When he released “Street Tuff” with Double Trouble (Michael Menson, Karl ‘Tuff Enuff’ Brown and Leigh Guest) in 1989, it was the first most people had heard of the Rebel MC. Truth is, he’d formed Double Trouble way back in the early 80s and Street Tuff was just the furthest reaching public display of his talent. Although frowned upon as a sell-out by the Hip Hop community, the cut has since been heralded as “the birth of UK Grime” by Dizzee Rascal amongst others. So, what has that got to do with Congo Natty? Well, everything. For those who don’t know (and I hope it’s just a handful), Rebel MC aka Michael West went on to record as Conquering Lion, Blackstar, Tribe Of Issachar, X Project, Ras Project and of course, Congo Natty. What is incredible is that since we saw him bounce on to the TOTP stage armed with fashion dreads, a backing track on DAT and his Double Trouble entourage playing dummy instruments, Micheal West has consistently released quality underground music with more than just money in mind.

Check ‘Black Meaning Good’(1991), a watershed release for the Rebel as his style evolved and his lightweight raps were replaced by conscious flows, Reggae, Techno and the emerging sound of Jungle. Guest appearances came from Barrington Levy, Dennis Brown and Tenor Fly….heavyweight business! Now the UK’s underground were on-side, and comparisons to the Ragga Twins (fellow Tottenham dwellers) and Shut Up & Dance were rife, the ‘Word Sound and Power’ (1992) collection cemented Rebel’s place in the Reggae tinged corner of the UK’s bubbling dance scene. Now a manifesting Rastafarian, West set up the Tribal Bass label in 1992 and it was this which gradually mutated to X-Project and finally into the Congo Natty imprint all old-school Junglists know and love.

So, almost 20 years on, and having recorded under an array of monikers, Congo Natty continues to roll out raw breaks, deadly deep subs and vocal performances from dancehall legends like Tenor Fly and Daddy Freddy to expectant audiences the world over. Now a fully fledged rasta living between the UK and Ethiopia, the conscious content and scathing attacks on our unbalanced sytems are stronger than ever. Even better, to add a fresh twist, the Congo Natty outfit now counts a full live band amongst its ranks. As somebody who recieved early musical tutilage from the Demon Boyz, London Posse, Shut Up and Dance and the Rebel MC (I think ‘Just Keep Rockin’ and ‘Street Tuff’ were among the first singles I ever bought alongside Public Enemy’s ‘Rebel Without a Pause’), I have to give my full respect to him for keeping it moving so strongly over almost two decades.

And the punchline, Heads High are in the zone with Congo Natty this Saturday 19th July. He’ll be accompanied by Connie Bell, Lady MC (Kool FM) and a full live band. Myself and Darren Judge will be rolling out selections spanning reggae, hip-hop and perhaps a few electronic, bass movements. It’s one to make time for….

Phonica are taking it there! Fresh from our collaboration with the One-Handed family last week (many thanks to all who graced the space), we’ve landed a last-minute instore with Stones Throw’s Aloe Blacc who’s hit the UK to spread some love.

Although the confirmation was last-minute, I’ve managed to out-slack everyone by leaving it till four hours before the event to drop this post. Hopefully, the RSS junkies amongst you will get it in time & i’ll see you down there….

Proceedings begin @ 6pm. Phonica Records 51 Poland Street Soho W1F 7LZ. More details here.

For those who don’t know, here’s Aloe doing what he does:

Some people know they can find me at Phonica, others not. That aside, everybody knows that Phonica Records is one of London’s premier outlets for those 12″ pieces of plastic that some of us still choose to play music from. Our selection is wide and our taste refined, even if I do say so myself.

Until know, fans of Disco and House/Techno were the only ones receiving the monthly blessing of Phonica’s club excursions which take place at the Big Chill Bar, and T-Bar respectively. Thankfully, my esteemed colleagues Free-Care and A.Child (Nick and Aaron to their friends) are spearheading a new venture to cater for those of us who are more moved by that electronic bass music shiznit. Rather than try and claim all the glory for themselves, they’ve decided to use the sessions as a platform for some of our most loved labels/musical camps to showcase their freshest work. The twist is, that each event also includes a further guest whose work compliments the rest of the night’s offerings. Nice.

So, this Thursday 27th May, make the pilgrimage to Plastic People for the event’s maiden voyage. One Handed Music are in the house and are celebrating the launch of the Paul White and the Purple Brain project. They’ll also be presenting we the people with exciting noises from Bullion, Tranquill and Alex Chase. Veteran analogue B-Boy Danny Breaks completes the bill with our very own Free-Care and A.Child laying the foundations. It looks like a good one. I’m excited….

So Richy Pitch’s long awaited ‘Ye Fre Mi Richy Pitch’ offering is almost ripe to drop on the ever-reliable BBE imprint. If  you didn’t believe me when I told you the album was heat, then prepare to be converted…

To heighten our  excitement, Richy has put together a mix featuring some exclusives from the LP, joints from M3nsa’s forthcoming ‘No. 1 Mango Street’ project, M3nsa and Wanlov’s FOKN Bois excursion, some sweet West African selections from times gone by, classic treats from Madlib, Dilla and J Period and some new-school afro antics from Fulgeance and Debruit. In short, you need to hear it.

Unfortunately, Soundcloud embeds just don’t like behaving on the HH site so you can either listen and download below or make the jump to Richy’s Soundcloud here. Either way, make sure you keep the link and support the LP when it drops. Enjoy…

Download

Tracklisting

1. African Rhythms//Jay Dilla
2. Jungle Soundz Pt.1//Madlib
3. Where I’m From//A.R.M (from the forthcoming LP Uprising)
4. Let’s Start//Fela Kuti
5. Let’s Start Fela Tribute//J.Period & K’naan
6. Tribute to Hugh Masekela//Fulgeance
7. COZ OV MONI//FOKN BOIS (aka Wanlov the Kubolor and M3NSA, from the first ever Pidgin Musical “COZ OV MONI’ (Summer 2010))
8. Make it Fast, Make it Slow//ROB (Richy Pitch RE-Edit (Promo Only))
9. Anaa//M3NSA (from the forthcoming LP ‘No.1 Mango St)
10. Nokofio//DJ Juls Instrumental (Promo Only)
11. Visa Connection Man//Richy Pitch feat. Reggie Rockstone & M3NSA (from the forthcoming LP ‘Ye Fre Mi Richy Pitch’)
12. Funky Highlife//CK Mann
13. Dey Suffer (DJ Edit)//Richy Pitch feat. Yasmeen (from the forthcoming LP ‘Ye Fre Mi Richy Pitch’)
14. Government Magic (Swag’s Tinpot Coup D’etat Dub)//Antibalas & Swag
15. Nigeria What?//Debruit
16. Kokrohinko//Bunzu Soundz
17. Kpanlogo//Ghanian Traditional Music produced by Faisal Helwani

Richy’s LP is out on June 7th and features Mobo and MTV winner Samini, Hiplife pioneer Reggie Rockstone, M3NSA, Wanlov the Kubolor, M.anifest, Yasmeen, Kwesi Dankwa, AB and DJ Black.

As you might have seen, our Vibe session was on pause last month so it’s only right we come back bigger and bashier….especially as its almost summertime!

This month the Heads High/12 Tone camps will be joined by Wara, a crew of young musicians forging an explosive new brand of Afro-Cuban groove, infected with hip-hop, soul and a whole heap more. Born in 2009, Wara took the London latin alternative scene by storm from their very first gig. Their sound is  tropical  with an extra dose of Cuba, shaken not stirred, asere!

See below for flyer (inna old school block party style).

So after the obligatory two month hiatus, we’re back in the basement on May 14th. Our last session in March went distinctly tropical at the request of the Samba dancing crew in the house and now the sun has got his hat on, we’re looking to turn up the heat even further. For the first time in Heads High history, the girls out-number the boys this month too. After two solid sets of all things boom and bap, Amaka is in the place again and still mourning the loss of a large chunk of music from a defective hard-drive, Miss Crawford steps up with the weight and crackle of a vinyl only selection. A last minute addition that didn’t make the designer’s deadline is Darren Judge. He’s been smacking it recently with the Clubb Rock podcasts he lays down with partner in crime Mikee Lazy so we’re expecting those Clubb Rock high-energy bass movements cut and pasted with his foundation Hip Hop selection. Naturally, the Duke & Cal provide the rock upon which the party is built….and the vocals? Expect something a little different this time as Connie Bell and Amaka conduct a little live experiment…tell a friend!!!!!

The occasion is bound to be a poignant affair for true Gang Starr fans since the recent passing of DJ Premier’s original partner-in-crime, Guru. Rest In Peace.

Lets face it, this is a legendary opportunity to pay homage to a legendary lyricist. As far as hip-hop goes, Gang Starr epitomised the East coast sound. Guru was an ever-faithful disciple of the true hip-hop movement and DJ Premier laid some pretty solid foundations when it came to sampling, loops and other traits that today make up the quintessential traits of hip-hop production. Despite everything said, for me, the genius in Gang Starr was in the way that they were somehow able to channel their individual talents into a single creative force and bring out consistently good s**t. This unique collaboration set them apart from the fakers. Gang Starr are hip-hop hierarchy.

This Gang Starr tribute world tour is ridiculously over-booked and rightly so. DJ Premier, I’m sure will be on top form. No doubt, each stop will as good as the next – don’t forget that between running his own label, taking on countless new projects and relentlessly touring, DJ Premier was actually planning to reunite with Guru this year.

“It’s like feeding someone a new drug… and then as you keep on feeding ‘em, they’re gonna want more and more. I’m definitely a pusher. I push music that you should be hearing. I have no choice but to be that way.”

If this is anything to go by, then I guess this is a ‘hip-hop junkies only’ event. Prepare for the energy.

RIP Guru.

Click here for event details and tickets.

DJ Premier’s MySpace

Gang Starr’s MySpace

Lewis Parker’s late 90s UK Hip Hop landmark album “Masquerades and Silhouettes” always held a special place for me back in the day. Musically it had an epic scope and was awash with cinematic soundscapes and Jedi knight references, so I’d always wondered about the mysterious identity of it’s producer The Sea, who was behind the beats on this unlikely Hip Hop odyssey. Imagine my surprise then that almost ten years after that in my guise as a Latin music promoter and DJ I would encounter the very same one like the ‘Sea’ spearheading his own project – a collective of musicians pioneering the hybrid Latin, Hip Hop, Reggae and Dance beats of ‘Latin Dub Soundsystem’ and blazing a trail on festival stages across the UK. In the intervening years he’d spent time producing a string of reggae legends in Jamaica, as a tour DJ for the Wailers, and has been at the forefront (or should I say background) of the UK Hip Hop scene orchestrating tracks and albums for the likes of heavyweights Rodney P, Skitz, Yungun, as well as producing a (much overlooked) mini album for Benjamin Zephaniah. Indeed it was working with Zephaniah that went on to seed Latin Dub Soundsystem with the track ‘Uptown’ (included on the mixtape here) incorporating some rolling Latin keys alongside it’s skanking beat and Zephaniah’s killer vocal hook.

So Latin Dub Soundsystem are putting the finishing touches to their debut album which will feature some the UK’s finest Hip Hop talent alongside London based Latin MCs, Argentinian firebrand ragga Hip Hop MC Malena from Actitud Maria Marta (also featured on the mix) and the startlingly brilliant vocals of UK singer Eva Abraham. However in the meantime The Sea and I have concocted a mixtape of Latin, Tropical and global underground freshness from Salsa beats to Latin Hip Hop, Dancehall flavours, Brazilian mash ups, and a large helping of dubwise Cumbia bass alongside a glut of Latin Dub exclusives, unreleased remixes and mash ups! Nearly 40 tracks in just over and hour! Enjoy!

Easter weekend. Four days off and very few excuses not to record a podcast so here it is. Heavily inspired by the ritual bank holiday dig through the collection, a selection taking in rootikal dubwise, golden age pirate radio anthems, fresh boom-bap and forthcoming 130 BPM sub bass excursions…..enjoy:

Download Duke Etienne Podcast #17

The Observers//Organ Satta
Big Youth//Love Jah Jah Children
Horace Andy//Lets Live In Love
Jah Bunny & Ras Elroy meet Dougie Conscious//Dub 2
King Tubby//Antique Dub
ELUCID//Laser Days
SBTRKT//Inamillion
Blackpocket//U’re a Star (Martyn Remix)
Hem ft. Terrible Shock//On a Mission (Shortstuff Remix)
Ragga Twins//18″ Speaker
Pursuit Grooves//Whisper
U.N.I. ft. H.O.P.E & Shawn Jackson//Cali Soul
Ski Beatz ft. Mos Def//24 Hour Karate School
Bullion//Don’t Talk
Madlib//Floating Soul
Dabrye//Magic Says
Chico Mann//Levanta
Pursuit Grooves//Cosy
Portformat ft. Blaktroniks//It’s On (Swede:art Remix)
Erykah Badu//Turn Me Away (Get MUNNY)
Georgia Ann Muldrow//So Far
Ski Beatz ft. Mos Def & Whosane//Taxi

I’m starting this by showing a little love to Amelia (she runs tings) over at Put Me On It. She dropped a post about Spec Boogie’s Bed Stuy joint, which is fire by the way, a wee while back. Time being what it is, passed, and when I finally got to doing the research on the SB I was like “rah….man’s got SKILLS”. Lyrically, musically, visually, his vibes are on point. So, now I’m back in the hotseat and writing again , I figured it’d be a good time to link Mr Boogie and shine a light on his artistry….presenting, Spec Boogie:

So who is Spec Boogie?

I’m just a simple dude from Brooklyn NY who loves art, women and hip hop.

Where are you based?

I’m based out of the Bedford Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn. My father was a native and he moved the family here from California when I was 3 years old.

Does your location affect your art?

Brooklyn has influenced my art for as long as I’ve been an artist. I remember when I was 6 or 7 years old a dude was shot and killed on my corner. About a week later I was going to the store for my mom and some writers were painting a mural for him and it was the first time I saw someone other than myself create a piece of art, from start to finish.

Talking of art, word is that you’re a pretty hot graphic designer too. Do you see similarities between your modes of expression? Do they tend to influence/relate to each other?

I’ve trained myself to keep them separate, most of the visual art I do nowadays is commissioned so I try to create to reflect my client’s point of view rather than my own. When it comes to my personal work, yes. I can’t write a song without thinking of the video, the cover, even clothes that match the song, it’s automatic. I really want to create a video for every song on my upcoming album. I don’t know how likely it is of happening, but I have ideas for every one. Either way, as long as I get to be creative, I’m happy.

Just out of curiosity, apart from your own Spec Boogie site, where else can we see your design work?

One recent project that I’m very proud of is the site for the J Dilla Foundation. The team over there was very clear, helpful and knew exactly what they wanted. They were perfect clients. Being that I’m one of the billions of MC’s who have rocked over his beats for mixtapes etc, I’m grateful to be able to say I gave something back. Shout out to Ma Dukes. Other than that a lot of the work I do is very corporate. I’ve been lucky enough to do work for the NBA, Def Jam, Ralph Lauren and many other brands that I grew up admiring.

Your music is delivered via Loosie Music right? Is that your own label? Tell us about Loosie and what it represents…

Yes, Loosie is my baby. My goal is to build it into a creative agency rather than just a record label. The name Loosie is representitve of working class New York, here cigarettes are expensive so if you can’t afford or don’t want to pay for a pack, the corner store will sell you a “Loosie” or a single cigarette. I don’t know how much they are now because I don’t actually smoke cigarettes but growing up they were 25 cents. It’s just something that reminds me of the working class struggle that I try to represent through my music.

While we’re dealing with names, Lessondary is another that is linked with you. What is Lessondary and what should we know about it?

Lessondary is Tanya Morgan (Von Pea, Donwill & Ilyas), Che Grand, Elucid, The Red Giants & Aeon. There are other extended family members but that’s the core. We’re called lessondary because we are all students of the culture. Dope beats, dope rhymes, just dope.

So the Specflix thing. I was on your site recently and was so into what you’ve done that I watched each video from beginning to end in one sitting! What is Specflix? What was the inspiration to begin such a project and how have people responded to it?

Thank you, the response has been great. The inspiration came from wanting to challenge myself. I’m a bit of a movie buff and on previous mixtapes I’d taken Superfly and Do the Right Thing and made mashups so I figured it would be fun to do that for a whole project instead of just one or two songs. The idea to call it Specflix came from my boy Naturel.

Are all the Specflix beats yours? I really like the fact they all feel different.

Not all of them. Some were done by Von Pea, some by me, some are straight from the movie’s soundtrack and some are other people’s beats that happened to have sampled movies I like.

Which Flix is your favourite and why?

That’s a tough one. I think AKIRA might be my favorite becaue It’s the only beat I did on the project that wasn’t a simple 2 or 4 bar loop. I chopped up 3 different songs from the Akira soundtrack to make it but you can’t really tell because the whole soundtrack is drums and chanting. Other than that, I love all of the Von Pea produced tracks. He’s criminally slept on as a producer, one of the best out right now.

Outside of the Specflix series, where else can we hear Spec speak?

As far as projects out now, I am featured on all my Lessondary brothers’ projects. Donwill’s Don Cusack, Che Grand’s Everything’s Good Ugly, Tanya Morgan’s Brooklynati. just look for Lessondary and you’ll find me. I’m on a bunch of outside projects as well this year but none of them have been released yet.

Going deeper, what is important to you as an artist/human being (not that they’re mutually exclusive!)?

Damn son, that’s a tough one, haha.  As both an artist and a human being I feel it’s important to be as honest as you can with your audience and with yourself, because when you are you don’t feel the pressure of conforming to outside opinions. It gets tough when money and business get involved but there is a balance, as long as you know what your goals are.

What drives you to create and what do you think the value of art is?

I create because that’s all I know how to do, I was raised by an artist to be an artist. What I love most about art is that it’s value is relative to whoever is experiencing it. As much as I like to be complimented on my work I love it even more when someone tells me something they got from my music that I didn’t even intend, it just shows how malleable art and perception are.

Looking forward, what is on the horizon for Spec Boogie?

Up next is a mixtape I’m putting together with the help of 2dopeboyz.com & okayplayer.com, it doesn’t have a name yet but it has a theme. That’s dropping in  May, then the debut album, Introspective on June 1st. After that I may put out another Specflix, and I’m working on a project with Dego of 2000 black/4 Hero that’s going to be a bit of a departure from the traditional boom bap type stuff I usually do.

Who or what would you like to work with in the future?

That’s a loooooong list right there. At the top though is Brent Rollins. He’s a graphic artist who has influenced design as it relates to hip hop or “urban” media more than anyone I can think of. He has this kind of collage style that a lot of people do nowadays without realizing that it started with him. On the music side there’s Madlib, his beats are incredible and he’s a great example of a free artist, he seems to have mastered that art/commerce balance I spoke on earlier. And Buckwild because he’s the shit, crazy underrated.

Plug time. Where can we find your art? Links please!

You can find it all on specboogie.com if it isn’t there now. it will be.

Thanks for sharing Mr Spec Boogie. To continue in the giving spirit, here is a little something from SB to we. Its a Lessondary posse cut that didn’t make it to Spec’s Introspective LP because it didn’t fit the theme. Remember, if you like what you’ve heard/seen then make sure to head over to Spec Boogie’s site where you’ll find the whole Specflix series, links to all the Lessondary artists and much more besides.

Download BANG!