Menhaj Huda [Director, Kidulthood]
Former music video and commercials director, Menhaj Huda directed and co-produced KiDULTHOOD. Menhaj Huda was involved in all aspects of the production and filmmaking. He had a clear idea of how he wanted Noel’s script to be portrayed, so that it was true to real life experiences and characters that Noel used to write the film – using specific artists and music within the film was a very important and integral part of this directing process.
Noel Clarke [Actor and Writer, Kidulthood]
Noel Clarke won the Laurence Olivier Award in 2003. He currently stars in Doctor Who as Mickey [Billie Piper’s boyfriend.] KiDULTHOOD is a very personal project for him, a lot of the characters are taken from real life people in his life and many of the scenes were created out of real life situations.
Lyric L Biography
West London Rapper, lyricist, singer/songwriter LyricL is well renown for lighting up stages with her eclectic live performances, as she has a diverse catalogue of tracks and features. Her live performances range from Hip-Hop, Spoken Word, Jazz through to Afro & Broken Beat all with a very soulful edge.
Lianhart Biography
Lianhart - one of the most promising up and coming creative forces in the U.K. The 6'5 producer, songwriter, vocalist and human beatbox extraordinaire’s career has been going from strength to strength. At the age of 18, along with another 3 champs, he beat off fierce competition from beatboxers around the world and represented England and providing the sound for a Motorola advert.
Mr Gee Biography
Mr Gee, DJ, poet and radio presenter for BBC’s Bespoken Word started out alongside AfroBoy in the DJ unit “Afro-Gee” mainly playing Hip Hop & Funk at clubs & bars around South London. In 2003 Mr Gee became resident poet and went on to host ‘Brixtongue’ at Brixton Art Gallery.
The Importance Of Being Independent
Bringing warmth to the cockles of the unsigned and admirers of London's Youth music scene, this is a night showcasing new music with industry debate. More than 50 music artists with industry professionals will converge within London ICA, to celebrate today's youth music scene and chart its future.
Mic Check 1, 2 – 2nd June, The Albany, Deptford
Apples & Snakes, England's leading poetry organisation established in 1982 commemorate the evolution of poetry to lyricism and RAP by celebrating hip-hop as a cross strand of performance poetry in its own right. Apples & Snakes’ provide a platform for poetry that is popular, relevant, cross-cultural and accessible and stretch the boundaries of poetry in education and performance.
Urban Poets – MCs From Another Dimension [Big Teeth]
Urban Poets represent a flavoursome blend of conscious lyrics and funky rhythms, arranged strategically across the backdrop of slamming beats. The precise production skills of Dimension Productions alongside Big Teeth create a truly original sound. This sound in turn creates an environment conducive to the laying down of The Urban Poets’ sublime lyrical format.
Plan B aka Ben Drew
East London's Plan B is one of those once in a while original cats. He rode high with his No Good single with the dope stop motion animated video and has even been the darling of the broadsheet press. In his own genre he bends hip hop, r&b and acoustic guitar with confrontational lyrics and story telling. Check out what he had to say to Jade Bremner...
Riz MC – Post 911 Blues [Video]
Riz MC is probably better known to you as the guy who freestyled on the Guantanamo Bay docudrama on C4. He is an accomplished musician and now has this Post 911 Blues video out there. The track covers the very touchy subjects of the Iran War and Bush & Blair's tendancy towards illegal activities.