Rebirth: A Kingdom Rising

2009: As we roll towards the end of the first decade of the 21st Century, we find ourselves in what could perhaps be described as Bramahian times.

Talk of Credit Crunch, Terrorism and Genocide fills our various media outlets, whilst huge corporates take tax payers bail outs before paying huge bonuses to staff that have failed the larger population. Still as long as they ride high in their plush Park Avenue headquarters with full use of the multi million pound/dollar/amero(?) Jetstream, who are we to argue. Its not like its us that foots the bill is it.....oh wait.

2009 also sees the end of an era in more than one respect, I came across the following statement on DJ MK's Blog:

In 1988 Hip-Hop Connection (HHC) magazine published its first issue. 21 years later, the world’s longest running rap monthly recently published its last. It’s a cracker too, answering the question heads over the globe just can’t resist arguing over: Who is the great rapper of all time? And we didn’t just send our top critics down the pub to argue the toss. Rather, we polled over 100 emcees from all walks of life and all levels of superstardom to find the answer. While there is an inevitable air of sadness that a combination of increased paper and production costs allied to viciously plummeting ad revenues have made continuing unworkable, HHC and its staff are happy the magazine is hanging up its metaphorical boots while in rude creative health. Independently published by Infamous Ink since 2001, it’s charted hip-hop’s myriad highs and lows in candid and amusing fashion; never cowed by the preening demands of rap’s A-list stars or scared to take them down a peg or too, while also championing the UK’s homegrown hopefuls and the freshest underground US talent. Along the way HHC has posted upfront cover debuts for the likes of The Fugees, Wu-Tang Clan, Outkast, Eminem, Danger Mouse, 50 Cent and The Game – long before they were anything close to being on the mainstream’s radar. And while HHC will no longer be the true rap fanatic’s monthly paper fix, it will still live on in other forms: from April 7 it will become the world’s first dedicated digital hip-hop magazine, available for download from www.hhcdigital.net All of HHC’s staff and contributors will continue to be active journalistically, so please retain on any relevant mailing lists. Thank you for your support, in whatever capacity, over the years. All the best, Andy Cowan (Hip Hop Connection)


Now I grew up with this magazine fueling my passion for Hip Hop from the days when there was little in the way of coverage in the media (HHC was all we had more or less) to the information overload of the internet age.

Im sad to see this go, but look forward to the future of the digital version.

The message is clear for all though; unless we stand up and keep supporting, our culture will become lost knowledge. Arkane.

The king is dead, long live the king....

www.myspace.com/arkaneculture