Drake 2010 Hammersmith Apollo

Aubrey 'Drizzy' Drake Rogers came to London from the 7th-9th January to perform at the Hammersmith Apollo. A concert that was originally scheduled for July 2009, but postponed until the current date. The anticipation had gathered, from that July and with the release of his first studio album, it became fever pitched.

Three straight nights (Fri, Sat, Mon) Hammersmith was sold out, and as I got to Hammersmith, on Drake's last night in london, the buzz had still not diminished. After experiencing the Apollo on various occasions for many a artist, I knew queues could be quite long, but this I was not expecting. It was huge, but you could still feel the excitement even through London's bitter winter blues.

Once inside, and catching the last of the Westwood set, and 'Teach me how to Dougie' had just played out, the auditorium filled up nicely, the brandy had hit the chest to warm my cockles, and I was placed nicely in a seat not too far from the front of the balcony.

As J Cole came out, a roar went up, fans of music made noise, even if they had no idea who was on the stage. It felt like the crowd was mixed between real fans of J cole, who had the mixtapes from, The Come up to the newest set Friday Night Lights, and with people definitely there just fro Drake, and with no Knowledge of Roc Nation's first signing under Jay-Z. J Cole was energetic, with a stage presence. Lyrically this guy is amazing, which in turn is great for music, but in a concert if you dont know who he is, or the songs he has, is very hard to grasp and connect with automatically. He reeled off some of the stand out tunes, one's that have lit up radio, such as Who Dat and 'Hit it in the Morning' (without Drake coming out). His vigour of spirit was enough to carry his performance, and he brought the crowd in, right side, left side etc. I got a glimpse of a future star, and was a little disappointed I was unable to reach his own individual show in Koko. But I see 2011 being a big year from him, he just needs to release more good songs quicker, he has had Who Dat out for a while, needs something fresh.

To the promoters of Drake and J Cole - What the fuck happened to hiring a DJ, host, comedian, even a fucking dog to run around in the Interlude??? For 20 plus minutes, Hammersmith stood (or went to the bar) in pretty much silence. With no form of entertainment, it wasn't long before the shout 'We Want Drake' rang out. As the restless crowd below me raised their voices, they were heard. But not exactly drake, just a few lights and movements, of which each got an excited scream, and everyone looked up, just to look down again.

But finally, Mr Rogers, Drake himself was coming to the stage. A stage set-up with the band behind see through curtains, pylon beams with lights flashing just in front of the curtains and then stage, and drake.
Drake cam out in a T-shirt, some combats and a pair of jordans, I was expecting more fly from the guy, but then again he is the guy nominated for a Grammy off a mixtape single, so who can really talk. Drake makes music, raps, sings, and is a Star, this I agree with, but as a performer, he is still learning a lot. A set that was musically scripted, and felt like it was too well constructed that it never connected fully with me. Of course I sang, rhymed along to most songs, and yes Drake is now commercial, seen from the hundreds of teenagers, many as young as 13, in the concert hall, from all ethnic and social backgrounds, but I still only thought the show was good and not great. Fans of early Drake, are still expecting him to drop songs like, Closer to My Dreams and Im Still Fly - but this expectation has to elapse. Drake will get bigger and the mixtape songs will completely disappear from the sets. His band (especially the drummer) were fantastic, and the lady with the violin was on point. Drake went from hyped to Mr. R&B right over to sex symbol in his time on stage. Girls were gladly singing and shouting at him, as he asked 'if London had the best he ever had' or if they wanted his 3 stroke, and wanted to know his name (RiRi Naa Naa). He has a good voice live when serenading the females in the crowd, but by the number of males that had come to see him, he is doing a balancing trick very well.

All in all, J Cole and Drake's performances were worth going to see, I was pleased with most of the show, and thoroughly enjoyed myself, but I expect to see Bigger and Better from both artists in the future, and i'll be right there to give you my perception on it all.

DotDublin

Stand4Something - More than Lipgloss

On Sunday, the 9th January, I attended an event in Shoreditch's 'The Last Days of Decadence' venue in support of the Stand4Something (S4S). In aid of showcasing women of talent, raising awareness of domestic violence and supporting the charity.

An event that was put together by Natalie Leonna, Charley Jai and Simone Karma Rae highlighted the dexterity and far reaching accomplishments of not only the organisers, but the ladies running the stalls, the artists, and the members that put on the fashion show, designer, models, and PR behind them.

Arriving early for the show, we made ourselves round, taking in the stalls of Red Lust Jewellery, which had amazing signature Red pieces, but also allowed for personalised pieces to be ordered. The creations were stunning, and can be foreseen in videos or as the next fashion trend if up taken by the right name.
Tigress Clothing had corsets in many designs and colours, and had Angie Le Mar as a model later in the evening.
Other stalls on show were Prickle Press and Fashion Press - but I didn't get the time to take in their work.

As the night of acts started, and everyone took there seats, it became apparent, the show had outgrown the expectation. The last days of decadence is a nice venue, but intimate and fairly small downstairs. With all seats taken quickly many had to stand at the back, or at the side to have any kind of view. This is a lesson learnt, but also a blessing. Yes your far exceeded your expected number, but in booking such a small venue, you didn't take advantage of the talents that could have been showcased, and perception of audience may have been that you lacked planning.

The night was hosted by the delectable Remel London, who was funny while being composed and brought a real presence to the stage. There were many acts on the night, with story tellers, dancers, poets, a comedienne and singers/MC's. But the highlight of the night were the words of Angie Le Mar. She told her story, mostly through jokes, but with poignant and far reaching quotables of never giving up, knowing in your heart what you really want to do, and going after it. A night of women empowerment was brought together with words that would inspire both sexes and have place in any positive event.

The night finished off with a designer, by the name of Selina, whose label 'Be Individual' had some very nice pieces and got a lot of love from both the audience and various photographers in the house.

A night well worth attending, with a great vibe and cause. All the best to Natalie and her team, and may their be many more to follow.

De'Borah

This young and bright-eyed new talent sings with utter pureness within her voice, she is able to take a striped back melody from her guitar strings, sing from the heart and blow away her crowd. A sound that infuses folk, soul, and hip-hop, she delivers the simplest of performances with the grandest of oomph. A voice where you can close your eyes and lose yourself, admiring her sultry tones, but also being uplifted with lyrics, that make you smile and think. With lines like “Wash the dirt off my skin, touch the emptiness within, I just want to comprehend, what is real? Oh what is Genuine?”

She begs to be listened to, and take notice of. I believe collaborations with other artists to broaden her art and sound may be the next step for De’borah, but I will most definitely be keeping an eye out.

To keep your eyes and ears on her work please listen to her stuff at http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=48095756065

http://soundcloud.com/search?q[fulltext]=de'borah

J.P

When I first listened to this mixtape, I was in two minds whether or not to review it, I have always tried to highlight talents and encourage people to take their path towards their goals, but this mixtape had so many aspects that I see wrong with music, that I was in limbo. Star9 is a mixtape of hood tales, with some impressive production and a few good features and hooks. But J.P lacks depth in his lyrics, often taking on the expected subjects that proliferate Hip-Hop culture, of street wars, stunting and women. His flow is amateur and his rhyming pattern with the use of the same word to continually make his bars rhyme is sub-standard.

But in saying this, the ingredients are all there for a decent mixtape, catchy production and nice female vocals on hooks, the typical topics and not too many features, so that you are not outshone. There are many artists whose style of rhyming, flow and lyrical content are not up to a standard I expect from the music I listen to, but are still successful and have tunes that from time to time prick my ear and become stable good tunes. There is potential for every to improve their craft.

Catch J.P’s mixtape at http://www.hoodtapes.co.uk/j-p-star9/

Shanaz Dorsett

Shanaz’ latest EP ‘Above the Clouds’ takes some of the most memorable hip-hop beats (All premo beats) and laces them with her soulful and silky vocals. They compliment each other so well, with her larger than life voice belting out over beats that keep you head nodding. With the production so recognisable you sometimes get lost in a trance of reminiscing, but with more listens, you begin to take in Shanaz’ writing skills and vivid pictures of general life stories, painted in with carefully placed vocalising and harmonising.   

With an inner hip-hop soul and an incredible voice, the comparison with Jasmine Sullivan could be made, but Shanaz should not be compared with anyone as she builds her own lane. When she goes away from the instantly recognised sounds, and has her own song to express herself, you see a growth and potential of her song making.

Shanaz has a very bright future so please check out her talents @ http://www.myspace.com/shanazmusic and http://soundcloud.com/search?q[fulltext]=shanaz+dorsett

AKS

Every now and again you come across a mixtape, that makes you run back to your childhood, the days where you fell in love with the music that you wish was still made today. AKS has this mixtape, taking popular tracks and putting his own stamp on them. A lyrical monster, who is able to flow over a track to make it feel like his own, and even more challenging he is able to use clever wordplay while making it flow effortlessly.

AKS has taken influences from Ty, the British rapper, and you can hear similarities in both their style, sound and flow, but this can only be seen as a good thing, as Ty is iconic within British Hip-Hop, and AKS still remains strong enough in his sound to be seen as an individual. A stripped back hip-hop sound of lyrics, urban stories and realness, the real essence of Hip-Hop is brought out and can be heard shining through on every song.

This is a mixtape from early 09, and what is next for AKS, has to be the EP, where we get to see how he colludes with producers/instruments to create his own sound. This will hopefully be dropping soon. But in the mean time find all musical content from the man him self at http://music.nothingmorenothingless.co.uk/album/a-miracle-in-the-making

G.R.E.Ed.S

G.R.E.Ed.S (Generating Rhymes to Engage the EnlighteD Soul) is a writer, Poet, MC and storyteller who lets out his soul onto the paper. He opens up in his words, with clever and witty rhymes, that allow the listener into his world, while making your mind tick over with his similes, metaphors and witty comparisons. He is a Poet 1^st and Artist second, as he infuses his stories and views on the world over soft production that allows the words to be hard hitting, and the music to be its accompanist.

A voice that although telling his own story, has enough relatable topics to engage the listener, a story shared, where you believe you are walking side by side taking the trip, the adventure and having that feeling along with Greeds himself. He provides a different kind of art, but one no less important or connecting, His newest album ‘Volume in Silence’ continues with all that best about his art form, more intense and thought provoking than commercial music, and completely artist lead, so that a real voice is heard.

All music, poetry and information on Greeds can be found at http://www.iamgreeds.com/

Wilson Sings

Wilson is that guy that has enough soul inside him, that he could cultivate the most ignorant of music listeners. A voice that has undoubtedly had an internship in Gospel, and a background in soul. His mixture of vocalising with small stems of spoken word or ad-lib within songs,  sets him apart from the crowd, but also lends itself to you wanting a complete song of just him singing. A vocal talent, that works well with band, and in turn should compliment any production, a voice definitely to savour and look out for in the future.

Wilsonsings music can be found at http://www.myspace.com/wilsonsings and http://soundcloud.com/wilsonsings

Nadine Charles

With the EP ‘Introducing Miss Charles’ Nadine has a throwback to classic R&B, exploring the realms of the universal topic of ‘Love’. From it’s crying lows, and playing your part to the high’s of knowing you have found the one. Nadine has simple and well-constructed R&B production, often working within her own team of writers and producers, The Truth Movement, that allows her to balance between poppy and soulful numbers. Her voice is soft and inviting, a sound that automatically allows you to connect with her and the subject matter, to where you know she writes from the heart and from experience.

Nadine’s EP ‘Introducing Miss Charles’ was from late 09, but still holds its own in any period of R&B and set’s the tone for more to come from this stunning lady.

To Find the EP go to http://nadinecharles.bandcamp.com