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.

Sony Ericsson are on the look out for ‘two new creative ambassadors for our newest smartphone, the Xperia ray’, the handsome beast pictured above. They want to know how you use your phone and any creative ideas and suggestions that can improve the experience, in exchange for them Sony will give the two successful ambassadors their latest smartphones and accessories to test out.

In tech terms this gig must be up there with the dude (or dudet) who gets to measure bra-cups in marks & sparks and interning for Wu Tang Clan.

To enter the competition visit the Sony Ericsson Test Lab Facebook page, where they want ‘someone who adds more of a creative dimension to the Test Lab…we want to see your blogs, songs, photos, videos, ideas: whatever it is that makes you tick. Email us at SETestlab@gmail.com by Friday 14th October and we’ll select the chosen 2 by Friday 21st October 2011.’

The memories are a little hazy but the good time vibes prevail from last week’s Bonafide sponsored StreetFest, the ‘biggest and best’ event yet we’re told. Check out the photos below.

Photos by Steven Howard and Suguru Saito

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.

The legacy of  J Dilla continues to be preserved and Stones Throw have recently worked with the J Dilla Estate to release this poster of Dilla in Los Angeles, summer 2005. Photographed by Rafael Rashid and taken from the book Behind the Beats, this image is an intimate portrait of a master at work.

Dan Medhurst, Bonafide go to photographer and all round top guy, is holding his first solo exhibition at the City Arts and Music Project this February.

East of My Youth and the West of My Future features images shot during a six month trip that began in the Far East and ended in America’s West Coast. The exhibition takes its’ title from a line from Jack Kerouac’s legendary beat novel On the Road, and documents Dan’s journey along off-beat tracks and forgotten spots and his meetings with eccentric characters. And in keeping with the old-school adventure feel, Dan documents his experiences using an old Nikon 35mm SLR.

The exhibition starts on the 3rd February (and runs until the 2nd March) and the opening night features another Bonafide favourite in the Kidkanevil, who will be creating magic on the ones-and-twos. A show that should wow both visually and aurally, if you are about checkit out.

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.

Courtesy of the good folk over at Black Dog Publishing we have 3 pairs of copies of the first and latest instalment of the piously good Labels Unlimited series up for grabs. The collection includes editions on UK Indie music royalty Rough Trade and Andrew Loog Oldham’s Immediate Records but in Warp and Ninja Tune Blackdog have nailed 2 of our favourite electronic labels, and you can get a 40% discount on the books by quoting ‘Bonafide’ at checkout.

Warp records need little introduction. The label that began life in Sheffield continues to tread new ground in the world of electronic, left field hip-hop, experimental music and even art school rock (in the shape of !!! and Maximo Park), with acclaimed releases by the likes of Aphex Twin, Flying Lotus, Hudson Mohawke, Jamie Lidell and Prefuse 73 among many more. 2010 has been something of a coronation for Ninja Tune as the label marks 20 years in the biz. Stevie Chick’s encyclopaedic and gloriously entertaining tome, Ninja Tune:20 Years of Beats and Pieces – exclusively excerpted in the current issue of Bonafide – accounts the early years of Jonathan Moore and Matt Blacks adventures as Coldcut, and the decision to channel their frustrations at major label treatment into their own maverick set up, Ninja Tune. Always quick to embrace technology and visuals within music, Ninja Tune and it’s hip-hop leaning little brother Big Dada has left an indelible mark on independent music in the UK and indeed the world.

To stand a chance of winning a pair of these handsome swines answer this question: name an artist to have released albums on both Ninja Tune and Warp records? Send your answers into mailto:mailbox@bonafidezine.com with Labels Unlimited books comp in the subject heading. Competition deadline is the 31st December. Winners will be notified in the first week of January which should make provide a welcome pick-up for the post Christmas blues.

With the World Cup now over the big boys can focus their efforts on Retro re-releases and new grails instead of million pound advertising campaigns on players who had tournaments to forget.

Adidas have thrown up another fruity range from fashion designer Jeremy Scott. Here we see the Adidas Forum in many incarnations some eye catching (the license plate blue’s) and some downright terrifying (the Teddy Bear Highs look like something Gary Glitter dreamed up).

As always the Jeremy Scott selection is more for the uber expensive high fashion crowd than the traditional sneaker heads who think exhibition shoes are a pair of OG 1’s with the original Jordan hang tang.

On the topic of premium Adidas have some slightly more universal albeit pricey collab’s due this autumn with Neighbourhood and the in house Y-3.

Continuing with the collaboration theme Asics have been doing some good work with Ronnie Fieg this summer. The most significant (and limited) is the Navy Aqua Gel Lyte III. Like all good brands Asics used a good deal of sex to turn some heads on this line using the not entirely unattractive Joli Robinson to model the Gel Lytes in various states of undress. Those looking for a Joli-less pair can hit up ebay for around two hundred American dollars.

The notable releases this summer from the big swoosh so far include the AM 90 Infrareds which are now becoming the equivalent of the Neon 95’s for the amount of times it has been re-released. Also worth mentioning is the rebirth of the fat tongue on the Nike SB Dunk lows as seen in the recent Chromeball shoe. Despite whispers of some heavily desired samples from a few years back threatening full release the rest of this years output bar a stunning Quickstrike look pretty dry from Nike SB.

Thanks to a couple of celebrity endorsements other than Ghostface Clarks has seen a spike with the Desert Kahn II being one of the most desirable shoes this summer. This smart dress shoe is now particularly sought by the loafers, haircut, shorts and no socks crowd and yours truly has already seen some emotional displays from people trying to track down a pair. Despite this current range being sold out we have been told that a restock is due by the end of the summer to avoid any riots or suicides.

Finally this month sees the return of legendary London sneaker boutique Foot Patrol at new premises in Soho. Now under the Size?/JD umbrella Foot Patrol will serve a range of exclusive and Tier Zero business, expert knowledge plus collectible shoes from years past as well as showcasing kicks from up and coming brands. Those that like to hang around the nearby Stringfellows in the early hours may notice a camp out or two for some special edition goodness in the coming months.

Omar ‘Model_500′ Francis