Marvin Sparks

Two artists in my most anticipated top 5. They really need to get this collab together. I know it'll be a gem. No doubt in my mind Check page 35 in this month's edition of Flavour magazine for my feature on Devz

Remember I said MTV Wrap Up and I are gonna step pon bwoy with reggae/dancehall coverage? Well continuing in that vein, Busy Signal interview. Marvin Sparks caught up with Jamaican dancehall artist Busy Signal to discuss why he feels underrated, his reception in Europe compared with Jamaica, surviving without the lucrative USA market, substance in dancehall music, what inspires his content and musical infulences, and whether he'll work with foe, Aidionia. All exclusively for The Wrap Up... Check the full interview here In case you didn't know, this is the second time I've interviewed him. The first was in my top 5 best at one point (haven't done a top 5 in a while, hence not sure if it's still in there), so put a lot of pressure on myself with this one. Felt I got another good one. Hope you enjoy. Let me know if you do/don't. Love geting feedback You can check the first one here For all other dancehall reggae interviews including Beres Hammond, Popcaan, Morgan H

Did two interviews outside of the dancehall/reggae genre; one with UK rappers SAS and Grime's Devlin for Flavour magazine. I call the SAS one a radio edit. That side of the story had to be told and needs to be heard; the other is the mad real talk. Both very necessary. A 40-minute interview with word limit of 900 words doesn't work too well. I hope to release it at some point, but it is explosive. No hype Check page 50 for SAS interview Me and Devlin spoke about a lot like writing lyrics at 13, what people liked about his debut mixtape Tales of the Crypt, inspiration behind Community Outcast, whether he felt like an outcast in the grime scene, not liking the Mike Skinner comparison and trials and tribulations on his journey in the game. That interview is on page 35 Check: http://www.flavourmag.co.uk/ Oh yeah, the cover story with Scorcher is sick! For the sex edition he shares embarrassing sex stories. Hilarious

What's a MeView? Know sometimes you read vague reviews where you can't tell whether the person actually enjoyed the show? This isn't one of them. For previous editions check here First off, special thanks to mi dancehall sistrin Kazza/Kal. I can't remember which one of those she doesn't like. I'd like to call her that one more often. Just kidding. I don't think she likes either of them, so we'll keep it simple; Karen . Wembley Arena hosted one of the most important dates on the urban events calender, 1Xtra Live, put on by guess who? What? Nah g, the best major radio station in UK, BBC Radio 1Xtra. If you haven't heard of 1Xtra Live, last night was the third edition of the annual concert that grabs leading national and international stars from a range of urban genres on one stage. Tickets for the event are FREE! That's right Londoners, all you have to pay for is your oyster card (travel), unless you have zones 1-4 on your season pass. Cost

I've seen the name about on Twitter but I don't know who the hell they are so I'll quote the video description "Ruff Diamondz are London-based trio -- vocalists Troy (20), Martika (18) and MC Chronz (19) -- who are bringing some much-needed flavour to the urban scene. Following on from their street-heater 'Allrite Stillll' which dropped earlier this year, the girls are now back with a scorcher of a track called 'Do It Like Me' out November." Moving on, their new video premiered exclusively on "Yeah yeah/ yeah yeah/ ess bee/ tee vee-ee-ee" (sidenote: if you haven't greeted Jamal with that, you haven't lived) Currently on 301 views First thought: "What the hell are they doing using Dead Prez's classic 'Hip Hop' beat? Who do they think they are? Don't they know they're going against the meaning of the track?" Second thought: "Hmmm... this isn't bad you know. I'm feeling the video, girls have

Following conversations with a few people I've decided I should blog a bit more often. I find I usually tweet my bloughts instead of blogging them. I sometimes forget people don't have Twitter. In '010 you know. Well it was a special person that I received advice from; she said "There's no harm in Tweeting your thoughts and blogging them. You can expand your tweets into blogs." So instead of twrants, I'm going to blog more. I mean that was the inspiration behind actually blogging on here So in line with that, I have literally replayed this song at least 15 times today. Anybody that knows me, knows despite the crap 50 Cent produces this day I will forever have that "Maybe this time he'll drop something decent", but always end up disappointed (check this post for my "fan-to-ahhh-maan noo" story. Bit like being a Nas fan (I am one of those too) until Distant Relatives. I was with 50 from mixtape hype when it was built in New York. Hol

Untitled from Mo ALi on Vimeo . This is 'ard! Big up Mo Ali, he has come a long way since Lethal Bizzle's 'Pow' and Jammer's 'Murkle Man'

Welcome to FlashBack Friday . A time where we reminisce on good times had in previous years. This one is not only for the mandem, cos I know females judge females too. So I could have written adolescent, but teenhood sounds much better, no? Today I'm focusing on teen TV programs I used to watch in my teens. I'll appreciate presenters, singers, models etc. in due course. Females from pre-teens will not be included here, so none of that "What about [insert females name]. I'm not even sure if I can remember enough to make a post to be honest. Maybe one day. Well, you may remember in the last episode of FlashBack Friday's about Movie OST's I promised to do a post on crushes from back in the day. In said post I wrote " Also had one of my teenhood (I think I made that up. Sounds cool to me) crush's Raven-Symone ("damn, homegirl. High school you was the girl...") . In fact one that became another teenhood crush, Kyla Pratt played Raven's sister

Probably seen this on every blog before this and oh guess what? You're gonna see it here too. If this doesn't hit number 1 I'll... be very surprised. Its one of those records that stay in your head after you hear it. I can't even read the words Let The Sunshine without humming it. I'm doing it right now. Labrinth's A64 Disappointed I'm afraid. Ed Sheeran's cover (sorry Lab, he murdered you on your own isht) Thought I'd take the time out to write something I wanted to write from before but never got around to it. There are three "urban" (I mean black boys) r&b singers releasing right now; Loick Essien's Labrinth produced 'Love Drunk' , Labrinth himself, and Talay Riley 'Humanoid' . I personally doubt all three can have success. Apart from Labrinth (who has all the right qualities and support both media and label) and carved his own lane (sound of single, producer and songwriter of smash-hits), either Talay Riley and L

Feeling this song on some next levels. 'Old tight (DJ) Yasmin on the vocals. Kills it on the hook. She's a gorgeous lass i'nt sheh? Even her normal talking voice is seductive. Hope this goes number 1. Not sure if it will, but his album should sell well regardless. Credible song with an interesting concept. As a bonus, Devlin's F(IYAH)64 I interviewed him a while back, will be in the next issue of Flavour magazine. Not sure when that's released but I'll post the link when it touches road.

I was supposed to blog this in August. My mum showed me about them the day after I returned from Jamaica. Her and pops went to see them at Bush Hall (I think. Somewhere in west London) while I was away (so July/August). Anyway, they are a mento band that perform both traditional mento and contemporary songs in a mento style. Mento is Jamaican folk music. Prominant from before Ska, so obviously before Rocksteady, Reggae and Dancehall. My first experience of mento was at a hotel in Jamaica called FDR in Runaway Bay(where the Spanish got forced to runaway, real ting). Mum says I was amazed. I remember standing there for a while. Would have been 10 at the time. My parents were split about the set list; dad thought they should have done more mento, mum understood that it would be easier to gain support from the diverse audience with the contemporary songs. I sat on the fence :D So what jogged my memory today? They performed on GMTV replacement show Daybreak today (heard the show's rubbi

I'm proud of the headline, care not what you think. :D So You Think You Can Dance is a dance version of American Idol/X-Factor created by Nigel Lythgoe and Simon Fuller aka Americal Idol guys (bet you never guessed that). Anyway, this is taken from the Canadian series, so I don't know who the judges are. ALFHLAHFLKJSDKL AFJLA G FAK!!! They threw in Willy Bounce, Wacky Dip, Nuh Linga, Tek Weh Yuself, Gallis Swing. Thought they did alright, but it's novelty to me. I look and laugh yet admire them for trying. Find out "Wah gwaan Popcaan?" on MTV UK's The Wrap Up by clicking here . He explains the fascination with Clarks, what are the best Clarks, fake Clarks and growing up in the gangsta city. To read more reggaae/dancehall interview click here , for other genres including US hip hop and R&B or UK stars from grime, funky and pop click here

You read the title correctly, part again. We don't test two what about you? Anyway, may have read the first part. May not have read the first part, I don't know. You may not even read this part, but I'm posting it anyway. ( First part ) Part 1, we spoke about how he managed to get Estelle on the remix for his single, why he chose the controversial Island pop sound for his single and his idol Bounty Killer. Pretty much a formal interview. In part again, I go a bit more dancehall. I did ask about his appearance with Sean Kingston & Nicki Minaj 'Dutty Love' + whether him and Drake are going to collaborate. Oh and about Toddla T's single 'Sky Surfing'. But yeah, more dancehall-oriented; Wayne Marshall and I spoke about his beef with former friend and collaborator Vybz Kartel, both why he never responded to blatant disses and whether they'll work together in the future now that they've made up. If you didn't know, Wayne Marshall was the big si

If you haven't heard this song before, boy, prepare to get tired of it GREAT pop record! Co-written by man of the moment Bruno Mars, Goodie Mobb member/ former Gnarls Barkley frontman Cee-lo has a smash hit on his hands. Radio version "Forget You" just sounds weird and loses the edge but hey. Cool video too. I try to stick to videos you may not come across on the bigger channels or to pass my opinion on one but I'm posting this because it is such a great record. #ThatIsAll You can tell this will be on TV, especially them end of year programs with funny clips. Don't kill me but is it me or does he sound pretty similar to Stevie Wonder when he sings "I see you walking round town with the girl I love and I'm like"

Gyptian follows up the surprise summer smash single of 2010 with Nah Let Go Better follow up than I anticipated. Heard this back in about May, and think it sounds like them songs that go down well in west African clubs like Goldcoast in Brixton. Video is much better than Hold You. Ras Kassa and Jay Will do a lot (bun out the Yanks). I have never seen one of those cars in my 11 trips to Jamaica. So will it live up to or eclipse Hold You? Not a chance in hell. Should keep him going booking wise though. Good luck to him, proving there is still a lovers side to dancehall. I would have preferred a re-release/proper release of Beautiful Lady though Funny how it's always the hardcore fans least expect that get the most success. Who saw Sean Paul, Damian Marley, Serani or Gyptian as the ones to represent dancehall commercially? Or even Wayne Wonder and Cham? After all that time in the biz, he was probably at his lowest in those times. Even going back to Chaka Demus & Pliers. Only Shabb