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.
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..
You may have read in my prior post that I am launching a blog series that I hope I stick with forever.. here it is!! After spending an eternity in the brainstorming process I have gone for the name 'cool people' (lol, I know it's rubbish). Cool People will feature a few standard photos of a random individual, some information on them and what they are doing, how I met them and my positive opinion on them and finally.. how to connect with them!
I decided to do this for a number of reasons, I managed to come up with 8 exactly - here they are;
1 - Cool People - I meet so many cool, inspiring people everyday (cool and inspiring in a number of ways..) and I am tired of keeping them a secret. A person doesn't gaq
2 - Consistency - I want to be blogging on a much more regular basis and have been saying so for a long time and have decided that there is no better way of kick-starting this by completely chucking myself in the deep end.
3 - Bye bye poor traits, hellooo portraits - I have formally divorced myself from my old friend 'Laziness' especially in my photography life. I want to be taking a wide range of shots from no onwards, especially portraits!
4 - Life is confusing. - So confusing that it would be good to get some inspiration or reassurance (whatever you need!) from a total stranger.
5 - Similar to '4' - See what people are doing with their lives, how they got to where they are and where they want to end up.
6 - Improved connectivity - I think that something like this on a big scale will improve connectivity and the sharing of ideas among our generation, people who may have never bumped into each other could get in touch with one an other as a result of seeing them on 'cool people' - this isn't a new thing though at all, social networks are kind of already supposed to do this.
7 - Meeting New People - A lot of people worriy about this, maybe learning more about people and realising that they're all fab will help you ease those fears.
8 - Difference - Difference is good, learn about people's difference, understand and love them for their differences (a bit soppy but it's true).
The first of my series will be posted tomorrow at 8pm. Thanks for reading!
As in my first ever post, over a year ago now, I am coming to you with yet another 'iMoan'. I promise you, this won't be the last either. If you are also under the thumb of the world's most valuable brand, Apple, you will know all about the problems that surround owning one of their products.
You don't get to the heights Apple have reached without being smart and that is exactly what they are. From accessories to repairs, Apple have their innocent, tech-savvy market forking out near-enough the same amount they paid for their apple treasure yearly. The product that comes with the most problems is undoubtedly the iPhone, obviously, it is the highest grossing product of all time.
There is an endless list of problems that you should expect to encounter, during your time as an Apple slave, I mean customer.... Here are some of them; POOR battery life (typically after about 6 months usage), over-heating, signal failure, cracked screens, cracked hardware, button failures, microphone issues and many more. If do experience any faults, you'll know doubt be advised to get it repaired by either Apple or a 3rd party, Apple repairs costs are exceedingly high and if you dare go to the cheaper option, Apple will disown you, as they know everything, down to your every move (no exaggeration, check my first post).
The issue that we are ALL familiar is the dreaded cracked screen, whether you own an iPhone or not, you would have felt this pain, either personally or you've felt the pain of a close friend/family member. From day 1, when you first touch your brand new iPhone, amazed by it's simplicity, the fear of dropping your phone will kick in almost instantly. I am sure it's all a scam and my view hasn't really changed much but I'm not really going to push that to you guys, I'm just saying BE CAREFUL.
A colleague, the owner of an iPhone 5S.. She's had her phone since January 2014 (1 year and 2 months) and it is MINT condition. I know, how the hell.. So unfair.. Here's a picture to rub it in..
She's obviously really careful with her phone, charging it only when it's below 50% and hardly ever dropping it, taking all this into account.. She's still dropped it numerous times, after all she is human and so are we all. We drop things. This admittance prompted me to ask the question, 'How is your phone so prestine?!'. She then told me, it's ALL in the case. She bought a shatter proof case that has well and truly lived up to it's name. So my first piece of advice is.. 1) Buy a shatter proof case.
This post however, is not going to be focusing on cracked screens (we're all fully aware of the possibility of cracking it). I am going to be drawing the issue of iPhones Chargers to your attention. With every new iPhone you can expect a new, unexpected, problem. You might realise that the iPhone wires since the 5s have become quite stiff, this is due to a tougher metal being used inside the wire. Don't ask me why, I'll just day it's all a scam.
Unfortunately Apple's Lightning cables do tend to fray and weaken at the point where the port meets the cable. It seems that the cable just gets twisted here, and over time the plastic coating wears out. This brings me on to my second piece of advice.. 2) Gaffa that - use either isolation or gaffa tape to support the cable, helping it to stay straight.
If it's starting to weaken and wear away then a similar pre-emptive measure may help to ensure that it lasts a bit longer before giving way. But if you've got to the point where the cable stops working, more drastic measures may be required.
The introduction of this 'upgraded' wire is coupled with Apple's new and improved software that can detect any charger/accessory that isn't an original Apple product. The world's most valuable brand has now altered the inside of it's products, this change means that the use of a Non-Apple product will actually cause harm to your phone, this is a sly yet in-your-face tactic that Apple have used to completely kill off companies such as Mophie, who invented the 2-in-1 case and charger, specialising firstly, in iPhones.
The main way to prevent this happening is by pulling the charger out by it's plastic port at all times and NOT by the wire itself. This should prevent any future malfunctions and should save you £15-25 every few months..
Here are 2 tips on how to treat this delicate piece of equipment, this should add a few more months, maybe even a year to your cable's life expectancy.
1 - Never pull it by the wire. 2 - Always pull it from both plastic ports, even if you are only using the USB. 3 - For your own good, don't bother using a third party charger as this will be detrimental to your phone's performance.
Gone are the days of phone's that could withstand falls from airplanes. You have to realise what you have in your pocket.. £600! You have to treat it like £600 and not like a Nokia 3310.
I must add before I leave you, that I am totally addicted to iPhones, I love everything about them and I know that a lot of you feel the same way, credit to Apple. It is for this reason and this reason alone that I am warning y'all to look after your precious mobile telephone device. The money Apple gets from it's sales clearly isn't enough, they definitely do want to take advantage of your blind love for this product, so open your eyes a little wider.
Here are a few videos, I just want to keep you guys involved, from a two former LOTM MCs and some upcoming youngers from Nottingham, all of which were shot by JDZMedia.
I'm not jumping on any sort of band wagon when I say look out for Mez, one of the hottest in the game. You don't have to look far on YouTube to see this yout slicing off heads.
Here's my first vid. JDZMedia presents D2's SPITFIRE. I have met this guy live and spoken to him since on live call ins to SilkCityRadio, warning- this is fire..
'You can't challenge me on the mic, I've got a black belt in.. karaoke..'
Another former LOTM man, K Dot (Sheffield) hits us up with some fresh material, in his Elite Sessions. Listen closely to the lyrics! This video is only a day or two old.
Finally, we have a new single on the market?? Sparx and Mez have come together to produce suttin' amazing, again, this is a fresh tune.
That's all for now. Do stay tuned for more GRM news! Don't forget to suscribe to the channels on YouTube.
The 9th of March had been highly-anticipated by many people all over the captial. High's of 17 degrees had been reported (hotter than a 9th of Match spent in Ibiza) and the day did not disappoint, not a cloud in site and a gawjusss heat. Laura and I decided to head out to London's thrifty East End! We went for a afternoon drink on Boxpark, Shoreditch. We then made our way to the sure-to-be-packed Brick Lane, we cut through the market on Scalter Way and it was definitely a taster for what was in store at the market. There were great deals everywhere and movement was oh so limited.
Good deals on Scalter Way Market, towards Brick Lane from Shoreditch High Street Station
MEGA bottles of shampoo and conditioner - £2
Heavy Duty bike lock, with 3 keys! - £3 (£30-100+ RRP) - this makes me think that the keys are all generic so be careful if you're buying these locks for a bike in the Shoreditch area as people may have the key to YOUR lock)
Vinyls for cheap - (20p - £3)
Typical yard sales
Anyway, we soon reached a busy Brick Lane and proceeded to look around! You had all your different market stalls and more innovative stalls, selling quirky, cool and also common gadgets and products. Our stomach's soon started talking to us, so we listened, and went to eat in Brick Lane Food Hall recommended by Laura, there was so much choice and ultimately, we ended up going for a Venezulan(...?!?) delicasse.
After that, we made our way to see what Brick Lane had to offer! We ambled through the herds of people, making some buys on the way. Our eyes were drawn to various vendors, some had an amazing artillery of stock, from vintage cameras to henna tattoos, Brick Lane's Sunday Market does have it all! We then sat down on a bit of free space in the midst of thousands of people pausing for a 'breather'/sip of anything. There we met a cooool couple, Moss and Louis. We ended up walking down Regent's Canal and also having a look at the Columbia Flower Market, PERFECT, for you guys that have A LOT of making up to do. You can buy lovely bunches from as cheaps 50p so check it out if you're in the area on a Sunday!
Finished the night at The Ferry Boat Inn, in last year's hometown.. Tottenham Hale, where we enjoyed a delightful meal before retreating, back to Hackney.
Here are some snaps from the day! I THINK.. they're in the right order.
Sunnies (Brick Lane Market) - £8
Smoked Salmon Bagels for £1.40 (20p more for cream cheese..)
Sunnies (Brick Lane) - £5
Top (East End Thrift store) - £2
Casio Watch (Argos) - £8
Last year, a party was held in the derelict bulding just behind the red frame, music and people could be heard and seen for miles, ahh London.
Nigerians are out here, land, water, we're everywhere.
This lovely bunch was only £2 from the flower market!
They really brighten up a room, more for the ladies. Men, I am not encouraging you to buy roses for your windowsills, this is a picture of Laura's windowsill in Hackney.
All in all it was a good day spent getting to know cool people and enjoying all the offers a keen bargain hunter like myself could dream for!
Whilst walking through the crowds of people L was stopped by Gianna, a Cypriot hairdresser, working for Ena Salon, Holborn! Laura was offered a free haircut, this is a common thrifty opportunity that you just can't turn down, my next blog'll be a wuick one about L's free cut!
Stay tuned and stay blessed, GRM updates also coming soon!
The boss Jammer is back. We haven't scene a freestyle for 2 years now from the grime scene baaaauuuus that is the Murkle Man, and look.. I know 2 years isn't that long but that is a whopping THREE series of SBTV, without a Jammer freestyle. And you'd think for those who love Jammer for his music, the east London rapper would just stay out of dramas and the social media spotlight, just to keep his fans from thinking 'oo I haven't heard a freestyle from him in a while?' but NO. Impossible. May I remind you who the CEO and owner of Lord Of The Mics is?? Yes, IT'S DV MURKLE MVN. So expect to be seeing his face on your twitter timeline A LOT around now as anticipation for LOTM6 is hotting up! He has already received threats from rapper Big H and now has gotten on the wrong side of the Asian rapper, from Birmingham.. Grimmy, over comments Jammer has made about Grimmy's LOTM5 contestant Grim Sickers. Without further ado, I present to you Jammer's 'Warm Up Session' by SBTV
Released on the 25th of February
This year, Jammer (BBK) is definitely going to be in the top 5 most talked about rappers, so make sure you don't miss a word of what's going on! Follow the artist at @JammerBBK
WARNING: THERE ARE A LOT OF VIDEOS IN THIS POST, IF YOU WATCH EVERY VIDEO FROM BEGINNING TO END, I HAVE WORKED OUT THAT YOU'LL BE ON MY POST FOR THE NEXT 2 HOURS OF YOUR LIFE. JUST WATCHED A FEW MINUTES OF EACH. FOR YOUR OWN GOOD.
Okay, this is just going to be a short(ish) post. A shortish post that should educate you more about the grime scene, outside of London. Yes, yes, yes, we've all heard of Skepta, Wiley, Frisco, P Money, K Koke, JME, to name a few. BUT how clear a bell do these names ring? Marshy, A9, KB, Dorris, JayKae, Gino, Mez, Eyez, Dankz..... Hmm, I thought so. Well these are the names of MCs who have been representing their 'ends' for the past few years now, all with different flows, bars, styles, fashions and goals not too mention accents. Without London and the Godafther, Wiley, the whole idea of grime theoretically may have never started, London has done very well to give the grime scene one demographic, one face. With the help of social media channels, grime now has many faces, many different demographics and a lot of accents.
The main grime following outside of London can be found in the Midlands, east and west but predominantly in Birmingham and then in Nottingham. Awareness has been raised in these areas mainly via YouTube and the work of online grime media channels, such as, JDZ Media and P110, that operate on YouTube. Both have emulated characteristics of the father of all YouTube media channels, SB.TV.
I personally am a huge advocate for The Midland's grime music, what attracted me to it was the individually that each rapper possesses. Crews like Invasion from Birmingham are a team of talented MCs coming in all in different shapes and sizes, MCs are solely judged on talent and how much their bars are believed, no matter what the bars are. This is better than being judged on what clothes you're wearing and how many times you've 'banged a strap', no?
Anyway let the lessons begin! I'm going to kick it off with some videos of artists from Birmingham..
Devilman, the grime veteran of Birmingham who was banned from MCing, after an incident in which he was found to have snitched on a close friend. Devilman famously clashed Skepta (BBK) in LOTM2!
P110 have definitely been the main advocates for Birmingham, with JDZ raising awareness for surrounding parts of the Midlands. Other media channels have been around for a while as well, doing the same thing that the three platforms mentioned are currently doing. Here's a cypher from one of those channels.. UGX (UndergroundExposure).
These are MCs from Nottingham, Derby and Manchester.
In Order - D Flowz (NSB), Rikkers (NSB), Mez (NSB), Jay Eye (NSB), Don Dyno (Str8GzENT), Baz Brown (NewCamp), Wariko (LOTM3 & NewCamp)
Now let's have a look at Nottingham and what's going on there?..
Firstly, Wariko. Wariko is one of the first non-London MCs to really blow in the UK scene, with appearances on Westwood 1Xtra in 2009 and LOTM3, Wariko is DEFINITELY a grime veteran AND.. he has the lyrics to match the reputable career.
Mez (NSB), one of the hottest younger's in the country, beating Grimsta on Sunday to claim SilkCity Radio's Prizefighter award. Please look out for, for your sake.
You cannot forget Gino. Defintely Nottingham's most commercial MC.
This #SPITFIRE from A9, had to feature in this post. This is probably my favourite freestyle on any YouTube channel, MAD VERSES. 'I don't wanna hear man chat chat..'
Okay.. Now we'll have a look at Walsall, I think it's time to get the map out.
Walsall, is extremely close to Birmingham.
Here's Walsall's best MC, Marshy representing Higher Stakes and Young Guvament. Amazing flow and only 17 years old!
Flawzz from Walsall has his Story Teller shot by JDZ.
And finally. to rap things up.. we have Eyez (LOTM5) and Dankz representing Derby. And representing Manchester we have Dorris, accompanied by more Notts man in 'Deya'.
The scene is also exploding up north, so obviously, I'm going to show you more videos.
From Liverpool, now representing a K Koke's crew, USG. We have Aystar. Then we to MCs that both broke through via DON'T FLOP rap battles, Blizzard (LOTM5) from Manchester and Lunar C from Bradford, yorkshire's first big grime name.
BANG!.. Aystar.
Blizzard!
and Lunar C, who's popularity is ever growing!!
Now, I hope it didn't take you 2 hours to read all of this. I also hope that you are now more enlightened on the exploding grime scene and that you all understand that good grime music is not solely produced by one demographic. If this is still the case and you're not convinced, have a look at my absolute FINAL vid.
This is Cee Major, straight out of East London, the home of grime.
Have a great day! Listen to more videos on YouTube and follow and subscribe to the channels I've mentioned throughout! Here are the links..
Don't forget to follow me on Twitter, Instagram and anything else you can think of @ZachEkpe, it'll be worth it. Stay Locked for more GRM News and videos, and stay blessed.
You may have heard it. You may not believe it. You may not even have heard it till right now! Regardless! It's happening. The clash of the year, and one of the biggest clashes in grime history, has now been confirmed by both of the rappers involved. P Money, one of my favourite MCs, from Lewisham in South London, is clashing BIG H, straight out of Tottenham!! Both MCs have had their fair share of beefs, famously P Money and Ghetts, and then for Big H.. the list would find out and surpass Blogger's word count. Ultimately, this clash will be amazing for a number of reasons.
1. Both MCs feel as if their respective flows have been copied as grime has grown and new MCs have emerged. I think most will agree that they're both not too far from the truth here..
2. Big H speaks about his relationship with P Money being 'tense' on The Grime Show, claiming that P Money has maybe not been as polite as he could have been in their previous encounters.
3. Big H is a mad man, and is hell bent on the destruction of P Money. This mixed with P Money's composure and confidence, will promote this clash all by itself.
4. THESE ARTISTS DO NOT FLOP.
Both these MCs are very different. As people and as artists. In fact, they're completely different. That's where the main spice comes from, they're difference. One of the only things they share is confidence. Big H is a character, he's loud and it is very clear that he thinks a lot of himself, and not very much of those around him in the game. Big H talks about his recent EP 'Fire and Smoke' being his weapon of destruction. Big H wants to flush out all the s*** in grime and keep it real. P Money on the other hand is a completely different personality, he's a reserved character who I've been in very close proximity ha, check me. He hasn't commented much about the clash with H and you shouldn't expect to hear anything too revealing about the clash and his opinions on it. Although, P's personality can come across a bit arrogant, so can H's. With Big H though, it is different. He is almost too arrogant, the way he MCs and talks is almost as if he doesn't take anything that seriously. I feel that H should be a bit more careful in his approach to LOTM6, he needs to do his research on P, because P Money is a master lyricist. His wordplay and skippy flow attract reloads and massive crowd backing, this is a disadvantage to H as his flow doesn't warrant a reload as often.
But in the meantime, have a look at BOTH MCs, and come to your own conclusions! First up, we have both of their 1Xtra Fire In The Booth's released only two weeks apart from each other.
BIG H - FIRE IN THE BOOTH
How'd you find that?
Here's P
P MONEY - FIRE IN THE BOOTH
I'm allowed to have an outright opinion, right? A few of my pals are certain this one's going to Big H, but I am almost positive that they're all wrong. P MONEY FOR THE WIN. Listen to the guy, he's a lot more talented than most, not just Big H. Thaaaat said, Big H is a lot more suited to clashing so it is going to be close whether you like it or not.
Since starting this post, there has been all sorts of dramas surrounding the clash. Big H didn't turn up for the pre-clash contract signing, making people believe that he had 'wimped' out of things and ultimately proving me right about his character. But no! It's not over yet, according to H, his absence was due to mis-communications between him and Jammer (LOTM6 owner), something about Jammer telling him the wrong time. ANYWAY, here's a screenshot showing what Big H thought about rumours claiming he was too scared to clash P Money.
I don't know what will happen yet with regards to the clash, all I know is both Big H and P Money will clash! And it's going to be an epic one. Who will win? What will happen?
Follow both artists on twitter to keep up to date with their feuds and what they have to say about this upcoming clash of the titans!!
Afternoon beautiful people! After many years of procrastination, I present to you.. my FIRST post. As you've seen in my little bio section, 'I occasionally post things that I hope will fascinate people as much as me.' And boy o boy have I been swept off my feet by my latest discovery.
I'm sorry to say that if you do not own an iPhone 4/4s/5/5s/5c, with iOS7, you will not be able to participate. That said, the relative next to you or downstairs is probably in possession of one, so use theirs!
ANYWAY.. Ever wandered how true the gossip about our privacy actually is? Well, here's something that should help you form your own opinion on the matter. I personally was amazed when I stumbled across this, since seeing this I have probably told everyone I know with an iPhone about it from friends to customers at work!
Ok, so finally.. Here are the steps:
1- Go to Settings
2- Scroll down a LIL to Privacy
3- Then go to Location Services (make sure they're turned on, if they've previously been switched off then this may not work as well for you, but credit you for your battery preservation skills!)
- Scroll down,below all your apps, to System Services!
4- Now in your System Services you'll see Frequent Locations, GO TO FREQUENT LOCATIONS!
5- Make sure your Frequent Locations are turned on, scroll down and view your locational history, click on one of the locations if you're thinking 'hmmm.. this isn't THAT accurate..' (again.. if you previously switched off Frequent Locations then your results will not be as extensive as most, worry not though, this is a default setting and should already be turned by the cheeky buggers running apple.)
6- I won't show you all exactly where I've been and at what time but I feel as if I have taken you far enough. Press the addresses and your phone will pull an inch perfect register of where you've been for the past 2 months.
Amazed? I told you.
Although this may be seen as an invasion of our privacy, it is also an example of human lethargy! We all agree to these terms as we hurry to set up our brand new iPhones, but next time take a step back, have a read, see what information you're nonchalantly handing over to these massive corporations.
Thank you for reading! Eyes peeled for the next one. Follow me on Twitter and Instagram - @ZachEkpe for more blog info, and an look into my life!
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