Month: October 2009

Playing to a fairly diverse audience, including those who I suspect don't frequent the theatre, Jonzi D's cast of eight wowed the audience at the West Yorkshire Playhouse last night with their performance of his rap opera Markus The Sadist.

Look past the dopely presented CD and the well executed tracks (great production, talented MCs) and Champion Fraff is an hour's worth of schoolboy humour, tales of drunkness and unsubstantiated sex stories brought to you by a group of lads who are proud of their wasteman personas.

Drawing comparisons between Squid Ninjaz and Wu-Tang would be easy, lazy journalism - but I'll do it anyway because it seems so apt: there are lots of them, they're dirty and grimey and there's the whole martial arts thing too.

An album almost based solely on one man's deep mistrust of all authority might sound daunting but EmceeKilla's Mind Of A Tehranist lightens the blow with upbeat headnod productions and likeable flows.

The multi-talented DJ Jimmy Green aka Jimbo Jones has written some essential reading for fans of UK Hip Hop. He's done a concise history of the London Posse, or a biography if you like. It's really worth a read and there's a chance you'll learn a few new things:

Billed as a ‘rap opera’, Markus the Sadist tells the story of a talented young battle MC from South London who is picked up by a scheming A&R with the promise of fame and wealth. The dialogue is delivered to a large extent through rhyme, with quite a bit of rapping throughout. The composer and musical director of the show is talented musician Soweto Kinch, and with Jonzi D as artistic director, the play has a strong team behind it.

Looking for Eric is Ken Loach's latest film where he introduces us to Eric Bishop (Evets) a middle-aged postman who has managed to mess up his life. The film begins with Eric in a state of despair and depression he's alone, he has two disrespectful stepsons, and he is finding it difficult to cope and cannot see a future. Enter into this Eric Cantona, Eric's football hero who helps him get his life on track.

Dressed to impress in his brightest yellow suit, Raphael Saadiq enters the stage in character, a Black Dick Tracey or Jim Carey in The Mask, but with a seductive voice as well as all the right moves. From start to finish, everything about this show was smooth and slick and for the most part very 60s.

Face Off is a Southern MC who is coming off the back of his Pimp LP. He's got a new single coming out with Rasheeda to look out for and so our reporter Danielle Fear caught up with him to find out about this, his thoughts about being independent and the future amongst other things. Read on to find out more.

Danny Boyle's multi Oscar winning Slumdog Millionaire centres on Jamal Malik (Patel) an orphan from the slums of Mumbai. Jamal is appearing on the Indian version of Who Wants to be a Millionaire and is one question away from the 20 million-rupee question when the programme finishes filming for the night. Off air Jamal is arrested accused of cheating and is forced to explain how he knows each answer. The answers form a sequence of events in Jamals adventure filled life.