Hip Hop and Breakz

Last night was the last Gullyvers until September and its was a wicked night all round. The evening started off with a dope set from Diablo. Then MK killed it with a selection featuring Gang Starr, Busta Rhymes, OC, Eurythmics and the Clash. A-Cyde followed up MK's set with a more mellow set that still kept things moving nicely. Roots Manuva kept the evening lively with some dope emceeing. Great music and a good atmosphere. I saw a lot of people I haven't seen in a long time and had a good night. Props to MK, A-Cyde, Diablo and Roots Manuva for putting on a good night. A shout out to Maxillion, Harry Love, Mr Lawson, Francis, Supa T and everyone else in the place. To those that didn't make it you missed out.

In this post I'm going to be writing about two of my favorite musical artists ever; Bob James and DJ Premier. If you listen to Hip Hop and don't know who Bob James is then you should be ashamed of yourself. Bob James for those that don't know is a Jazz artist whose material has been sampled by too many Hip Hop artists to list them all hear but a few notables are; Run DMC, Gang Starr, DJ Shadow, Eric B and Rakim, EPMD, Pete Rock and CL Smooth, NWA, Ghostface Killah and BDP. Although Bob James is a legendary musician in his own right he has also produced for other Jazz legends including David Sanbourn, Grover Washington Jnr and Kenny Loggins. Bob's most sampled tracks are 'Take me to the Mardi Gras' (Two Columbia 1975) and 'Nautilus' (One CTI Records 1974) however for this post I hae chosen a lesser sampled track called 'The Golden Apple' taken from his 1975 album 'Two' which was released on Colombia. This is a seven minutes plus track w...

Lyn Christopher's 'Take me with you' is taken from her 1973 self titled debut which was released by EMI. The album was recorded in the famous Electric Lady Studios in New York in 1972 and produced by Ron Johnson and featured Kiss's Gene Simmons providing backing vocals on some of the tracks. The track 'Take me with you' was released as a 7" single and was written by Kaplan Kaye. This album and 7" are quite rare and I would advise buying if you ever see either of them, they are often hunted down by Kiss fans because of Gene Simmons backing vocals. The track itself features a repetitive but addictive bass riff running through the whole track with Lyn's haunting vocals pleading for her to be taken with you. A fantastic track. DJ Mighty Mi of High and Mighty and Eastern Conference fame used 'Take me with you' on the first Smut Peddlers 12", 'One by One'. This was released on Eastern Conference Records in 1998. For those tha...

On the 28th of June Gullyvers will be having their Season Finale night in London's Plastic People. This should be another dope Gullyver's night. DJ MK and Acyde will be joined on the night by Roots Manuva. Anyone who has been to a Gullyver's night before knows to expect good atmosphere and a funky mix of breaks, hip hop, reggae and 80's pop. Check the Flyer below and pencil it into your diary.

I'm not sure if its Father's day anywhere else in the world but it is here in the UK so to all the Fathers out there who make an effort and be there for their kids I'm uploading a few father related tracks for y'all. Enjoy and have a good day with your kids. First up we have the 1991 classic from Ed OG and Da Bulldogs 'Be a Father to your Child'. This was taken from the underated 'Life of a Kid in the Ghetto' album released in 1991 on Mercury records. The album introduced us to Ed OG and 'Be a Father' was the first single from the album. On this track Ed speaks with maturity on the subject of absent fathers. I heard this years before I became a father but it has always been a favorite of mine and I thanks and an old Friend of mine who was kind enough to swap me his copy back in the mid nineties. The track, like most of the album was produced by Joe Mansfield, Special K and Teddy Ted. Other dope tracks on the album are; 'Bug-A-Boo' a...

Jimmy McGriff was easily one of the best Jazz organists ever, he passed away on the 24th of May age 72 after losing his battle with Multiple Sclerosis. May he rest in peace. Jimmy McGriff was born in Philadelphia. His father played piano, and Jimmy learned it from an early age; he went on to play saxophone and bass before settling on the Hammond organ. Jimmy released records all through the 60s and 70s on Sue Records and later on Blue Note. Jimmy was sampled by a number of hip hop artists including; A Tribe Called Quest, Black Sheep, King Tee, KRS ONE, Onyx, Ice Cube, Del, Ugly Duckling, OC and Westside Connection. My personal favorite Jimmy McGriff track is Dig on It and was sampled by A Tribe Called Quest on God Lives Through from Midnight Marauders.

The first single from the new Roots Manuva album drops at the end of June and the above video for it has just hit the web. The video is very funny and well worth checking out. The tune is an upbeat almost dancehall style track that has Rodney offering a girl incentives to get with her.

Gullyvers last night in London's Plastic People was a dope night.  DJ's MK and ACyde tore the place up with a superb mix of Hip Hop and all manner of breakz.  Where else in London can you hear Wu Tang, Mobb Deep alongside Kid Creole and the Coconuts?  Gullyvers is a semi regular night and well worth checking out dope evening of dope music with a good atmosphere.   MK also puts up regular Gullyver podcasts on his blog which are definitely worth a listen.