Dizzee’s new video for “Flex” is finished and you can watch it here. The single drops November 19th on XL recordings. Course, you probably already have it on Maths & English.
Also, Dizzee gets flexed and stretched for the Supersonic Speed Trials - check his track style! “Sirens” was apparently just a warm up… ([More →])

I am totally hooked on Dubplate Drama… So I’ve collected as many episodes as I could find online in order to get you lot hooked as well! The show is revolutionary as far as television goes because it incorporates audience interaction into the entire story. It’s basically a “Choose Your Own Adventure” for television. I see a lot more tv shows going this route, especially with the possibilities in online media and the current writers’ strike. I loved Choose Your Own Adventure books when I was younger, so this makes me very happy indeed! The series is all about grime music and presents some tuff times trying to raise up in the UK music scene. Portraying some of the realities of urban UK life is itself pretty unusual for television. The stories are loosely based on MC Shystie’s real-life experiences, with some exaggerations (to make the series work) and with the audience choices shaping the plot. A lot of peeps are saying that this is the first time real life in Britain’s inner cities has been properly represented on tv. So, if you want to feel good about how easy you have it in life, this show might do the trick.

So check it - the new Dubplate Drama page on HearingTest

Roll Deep - with Wiley at the helm - have been dropping fresh riddims and videos this month. They released the vid for “Racist People” as well as the mp3, and performed on Tim Westwood’s BBC radio show recently - without making him look like an ass! You can listen to 4 brand new tracks on the Roll Deep my$pace and you can download “Racist People” there too. Roll Deep are recording on Eskibeat, Wiley’s record label, and Wiley is still spittin smoothness on the new tunes. They’ll be rolling out a new album in 2008, but these tracks aren’t even part of that project. ([More →])

Ska punk meets grime in the underground. Lethal Bizzle joins Gallows for their cover of The Ruts’ “Staring at the Rude Boys.” Check the new video here: ([More →])

Roll Deep’s new tune “Racist People”:

Available for download on the Roll Deep my$pace.

Maybe it’s coincidence that “Brooklyn Anthem” hasn’t left my turntable for the last week (except of course to occasionally flip it over and play “BK Assassin”) but this week we’ve been getting a swarm of news from the Team Shadetek front. I’ve seen pieces of the story on FADER, Reggae Country and other music blogs, and even I have been covering new developments at my “day job.” But it wasn’t until Matt Shadetek emailed me recently that I saw the full picture. Now that I see what the buzz is about, I am excited to share it with you! Shadetek has been at the forefront and in the middle of the best new music coming out of the Brooklyn dancehall scene. It’s urban and electrified. It gets bass bins pumpin and booties jumpin from Jamaica to NYC to SF to London. Matt Shadetek has been building a name for himself for many years now, but in 2007 he’s come like a storm with a killer single 12″ release, smokin dublate specials, and collaborations with other fantastic producers that just ooze talent and originality. There have been various reports of this storm and its effects on different communities. I’ve gathered some of the stories and present them for you here. The first major impact came when “Brooklyn Anthem” hit the streets… ([More →])

Dizzee Rascal is gettin ready to drop the newest single off Maths + English. The old-school garage tinged “Flex” will hit the streets on 9 November while Dizzee is in the midst of a UK tour. The Boy In Da Corner also took home the MOBO Best UK Male award this year. ([More →])

RWD Mag reports today that Wiley is about to release 2 more singles off of Playtime Is Over from Wiley and Big Dada: “No Qualms” and “Baby Girl”… ([More →])

It’s Big Dada’s 10 year anniversary and it’s time to celebrate! UK’s best label for hip hop and grime is having a party and releasing a historic double CD compilation plus a DVD documenting a decade of music. ([More →])

I just listened to the archive of the Mary Anne Hobbs show on BBC Radio 1 from last Thursday. It features a beautiful mix of exclusive tunes by Murcof. If you enjoy beautiful atmospheric electronica, definitely give this mix a listen. It will be available as streaming audio until the new show goes up late Thursday night/early Friday morning this week.

Mary Anne Hobbs page on BBC Radio 1

The show also includes plenty of other killer tunes by Terror Danjah & Durrty Goodz, Headhunter, Bola, Bob Marley and more. Tracklist for the entire show is also on that page.

DJ Geeneus comes up regularly on HearingTest, most recently when we reported the FWD + Rinse party being held in London. Geeneus is “station boss” at RinseFM and he put together the Rinse 01 compilation album that was launched at the FWD + Rinse event. Recently FACT Magazine had a chance to talk with Geeneus about dubstep, grime, the Rinse mixtape series and whole lot more. Anyone interested in UK electronica, Wiley, Logan Sama, grime and whatnot will enjoy hearing what Geeneus discusses. Find it on FACT Mag.

Just when you start to wear out one grime album from playing it too much, another wicked album hits the streets. My fave this year has definitely been Wiley’s Playtime Is Over, released on Big Dada, and I’m definitely not tired of the album yet. However, I have been wishing that there were another eski-album close to this caliber to add to the rotation. I wasn’t the only one thinking this, because here comes another excellent grime record. UK DJ and grime-afficionado Logan Sama has compiled a “Best Of” collection from the Tunnel Vision mixtape series onto a 2 disc set. The album is called EskiBoy the best of TUNNEL VISION compiled by Logan Sama and it features the best tracks from volumes 1-5 of the Tunnel Vision mixtape series. The double disc album will be available on September 17th - the same day that Skepta’s full-length album comes out, coincidentally. So the 17th is the BIG DAY, when we get TWO excellent eski-beat records in one day! ([More →])

East London grime MC - Kano - is getting ready to drop his newest album London Town while it’s first single, “This Is The Girl” is already blazing up charts and airwaves. London Town is Kano’s second major release, and in addition to a standard CD, there will also be a limited edition CD/DVD with all kinds of collectible goodies. The CD/DVD package will include the video for “This Is The Girl,” an interview with Kano, and video of him in the studio with Craig David, who is featured on “This Is The Girl.” He will embark on a UK tour later this month in support of the new release, just after he competes with Wiley, Dizzee and Lethal B for a MOBO award. ([More →])

I love the way M.I.A. seamlessly combines everything that is hot and bumpin from Jamaican dancehall, UK grime, and her own quirky, femininity. I’m also a big fan of her tunes getting remixed with a UK/Jamaican flavour that spices up an already sizzlin sound! This new remix of M.I.A.’s “Boyz” featuring Akon and Rock City is a prime example - it takes her song which is already PURE FIYAH and adds a luscious male patois to show the Boyz how to be Men. ([More →])

From all I have read on the web and in glossy magazines, few are able to decipher a complicated music subject and share it with the masses better than Martin Clark. Clark writes “The Month In:…” features for pitchf*#k, and I need to find out where else he gets published because I learn so much from each of his installments. I’ve mentioned his column before, usually in reference to grime, but I’ve never really drawn attention to the man and his writing abilities. I just wanted to point this out to you because I know some of you love to read and write about music yourselves. That, plus Clark’s gone and done it again - he’s written a fantastic article about what’s happening right now in dubstep and grime, how the music is beginning to draw from its rich cultural history, and how this will bode for the future. He weaves short stories together about the different musicians making moves right now, with commentary on the fresh and upcoming albums. He describes the hardships of urban youth in the UK and ties it into the music’s lineage, rooted in the UK Jamaican diaspora. ([More →])