j*9 interviews Jo Bean

Jo Bean's CV is as interconnected as King Cross Station, having worked with a carousel of artists from the UK and the US, with names like, Slum Village, Floerty and Mos Def to name but a few. She has been involved in the Music Industry for 15 years and the role she plays in that labyrinth is Radio Promotion. Check out the interview below. (For all aspiring artists take notes, she offers some sound advice).


J*9: Describe yourself in three sentences
Jo Bean: I am obsessed with music, been doing this for a long time, I am a quiet but can make noise when needed.

J*9: What is an average day like?
Jo Bean: I do radio promotion, so I am currently chasing up DJs to get feedback on tracks. This is my biggest hurdle they get sent so much material nine times out of ten they will hit the delete button. So it is hard work. If everybody came back to me with feedback it would make my life so much easier.

J*9: How hard is it to get Artist’s music out there?
Jo Bean: There are loads of different sides, you got people doing Press, Online, TV and through Social Networking sites. It depends upon how big of a team is on board. I have been involved in campaigns where there are so many people that it takes a lot of money and time. When it is independent artists they are often doing it themselves, especially through the whole youtube, myspace or even selling their Cds on the streets.

J*9: Is it easier having a record label behind them or doing all the promotion yourself?
Jo Bean: Well you have to start from the bottom, you need to get support from people out there, the DJs, Pirate Radio Stations they all have to be on it. What is happening now is that the Major Labels are not even looking at you until you have some heat on you. They want you to do all the work as soon as you do the work, they are thinking this ones looking okay.

J*9: It seems before Record Labels were willing to invest in up and coming talent?
Jo Bean: Back in the day Major [Labels] definitely took more risk with artists and they used to develop people slowly. These days if you release a single and it bombs then that is it you are dropped. In the hip-hop world Majors do not take them seriously, which is why a lot of artists have gone down the independent route. Years ago people wanted big advances you don’t get that now, but you have to pay it all back anyway. Them days are long gone. Even in America all the old school hip-hop guys are doing it themselves, they are putting it out on their own labels and keeping all the money for themselves.

J*9: So how did you get involved in Music Promotion?
Jo Bean: I started off working in record shops and I got a job working in a soul label many moons ago. I moved on to a radio promotion company, I have been in that type of role ever since. I have done label management for All City Music and I love the label management side of things.

J*9: Why is that?
Jo Bean: It was Dan Green Peace label; when I was running it he let me get on with things. It wasn’t just one role, which can be boring you get to have your fingers in many different pies. You are dealing with gigs, promotion, looking after tracks, distributions and then you get too see the end result. In a Major label you would only get to do one little bit and I have experience in everything and that is what I like.

J*9: What was it like working at All City Music?
Jo Bean: All City Music was owned by Dan Greenpeace he manages Sway on the label there was Pyrelli, Baby J, Shameless etc. We also managed Rawkus Records when they came back out, but it disbanded because that audience had grown up now so it harder to get the music out there.

J*9: Grass Rootz is your own thing?
Jo Bean: It is specialist radio Promotion mainly all hip-hop, bit of r’n’b and no grime! I have to be huge fans of the musicxa if I am not feeling it then I can’t project it.

J*9: How do you promote the Artists you work with?
Jo Bean: I work for a lot of new artists so it is really creating a buzz about them and it depends on who else is involved. If you are dealing with American artists, it helps if they are coming over doing tour dates it is whatever you can do to get their name out there.

J*9: What is an effective strategy to promote yourself?
Jo Bean: If it were fresh talent, I would only take it on if I thought it was good. I get sent a lot of material and think nope that’s not happening! But I am pretty straight with people and will tell them if I think it is not strong enough because all of the competition out there. You have to have good material, you may think you are the greatest but that’s in your front room! You need to create a strong profile and you need charisma. I have been to so many shows and the guy on stage has nothing about him or can’t relate to the audience. You need to get on as many support acts as possible. A lot of people expect things to be handed on a silver platter you have to do it all yourself.

J*9: How do you determine good music?
Jo Bean: You hear the beat and you think this have a little something, it is a combination of what they are saying, their flow. You have the ear; you just know what is good. I listen to music and think it is not my cup of tea but it works. If you send me ten tracks I could pick that one that works.

J*9: You have worked with quite a lot names in hip-hop, has there been any that stood out?
Jo Bean: Little Brother they are lovely, Kidz in the Hall are sweat hearts and they are some nice people. They are just like regular people, they happened to have this name and gone on too good things, that is all it is. But is normally the people around are not so nice.

j*9 interviews Jay Diamond

Jay Diamond is a multitalented, Singer, Journalist, DJ, Filmmaker, Event Organiser and amongst may other things she is a true creative. She is witty beyond words, wise as an owl; and after watering and feeding me in her swanky flat in Brixton, we got down to business. Check the interview below.

J*9: how did you get into DJing?
Jay Diamond: I started on Pirate Radio station called Unity in Manchester and it developed after that. I started to buy more vinyl, go in the studio practice and play out the occasional night. The show really blew up and I started writing for UK Hip-hop and British Hip-hop. Now here I am in London, with my own show on Rinse.

J*9: Are there any moments that stood out for you when you were at Unity?
Jay Diamond: When Top Cat came through it was amazing, he is an old school artist and is very well respected. Each show is different and met loads of different artists passing through.

J*9: You won a bursary from BBC Urban Music Fund, how has the fund supported you?
Jay Diamond: That was for my music, radio, and journalism. Last year, I took myself to New York and filmed this documentary about hip-hop over there. I came back and decided to move to London and I did loads of promos, I got in touch with Rinse Fm, They gave me a demo show and now I do their Breakfast show on a Saturday morning.

J*9: How do you prepare for your shows at Rinse?
Jay Diamond: Oh god! A lot of the preparation is about finding out about new music and what is good. I am not down with listening to other people’s show and listening to what music they are playing. I like to do things different but it gets me into trouble sometimes. What is a nightmare is organising the music, remembering where I got it from and putting it into different sections. I don’t sit at home practising set for hours; I just get on with it.

J*9: How is your show different from the other DJs?
Jay Diamond: I’m from Manchester it might sound basic, but I feel it makes a huge difference. My approach and sense of humour, the way in which I take the piss and so constantly, people are like you can’t say that. Also, I am not caught up in my ego, I just want to have a laugh; I’m just about playing good music you either like it or you don’t.

J*9: What is the difference between playing on the radio and playing out?
Jay Diamond: There is a massive difference! If people don’t like it they will just walk off the dance floor its in your face like that, they expect to be entertained. I playing according to what they [ravers] are feeling, but that does not mean I don’t play music I don’t like. But on the radio I have more freedom, I can play a hard ass track that you can’t really dance to but sounds top. People are listening for music sake maybe to hear something new or interesting.

J*9: Which is easier to do?
Jay Diamond: Playing out is a lot more exciting, you look in one corner and people are feeling it and look you somewhere else people bopping along. Even if it is the type of atmosphere where people are not going to boogie but are nodding along, that is a job well done for me. But I don’t get to be very experimental. The radio is great I get too interact with listeners on a personal level they can text in, msn and emails. You get to have daft debates about what your favourite sweet was when you were young. Rinse is especially about UK music so it is a good showcasing for up and coming artists.

J*9: Tell me about the documentary you made.
Jay Diamond: Well I wanted to develop my Music Journalism and I had this idea about going to New York and I could not stop thinking about it everyday on the way too work. So I bought my tickets and I went. I ended up in Bedsty, my peeps that were staying in Atlanta was like what the fuck are you doing in Bedsty! I spent a month there and met the most amazing people I went to Chuck D house, met Johnny Juice, Om’mas Keith. In New York I could go to places on my own and gravitate to people to hang with. I thought it would be like that in London, but people are so cold here. New York is much more hardcore than London in many ways. In New York people are interested in because you are something different; but in London something new is a threat.

J*9: How else did the bursary support you?
Jay Diamond: I also used it for my music, I am currently about to release my EP and tracks that had been played on 1Extra which is my soulful stuff. I had some A&R people interested in my Electro material. My aim is to put my music out, some of that money was put aside for production, studio time.

J*9: How hard is to get break in Music Industry.
Jay Diamond: There is music that you love and the there is the Music Industry. If I was strictly Music Industry, I would be playing all commercial music and through that way I would get a gig every night. I am bit daft so I don’t.

J*9: I think it is so important to have that level of integrity.
Jay Diamond: Of course. I can’t remember the last time I played song and I thought I fucking hate it. But I guess that is me being passionate about music. But with some people they are passionate being famous because they are a DJ. With the hip-hop that I play I know there is a place for it and then there are people with no concept and want me to play 50 Cent.

J*9: To wrap up, are there any forthcoming projects that you are allowed to talk about?
Jay Diamond: I am working on some projects around my Electro sound. On the Soulful side, I have a nice response to my song ‘Touch’ and I will be working on my EP. I also want to develop my radio show, I want to start getting guests in and getting some good new music. I am going to do some poetry work, I haven’t written poetry in a while. Just like to keep myself creative.

Images Courtesy of Ben Yacobi

Celebration of Fatima's 'Mind Travelling' EP

Last night, I headed down to check Fatima and singer/song writer and ultimate groove thing, she was throwing a celebration party for her 'Mind Travelling' EP, which was amazing.

Unfortunately, I have no pictures of the soultress doing her 'thang' but she has an amazing personality that is warm, relaxed and utterly hilarious which resonated with the audience.

Here is her amazing video, 'Soul Glo' and make sure you cop that EP!


Check her Myspace for more details: http://www.myspace.com/fatimaworldwide

Window Seat – Exploration of the Black female body

After watching ‘Window Seat’ music video which is the first single to be released of the Erykah Badu’s new album ‘New Amerykah: Return of the Ankh’ I thought, what is the point of this? So I watched it again and then again. Is Ms Badu trying to challenge societies views on nudity? Did she want to generate dialogue about the representation of the Black female body? Or simply, did she want us all to see how amazing her body is, after having three children?

Whatever the agenda may have been, Badu has been charged by for disorderly conduct, Sgt. Warren Mitchell: "After much discussion, we feel that these charges best fit her conduct. She disrobed in a public place without regard to individuals and small children who were close by." In an interview with MTV, Badu said of the reaction her video caused: "I expected it to provoke dialogue, and it's an important statement to make. It's about freeing oneself of the layers and layers of things that we have learned as Americans in this country."

CBS reported the act as “strip tease” which I beg to differ, as there was nothing sexual in how Badu was revealing her body. In fact, she provides a refreshing dichotomy in how the black female body is represented in Western Media. The Black female body represents promiscuity, sexual deviance and danger, all enough to distract White men. She shows the Black female body its natural state: free of social constructs. She unveils herself one piece of clothing at a time, freeing herself and her body of restrictions or shackles that is placed upon the Black female body.

Perhaps, if the video was about her impersonating a stripper whilst revealing her body, it would have been controversial yes, but acceptable. Why, because she would be promoting the stereotype Black women are sexually lascivious. It is ironic that the likes of Lady Gaga can flash her crotch on screen and it be considered ‘art;’ but when a Black women gracefully shows the Black female body in its glorious form, she gets blasted.

Sources:
http://www.rttnews.com/Content/EntertainmentNews.aspx?Section=2&Id=1265699&SM=1
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504083_162-20001724-504083.html

j*9 interviews Lucy Pink

J*9: How did the Diesel Radio Station Start?
Lucy Pink: It all started in May 2008 and it was a pop up project and we were above the Amersham Arms in New Cross and it was just meant to be for 6 weeks. The idea was that we got bands, musicians, DJs and artists to host their own shows where they come in and take over. Then we went off air and were never to come back again, but in September 2008 they asked us to come back for another 6 weeks and then we went off air again. In April 2009 we started off again and we have been going ever since. Its kind of varies between 6 weeks being really full on and the few months with one live show a day.

J*9: So how did you get involved?
Lucy Pink: Emma our Creative Director put the idea to Diesel and we had done a similar thing for Bestival and I have been doing that for 6 years. I worked with Emma and the team on the Bestival radio as well so when this came up, she picked her radio team and I was on that list. I was working full time when the first project happened and my work gave me six weeks off because they knew this is what I wanted to be doing. The second time it came up, I thought I can’t ask them again but then I thought I could ask them again. I know this is really cheeky but I want to go do it again they were like yeah go do it! It was like having a family as a work place who were so supportive.

J*9: What has been the response since you first started the project?
Lucy Pink: It’s been huge, huge, and huge. When they know about it they like this is great. When the artists come down to do their show they are like we have had the best time. Or people who come as guest see the space and feel the vibe, they like I want to come back and do something here. Dawn Pen did that recently she was like when you are going to get me to do a show? I was like anytime, she came and guessed with Roots Manuva. She just dropped by but after spending the night here she was like I want to do one. As it is Internet based we are getting a good international response and it is not just listeners from the UK. We have done broadcasts out in New York, which was insane, Berlin and Milan and venturing out here there and everywhere. When they [artists] are doing their show we guide them we don’t tell them what to do. They will be like can I play this really random record that I found and we will be like of course you can.

J*9: Is there a set format or is it down to the artists?
Lucy Pink: It is completely down to the artists as the shows are one-offs. I do a weekly show for Diesel and Tom Ravencroft as well we are in-house producers but every other show was one-off. It’s not that format of breakfast or drive time, its completely random you could have Drum & Bass at nine o’clock in the morning, or Smooth Jazz at eleven at night. You don’t really know what is going to happen throughout the day, which is pretty cool.

J*9: What guests have you had on the show?
Lucy Pink: The one show that stood out was the Banana Clan showcase. We had Roots Manuva, The Banana Skins Bands, Ricky Rankin, Jimmy Screech. Roots had guessed on my show and I was like why don’t you do your own show. So he came down to do his own and took over the space and made it into a performance area. Roots had invited Dawn Penn she turned up with her guitarists and they rocked with this full live show and were being broadcasted at the same time. Everyone had so much fun; it was like friends coming together to do an event.

J*9: What were the highlights?
Lucy Pink: Being in New York was the biggest, I got to interview Consequence and Ryan Leslie these huge super stars out there which was mind blowing. I got to link with the End of the Weak out there and did some stuff with them. In show wise there have been so many!

J*9: Did any guests surprise you?
Lucy Pink: I think the most comedic and random one had to be Kashmere and DJ Ghost. They were using stuff here like xylophones and random instruments that you find at children’s parties they were not even trying to be musical. Dan Greenpeace and DJ Excalibah were getting involved it was like they were at their mates house having a laugh. We keep things under control but we are like do whatever you like. Sometimes it can go the other way, people turn up and you think they may do one thing but come with a complete band. I thought Speech Dubelle was coming in for an interview and she turned up with a full live band. This is fantastic but now I need to run around the studio and set everything up.

J*9: How did you get into radio?
Lucy Pink: I started at uni and I got involved straight away. I started spending more time on radio than my degree. I did a weekly show there and it built up and we were getting sponsorships from local record shops that gave us all our music. I guess that was how I got into hip-hop, but I was more drum & bass back then. When I left I came to London and did hospital radio and did just as much as I could. Starting making pod casts, going out on the scene, interviewing people, I guess I saw it as practice and to get to where I am. Practising and perfecting my craft and just meeting people, understanding it all, I’m not there yet, I have still got a lot more learning to do.

J*9: How long you been on radio?
Lucy Pink: Seven years, it has only been in the last 2-3 years that it has become more established and more regular. There is still so much more to do and I write my to do list every day.

J*9: What items are on your to do lists?
Lucy Pink: Perfecting my editing and DJing skills. I am more a radio DJ than live a DJ so practising my mixing so I can do gigs. I don’t want to be one of those DJs that are really bad! I just want to get the show built up and not miss any opportunities.

J*9: Are you more into indie radio or something major like the beep?
Lucy Pink: I would love to do something like the BBC because that is like the top point. I enjoy doing this [Diesel FM] and I love doing this and I’m seeing where it can all go and what happens. It just the case of contacting people and getting everything perfected. If 1Extra came knocking, I’ll be hell yeah! Nothing is really permanent it is always leading to other stuff.

J*9: Do you remember your first show?
Lucy Pink: It was awful! I was co-presenting with this guy who is still a friend of mine. Listening back to them I sounded really nervous and a bit false, I guess you are your biggest critique. But with our shows we really loved music, once we started talking about music it sounded really natural. It was those opening links, I think because I was really nervous. But show really developed and they kept us going for three years and we had the prime time slot. Someone must have thought it was all right but when I listen to him or her I cringe!

J*9: I think it’s the case of listening to your own voice, I personally hate it!
Lucy Pink: But you have too! Especially when I have done my pod cast, I need to arrange it in way that makes sense to the listener and just ignore the fact that you hate the sound of your own voice. Now I do it a lot, to work out where things can be improved or can’t be said. When you are just talking you don’t realise how often you would say a certain word or phrases. It’s like oh my god I just said wicked 50 times in half an hour and it sounds really shit.

J*9: How do you know when listeners are feeling the music?
Lucy Pink: Feedback, people using social network sites like twitter, facebook, my space sending in comments and people are responding straight away. With my show as well, there is a lot of underground and up coming artists so we get feedback from them and get sent lot stuff. The show it is really different from a DJ set, so I hand picked all my music or get sent stuff and filter through and see what I like. If I have a guest on I will play a lot of their stuff in the interview. I don’t plan to start off chilled and then heavy; it kind of just bounce around and that is what I love about radio.

Check Lucy Pink on:
www.dieselumusicradio.com
http://lucypink.podomatic.com
www.myspace.com/lucyadam

The Female MC by Krista Keating

The female MC. She exists. I know she does. I've seen her at my local open mic. I've seen her on cheesy reality shows. I've heard her on college and independent radio. I've seen her at female MC showcases. I've read her flows on web cyphers. I've seen her on My Space. But how come I don't hear her on KMEL or see her video on MTV or BET? Yeah, I can catch some out dated joint by Lil' Kim or Foxy Brown and Lauryn Hill's flows never get old, but, where is the new generation of female MCs?

It's a man's world. I get this. Men run and ruin this world at their will. Women clean up the mess, however that may manifest itself. Hip Hop, the progressive counter-culture that we may be, still subscribes to sexist values that choke the female MCs voice. The male dominated industry of Hip Hop still lacks faith in the female MC.

A few weeks ago I was at a function when a few men started to talk about Hip Hop. This issue having been on my mind for awhile now prompted me to tell the men that there are no new female MCs on the radio and quite frankly Hip Hop, the industry, doesn't seem to give a hoot. The response, by one Bay Area MC, was "Who gives a shit? If there were females dope enough to be heard, they would be." His response angered me. There are most certainly female MCs trying to be heard who are dope enough to be put on. And there are most certainly wack male MCs getting breaded out for spitting garbage!

One might say that just like the women's liberation struggle, only women can uplift women. Thus, the responsibility of putting female MCs into the mainstream falls on the shoulders of women. But the truth is that the heads of major labels, major radio stations are not women. The labels are run by men. It's a man's world.

So, just like with the women's struggle for equality, the challenge to put talented female MCs into the mainstream, requires that men join our cause. If the same ol' cookie cutter gangster, ride or die female MC is what the mainstream allows for, why haven't we had a new one of those in few years? What's the problem?

The entertainment biz is cutthroat. It's musical chairs, there's never enough room for everybody to play. If you are trying to blow up as an MC, the threat that the next MC will take your spot is real, and can happen at any given moment. The public fan base is wishy-washy and easily distracted, often only offering unconditional loyalty after your dead and gone. Investment into an MC can be risky. But with no female MCs to speak of, why not take the leap? Why not offer up something new to a male gangster MC saturated radio line up? Isn't that why Lil' Wayne gave us Drake or why T-Pain resurrected the auto-tune, to come new? The same shit over and over gets played out, that's why T-Pain's auto-tune craze is already falling off.

I am a grown woman. I have kids to raise. The truth is a pain I need in order to arm my children for the real world. The reality that it's a man's world doesn't distract me from other truths, such as, women have the right to be heard, even if it unsettles their men's world.

The truth is that a crop of female MCs to shake up the game would be both a wise financial and cultural investment into the future of Hip Hop. Let's step our game up!

Text: Krista Keating
Check Krista on:
http://www.jzybelle.blogspot.com

J*9 interviews Diss Miss of Dutty Girls

J*9:Tell me, why did you call yourselves ‘Dutty Girl’?
Diss Miss: ‘Dutty Girl’ wasn’t a crew name, but it was a club night that I’d launched 6 years ago. I liked the name because it just seemed to sum up what I was trying to do with the night. Of course not everybody will take it in the same way as I meant it, it just seems to resonate with people, and that’s what a name ideally needs to do! I was doing bar work in a Jamaican pub in Bristol, The Star and Garter. The landlord there is nicknamed ‘Dutty Ken’ my friend who also worked there wrote ‘dutty girl’ really small on the corner of her T-shirt. I’d noticed it, and I said: ‘Please, please, I have to have that name for my night!!’ I really liked it and it’s all a bit of fun really! The name is similar to how Missy Elliott took the name ‘bitch’ and used it to talk about her, switched it and made it positive. Calling ourselves ‘Dutty’ was a risk of course; some people don’t get it at all!! It’s about owning your own sexuality as a woman (yawn, yawn I know!), but we really are truly ourselves, just normal girls!! We don’t believe you have to act like either sluts or tomboys to be accepted in hip-hop or bass driven music. Hopefully we are just the happy medium!



J*9:What has the reception been like to Dutty Girl?
Diss Miss: Really, really good! We have been lucky to do a lot so far and have had some great experiences supporting other acts and doing a bit of traveling. We also had a lot of success with our regular club night. We had some great acts come down over the five years like; No.Lay, Tor, C.Mone, Tali, DJ Sarah Love, Graziella and more. We’ve scaled down to do a small monthly crew night now because it was all just so much work, and we had to prioritise. We have more time to get on with our studio stuff, which needed to take precedence for now. We’ve done a few festivals and carnivals so far, and this year we’re getting ready to hit Bloc Weekender in March with all our own material, we can’t wait to blow up the spot! It’s one of our first chances to bring our finished tracks to a big audience, up until now we were more of a DJ/MC thing, now it’s more of a finished act.

J*9:How do you all collaborate with each other?
Diss Miss: DJ Dazee and I work together on the production, using Logic mainly to make the backing tracks for the MCs and Singers. They have a lot of lyrics and songs that are ready for beats so we’re just keeping the instrumentals coming to keep up with them at the moment! Sometimes they tell us what kind of track they want, or they give us the lyrics so we can make a track to go with it, and sometimes we just make a track and give it to them to do something with. We all work together in different ways though, whether it’s DJing together, making mix tapes, coming up with song ideas, we’re just all good friends really, so all the ideas come from just hanging out together and acting really stupid (which probably gets really annoying for other people!

J*9:You are perhaps one of the few female hip-hop collectives comprising of the 4 elements, what was your aim with this?
Diss Miss: To be honest that was always my aim, but it hasn’t quite worked out like that. We have DJs, Producers and MCs but are still yet to bring in Graf writers and Girls. Over the years I’ve met some girls that either graf or break-dance but we’ve never really gelled in to a crew yet. I think that the girls that are in the crew mainly came together because of the music, it’s our first true love and the relationships just happened. If we were to meet B-girl or graf girls that were into the same music and had a similar attitude to life then I think it would definitely work. But the possibility is always there, we could easily bring together a lot of girls from all elements to represent the Dutty Girl ethos and do a J*9: A as a crew and individually you have supported some big names like Estelle ?uest love, Dj Jazzy Jeff, how did that happen?
Diss Miss: Yes, it’s been fantastic! I supported Est’elle myself, as a DJ that was great fun! It was few years ago now, before she went so big! But I had a good chance to meet her and even interviewed her, she was a really, really nice person! I’m so glad to see a UK female mc/singer make it so big! I think it must all be down to her great attitude on life! I supported ?uestlove last year too, he is a real hero of mine so that was something else, he was so lovely, I could hardly speak to him much though as I was so nervous of playing just before him! Generally, I guess we’ve been lucky and we’ve built up our act and our reputation well, so a lot of people in Bristol and beyond are hearing about what we do and booking us.

J*9:What is your favorite genre of music?
Diss Miss: If you had asked me that question five years ago I would have said ‘Hip Hop’ at the drop of a hat! I’m still tempted to, but now I’m so much more versatile in what I like. I think good music is good music, and obviously we each have our own perception of what that is, but luckily some of us do agree on it! I’m definitely big on baselines, I love Reggae, and I guess a lot of what I like is some kind a derivation. So if my life depended on it and I could only listen to one genre ever again, it would probably be that!

J*9:What was the first record you bought?
Prince – Purple rain!

J*9:How did you first get into hip-hop?
Diss Miss: My most prominent memory of it is when I was about 13, my best friend’s brother was driving us home from school and was playing a ‘2 Live Crew’ album in his car. I was hooked from there on! I was just amazed with what they were saying and knew I had to find out more! I’d already heard some popular hip-hop of course but that was my first taste of some real underground stuff. I guess the obsession started from then on.

J*9:How did you first start DJing?
Diss Miss:I first started DJing in the late 90s, I was getting into hip-hop more and more and just started to amass a collection of records. Any serious record collector knows that real compulsive need to just HAVE certain records and the NEED to just keep on collecting! So I ended up with a massive collection over time. I also had some good friends that DJ and I used to go to their nights and parties all the time, and although I loved what they played I’d noticed that quite often they would lose the crowd as there would often be a dip in the vibe when they weren’t really playing the right tunes to keep us dancing. It frustrated me and I realised I would be much happier behind the decks than I was on the dance floor. That way I would be able to keep the tunes coming and keep on dancing too!



J*9:What is more important, beats or lyrics?
Diss Miss: Totally equal, a good balance of the two would be perfect! But, if I’m hearing something new I look for innovation in a track

J*9:What are the key ingredients of getting the crowd going?
LDiss Miss:t’s all about reading the crowd, it seems obvious to say but some people still don’t get it I guess! You have to be true to yourself and play what you think is truly good of course, but you really do have to play for others. I’ve played all sorts of crowds and I think it’s at least 50% about being prepared for anything, making sure you have back-ups in your bag! I think I’m a versatile DJ I may go to a gig expecting to play loads of new dubstep you’ll get there and realise it’s not going to go down well, so I’ll end up playing dancehall or something. But at least the people are happy and they’ve danced. I can’t stand when DJs are so bloody minded they want to play all the fresh dub plates they have and don’t care if people are getting into it.

J*9: You also run female hip-hop nights are it important that they’re specific events just for women?
Diss Miss: The nights we used to run did involve mainly female acts, but there would generally always be some male input on the night, whether it was for the open mic or whether they were actually on the poster itself. But it was always important to do it mainly as a female thing as it was about showcasing female talents and giving the girls their own platform for that. The crowd liked it because of the lack of ego; machismo and boisterousness that you might expect at a lot of male led hip-hop nights. Some girls find it very hard to come up against the guys and that is not because they aren’t as good, but it’s just that females are often less aggressive in their approach and much more humble generally, so they find it hard to fight for the spotlight sometimes.



I used to think it was very important to have it all separated like that, and I guess it was, just to give the girls the opportunity, but I’m a little bit less bothered now to be honest, I think we’ve done it for long enough now! I used to be on this whole-hearted mission to get women more noticed in hip-hop! And to some extent I guess we did, but now it’s time for us to put our own music first and stand up in the music scene regardless of our genre. The mission is the same though. I just realised after a while that we could put on night after night in Bristol and not make much of a difference to the big picture, where as we can release our own tunes and start a revolution! Ha ha!

J*9:Do you feel compromised to play other female hip-hop stuff?
Diss Miss:To be honest, I would never play anything because I felt I should. I’ve built up a great collection of female hip-hop, because I was interested in knowing what had come before, but I don’t play much of it out. My mantra as a DJ is to play good music that people want to dance to. I’m not a radio DJ or a chill out DJ. I play so that people can dance! I would be more likely to play some ‘Salt and Pepa, Missy Elliott or JJ Fad’ in my set than some Jean Grae, although I probably have more real respect for her as an artist than the others, if that makes sense! I’ll listen to Jean Grae at home, and when I’m out I play what works on the dance floor. There’s always room for innovation or a wildcard in my sets but a lot of female hip-hop is not dance floor worthy sadly. That’s why with Dutty Girl we do make music for dance floors; we’re not moaning on about our hormones and trying to be quirky all the time.


J*9:As women in hip-hop is it our responsibility to support each other to build a community?
Diss Miss: Absolutely! It’s everybody’s responsibility to build healthy relationships in life anyway and it’s always important to support people and build regardless. Where women in hip hop are concerned it becomes just as - if not more important, like any minority group we need to have networks and support for each other. I find it really sad when some women don’t see it the same way. I guess we have that thing of being so few and far between that some believe there isn’t going to be enough slices of pie to go round, so they get nervous and on the offence all the time. It’s just not productive though is it?



J*9:You have your own shop, how did that kick off?
Diss Miss: I started the Dutty Girl shop not long after I had started the club night; it was something I just fell into really. I’d been ill and had had to take time out of work, so as I was getting back on my feet I was wondering what to do, I knew that hip hop was what I needed to do with my life (as it were!!), but I had to find something that would keep me busy and make me money day to day. One day when I was down at the record shop in the market, the guy there, who I knew quite well, suggested that I rent a shop, as the unit next to his was coming up for lease. It just felt right, so without much thought I did it! I started selling vintage clothing, some customised clothing I made myself and I got some Dutty Girl merchandise made up – hoodies, t-shirts etc. It worked for me because it felt like it was all still incorporated into the music still. We’ve moved now to a bigger shop and I have a business partner, so it’s great having someone to share it all with and it’s a much bigger space. I love having a window to display stuff too! We launched our website recently and the online shop is coming very soon!

J*9:Do you have any up coming projects?
Diss Miss: We are working on putting out an EP and we’ve just started working with a manager so things are looking good. We’re putting together a line-up for next month’s Weapon of Choice night here in Bristol, which is kind of like Bristol’s ‘Secret wars’. It’s an all-female line up again so that should be really fun, and there are a couple of really good female writers doing the boards, so that’s really exciting. Other than that we’re just hoping for lots of festival action this year and we’re getting on with studio stuff. I think 2010 could be really good for us! Starting with Bloc Weekend!

Images
Group picture: DJ SafeSoul, MC Sarah B, Singer Klair, DJ Izzy, DJ Diss Miss, DJ Dazee

Check out the Dutty Girls on:
http://www.myspace.com/duttygirlmusic
http://twitter.com/DuttyGirl
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Dutty-Girl/21513380633?ref=ts

j*9 interviews D-Sew

It is cold, its January and I am running five minutes late to meet D-Sew a female rapper from East London. It was a huge pleasure to meet her and have chat about her music, influences and plans for the future. Our conversation started out on a positive note - as we were both wearing matching checkered shirts. Check the interview below.

J*9: How were you exposed to music?
D-Sew: My first tape was Michael Jackson ‘Bad’; I have been influenced by the Bollywood scene, Pet Shop Boys, Duran Duran. Also my Sister in the late 80’s early 90’s was into Bobby Brown, Prince & Cookie Crew so I became exposed to the soulful side of music. When I was young I was in a group with my cousin and we used to do showcases for our family. She used to do the dancing and I took more control in the singing

J*9: How did you first start writing?
D-Sew: I was 11 and my first song was a love song. I was just writing about my feelings at the time. I liked this guy and he just overlooked me, it really hurt my feelings and so I thought I need to write this down.

J*9: When did you start spitting?
D-Sew: When I was like 16or 17 and I used to write poetry. During this time I started listening to Rinse and Kool fm when drum & bass was at its peak in the mid 90’s with DJs like Micky Finn, IC3. I started to construct my words in more of a rhyme and I used to pretend that I was actually emeceeing on the radio.

J*9: When was your first performance?
D-Sew: It was at school assembly and I did an acapella of Mariah Carey ‘Hero’ with two other girls from my music class. I felt like that I had a voice from that age. My first ‘proper’ performance was at the HQ in Brixton. I hadn’t performed in years and I felt like I blossomed and people around me were encouraging to do my thing.

J*9: How you talk and emcee you sound like two different people.
D-Sew: When you listen to Grime and Drum and Bass you are hearing these fast spitters and I grew up on that. I grew up listening to Wiley, Dirty Goods and Neeko they are not soft rappers they are in your face and that is how I evolved with my style.

J*9: How did you get involved with the People’s Army?
D-Sew: It was the launch of the very first People’s Army event in January 2008. I loved their revolutionary ideas, the beliefs and causes, standing up for justice. It was through word of mouth and got to meet Logic and Lowkey [Members of People’s Army]. I was really feeling the movement and thought I will back it.

J*9: Are you affiliated with any other collectives?
D-Sew: Black Piranhas are a collective of very diverse musicians of producers, rappers, singers. It’s just us coming to together making tracks. I like them for different reasons it is more musical love.

J*9: How do you get our name out there?
D-Sew: I am trying to kick down doors; the [music] label industry is closed. We are not being heard enough and you have to do it yourself nowadays; creating your own empire and put your music out there. So I do my podcast and invite everyone in and play everyone else’s music. I also network a lot by going to events and building up contacts.


J*9: Hip-hop that people are listening, buying and seeing is really materialistic and shallow, as a conscious rapper how do you feel?
D-Sew: What like 50 Cent?

J*9: Yea, for example.
D-Sew: Putting the materialistic video’s, the bling and all the rest aside when it comes to 50 cent, I think he is still an iconic role model to a lot of people in the sense that he has a business head on him & a great focus. He came through & up going through extreme experiences in life and where he is now well I commend him for it in that perspective.

J*9: My problem is that he doesn’t live that lifestyle anymore so why are you still talking about it?
D-Sew: I think 50 cent still raps about his past experiences merged into his current lifestyle because may be he just can’t let go of his past. Why he gets so much attention is because he knows how to make money. He uses that as his focus and talks about the rougher side of life. He’s always been about the money and that comes across in his music relating to his current lifestyle and how he was hustling back in the day. I think that is the key relation in his music and why he often brings up his past.

J*9: What rappers do you listen too?
D-Sew: Mos Def, he breaks it down. I love him because I feel he is true to hip-hop. J Dilla I love his productions and that is how I got into making beats.

J*9: How do you know when you got a good beat?
D-Sew: It’s a buzz that I get in the belly, you can play a synth and if you tweak it up slightly and put some base into it goes from this sounds alright to yeah I am feeling it. I usually stick to playing the melody first, then layering various instruments around it & then finally adding drums. To get that yeahhhhh affect & buzz I would then tweak everything up using tools in the mixing process.


J*9: I heard you met DJ Kool Herc?
D-Sew: Yea I did when I went out to America in August [2009] in the Streets of the Bronx. DJ Ready Cee arranged the hook up on that one. What a moment that was!

J*9: Wow. You met a hip-hop pioneer.
D-Sew: [She laughs] I managed to get him on camera. Words cannot describe that experience. For him to shout me out was amazing. He felt a vibe in me which was special. He lives up to his name definitely.

J*9: What projects are you working on?
D-Sew: I feel like I have so much of myself to show, I am working on individual solo project that will be out in 2010 and it will show my skills and my passion for music. It is something that been working on my own and it will represent me. I want it to be organic and pure and pretty much original.

Check D-Sew on:
The D-Sew Show - www.dsewmusic.podomatic.com
Youtube - www.youtube.com/dsewtv
Twitter - www.twitter.com/dsew
Gmail - dsew.music@gmail.com

j*9 interviews Choxanne from all female graffiti crew 'Girls on Top'

Choxannne is graffiti artist and has been doing so for the past twelve years, she is part of the respected all femle graffiti crew Girls on Top. She was also involved in the UK’s first and only all female graffiti exhibition in 2008 and is a part of Paint My Panda customisation street art crew.

j*9:What got you involving in writing?
Choxanne: I used to see loads of really good graffiti on my way to a youth club when I was about 14 or 15 but never did it myself. I was more trying to be a skateboarder; I just liked what I saw around me really and got more and more interested until I started doing it myself. I had always liked painting and drawing as a hobby so it was definitely something I should be doing.

j*9:How long have u been writing?
Choxanne: I have been writing graffiti for 12 years

j*9:What did your first bomb feel like?
Choxanne: I was nervous about getting caught but did more!

j*9:Have you ever been caught doing illegal’s?
Choxanne: No comment!

j*9:How would you describe your style?
Choxanne: Funky fresh

j*9:Who have you collaborated with?
Choxanne: Kelzo Akel, Skyhigh and Luna more than most

j*9:What it like taking part in Girls on Top, the UK first female graffiti exhibition?
Choxanne: Well the crew had only just expanded so it was early days, it was good for us because we got quite a bit of attention from it but a lot of the crew weren’t really ready for the show and I think that showed in the work, so while it was fun and a new project to do it wasn’t a tight enough show for any longevity


j*9:Was it through this exhibition the Girls on Top Crew formed?
Choxanne: No it formed years ago but got revived when I started painting with Mira, I then held a girl jam in 2007 and invited a load of different girls to paint for fun and from then I expanded the crew and we got offered the show from that I think.

j*9:What do you females stand for?
Choxanne: Free thinking & fressssssssssh attitudes.


j*9:What do you think of the UK graff scene?
Choxanne: I think there’s a lot of talent around and very skilled artists but there is also a lot of negativity around and people dragging each other down. There is also not enough scope for a lot of writer’s talents we need bigger legal walls and shop shutters and buildings to be painted ideally but the councils actively discourage this, there is a lot of narrow mindedness towards the art form but then the UK is a bit backwards at times so I’m not really surprised! People still think you are mad for doing it as it’s hard to make money at the moment. But I am still here!

j*9:What place do you think women have in the UK Graff Scene?
Choxanne: A very small one! There really aren’t many girls pushing it here that i know of i could count them on one hand! There are a lot of talented artistic girls don't get me wrong there are more street artists but not many graffiti writers :(

j*9:Do you have any favourite artists on the scene at the moment?
Choxanne: mickey & phemme9 are my favourite female graffiti writers; they have great funky styles not just technical ability

j*9:Are women starting to get some recognition?
Choxanne: Only the ones who work really hard or have been writing for ages, you can’t fake it
j*9:Tell me about any upcoming projects you may have?
Choxanne: I am part of a company called paint my panda which specialises in hand painted denim jackets (inspired by the old New York painted jackets) and other fashion items like caps, bags and shoes, along with private commissions, live painting at events and youth projects, so far it has been received pretty well, and I have a couple of big murals to paint next year, I am glad to still be painting :)

Check Choxanne at:
www.paintmypanda.com
www.myspace.com/girlsontopgraff
www.flickr.com/thcuk
www.flickr.com/paintmypanda

Hip-hop Feminism Literature

Earlier this year, I purchased a few books on hip-hop feminism to help me along my way of creating BITCHES. In fact I can say, all of these books had a huge influence in my understanding of ‘black feminism’ and how it differs from ‘feminism’ which to be fair is based upon the experience of white middle class women. More importantly, how women are used as a currency of exploitation by mainstream hip-hop. (I say mainstream because conscious stuff, as it name sake is not interested in that rap). All of these women refer to themselves as ‘hip-hop feminist’ they grew up in the culture, appreciate it but yet see so many flaws in terms of the construction of masculinity and femininity. It also rooted my knowledge of all these females who were as the pioneers of hip-hop but for some reason they are never mentioned or given a shout out. So if you have the time please do check out these books.