Typical Daily Bile reader

I was on the radio (BBC Radio 4) last saturday talking about Hip Hop and the response was pretty positive considering the audience demographic but this one guy wrote a letter (who still does that?) into the show which they passed on to me:

Dear "Sir",

Take your 'hip hop' and stick it where the sun don't shine. These middle class pundits are taking the P.C. piss out of you. Hip hop, rap, reggae are all WORTHLESS! They've lowered the goalposts and widened the nets so black people can score a goal.

That's right. You can't even SING rap! That's partly because afros think that only batty boys can sing!

Hip hop, rap is primitive and ugly. You've polluted the airwaves. To suggest that I, who knows what proper music is (Bach's St Matthew Passion) & all about crotchets and quavers, could benefit from hearing a "sample" is laughable.

YOU are laughable.

Music is a language. Your music is the scribblings of a moron.

Yours sincerely
Tim Cleal.

ps - you moral and artistic terrorist.

Surprise, surprise he is an avid letter writer and serial complainer/racist bigot to the Daily Mail.

I have his address as well which I might publish or sign him up for loads of junk mail.

WTF?

Must be mature.......must not...gasp....LULLLZ

Amazing track - top guy

Gotta love this guy for his sheer love and enthusiasm for the music. Peep his youtube channel and subscribe.

Trials, Tribulations and Machinations

I've been wrapped up for a few days in the rat race, temporarily forgeting the important things in life hence the lack of updates in the last few days. I had a moment of clarity, thankfully and now im back. Alright, who groaned? lol.

Anyway, loads of stuff going down. Some good, some bad.

Good:

Mr Lif's new album - "I heard it today" (you have to check this out!!!).
New HHC Digital.
Rewatched the first series of The Wire, is there ever going to be a better TV show than this? Doubt it.
Bank Holidays on the horizon.
Rumours are rife with talk of justice at last.

Bad:

2009 Budget, shit all round (did you expect any better).
Lost my part 3 of Frank Miller's The Dark Knight strikes again, Bugger.
Too much month, not enough money.
Door step shootings happening nearby, more than ever we need to increase the peace.
Virus ridden computers.
Ill advised returns of former classics. Neva go back as Special Ed once said.

Back in a bit.

P.S. isn't Special Ed the name for the American equivalent of Learning Support?

The truth will out?

I was always taught as a child that no matter how long it takes, the truth will always come out eventually. I'm guessing this is not just about instilling values in children but also to aid parents in their battle to keep kids on the straight and narrow.

So it's natural that one clings to these moments of instruction as one grows up (I always feel a bit posh, like, when I say "one").

Trouble is.....is it true?

I'm not so sure anymore.

It was the anniversary, yesterday, of an event that has affected me greatly, one which the world witnessed happen in front of their eyes. TV cameras captured every dreadful minute of it as the horror unfolded. We know exactly what happened from this and eye witness accounts, testimonies and more.

And yet......

....despicable people in the media in a quest for a sensationalist angle on the story, printed absolute lies and frankly bullshit peddled by scum who in a desperate bid to cover up their failings and negligence fabricated deceits that even the devil would shudder to create.

We know these things didn't happen because we were there, even if we weren't in the vicinity, we saw the pictures, we saw the truth.

And yet......

.....flash forward a generation and we are being confronted by neanderthals and cretins who believe the peddled lies because that's all people who weren't there will see. At least I hope its for this reason and not because they are so bitter and twisted up inside by blind hate and bile that they would choose to believe something that has been proved to be false over the truth.....They wouldn't be that dumb, would they?

We all have a responsibility to preserve the truth about this world and its people or else we lets those who hate, despise and kill win. No one wants that.

Oh and don't buy the fucking S*n newspaper.

HHC Digital 001

HHC Digital 001 is the relaunch of the long running Hip Hop monthly.

Head on over to their website and grab yourself a copy when it launches on Apr 15, gotta keep supporting our own or the culture will die.

Oh and on another note, J96! Fuck the Sun newspaper!! Fuck them, from now till forever; liars, charlatans and besmirchers of the dead. Fuck them.

Graphic novels

I wanted to change tack a little bit for a while; I've been delving back into my comic boo.......sorry *cough* graphic novel collection and thought I'd share with you some of my favourites.

These are in no particular order (as per usual).

The Dark Knight Returns - Frank Miller:

A return to form for the caped crusader after a bit of a dodgy spell of weak titles. Miller, a master of his craft, weaves a complex tale of future decay, false idols and one hell of an end battle (which if you haven't read it, I won't spoil it....but FUCKING HELL!!!).

The Watchmen - Alan Moore:

What a book! Believable characters, complicated plot with a twist that slaps you in the face and one of the greatest superheroes...no make that one of the greatest literary characters ever; Rorschach, he of the ever changing face and perpetual sugar cube habit. Not so keen on the Hollywood make over though, when will they make a decent film of one of Moore's novels?

Batman: Year one - Frank Miller:

A brilliant retelling of the birth of one of the greatest who ever did it. Superbly dark and sets up the later legacy extremely well.

Hellblazer - Various writers:

There are loads of these titles available, but my favourites are probably Original Sin, Fear and loathing and Joyride. John Constantine is one of the coolest bastards known to Man, Demons and Angels. He is constantly smoking, conning people with his magic, and is much more animated than Keanu made him seem on the silver screen.

Bluntman and Chronic and Chasing Dogma - Kevin Smith:

Word to the motherfucker, noinch. Just to show that I don't just dig on misery and darkness, this book cracks me up like Biggedy Bam. If you are a fan of Mr Smith's films then you'll love this collection, if you're not then these aren't for you as they feature gratuitous weed smoking, puerile toilet humour and Doogie Howser as a porn director. Snoogans.

V for Vendetta - Alan Moore:

A dystopian Britain, an oppressive fascist government and a paranoid populace kept in check with state approved entertainment...hmmmm, sounds like a job for V! An articulate, cultured and deeply mysterious figure who single handedly takes on the powers that be whilst carrying out an audacious revenge plot against the very people who made him the way he is. Love this!

There are so many many more that I love, but that'll be for another time.

Peace.

Slept on albums part 1

Digging through my vinyl earlier made me remember classic LP's that I haven't thought about in years and possibly mean not too much to anyone other than me. So I thought I'd bring some of them to light again, maybe y'all copped them, maybe you didn't but they are worth talking about anyway.

First one is Divine Styler - Word power.

Man, I loved this album when it came out (I had it on tape first and played it till it snapped). I hadn't really heard of them when I copped it on release date but saw they were down with the Rhyme Syndicate so thought i'd take a chance. Actually I think I bought it as it had a track called "It's a black thing" which I got confused with the similarly named track "It's a black thing" by Kool Rock J and DJ Slice (you can see why).

The first couple of tracks were OK but nothing out of the ordinary and by the time track 4 rolled around (a weird almost house-like "Last Black house on the left") I was seriously thinking my purchase had been wasted.

However from then on the album really takes off in a big way, it has everything you could want; Breakbeats, screeching violins and horns, crazy concept intros, helicopter fades and Mos Eisley Cantina band samples.

As the album closes, so the mood changes to a more pensive, almost plaintive, lyrical focus. The beautiful "Rain" is the penultimate track and lilts with an interpolation of Tenor Saw's fine work.

The album is laced with samples throughout with the closer featuring a hefty chunk of Marvin Gaye, which is well chosen and is a great way to finish.

Word Power didn't do very well commercially, but was really well received by the critics. I gotta say, I loved it.

Some of albums of the time sound very dated now, but there is a sort of freshness to this one without losing any of the charm I felt when it was released.

Oh....and this track bangs!!!!!!!!!!!!

BBC Radio 4

So I spent today in the company of a lovely reporter from BBC Radio 4, their Saturday Live show wanted a section on Hip Hop and it's effect on society, and I have to say what a blast it was.

I love nothing more than standing on my soapbox and talking about things I have passion for. I could have talked for hours, days, even weeks about Hip Hop and what it means to me but sadly we had to stop after 3 hours of me talking the poor lady into submission. All of this is going to edited down to about 6 or 7 minutes for the programme but that really doesn't bother me too much as it was such fun doing it anyway. I'll keep you updated as to when it'll be on.

Word.

Tony D: RIP

Taken from Allhiphop.com:

Veteran producer Tony D. was killed in a tragic car accident last night (April 4) in his hometown of Hamilton, New Jersey.

Police said Tony D., born Anthony Depula, lost control over his 2002 Jeep when it struck the fence of a local cemetery, causing the vehicle to flip onto its passenger side.

A number of neighbors attempted to remove the producer from the Jeep as they waited for emergency personnel to respond. Tony D., who was not wearing a seat belt, was taken to Capital Health Systems for treatment, where he was pronounced dead from a severe injury to his neck.

Tony D. started his career as a DJ and he managed MC Serch of 3rd Bass fame.

He went out to produce for a number of acts, including Poor Righteous Teachers, The Outsidaz, Young Zee, King Sun, Pace Won, DJ Muggs and others.

Tony D.'s best known production was Poor Righteous Teachers' Hip-Hop classic single "Rock Dis Funky Joint," which was released in 1990.

Tony D was a big favourite of mine in the early 90's, check the elevation was a hella good tune.

I heard there was a little dispute between him and KG from Naughty By Nature as he apparently made the OPP beat long before the song came out. Whether or not this was true, he certainly had some chops as a beat maker. RIP.

G.O.A.T. pt II: The Producers

Ignore the unnecessarily showy Hollywood-sequel-like title to this post, for this my friends is all about the beats. The music that draws you into tracks, the sample diggers, the finder of dope kicks, snares, hats and all that good ish.

Difficult to believe these days as producers are ubiquitous and in most cases bigger than the rappers they lace their tracks with but they weren't always treated like the stars they are now.

These are my top ten of all time producers and for those that don't know I've included a few of their finest moments of work.

1. Premo (who else?): NY state of mind - Nas, Boom - Royce da 5'9, Come clean - Jeru
2. Diamond D: Punks jump up to get beat down - Brand Nubian, Soul Clap - Showbiz and AG, Funky Technician - Lord Finesse and Mike Smooth
3. Pete Rock: T.R.O.Y. - Pete Rock and CL Smooth, The world is yours - Nas, Shut em down (RMX) - Public Enemy
4. Large Professor: Live at the BBQ - Main Source, Halftime and It ain't hard to tell - Nas
5. RZA: Nearly every single Wu-tang joint ever!!
6. Marley Marl: Psycho - LOTUG, Eric B is president - Eric B and Rakim, Ain't no half steppin' - BDK
7. DJ Muggs: How I could just kill a man and I ain't going out like that - Cypress Hill, Tear this motherfucker up - Ice Cube
8. Prince Paul: The Gas Face - 3rd Bass, ALL of 3 feet high and rising - De La Soul
9. Mark the 45 King: The 900 number - Mark the 45 King, Stan - Eminem, Evil that men do - Queen Latifah
10. The Bomb Squad: Every Public Enemy album up to Greatest Misses! (Wall of noise!!!)

Being a top ten means I have to leave out a ton of producers that I love, in no particular order: Madlib, 9th Wonder, Doom, Dr Dre, J Dilla, Cut Chemist and Numark, El P, Rick Rubin, The Dust Brothers, Timbaland (pre Justin Trousersnake), DJ Shadow, RJD2, Baby J, Juttla, The P Brothers, Blockhead, etc, etc, etc....

Dope video from WAY back in the day!