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 PEOPLE

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!

COOL EVENTS; LFW - SS'17 (Street Style)

"London Fashion Week (LFW)is a clothing trade show held in London twice each year, in February and September. It is one of the "Big Four" fashion weeks, along with the New York (NYFW), Milan (MFW) and Paris (PFW)." .. Gracias Wiki!

It is now Wednesday and London Fashion Week is well and truly over for the year.

Once again I got myself down to the vibrant centre of London, to connect with new people and take some cool shots in between. I leave LFW with a bag full of business cards, a bulkier personal portfolio, a slightly boosted online presence.. Oo and a big smile on my face!

Over the past few days I have also been brainstorming various ideas for a potential 'blogging series'.. I've trialed many before but haven't had that burning passion for any of them - the burning passion is the key to it's success, I feel. 

Anyway, I will be blogging more about that later. For now, here are some photos from the past 4 or 5 days.

Follow my Instagram for more of my snaps!

COOL DEALS; WHERE THE HECK DID YOU FIND THAT??

Cool, so I'm back as promised, with some AWESOME new deals. As you all know, I am addicted to buying clothes, especially cheap ones, I am a bargain hunter. If I see a good deal, I'm there. and if I don't have the money at the time, I will borrow it, and then I'm there. Good deals do not wait for anyone. Just like in anything you do in life, you must be an opportunist.

I've mainly sourced my clothing from charity stores, must notably, Iain Rennie, BHF and Cancer Research. Some of the items I am about to show you were also found in sample sales that I have recently attended (search google for 'local sample sales') where I was able to pick up some really nice things for under £2.

Some of the items I will be showing are for sale now too, so if you're lucky enough to have me on a social network, contact me via one of them, for more information. Notepads ready?.. Let's go. 

 

This simple ASOS Black Bucket Hat was picked up at a sample sale for 25p.

You can't go wrong with the classic, Nike swoosh design. Copped this at the Islington Car Boot Sale for £2.

Now for some bottoms.. These high-rise Levi's 505's, have quickly become my life. Slightly different from the original 501's, these beauties cost me £10 (50%) from Beyond Retro, Dalston. Get yourself down to your closest BR if you're looking for a solid pair of jeans.

For those who don't know, Carhartt, is my favourite brand. I actually got these Carhartt Sid Chinos, from EBAY for a £10. Have a look yourself, these babies retail at 85.00GBP!

Now for some of my hot finds in sportswear..

This 80s LA Sharks Ice Hockey jersey was bought aaaages ago now, I couldn't resist it at the time and still absolutely love it. One of the best things I've ever picked up for £1. 

We all know how sort after Adidas Firebird Tracksuits are.. Retailing at a mean £50. I felt like the heavens were smiling on me when I found this on an Algerian man's rack at the wonderful Dalston Car Boot Sale. He charged me £4! 

Again, another blessing. This was sourced a lot closer to home than my previous buys. I picked this Adidas Original Brasil World Cup edition shirt from my local favourite, Iain Rennie Hospice for £4.50. Again, that's almost 90% I saved myself on the retail price. This hobby takes a lot of patience, don't guy buying anything or crying because you didn't find something mind-blowingly cheap, that just defeats the whole object of bargain hunting.

D'you know a stylist? Luckily I know a few! They're fab because they're always looking to offload spare clothes. I actually picked up the next three items you're about to see, for free!

From my lovely friend Grace. That's a link to this cool chick's instagram.. Take a look at what she's about!

 

FOR SALE - Add me on Facebook (Zachary Ekpe) or contact me on a social network (@ZachEkpe).

 Alternatively, you can email me at zacharyekpe@gmail.com or text me, if you're lucky enough to have my number.

This bad boy bomber is also for sale, again, hit me up.

Now for some slightly more upmarket finds..

To keep myself out of the trap of becoming

This FCUK top, as seen in my 'profile pics' all over the web, cost me £2, from an ASOS sample sale, just outside London. This shirt is loud and screams 60s!!! So I'll have to be in a certain mood or going to a certain event to wear this one.

To add to the classy buys I nabbed myself this ZARA jumper for men. This probably retailed at around £25-50 and I got it from Age UK, in Hemel Hempstead's town centre for £4.

And finally, to ensure that I can look smart with regardless of the bottoms I choose. I had to get this, a lovely North Face fleece that was only £6, from Cancer Research. 

This was bought by a friend of mine, for me, as he knew it'd be right down my street, thank you Ross!

 

  ..

I trust that the items you have seen have given you all hope, but, I'm not done yet! I still have the shoes to show y'all.

First up, we have these beauts. These are classic Timberland walking boots, they are around 20-30 years old now, but knowing Timberland and they're high quality/prices, these would retail nowadays at somewhere near £80. You want to know how much I paid? £2, from Dalston Car Boot Sale. The lady really wanted to shift her ex-husband's old walking boots and as it was the end of the boot day, she was looking to get ANYTHING for them. I almost felt bad buying these. Admittedly, these needed abit of mending as the inner soles had holes in them! Not anymore though, I put some Supra insoles in them, making them clouds for my feet to rest in.

The Reebok Classic Workouts were also bought at the car boot sale in Dalston and they set me back £4, which again, is a really good price. Especially considering the condition the shoes are in and the way in which they've kept their value over the last decade.

 

So guys, this is the end. I've got many more items to show you in the near future, I just hope that this is evidence enough that good deals are accessible to all of us. The proof is in the post. Go out there and search for local sample and car boot sales. And pop into the odd charity shop, you'll DEFINITELY find something. If you're weirdly embarrassed by charity shopping, glance into them at the very least, when you walk past, something may catch your eye.

Remember, some of these items are for sale so please do not shy away from getting in touch with me.

Have a great day, stay tuned and stay blessed!

COOL POINTERS; BARGAINS - £24 for EVERYTHING!

Good day friends, it has been a WHILE. Too long. Anyway, today I think I'm going to give you guys 2 posts today! I do have the dentist at 3pm, so it depends on how I feel after that.

But before I go, I'm going to show you guys a few bargains I've recently bumped into and couldn't help but buy! As you know already, I'm not a big spender and that's mainly because I'm not a big earner, so I LOVE bargain hunting. When bargain hunting, in this instance, for clothes, you must take into account a number of different things before you make the purchase. These things are all pretty obvious, I'd say they were; price(before n after), originality(it may be cheap because it's massed produced and you do not want that!), brand name(the more familiar you are with the brand, the more you can trust it's quality) and then all the other factors that come into play when clothes shopping normally like size, etc.

All these items cost me £24 in total, scroll down and see what I bought!

We start with this Peter Storm Jacket, once an £80 jacket, is mine and all for just £6!

£6 - British Heart Foundation

Here we have some Gola socks, 2 pairs from a pack of 8! Wait for it.. that cost me £4!! I was on break from work in my local Tesco and had to buy, especially as I was experiencing the worst sock drought of my life!

£4 - Tesco

NOW WE HAVE SOME SHIRTS..

£2 - East End Thrift Store!

£2 - East End Thrift Store

£3 - Iain Rennie Hospice

£3 - Iain Rennie Hospice

The penultimate item is one my favourite buys, as I've been looking for a head sports bag for some time now! And when I finally bumped into one, the price meant I had to make it mine there and then. £4 people!!!

Jealous? Wait for my next acquisition!

After being told off on numerous occassions for thinking I can get away with wearing all black trainers, instead of smart shoes, I finally chose to conform. But I was still being stubborn I was only settling for a pair of Doc Martens, and when my hairdresser told me his best friend worked at Doc Martens, I thought life couldn't get better. Obviously, it did. Turns out my hairdresser Ben just bough brand new ones and was looking to get rid of his! Given my interest, Ben offered them to me for FREE, conveniently he lives opposite me girl Laura in Hackney so I was able to pick them up soon after the agreement was made and HERE they are..

£0 - A friend!

Jealous now? YOU STILL DON'T HAVE TO BE! As you see, I only really go to charity shops for these finds,  so go to your local charity shops and if they don't do it for you then go to some charity shops that aren't local to you? See how it works.. Also, if you really want something go to someone you think will have that thing and ask if they can advice you on the cheapest to get what you want.

Click here for more information on the East End Thrift Store. Some days EETS host a £1 day where selected items (ALOT) are all a pound.

Save your pounds and shop cheap people!

Stay tuned and stay blessed!!