L23 Magazine

As many have said, a decent Drum & Bass has been long over due so expect tonight’s launch at Jumpin Jaks to be packed as for the first time ever, Jurisdiction is coming to Stevenage for a FULL Drum & Bass/Dubstep night.  The line up includes Unix from Kool Fm, T_! of ‘Stink Like Sock’ fame, Dubsy B2b with YT, Intobeats Liz-E B2B with Jak The Lad, Switch-E B2B with Chris Kaoz and Devastator B2B with Mutual Party.

MC’s on the night include Harry Shotta, Rydermike, Shatta, Shox, Furious, Jooka, D-Man, Savageman, Klass, Razdar, Blazer and Redz. Doors open from 9pm to 3am with the damage on the door priced at just £5 ALL NIGHT. All drinks on the night will be just £2 too. What more could you want?

Located in Luton’s Arndale Mall, Jean City, Bedfordshire’s premier Urban & Street wear store has recently launched a new website and to celebrate this, they are offering you a chance to get 10% off your first order! Having undergone a massive change in the shop too, they now stock the best styles from the likes of LRG, Supreme Being, Vans, Converse, Artful Dodger, Apple Bottom Jeans, Fila and Sergio Tacchini.

With all these big changes going on, Jean City is still Bedfordshire’s number 1 retail shop for New Era caps, Rocawear, Levis, Criminal Damage and many of your other favourite brands!! To take advantage of this offer and see what you need to be wearing this coming winter, head over to JeanCity.co.uk now. Once you select what you want, use the promotional code ’MNEWREGISTER09′ to get 10% off your first order and don’t forget to sign up to their newsletter to receive new promotional codes.

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2009 has not been a great year for the clubbing scene in Milton Keynes. With the closure of Blueprint and 21cc during the summer and the recent news that Empire Red’s plans to open have been put on ice, things cannot look any worse for MK at the moment.  For all of it’s bad points (and there were a few), has Milton Keynes really lost something with the closure of Buddha Blue?

Regardless if you loved it or hated it, Buddha Blue was always a talking point for the MK raver. Some claimed they would never step a foot inside the club and others gave spoke of the club in high regards.  This was highlighted on the night that Buddha Blue played host to US R&B act Ne-Yo.  Our camera crew were down on night and bumped into a trio of girls who we interviewed prior to Ne-Yo taking to the ’stage’. When asked if they came to Buddha Blue on a regular basis, the answers varied but all started with ‘errrrrrm no’.

“I’ve come here once before. I mainly go to Oceana but I really wanted to see Ne-Yo.”

There has always been stigma associated with Buddha Blue but why? The interior and layout of the venue was second ONLY to Oceana. The bar staff were always polite and EVEN the bouncers were friendly. The music was always on point thanks to a good selection of DJ’s including the former resident SheJay 1E who deserves a gigantic pat on the back for playing decent music each and every week.  Let’s not forget to mention the types of international PA’s the venue attracted. Let’s be honest, where else in Bucks would you be able to see the likes of Ne-Yo, Lloyd, Sisqo and Wayne Wonder to name a few? Granted, these weren’t concerts and never advertised as such but even a guest appearance is better than nothing.

Where the problems start for Buddha Blue is quite obvious. From the moment you walk in and hit the bar, you get that “Toto, I’ve a feeling we’re not in Kansas anymore” vibe.  Buddha was clearly modelled on a big city club that plays ‘black music’ everyday it’s open as opposed to a club that plays ’urban music’ on a Thursday night but unfortunately, that does not fit in well with a town like Milton Keynes.  For all the big US PA’s and all the good music, the vast majority of people who go clubbing in Milton Keynes like their alco-pops cheap, their cheesy chart music on loop and anything that deviates from that is seen as dangerous.  Buddha Blue did prove it’s critics wrong with some impressive nights but in the end the inherent “danger” of Buddha Blue and it’s crowds proved too much for the local police to handle and as such, MK’s only decent venue for ‘black music’ is now closed.

Now in it’s 14th year, The MOBO Awards have seen their fair share of controversy. Many see the awards as essential viewing whereas others see the awards as a cleverly funded marketing campaign for record labels and recording artists.

The concept was clear when the MOBO’s first hit our screens and it was something refreshing. Something that was need.  At the time of it’s launch in 1995, black music in the UK was forced to stay underground while the boyband’s and indie bands collected all the accolades and awards.

Some key players in the music industry have said the concept of the MOBO’s is flawed and this is becoming more evident as pop songs written by white song writers are now winning awards. A clear example of this is JLS winning best song. Beat Again is obviously a ‘pop’ track and it was written by award winning Steve Mac who is white. While anyone regardless of their race can win a MOBO, a pop song written by a white songwritter which has been sung by a boyband should have not even been short-listed. 

This has devalued the once prestigious awards and the whole concept of ‘Music of Black Origin’ has gone out the window. In reality, the awards are now a popularity contest for ’POP’ artists and should be marketed as such to save it’s last bit of credibility.

After evaluating the winners, especially Sean Paul who won the award for best reggae artist, it leaves us somewhat confused on just who is voting and how much they actually know about music of ‘black origin’. Anyone who remotely listens to Reggae/Dancehall music will know that the past two to three years have been dominated by Vybz Kartel and Mavado.

Trevor Nelson as best DJ? All we can be is diplomatic on that one as he is far from the best DJ in the UK playing ‘Black music’. Best radio host for urban/popular music, maybe but one the best DJ by far this year didn’t even get a mention. (Google Jaguar Skills)

All the blame can’t be directed at the MOBO’s. With the vast majority of black music genres being labeled as ‘Urban Pop’ on your MTV Base’s and Kiss Fm video channels, it’s hard to see where black music ends and where pop begins. Granted, black music can be ’Pop’ and black artists can produce popular music but what is the point of having ‘music of black origin’ awards when the vast majority of people voting only listen to pop music and do not know anything about black music?

Seventy Recordings will be taking over Remix, Hitchin 11th Sept. Hosting a night of live music by up and coming Seventy artists Scrabull, Jamie Leo and Kosha. CEO, John Turner has decided it is time to put all speculation to bed and bring the label back home.  Throughout London, all of the Seventy artists have been damaging shows at venues such as The Jazz Café, Café De Paris, Ocean and The Pigalle Club, dominating the stage and gathering fans as they go. Energy and attendance will both be running high in the dance, as Scrabull and Jamie Leo are both from the Herts vicinity and already have a loyal hometown following.

Ladies favourite and Seventy’s newest signing Kosha, will be serving up Grime and R’n’B, unleashing his own very distinctive and unique style upon Remix’s residents. His ability to effortlessly sing and rap, interchanging between the two in his very own twang, both with the same level of talent is truly one of a kind and not one to be missed.

Seventy’s first lady Jamie Leo, will also be gracing the stage with her mesmerising voice, providing us with a sexy soulful sound, that will make the hairs on the back of your neck stand up. Performing tracks from her forthcoming debut album ‘I’m About To Say Hello’ and her newly released single ‘Mr. Smooth’ her voice is a combination of restrained power, effortless range and an aching cadence with a soulful maturity that belies her years. It smothers you with its emotion or, it simply hits you where it hurts!

Topping the bill will be urban fusion artist Scrabull. A born entertainer, he is currently dominating shows, promoting his new single ‘Badboys’ and working in the studio with Producer KrissKutt on their debut project ‘True Brit Language’.  The pair are pushing boundaries in the studio and on stage, using a lot of live musicians for the album to create really original sounding tracks, developing something fresh. The genre mix he is working with will have you skankin out and getting lively. Already having shared the stage with the likes of Bashy, Tinie Tempah and Ironik, his biggest performance to date came on July 13th when he and Kosha supported Flo-rida at Birmingham o2.  Dash all those other cliché standard nights and come be entertained, witness the rise of a brand new movement that began in Herts County.