After many days weeks and months, my brother has finally completed my video for ‘Talking The Hardest’! The track is a cover of the original track by Giggs, and is on my mixtape ‘Alter Ego’s’ which is available for free download on this site. Ahh yea and I should have mentioned there are no edits on the video it was filmed in 1 take!!

This tune was a big inspiration for me back in the day, some of Wiley’s earliest work as well. ‘Haaadooken burn them like Ken, triple dragon never come back again!’

Double dose of my band ASTRO-PHYSICS this weekend: Friday 26th (7pm) at CONCORDE 2 for the Shakedown Festival showcase, alongside Kovak, Watts and The SP.

Then bank holiday Monday 29th (9pm) at THE HYDRANT with Pirate, Stars & Sons and Flip Flays.

We’ve got a handful of new tracks and members and will also be performing a selection of my solo tracks for the first time ever, these are our first Brighton gigs since November so make sure you’re there!

BOTH SHOWS ARE FREE ENTRY ALL NIGHT!!

Just wanted to take a quick to tell you about my the songs that have inspired me the most as a musician, and undoubtedly had some sort of direct or subconscious effect on my writing. In no particular order, here goes:

1): Bob Marley – Redemption Song

Timeless track, one of the best songs ever written in my opinion. Powerful emotionally delivered words with a universal meaning, sends shivers up my spine.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

2: Dream Team – Good Rhymes

This is where the journey all began for me! No exaggeration I was 100% addicted to this track and it was the first tune I heard that made me wanna rap. I knew every lyric word for word, and soon became obsessed with UK Garage.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

3: Notorious B.I.G – Juicy

It’s a cliche but undoubtedly Biggie Smalls aka Notorious BIG was one of the biggest influenced for me and thousands of other rappers all over the world. I love everything about this track, the beat, the chorus, and his nostalgic words.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

4: Bob Dylan – Changing of the guards

This track was real eye (or ear) opener for me in terms of lyrics. The powerful metaphors, the imagery, I’d never heard anything like it before.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

5: Nas – The Message

‘I never sleep cos sleep is the cousin of death’ This track samples one of Sting’s guitar loops, and Nas’ gritty story telling of shoot outs, robbery’s and get away’s take you to another place and make you feel like you’re actually there. The Message is one of my all-time favorite hip hop tunes

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

6: Eminem – Stan

Eminem at his best, this track is in it’s own league.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

7: Busta Rhymes – Gimme Some More

Buster Rhymes the original master of ‘double-time’ rap. The rapid delivery and sharp syllable patterns really stuck in my brain. The video was pretty nuts as well!

8: immortal Technique – You Never Know

I actually posted the video of this track on my blog a few weeks ago. One of the most moving stories I’ve ever heard on track

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

9: Red Hot Chilli Peppers – Under The Bridge

Simple yet effective lyrics, amazing and memorable melodies. This tune is an all time classic

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

10: Sage Francis – Makeshift Patriot

I was introduced to Sage Francis by my brother, the guy is a lyrical genius and this is one of his earliest tracks about 9/11.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

These are not necessarily my top 10 favorite track of all time, but the ones that had the most influence on my music. What are your top 10 favorite or most influential tracks?

Ahh dubstep, these days it’s absolutely everywhere some love it some hate it, but whatever you’re preference you can’t avoid it!

I was actually a resident MC at ‘Dub Pressure’ Brighton’s first Dubstep night back in 2006 – 2008, it was at The Pressure point feat Plasticsian, Distance and Crazy D

Dubstep was pretty different back then, much more edgy moody and closer to it’s ‘Dub’ roots. There was a lot of interesting sounds at the time and the scene was in it’s infancy compared to now. Classic tracks like Gorgan Sound by Horsepower Productions and Midnight Request Line by Scream were tearing up dancefloors down south, although none of us could have predicted how enormous it would become.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Over the past 2/3 years dubstep has taken over and established itself as one of the biggest genres in Dance music. Naturally everyone has followed suit and jumped on the band wagon, from promoters to producers, DJ’s, MC’s and even international pop stars: Who would have thought 5 years ago that Britney Spears would collaborate with Rusko on a dubstep tune, absolutely insane!

Dubstep now is very different now from it’s humble beginnings, the ‘wobble’ sound is a formula that a lot of producers are following and I feel that in general dubstep has become quite samey. There are still some interesting producers out there but they are overshadowed by what has become the ‘typical’ dubstep sound. The question is will dubstep be a flash in the pan or stand the test of time in the world of dance music.  I can see a similar pattern emerging with the evolution of dubstep to that of UK Garage: it started out as a unique underground sound with a cult following and over the space of a few years grew and grew and grew. At this point everyone jumped on the band wagon commercialising garage, one thing led to another, the So Solid Crew shootings gave garage a bad name, the media jumped on the stories and unfortunately garage died becoming much less popular.

I could see a similar thing happening with dubstep, not in the same way but I do hope it hasn’t hit a glass ceiling. On the other hand it could follow the route of Drum ‘n’ Bass which reached commercial success in 2002 with Shy FX ‘Shake Ur Body’ and regardless has always been a global giant in dance music. Anyhow, it will be interesting to see what happens to dubstep over the course of the next few years… Feel free to share your thoughts on this and comment below, also share your opinion on if you think I should jump on the bandwagon and record a dubstep track for my next album.. (everyone else is, fuck it may as well give it a crack!)

Click on any of the images below to view the full shop, T-shirts start at just £7

Alter Egos is finally here! I have been working on this for the past year and it’s my pleasure to share it with you. All you need to do is enter your details in the box on the right hand side of this page, your email address is needed so that we can send you the download link, rest assured that your details will never be given to any 3rd parties and you can unsubscribe from the mailing list at any point. I hope you enjoy listening to it as much as I’ve enjoyed making it. LIMITED EDITION HARD COPIES WILL BE AVAILABLE ON THE ‘SHOP’ PAGE FROM NEXT WEEK

This guy reminds me of Roots Manuva! Great track and video, watch out for Ghostpoet. Check out the remix on youtube as well feat Kano