Image: Matt Barnes

The ‘Picture Man’, as he’s been known, may not be widely recognised outside of North America but the prolific photo-documentarian has a compelling story indeed. In Seconds to My Life, his fourth book published by Powerhouse Books, Jamel recaps his life in what has been labelled by some as ‘a visual diary that spans 27 years’. Born in Brooklyn, New York, Jamel says, ‘It was a life-changing experience for me when I picked up the camera at age 15.’ He has since captured the essence of urban American culture through three generations. His grainy black-and-white prints bare witness to the emergence of hip-hop culture (‘Back in the Days’), the atrocities of crack cocaine (‘A Time Before Crack’) and youth violence among African Americans, not to mention the more recent tragedies of 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina. As one would imagine, some of these experiences have left him with a somewhat jaded outlook on humanity.

Viewing his life’s work in the hipster-infested downtown district of Toronto’s Queen Street West makes it tough to grasp the sheer magnitude of the events he has captured through the lens of his Contax medium-format camera. Jamel, though, feels that, as a photographer, he has to show the reality.

Often times we don’t want to see the reality. We want to see things that look good. We want to pretend, often times, that it doesn’t exist – but I find it necessary to document the reality.

I document homelessness in America and war [in Iraq and Afghanistan]; we’re not talking enough about the war going on right now, so I find it necessary to use my art to do that, so I like to produce images that are thought provoking.’ It’s not all doom and gloom though. Jamel says of his inspirational work over the last 30 years, ‘It allows me to have gratitude for the ability to see. I’m grateful that I had vision and was able to capture these very deep moments in my life. It really moves me. One of the greatest joys for me today is to be able to share my vision with a broader audience.’ He hopes this will encourage others to document their own lives and ‘have respect for life and appreciation for it at the same time’.

Jamel has also gone to great lengths to change our perceptions of African-American people who, he believes, are being portrayed in a very negative light, something that pains him to see. ‘I realise these images are being transmitted around the world, formulating misconceptions, and it’s troubling you know. I’m faced with it as an African-American man, so I have a responsibility to show the positive, and the reality.

Image: Matt Barnes

Image: Matt Barnes

His grainy black-and-white prints bare witness to the emergence of hip-hop culture (‘Back in the Days’), the atrocities of crack cocaine (‘A Time Before Crack’) and youth violence amongst African Americans…

In his attempts to actively change the tragic cycle that plagues many inner-city kids, Jamel is working tirelessly with the youth. His most recent project was in conjunction with Project Positivity. This saw him spending a week in Canada, mentoring and sharing stories with 20 kids from Toronto’s urban neighborhoods. What he imparted was his passion for photography, not to mention his work with Manifesto and Project Remix (Torontonianvolunteer/community-based organisations that centre around music, arts and culture). These projects help empower young people with the camera, giving them career options in photography and helping them to boost their self-esteem, while giving back to their communities. This is something Jamel refers to as ‘passing the torch’. As the conversation nears an end, it’s clear that Jamel’s vision, guidance and mentorship will eventually drive home the message of positivity; photography is merely a medium with which to convey that message. Proof, perhaps, that Jamel Shabazz deserves a much larger audience.

www.jamelshabazz.com

Image: Matt Barnes

Image: Matt Barnes

Image: Matt Barnes

Part 2

Click here to view our #FlashBack selection for September.

The iconic adidas Originals Superstar shoe has forged its way through history. From its humble beginnings as highly technical performance footwear designed for basketball courts, to integrating into the hip-hop scene in the ’80s, to various innovations and collaborations, it has always maintained its integrity! In 2015 adidas Originals begins its homage to the shoe that started a movement, with The Superstar Vintage Deluxe.

Even though the Superstar’s quintessential design has its roots in sportswear, the timeless silhouette has broken those boundaries and goes beyond the constant flux of fashion trends. The connections between skateboarding culture, hip-hop, fashion and prominent figures have been prevalent throughout the history of adidas Originals Superstar. Starting with Run-DMC’s endorsement deal with adidas in 1986, which included the track ‘My adidas’ on their bestselling Raising Hell LP. A tune that set the tone for future relationships in the entertainment industry.

And then in the late ’80s, Mark Gonzales signed with the adidas skate team, which legitimized the relationship between skate culture and adidas forever. In 2004 adidas Originals Superstar celebrated their 35th Anniversary with the #SS35 campaign, consisting of 35 collaborative shoes. The final product was the #35 model, which was handmade entirely from the most luxurious leather, right down to the shelltoe and even the outsole! The masterpiece was presented in a large white case adorned with gold-plated hardware and a matching cleaning kit. The few reproductions of the shoe have become collectors’ items, which initiated the inspiration for the following decade of sneaker culture.

Even though adidas Originals Superstar has maintained its authenticity and class, the 21st century environment that we live in has changed the meaning of what it means to be a true superstar. Today, people regard stardom as being referred to by your first name, having fans who are interested in what you eat for breakfast, and how many ‘Likes’ or followers you have. But, for David Beckham, ‘It’s not about trying to be the next big thing.’ Nor is it ‘about having your name on a flag or a jersey’ – pro-basketball player Damian Lillard.

In the short film from adidas Originals called adidas Originals | #OriginalSuperstar, directed by Karim Huu Do, the star-studded cast decree that they are not superstars – turning the 21st century’s concept of what ‘superstar’ means on it’s head. And that’s exactly what the launch of adidas Originals Superstar is all about. When David Beckham started out, all he wanted was to be the best football player he could be, and Pharrell had a compelling need to create music. Fame was just a by-product of their originality, hard work and dedication!

For the adidas Originals Superstar Launch 2015, the message leaves no room for misinterpretation: being a true superstar is being original and having the courage to create without external validation. With your pair of adidas Originals Superstar’s, laced up or down and placing you firmly on the ground, you can be the #originalsuperstar you were born to be!

Relevant Links:
Website: http://www.adidas.co.za/originalsuperstar
Twitter: hashtag #originalsuperstar Follow @adidasZA
Instagram: adidasza

 
So you grew up in Ghana; could you tell us a bit about your first experiences with music, and how you ended up in the States?

My dad collected a whole lot of records in his travels, so we had a household full of music. That was a positive thing, because we got a chance to be exposed to a lot of very, very great soul music, jazz music, sometimes blues music. Those were really important for me growing up. Later down the line I got put onto hip-hop and that made the most sense to me as a young person growing up and looking for music that was more indicative of my own kind. That’s kind of where hip-hop came in. I got an opportunity to travel to the States for college, after I completed high school, and because making music was something I always wanted to do, I continued doing so even through college and after I graduated. I have been making music full-time ever since.

How was it adapting to that culture of hip-hop in the States, where there is a much larger following, coming from Ghana where it was considerably smaller?

Oh yeah, well, it was never really that difficult bridging those gaps mainly because hip-hop has a very universal sound, it has a very universal vibe to it. So the elements that existed in American hip-hop, hip-hop in New York, were similar to the elements that existed in the hip-hop community in Ghana, or Accra. I mean some elements are pretty standard, you know, the camaraderie, the music, the vibe, everybody being fully into the culture. You know, those were the things that I was very hype about and very into. And so it was pretty much a continuation, the only thing that changed was the environment, everything else pretty much remained the same.
 

 

Your earliest influences were Public Enemy, Rakim and other afrocentric rappers of the ’90s. Now Chuck D is giving you shout-outs on your new album Native Sun and you’re doing shows with The Roots, Mos Def and Talib Kweli. How does it feel to be at this point of your musical journey?

It’s an amazing change for anybody who is a fan and really just gets into it to be a fan and just to enjoy the culture. To be at a level where I’m actually either recognised by my idols as people who I grew up listening to or, you know, recognised by my peers, I think that’s an amazing thing. I mean I always hoped for great things getting into the culture, but I never really anticipated being somebody at the cusp of creating something new that is inspired by the culture.”

You moved to the U.S. a decade ago, yet your music sounds closer to home than ever. Tell us what it means to be ‘The Ambassador’ and how that influences your music?

For a long time I was away from home and like most immigrants my main goal was to try to fit into the circle that I was in, the culture that I was in, and the environment. So it wasn’t really about having elements that stand out as an individual, but it was really about trying to fit in. However, as years went by I realised that I was missing a piece of me and that piece was back home. And my attempts to bridge those gaps and attempts to bridge those worlds that I’m a part of, that’s inspired the birth of Native Sun… So that’s just really a part of me that has a lot of nostalgia, but also a lot of hope for the future, in being able to bridge the worlds that I’m thoroughly invested in and am a part of.

Will we hear any content coming out of the recent uprisings which swept through Africa, for example in Libya and Egypt? Have you got any take on that musically?

Yeah absolutely! You know what I mean; my music is always a reflection of hope to bridge gaps. To, how do I call it? Um… to further speak on the environments that exist, be it here in America or be it on the continent (African). So obviously I’m always keeping an ear out for what’s happening back home. I’m really trying to find a way to put it together so it’s on a level where it can be understood by the masses. I feel like it’s really difficult for the people to filter through the news that they hear. It’s difficult for them to identify with the news that they hear when it comes from major news outlets, it’s a lot of jargon that a lot of people don’t understand, whether it is people from the continent or people away from the continent. So my goal has always been to keep my ear to the street and find a way to re-process the news and be a ‘documentarian’ of sorts. So yes, I’m greatly influenced by all revolutions, especially the ones that are happening on the continent, be it South, North, ya know, East, West I’m always paying attention. I’ve had a lot of conversations with people from Egypt, people from Morocco, you know, just the northern part, and how all these changes are affecting their lives and it’s obviously going to play a part in the future work that I do.

You have a 6-piece band, Embassy Ensemble, which is uncommon in today’s hiphop. Can you explain some of the refreshing African sounds they blend together?

My goal has always been to find ways of expanding hip-hop culture and I felt the best and easiest way to do so is to have musical flexibility. Hip-hop comes from a very sampled background and I realised quickly that that always restricts your ability to evolve the culture. You’re pretty much stuck in the 8-bar loop. The second thing was being able to perform live to multiple audiences who may not be up on either hip-hop, jazz or African music. Just a large audience. Having a band really helps me be able to communicate across musical lines. My goal is to try to put together the best live show possible and that’s just not possible without the Embassy.

On tracks like ‘Accra City Blues’, if we haven’t been told that’s Blitz, at first you wouldn’t even know that the song is a hip-hop track, but when you come in it all fits together. Is that a very intentional thing?

It definitely is planned, for me my major goal was to, on Native Sun and just in my career in general, has been trying to find a real great intersection point where hip-hop music meets African music and I choose to call that ‘afrohop’, a sound that is neither straight African music and neither hip-hop. It’s kind of a melting pot and that’s where I draw a lot of inspiration from to create the records. I mean, when I say ‘the African sound’ I mean it in a very broad sense because I recognise that the African sound is not just from the African continent.

It’s a very wide Diaspora, be it coming from afro-Brazilian music, afro-Carribean music, afro-European music, afro-Asian music, there’s a very wide scope. And so ‘afrohop’ – as a sound itself – is something that is meant to bridge this gap further and to make it one thing, because it truly is one thing at the end of the day; hip-hop music and traditional African music even if it has obviously evolved in two different places. So Native Sun was a great opportunity. Songs like ‘Wahala’, ‘Accra City Blues’, ‘Akwaaba’, they are as Pete Rock and DJ Premier as they are Fela (Kuti), Ebo Taylor, Miriam Makeba or Hugh Masekela.

What about hip-hop are you trying to preserve or change?

I mean (laughs), that’s such a difficult question. Ummm… you know, I don’t create hip-hop music thinking about preserving or discarding, I think about evolving the art and that’s really my main goal. There are obviously elements that I use more than other elements, because really in trying to evolve the art. My goal has really been to go into the centre of the art and what makes hip-hop central is the sample base, the ability to get to the point in the cleverest way as possible lyrically. And those are pieces that make hi-phop what it is: unique. The beat is really unique, I don’t think of many other art forms that have the beat structure of just a loop, 8-bar, 4-bar that just knocks, you know! These are pieces of the culture that are central.

Obviously a lot of different things have evolved around the culture that make it different from the root of where it started, but I return to the root because in trying to evolve the art I couldn’t take it from circa 2005 or circa 2011 – I have to go to the late ’70s, early ’80s, the earliest records, the early Rakim’s, the early PE’s (Public Enemy), those are the sounds that, to me, were my first introductions to the art and where I base it from. It’s easier for me to evolve the art from that perspective. The same with highlife music, with afrobeat music, there are modern styles of this music now, but I wouldn’t start from the modern highlife even though I appreciate it all, but it wouldn’t make a lot of sense to me to take it from there. I’ll have to return back to the early ’60s, early ’50s, the sound that was coming out of Ghana at the time. So it’s easier to create a new sound when you go down to the root rather than taking it from its current manifestation.

What does it mean to you to live hiphop?

Blitz: Well, it’s everything. Hiphop has been one means of communicating with the world for a long time. Through understanding what was happening around the world, through understanding what was happening in my own world. I was able to rationalise, I was able to communicate. I learnt to speak fluent English listening to hphop records. It’s funny I was riding with my road manager, he’s German, he was telling me how he evaluates his English based on how many words he can understand in a hiphop record. Say ten years ago he could understand 5-10 words in a hiphop song, now you can not only rhyme all these words but you can understand them as well. People don’t realise, where there’s most people growing up outside of America and outside of the culture where English is spoken fluently on an everyday basis, hiphop ends up being a big tool in learning culture, in learning language and learning how to express yourself. So hiphop means everything to me, it has taken me around the world, but I don’t stop there because I know that it’s an evolving art. So my goal is to try to figure out what I can bring to it, not only what I can take from it.
Blitz The Ambassador- Stereotype

What comes first: the music or the message? I mean, if you were in a different situation where you could still make the same type of sound, but you were constrained about the sort of lyrical content. Would you still be doing what you’re doing?

Their is no message without the music and there’s music without the message. As much as I don’t think every music, every sound should have a moral story i feel that it is very necessary to the culture. Specifically for the kind of artist that I am. I will not be making music if it wasn’t about trying to get my point across, because then it’s very shallow and means nothing. So I mean to answer your question: it’s no!

The day that I have nothing to talk about and the day that I have nothing to try to pass onto the world, that’s the day that I find a desk job, because that’s pretty much what that is. So I’m very cognisant about that and I’ve made a lot of tough decisions as far as my career is concerned, to make sure that I’m always in a position where I can speak what I feel because without that I have nothing you know, and that’s what attraected me to hiphop, that’s what has attracted me to making music and that’s what attracted me to travel the world. As difficult of a career as it is, it’s pointless if I can’t get my point across.

With the plethora of African hiphop artists coming up, do you think Africans will begin to forge our own definitive style of what hiphop is? Or is it not even about being in a well-defined box?

You know, that’s a very interesting question. I mean, it’s about definition. We live in a world full of definitions and it’s very difficult to create anything that is ambiguous and doesn’t have a well-defined idea. Because unfortunately we live in full of stereotypes and we live in a world full of assumptions. My hope is that African artists find a way to, number one, collaborate more. Number two, form movements, whatever the movements are it’s fine. Like I’m not one of those people who go ‘if you name something then it becomes….’ If you give birth to a child, man, you not just gonna let this child walk the earth with no name. What you gonna do is you’re gonna make sure it’s called a name and it’s name has a meaning and the meaning doesn’t have to be understood by anybody at all. As long as it’s understood by the child. That’s how I feel about the style that African artists are creating. We have to start figuring out ways to define our own sounds, brand our own sound, promote our own sound as our sound. Not as something that is described for us by magazines and by corporations. That’s why it’s always been difficult. You think about subgenres like afrobeat, neo-soul, dubstep, hipster rap, these are all things that you may look at and may have said, ‘man, why box it in?’,but the reality is that it creates identity and as long as the artists- I have no issue with branding the definition- as long as its coming from the right place and it’s coming from the artists.

Artists are free to call whatever they do whatever they feel because it’s coming from a place of integrity and I support that. It’s always dangerous when corporations, major labels, indie labels, magazines, whatever start to kind of create an idea that doesn’t come from a partnership with the artists, because when that ends up happening you end up creating a world that is doomed to fail because it’s not coming from the right place. So my hope is that African artists step up and define what they do, build it, brand it, collaborate more, become movement oriented because any sound you can think about, the reason why it has thrived over the years is because it is movement oriented. If you think about southern rap- it’s movement oriented. If you think about rock- it’s always movement oriented. Neo-soul, whatever you want to think….and so we have to figure out a way that not only those living outside of the continent can benefit but those living inside of the continent can benefit from the global idea of what our sound is.

Talking about this movement, is it happening already? Or on the flipside who are you looking at coming out of Africa that’s kind of big?

Absolutely. I mean it’s both. I feel like what I do outside, I’m in France touring right now and whatever I’m doing for African hiphop, Afrohop, whatever you may call it, it’s two-fold. It does a lot not only for ex-pats living around, but it also does a lot for folks living back at home. Because they can look at that, promoters can look at that, they may say, ‘Ok. Wonderful. How about instead of getting Blitz from the States now let’s get guys from Accra, let’s get guys from Lagos, you know what I mean. And that’s more important if you’re thinking about it as a movement. So I think that however these collaborations are happening. Whether it be in the States- which I’ve seen a few collaborations like that, you know whenever your Nneka is in town, whenever K’naan’s in town, whenever Baloji, whose a guy I found out about and helped get to the States and vice-versa.

Wherever those things are happening they have to be positive and not just something that’s a by-product of… . If you look at the continent, I mean, we having awards like Channel O, MTV Base, the Kora awards. These things are bringing younger artists together from various points of the continent. So now we getting collaborations between South African artists and, for instance, Nigerian artists and vice-versa. So that’s all positive, but we still have to finally make it into something that it can be a global phenom because there are a lot of mouths that can be fed doing it and there’s a lot of points of views that can be gotten across from around the world coming from cats, whether they’re living on the continent or outside the continent.

How do you see the face of music changing with regards to music labels and the role they play now because of programs such as Soundcloud or MySpace?

Oh man, I mean that label structure has dissolved to where it should have been a long time. When lawyers are making decisions for musicians, when label execs are making decisions for musicians I think art suffers. The art suffered for a very long time. I think what we’re getting back to is a kind of meritocracy which i can respect, where based on the ability of an artist as a performer, as a recording artist, they have an audience and those are the strengths that i have always respected in the culture. There was a time where, based on the kind of label that you were on, based on the kind of attorney you have, you may score a hit based on how much money they can pay the radio you can score a hit. I mean those things are still happening from time to time. It’s getting less and less dependable, less and less believable and I think it’s positive because it creates a democracy where the best artist wins. And I’m living proof of that opportunity where without having a label I have over 30 gigs in two months in Europe. And this is with no major label support, no hit on the radio. This is out of just sheer grind, sheer hard work, sheer energy to perform and record music and I think that’s very positive for the culture and for the industry. I think it really boils down to how much you care about your craft now.

The internet has totally democratised, some for the positive some for the negative. We still have a follower mentality that brews, but I also feel like your audience is readily accessible no matter the kind of music you make. I don’t even think necessarily about- if I’m not a fan of that kind of music I don’t even go on the blog, that person may have two million views, but that’s not my kind of music, you know, the kind of music I check for may have 20 000 views on YouTube, but that’s what I prefer and what I’ll check for. And at a certain point in the evolution of the music industry, those people with 20 000 views would not even have existed as artists, because there was no platform for them and their 20 000 fans. Now there is a platform for everybody to be heard and seen and i think that’s a very democratic way for talent, you know, the right people can get to the top and the not-so-great people fall into the back. It’s got a while to prove itself and a way to filter itself. Of course the flipside of that is the financial hardships that come along with music being downloaded for free and art pretty much being taken without paying for it and so on and so forth, but I feel it has also helped return us to the performing arts element of music, which most people started to forget about, because they were selling five million copies of an album and didn’t even need to tour. Now it’s impossible to do that without a real touring machine that gets you in front of your audience so there is no smoke and mirrors that you can hide behind anymore. So, you know, those are my feelings about the industry.
Native Sun – A short film by Blitz the Ambassador & Terence Nance

You’ve recently released a short film, also called Native Sun, does it come with the album?

No, it does not come with the CD. However, it is free to view on the internet.
How did that project come about and what was the concept behind it?

Well it was simple man. You know, after I was done with the album I recognised that I had a longing to have a visual component to the album because Africa, as a place, is very misconstrued by westerners. And any opportunity that I get to show Africa in all its complexities, visually, I take full opportunity to do that. And I had that opportunity when I was done with Native Sun the album. I came up with the concept for the short film, we went down there, I co-directed it with Terence Nance and the basic idea and concept behind it is basically this journey that we are all on, searching for something that sometimes may elude us, but our fate and destiny always stays with us. That’s kind of the story of most immigrants is, you may travel overseas looking for one thing, but your fate and destiny always takes and leads you somewhere that you may not even understand. I’m living proof of that, you know, I went there for college and ended up contributing to the culture of hiphop in ways that I never even dreamt of. That’s kind of what the basic idea of the film was.

It was best to look at the world through the eyes of a child. It was also our opportunity to show Ghana in all it’s complexity, it’s beauty, it’s ugliness, all the things that makes it what it is. So its not a one-dimensional viewpoint which is what you usually get when it comes to people documenting Africa in any way, whether through short film, full length or documentary. So that was my opportunity to take a camera down to Ghana and shoot it beautifully. I’m very proud of that work and to have also my music play a role in my visual element was also dope, so overall I’m really proud of that project.

When will you make a turn to SA?

Actually, funny you ask. I just got an opportunity to play in Jo’burg. It’s not till February of 2012, but I’m very excited about it. One thing that I’ve been trying to do is start a festival in Accra, Ghana, which I’m going to begin in October of this year. A music festival which will hopefully be a travelling thing and help push the afrohop sound, you know what I mean, as far as possible, and try include artists that are about something, about a message, about trying to push a new sound. I have opportunities to play in Kenya, Tanzania, South Africa and Ghana sometime next year. So I’m very excited about being able to bring the message home because I do recognise that out here people are privileged enough and they could care less about the message, they enjoy the music and that’s cool. However, back home I don’t think we have this privilege.

I think that the message is just as important as the music and if anybody needs the kind of music that we are creating it’s people on the continent of Africa, having an opportunity to hear sounds that aren’t just about party and bullshit, but about how to free themselves from some of the challenges that we have, be it corrupt leadership, be it civil strife, you know, all the challenges that are pretty consistent with where we’re from. I feel like only we can do that. So more than anything, I would like to bring my message home and that’s what I’ll be working towards. Trying to tour the continent as often as possible, bringing this sound, this message to people who really need it.

interview by Rob Cockcroft

The World of Dance Tour is the biggest street dance event on the globe with celebrity performances, razor-sharp choreography and breath-taking moves. The best dancers from around the world come together for an explosion of high-energy, adrenaline infused performances – an opportunity to represent in New York only comes around once in a lifetime, so take it.

Shield wants to send one DO:DANCE ambassador to New York for an experience unlike any other. Look out for our Roadshow, where you can battle it out on the dance floor and practice your moves. You could stand a chance to fly to New York for The World of Dance Tour. There’s also a share of R1 million in airtime and Musica vouchers up for grabs.

Check out some of the #DoDance Roadshow images, here!
 

South Africa Competition details:

– Grab your crew and visit a Shield DO:DANCE Roadshow near you! (Click HERE & scroll down for Roadshow info!)
– Buy Shield
– Dial *120*841*the last 4 digits of your barcode* and # TO ENTER!”

Important Links:

Web
Facebook
World of Dance Tour
 

image: todaysart.org

The Acid House: An acid trip and a bolt of lightning result in amiable schemie Coco Brice exchanging bodies with the baby of a middle class couple. (Wikipedia)

Your moniker, Coco Bryce, does that have anything to do with the character Coco Brice in Paul McGuigan film, The Acid House, which was adapted from Irvine Welsh’s short story collection?

Yup, that’s exactly where I got my name from.
 

 
On the Fremdtunes bio, it says you’re a ‘dadistic omnivore’. Naturally, we had to look up dadaism again.

Dadaism: A European artistic and literary movement (1916-1923) that flouted conventional aesthetic and cultural values by producing works marked by nonsense, travesty, and incongruity.

Right… What’s your take on ‘flouting conventional aesthetic and cultural values’ in terms of the work you produce? Would you say this is what you aim to do?

Well I hope my tunes don’t all come across as nonsense (laughs), though, funnily enough, I did actually make two tracks a little while ago which both had the word ‘travesty’ in their respective titles.

As far as an ‘aim’ goes, I don’t think I really have one, except for making tunes I like to play and listen to myself. I don’t set out to flout anything, it’s just that I’ve always listened to all kinds of music, never just one particular style, and I always end up making stuff that doesn’t fit 100% into a certain genre. Except for perhaps some of the bootleg crunk remixes and breakbeat rave stuff… those are pretty straight forward.

To be honest, I don’t really know why the Fremdtunes lot call me ‘Dadaistic’… I should probably give Rogier a call and tell him to stop talking shit about me on the Fremdtunes page (laughs).

You started DJing nearly 20 years ago. What was the scene like then and how did you get involved?

Back then I was mainly a hardcore and breakbeat DJ; I don’t really go to any hardcore parties anymore, so I couldn’t tell you the difference even if I wanted to. I do know, however, that by the time I stopped going to those kinds of nights, it was all starting to get a lot more racist, but that’s also a long time ago, so I don’t have a clue what it’s like right now.

The parties and festivals I play nowadays seem a lot more open to different kinds of styles. It seems like a lot of the kids today actually love to hear all kinds of stuff as opposed for example a straight-up drum ‘n bass set or non-stop hip-hop. You have to switch things up a bit, keep it interesting, which, needless to say, is exactly my cup of tea. But that’s just my experience you know. I bet there’s still tons of people that just want to hear techno 24/7, which is fine, just not my thing, I like some variety.

I started DJing because, well, I loved music. A couple of friends from school already had a set of turntables and the rest of us would just chill and hang out with them and take turns trying to mix records. I loved it right away, convinced my parents to let me plunder my savings account, and got myself a pair of really shitty belt-drive turntables.

The transition to producing, was this a natural step for you and how has being a DJ influenced/helped you as a producer?

Yeah I think it all came about pretty naturally. When you’ve been DJing for a little while, you’re going to want to make some tunes yourself as well at some point. At least I did.

I’m not sure any of it’s ever really helped me, being a DJ first, but it most definitely influenced the way I produce tracks.

Especially in the first couple of years I used to always make sure my tunes had a mixable intro. More often than not I’d start out with nothing but beats you know, just for mixing. Now, I don’t focus on making them ‘mixable’ as much as I used to, I just want my songs to sound nice from beginning to end. But I think it’s still evident even to this day, that I’m also a DJ. I was talking to my homie Jukka (aka Skweee producer VC) about this the other day. He never DJ’d and his stuff is just so damn hard to mix (laughs). I told him to make his stuff more DJ-friendly, but I don’t think he cares, he’s too real to be concerned about stuff like that.

Coco Bryce – “Club Tropicana”

Some have suggested that artists like Skrillex are the reason for dubstep’s so-called ‘demise’, or it moving from underground to mainstream. What’s your take on this?

Who even cares about dubstep? I never liked any of the early dubstep stuff anyways, I always thought it was incredibly boring and I didn’t even get into it until Joker and Zomby and them guys started releasing records. As far as Skrillex goes, I think he’s super good at what he does. It’s not necessarily my cup of tea, but I have nothing bad at all to say about Skrillex. If anything, in my opinion he only made dubstep better, because it couldn’t have gotten any worse than it was when it first started out. All the hating, it’s just jealousy. You can’t blame someone for being successful you know, if they do it with passion it’s all good, whether I’m a fan or not. It’s what the youngsters like to hear and dance to. I mean, I used to listen to Gabber when I was 16, so I’m pretty sure I’d listen to Skrillex and that kind of stuff as well if I were that age right now. It’s loud and has a lot of energy to it. Ain’t nothing wrong with that. And I think there’s still a ton of guys making the shitty ‘old school’ dubstep stuff, so if you don’t like Skrillex, then go and listen to that other stuff instead. Don’t hate on the dude just because there’s a lot of people who like his tunes.

Is there even such a thing as underground anymore when it comes to electronic music?

Skweee is still pretty underground. And it’ll probably stay that way as well. Mainly because it sucks balls, but also because a lot of it is only released on vinyl.

Besides that, I reckon there’s still a lot of stuff barely anyone knows about. A lot of music has become much more accessible because of the internet, but you still have to know where to look. The only difference is that you don’t have to rely on the record stores anymore to keep the weird shit in stock in order to come across it. If you really want to find new music it’s a lot easier to do so currently, but you still need to dig.

You teamed up with Tokyo native Emufucka for a collaborative 7” on Fremdtunes under the moniker Cocofucka. Any South African artists you’d like work with from across the seas and will Cocofucka be releasing any new stuff in the future?

Hmmmm… well, the only South African artists I know of are DJ Mujava, Die Antwoord and Jack Parow. I’m up for a collab with either one of them! No doubt there’ll be some more Cocofucka stuff in the future, I just don’t have any idea yet as to when this is going to happen, but we definitely have plans to do some more remixes and collabs.

In a 1982 Keyboard Magazine review of the LinnDrum it indirectly referred to The Roland TR-808 as sounding like marching anteaters. What do you think it sounds like?

I think that’s a pretty apt description. I love the sound of marching anteaters. It makes me want to dance.

Keen to collaborate with any trap music producers, maybe Waka Flocka or Gucci Mane?

I’d definitely be up for that yeah. Though I’ll stick to bootlegging them for now. No pressure.

Girl Skateboards – Mouse from ekkun on Vimeo

I read that you also skateboard. I’ve discovered so much music from watching skate videos. What’s your favourite skate video? Have you seen any of Pontus Alv‘s films, such as In Search of the Miraculous?

Ahhh yeah, I think three quarters of my musical education came from skate videos , especially in the ’90s. I’ve discovered so much brilliant stuff watching those. My all-time fav is Mouse (Girl Skateboards/Chocolate), everything is just perfect about that video, they had the illest teams back then, the dopest songs and it wasn’t as mega super big as it is right now.
I haven’t actually seen any of Pontus Alv’s videos, though I remember watching his parts when he was riding for Mad Circle, which by the way is one of my fav companies that’s now out of business, along with the almighty 101. I still have this Mad Circle jumper laying in my closet. Classic.

Rogier (Fremdtunes) and Mashville formed the SEE-A-SOUND organisation. If someone had to send you your track ‘That’s Life’ off Club Tropicana and ask you to illustrate it… What would we see?

Probably just all kinds of different textures, keep it a bit abstract. I think that particular tune features a good blend of organic and digital sounds, like the synths in that one sound really nasty, in-your-face and electronic, which is contrasted by the Asian vocal snippets and crunk-influenced blunt beats. So, I’m thinking metallic-looking textures for the synths, and then maybe a couple of Asian girls chanting the chopped-up lyrics. Abstracted Asian girls though, else the first part of my answer would not make any sense (Dadaism).

What was the production process like for Club Tropicana? What keeps you inspired during the long hours?

I just make tunes whenever I have the time for it and never really set out to work on a certain project beforehand. Club Tropicana, like my first album Boesoek, is basically just a collection of songs which I’ve made over the years preceding its release. I try to make my albums as coherent as possible though, but the selection is only done after all the tracks are finished. I don’t usually make songs with a certain release in mind. I did maybe two tracks with my album in mind, but funnily enough both of them didn’t even make the cut. Inspiration usually just comes from listening to other music.

The colourful, swirling, mashing, mixing low-fi video Club Tropicana – is this an apt insight into the album’s overall sound and mood?

I don’t know, you tell me. It probably is for the biggest chunk of the album, but if you take ‘All Day’ for example, that one has quite a different mood, much more laid back.

What are some of the sonic differences we can hear in Club Tropicana in comparison to your first album?

Club Tropicana is much more diverse. My first album was basically just hip-hop. A weird, electronic kind of hip-hop, but still pretty much everything on that first one was just my version of boom-bap. This one has all kinds of stuff I’ve always done a lot of different styles and genres, but I think at the time of my first album I kind of felt like I should stick to Hip Hop stuff as far as the releases under my Coco Bryce moniker went. Now it’s all over the place.

What did you dream of being when you were a child?

Older.

Tell me something about yourself that we cannot find on the internet?

Motëm and I are actually the same person.

Plans to ever visit South Africa?

If anyone books me a gig there! I’m always broke, so if I’d have to go there on my own expenses I don’t think it’d happen any time soon.

What’s on your playlist today?

Milk & Honey by Cohenbeats. It’s a free album on Bandcamp, you should definitely cop it. The concept has been done to death: pick a country, get records from said country and make beats with the samples, but this album is so well executed, even the lesser tunes on there are super nice. It’s been on repeat since I downloaded it a couple weeks ago. I’ve also been listening to that fake Jai Paul album a lot. And then there’s always a couple of light club songs and old rave breakbeat tunes in my playlist. Can’t go without my daily dose of pianos and pitched vocals now can I?

The most inspiring experience you’ve had this year (not on the internet!)

Don’t know yet about this year, but last year was definitely this gig I played in Zürich. So nice.

The dodgiest thing you’ve ever seen? (on the internet!)

Hmmm… probably a U2 music video.

Coco Bryce & DisPjutR at Next Level Shit w/ Om Unit, 123MRK, Zes & more

Give some of your own love to Coco Bryce:

SoundCloud
Bandcamp
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Interview: Sarah Claire Picton
Images: Coco Bryce, Next Level Shit, 20shotsequence, todaysart.org

I heard myself kicking along with ‘on 139 and Lenox Ave there’s a big park,’ and I just thought ‘I want to go put a stake in the ground there so that people know that when they’re coming by that this shit is mentioned in a classic hip-hop song’.

Since then he has travelled around the city and has put up more than thirty five red signs with classic hip-hop lyrics blazing across them, from famed talents such as Mos Def, Kanye West, Nas, and Busta Rhymes.

As he began to post the signs he enlisted the help of Aymann Ismail to come along and document the process on film, resulting in a video that was later posted on YouTube and Vimeo. Since the video was created, the project has been covered by the likes of the Huffington Post and Slate. Shells says he has been contacted by people beyond New York City, from places like Philadelphia and Los Angeles, and has been asked to travel in order to put up more signs.

Image: Broken Culture

While the project is technically illegal Shell has no problem facing a bit of risk in order to bring hip-hop back to where it belongs and it is not the first time he has gone against the law for art’s sake. Previous projects include a campaign posted in subways about ‘subway etiquette’ and the creation of the Metropolitan Etiquette Authority under which he made street signs in a similar style to those of Rap Quotes but that offered up advice on how to be a better citizen. On the Twitter page for the project, @TheRapQuotes, you can find the latest signs Shell is posting.

Image: Boing Boing

Image: Animal New York

Images: ANIMAL New York, Broken Culture, Boing Boing.
Words: Emma Remington

Encounter with Grandmaster Flash from one small seed on Vimeo.

Screenshot

Screenshot

Location: redbull studious- Cape Town

Special thanks: rocking the daisies

Music: ‘wildstyle’
‘the message’
‘new york, new york’
Grandmaster flash and the furious five

Produced by: one small seed productions

Shot: john norman

Edited: loyiso mzamane

IMAGE: TONI-J PHOTOGRAPHY

OSS: Spaza$hop! Where does it all begin?

S$: SPAZA$HOP began in 2009. Two kids looking for a way to channel their energies and dreams. It was frustration, ambition and longing that got us writing raps in a three-room house in Soweto. We felt our rhymes so much that we found a studio and started recording. The first track we did was ‘Anti-gravity’. Turns out that track was hot because it became our first number 1 thus reassuring us that music was indeed our path.

Growing up who were guys looking up to?

Charlie Macc’s early influences were kwaito and house music loving artists like Dr Mageu. He frequented Electric Workshop in his teens. As Jonny Joburg I have always been into rock ‘n roll and American hip-hop with bands like Rage Against The Machine and Eminem molding me as a kid. All these influences have translated into SPAZA$HOP! Infact it’s why we’re called SPAZA$HOP! cause that’s where you find everything you like, everything you need for everybody.

Sunlight soap for the hood and Lux for the bougie niggas. We represent the ghetto kid who went to school in the suburbs and the suburban kid who spent weekends in the hood. It’s the juxtaposition of two worlds and the creation of a third.

What has the evolution been from Spaz$hop Boys to Spaz$hop! ?

SPAZA$HOP! aint boyz no more. We’re both 26 years old and we have a record label that’s partnered with some major players in music. We are now business MEN.

The Rehab Tony video seems to measure up to the song title, you guys have a lot of striking imagery in it, reiterating the song title. The contrasts from hospitals, to soldiers and opulence are pretty insane. What inspired the track and how does it correlate with the video?

Rehab Tony is actually one of the many Aka’s of the producer Francis Muller. He has a whole album’s worth of music that he’s done as Rehab Tony and when I heard it I was like lemme jump on that ish. The track is an edgy party jam and the video is just as edgy if not more. The video is a story of two guys being resurrected through a ritual and being set on their paths. We were resurrected from doing hip-hop as we knew it to this new sound, new look, new world.

Who are you guys in your day-to-day lives?

We wake up Charlie Macc and Jonny Joburg and go to bed Charlie Macc and Jonny Joburg. Charlie is a house DJ and aspiring actor whilst Jonny is a music producer and runs Renaissance-Rock Recordings.

What’s the ultimate goal you’d like to achieve as Spaza$hop!?

To take what people think is just a niche market sound to the average kid on the street.

So what are the plans moving forward with the album dropping in October?

We have some shows we’re organising with the owner of The Woods and Townhall in Newtown, Johannesburg. Take our music directly to the kids who’ll appreciate it. Then after that we gotta take it everywhere-else. Especially to the people who think they’re not into it. They just don’t know it yet.

Are there any other big announcements to be on the lookout for?

The Biggest announcement is the ‘Pinki Pinki’ video dropping in October and the album dropping October 31st.

What has the reception of the music been this far in terms of a country-wide response?

The first people to show us love were the executives and the blogs. The people have needed some education but they’re finally on our page. I think ‘Pinki Pinki’ is the perfect blend of influences; two parts electro and two parts Kwaito. The kids really dig it.

Any small towns to shout out?

S/O Diepkloof, Soweto and S/O Umlazi township in Durban.

Who would win a fight: Obama or Mandela?

The fight would be rigged so I ain’t putting my money down.
 

 
Interview by Phumlani Pikoli
image credit: Toni-J Photography

Audiophile 021 – Triola EP

soundcloud.com/audiophile021/

With Triola, Cape Town-based DJ/Producer, Audiophile 021, offers a meandering journey full of rich and textured sounds. The EP was released on the 25th of June on the Triplefire Music label.

The XX – ‘Angels’

clashmusic.com

In case you missed it, The XX were the biggest new thing in London when they burst onto the scene back in 2009. Their debut album was all soft beats and groovy melodies over which Romy Madley Croft and Oliver Sim would whisper sweet nothings to each other. Since then the young members have been doing their own thing, most notably beat-master Jamie XX’s remix album of Gil Scott-Heron’s I’m New Here. This new track features the nocturnal lovesickness that was the motif of their debut and precedes the September 10th release of their new album, Coexist.

The Antlers – ‘Drift Drive’

pigeonsandplanes.com

2009’s dark and lo-fi Hospice was the breakout album for the Brooklyn-based trio, which they followed up with Burst Apart, one of the best albums of last year. The new single conveys the feeling of aquatic sedation that seems to be the theme behind their new 4-song EP, Undersea, which will be coming out on the 24th of July.
 
 
 
 

Meursault – ‘Flittin’’

sndcdn.com

‘Flitting’ is the new single from Meursault’s third album. They make the sort of heartbroken melodies leaning towards the folk side of indie rock that makes a lazy comparison to Frightened Rabbit easy and quite accurate. There’s a coarse honesty and melancholy in this song that cuts into you like a hot gulp of of whisky. Their new album, Something For The Weakened, was released on the 16th.
 
 
 
 

Errors – ‘Relics’

aaamusic.co.uk

Have Some Faith In Magic was an early contender for my favourite album of this year and in the months since its January release there hasn’t really been anything to knock it from its perch. Now we have the montivagant ‘Relics’ as a precursor to their new mini-album New Relics, with an ETA scheduled for October.
 
 
 
 

Dirty Projectors – ‘Gun Has No Trigger’

2020k.wordpress.com

The last LP by Brooklyn-based indie band Dirty Projectors, 2009’s Bitte Orca, showcased the band’s eccentric and experimental leanings. After a collaborative EP with Bjork in 2010 their new album, Swing Lo Magellan, is coming out on the 9th. The new LP finds them at their most accessible yet still offering an array of interesting sounds. ‘Gun Has No Trigger’ is the first single.
 
 
 
 

The Stone Roses – ‘I wanna Be Adored’

lyrdb.com

The reformation of Manchester legends The Stone Roses has been big news for nostalgic fans  and backwards-looking music magazines. However, to someone like me who was born in the same year as their famous 1989 debut a big reunion like this looks like more ageing rockstars are willing to kill their legacy and pick its bones clean. Cynicism aside, this reunion is something that means a lot to thousands of fans and makes this as good a time as any to remind ourselves why, more than fifteen years after they first disbanded, they are still adored.
 
 
 
 

Ill Skillz –  Skillz That Pay Da Billz 2

ill-literate-skill.bandcamp.com

Cape Town hip-hop trio Ill Skillz exhibit the ego, pride and partisan attitude of hip-hop, but with an explicitly South African heritage. Their 8-track album Skillz That Pay Da Billz 2 is available as a free download from their bandcamp page.
 
 
 
 

Big Space – Brown Bag E.P

facebook.com/pages/Big-Space

Big Space is from Cape Town. Aside from beats, he also shares some words on his SoundCloud: ‘I could just name drop all the famous people I’ve worked with who are waaay more famous than me but that would just be stupid. I make house music but I don’t make house music. I don’t think a lot of people like my personality but its okay… I love everyone. I also have an adopted cat and an E.P. coming out this summer on BOMBAADA records’ ALSO, I WILL STILL FUCK SHIT UP. CHENIN NON BLANC BABY! BOURGIE BOYZ!’ (Big Space, SoundCloud)
 
 
 
 

The Wave Pictures – ‘Eskimo Kiss’

imgur.com

The Wave Pictures make guitar music that’s familiar yet invigorating. The prolific London three-piece follow up last year’s excellent Beer In The Breakers with their new album Long Black Cars, from which ‘Eskimo Kiss’ is the first single.
 
 
 
 

Joey Bada$$ – 1999

pigeonsandplanes.com

1999 is the debut project from Brooklyn’s 17-yr-old Joey Bada$$. This 15-track mixtape features members of his Pro Era crew – a collective of 18 rappers, producers, graphic designers and studio engineers – such as Capital STEEZ, who makes an appearance on track four – ‘Survival Tactics’. From A$AP to BadASS, NYC keeps rolling out that old school hip-hop grit
 
 

Killer Mike – ‘Big Beast’ (Feat. Bun B, T.I., and Trouble)

musicya.net

The rapper Killer Mike (born Michael Render) released his sixth studio album called R.A.P. Music, produced by Definitive Jux’s El-P (Jaime Meline) and released by William Street Records. Spin mag’s Christopher Weingarten says it perfectly: ‘A child of the ’80s and a student of the Internet, Killer Mike is as exciting and wildly unclassifiable as hip-hop gets: New York noise and country shit, nods to when rap was punk and crunk was pop, Ice Cube before he needed hooks, David Banner before he needed to whisper, and Willie D before he needed anybody.’

Images from: soundcloud.com/audiophile021/; facebook.com/pages/Big-Space; aaamusic.co.uk; sndcdn.com; clashmusic.com; pigeonsandplanes.com; wordpress.com; lyrdb.com; imgur.com; ill-literate-skill.bandcamp.com; pigeonsandplanes.com; musicya.net