Brainer Magazine

DOWNTOWN CALLING.

Stephen Williams — 2010-07-30T11:14:31+00:00

Wednesday saw the International Latino Film Festival play host to the premiere of an exciting new documentary entitled ‘Downtown Calling’. Focusing on New York City in the late 1970s - a period where the city was on the brink of social and economic disaster.

CHALI 2NA

Stephen Williams — 2010-07-28T23:15:42+00:00

The Freshest Fish

CUT CHEMIST: SOUND OF THE POLICE.

ianbrainer — 2010-07-28T14:47:22+00:00

Cut Chemist, everybody's favourite turntable scientist and actor-in-cult-Jason-Reitman-films is back!

Crown of Thorns

ianbrainer — 2010-07-28T14:29:51+00:00

Rakaa Iriscience: a man whose solid flow, diligence and entire demeanour behind a microphone has earned him due respect in many hip-hop circles. Hailing from Southern California, the Los Angeles native has spent the best part of 20 years carving out a prominent legacy alongside his crew Dilated Peoples. Whether it’s on enjoyable boarder-line mainstream joints like ‘This Way,’ ‘Worst Comes To Worst’ or the equally enjoyable, gritty, underground nature of cuts like ‘Triple Optics’ or the Lootpack-assisted ‘Long Awaited’ – Rakaa, along with Evidence and Babu, has maintained authority as an ambassador of hip-hop culture, upholding messages of peace, unity and a natural sense of fun through his music. It is this passion and spirited sentiment, reminiscent of the core ethos of Afrika Bambaataa’s Zulu Nation, that lays much of the foundation for Rakaa’s solo debut ‘Crown of Thorns’. An album that is rife with explosive creativity, lyrical flare, blistering production and a host of excellent collaborations.

The album does get off to somewhat of a slow start, with the first three tracks struggling to hold attention. But, the bogies are swept away early into the album. For me the truly rewarding experience of ‘Crown of Thorns’ does not begin until the Exile-produced ‘Human Nature’ comes into play. There’s an infinitely catchy beat in which Rakaa recruits the lyrical genius of the legendary KRS-One, allowing the two emcees to converge in a deft exchange of rhymes, addressing issues of spirituality, well-being and uncovering the many mysteries of life through self-reflection. The wonderful soulful tones and precise vocal samplings on the DJ Babu-produced ‘C.T.D’ see Rakaa begin to enter his element before we go into hyper-drive and things really get interesting on the warped electro delights of the Oh No-produced ‘Assault & Battery’. An electric thrill-ride with an acidic funk, killer breaks, masterful cuts and a rollicking drum track. From this point on the album seems to go from strength to strength, with the mighty roar of ‘Ambassador Slang’ signalling an improbable display of verbal wizardry as 12 high calibre emcees pass the mic in a cypher to the backdrop of DJ Honda’s pounding beat.

Embracing the summery vibes and the Latin spirit on tracks ‘Mezcal’ and ‘Rosetta Stone Grove’, Rakaa expresses great range and aptitude, switching up flows and channelling a spirited energy to express his thoughts and emotions over two solid instrumentals. However, the album’s show-stealer comes in the form of the El-P-produced, Chali 2na-assisted ‘Mean Streak’ – an emphatic concoction of gritty, discordant, electronic sound clashes, complimented by a vicious flow from the triple optician and a commanding hook from 2na. Make no mistake, this is the track that will send crowds into an absolute frenzy when Rakaa decides to takes ‘Crown of Thorns’ on the road.

With an extensive period of collaborative projects, often appearing as a featured emcee, Rakaa’s first foray as a solo artist is a bold and memorable one. Rhyming with conviction and integrity over a captivating and diverse spectrum of beats (and spawning some incredible collaborations in the process), ‘Crown of Thorns’ is the album Rakaa needed to make. And it was most definitely worth the wait.

Crown of Thorns is out now on Decon

www.myspace.com/rakaa

PICTURES ON WALLS.

ianbrainer — 2010-07-27T20:08:07+00:00

So last week we went over to the Rag Factory - just off Brick Lane - to check out our friend Delphine's exhibition of photographs, entitled Ashes57 - The Message. We'd never been to the Rag Factory before, but I can tell you it's a great little gallery space with oodles of natural light and a warm atmosphere. As expected, the photgraphy on show was top notch, featuring a host of well-known talent across a whole spectrum of music.

MARY ANNE HOBBS LEAVES RADIO 1.

ianbrainer — 2010-07-27T18:57:35+00:00

Last week Mary Anne Hobbs announced on her MySpace page that she was leaving BBC Radio 1 after an incredible 14 years at the station.

For the last 4 years or so, Hobbs has pioneered and championed the dubstep, grime and beats scene, introducing the likes of Skream to a mass, worldwide audience. Her Experimental show on Wedensday nights has become essential listening, and let's be frank: had it not been for the Lancashire DJ, dubstep and its manifold offshoots would not be where they are today.

THE ROOTS: VIDEO FOR ‘THE FIRE’.

Stephen Williams — 2010-07-27T17:37:58+00:00

As interesting as the video may appear, I was a little bewildered when I first saw The Roots new video for ‘The Fire’. In fact I had to refer to director, Rik Cordero’s notes and watch the video a second time before I could truly make the connection between the spirited track featuring John Legend and the cinematic quality of the visuals.

VNA DOES AMSTERDAM.

Stephen Williams — 2010-07-27T15:26:00+00:00

So we booked the cheapest flights and accommodation we could find and went away for the weekend. Sure, we'd just missed the incredible Project ASA show by a week, full of top street artists like Ortica Noodles, Fark, Galo and Pez. And yeah, the weather forecast was as bad as could possibly be for a June weekend in Holland, but hey – this was to be the first international VNA trip ever and we were going to the mythical city of sin that is Amsterdam, so it wasn’t all bad.

RISE OF THE NON-CONFORMISTS RECAP.

Stephen Williams — 2010-07-26T22:58:04+00:00

Over the weekend London’s Whitecross Street was transformed into an open-air street art gallery as a hoard of graffiti writers, painters, stencil artists and free-thinking creatives descended upon the EC1 location for 2 days of unrestrained artistic expression.

C215: MIDNIGHT DREAMS.

Stephen Williams — 2010-07-26T15:45:42+00:00

Last week Thursday saw the launch of C215’s second solo show at Signal Gallery on Curtain Road. Entitled ‘Midnight Dreams’ this new collection of work is a bold exploration into explosive colour and the imaginative force for the admired French street artist. Predominately utilizing the figurative image as the medium in which to convey his artistic message, C215’s intricately detailed stencils along with an active and captivating application of paint evoke a wonderful sense of fantasy and intrigue.