I especially like the use of line and form on this early work by Bobbalin’ Hot.

This exhibition by graphic artist, super doodler and all-star graf writer/painter Dan Spinks opens tonight at Monkey in Swansea. If you happened to be in South Wales, I strongly urge you to go take a gander, It will be proper tidy as they say.

The legendary hip hop MC, Guru (Gifted Unlimited Rhymes Universal) died last month aged 43, following a battle with cancer. His work with Gangstarr, Jazzmatazz and later as a solo artist was revered around the world by fans and musicians from all backgrounds.

Here in Birmingham, Hip Hop collective Heducation are proactively pulling together a tribute to Guru with all proceeds going to cancer charities; Cancer Reseach UK, Macmillian, Myeloma UK, African Caribbean Leukemia Trust (ACLT) and Teenage Cancer Trust. I will be playing some records along with the extended family of Guru fans.

Friday 28th May at The Hare and Hounds all the info is here.

Here is a ‘sample’ of what is in store with a clip of Caesar Frazier…

Lead by award winning saxophonist and rapper Soweto Kinch and featuring a stellar rostra, The Flyover Show returns to Birmingham with dynamic and challenging performances on the 29th May. Now in its third year the unconventional inner city festival transforms the grey space beneath the Hockley Flyover into an oasis of cultural expression, celebrating generations of black British music and art. For the first time this show explores the specific theme of black female identity.

Not long now until this year’s Flyover Show, well worth a look if you are in Birmingham. Especially like this year’s theme! For more info check here. For the revolution see the video below…

She is a You Tube star recently signed to Amy Winehouse’s label. When you hear her speaking you think perhaps another grime artist…when you hear her sing you think…sh*t this girls got pipes.

One to help get you through the week…

There are a couple of fantastic documentaries available to watch on BBC Iplayer at the moment, but do watch them quick as they don’t stay up for very long! One is called Ella Fitzgerald: First Lady of Song.

Profile of jazz singer Ella Fitzgerald, one of the most popular artists of the 20th century. The film looks at Fitzgerald’s 50-year career from her winning turn at the Harlem Apollo’s amateur night in 1934, through her rise as the definitive exponent of scat singing, her celebrated Songbook albums and triumphant stage career which continued almost up until her death in 1996. Features archive footage of Ella in full flight, alongside interviews with her closest friends and collaborators. 

The other is Nina Simone: A Tribute.

Tribute to the great singer, songwriter and pianist Nina Simone, who died in 2003. Friends and musicians who knew and loved her, including Elton John and members of the band she played with for decades, paint a candid picture of the temperamental diva of the blues who triumphed over the racism of the Deep South to become one of the world’s most charismatic performers.

Friday 19th March

Leftfoot Presents

Marlena Shaw (Live)

DJ’s Sister 45 & Griffy

Hare & Hounds
106 High St
Kings Heath
Birmingham
B14 7JZ

Another legendary artist stops off at the Hare & Hounds for an unforgettable evening of real soul, funk & jazz music. Marlena Shaw has recorded music for labels like Blue Note, Cadet, Verve, Columbia & Concord Jazz. With classic tracks such as “California Soul” & “Woman Of The Ghetto” being sampled by DJ Shadow, St Germain, Gang Starr and, most famously on Blue Boy’s “Remember Me”, her influence on modern music is undeniable. DJ support comes from two of Birmingham’s most soulful ladies, Sister 45 & Griffy.

NB: Due to the small capacity of the room, there will be two shows (details below).
Please be aware which show you are buying tickets for (early bird tickets only available for Show 1) Both shows will have the same playlist and length.

Show 1: Doors open @ 8pm (Live show starts @ 8.30pm)
Show 2: Doors open @ 10.30pm (Live show starts @ 11pm)

£15 Advance / M.O.T.D
(Very limited £12 early bird tickets available for Show 1)

Advance tickets available from www.theticketsellers.co.uk /
0844 870 0000

Info: 0121 444 2081 / info@hareandhoundskingsheath.co.uk
www.hareandhoundskingsheath.co.uk

The web is going buck wylde for Erykah Badu‘s recently leaked track “Jump Up in the Air Stay There”, featuring Lil Wayne and Bilal. The Independent online says this…

The song is a web-only bonus to the singer’s boldly titled new album, ‘New Amerykah Part II: Return of the Ankh’. If Badu can afford to throw out a song as strong as this as a mere bonus, the signs are good for the rest of the record. The singer has also made a video for the song which is playing at erykahbadu.com. It’s one to mess with your head. Billed as “a story by Erykah Badu”, it begins with archive footage – including snippets of Hitler, Jackie O, a giraffe, Bill O’Reilly and Barack Obama – followed by hand puppets. It then takes a turn for the psychedelic as the screen goes purple and a kaleidoscope emerges, using images of Badu’s head and hands pulsing in and out of each other. Shortly thereafter, four Lil Wayne heads appear in another kaleidoscope. It’s all quite dizzying, but a fine complement to a wonderfully strange song.

Check it here.

Marlena Shaw started performing at the age of 10 but was discovered by Chess Records in 1966. She released her first two albums on their subsidiary Cadet Records. She moved to Blue Note Records in 1972, and was that label’s first female artist. She also recorded one of the Disco Era’s biggest hits – a remake of “Touch Me in the Morning” on Columbia Records. Marlena Shaw’s version of “California Soul” is arguably the best version of the record which was written by Nick Ashford and Valerie Simpson and made famous as the soundtrack to the advert for processed reconstituted, reshaped chicken served in a bucket.

Other  artists who have versions of “California Soul” are The Messengers, Marvin and Tammi, Brenda the Tabulations, The Gimmicks, Gerald Wilson, Fifth Dimension, Nick Ashford and The Undisputed Truth to name but a few.

Friday 19^th March

Leftfoot Presents

Marlena Shaw (Live)

DJ’s Sister 45 & Griffy

Hare & Hounds, 106 High St, Kings Heath Birmingham B14 7JZ

Another legendary artist stops off at the Hare & Hounds for an unforgettable evening of real soul, funk & jazz music.  Marlena Shaw has recorded music for labels like Blue Note, Cadet, Verve, Columbia & Concord Jazz.   With classic tracks such as “California Soul” & “Woman Of The Ghetto” being sampled by DJ Shadow, St Germain and Gang Starr, her influence on modern music is undeniable. DJ support comes from two of Birmingham’s most soulful ladies; Sister 45 & Griffy.

NB: Due to the small capacity of the room, there will be two shows (details below).

Please be aware which show you are buying tickets for (early bird tickets only available for Show 1) Both shows will have the same playlist and length.

Show 1: Doors open @ 8pm (Live show starts @ 8.30pm)

Show 2: Doors open @ 10.30pm (Live show starts @ 11pm)

£15 Advance / M.O.T.D

(Very limited £12 early bird tickets available for Show 1)

Advance tickets available from www.theticketsellers.co.uk /

0844 870 0000

Info: 0121 444 2081 / info@hareandhoundskingsheath.co.uk

www.hareandhoundskingsheath.co.uk