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A very rare opportunity to witness jazz drummer and hip hop producer Karriem Riggins perform in London in what is his first ever solo show in London.

With production credits for work with a whole range of well known hip hop artists including Talib Kweli, Slum Village, The Roots, Common and J Dilla under his belt, the jazz drummer has also performed with Diana Krall, Oscar Peterson and Donald Byrd to mention but a few.

He has also turned his hand to a bit of turntablism, and brings his DJ set to England for the show he calls Blend, so called as he mashes together his favourite jazz, soul, funk and hip hop sounds for a unique experience. It’ll get lively…..!!!!

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Joining him will be the UK’s First Lady of Hip Hop, ex MTV and BBC 1Xtra presenter DJ Sarah Love. A major player in UK hip hop’s progression since her days at London’s renowned Deal Real and Kung Fu sessions, she now regularly tours overseas to Europe and Australia.

You can catch Karriem, Sarah and Ben Grymm performing on Thursday 17th September at Trapeze Basement (formerly East Village), 89 Great Eastern Street, Shoreditch, EC2A 3HX. The venue is a 5 minute walk east of Old Street Tube Station.

The night starts at 9.30pm running to 2am, and tickets in advance cost £10 and can be bought HERE Door price will be more, so it’s advised to buy early for what’s sure to be a busy night. This is an event for those aged 18 and over so it’s advised to carry Photo ID

FACEBOOK EVENT PAGE HERE

Here’s Karriem performing “Play Your Cards Right” live with Common, taken from the Smokin’ Aces Sountrack

You can learn mmore about Karriem Riggins at his official website www.karriemriggins.com

Any press and media enquiries regarding this event can be sent to us at UrbanElite PR, our contact details are HERE

UrbanElite PR
www.urbanelitepr.com
T : @urbanelitepr

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MagnaCarta-IAmMusicTV

The coverage of Melanin 9’s debut album “Magna Carta” continues into 2013.

Released on the 3rd December, it was one of the most written about UK hip hop albums of 2012, and the latest instalment is via James Savundra for London’s online platform I Am Music TV

Here he combines a review with an interview, with the London emcee speaking on putting the album together, the inspiration for the subject matter & writing process, selection of featured artists and the reasons behind there only being a relatively limited number and his plans for the new year.

The review itself is in depth and acknowledges the subject matter covered, the personal nature of the album and the skills on display as you’ll see from the introduction :

“Magna Carta should come with a warning. If you think you’ve copped yourself an easy-listening, stereotypical hip-hop album, then I’d advise you to return it. Brace yourself to be taken on an adventure by British rapper, Melanin 9, who is already steadily making a name for himself as a real lyricist. This project certainly isn’t one for the faint hearted, as M9 (as he is also known) overpowers the listener with verses that come from within. Everything you hear is real”

The journalist has obviously put a lot of thought into the piece, which you can read in its entirity HERE

Magna Carta is available to buy digitally from iTunes, and physical CD versions can be bought via mail order from http://www.m9ether.bandcamp.com

You can follow the guys on twitter @Melanin_9 James Savundra at @savzy007 and the site itself @IAmMusicTV

Any further media enquiries can be sent to UrbanElite Promotions HERE

UrbanElite PR
www.urbanelitepr.com
T : @urbanelitepr

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MagnaCarta-RapReviews

Zach Gase, contributor to US online RapReviews, is the latest to cast his eye over the new album “Magna Carta” by London’s Melanin 9

“M9 is a skilled wordsmith, he pairs together syllables that work well together, and the things he raps about are of social importance”

Scoring a very creditable 7/10, the UK emcee has consistently impressed with his trademark lyricism and wordplay, even with those who’s own preference may lie outwith the 1990’s Golden Era tinged influence in the beats and rhymes.

The full review can be read HERE
Check out the sounds now, via the videos “Organised Democracy”, “White Russian” ft Roc Marciano and the album snippet stream first featured by Bonafide Magazine :

VIDEO : ORGANISED DEMOCRACY

VIDEO : WHITE RUSSIAN

ALBUM SNIPPET STREAM

The album is available to buy now from iTunes HERE

More media coverage to follow soon. All press enquiries about this release can be addressed to UrbanElite PR HERE

Meanwhile you can connect with both on twitter @Melanin_9 and @RapReviews

UrbanElite Promotions
www.urbanelitepr.com
T : @urbanelitepr

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A couple of weeks ago, Melanin 9 chopped it up with the UK’s online Rawroots to speak on the release of his debut album Magna Carta which can be bought now on iTunes.

He talks about his early days of deejaying, comin up in London and the early crews he worked with, working with producers Chemo, Beat Butcha, Jehst and Bronze Nazareth and plans on working with them in the future, the eclectic production on Magna Carta and his approach to the art of emceeing and lyricism.

Check it out (as featured on www.rawroots.com)

As well as iTunes, you can buy the physical CD format of his album via http://m9ether.bandcamp.com

Link with them on twitter @Melanin_9 and @Rawroots

Any further media & press enquiries can be addressed to UrbanElite PR HERE

UrbanElite Promotions
www.urbanelitepr.com
T : @urbanelitepr

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On the eve of beginning her dj support tour in the UK for Aloe Blacc, DJ Sarah Love spoke with Sasha Shantel the editor of In-Spirels Magazine as part of their “Wonder Woman” feature

Here she talks about her early days performing at the various Kung Fu nights in London, her time with BBC 1Xtra, the djs who have inspired her, her Mobo nominations, performing with Wu Tang and The Roots and much more

In-Spirels is a publication dedicated to those who motivate and inspire, designed to encourage young talent and recognize achievements

The “Aloe Blacc & The Grand Design” tour starts in Birmingham on Saturday 3rd December, followed by Leeds 4th, Nottingham 5th, Manchester 7th, Newcastle 8th, Sheffield 9th, Liverpool 11th, Glasgow 12th, Bristol 13th, Hammersmith Apollo 15th and finishes at Brighton Dome on the 16th

Check the interview at www.in-spirelsmagazine.co.uk/?p=10020

Follow on twitter @DJSarahLove and @Inspirels

URBANELITE PROMOTIONS
on twitter @urbanelitepr

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Urbanelite Promotions are now fully authorized to accept booking enquiries for London’s 1st Lady of Hiphop, DJ Sarah Love.

Sarah’s reputation grew from her early days deejaying at various Kung Fu events and on local London underground radio stations, and was soon presenting shows for specialist stations in the US, Europe, Australia and Africa.

This soon led to her receiving bookings from around the world, and cemented her position as one of the leading hiphop international club djs, noteworthy given the male dominance that still exists to this day.

In August 2007, Sarah joined the BBC’s urban music specialist station 1Xtra and presented the Friday night Hip Hop Mix Show. In 2008 she also presented the station’s weekend Breakfast show. The internet platform & prestige of being the BBC’s main hiphop dj established her name globally, and the station enjoyed a larger international audience as a result.

She was also instrumental in the launch of MTV Base in Africa as an official soundsystem DJ, and played live at many of MTV Europe’s official events. MTV then appointed her official VJ for the UK’s Base programme, appearing on Trevor Nelson’s “The Lick – Spanking New Music” & had her own monthly feature on the station’s “Good Look”. This was broadcast to the UK and 60 other countries.

In 2009, she was nominated in the “Best DJ” category at the MOBO’s, the only female to have ever received such recognition.

Sarah left BBC 1Xtra and MTV in 2010.

She has had subsequent online tv shows with Spine TV, Squeeze Radio, and still regularly features in many of the urban music specialist magazines.

In the past year she has played clubs in Africa, US, Australia, Europe and the UK and can count names such as Souls of Mischief, The Roots, Wu Tang, KRS-1 and many more as those with whom she has shared the stage.

The “One Woman Wrecking Machine” has a large social media presence, with nearly 5000 friends on FACEBOOK nearly 6000 followers on Twitter and updates these plus her blog via the official site at www.djsarahlove.com with all key events.

She is the official UK tour dj for Aloe Blacc in December 2011, and tours Australia in January 2012.

We are accepting enquiries from anywhere in the world for dates in November 2011 and from February 2012 onwards. There are some dates in December free at the moment, those being Tuesday 6th, Saturday 10th, Wednesday 14th and from Saturday 17th onwards

All enquiries should be sent to urbanelitepr@gmail.com and we guarantee a reply within 24 hours.

URBANELITE PROMOTIONS
on twitter @urbanelitepr

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Vast Aire launches new single, video & album “Ox 2010 : A Street Odyssey”

LABEL – MAN BITES DOG RECORDS / FAT BEATS
RELEASE DATE – SINGLE 16TH MAY / ALBUM 31st May (digital)

Cannibal Ox legend returns with 3rd solo album

Although mostly associated with Jamaica, Queens, Vast Aire has lived in every borough of NYC, and it was his time in Harlem as a teenager which sparked the career of one of hiphop’s most respected artists.

Performing in many of the city’s underground spots, it was in 1994 that the 16 year old met fellow emcee and best friend Vordul Mega, and the pair would go on to form Cannibal Ox.

Vast and Vordul began collaborating with legendary Company Flow producer El-P, the result of which was the classic debut album “The Cold Vein” in 2001, an album which helped launch El-P’s Def Jux imprint.

Vast Aire has a long history of working with different artists on various projects. As a member of the group Atoms Family, he followed up Ox’s debut release with the launch of “The Prequel”. As a member of The Weathermen, which included Copywrite, Aesop Rock and the late Camu Tao, they released “The Conspiracy” in 2003. In 2004, his debut solo album “Look Mom…No Hands” featured MF Doom, Aesop Rock and Sadat X with production from Madlib, RJD2, Blueprint, Ayatollah and Da Beatminerz.

Following 2005’s collaboration with DJ Mighty Mi “The Best Damn Rap Show”, he re-united with old friend Karniege to record “Empire State” in 2007 under the group name “Mighty Joseph” before releasing his second solo album “Deuces Wild” the following year, an album XXL Magazine placed in their Top Ten Albums of 2008.

Over the past 10 years he has featured on tracks and albums from Aesop Rock (NY Electric), Jean Grae (Swing Blades), Wu Tang (Slow Blues), MF Doom (Super Friendz), and toured the world with Lauren Hill, Wu Tang, The Roots, Black Star and Boot Camp Click. In 2010 he put pen to paper on a new deal with Man Bites Dog Records, making him labelmates with Copywrite and Killah Priest, and the new album is the first of many planned projects.

The album is full of the cerebral rhymes those accustomed to this New York “ghetto spokesman” would come to expect, intelligent, witty and pushing the boundaries of the imagination.

With production from Ayatollah, J Zone, Harry Fraud, Kount Fif and Thanos, and a UK/European tour planned for autumn 2011, the new album is set to reinforce his position as one of hiphop’s finest ambassadors and capture a new audience, beginning with the first single Nomad.

VIDEO

Follow on twitter @vastaireofcanox & @urbanelitepr