At a time when most of the most of the media coverage of Korea has been foreboding; Korean based Reggae artist Skull, is spreading good vibes and making history by building an unprecedented following in the United States with the release of his first single, "Boom Di Boom Di" and accompanying 3-D animated video   will be available on iTunes June 12th.

The Urban Shop are sponsoring the only UK gig of EMC the crew from hip hop legend Masta Ace and featuring Punchline, Wordsworth and Stricklin, there will be a full support line up on the night provided by Crusada with Fyaman, Deadly Hunta and New World Order made up of Lowkey and Logic. The Urban Shop are giving away one pair of tickets to this gig, this venue is OVER 18'S ONLY.

Spida Lee boasts on his MySpace profile that he's "got that mad old skool 94-96 sound" and it's with a deep sense of ambivalence that I report that he's telling the gospel truth. Hailing from Huddersfield, Spida's take on the street experience is so deeply influenced by his heroes - Black Moon and the Wu being obvious reference points - that it threatens to overwhelm his own perspective.

This one comes straight out of my regular bag of stuff sent to me by Tricksta's Park Street PR. The quality of those releases generally varies a bit - I'm not totally won over by the Wolftown sound, although I do have the utmost respect for their hustle, passion and dedication. However, each package with a Wolverhampton postcode always contains at least one absolute gem.

It is my great pleasure to be able to review the debut album by Leeds producer and DJ Kid Kanevil, who I've seen round the way over the last few years and seems to me to be a decent and extremely talented guy. Leastways, he politely returns my MySpace comments whenever I put a new mix up. As always I'll try and be fair, balanced and constructively critical in my review.

HoodGrown Records CEO Christopher English today announced the official release date of June 19, 2007 for the digital label’s debut LP, Cartel - Prepare For Glory. Originally scheduled for release on June 28, 2007, overwhelming demand from the online music community prompted English to provide the full collection of music that has gained significant popularity behind video singles posted on myspace.com and youtube.com.

Ever since emerging as a member of Black Star in the late 1990s, Talib Kweli is one of the few artists making commercially viable music that matters. The Brooklyn bred rapper's hard-hitting music has been able to educate and entertain simultaneously. So it is no wonder that at the peak of their fame, both Jay-Z and 50 Cent named Talib Kweli as one of their favourite rappers.

The crème de la crème of UK talent gathered in Nottingham on Monday for the fifth annual Takeover. The UK Takeover has quickly generated a reputation for being the Mecca of UK hip hop, and will probably be the biggest show in any artist’s calendar, and rightly so.

The first official single release from the ‘Urban Kaoz’ camp titled ‘Addicted’ is straight off their new mixtape ‘Rhythm and Business’.