COOL MUSIC; BEST BEEF EVER?

In allllll my years as a grime fan (13 or so), I am sure that I haven't been lucky enough to witness a better one-on-one, bar-for-bar 'beef' than the ongoing brawl between two of grime's pioneers.. P-Money a.k.a. Paris Moore-Wiliams & Dot Rotten a.k.a Zeph Ellis a.k.a Joseph Ellis-Stevenson, formerly of the same grime crew 'The OGz'.

Tbh, P's been involved in a fair so many beefs with a few big names that I was starting to think I knew everything bad about Paris. On the other hand, Dot Rotten's been in the backseat of the grime whip for so long now it could have been easy to believe that P had this in the bag. But both share one thing (besides double barrelled surnames) is that they are both KINGS when it comes to lyrics and wordplay.

This is the timeline of events so far;

"Dot Rotten Sent For P Money With

Dot Rotten - Organised Grime Freestyle (P Money Diss)

Then P Money Replied With 

P Money - Real Talk (Dot Rotten Diss) 

Followed By 

P Money - Liars In The Booth (Dot Rotten Diss)

Then Dot Rotten Came Back With A Longer Reply 

Dot Rotten - Real Talk (P Money Diss) 

Then P Money Replied With 

P Money - Did You Notice? (Dot Rotten Diss) 

Then Dot Replied With

Dot Rotten - Facts (P Money Diss)

Plus

Dot Rotten - Steak Bake (P Money Diss)

Now P's replied with..

P Money - I Got Bars/Man Like Peri (Dot Rotten Diss)

"

Wiley Vs Kano was my introduction to grime on the first ever Lord of the Mics, so I guess I've had 0 choice but to LOVE clashes ever since. I thought that P was at the tip of his peak in his clashes against Ghetts and the Big H but Dot Rotten has forced Mr. Moore-Williams to level up once again and credit to him.

The latest update I have is that P Money has released a mixtape called 'Snake EP 2', exclusively containing all of his disses, available on SPOTIFY, LOL.. Again another first for a grime beef. 

not taken by moi

Dot Rotten's undoubtedly a don. I have to admit, I've had to do a quick few searches to update my limited knowledge on him, but his name has been synonymous with grime from day one - I know that much. He's produced for nearly everyone and is one of the best lyricists and a minority's shout for the best in grime.

taken by moi

I personally don't know what to make of it, obviously. Both artists are accusing each other of lying and that never helps, both are also using the names of dead people in their defences, making it doubly

impossible to know who's telling the truth. All I know is that after watching P Money for YEARS and meeting him in person a few times, I've even been face-to-face with him on the stage of a big fest and I am positive that he is way to nice to be a roadman. Meaning I naturally can't buy into his version of events to well. I think Dot has no reason to lie whereas P does.

P snapchatted a couple of days ago saying that he was "29, nearly 30" and has "0 time" for the throwing the term 'liar' back and forth between him and Joseph Ellis-Stevenson - before proceeding to call Rotten out on lies he had apparently told, he then said that the next diss he drops this Wednesday will be his last. Dot is 28, so age means nothing and it will be interesting to see if Paris keeps to his word.

Click the links to find out more on the madness!!

COOL MUSIC; 67 *POLL*

South London GOONS '67' have just shut down the whole of London with the launch of their latest album entitled 'The Glorious Twelfth'.

The albums perfectly embodies grime's new, brixton drill sound. They haven't tried to do anything out of their comfort zone and it's worked well for them. The first track 'Rolling Up' is a perfect and somewhat calm (compared to some of the other tracks) introduction to a hyped album. 

The albums also features tracks 'Look How Life's Changed.', 'Waps' & 'Guwop'. My personal favourite is 'Rolling Up' the first track (its probably playing out of your laptop/mobile device right now) - and that's purely down to the piano that plays periodically throughout. In all honesty, picking a favourite is too difficult - the whole ting is just too CONSISTENT.

Do make sure you have absolutely no family to see for around a week if you're planning to listen to this album from start to finish.. Listening to bars like 'Nuff DJs spin dem hits, but we just spin dem 40s *BOWW*' & 'The opps don't come to the Hill, if they say the do but they fibbin'! Come to my block, bare gunshots, could be dipping *TRUU*' on full blast may just leave you with a permanent screw-face & attitude problem.

Find the album on Spotify, iTunes, Soundcloud & YouTube. Simply search '67 The Glorious Twelfth'.

The whole albums should be available below.. Have a listen and then answer me poll quickly. I wanna see what people think of this genre. The more you listen to their lyrics, the more informed you become about 'gang life' in London. They tell no lies.

COOL POINTERS; Hey, Sugar!

Sweet-toothed people are everywhere - I'm one of them, and I never really knew why until I realised that everything contains sugar so obviously our bodies naturally become sugar addicts whether we notice or not.  I mean, this probably isn't news to many of you, but at a recent university conventiony/pop-up stall thing I was shocked to find out how much sugar was really in some of our most beloved beverages!!!

Here are the sugar contents in some of our favourite drinks;

Whilst looking - bare in mind how many teaspoons of sugar, if any, you willingly have with your tea or coffee. 

Starbuck's bestseller the Frapuccino contains a whopping 16 teaspoons!! 

Flavoured water, 'the healthy option' has 7 teaspoons! Imagine 7 teaspoons in your damn tea!! 

Red Bull gives you wings..   and 8 teaspoons of sugar?

Good ol' tap water boasting an impressive 0 teaspoons of sugar.

If you're super concerned about the amount of sugar you're taking in you can use this little sugar intake barometer thingy to measure how much you're taking in daily.. if you're super concerned.

It's probably good to remember that sugar isn't all bad, after all it can be found in a high number of natural as well as unnatural goods but like anything.. too much of it will kill you instantly. 

Here are some quick links to some interesting articles:

           18 Foods and Drinks That Are Surprisingly High in Sugar - Authority Nutrition

How Much Sugar Is In Your Food And Drink? - MedicalNewsToday 

8 High-Sugar Foods You're Eating Every Day - everydayhealth.com

The Truth About Sugar - BBCGoodFood

Sugar Contents of Fruits - sugarstacks.com

For more information speak to your local health/fitness-freak or perform your own lil' google search?

Thanks for reading, bye!

COOL EVENTS; DISTINKT SOUNDS - Don't be boring this Friday.

Right at the beginning of summer '16, I was lucky enough to be introduced to a group of awesome people. We met via a long-term pal of mine at Rinse FM's Born & Bred Festival (HIGHLY recommended urban music fest - check the link) and had such a swell time that we moved our boogieing across East London to a Hackney manor occupied by a few members of the group. 

At the party we got talking more, as you dooo.. It was then that I found out that most male members of the group were either underground or established DJs who were buzzing to announce the launch of their very own night, Distinkt Sounds - "London's most fire event since 1666".

Held at Bar 512 on Kingsland High Street, Dalston, the debut was popping and dancefloor packed from 10pm all through the night til 6am! Great vibes and a decent turn out made the event an success and it suddenly became a permanent fixture on the calendar of many. 

"Richard Ware

July 23 · 

Thank you so much for all the hard work, this was sincerely one of the best nights I can (patchily) remember. Cannot WAIT for the next one!"

I, personally, had so much fun that I couldn't resist an invitation to join the team of funky lads.. I now find myself heading up the social media (FOLLOW THE INSTAGRAM) as well as taking the majority of the photos with fellow photographer Dan Munro.

Vol.2 was just as enjoyable if not more. Pelikann was the headliner on the night and preceded fab sets from the super versatile line-up. 

Vol.3 is now a few days away and tickets are still available here. Try something new and get yourself down to Dalston for one of my favourite new London nights. If you have something else planned, especially if it's in the East London area, be sure to pop if after as doors close late.

The night is super cheap at only £5 online and before midnight OTD. That's a tiny amount to let go of in exchange for a guaranteed goood time.

Don't be boring this Friday - come and enjoy a good ol' affordable boogie..

COOL PEOPLE; ELIJAH MUSIC

"My goal in life is to be creative - with absolutely no limits."

The past few weeks have been hectic. I've taken on a number of projects (some of which I will be blogging about) and uni has resumed for the year. I am well and truly up to my neck in work but I've still managed to meet with and get to know some intriguing characters...

The second person I have for you is someone I met in London a few weeks ago now. His name is Elijah and he's a proud north Londoner. He actually approached me in need of a lighter but we soon began exchanging life stories. Elijah (Eli for short) is a second year Fine Art student who aspires to one day live off money made from his art as well as is other passion - music. After meeting we exchanged numbers and plan to stay in touch.

Oh yeah.. he also raps and has dreams of making it in the music industry.. Click here to find Eli's soundcloud and stay tuned he will be uploading some of his new music this week! I've been in a studio session or two with him and boy do I have the utmost confidence in his ability to do well.

I decided to include Elijah in this because he is doing a lot creatively and is letting absolutely nothing and no one tell him otherwise. This is the attitude that everyone should have, whatever you want to do, however it may look to friends, peers & contemporaries.

Your free time is YOURS and though you may not have as much 'leisure time' as a student you still have some so make the most of it.

Age - 19

Full Name - Elijah Brown

A.K.A - Eli

Favourite Colour - Gold.

Favourite Drink - Hennessy & Coke, Pineapple Fanta

Inspiration - His family, especially his dad. Rich The Kid (Eli recommends watching Rich The Kid's semi-recent 'Noisey' documentary - 'Rich The Kid is Rich Forever' for an insight into the rapper and his main inspiration.

Background - Part Brazillian, Part British

Occupation/Hobbies- Student, Model, Rapper, Photopraghy

Dream Job - Rapper, Artist & Model

Location - London

Instagam- @ej.brxwn

Cool Person - #1

Hey, if you didn't read my last post on my upcoming blog series (I forgive you).. and here it is!

Although constant updates on celebs and their lives is entertaining, it really isn't as beneficial as ordinary people connecting with ordinary people. If you know me well then you know I use the term 'cool' broadly - in my world it means 'interesting'. It certainly isn't defined or measured by someone's online presence, although that could be a genuine reflection of someone's 'coolness', I guess? Anyhow, these posts should ideally feature people who:

- have interesting things going on in their lives (could be anything..)

- have had unique, intriuging and thought-provoking life experiences.

As I say, it's important to for ordinary people to connect so that ideas can be shared, relations can be built and prejudice/stereotypes - broken down. Prejudice can be defined as "a preconceived opinion that is not based on actual personal experiences." - learning about others leads to a less judgmental world! Hopefully these posts can inspire different people in multiple ways (fashion, ambitions, work, lifestyle).

The first cool person I'd like to introduce you all too is someone that I've now met on a couple of occasions - both times at fashion-related events and boy does she have style!

 Her name is Emily, she moved to London from Italy and she's determined to make it in the fashion industry as a 'streetwear influencer' (which is pretty self-explanatory), not saying "no" to any modelling opportunities on the way. She strikes a mean pose on her Instagram but in actual fact she is really soft spoken and has an cool Italian twang to her voice. She currently works in and studies fashion in London.

Age - 19

Full Name - Emily O'Donnell

A.K.A - Queen Skally

Favourite Colour - 'Plant Green'

Inspiration - I.D Magazine

Background - Part Italiana, Part Irish

Occupation- Student, Model
Dream Job - Streetwear Influencer

Location - London

Instagam - @emily.j.odonnell

A lot of people like the idea of getting into fashion but it can seem intimidating and opportunities sometimes look out of their reach, but there are loads of routes into the fashion world. Start looking at courses and the requirements of your local college, speak to a teacher or someone you know in the industry. Also.. Check out the ever popular 'Fashion Retail Academy(FRA)' -- who offer LOADS in the way of courses and fashion qualifications.

Thanks for reading  - look out for the next cool person!

COOL EVENTS; LFW - AW'16 (Street Style)

Hola people.. As I'm sure a few of you are aware, 'London Fashion Week Autumn/Winter '16' ran from the 19th - 23rd of this month. I've been a busy guy recently but I felt that the beaming sunlight coupled with the moderate weather dragged me out of bed, way before I could say the words 'I am too tired for today'.. and what a great choice it turned out to be.

LFW never disappoints and this year was no different, I will no doubt be seeing some of the people I met on the day again in the near future. Throughout the day I took a number of photos featuring funky fashionistas(in all different kinds of clothing) as well as the odd celeb. Here are some photos..

THE END.

Overall, I took around 400 photos yesterday and whittled them down to the ones you have just seen. I also specifically dedicated time to taking snaps of footwear that caught my eye, for all the right reasons, throughout the day - all those photos can be found in my next post which will be published shortly.

Thanks for reading and enjoy the last few days of February.. HOW CRAY-Z!?