Music and hip-hop

Ed Sheeran - Tue 10 Jan 2012, HMV Picture House, Edinburgh

Unlikely chart-topping teen idol performs angsty ballads

3 Feb 2012

‘I have some news’, Ed Sheeran casually mentions amidst the screaming adoration, after a nice loop-pedal driven cover of 'Wayfaring Stranger'. ‘My album’s just gone triple platinum’. (More screams). Quite impressive, really, for the unlikely teen idol…

Hip hop in Scotland - Taking the mic

14 May 2009

MC SOOM T Combining fierce vocal ability with commercial versatility, fast-rapping Glaswegian Sumati Bhardwaj has opened for Basement Jaxx and Aphex Twin, and performed diverse styles such as reggae with Mungo’s Hi-Fi and folk alongside The Burns…

Professor Green

Hackney rapper loves a Nando's

12 Aug 2010

Professor Green knows how to party. When his debut album, Alive Till I’m Dead, charted at number two last month, the East-London rapper let it rip: ‘I was so over the moon that I celebrated with a full chicken platter, two large sides and a refillable…

Chipmunk - I Am Chipmunk

2 Oct 2009

The British grime scene is defined by its fury and bravado and Chipmunk rolls out a debut album that suggests there’s scope for having some heart too. After demolishing the charts with the simpering proto-Kanye ‘Diamond Rings’ (which features Glasgow…

Lil B - Nice N Sleazy, Glasgow, Sun 6 May

22-year-old Berkeley rapper describes himself as ‘an art history project’

22 May 2012

It must be the Californian in him, but the BASEDGOD, despite his lyrics about eating white booty, his VIP lifestyle, and his resemblance to Jesus/Michael Jordan/Miley Cyrus and Paris Hilton, is basically a hippie. Top off, shades on, tiny muscled torso…

Labels of love: Numbers

29 Oct 2009

Based in: Glasgow Roster: The first three releases will be by Lazer Sword, Redinho and Taz Buckfaster, with more artists to follow. Bosses: Jack ‘Jackmaster’ Revill, Calum and Neil Morton, Richard Chater and Adam Rodgers. Sounds…

Graffiti in Scotland - Creative writing

14 May 2009

From Loanhead to Glasgow there’s a rich heritage of graffiti art in Scotland. We speak to two of the key figures on the scene Elph and Derm

Tasty sub - Glasgow Sub Club honoured in Resident Advisor poll

7 Aug 2008

Glasgow clubbing institution the Sub Club has been honoured with a place in respected dance magazine Resident Advisor’s Top 10 list. The Sub Club was placed inside the worldwide Top 10 in three out of four categories, including Atmosphere, Programming…

Trailer from Ice T's Something from Nothing: The Art of Rap

New documentary marks new wave of hip hop films

16 Apr 2012

Hip hop, like most trends to grace the cinema, comes in waves. The last big one was in the early 1990s, with the likes of Boyz N The Hood, New Jack City and Menace II Society following the era-defining late 1980s releases of NWA's Straight Outta Compton…

Professor Green – HMV Picture House, Edinburgh, Tue 29 Nov 2011

Confident and professional show from favourite Hackney rapper

13 Dec 2011

The majority of the Picture House crowd is screaming teenage girls and skinny chino-clad boys, eager to see their favourite Hackney rapper, Professor Green. Booty-shaking duo Rizzle Kicks warm them up with a fun, high-energy performance, featuring their…

Tinie Tempah - Disc-Overy

15 Sep 2010

(Parlophone) South London has just coughed up another gifted young MC in the form of Patrick Ogwugu aka 'Talk of 2010' Tinie Tempah. And Rascal needs to watch his back, Disc-Overy is a fiery first effort from the 21-year-old, packed full of…

Ever been to a silent disco with a Chinese dragon?

25 Oct 2011

Ever explored a museum at night? Ever had a cocktail surrounded by thousands of years of history? Ever been to a silent disco with a Chinese dragon? Thanks to the support of RBS and The List, the National Museum of Scotland is bringing you an exclusive…

Interview - Mike Slott, Eclair Fifi and Machinedrum of LuckyMe

Glasgow DIY label set for Edinburgh Festival clubnight

8 Aug 2011

Mike Slott (producer) I met Dom [Flannigan] who runs LuckyMe in Borders Books. He was sneaking flyers into hip hop magazines. We got chatting, we liked similar music and in Glasgow if you’re into a certain kind of music, you bump into the same people…

Singles of the month: Blood Orange - Sutphin Boulevard

Radiohead, Seafieldroad, Bright Eyes, and more also reviewed

18 Jul 2011

It’s a good month for Scots musicians, both electronic and otherwise. Probably the best ever, in fact, for 24-year-old Aberdonian Emeli Sandé with ‘Heaven’ (EMI) ●●●●, her instantly recognisable, ‘Unfinished Sympathy’-like major label debut after…

Hypnotic Brass Ensemble

Chicago fusion of jazz, hip hop and funk

8 Aug 2010

This nine-piece comprising eight horns and a drummer are not what you might expect at the Jazz & Blues Festival.

Music In The Digital Age

Technology's impact on the artform

2 Oct 2009

To paraphrase the Creme Egg adverts, when it comes to music, how do you hear yours? Streaming over the internet? Nicking stuff from torrents on the web? A bag full of goodies from Fopp? Crates of obscure vinyl from your local specialist…

Sway, Studio 24, Edinburgh, Fri 27 Jan 2012

Crowd-pleasing night from the grime superstar

1 Mar 2012

Although not completely absent from the music scene, Sway (real name Derek Safo) has not released an album since 2008. This perhaps explained the semi-low turnout at this Friday night gig, which seemed unusual for one of the UK’s most successful…

GZA/Genius - The Arches, Glasgow, Mon 13 Feb

Disappointingly sluggish set from the cerebral Wu Tang Clan member

29 Feb 2012

There’s nothing more frustrating than ritual disappointment from someone you hold in high regard. First up there was GZA’s lazy, bonged-out mumble-athon at the ABC in 2008, then a ghost-like contribution to the Wu Tang Clan’s appearance in the Academy…

Five reasons to go see . . . The GZA

The GZA of Wu Tang approaches the Arches

1 Feb 2012

He’s a genius The Genius, to be precise. GZA, aka The Genius, (Gary Grice to his mum) is a founding member of Wu Tang Clan, along with his cousin, producer The RZA, and gravelly-voiced rap heathen Ol’ Dirty Bastard (RIP). The Clan emerged out of New…

The Wu-Tang Clan member Raekwon set for UK tour

The Wu-Tang Clan member comes to Scotland with new album

3 Mar 2011

Two years ago, when Wu-Tang Clan MC Raekwon announced the sequel to his acclaimed 1995 solo debut, Only Built 4 Cuban Linx …, you could’ve been forgiven for thinking it was merely some kind of clever ploy to stir up interest in a career that had…

Make Sparks and Three Blind Wolves among highlights of T in the Park’s T Break stage 2010

19 May 2010

The acts for this year’s T Break stage have been announced, and there’s quite a few names to get excited about. Glasgow guitar-pop purveyors Make Sparks have been garnering a lot of attention recently, not least from the authority on such subjects, the…

Bonobo set for Edinburgh show at Departure Lounge

17 Feb 2010

Name Bonobo Occupation Soul, jazz, hip hop and electronica producer of note What kind of monkey business is this? OK, very clever. Bonobos are indeed a species of small Chimpanzees (which are apes not monkeys for the record) but the Bonobo…

Ojos de Brujo

Preview

13 Nov 2009

Walking out the lift of an Edinburgh Hotel, Marina Abad is pushing her baby son in a buggy. Pivotal singer, composer and the only woman in Europe’s most popular world music band – the Barcelona collective Ojos de Brujo. Renowned for their…

Exposure: Stanley Odd

28 Aug 2009

Still an odd paradox for some, Scottish hip-hop is only getting stronger. Acts like Young Fathers and Northern Xposure are bringing the spirit of South Central to the Central Belt, offering an alternative to the bountiful angular indie that's heard from…

Mos Def - The Ecstatic

14 Aug 2009

(Downtown) His seeming impatience has always been Mos Def’s undoing. His debut 1999’s Black on Both Sides, remains a modern classic, but beyond that and his 1998 collaboration with Talib Kweli Black Star, his frankly patchy musical career has been…

Unicorn Kid and Young Fathers

The man with the horn

7 Aug 2009

He may wear a lion hat and be named after a fantasy creature, but with the Pet Shop Boys, Calvin Harris and a belting set at T on his side, Unicorn Kid is set to make myth a reality. The Lion and the Unicorn have long been heralded as hostile beasts.

Ancient Astronauts - We Are To Answer

25 Jun 2009

(ESL) This is an album that is very much a sum of its parts as Cologne duo Dogu and Kabanjak lay down some expansive instrumental head nodders and invite a host of collaborators to come throw in some general good vibery. Whether its hip hop legends…

Mad Decent records

14 May 2009

‘We look for people who are trying different things,’ says Jasper Goggins, New York-based manager of the Mad Decent label, ‘and who aren’t afraid to be a bit experimental with their sound. But more than that everyone on the label is friends, there’s…

Theophilus London

14 May 2009

Midway through Hinterland festival’s first evening, the indie kids of Glasgow scuttle from one bunch of guitar-twangers to another. Leaning against the building site fence next to the Sub Club, a pair of Brooklynites in retro shades, skinny jeans and…

DOOM - Born Like This

2 Apr 2009

HIP HOP So the MF is gone and underground hip hop’s most malcontent son insists on uppercase only for his moniker, but other than that it’s business as usual for DOOM who follows his 2005 Dangerdoom collaboration with Gorillaz and Gnarls Barkely…

Tricky

5 Feb 2009

Tricky is difficult and moody, right? That’s the perception of the Bristol-born rapper that still persists, 14 years after he was launched into the nation’s musical consciousness with his startling, groundbreaking and bestselling debut…

All day hip hop event

31 Jul 2008

Banksy’s subversive street art sells for millions, Snoop Dogg and Dr Dre are basically musical royalty and films such as Step Up 2 continue to popularise break-dancing and battling. Hip hop and street culture couldn’t be having more of a moment. Funny…

Tricky - Knowle West Boy

17 Jul 2008

Fifteen years in and Tricky remains a fascinatingly contradictory figure. This debut for esteemed indie Domino sees him more eclectic than ever, with a raft of obscure guest vocalists adding to that vibe, and features both some of his most commercial…

Kyon & Dyems - Overnight

10 Apr 2008

HIP HOP ELECTRONICA (Crystal Wish) Kyon & Dyems are enigmatic Edinburgh-based brothers who, on this quality showing, would put most major label hip hop acts to shame. This debut album, recorded on a budget, is nevertheless brimming with ideas…

Wu Tang Clan - 8 Diagrams

13 Dec 2007

HIP HOP (Bodog Music) The prevalence of solo efforts from the numerous members of the Wu-Tang Clan makes their joint efforts less of an event than they should be. The band’s last two outings have been worryingly inconsistent affairs and this, the…

Souls of Mischief - Electric Circus, Edinburgh, Tue 13 Mar

Hip hop pioneers refuse to rest on their laurels

28 Mar 2012

As creators of a classic 90s hip hop hit (‘93 til Infinity’), it would be easy for Souls of Mischief to tour on the back of that alone. However, the California-natives did not disappoint the sold-out crowd with a dull and lazy performance, like some of…

5 reasons to go and see OFWGKTA

Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All set to play O2 ABC gig

27 Mar 2012

1. We might find out what they are Are they an ironic comedy hip hop troupe? Or are they a wilfully nasty, relentlessly violent, misogynistic and homophobic throwback whose goofy nonsense just happens to distil the finest styles of rap created in the…

Young Fathers - Sneaky Pete’s, Edinburgh, Fri 02 Dec 2011

Thought-out moves allowing for improvisation and spontaneity

13 Dec 2011

It was a night full of surprises. First off, early-comers were treated to a plate of chicken and rice, homemade by Young Father’s member Alloysious Massaquoi. As Jamaican street-party videos projected onto the screen and deep dancehall pumped through…

DJ Shadow - O2 ABC, Glasgow, Mon 5 Dec

Stunning live show continues to break new ground

9 Dec 2011

For innovation and impact, genre-mashing LA turntablist DJ Shadow, aka Josh Davis, has never bettered his entirely samples-based 1996 debut Endtroducing... But his visually stunning live shows continue to break new ground, and prove DJ sets can be just…

The chart-topping ‘Read All About It’ rapper Professor Green - interview

16 Nov 2011

First record you ever bought The ‘Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini’ 7”. And what!? Last extravagant purchase you made A Balenciaga jacket. First film you saw that really moved you E.T. Last lie you told I’ve never lied.

Young Fathers, Liquid Room, Tue 13 Sep

Joyless hip hop show at odds with club setting

19 Sep 2011

Club night Zzzap! is squarely aimed at the fun-loving, party-hearty student crowd: there’s a booty-shaking combo of house and techno music, an easygoing atmosphere on both the dancefloor and the smoking terrace out back, and a name spelt with three Zs…

Example

Picture House, Edinburgh, Mon 15 Aug 2011

24 Aug 2011

As Mike Skinner’s sometime protégé it’s easy to pigeonhole London rapper Elliot Gleave as the new bearer of the crown soon to be abandoned by The Streets. Yet what he does is subtly different – where both men are outright crowd pleasers, Skinner’s…

Review - T in the Park 2011

All the rain, mud and rock action from Scotland's biggest music festival

8 Aug 2011

Saturday Ke$ha proves trashy entertainment with a set that refuses to take itself seriously. A party up glam stomp though a series of electro pop hits that while low on art is high on glitter and cheap thrills (and inexplicably includes a six-foot…

Wu Tang Clan - Legendary Weapons

New album from RZA, Ghostface Killa et al - or disappointingly not, as the case may be

21 Jul 2011

(E1) Were this legendary NYC rap crew’s identity not fragmented enough between their myriad solo albums and side-projects, there’s now apparently no such thing as a full Wu Tang Clan album anymore either. Legendary Weapons is the first ‘official’ Wu…

Hugh's Jukebox is Coming to Glasgow

30 Jun 2011

In the spirit of festival season, Tennent's is tomorrow rolling out some Friday fun as Hugh's Jukebox - named after the lager legend himself Hugh Tennent - will be touring various locations in Glasgow to mark the 1 week countdown to T in the Park 2011.

Ms Dynamite, Yasmin, Niki & The Dove announced for RockNess 2011

Yet more names join this year’s bill

31 May 2011

Garage MC Ms Dynamite who recently collaborated with both Katy B and Magnetic Man (who also appear at this year’s RockNess) leads the latest additions to the line-up. Joining her is female British rapper Yasmin, Highland singer-songwriter James…

Beyoncé added to T in the Park 2011 line-up

The global pop star joins an already impressive bill at Scottish festival

5 May 2011

Pop sensation Beyoncé has been added to the T in the Park bill, which is taking place at Balado from 8–10 July. She will join a host of acts such as Foo Fighters, Coldplay, Arctic Monkeys and many more. Beyoncé is now one of the best-selling artists…

Kobi Onyame - Green Green Grasses

Ghanaian-Glaswegian rapper presents rought and ready album brimming with Scottish underground guests

25 Apr 2011

(iTunes) Formerly known as Jae P, Ghanaian-Scots rapper Kwame Barfour-Osei has returned here with a debut album under his new name which demonstrates ability as a vocalist and a songwriter, and real skill as a producer. Featuring a bunch of guest…

Laidback Luke, Derrick Carter, Andrew Weatherall, Beardyman, Nero and many more join 2011’s RockNess line-up

7 Apr 2011

Tons and tons of new names have been announced for this year’s RockNess. Laidback Luke, The Japanese Popstars, The Boxer Rebellion, Morning Parade, Twilight Sad, Nero, Skrillex, Beardyman, Sub Focus (live), Sons & Daughters, Broken Records, Chapel Club…

Jay-Z's early lyrics a 'cry for help'

Music Gossip

1 Mar 2011

Jay-Z's early lyrics were a "cry for help". The 'Dirt Off Your Shoulder' hitmaker explained how his first raps were "defiant" in their message and designed to bring attention to his poor background and violent neighbourhood, the tough Marcy Projects…