Phenomenally brilliant British singer Tawiah has announced the second release off her long-awaited mixtape ‘FREEdom Drop’.
Entitled ‘FAces’, the track is the follow-up to last month’s ‘TEARdrop’, and will be released this Friday as a free download. Thanks to an exclusive to HungerTV, take a listen to the track below. It comes with a trap-esque 2-step beat, present yet still allowing T’s beautiful vocals to shine.
Take a listen below and let us know your thoughts.
Over the past few years, London’s theatre scene has been exposed to multiple ‘new’ productions that have taken well-known stories to the stage…. Matilda, Charlie & The Chocolate Factory and Shrek to name but a few. Whilst these may be roaring successes at the box office, to me, these adaptations have made me feel there’s become a sense of stifling of creativity. This was one of the many reasons why I was looking forward to seeing Streets Project.
Taking a look at a highly sensitive issue (2011’s London riots), Streets has brought fresh breath into what’s seemingly become a staid industry. It positioned itself as a ‘new kind of musical’, and it totally lived up to that expectation. A young cast of relative unknowns, supported by a fresh new soundtrack, a compelling storyline and some great choreography, Streets did everything that it said on the tin… and then more.
Set alongside the infamous riots as a backdrop, the story focuses on a group of friends whose lives start spiralling in different directions through common-place issues in 21st century London, focusing on violence, drugs, love and social bonding.
I don’t want to get too much into the storyline (it’s really something you need to witness for yourselves without any spoilers embedded in your mind), but to put it into perspective, think Kiddulthood meets Ill Manors.
Drug dealer Skinner (played by the brilliant James Kenward) adds continued support as both a lead character and a rapping narrator (check out ‘Runaway’ and ‘The Narrator’ from the Ill Manors soundtrack to give you an idea on how that works). Standout performances from Alexandra Da Silva (playing 17-year-old-but-head-screwed-on pregnant Lily) and emotionally gripping Sian Louise (lead-character Robyn) bring all the characters together; whilst ‘This Is England’s’ Danielle Watson’s fantastic portrayal of Officer Brooks takes you back to reality and reminds you of what life was like in Croydon when the riots all ‘kicked off’ in August 2011.
Supported by some brilliant vocals of some fresh new tracks from Tori Allen-Martin and Benedict (aka @BenedictMusic) and astonishingly great beatboxing by Tom Swarman (aka Pikey Esquire), the audio soundtrack was high up there, easily equalling what’s available in the West End shows. Then there’s some lovely touches of hip-hop/street-inspired choreography (by Ryan-Lee Seager and Kamilah Beckles) to fuse the whole ‘experience’ together.
It’s actually hard to believe this musical has only been a few months in the making; the young cast are polished, strong, and act with a sense of emotion that draw the audience in and make them feel they are actually part of the scenes. Whilst some may say this is amateur theatre at its best (the cast were moving the set around themselves mid-acting), there was nothing amateur about this production.
Everything worked well; whilst there’s been movies over the years dealing with gang culture/miss-behaved kids/drugs/violence etc, it’s never successfully been brought to life on-stage…. until now. If you can cope with the most gripping of storylines though with a few laughs, songs and smiles along the way, then Streets Project is definitely one for you.
Kudos to you all – 4.5/5
Streets Project is on now at The Cockpit Theatre, Marylbone until 21st April. www.streetsproject.co.uk
Maybach Music Group CEO Rick Ross has just posted his remix of Kendrick Lamar’s killer new track ‘Bitch Don’t Kill My Vibe’.
In a very Rick Ross-y kind of way, the video centres around Ross sitting in white, rapping about his unfortunate learning difficulties when growing up, surrounded by a harem of scantily-clad women. It’s VERY Rick Ross, but ultimately a very cool attempt too.
Take a look/listen below:
Sky News has announced that restructuring firm Hilco are close to signing an agreement to save 140 HMV stores, securing almost 2,500 jobs.
Says Sky News’ City Editor, Mark Kleinman:
The deal, which could be announced as early as Friday morning, will involve HMV emerging from administration, backed by a new company incorporated in the UK. Hilco will acquire roughly 130 HMV-branded stores, and all nine of the outlets which operate under the cut-price music brand Fopp.
People close to the talks said an agreement was likely to be struck on Friday although it could yet be delayed.
Hilco has been the frontrunner to become the new owner of HMV since soon after Deloitte was appointed as administrator at the end of January. Initially brought in to manage the retailer’s business alongside Deloitte, the restructuring firm acquired HMV’s debts just days later.
The chain is expected to be run by a combination of incumbent HMV and newly-appointed Hilco executives.
Major music companies and film studios, anxious to retain a major distribution channel on Britain’s high streets, are understood to have agreed to new supply terms with HMV and have given their blessing to the deal. HMV’s landlords, confronted with the prospect of scores more vacant shops, are also understood to be supportive.
Some of the shops being taken on by Hilco had been earmarked for closure by Deloitte, so the final redundancy toll from HMV’s restructuring was unclear tonight. Prior to falling into administration, HMV had 230 shops in the UK.
Hilco, which has successfully turned around the performance of HMV’s Canadian business since buying it two years ago, also has plans to re-establish the brand in Ireland by reopening a store on Dublin’s Henry Street. HMV’s 16 Irish outlets, including the famous Grafton Street shop which has hosted gigs by the likes of U2, were closed in January.
Since the turn of the year, thousands of jobs have disappeared from Britain’s high streets as prominent chains including Blockbuster UK, Republic and Jessops have been forced to call in administrators. Some have been reborn in truncated form, with Jessops acquired by the Dragons’ Den entrepreneur Peter Jones and Republic taken over by Mike Ashley, the Sports Direct tycoon.
Trevor Moore, who had a brief stint running HMV before its collapse into administration, had hoped to put together a bid for the company but was made redundant in February. Among the other suitors which looked at bidding for HMV were Asda, the supermarket chain, and Jon Moulton, the private equity veteran.
HMV had been struggling for several years, pinned down under a debt mountain that vastly outweighed its stock market value. Caught between the dual pressures of fast-growing competition from digital rivals and waning consumer confidence, the company had shed some of its most prized assets, including Waterstone’s, the books retailer.
Hilco has had a mixed track record investing in other British retailers, having bought assets from chains including Allied Carpets, Ethel Austin and Woolworths.
Neither Deloitte nor Hilco could be reached for comment.
British XFactor winners Little Mix have unveiled the video for new single ‘How Ya Doin?’, bringing female femcee Missy Elliott along for the ride.
The track features a heavy sample of De La Soul’s legendary ‘Ring Ring Ring’, and it actually works pleasantly well. Although I’m not really a fan of pop music in itself, the track itself follows a funky and fresh vibe, whilst the video supports the above with full vibrancy emulating the funky beat of the single.
It’s great to see Missy in a video again; it’s been a far too long-time-coming (Elliott’s previous singles ‘9th Inning’ and ‘Triple Threat’ were downloads-only without any visual support). Fingers crossed this is early days of a PR machine in preparation for her new material.
Have a watch of the new video below and let us know your thoughts:
UK grime artist Wretch 32, along with up-and-comer Shakka have performed an acoustic rendition of new single ‘Blackout’ on SBTV’s acoustic series A64.
The performance of the first single from Wretch’s forthcoming third studio album is fantastic and shows the strength that lies with these two big talents. Check the performance out, as well as the phenomenal T. Williams remix of the new track, below, and let us know your thoughts:
Hip-hop legends De La Soul have taken to Rolling Stone to announce their return to the music scene, and have announced that their first single ‘Get Away’ will be released next week.
In the interview, the group’s DJ Maseo said:
“I think it’s a great record to reintroduce ourselves with. It’s pretty much reflecting on the state of hip-hop at this moment. Everything is redundant. Everything sounds the same. No real lyrical content. Everybody’s just doing business, not really creating”.
‘Get Away’ marks the band’s first single in 9 years, their first since ‘Rock co.Kane Flow’. The single will be accompanied by a video as part of a planned series of monthly releases through YouTube.
When speaking about long-awaited album ‘You’re Welcome’, Maseo also mentioned the requirement of looking at preceding it with multiple single releases:
“I think putting out those singles would be more impressionable than dropping an album at this present day in music…. It’s about trying to just creatively have a bunch of songs in the stable. You have to consider a lot from the administrative standpoint in the release of a project. I see the song that we’re putting out being the perfect B-side – with a video this time.”
We’ll be there to break ‘Get Away’ on its release next week. In the interim, it’s an exciting time for hiphop fans. Check out blog-favourite ‘Ring Ring Ring’ below to whet your appetite for the return of these legends:
Rihanna has released a 15-second teaser trailer for her forthcoming documentary on US TV channel Fox.
The documentary special will go behind-the-scenes on her 2012 777 tour (where the artist played 7 concerts at 7 different venues in 7 major cities) and cover everything from the flights (and champagne bottles popping) to addressing various tour rumours (ie snubbing folk in-flight). For fans of Rihanna, this is set to be a big eye-opener to the mammoth 7-day alcohol-fuelled party.
Check out the trailer below:
UK electro/D&B quartet Rudimental have released the video to their new single ‘Waiting All Night’.
The track is the third cut off their forthcoming album ‘Home’, set for release on 23rd April, and features guest vocals from Ella Eyre.
Take a look below and let us know your thoughts:
Warner Pictures has released the official trailer to forthcoming movie ‘The Great Gatsby’, which features a sneak appearance by Beyonce and Andre 3000’s joint cover of Amy Winehouse’s ‘Black To Black’.
It’s widely know that Bey’s husband Jay-Z has scored a majority of the soundtrack, whilst there will be a mix of old and new tracks from the likes of The XX, Nero, Florence & The Machine and Bryan Ferry. The first song to be released from the soundtrack is expected to be Lana Del Rey’s ‘Young & Beautiful’, whilst Emeli Sande has dueted with Bryan Ferry for a cover of Beyonce’s ‘Crazy In Love’.
‘The Great Gatsby’, starring Leonardo diCaprio and Tobey Maguire, will be in UK cinemas from mid-May. If the film is half as good as the soundtrack seems to appear, it’ll be a winner at the box office.
Check out the trailer and full tracklisting below:
– 100$ Bill – JAY Z
– Back To Black – Beyoncé x André 3000
– Bang Bang – will.i.am
– A Little Party Never Killed Nobody (All We Got) – Fergie + Q Tip + GoonRock
– Young And Beautiful – Lana Del Rey
– Love Is The Drug – Bryan Ferry with The Bryan Ferry Orchestra
– Over The Love – Florence + The Machine
– Where The Wind Blows – Coco O. of Quadron
– Crazy in Love – Emeli Sandé and The Bryan Ferry Orchestra
– Together – The xx
– Hearts A Mess – Gotye
– Love Is Blindness – Jack White
– Into the Past – Nero
– Kill and Run – Sia