DAM FUNK - TOEACHIZOWN

In 1964 Bob Dylan sang (or croaked) The Times They Are a Changin, a central trope in the soundtrack of beatnik era revolution and more than 40 years on something similar appears to be happening, be it apolitical, infinitely more debatable and ever transient in today’s fragmented media world…Read more

THE KINGS OF DRUM + BASS COMPILED & MIXED BY 4HERO + DJ MARKY

When Ninja Turtles and Nintendo ruled my world, there was a hybrid sound called breakbeat/jungle emerging. 4hero, now perhaps better know for their orchestral flourishes and lush broken beats were at the forefront of this unique, inner city London scene. Fast-forward nearly twenty years and drum and bass is a global player…Read more

DJ YODA & THE HERITAGE ORCHESTRA - G. PROKOFIEV CONCERTO FOR TURNTABLES & ORCHESTRA

The first thing you should know about this is that it probably isn’t going to be what you expected (well, what did you expect from something called Concerto for Turntables and Orchestra?). Looking at the individual sums of the not-so-greater whole, it’s obvious there is a lot of conceptualism afoot…Read more

ILLA J – ‘YANCEY BOYS’

OK so the kid brother of J Dilla has, with the help of said older-but-sadly-no-longer-with-us genius sibling, put out an LP on none other than Delicious Vinyl. That’s a pretty deep kind of magic wheel combination that leaves us asking: how to pass judgment?…Read more

DOOM – ‘UNEXPECTED GUESTS’

Such is DOOM’s mainstream success of recent years, those foreboding all caps now hold kudos not just among those in the know, but also among those who don’t know their King Geedorah from their KMD -  surely a plus point, since there aren’t many to better lay it down for ignorant suckers than DOOM… Read more

‘STYLE WARS - REVISITED’

As Martha Cooper and Henry Chalfont’s Subway Art is to print, so Tony Silver and Henry Chalfont’s epic Style Wars is to video, in documenting what would ultimately become one of the biggest cultural movements of the late 20thcentury, evolving ever onwards into the 21st with no sign of abating. Any, and we mean any, b-boy or b-girl worth the salt on their fries and the sugar in their shake will know that Style Wars is one of the richest resources for real knowledge on not just graffiti… Read more

DEL & TAME ONE – ‘PARALLEL UNI-VERSES‘

As far as collaborations go the common conception is that they are either a mismatched meeting of groups with some contrived agenda or a creative match made in heaven. Parallel Uni-Verses the new effort between indie producer Parallel Thought and two veteran MC’s Del The Funky Homosapien and Tame One is neither… Read more

‘LE DONK & SCOR-ZAY-ZEE’

Made over just 5 days, produced for less than a 10th of other ‘Indy’ Brit flick budgets (I’d hate to think how few weeks worth of dodgy back passes it took Rio Ferninand to finance his multi-million schlock fest) and more than treble the charm. Le Donk …  Read more

ANCIENT ASTRONAUTS - ‘WE ARE TO ANSWER’

Ancient Astronauts are two Cologne-based producers with a taste for hip-hop and on the evidence of this debut album, the ‘erb. For this reason, the efforts of Kabanjak and Dogu to mix together late 1980s and early 1990s hip-hop with dub and, on occasions, drum and bass rhythms will strike the right note with anyone who’s into the Nightmares on Wax style smoking music… Read more

‘SUBWAY ART: 25TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION’ – CHALFANT & COOPER

The original edition of ‘Subway Art’ (released in 1984) was born out of a desire to document an emerging, local level art-scene within NYC. The paintings photographed were loud, raw, public and ephemeral and those responsible were not, in the main, viewed as ‘artists’. Graffiti has evolved considerably since, but intrinsically it remains a divisive and a challenging art-form…Read more

MOS DEF - ‘THE ECSTATIC’

A little over 10 years ago Mos Def’s star was firmly in the ascent. Soulful, boombap productions coupled with a highly dexterous yet eloquent delivery of intelligent lyrics completed his signature sound. Consequently he became the poster boy for ‘conscious hip-hop’, due to his excellent solo debut ‘Black On Both Sides’ and the eponymous release as one half of Black Star with Talib Kweli… Read more

‘SOUND UNBOUND’ – PAUL D MILLER AKA DJ SPOOKY THAT SUBLIMINAL KID

‘Sound Unbound’ is a theoretical exploration of the development of sound, digital music and information based culture. Organised as a series of essays, topics veer from discussions of copyright law and the blurred line that divides using a source as an influence and blatantly plagiarising a piece of work, to hip-hop MCs sampling of Muslim religion through to a piece on the history of the design of the bell (appropriately written by Brian Eno)… Read more

CROWHEAD - ‘BORN WITH TEETH’

Out of Manchester on the ATIC label, Crowhead’s ‘Born with Teeth’ is the debut long player from the artist formerly known as DJ Woody [note: Not the Vestax world champ DJ Woody featured in Bonafide mag 01 – a different DJ Woody], alumni of Grand Central Records – the discerning head nodders label of choice at the back end of the Nineties… Read more

THE CLASSICS: PLAID – ‘MBUKI MVUKI’

As far as Mbuki Mvuki by Plaid goes, if there was a record to enter a World Cup of unique and funky as hell electronic records it would win all of the games without conceding a goal and it’s eight tracks crowned players of the tournament… Read more

THE CLASSICS: PETE ROCK & CL SMOOTH - ‘ALL SOULED OUT’

There are more than a few significant area’s regarding Pete Rock & CL Smooth’s first record ‘All Souled Out’ released on Elektra in 1991. First of all it introduced the world to Pete Rock’s sophisticated production style taking sampling and digging to a whole new level beyond looping old records…  Read more

DJ VADIM - ‘U CAN’T LURN IMAGINASHUN’

DJ Vadim first entered the consciousness through the Ninja Tunes camp and a definite association with trip-hop, a genre so steeped in the nineties I last saw it down the Blue note sporting Carharrt jeans and Nike Huaraches.

Judging by the press release, time has not been kind to Vadim, encountering as he has a string of personal misadventures… Read more

WILLIE ISZ - ‘GEORGIVANIA’

Willie Isz consists of the talented producer/vocalist Jneiro Jarel (aka Dr. Who Dat of the group Shape of Broad Minds) and rapper Khujo, a seminal figure within Southern rap, a Dungeon Family affiliate and one quarter of Goodie Mob.

The central concept for the album is an imaginary 51st US state named Georgiavania… Read more

MR. LIF - ‘I HEARD IT TODAY’

Mr. Lif’s albums have always served up a reflective and socially-conscious dose of hip-hop and ‘I Heard It Today’ is no different. This is Lif’s first full album for a few years, since a major tour bus accident left him with life threatening injuries in 2006.

But now the Boston-based MC is back in full force and… Read more

‘SOUTH COAST – THE MOVIE’

Finally, we got around to watching the film British hip-hop documentary, South Coast, and it was worth the wait. Director Will Jewell’s documentary is a fittingly relaxed exploration of Brighton’s celebrated love affair with hip-hop. The characters that pop up aren’t weighed down by fat chains and narrow attitudes, instead everyone comes across as well adjusted and united by the fact that they love making music, breaking or getting up… Read more

DOOM - ‘BORN LIKE THIS’

You’d be forgiven for doubting it but ‘BORN LIKE THIS’ is DOOM’s (all caps, no MF and no BS) first solo album in 5 years since the heavily lauded ‘MM..Food’ LP. Because since then DOOM has been prolific; releasing a smattering of singles as one half of the visionary Madvilliain project, the ‘meh’ ‘The Mouse and The Mask’ album with Dangermouse and a host of guest appearances elsewhere while the rumour mill slowly persists of a Ghostface… Read more

DE LA SOUL - ‘ARE YOU IN?’

It’s five years since De La Soul last released a full-length LP, so their new LP ‘Are You In?’ carries a weight of expectation. This weight gets even heavier when you consider that 2009 is the 20th anniversary of ‘3 Feet High and Rising’ and anything they do this year is going to create interest for the press and fans alike. Essentially a mix, ‘Are You In?’, has been produced in conjunction with Nike for the Nike+Original Run series… Read more

THE MIGHTY UNDERDOGS - ‘DROPPIN’ SCIENCE FICTION’

Next week sees Def Jux release the astrophonic long player Droppin’ Science Fiction courtesy of hip hop trio The Mighty Underdogs. Following on from their The Prelude EP, Gift of Gab (Blackalicious), Lateef the Truth Speaker (Quannum/Latyrx), and bay-area producer Headnodic team-up with support from a heavyweight roll call big enough to make Don King jealous… Read more

DAGHA - ‘THE DIVORCE’

Edan’s partner in rhyme, Dagha, follows his debut album Object in Motion with an autobiographical LP. Dispensing with the psychedelic riffs he undertakes with the Humble Magnificant, Dagha mines his own experience of the pitfalls of trying to be both musician and lover.

With the day job of being an MC involving touring… Read more.

BROAD SHAPE OF THE MINDS - ‘CRAFT OF THE LOST ART’

Ok this has been around for a bit, but then I always get ‘Shape of the what?’ when I try to drop the group into conversations about what I’m currently listening too, so I think that makes it far game to include them on our review pages.

Produced by Philly-based producer Jneiro Jarel, this is something seriously out there… Read More