger or TV screen anyone?) they can run on either run on a battery or be plugged in, and work with an iPod/iPad/iPhone or anything else with a headphone plug.

The BoomCase, guaranteed to elevate the standard weekly team meeting into something more palatable.

All City Records, the Dublin based independent label specialising in electronic leaning hip-hop, continues to defy the odds in a David v Goliath type fashion with the type of releases that make other labels (with far bigger budgets, dare i speculate) green with envy.

2011 has been a particularly strong year, with releases by Onra, Falty DL, Shafiq Husayn and Om’Mas Keith (Sa-Ra Creative Partners) and this banger by Martyn, among others. To celebrate this fact label head honcho Olan and Tuki put together a 2011 Round Up featuring cuts fromHudson Mohawke, Rustie, Zomby and more, full track list here, listen below.

A$AP Rocky to Zomby 2011 Wrrrrappp Up by allcitydublin

Much is made of the East Coast/ West Coast rivalry in the hip-hop world, with Southern rap coming into its own in recent years.
The same cannot really be said for the UK. Aside from London, Bristol and maybe Birmingham, hip-hop hotbeds are few and far between. Which makes the rise of beat maker Handbook all the more extraordinary.

Based in ye olde city of York, he has been devoting his time to producing beats in the jazzy vein of Madlib et al, his geographical stumbling block not proving to quell his thirst for electronic experimentation. With buzz gradually building around his Soundcloud and in the process of organizing a DIY tour of America, he has managed to find time to put together an atmospheric mix for Bonafide, one that includes several of his own cuts interwoven amongst staple classics such as Little Brother’s ‘Sincerely Yours’ and finishing with Slum Village’s‘Reunion.’

Apollo Brown & Hassan Mackey – Volume
Handbook – Want More
Little Brother – Sincerely Yours
LAKIM – The Chokehold
Handbook – Herald
Handbook – Girl Stay
Handbook – Signature
King Geedorah – Fastlane
Handbook – Enlightenment
Handbook – Today
Handbook – Please Me
Slum Village – Reunion

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.

This summer saw the 10 year anniversary of Lewis Recordings. Founded by former Hip-Hop Connection writer/photographer Mike Lewis, the small North London based imprint has quietly gone about the business of releasing quality hip-hop, electronic and pop records in highly desirable packaging by a diverse roster of artists including Andrew Thompson, Stig of the Dump, Cinnamon and most notably, Edan, whose unique brand of psychedelic hip-hop has received critical and commercial acclaim upon his all too infrequent releases.

We have all of Edan’s singles, albums and indeed a sack full of pretty much every Lewis Recordings release in both vinyl and CD format to give away to one lucky reader. To stand a chance of winning just email in at mailbox@bonafidezine.com. with your name, age and address details. Winners will be notified by the 20th November.

This competition is now closed.

In preparation for the release of Ugly Duckling’s fifth full length album, Moving at Breakneck Speed, the group have embarked on an extensive UK tour and have been good enough to deliver an exclusive mix for our Bonafide Beats series.

Ugly Duckling – Young Einstein, Andy Cooper and Dizzy Dustbin – have never been ones to take themselves too seriously. With their over sized ‘doockie’ gold rope chains and baggy attire it could be said the group were a proto-Goldie Looking Chain, except The Long Beach natives have actually made some pretty good tunes (indie-rap classic A Little Samba comes to mind among others).

Eschewing the gangsta rap style that dominated the local landscape when they first got started back in the early 90s UD have stuck to their guns, releasing good time vibes hip-hop over serious digger samples and scratches courtesy of DJ Young Einstein.

Their Bonafide Beats selection is no different, encapsulating the global feel that comes with a hectic touring schedule. Andy ‘Cat’ Cooper hosts and Einstein cooks up a mix featuring obscure Japanese funk-punk, smouldering Brazilian soul, Biz Markie, DJ Prince Ice, Del The Funky Homosapien and Michael Jackson. As you can expect there’s no tracklist with this one.

UK Tour Dates

SAT 08th OCT – BATH MOLES
SUN 09th OCT – SWINDON VIC
MON 10th OCT – PORTMOUTH HIGHLIGHT
TUE 11th OCT – HIGH WYCOMBE WAMA
WED 12th OCT – EXETER CAVERN
THURS 13TH OCT – PLYMOUTH RIDE CAFÉ
FRI 14TH OCT – LONDON JAZZ CAFÉ
SAT 15TH OCT – BRIGHTON HAUNT
SUN 16TH OCT – SOUTHHAMPTON ORANGE ROOMS
TUE 18TH OCT – HASTINGS BRASS MONKEY
WED 19TH OCT – NORWICH ARTS CENTRE
THURS 20TH OCT – OXFORD BILLINGDON
FRI 21ST OCT – BRISTOL BLOWPOP BIRTHDAY @ IN MOTION
SAT 22ND OCT – CARDIFF SWN FESTIVAL
SUN 23RD OCT – BIRMINGHAM RAINBOW
MON 24TH OCT – STRATFORD UPON AVON COX YARD
TUE 25TH OCT – YORK FIBBERS
WED 26TH OCT – LEEDS HIFI
THURS 27TH OCT – MANCHESTER SOUND CONTROL
FRI 28TH OCT – GLASGOW KING TUTS
SAT 29TH OCT – BLACKPOOL TAVERN
SUN 30TH OCT – LIVERPOOL KAZIMIER
MON 31ST OCT – EDINBURGH SNEAKY PETES
TUE 1ST NOV – SHEFFIELD TUESDAY CLUB
WED 2ND NOV – NOTTINGHAM BODEGA
THURS 3RD NOV – GALWAY ROISIN DUBH [IRELAND]
FRI 4TH NOV – DUBLIN CRAWDADDY [IRELAND]

It’s that time of year again, for the finest turntablists in the world to battle it out for supremacy, this week sees the 27th DMC World Championships.

As always regional and international heats have taken place in London, Tokyo, New York and beyond before getting to the final in London’s O2 Arena. This year’s championships also sees a twist on the traditional format, as it is the first year “competitors can harness computer based DJ programs… (resulting) in the groundbreaking DMC Online Championships, and after months of global entries and online voting DJ Unkut from Germany was crowned the winner. Among the prizes, Unkut will receive $3000 and an all expenses paid trip to London to compete in the World Final.”

The DMCs are where the likes of A-Trak, Q Bert, Mixmaster Mike and Hudson Mohawkee first cut their teeth and with the championships spewing a street wear brand, compilation albums (including the notable Back to Mine series) it is truly a furtive breeding ground for DJ culture.

Check it out for yourself as we have two pairs tickets to the show this Thursday (5.30-11.30pm) and Friday (7-11.30pm) up for grabs as well as CDs, DVDs and a T-shirt. Performers include Nathan Flutebox Lee & The Clinic, DJ Switch and turntable legends The X-Ecutioners, as well as the solo and team battle competitors.

To stand a chance of winning just email in at mailbox@bonafidezine.com. with your name and address details. Winners will be notified Wednesday evening.

Ok, this mix has been with us for a couple of weeks now and it’s been on heavy rotation. The man behind the wheels of steel is Keor Meteor, the 26 year old Parisian beatmaker who is gaining a steady following due to his generous output on Soundcloud and Bandcamp. Making beats since 2005, the funky Frenchman has not only adopted some of the soul-slicing style of Madlib, Dilla and Premo but also their prolific release rate. Encompassing seven free EP releases this year, he has also found time to produce the Classique album with Yamio263 and Dennis Dove as well as winning a national remix competition for French MC Youssoupha.

He has just released his 8th EP The 8th Library via his Bandcamp page. Feel free to support with a donation. You can also grab his other free EPs here too.

Despite modern techniques, Keor is stoically committed to golden era production and has no interest in moving beyond gorgeous jazz and soul samples and infectious spoken-word hooks. In a good way. It’s boom bap for 2011 and beyond.

1. Tony Mc Kopfnick & Dj Fable – Listen Close
2. Stikz – Peach
3. Keor Meteor – Gardening Tips
4. Double Life – Godfather Don
5. Semiologist – Moonlight
6. Proflogik – Keter
7. AL_PD – Slops 404
8. Aether – Alack the day
9. Drana.L – Meddling BP
10. Keor Meteor – Countin Cabbage
11. Tesla Electricity – The Hybrid Tactics
12. Broke – Third Time the charm
13. Tired Eyes – Knox
14. Keor Meteor – Big Lee
15. Phorsus – Wrist Strength
16. Juj – Dont Hate on Tech Decks 1.2
17. B.Lewis – Good Riddance

Beacons Festival may have got washed away by the rain but this kind of makes up for it. Jamie xx takes the helm for the Essential Mix and drops a two hour set of deep tune-age.