Interview: Yes Boss

I caught Yes Boss down at their album launch party last Thursday for this interesting little interview. To put the thing in context, the boys had just got a 3 out of 10 in The NME and been sidelined by a plethora of indie bands at their own launch party. These circumstances plus alcohol made for a lively interview.

If you're yet to know about Yes Boss, then you've been missing out. Yes, they're from outside of London but don't let that put all you haters off, as they definitely bring something a little different to the UK Hip-Hop/Grime scene. I don't even wanna talk about the music for fear of selling it short, so do yourself a favour and head over to their myspaz for audio delights. Safe to say you'll hear a variety of sounds, Grime included of course, and some clever word play. A unique outfit.

Review: The Movement

The Movement came through with some of the biggest mixtapes of 2006, including the likes of Scorcher, Mercston and Ghetto. The thought of all these guys on one record should have had me drawing for the credit card as soon as Tempo Specialists dropped, but there was something about the chatter of chipmunk vocal samples and sanitised grime that put me off.

My mistake though, cos it's actually pretty hot. There are more than a few chipmunk vocals on here, but at least The Movement make the style their own. R 'n' G tunes are usually a mixtapes weakest point, but The Movement lads are on point with it here. Whisper is an interesting take on the ballardy end of the genre, dropping some original lyrics about taking a girl back to your mum's place...

Criticisms are the usual aimed at Grime artist's mixtapes and for a start there's not enough Grime. Most of the tunes sound like HipHop to me. As usual the diamonds are well lost in the rough and there's a fair bit of a fight to separate the wheat (Actual Artist, Whisper, Can't Go On) from the chaff.

Perhaps not up there with their best individual efforts, but worth a look despite the chipmunk invasion. Grab it off of Juno or UK Record Shop.

Interview: Plastician

It's been a while hasn't it? Well Hype!Hype! is back on track with a few posts n bits coming up over the next few days.

First up, this interview with Radio One's own Plastician, held backstage at The Fix Up last Friday in Leeds.

The city's quickly establishing itself as a outpost of the Grime and Dubstep scene in the wild North of England. Dubstep's already well represented in the city through producers and DJs such as Ramadanman and DJ Distinction together with nights like DMZ North and Flux. Still, with the student heavy population it's rare to get a night focusing on the Grime element rather than skanky gap year Dubsteppers.

The Fix Up proved a good antidote to the usual Dubstep heavy vibe, providing the descerning Leeds heads with a line-up coupling the best of the North with JME, Frisco, Skepta and Plastician from the big smoke. Not wanting to be outdone by Londoners, there was a rare show of cross-pennine cooperation in the form of Grime crew Nextgen which consisted of the best from Manchester and Leeds. Despite being faced with a crowd eager for Skepta and JME to get serious and draw for the tool they held it down well n got a few people moving. Boy Better Know all madness ensued when Skepta, JME and Frisco took to the stage infront of Plastician who span a blinding selection of Grime n Dubstep to a receptive crowd.

The music was all good, but maybe the most exciting thing about the night was the good vibe and lack of any madness. A good look for two double oh seven.

The interview first went out last night on Leeds' How We Do, Thursday 8 til 10 on LSRFM.

News: Aza T Podcast Part 4

It's all a bit quiet isn't it? At least it seems that way from the Grime blogs and radio playing the same old tunes.

Worth mentioning though is the fourth edition of serial ripper Aza T's podcast series which has just dropped and is worth a download. Look out for the Bashy and Wretch 32 track So Little Time, cos thats hot. Grab the full podcast, here.

More over the weekend...

Review: Tunnel Vision 5

Wiley knows how to create some hype. Had Tunnel Vision come out last week, it wouldn't have been all that, but dropping this in the same week as accouncing his retirement from the scene gives it a strange importance.

Sorry Sorry, Pardon, What? kicks off the album the way we've come to expect from Wiley and particularly this mixtape series. It's full of the energy and hyped up MC-ing that's so common in his recent output. Just to re-inforce the point, two war dubs aimed at Newham Generals and Nasty Jack follow. But then the tone starts to change and we see the otherside of Wiley - the guy who's been trying make it big for the scene and push things forward, with very little help and limited success. Tracks like One Line Flow, and Don't Do It, make these frustrations clear, with Wiley poking fun at his label mates and the scene he helped create on the former and asking those without their heart in it to give up on Don't Do It.

It's the following two R&G esque tracks that are the most revealing though. Sister Sister, like Friday Night off of 2nd Phaze, is one of those rare glimpses into the man behind the hype MC. With regard to his recent retirement, this tune illustrates the pressures on the MC from outside the game, the personal and family stuff. Paranoid Remix follows in a similar vein, albeit about love problems and that.

The thing that really comes across is that despite all these problems, Wiley can't stop. On Sister Sister he chats about carrying on the family tradition of music, started by his Father. He still talks about making it big in the future and being able to travel the world with his family. With these things in mind it seems unlikely Wiley would be happy taking a backseat in the progress of the scene.

Of course Wiley's constant references to his Ice-cold nature are intact as ever. As he reminds us on Paranoid Remix, Wiley's a clever guy. He's not scared to play with hype:

"I'm a dangerous boy and when it comes to cheating I'm cold like she is"

To my mind this is the best of the Tunnel Vision series. Truesay there are throwaway bits on there but taking this record in conjunction with Wiley's retirement announcement on Monday makes for some facinating listening. I'll put money on seeing Wiley back on the mic sooner rather than later.

News: Wiley Retires! (and other stories)

So, Wiley announces his retirement. Sounds pretty shocking doesn't it? In fact it sounds like the sort of rumour made up by hyped up kids on an internet forum, but has suprisingly been reported straight from the mans mouth by Hattie Collins of RWD Magazine. Reading the actual interview it becomes clear that Wiley will simply be taking a back seat for a while, producing rather than MC-ing. Seems like a fair choice. It also leaves him open for a Jigga Man type come back LP in a few years...

If you've ever missed out on classic mixtapes then I feel it's my duty to send you over to a new blog called Old Grime Mixtapes. It does exactly what it says on the tin, so go there and download old mixtapes to your heart's content.

I'm guessing Logan's show should be pretty interesting tonight given the breaking Wiley retirement news. He's now got his own archive of past shows, which updates a week behind the live ones. Hop over there for all your download needs.

If you've got any news, listings, records etc, email us.

News: New Dizzee, Album Rumours and Ravin' Reviews

It was another wicked show for Logan Sama on Kiss FM this week. As well as playing some current favourites from Roll Deep and Durrty Goodz he span a new track called Industry by Dizzee Rascal. Hopefully his album should be dropping around April this year. Rumours from the latest Vice Magazine (fantastic issue by the way - grab a copy!) suggest that previous versions have already been turned down by XL Records... Still, judging by Industry the material's sounding up to scratch to me!

London based Grimebloggers are all raving about the Dirty Canvas vs 7 Year Glitch dance that went down last week. Sounds like a good night. Videos over at Prancehall and Lower End, and the usual witty review from Hyperfrank.