ZIF Video Of The Week: Mele x Kano x Ghetts – Beamer (RMX) | The Co-Sign

If you’re a music scout who peruses the minor leagues look no further than 19 year old producer Mele, one of the UK’s hottest prospects. Currently based in Liverpool, he was recruited by Redbull Academy London to remix his track “Beamer” on camera for the latest episode of SoulCulture TV’s ongoing series: The Co-Sign. Teaming up with a couple of London’s finest lyricists, Kano and Ghetts, this project produced a respectable remix of a massive tune, you can peep the original here. Combined with some dope editing work by Soul Culture, this is a stand alone video worthy of sharing, we co-sign this Co-Sign.

Birthday Wishes To The Grime King

The UK is typically a few steps behind when it comes to hip hop. Can you blame them, much like West Coast rap during the early 90′s, it looks at NYC for inspiration, the effect is somewhat watered down. However, when it comes to the sound formerly known as “grime” that has evolved much like hip hop has recently in the U.S. into a hybrid sound encompassing anything from heavy dubstep bass lines to melodies usually attributed to indie pop, one can say they are en par like their golfers. Kano was at one point the only artist worth following in the UK  ”hip hop” scene, and really that came with an asterix on account of his grime roots. Clearly that is not the case anymore, plenty of acts out of England right now, however, Kano is still dishing out damage in the vanguard.

He turned 27 years old today, mighty young for a guy charged with holding the Grime/hip hop/ whatever you want to call it flag for the UK. He drops a new track titled “Wavy” produced by Newham General’s Footsie on DJ Logan Sama’s show tonight, if it’s anything like their last leak (above) it’s worth tuning in,  I say mind your P’s & Q’s.

ZIF Video OF The Week: Kano performing “Get Wild” Live

Kano – Get Wild (Live at Carnival) HD

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I’m trying to get myself back on the Kano interview search. If somebody can hook this interview up, I’ll trade you some indie rapper interviews or maybe even a dancehall great. Here’s hoping he didn’t read that criticism we levied way back when, trigger happy we were. I like you Kano. Promise.

New Kano [Album Art + Tour Dates]

The daily grime. Well, Kano is dropping a new album, gave us a little look at his album art today. The album is titled “Method to the Madness”, and will be his 4th studio album. It will be his 2nd album with Bigger Picture Music, his first two (which were doper than his 3rd) were on 679 Recordings, where The Streets be. I have a feeling that the album title is a reference to people like me who questioned the change in labels and steez in general.

Meh, it’s not my pot, I don’t get to eat out of it. Do you Kano! But, know this, Skepta is the reason people over 25 still listen to Grime.

Click the jump for upcoming Kano tour dates. Don’t get too excited, they’re all in England.

Kano and Aidonia Get Wild. Grime, Jamaica Styles.

Recorded across 3 different capital cities – London, Berlin and Kingston – and mixed in New York, “Get Wild” sees Kano joined by Jamaican dancehall star Aidonia and maverick talent Wiley. Ripping it up back to back, the trio concoct a head-spinning whirlwind of rapid-fire lyrics. Berlin-based producer Boyz Noise, whose other recent credits include production for the new Kelis LP, crafts “Get Wild”’s compelling and boisterously banging beat.

Westwood dropped this track on on UK radio, and it’s quickly becoming an “it” track, most likely to get remixed to shit, and the Germans may actually hear it in 2010, you know, cuz they’re usually 18-24 months behind of anything hot. Aidonia is a dope artist, shout out to VP Records, getting their artists in.

Kano – “Get Wild” ft Aidonia & Wiley

Kano Spitting that Kiefer Sutherland Flow

The way Kano has been hustling around lately, you’d think somebody told him he was falling off. On the contrary, his recent marketing efforts have paid off here in the U.S., it’s near impossible to escape a KA-NO reference in my personal blogosphere. He seems to have firmly secured the coveted position of the most marketable emcee outside of the United States. With his 4th studio album ‘Method to the Maadness’ coming out this summer, Kano wanted to assure that the hype continues, and left us a little present about a week ago on our proverbial doorstep. The Jack Bauer mixtape was recorded in 7 days and is a collection of mainstream beats, primarily from the U.S. rap game. Kano seems more than at home on these beats, and continues to make a strong case for a major U.S. record deal. Not sure how Jay hasn’t signed him to Roc Nation yet, but if somebody doesn’t, I’m going to get my savings together* and make a run at KA myself!

You Are Young

Track Burglar

Chip Roll, Sausage in Batter

* may involve knocking over a 7-11 and/or liquor store or two

Slow week in Rap. What’s Kano doing?

Kano – A Glance At The Life

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It has been an abdominally slow week in the U.S. rap game, along with other peripheral genres. So I took a gander over the Atlantic, spotted my man Kano, getting his Rock-N-Rolla on…

Vintage Is Best

Perhaps in a reference to bloggers like us talking about the superiority of vintage Kano over contemporary Kano, Kano drops a message about our propensity to say “he used to be the shit.” Message received and currently being processed. I do admire the line Kano drops about people pestering him about older material:

“why don’t you flow like P’s & Q’s?” Answer? “Because I make P’s and no longer sell Q’s!”

So basically if it’s not your old shit, you will at least continue to rhyme about your old shit?

Kano – NWMOS (Niggas Want My Old Shit)

Lethal Reality?

I’ve made a horrifying realization about my dismissal of UK rap and more pertinently, UK grime artists. I was under the impression that they had forged a pact amongst themselves, acknowledging that U.S. hip hop was the true basis of their movement. Regardless of their transplanted Caribbean roots or East London parochialism, the basis was rap music, American music. Essentially, I thought cats like Dizzee, Wiley, Kano and yes, Lethal Bizzle were just the London counterparts to NYC MC’s. Watered down a little they may have been, but these guys were also bringing an alternative perspective, for lack of a better word, a ‘European’ one. So when I listen to this new Lethal Bizzle album, and indulge into his fantasy a little, I’m highly tempted to hate. There’s simply nothing ‘hard’ about it. At least not in Noah Webster’s sense of the word, who knows about Oxford?

I perused this album quicker than a hummingbird busts a nut, but here’s a few tracks to peep before we push forward with this critical analysis.

Lethal B – Money Power Respect Fame (Prod. by Dexplicit)*

Lethal B – Crazy Nightmare ft. 2Face (Prod. by 2Face)

Yes, I am aware that we could stop right here and engage in quantified discourse about the merit of this new Lethal Bizzle LP. It would likely end as a short and sweet judgement, a simple waving of the hand, not worth the download or the 60 minutes. But I promise you 3 things after the jump.

1. A video of Lethal B appearing extremely gay (literally) with a clay pigeon expert
2. The original “Pow” video (Lethal Bizzle’s biggest tune to date)
3. My take on Lethal B, specifically, my reassessment/flip flopping on my original dismissive position of contemporary Grime artists

Kano struggles to pull off poor mans Weezy

MPFREE: Kano – Rock N Roller (Promo CD) 2009

Between the uni-lens and the piss poor auto-tune, Kano has lucidly demonstrated his desire to become the UK version of Lil Wayne. At one point Kano was looked at as a stand alone example of the compatible relationship between grime and UK interpretative hip hop. Kano’s strength has always been his subtle manner of emulating and putting his own twist on the U.S. gangster rapper persona. Unfortunately his latest caricature, this time of Weezy, is by no means unique or compelling. The track/video lies flat in every imaginable way, and leaves an old Kano fan disappointed that he is no longer on his P’s and Q’s.

MPFREE: Kano Ft Lethal Bizzle, Demon, and Ghetto – Ps & Qs Remix 2004

Now that’s a grime track!

I’ve been hating on recent grime music. The Prince of Grime say’s fuck it all. A new track by Kano “Death of Everything” is another good installment in what appears to be a trend. That is, hot U.S. hip hop tracks being remixed at a serious level by big time UK music players. I look at it a lot like World War 2. The British were in heaps of trouble until the Americans came along with the heavy artillery. See the British are brave and all, they just lack resources, and maybe a little grime.

MPFREE: Kano 48 Bars (2008)

“Status” of Kano? Chase(ing) paper!

With the rise of American Dubstep, the unwillingness for D&B to end, and the persistent ability for rap to reinvent itself, UK Grime finds itself in a very fragile position. Those that aren’t aware should know that Grime is a genre of music that incorporated UK hip hop culture with UK Garage or UKG production. Grime has featured mainly artists hailing from East London, and include the likes of Wiley, Dizzee Rascal, Tinchy Stryder and the self proclaimed prince of UK Grime; KANO. Check his latest contribution with power duo Chase & Status. 

 

Kano has always distinguished himself within the London Grime boys by translating US hip hop effectively into the UK Garage culture. Kano understands the concept of thuggery, and how it has manifested itself in Gangsta Rap here in the U.S. That is what I find disheartining with this latest colloboration with Chase & Status, the overall lightheartedness of the track; there’s really nothing thug about it. In fact, even though Chase and Status are powerhouse Dubstep producers, there’s really nothing Dubstep about it either. And it’s certainly not grimey, nothing like the stuff that got Kano here, back when he use to mind his P’s & Q’s .

A gangster banger isn’t it? That’s the thing with this recession and its effect on the music industry. Everything has dried up; the income streams have thinned, and artists have had to get “creative.” In the case of Grime artists, it appears as though instead of continuing to carve out their piece of this music industry pie, they’ve been carved out of the meal altogether. In order to eat, these artists are going to have to find another dinner invite, and in Kano’s case he took one from Chase & Status, and so would you!

Kano dropped an album recently titled “140 Grime St” A lot of the tracks on it exemplify the point I’m trying to make that Grime is dead. It’s a shame, but the point is, artists are still being creative, and in the case of Kano, still worth investing your time and money.

Catch Kano’s thoughts on his blog (though he appears to be a lazy blogger) @ Kano’s blog

MPFREEE: Kano – 140 Grime ST