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Converse Represent Events Streamed Online Here


Converse Represent got off to a flying start yesterday with singer Plan B opening up proceedings. The event which runs nightly between 30th July and 10th August at London’s iconic 100 Club gives a nod to past legends by including nights headlined by UK Subs, Toots & the Maytals and Paul Weller. The best of the new breed are also showcased with Pulled Apart By Horses, The Safety Fire, Santigold, Best Coast, Japandroids and The Bots also featuring.

The highlight of the event has to be Blur’s ridiculously intimate gig on August 2nd. For a chance to be at this incredible show, fans will need to visit www.converse.co.uk/blur between 9:00 AM – 6:00 PM on Wednesday 1st August.

For those unable to get their hands on sought after tickets, Converse are kindly streaming the shows online here, you also stream the shows by scrolling to the bottom of the page.. The full line up for Converse Represent is as follows:

July 30 – Plan B, L Marshall, Jacob Banks, Yuna
July 31 – UK Subs, Discharge, Anti-Nowhere League, Goldblade, Ed Tudor Pole, Dumbjaw
August 1 – Paul Weller, Spiritualized, Japandroids, 2:54, Towns
August 2 – Blur, The Bots, Savages, Swiss Lips
August 6 – SBTRKT, Rudimental, John Talabot, Man Without Country
August 7 – Santigold, Django Django, Best Coast, Citizens!, Friends
August 8 – Toots & the Maytals, Natty, The Heatwave, Janice Graham Band
August 9 – Overkill, Pulled Apart By Horses, The Safety Fire, Wet Nuns
August 10 – Nas, Kano, Speech Debelle, Spoek Mathambo, Children Of The Night

WORDS: EMMA WALLACE


Free live streaming by Ustream

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Album Reviews Buzz Chart Music Reviews

Common

The Dreamer, The Believer
(Warner Bros.)

Common has always been a rapper that everyone has enjoyed, he’s had his hits and he’s made a name for himself both in and out of the music world. But when he dropped his new album, The Dreamer, The Believer at the tail end of 2011, there wasn’t a great deal of hype surrounding the record. It’s a shame, as it turns out, as this is a great album, full of big production and an authoritative voice not heard from Common in quite a while.

After an opening salvo from Maya Angelou, Common and guest Nas drop bombs over No ID‘s thumping bass kicking the album off with a bang that doesn’t relent throughout. Lyrically, Common is on point, sometimes being a lot more forward that usual but always maintain his prowess with words in a voice that could only belong to him. With few guests appearing on the album [especially in this era of guests on almost every song], his vocals cut harder and with more meaning, clearly no bad thing.

Having No ID produce the entirety of the album also helps gives the record a consistency that might have been missing if the MC had cherry picked beats from a variety of beatmakers. Whether dropping a sample from ELO’s Mr Blue Sky or crafting a more intropsective beat for the track Gold or a larger epic sound to carry the John Legend guested The Believer, the producer continually finds sounds that fit Common’s delivery perfectly.

If this had been released in the middle of the year, or indeed anytime before the last couple of weeks in December, it would have definitely been in the top 10 of 2011. As it is, I wasn’t able to listen to it as much as I’d like before making my list, but don’t get it wrong – this is a fantastic album and, dare I say it, the best of Common’s already stellar career.

Abjekt.

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Music News

Watch: New Nas and Damian Marley video

Damian Marley and Nasty Nas have dropped new visuals from their Distant Relatives album.

Nah Mean sees the duo walking through the streets delivering their verses. Pretty simple really, but the tune’s a biggun. All that’s left is for Nas to buy a belt to save holding his trousers up through the whole thing. Silly Nas.

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Music News

New Beastie Boys album scheduled for May release

BeastieBoysHotSauceCommitteePt.2Beastie Boys fans will be stoked to hear that the boys will be back to release their new album Hot Sauce Committee Pt. 2 in May this year. The record was put back in 2009 due to Adam Yauch’s cancer condition which has got better but MCA is not confirmed as being out of the woods on that front just yet.

The track list for the album is below and for now you can check out the track with NAS called ‘Too Many Rappers‘.

‘Tadlock’s Glasses’
‘B-Boys In The Cut’
‘Make Some Noise’
‘Nonstop Disco Powerpack’
‘OK’
‘Too Many Rappers’ (feat. Nas)’
‘Say It’
‘The Bill Harper Collection’
‘Don’t Play No Game That I Can’t Win’ feat. Santigold
‘Long Burn The Fire’
‘Funky Donkey’
‘Lee Majors Come Again’
‘Multilateral Nuclear Disarmament’
‘Pop Your Balloon’
‘Crazy Ass Shit’
‘Here’s a Little Something For Ya’