• Kess’ Cozy Music Corner #13: Ta-Ku

    This edition of Kess' Cozy Music Corner shines a spotlight on doozy Aussie beat-maker Ta-Ku, who's combining of swirling bass lines with vibrant visual effects have made him a force to reckon with in the R&B/Hip-Hop scene....
  • The Beautiful Confessions of Loyle Carner

    Ben Coyle-Larner, from Lambeth, adopts the name Loyle Carner when he serenades us with his eloquent flow. His stage name is some sort of intentional double-barrel spoonerism that reflects how he has struggled with ADHD from a young age. This perfectly summarises him as a person. Carner is paving...
  • Is Music Sampling Plagiarism?

    The nature of hip-hop music’s creative culture is introspective: artists are always studying existing music for inspiration. Music samples are interwoven into most hip-hop tracks, enabling artists to create lyrical collages. Snippets of songs and beats are flipped, sped up, cut, pitched up and are subsequently used as fragments...
  • The Rise of Meme Culture in Rap

    In April of this year, Kanye West released the track ‘Lift Yourself’. The lyrics “Poopy-di-scoop / Scoop-diddy-whoop” soon became an internet meme. Kanye, a well-established musician with well over a decade of work up his sleeve, just risked humiliating himself for the sake of a comedic throwaway track. But...
  • Interview – Bad Sounds

    Brothers Ewan and Callum of Bad Sounds released their captivating debut album Get Better this summer, demonstrating that a lifetime of making music both together and apart certainly pays off. The exploratory work of the five-piece group belies the blending of Callum’s pop background with Ewan’s work in hip-hop,...
  • Flawless: Chase The Dream @ Theatre Royal

    Stars of Britain’s Got Talent in 2009 and following their world tour, the street dance troupe Flawless are back in the UK performing dazzling routines with a surprising comedic twist. The show is exactly what is to be expected from World Champions, with an ambitious foray of routines, several...
  • Rapture: Netflix’s Newest Hip-Hop Series

    MC Tasha returns, with some new bars, Revealing the light back on the old stars, New artists, true artists who’ve all got the beat, and Netflix is showing us their victorious defeat. With Hip-Hop and Rap weaving its way into the charts music of today, Netflix launches a series...