You'll have to excuse me for the slightly misleading headline: This blog is about George Sampson's mobiles phone numbers, although whether you'll find it here depends on whether you're one of the 'lucky' fans he called up the other night. He'll have certainly collected a few numbers the other night.
For some of you reading this it will be a lesson in online safety. Please keep reading...
One blogger at The Ap of Crap (hardly national press, but read on because at least they took the time of day to flag this up) has expressed their disappointment at George Sampson and his fan's behaviour while he was broadcasting live interviews over Twitter with his fans.
I wasn't exactly looking for it, but when someone in your feed puts up their phone number and it has after it (@georgesampson live on http://twitcam.com/2u2kx) I knew it could only end badly.
He said. At this point I was curious too, so I read on.
The only downside is that everyone on Twitter or watching that stream could see everyone else's number. Not the best idea when your loyal fan club is under 16...
Ouch! Check out the screen grab showing Sampson calling one of his friends on his mobile:
A George Sampson fan on Twitter is easy to identify: The use of the terms "Sampson" or "GS" in their username, mentions of George in their profile information and when he tweeted them and the abundance of obsessive tweets like "I've just woken up. @georgesampson would love to know that!!"
The trouble is many haven't yet grasped that they're exposing their personal details to the world each time they post details like their mobile phone number, email or whereabouts on Twitter - those people's mobile numbers can still be found on Twitter if you know how to look.
With any luck they'll have changed their Twitter settings to private and dumped their old SIM card.
It'd be interesting knowing what Sampson's management think about this. Will they address it? Or perhaps George will realise the error of his ways. If anyone wants to bring this to their attention, I invite you to comment on this blog.
Does this not look epic? If not a little scary by the perma-smiles on the faces of the people dancing in the advert, but I'm talking about the game!
The Michael Jackson Experience on Wii looks quite good. Since playing Just Dance 2 a few weeks back on the Wii I've been able to experience the joy and challenge of motion sensing games - but this time you can be Michael Jackson!
Much of the Michael Jackson Experience has been kept under wraps as the Jackson Estate has been working closely with the producers, but the teaser clips they've released more recently seem to show the moves will be a lot more technical than Just Dance - which I like (some dances on Just Dance are more like dance warm ups than routines - in other words, too easy for the advanced dancer!). This one's going to be a challenge!
While Just Dance had original ideas for each of its routines, every song in the MJ Experience is a homage to each video, my favourite teaser being the duet from the Moonwalker film, above.
Apparently the game is to be released on the PS3 Move, Nintendo DS and PSP (your guess is as good as mine how that'll work) as well as the X-Box Kinect, which if I could afford, would be even better. So far though no official footage has been released, only a couple of grainy YouTube videos from video game conventions.
Michael Jackson Experience is out on 26 November. Buy from Amazon.
Here is Bellatrix (the one who scratched during Return of the Mack), who beatboxes with the amazing vocal group The Boxettes. Video: Bellatrix interview
The old Diversity vs Flawless debate is one that won't die down in street dance. We all know who should have won, right? Yet whenever one says one group name should have won, someone else says the other. So I've found a unit of measurement and a scale that works. Sort of.
The results? Presently Diversity score 267 (out of 1,000) - nearly "thick as two planks" while Flawless score an incredible 875 - "dumb as a bag of hammers."
OK, it's only a bit of fun and the results will constantly change, but it's still a laugh having a mess around and entering different celebrity's Twitter names and seeing what the results are. Tom Scott, the guy who programmed the app, created it because:
"A lot of people on Twitter are stupid. Many of these people follow celebrities and try to send them messages. But which celebrity's fans are most stupid? It's time to find out."
A classical scene featuring Bing Crosby holding his microphone in hand about to grace awaiting families at Christmas with a crooning song before breaking into beatboxing! Badd! Not too sure how well it scores for relevant audience, but I'll leave the critiques to the experts, I like the fact beatboxing will be seen by millions.
People will soon be asking who is the beatboxer in the Argos advert?
A lot of people might wrongly think it's Beardyman, but Beardyman has a different style. I have reason to believe it's this guy (see update below to find out who it actually is):
Check out this video of the circus performers from The 7 Fingers at Kings Cross to promote Traces.
The 7 fingers (correct Canadian-French name - 7 doigts de la main) have to be one of the most amazing acts that have I that aren't street dancers.
As I've already seen them three times (once at Sadler's Wells Sampled, once in Traces and once for their most recent show, Psy) i didn't see a reason to run another preview on the Traces, but that hasn't stopped it being one of our most searched for reviews.
That doesn't mean each time it comes to town you should miss it though! Like a cross between circus and b-boying, the gymnastics in 7 Fingers achieve stunts you won't believe and probably sets them back a few bob in life insurance!
Last night was the Just Dance 2 launch party at Club Valbonne, Picadilly, London, so I figured a dark nightclub might be a good place to take the camera out on a spin and do a bit of celebrity spotting. Prepare yourself for some dodgy page layouts so the photos can be squeezed in. This isn't a report, just some amateur photo journalism...
Earlier on in the day we announced we were going to live tweet and blog throughout the Streetdance 3D DVD launch party (at HMV Forum Kentish Town). We well managed to catch George Sampson, Akai and Flawless on the red carpet before the main event, so figured the sooner we get the videos out the better (and show other websites and news outlets we're serious!)
IF you want more then we'll be announcing updates and stories via the TooMuchFlavour Facebook Page - don't miss out, fan us now!
Streetdance 3D was big in the UK, there's no denying that, although arguably not as big as Step Up 3D - how do I know this? Because nobody made a parody of it!
Except for this, which isn't a parody (the slideshow was knocked up for illustration), its actual promo
Readers, although not all the jokes hit their mark, I present to you a recent find on YouTube, courtesy of Electric Spoofaloo (I know, just like Electric Boogaloo!) a Step Up 3D parody: Schlep Up!
When you run a hip hop website there's always a stigma attached to what you do. When I first set out on my mission with TooMuchFlavour the intention was to focus on the positive aspects of hip hop because of the negativity surrounding it.
Then I started getting offers to attend screenings for films like Shank and other violent gritty Brit flicks.
I realised that although I wanted to run features on them, maybe I didn't want to because it depicted negativity, and promoting that might have an impact on future prospects for us (council partnerships, for example, might not allow swearing anywhere on a sponsored site).
The Who Killed Deon series is a campaign by the Metropolitan Police in association with Drop the Weapons to promote awareness of knife crime in cities.
In a whodunnit style the viewer has to watch the first video and is asked to guess who killed Deon at the party from a line of suspects in the related videos option.
Readers, we can be fussy about what aspects of hip hop we report on, but we can't change what the actual culture has become. Just because it isn't what we always report on, it doesn't mean it doesn't exist.
Drenched in snarling fuzz guitars, savage drums and spooky organs, this new collection of tracks unleashes his technicolor take on this sound. A pinch of the old and a drop of the new, creating a brand new monster! Inspired by the classics like Count Five, The Sonics and the Nuggets and Back To The Grave collections to revivalists like The Gruesomes, Gravedigger V and The Dukes of Stratosphear, Ursula 1000 takes in this obsession and flips it for a new generation.
FUZZ features the inimitable Fred Schneider from The B-52s on the opening song, Hey You! Fred and his band paved the way of mixing b-movie surf trashiness and new wave as does Ursula with his blending vintage grooves with modern electronica, thus making the pairing a no-brainer. This is not pastiche but a re-invention!
Ursula 1000 is the alter ego of Brooklyn, New York based producer/DJ Alex Gimeno. His albums (four artists albums and two DJ mixed CDs) and live/radio mix sessions have taken on a broad scope of retro tinged spy grooves, bumping latin disco funk, hints of post punk, electro, go go and sleazy glam rock. You can hear it in his remixes for the likes of Quincy Jones, Felix Da Housecat, The Faint, Fort Knox Five to a slew of television remodels for themes to Sesame Street, The Powerpuff Girls, The Incredibles and Yo Gabba Gabba. Scenes for Sex And The City, Grey’s Anatomy and How I Met Your Mother popped even more with a helping of a little Ursula as have campaigns for AT&T, Samsung, Adidas and Grand Marnier.
You can find him traveling the world dj-ing at places like Fabric, The Big Chill Festival, Shambhala or even at his home residencies at Trophy Bar and The Commodore. For a more obscure selection of songs that make him tick, check out his radio show, Guilty Pleasures on www.BrooklynRadio.com
FUZZ is released October 5 (digital) / October 19 (physical) on ESL Music
8-trak productions is a small London based team of musicians and producers. We specialise in creating hip-hop, soul, & funk beats and are currently working with some of the best undergraound UK artists, such as Chima, Louise Golbey and Kadija Kamara, making real UK soul and hip hop.
Featuring Chima Anya, Grand Central, Karess, Nutty NRG & Suga Diezel, Louise Golbey and Kadija Kamara and more!
Tracklist:
01 Baby You Know
02 Lifestyle
03 Freaky Type
04 So Be That
05 Fool 4 Luv
06 Real Hustla Music
07 Got That Soul (8trak Remix)
08 The Lights
09 It's Karess
10 G-Life
Enter any fine house music club over the last few months and chances are you’ve heard Dennis Ferrer’s Hey Hey – this summer’s most talked about track - playing on the sound system.
An anthem in the truest sense, “Hey Hey” is captivating clubland and the airwaves with its flawless and much welcome return to the classic vocal house sound. The track has been heavily supported internationally by BBC Radio One tastemaker Pete Tong (among many other influential DJs) who called it “a return to the finest virtues of house music,” while the fans have spoken to the tune of over 3.5 million views (and counting) of the Hey Hey promo video.
Ready for a US takeover, Dennis Ferrer teams up with legendary New York City house music label Strictly Rhythm for the stunning new package – Hey Hey: The Remixes. This collection takes Ferrer’s gem under the remix knife with brand new interpretations from Deepah Ones, Kaytronik, Tom De Neef, Dim Chris, Crookers, Vandalism and a brand new lead mix from Friscia and Lamboy. To help celebrate this great new release, Strictly Rhythm presents the official music video for Hey Hey that acts as a perfect compliment to this instant classic.
A Grammy Nominee for his “Objektivity Mix" of Dido's Don't Believe In Love, Dennis Ferrer’s trademark is his skillful work with vocals and high production standards. He is considered a “producer’s producer” for crafting house music tracks with real instruments, analog production techniques and proper song structures. This is a rarity at a time when computer production methods are at an all time high. As a result, Dennis Ferrer has found a magic formula in Hey Hey that perfectly captures the classic vocal sound with a look to the future.
Ferrer has always been one to start a movement rather than follow one. Just as the dance music world was heading into the world of afro-centric house, Ferrer was there. And then, when it began to embrace the mix of tech and soul, Ferrer was there again, leading the way with his impeccable productions. And now as the world rediscovers a taste for classic vocal-based house, Dennis Ferrer’s at the forefront with Hey Hey. As Ferrer goes, it seems, so does electronic music – strictly speaking.
Is the public's interest in Diversity waning?
When I heard about this it made me mad: I got a message on my phone saying "Diversity are here [at the Into the Hoods press night] and they brought a film crew."
What's wrong with Diversity watching a show? Nothing actually, I'm sure they get invited to many a show. Observing doesn't hurt anyone. It's the cameras - they came into the auditorium with a film crew, meaning an unavoidable huddle of DV fanatics.
There are ways of publicising an event to get it into the gossip pages, one of them is to invite celebrities along (dancers are NOT celebrities!). It worked when Sadler's Wells invited a press huddle for the press night of Blaze: The Streetdance Sensation at the Peacock Theatre.
The link between Diversity and Into the Hoods is as follows: Akai is in Into the Hoods; Ashley Banjo of Diversity fame stood drop-jawed at Akai's performance in Got to Dance; Got to Dance series two is auditioning and the interest has to tick over until it airs some point in winter. In the mean time publicity dictates the direction where their careers go (judging opportunities, TV spin offs, and so forth).
But the way it appears is, regardless of the relation to Akai being in this summer's production, by turning up with a film crew (complete with lighting) at someone else's show turns a LOT of attention on you and not on the show itself. Rather than focussing attention on what's happening on stage the attention is diverted away from it.
Why would you want to turn up at another company's event and make it your own? Hmm. Attention seeking? It seems slipping in through the back door and taking your seat is so out of fashion (the Queen is renowned for doing this when visiting the West End to watch shows).
Instead its all about the hype surrounding the celebrity, getting people to pay attention to you and doing it in front of hundreds of people when the original dancing was in fact on stage.
Like lambs to the slaughter fans ended up flooding Diversity rather than recognising Zoonation's contribution to the arts: over an hour's worth of hip hop theatre. People paid for tickets to see the show. Some may feel they got better value for money with a few celebrities showing up
Consider that Akai, last night's main attraction, turned up to Boy Blue's A Nite With Da Bratz a fortnight ago and didn't roll up with a team, just his parents and relatives. What does that say about people recognising entities better than them?
Diversity don't realise how fortunate they are to have won Britain's Got Talent against the choreographic might of Flawless. The keeping up appearances since they won Britain's Got Talent panders between securing successful commercial futures - appearing in the Streetdance 3Dmovie; Got to Dance judging; Dance4Life sponsorships, etc - to overshadowing others.
For the sake of the future of original street dance, Diversity and the media circus that surround them has to stop.
We've had our say, now have yours. You can comment using the box below.
Flying in straight off the back of the monstrously witty 2009 Wrap Up Mystro delivers Around My Way produced by DJ Swerve [Kiss FM / Street Fighter Riddim], the first look into the mind of Digmund Freud taken from the EP of the same name.
The track is classic Mystro. Pitch perfect prose, laced with humour as sharp as… well hmmm something very very sharp!?! I’ll leave the punch lines to Mystro, as it’s clearly what he does best!
Just in case you didn’t know Mystro didn’t just appear out the blue yesterday, he’s done a few laps, some round the world! Having started rapping at the age of 13, after being inspired by the classic “Golden Era” of MCs, he first made his mark building a reputation as one of the UK hip hop’s brightest vocal talents while hosting and performing at a number of the biggest events of the time, including the iconic Kung Fu. He’s also collaborated with a who’s who of British heavy weights, including Black Twang, Rodney P and Ty. He’s released albums in Australia and currently hosts his own TV show on SPINE.TV.
Atlantic Records are set to release Step Up 3D - Original Motion Soundtrack on July 26, the musical companion to upcoming Touchstone Pictures/Summit Entertainment dance film, which opens in cinemas across the UK on August 6. The soundtrack precedes the lead single Club Can’t Handle Me by Flo Rida (featuring David Guetta), released on August 2.
Step Up 3D is the third in the series of the prestigious dance phenomenon; the coming-of-age feel-good dance romance is set to take this summer by storm. The film stars Harry Shum Jr., Adam Sevani, Ally Maki, Sharni Vinson and Kylie Goldstein and is directed by the award-winning Jon M. Chu. With Step Up’s prior soundtracks (released in 2006 and 2008) now approaching cumulative sales of one million copies, the fresh release stars Estelle, Trey Songz, Flo Rida and many more hot talents in the urban sphere, embodying the fantastic line-up of the film’s previous releases.
Following on from his previous chart success, Grammy nominated Flo Rida has produced a sure-fire hit with Club Can’t Handle Me. Produced by the infamous David Guetta (Britney Spears, Akon, Madonna), the track is currently enjoying support from the likes of Choice, Galaxy, Capital and Kiss FM. 2008 saw the release of the rapper’s #1 4xRIAA platinum-certified dancefloor smash ‘Low (Featuring T-Pain)’ which stayed in the UK charts for over a year! Flo’s 2009’s single Right Round (sample of Dead or Alive’s 1984 single You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)) also debuted at #1 in the UK’s official single charts. Across the pond, the track became the US’ fastest million-selling digital track in history.
The artwork for the UK B-Boy Championships is being made - and so is a little bit of breaking history! And it's going to look as cool as the pre-visualisation artwork below, if not better. (Read the news story on AllStreetDance)
15 years of the B-Boy Championships and the creative they're putting behind it for its anniversary is surpassing past years.
Yesterday was a ten-hour day (not for me, as I turned up intentionally late) to get the promo for the championships ready. Everybody was in the house, from Soul Mavericks (national champions) to Plague (who had to jet off to Blackpool to rehearse for their show, MJ Timeless), La Familia, with members of Ruthless and Wet Wipez spotted around for additional faces in crowd shots.
The theme of this year's posters isn't just battles, it's all out war! Inspired by classical war paintings, the posters will be packed with action with hundreds of battles taking place.
At the start of the day shots were taken of four main 'hero' dancers in various poses, before additional 'layers' were added to the composition. Adding the layers meant that hundreds of photos had to be taken at different distances and angles from the cameras on what looked like a gaffer taped spider's web on the studio floor. It also meant a few costume changes to appear as different people in other shots.
What had to be done next was a lot of shouting and overreacting to cyphers until the photographers until they were happy with their shot. Here's the cool bit - as I was standing around I was asked if I wanted to be part of it! Somewhere in the background of the new posters you're going to see me overreacting and pulling a silly face at a dancer! To be a background face, even if it's the back of my head, in an anniversary poster for the B-Boy Championships - I'm honoured!
It's going to take around a week to make the poster artwork look perfect, although the graphic designers worked on early versions of the poster, live in the studio.
To give you an idea, the final poster is going to look something like the photo below:
Expect to see more 'making of' footage and photos as soon as we receive them...
In honor of KRS ONE and the Temple of Hip Hop, and all the pioneers of Hip Hop culture, Caddy One presents Universal Language. No matter where in the world you are, Hip Hop is the “Universal Language” everyone understands.
Universal Language will be released as a free download, but in addition, we also want to manufacture 1000 limited edition CDs and 1000 limited edition pieces of vinyl and shirts. By supporting Universal Language you will be helping to finance the manufacture of these products and preserve the history of Hip Hop. We will also manufacture an official Temple of Hip Hop Archive DVD by KRS ONE and the Temple of Hip Hop.
In gratitude for your support, Caddy One will send you DVD quality instant downloads of his projects with KRS ONE: Hip Hop Leadership Conference (2005) and How To Stop the Violence (2009). Click here to find out more.
Tracklist
1. Universal Language intro ft KRS ONE and Suzka (Canada) 02:46
2. "Set yourself free" Ft Dj Snagneto cuts/beat (So cal) 03:01
3. "Got it like that" ft Kimber Lovely beat by Beat Blox (So cal) 02:30
4. "No dumping in space" ft Dj Luke Vicious, beat by C.O.M.B.Z (Switzerland) 04:15
5. "Prelude to a crisis" ft Snagneto on the beat. (So Cal) 03:30
6. Mc Lyte blesses the mic. (So cal) 00:36
7. "The power of future" ft KRS ONE. Beat by The D.O.R.K (Disciple Of Righteous Knowledge) 05:21
8. "Flawed" ft Nazmo on the beat. (Kildare Ireland) 01:409. Caddy One - Freestyle Beat box and Rap (drops from Chali 2na, Super Natural, J Roz) 01:05
10. "Make-Up on your soul" ft NoMad'92 on the beat. (Ile-de-France) 03:20
11. Legendary Ras Kass drops knowledge.. (So Cal) 00:19
12."H1N1 IS NOT REAL!!!" beat by E.Q and LD on the cuts "Technicali" (So Cal) 05:21
13. "Generate the love" (Iskoces) Beat Blox on the beat. (So Cal) 02:08
14."10 Elements of Hip Hop" beat by E.Q. DJ Snagneto on the cuts. (So Cal) 03:3015. "Addictions" beat by E.Q (So Cal) 02:50
16. "Peter the believer" Beat by Oddio 2020 (So Cal) 02:43
17. "Hip Hops Holy Spirit" Beat by The D.O.R.K. (Disciple Of Righteous Knowledge) 02:58
18. "Rocking into the soul" Beat by DeadBeat (So Cal) 01:50
19. "Tribal minded" Beat by The D.O.R.K. (Disciple Of Righteous Knowledge) 01:1720. "Night Fall" Ft Virus One (Fribourg/Foggia/Paris Switzerland) Beat by Beat Blox (So Cal) 04:19
21. "Let It Shine" Beat by Dj Supa Dave 02:22
22. "Hip Hop Honor forever" Beat by DeadBeat, ft Kimber Lovley on vocals (So Cal) 04:17
Turn Off the Radio Vol. 4 follows up to last year's Vol. 3 Pulse of the People with Green Lantern. Embodying the hip-hop duo's growth over the last decade, Revolutionary but Gangsta Grillz is a result of the journey they have endured being signed to two major labels, touring globally, releasing solo projects, and launching their full multi-media brand Boss Up, Inc. M-1 and Stic.man bring this refined perspective while still utilizing their traditional take over trademark of flipping mainstream hits as demonstrated with their first two leaks, which are spins on B.O.B's Nothing On You and Drake's Far From Over.
"We wanted to just capture that love for hip hop. To give the people something for the summer that we could let folks know we still here, we doing well and we still growing," says Stic. "The hunger is there, the creativity is there, the flows are there, and the message is there. This is one of my favorite albums in the Turn off the Radio Series."
Reflective of their journey, the project also pays homage to the same Dead Prez that emerged at dawn of the 21st Century on Loud Records, bringing a revolutionary political consciousness to mainstream hip-hop with songs like I'm An African and Police State. Their bold lyrics and style rapidly developed a stronghold that has kept them at the forefront and made them the go to political hip-hop group with an impact that has brought about work with Jay-Z, Dave Chapelle, Kanye West, presidential candidate Cynthia McKinney, and countless other artists, academics, and political figures. They have inspired everyone from Nas to T.I. to Drake with their outspoken political audacity and knack for shedding light on life struggles.
Celebrating the 10 year anniversary of their debut album, Let's Get Free, Take Over is Dead Prez's spin on Drake's infamous song Far From Over.
Fully exuding their signature mastery of flipping mainstream hits, it is the latest release from Dead Prez's soon to be released Turn Off the Radio Vol. 4 Revolutionary But Gangsta Grillz project with DJ Drama.
I thought this might be of interest to readers as there are short clips of Tommy in Mamma Mia! which has been a popular search term over the past few months, so for everyone looking for those clips, enjoy!
This compilation is the first ever to document the birth of disco in Philadelphia and the work of the unsung musicians who played on the numerous hits that came out from the Philadelphia scene.
The compilation exclusively features five remixes and four edits by Dimitri from Paris.
This release is a historical documentation of the birth of modern dance or nightclub music. Every remixer, DJ and dancefloor has been influenced by the content of this release. Gamble and Huff granted BBE access to multi track tapes for four tracks for Dimitri to create new mixes of their classic recordings.
A Tom Moulton Mix in the style of his legendary Sandpiper mix tapes brought him to the attention of Philly International and Salsoul records and started off the remix, available exclusively from the BBE website using download codes available to physical copy purchases.
The release will be accompanied by extensive liner notes, pictures, interviews and anecdotes from the legendary players involved in the music.
Disco facts about this sampler:
Earl Young is founder of The Trammps and creator of the 4/4 disco drum pattern which laid the template for every dance record since.
Recording engineer Joe Tarsia founded Sigma Sound in 1968, and virtually of all the disco recordings released on Philadelphia International, Salsoul, Philly World, Gold Mind and Atlantic were made at his studio.
Catch 22 are the people behind my motivation as a journalist. Over a year ago, before TooMuchFlavour broke out of it's shell and screamed "Screw it, let's do it!" these guys were here to assist me with a helping hand into journalism.
If it wasn't for them I might have packed writing in, but after 12 week's training with the academy, my attitude changed a lot.
Catch 22 Magazine recruiting journalists
Interested in the world around you – from your local area to the opposite side of the globe? Love to communicate with people, in any, and every way possible? Recognise how contributing your unique perspective adds up to a well-formed world view?
If you've answered yes to any of the above and are aged between 18-30, then boy have we got some good news for you. Catch 22 isn't just a really hip magazine that's distributed in London every three months. It's also a training academy where aspiring journalists can learn the trade from industry professionals for a tiny fee.
The course is targeted at people who have little or no journalistic experience or training, and are struggling to get their foot in the door of a competitive industry. The Academy offers a basic grounding in print journalism, teaching trainees what to expect of the industry and how to make their mark.
And if that's not enough of an incentive, Catch 22 is funded by media sponsors such as Trinity Mirror, Haymarket and The Economist. As well as providing financial support for the programme, the media partners also offer internships to trainees who have completed the Academy, providing an important first chance to shine.
The deadline for applications to the April Academy cohort is midnight on 18th June. Shortlisted applicants will then be called for interviews at the Academy's headquarters in Seven Sisters, from which 12 students will be chosen.
A year ago, the first time I went to a beatboxing jam and knew very little about it, the host, Stig of the Dump, remarked that "this is a real beatboxing jam - some of you have only seen beatboxing watching Beardyman on YouTube!"
Well truth be told... I hadn't seen Beardyman myself! To be fair, it was the first time I'd investigated beatboxing.
All is about to change, however, as following Shlomo's run of Boxedthere's not one but two more beatboxing performances as part of the E4 Udderbelly.
Freestyle Project is bringing together beatboxing with slam poetry, emceeing, visuals and guitar for a hip hop mash-up of everything that makes organic hip hop so wonderful.
As your eyes peruse the flyer, you'll see that Stig of the Dump is also in the line up, as is the poet Dizraeli whose talent I have mad respect for (apart from trying to put one past the audience at Shaking Spears). JFB, DMC Champion 2007, is on decks, and 'J'm Black, who I'd offend trying to pronounce his name, is on guitar.
Throw a loop station into the mix and the result is going to be pretty cool!
The Freestyle Project is on Monday 7 June 2010 at the Udderbelly by the Southbank Centre.
It's £14 (Concessions £11) 8:30pm – 10:00pm. Box office: 0871 663 2538
Beardyman Unshaved is the second beatboxing event, a fortnight later on Monday 21. Prepare yourself for a standby ticket, as it's been entirely booked up!
"Jay from Streetdance 3D" is the most popular search landing people on the site right now. Although, when you're bare chested on the poster of an international movie its hard not attract that sort of attention. (Read all of our Streetdance 3D blogs here)
People will want to know a little more about Ukweli Roach, or for those in dance, Quails from Birdgang (hint: all of Birdgang's dancers are named after a bird).
On the name tip, the closest translation of 'ukweli' to English comes from the Swahili word for 'truth.' Hopefully we can enlighten you with some truth about who he be. Details of his CV seem a little scarce on the internet, so we've done the research to save you time.
After seeing Ukweli as Jay in Streetdance 3D you might wonder about his career. Dancer? Actor? ... Model? Maybe all of the above?
Ukweli has been dancing professionally since 18, and past jobs included dancing for Mariah Carey, Alexandra Burke and Kylie Minogue.
Ukweli also dances, choreographs and teaches for Birdgang, for which he is also one of the company directors. One example of his finest choreography includes Me and Mrs Jones:
The dancing doesn't stop at street, however. Ukeweli is also capable of tap (as showcased in Blaze), flamenco and Latin, singing in tenor and baritone, playing the trumpet at grade 6 level and speaking conversational Spanish.
Notable acting appearances whilst at RADA included playing Mr Grisby in The Importance of Being Earnest, Oedipus in Oedipus the King and Achilles in Troilus and Cressida. His Shakespeare performances have seen him grace the stage at The Globe in Helen and Romeo and Juliet.
There's plenty in store for Ukweli. Although a reputable international dancer and battler, his appearance in Streetdance 3D will open the opportunities for pursuing his acting career further, but will that mean leaving dancing behind?
Ukweli's next silver screen appearance is Venus and the Sun - a short film alongside Page 3 model Keeley Hazel and Will Smith (not the Fresh Prince one).
Streetdance 3D interviews taken from the production notes with an emphasis on the street dance aspect. Read our Streetdance 3D review here.
Nichola Burley (left) plays Carly, leader of the street dance troupe that must work with the ballet dancers to be in with a chance of winning the UK Street Dance Championships.
“Carly’s a very sweet girl, but she’s very driven by her dancing ambitions,” says Burley. “She’s not had the luckiest of upbringings but, nevertheless, she has always carried on doing it and it’s always driven her. She’s challenged a lot throughout the film and the exciting and inspiring thing about it is how she overcomes those challenges. Personally, I would be terrified at the thought of having to teach ballet students how to street dance. But she is actually stronger than even she realises. She just needs the encouragement to let that out. And, once she does, she ends up becoming the best that she can be. It’s all about her finding that inner strength, and finding out who she is.”
Carly’s best friend, and a source of much support throughout the film, is Shawna, played by Teneisha Bonner. “Shawna’s a loud mouth,” laughs Bonner. “Her day job is a hairdresser and she’s a straight talking, sassy, sexy kind of a girl. She says it the way it is.” One of the most fun parts about the character is Shawna’s outrageous look.
“She’s very colourful and loves big earrings and crazy wigs,” grins Bonner. “She’s got a wig for every day of the week so I actually wear about eight to ten wigs in the film. It’s a lot of fun playing someone like her.”
Bringing comic relief to the street dance crew are Mack and Boogie, the jokers of the pack.
“It’s really nice to work with a whole bunch of people that totally get you,” says Lex Milczarek, who plays Boogie. “Everyone’s so dedicated and hard working but, at the same time, everyone loves to have a laugh so we have a great time together. There are no egos on set. You do worry that, if you do films, you’re going to get stuck-up types; thespians or whatever. But everyone’s so chilled out and we get on really well. Which is great because we play a crew so we’re supposed to be like family.”
Bradley Charles, who plays Frankie, originally joined the project as assistant to Kenrick Sandy, the film’s street dance choreographer. “Kenrick and I were running the auditions when they saw me dance and asked me to audition for a role in the film,” Charles explains. “So I did a screen reading and a dance audition, then they offered me the role. It all happened by chance.
Frankie is one of the film’s more serious roles. He’s unhappy about Jay leaving the crew, and is extremely unsupportive of Carly’s attempts to take over as leader. “He feels that he would have been a better choice to lead the crew,” reveals Charles. “He gets in a huff about it, has a go at Carly and then leaves the crew. But he’s ambitious so he eventually comes back because he wants to win the competition.”
Frankie’s girlfriend is Steph, the role created for internationally renowned b-girl Steph Nguyen, who appeareed in Blaze: The Streetdance Sensation earlier this year.
“The character is basically me,” explains Steph. “Although the costumes are a little more sexy than I would normally wear! I wanted to be a part of this film because dance is my passion, it’s my life.”
Rounding off the street dance crew are Aimee (Sacha Chang) and Justine (Danielle 'Rhimes' Lecointe, also of the London Waacktitioners):
“Justine sings in the church choir and her mum thinks that she’s an angel,” explains Rhimes. “Little does she know that her Justine can be really bossy, with a big personality. The rest of the crew call her Big Justine.”
As for Aimee? “She’s basically a bit of a bitch,” laughs Chang. “She spends a lot of time bitching with Justine.”
Britain’s Got Talent winner George Sampson had the role of Eddie created especially for him.
“Eddie’s a lot like me,” he admits. “He’s quite cheeky and he really wants to be in Carly’s crew. He’s got a bit of a crush on her too. But, no matter how hard he tries to get involved, she says no.”
Eddie gets his chance to show what he can do on the dancefloor, despite Carly’s best efforts to prevent him.
“He doesn’t so much get his chance as make his chance,” says Sampson. “Not being biased, but he is the best character!”
Sampson had already worked with the directors, so he felt at home on set.
“Max and Dania directed my music video, Headz Up, last year,” he explains. “So they asked me to do a screen test to see if I could act and, luckily, they thought I could. This is my first film and I’d love to do more. I’m so excited to be involved with this because it’s the first British dance movie.”
George Sampson - Headz Up video
Sampson cites his inspiration as not only the usual suspects of Usher and Justin Timberlake, but also his childhood dance teacher. “His name was Swanny and he was my biggest inspiration,” says Sampson. “He has passed away now, but it was him that made me want to do it. He was in one of the first break-dancing crews that danced in Manchester’s Hacienda in the 1980s. It’s because of him that my style is quite old
school.”
Rhimes is extremely excited about the emerging popularity of street dance in the UK and thinks that Sampson’s springboard, Britain’s Got Talent, is partly responsible.
“Britain’s Got Talent is watched and voted for by not just the kind of people that you would expect to be into street dance, but by normal British people sitting at home on a Saturday night.” she says. “Dance has a wider appeal now because it has evolved, it’s got younger. And it’s entertaining for people. For me, it’s a passion. I teach a lot of young people and I’m always telling them, if you’re going to do this, it has to be from your heart.
And, as the passion grows, people inspire each other. A lot of films about young people in Britain are all about the ghetto and knives and guns. But we’ve come into this industry trying to inspire young people to be ambitious about something.”
