BBC URBAN MUSIC BURSARY
UPDATE Q&A :

*What’s been happening since you won the bursary?

After finishing full time employment at the end of 2006, 2007 has seen me enter into the world of self-employment where by I have been working on various freelance and voluntary jobs and projects. I continue to pursue my interest in music and arts related work by simultaneously trying to keep a finger in both pies!

MUSIC:
Music-wise I am have implemented and delivered the album press campaign for Brighton hip hop emcee Witchdoctor Wise and his debut album ‘Trapped in the Asylum‘ out on new imprint Heroic Records. The album is a collection of tracks including guest appearances from Foreign Beggars co-hort Dr. Syntax, Zebra Traffic’s Rup and Breakin Bread’s Tom Caruana. Check the June issue of Hip Hop Connection to catch the review.
www.heroicrecordings.com
www.myspace.com/joewitchdoctorwise

In addition I am heading the promotional campaign for Leeds-based producer (and fellow Fame Academy Bursary 2005 winner), First Word Records’s kidkanevil and his anticipated debut ‘Problems & Solutions‘ featuring the guest talents of Yarah Bravo (One Self); Lateef (Quannum), Jehst (YNR) and stunning soul vocalist Andreya Triana amongst others. Reviews have been secured in Straight No Chaser, DJ, IDJ, Lodown, HHC,Knowledge, Blowback Magazine and many more.

www.firstwordrecords.com
www.myspace.com/kidkanevil

Likewise I am programming a UK tour for Canadian emcee and spoken word artist, Baba Brinkman and his unique version of ‘The Rap Canterbury Tales‘. Baba is a hip hop artist and medieval scholar whose unique one-man performances and educational presentations have been a sure-fire hit amongst literary festivals; theatres, youth centres, schools, colleges, universities and prisons alike. Baba recreates Chaucer’s 14th Century classic in a modern hip hop context and his UK tour has seen us secure bookings in over 30 locations both nationwide and internationally, including a stint with BBC Blast Youth Programme and The Edinburgh International Fringe Festival 2007.

www.babasword.com
www.myspace.com/bababrinkman

ART:

Art-wise I organised, managed, promoted and competed in ‘Secret Wars‘ Brighton, a very popular London based live street art battle event which has been going from strength to strength since summer 2006 in their first venture out of the capital. Now that Series One of the battle season has come to an end, I am in the process of planning and delivering a Brighton based series of competitions to showcase the sheer abundance of talent in the regional scene.
Images courtesy of Delarge -

www.delarge.co.uk http://delarge.co.uk/gallery/sets/?72157594570127916
www.secretwars.co.uk

VOLUNTARY WORK:

The first six months of this year are dedicated to my volunteering role as part of the professional core team of the Brighton Hip Hop Festival 2007. I work closely alongside the director; Indy Hunjan of Kala Phool Development Agency to help deliver all manner of industry level press and promotion for the festival. This involves sending the event and artist information to magazines; newspapers, radio and online outlets and trying to generate as much awareness as possible for this incredible not-for-profit community event which is the single largest celebration of Hip Hop Culture in the UK.

I have utilised my experience of the independent music sector to help programme an Industry Event, where we have secured some prominent figures to come and debate the current state of Hip Hop and the independent music industry. Likewise, I am likewise programming the artists for a giant public art installation in the heart of Brighton throughout the festival. BHHF is principally about platforming, showcasing and providing exposure and opportunities for the wealth of talent and burgeoning hip hop culture on the South Coast region and beyond.

With a jam-packed programme of events; from Battle Jam to Film Screenings; Graffiti Exhibitions to Youth Workshops there is certainly something for everyone, so be sure to check it out! BHHF 07 is open to all.
www.bhhf.org
www.myspace.com/bhhf.org

PERSONAL:

Personal-workwise; I have an exhibition currently showing at BBC Southern Counties in central Brighton as part of their Visual Roots exhibition programme. I was selected from over 65 regional artists down to five to exhibit in their main BBC foyer space. Visual Roots is an Arts Council England and BBC English Regions partnership aimed at increasing African, Asian, Carribbean and Chinese arts and cultural coverage on radio, television and on-line.

www.bbc.co.uk/southerncounties/visual roots

*How has the bursary changed the development of your career / education?

The Bursary has enabled me to have the freedom to pursue projects and initiatives which I may not otherwise have the opportunity to explore. I have applied the Bursary to buy vital equipment such as a lap top computer and pay rent on a studio so that I have a professional space to work from. Likewise it has given me the chance to travel nationally so that I can attend events which are vital to discovering new links and meeting interesting and like-minded people and their projects.

*What does the future hold for you?

I am optimistic about 2007 and feel that I have made a lot of head way in the first half of the year by just keeping really busy and working relentlessly hard! I have taken on various projects simultaneously and am enjoying the challenge of a vertical learning curve! Just want to have the spare time to re-evaluate my business plan so that I can keep focused and make the most of the amazing and invaluable opportunity the Bursary has afforded me. I want to retain a healthy balance between both music and art related projects whilst keep being creative for myself as well as still providing help and assistance to other aspiring musicians and visual artists.

WATCH THIS SPACE!

KEY PROJECTS:

1. Frieze Box – Live Public Art Installation

Curated by Sri McKinnon
Logistics by Josh Ford

Frieze Box is a unique Public Art installation which took place throughout the Brighton Hip Hop Festival 2007. (Sunday 1st July - Saturday 14th July) An enormous wooden box was erected outside the Brighton Central Library and was painted by some of the city’s and the UK’s most exciting graffiti, stencil and street artists and illustrators. It was fast, full on and what’s more, slap bang in the heart of Brighton! Frieze Box is a living, evolving and constantly changing installation. The time artists had on the box was limited to just a few days each so our audience had to be quick and visit often to witness the complete set!

There were rotations of artists working on the box, each customising each face of the box with their unique signature style in response to the concept of ‘Freedom’.

Photographs courtesy of Renderghost
www.myspace.com/friezebox
www.flickr.com/photos/friezebox

2. The Art of Hip Hop – ‘Past, Present, Future Exhibition’
Showcase of over 70 artists work; both amateur and professional. Incorporating street and graffiti artists, illustrators, photographers, designers etc. This project was physically realised with a team of helpers but curated and managed by myself and colleague Catherine Lucktaylor. Held in conjunction with Brighton University, as part of the Brighton Hip Hop Festival 2006, the private view was attended by over 500 people and was widely acknowledged as one of the most accessible, relevant and popular exhibitions in Brighton’s largest contemporary art space.

Images of Exhibition:
www.myspace.com/srimckinnon

3. Brighton Hip Hop Festival 2006 & 2007
Part of a dedicated core team of professionals working in a volunteer capacity. I have provided the national PR assistance for the last two years running. The PR campaign incorporates showcasing the wealth of talent within the regional community to a wider, national and global audience. Securing interest in magazines, newspapers, online forums and through radio outlets.

I helped to programme and invite speakers to the Industry Event – a debate and panel which provided insight into the current state of independent music and the issues currently challenging the industry.

4. Secret Wars: Brighton
I spearheaded the organisation, promotion and management as well as competed in the first ever out-of-London event for this very popular live graffiti battle showcase. It has since gone on to establish enough demand to warrant a second series of competitions.

Images of Secret Wars: Brighton – Live Street Art Event March 2007
Photographs courtesy of Delarge
http://www.delarge.co.uk/gallery/?72157594570127916

AWARDS & ACCOLADES:

*BBC Urban Music Bursary - October 2006
http://www.bbc.co.uk/fameacademybursary/winners_urban06.shtml

*Arts Council of England – Research & Development Grant - October 2006
The aid of the grant enabled me to travel to Berlin to attend the biannual Pictoplasma Conference, specialising in contemporary art & design.
www.pictoplasma.com

*Contributions:
Working as lead press officer for eclectic independent record label Tru Thoughts for four years; the company went onto win ‘Label of The Year’ at the 2005 BBC Radio One – Gilles Peterson ‘Worldwide Awards’.

Check the new gallery of my illustrations here or click the Artwork button above.

BEST JOINED UP - LEEDS - FRIDAY 22ND FEBRUARY

NEXT ‘BEST JOINED UP’ FRIDAY 22nd FEBRUARY 2008
@ NEW BOHEMIA
The Faversham,
Springfield Mt, Leeds
10PM-3AM, £5/4 Entry

The trilogy is almost complete, after wading through the toxic badlands of the first two jams we have the mount of ink and alcohol is in sight. I-lib and Word to Mother will be joining us from darkest southlands to slay the wall of emulsion with chisel and bullet.

Slaughter begins at 10pm sharp

In the NewBo Main RooM

AIM (Attic, Grand Central)
kidkanevil (First Word Records)
Andy Lemay (New Bohemia)

Sean Vinylment rocked the spot last time and will be returning from his Pooka/B-Music/HaXaN residencies in Manchester’s Northern Quarter alongside Crotona Firehorse and Joe Black from Heavy Crates bringing the sunshine speakers

BEST JOINED UP is a live art and design event that draws together illustrators, graphic designers, aerosol artists, animators and doodlers to, ahem, draw together.

Resident Artists in rotation are: Replete and Sune (TPN), Fon/The Pern, Neil”women158″Parkinson, Drew Millward,Luke Drozd, Graham D. Pilling, Sazelli, C-Bloxx, *SRI* Mr.Gauky, Will Flawn and 273.

////////// CALLING ALL HIP HOP ARTISTS \\\\\\\\\\

Want to get your music out to a HUGE audience?

Submissions are now open for the Rising Styles 2008 Soundtrack CD.

Showcasing some of the BEST new & exclusive tracks from the UK, 1,000’s of the CDs will be produced and distributed through Hip Hop Connection Magazine to coincide with the Rising Styles Hip Hop Festival in July 2008. Artists and tracks will also be featured inside the magazine.

If you want to be involved, full details and the submission form can be downloaded here as PDF or WORD
download the free adobe acrobat pdf reader if you need to.

Submissions are welcome from all UK-based hip hop artists whether signed or unsigned and MUST be received by Friday 29th February 2008. Any submissions received after this date will not be considered.

Check www.risingstyles.com for full details.

Please feel free to help spread the word; mention on your blogs/ radio shows / mailing lists etc. Thanks!

THURSDAY 20TH MARCH SEES THE SECOND INSTALLMENT OF KAREN P’S NEW NIGHT: BROADCASTING AT CARGO, LONDON WITH JIMI TENOR AND KABU KABU!

COME CHECK THE DEBUT LONDON PERFORMANCE OF THE ‘DREAMSCAPE SOUL SESSIONS‘ WITH ANDREYA TRIANA AND MYSELF DOING OUR LADY-LIKE THING! ANDREYA WITH HER MAGIC GREEN BOX AND VOCAL LOOPS WHILE I SIMULTANEOUSLY DRAW LIVE! COME CHECK IT OUT, ITS GOING BE AN AUDIO-VISUAL TREAT!

New Gallery, event info and blog posts coming soon.

Hold Tight!