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.

Printout! – Print the North
at the Deaf Institute, Manchester
09 June 2011, 6:30pm till late

Blogging? Digital publishing? Print on demand? Pah why bother when you can get yourself into even more debt, permantly fracture long-term friendships and spend your spare hours glued to your computer deleting all those press releases you’ve been sent that day by running an independent printed magazine? These are things I often find myself thinking about as the next issue of Bonafide nears its close. And I always come back to the same thing – for the love of print and the inexplicable sensation and satisfaction you feel when all that hard work you’ve spent putting into your latest reveals itself when it arrives back from the printers.

Bonafide magazine’s northern operative (me!) will be joining fellow magazine publishers Article and Blanket for an informal discussion about independent publishing, missing deadlines and the threat of DMD (digital mass destruction) in front of a live audience. Curated by the fine people at Stack and magCulture, we hope it will prove an insightful and enjoyable exploration of the world of independent print up north.

To misquote a man who was sure he would never put a foot wrong, “I love the smell of print in the morning.”

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.

This weekend has seen us slaving over the artwork for our Mr. Lif feature for issue 03. Tasters to the article can be found here but the best bits are being kept for the hardcopy. Inevitably the artwork session saw us bumpin to some of Lif’s classic material and reminded us of a couple of free (and legal) downloads floating around on the web.

The I Heard It Today mixtape is on the promotional tip, while the Definitive Swim compilation (Def Jux hooks up Adult Swim) is worth checking purely for the kinetic Brothaz Remix with Cannibal Ox joining Lif on mic duties. Sure to wake you up on a Monday morning on the way to work!

Miniature people have been in vogue in advertising and illustration for the past few years but original trailblazer Slinkachu is still well ahead of the pack; imitation is the sincerest form of flattery they say. As part of the Fame Festival, he’s recently been decorating Italian streets with his little pieces of street-art magic.

What is great about Slinkachu is his ability to recreate everyday scenarios with his tiny hand-painted, train-set people and inject such a real quality into the scene; the pieces pull you in and touch you with their hope, poignancy, love and melancholy. Like the size of the actors and actresses he works with, he has a delicate and light touch.

After 20 years, legendary UK produced Rap Monthly Hip-Hop Connection has sadly ceased print publication. HHC was an institution for hip-hop heads in the UK and abroad. Delivering our monthly fix through good times and bad and covering a diverse range of rap music from underground to overground, geeky backpackers to gun-toting jiggy gangsters and everything in-between.

The good news however is HHC is now resurrected in digital form. The even better news is it’s completely FREE. Click here to download your copy. Oh and check the DOOM interview. It’s big.