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EDITOR’S LETTER
Editor In Chief Andy Forrester, andy@beatzmag.com
Managing Director Yaz Hussain, yaz@beatzmag.com
Website Officers
Hey guys! We are proud to unveil the very first issue of Beatz Magazine, it’s been a long time in the making and is packed full of exciting creative talent from the world of urban music. Without ruining what’s in store, in this issue you’ll discover interviews with some of the hottest upcoming musical talents, interesting features, album reviews and the freshest fashion picks from our street artist team member BSKA. and female fashion guru Hanah. Let me give you a bit of our story so far…. BEATZ Mag’ was founded in May 2012 by a group of creative individuals who wanted to shake up the music scene. With various backgrounds related to sharing and discovering new music via personal websites, the founders decided to join forces and create a publication, dedicated to their love of music. Our talented and skilled team; consisting of DJs, bloggers, journalists, graphic designers and a graffiti artist have each contributed their own skills and knowledge to bring you Beatz Magazine The result is a remarkable publication with all the latest news, fashions and reviews in modern hip-hop, contemporary pop, R&B and the afrobeats music scene. With the promise of providing every reader with a knowledge, awareness and entertainment of urban music, it has been one very long journey for the whole team that has only just begun. We have all been working long days and long nights to present to you ISSUE 1. A quality publication set to take popular culture by storm. Be a part of it.
Laurens Haines Sam Cottingham
Features Editor Andre Hutson
Interview Editor Becky Riffel
Fashion Editors Hanah Mamoojee Sam Bentley
Social Media Communication Officer Nikk Price
Writers Hanah Mamoojee Lasé Anthony Layele Simon Phelan Laura Owusu
To get involved, drop us a message! I hope you like what we’ve created. Many thanks, Yaz, Andy & The Beatz Team!
These mongooses can’t stop me! You can nibble into my publishing, record sales, live but you can’t control my Twitter/Facebook #fuckthelabel - @clementmarfo
Clement Marfo ‘rage tweeting’ about how much he hates his record label then supposedly leaking half his album with the title “World War 3.zip”. Which as since been taken down by his label, something that caused him to continue the tweeting.
Tweet Of The Month: Clement Marfo
CONTENT
BEATZ MAGAZINE ISSUE #1 - SEPTEMBER 2012 WWW.BEATZMAG.COM
08
FEATURES News
06
The Alter-Ego’s Of Nicki Minaj
08
Drizzy Drake’s 3rd Album
12
Rise Of Afrobeats
14
FutureBeatz - Artists On The Rise
16
12
INTERVIEWS Smiler Cleo Sol
19 22
Bluey Robinson
26
Jhene Aiko
30
Justin Garner
36
14
REVIEWS Trey Songz - Chapter V
38
DJ Khalid - Kiss The Ring
39
LIFESTYLE Mens Street Fashion
40
Womens Street Fashion
42
StarStyle - Yasmin
44
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40
CONTENT
26. BLUEY ROBINSON
19. SMILER
22. CLEO SOL
36. JUSTIN GARNER
30. JHENE AIKO Beatz Magazine • www.BeatzMag.com • 5
NEWS
When G.O.O.D Music announced their newest album “Cruel Summer” it looked as though we’d be in for a treat. However bad news folks, the albums predicted release date was August 7th but had been delayed to September 4th. Now the album has been put back once again, with a predicted release date of September 18th. it looks like it could be a Cruel Autumn instead!
Aaliyah’s label , Blackground Records, have confirmed Drake and Noah “40” Shebib will be the executive producers of Aaliyah’s posthumous album. Using unreleased recordings, the duo stirred up controversy across the interwebs asking why close friends and collaborators Timbaland and Missy Elliot were not asked first. Although the Toronto born rapper had never met Aaliyah before her tragic death, he finds her so inspirational that he had an image of her face tattooed onto his back last year. Amber Rose and her fiance Wiz Khalifa are having a baby together! The pregnant model is expecting her first child in January 2013 and so she wants to move their wedding date to October to avoid getting married when she is heavily pregnant. Rapper Wiz proposed to Kanye West’s former girlfriend earlier this year and although the pregnancy was a surprise, the pair are said to be thrilled about the good news!”Amber’s already had to make some big lifestyle changes, like not smoking cigarettes anymore. As a model she’s used to having a thin waist, so this is going to be an adjustment for her.”
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NEWS
The TGT Project is back on! TGT (made up of Tank, Ginuwine, Tyrese) have officially signed a deal with Atlantic Records for the album! Ginuwine recently disclosed that they have approximately 10 songs so far, and plan to record up to 35 more! During an interview at ESSENCE Music Festival, Tyrese explained, “We’re just gonna mold and shape the spirit of R&B and remind people why they fell in love with R&B in the first place.”
Trey Songz scores his first Number 1 on Billboard 200 with his latest album “Chapter V”. The R&B crooner missed the golden opportunity on previous albums, but this album had the recipe for success. Check out the album review on page [PUT PAGE NUMBER IN]. Trigga overcame competition from 2Chainz and DJ Khaled who filled the second and fourth spots respectively. “Chapter V” sold 135,000 copies in its first week but it wasn’t enough to top the week one sales of his previous album Passion, Pain & Pleasure, which moved 240,000 units back in September 2010!
Emeli Sande’s debut album “Our Version of Events” has rapidly become the biggest-selling album of 2012 (so far…) The Scottish star reclaimed the No.1 spot on the UK album charts after her Olympic performance and is just 26,000 copies behind Adele’s smash album “21”.
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THE ALTER EGO’S OF
NICKI MINAJ
“Some call me and Nicki and some call me Roman”
In a celebrity and music world full of multipersonalities and alter-ego disorders, celebrities from the likes of Lady Gaga to hiphop queen Beyonce, as well as diva Mariah Carey, have all presented the public with their “other self”; Joe Calderon, Sasha Fierce and Mimi. Nicki Minaj on the other hand has taken this a step further. The hip-hop & rap superstar needs not only one alter-ego to give her music an edge but a whole family of them! The most well known ego’s her fans would be familiar with include The Harajuku Barbie, Roman Zolanski (and his mother Martha Zolanski), Female Weezy and Dear Old Nicki, all of which are featured in multiple songs across both her debut album, Pink Friday and her most recent release, Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded. Unlike most of her other contemporaries, Nicki’s need for alter ego’s stemmed from something very different than the need to be
‘out-there’ or to perform with more fierceness on a stage. And this is where Nicki’s first alter ego appears, whom she created when she was a child. Nicki conjured up ‘Cookie’ when her parents use to fight. Because her parents constantly fought when she was growing up, she created characters and worlds in her mind to help her escape them. This behavior doesn’t seem to be particularly strange for a child going through this trauma, but unlike most who dispel these imaginations, Nicki took hem along with her, extending her imaginary family, introducing them to the public through her music. Now it would seem almost impossible to imagine Nicki without Roman, Barbie or any of her other characters. So for those of you who don’t know, jump to the next couple of pages where we briefly introduce you to the main host of personalities taking up her ‘inner real estate’
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The Harajuku Barbie “The naïve-like Barbie doll, with long plastic looking legs, a pink wig and an extravagant pink dress”
Roman Zolanski “the gay boy who lives inside her, he’s mean angry and vicious”
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Martha Zolanski “King Nicki’s kindly godmother as well as the angry mum”
The Harajuku Barbie Ever wondered why the hell Westwood has started calling all his female listeners “Barbz”? Nicki is the reason why. The Pink Friday’s album cover features Nicki as the naïve-like Barbie doll, with long plastic looking legs, a pink wig and an extravagant pink dress. Fans have speculated that Barbie actually features on a lot of the songs on Pink Friday although Minaj has only ever confirmed her appearance in Bedrock.
Roman Zolanski Her first album Pink Friday, released last year, was only partially performed by Nicki. The other part was performed by Roman Zolanski, the “boy who lives inside [her]” though she has also referred to Roman as her twin sister. In an interview earlier this year, Nicki revealed Roman was a “gay boy, he says what I cant say, he’s mean angry and vicious.” Roman specifically appears when Nicki raps – whether in a duet with Eminem on the song “Roman’s Revenge” or with Trey Songz on the song “Bottoms Up”. His eclectic British-ness mixed with his semievil personality definitely grab any listeners attention, Nicki fan or not!
Martha Zolanski Instantly recognizable by her British accent, Martha, Roman’s mother is first seen at the beginning of Nicki’s video ‘Moment 4 Life’. Her attitude changes as she is known to be King Nicki’s kindly godmother as well as the ‘angry mum’ who order Roman to take his medication in Roman Holiday. Nicki doesn’t seem content with just four or five alter egos, late last year she debuted a new alter ego, Nicki Teresa, a healer who spreads peace and love to her fans. She also created Rosa on Lopez Tonight in December.
Many commenters on celebrity alter-egos dismiss these creational personalities as excuses for stars to legitimately present a racier or bolder version of themselves; as an ‘excuse to walk on the wild side’ of fame and fortune. Some even go further to say that it is female artists in particular who feel the need to create these persona’s for themselves in an attempt to succeed in the music industry. The Daily Femme poses an interesting question as to whether the stereotypes still hold strong in the hip hop industry; do female artists feel more compelled to create alter-egos to sell more sex without the stigma of being branded a ‘hoe’? But of course, a whole host of established male artists have alter egos too, T.I has his street persona T.I.P and Eminem has never been shy about his rougher self ‘Slim Shady’. I personally don’t think this answers the question as to why Nicki needs alter egos. Nicki fans would know, that the real Nicki is already one of he boldest and diverse artists in the Hip Hop industry at the moment. So why does she need them? These alter egos seem to give her a chance to appeal to different listening audiences. In her fairy tale land of Barbz and Ken’s could it be that Minaj is offering her younger listeners a refreshing perspective on rap as a healthy creative outlet? On Graham Norton’s show earlier this year, The Harajuku Barbie is reported to have sent a positive message to her listeners, saying: “No Barbz don’t ever do drugs, Ok?” Or are her alter-egos a way for her music to be transnational, transgender and appeal to all ages? Some music critics have gone so far as to name Minaj the “Fliest Feminist” as her egos are transgender. Her egos are empowering for females and
males as well the younger hip hop generation. Others dismiss them as a publicity stunt, and other groups such as religious fanatic blogger ‘Justify’ have condemned Nicki’s multiple personalities as ‘demonic possessions’ or ‘spiritual warfare’… To be honest, egos need to be questioned. They are refreshing and dramatic and bring another dimension to her music, which has been missing in the music world for a long time. All we have to do is sit back, listen and enjoy.
“Do female artists feel more compelled to create alteregos to sell more sex without the stigma of being branded a ‘hoe’?”
Beatz Magazine • www.BeatzMag.com • 11
DRIZZY DRAKE
WE REVIEW WHAT TOPICS DRAKE’S 3RD ALBUM MAY INCLUDE
What does the Young Money man have in store for us next?
A
fter Drake’s much anticipated and highly successful second album ‘Take Care’, comes the third solo album yet to be named. There is considerable mystery surrounding this album because the only information released states that it will reflect the recent life events for the man who calls himself Drizzy Drake Two major features expected to make an appearance include Drake’s move from Toronto, Canada to Los Angeles and his on-going situation involving Chris Brown. The relocation that Drake has undertaken is a move to the US
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where his career is now heavily focused, but in doing so it has meant interacting with lots of new people and having to adapt quickly to the new surroundings. This is not a bad thing however as Drizzy thrives within a new environment and claims to be in a “different place” mentally, which should make for an interesting and slightly unconventional album, in terms of the music. The widely publicized ‘falling out’ with Chris Brown is also expected to make an appearance on the album, which may give the public a better picture of what actually happened during the nightclub incident, with
different reports currently claiming different things; it would be nice to get the opinion of Drake himself. One thing’s for sure, Drake will use his lyrics to make a reply to Chris Brown’s “diss” track aimed at him. Chris Brown mentions throwing bottles (in reference to Drakes’ entourage apparently throwing bottles during the fracas in W.i.P Nightclub); Drakes’ eyebrows and how YOLO (Drake’s’ motto) doesn’t affect him, as he lives twice. A theme in a few of Drake’s earlier tracks is the aspect of religion. It has appeared in ‘One More Time’ but most notably ‘HYFR’ where the video shows Drizzys’ re-bar mitzvah.
The video was completed in a casual manor and shows that Drake is not ashamed of his Jewish heritage as critics have previously claimed. It can be expected therefore that religion, in some form, may make be a consistent theme on the upcoming third album as further proof of his commitment to the faith. Another theme often seen in Drake’s’ music is how people can relate to it through their own experiences. An example of this is in ‘Best I Ever Had’ where Drizzy says “Sweat pants, hair tied, chilling with no make-up on, that’s when you’re the prettiest, I hope that you don’t take it wrong”. This reflects the opinion that natural
beauty is the best. In my opinion, it is because people can relate to the music which makes it all the more popular; because things are discussed within Drake’s music which people may have encountered themselves. It can therefore be assumed that Drizzy is going to continue with this theme and talk about real-life situations rather than those few can relate to. Although no concrete information has been given as to what to expect from this highly anticipated third album, there are several themes which should take centre stage. Whether they do or not is a different matter, but I’m sure time will tell and I’ll buy the album either way.
“One thing is for sure though and that is Drizzy will want to release a comeback to Chris Brown’s ‘diss’ song”
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AFROBEATZ
The Rise O Afrobe
WHEN DID IT BECOME SO POP
A
frobeats is the hottest musical scene in the UK at the moment taking storm from the hit single ‘Oliver Twist’ by D’banj which has made history by establishing itself internationally and in the UK charts. The recognition of ‘Afrobeats in the Western World has grown as the various events and DJs have continued to support its awareness. DJ Abrantee (Afrobeats DJ) describes Afrobeats as ‘ neologism to describe a new sound – a 21st-century melting pot of western rap influences, and contemporary West African pop music – but it didn’t drop out of the clear blue sky.’ He has had a massive impact in promoting ‘Afrobeats in venues
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such as the proud O2 and Somerset House in London. The Ghanaian DJ has hosted the event ‘Afrobeats Sunday’, which is a day dedicated to the traditional West African music. The awareness of ‘Afrobeats within the younger generation has been astonishing due to the impact that these events have had. This is a musical genre that has finally found its feet within the global musical market. The question is what makes an ‘Afrobeat’ and how has this been so influential? Afrobeats originates from the southern part of Nigeria in the 1960’s, a basic beat is comprised of a harmonious jazzy rhythm, plus drums and a dash of funk. This provides an exuberant melody
which creates a diverse sound. The drums are powerful giving a rhythmic feel to the genre. Furthermore Afrobeats is incorporated with politics, Fela the founding father of Afrobeats wanted to make an impact by effecting social change. He used the art of Afrobeats to illustrate the periodic time that he was living in. He used Afrobeats as a history of art in order to highlight a confrontational and difficult era. However it has been argued that afrobeats has lost its native tounge. There has been some controversy over Dbanj’s song ‘Oliver Twist’. In the eyes of Afrobeats fans this song is not considered as a true Afrobeats song, instead this song falls under
AFROBEATZ
Of eats
PULAR?
the ‘pop’ category which is why it has made its stamp in the international music market. Previously the ‘Oliver Twist’ singer made hits such as ‘Fall in Love’ and ‘Genevieve’. It has been publicly accepted that these songs are considered ‘Afrobeats material but ‘Oliver Twist’ failed to do Afrobeats justice. However this has not stopped the Nigerian star from gaining success with the hit single. Within our post-modern society there has been an outbreak of Afrobeats which have been supported in venues and radio stations such as ‘Cokobar’ and Choice FM. ‘Cokobar’ is located in Monument, London, this bar caters for a huge audience every week and celebrates African culture. This club has had visitors from both Ghana and
Nigeria and other countries in Africa that represents Afrobeats. This club has welcomed the likes of Ghanaian star Tiffany and upcoming events that will involve the arrival of Nigerians finest musicians, P Square and Wande Coal. The two West African countries holding Afrobeats together are Ghana and Nigeria which are competitive towards one another. Both of these countries have served us with music from their own interpretations. Ghana’s fastest rapper Sarkodie in the massive tune ‘You go kill me’ features the ‘mad’ dance craze named the ‘Azonto’. The ‘Azonto’ dance originates from Ghana which has now become a worldwide dance craze. Shout out to all you Azonto skankers out there!! The dance involves complex body movements that requires body co-ordination in a rhythmic fashion with simple steps. The Ghanaian dance has developed, depicting, ironing, washing, boxing and swimming. The dance represents the creativity and the sense of humour that Ghanaians have. This dance craze has travelled from different countries with illustrations of these moves being demonstrated on Youtube. The rise of Afrobeats is prominent especially within the UK. There are various artists representing the Afrobeats scene in the UK. These are artists known as ‘Afrobeats Team UK’ including Mr Silva, Kwamz, Skob and Flava. This ‘Afrobeats’ squad originate from West Africa but have been born and raised in the UK. ‘Afrobeats Team UK’ provide an urban feel incorporated with the West African culture within their music. They are strongly attached to their roots by using lyrics with the Twi language. (Ghanaian language). The song ‘Bo wonsem ma me’ which means ‘clap for me’ is a refix of the song ‘Muje Baye’ by ‘5ive’. These artists cleverly intertwine the Ghanaian language and the English language which personally makes me proud. This UK afrobeats squad have been phenomenal in showing UK what afrobeats entails. There are other UK artists such as May 7, Sway and Donaeo who are representing
this genre also keeping Afrobeats alive in the UK. Look out for the AfroBeatz Section in future issues where we will review the latest afrobeat releases.
DJ Abrantee has had a massive impact in promoting Afrobeats in venues in London.
“The awareness of ‘Afrobeats’ within the younger West African generation has been astonishing”
Beatz Magazine • www.BeatzMag.com • 15
FUTUREBEATZ
Artists On the rise
ROXXXAN
Age: 23 Hometown: Birmingham, UK Label: Twitter: @ROtripleX Facebook: Facebook. com/Roxxxan
Don’t be a sexist fool, Roxxx’s sound is gritty, grimey, rugged and packs a punch. She can slay some of the hardest male rappers around. The Birmingham emcee’s debut track was Too F**king Facety which she followed up with her mixtape Prepare For When I Land, definitely one to watch!
LOICK ESSIEN
ANGEL
Age: 25 Hometown: London, UK Label: Island Universal Twitter: @thisisangel Facebook: Facebook.com/ angel281
Sirach Charles, better known by his stage name Angel, is what the music industry would indelibly mark as a triple threat. He is a Singer/songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and record producer, who is currently best known for his urban hits such as Ride Out (featuring Sneakbo), Go In Go Hard (featuring Wretch 32) and the summer smasher; Wonderful.
DALEY
Age: 25 Hometown: London, UK Label: Island Universal Twitter: @thisisangel Facebook: Facebook.com/ angel281
Age: 22 Hometown: Manchester, UK Label: Polydor Records Twitter: @DALEYmusic Facebook: Facebook.com/ daleyofficial
After hitting the airwaves last year with That’s How We Roll the singer went back to the batcave / studio and discovered his sound. He dropped his I.D (Identity) mixtape last month and it was a brilliant pop / R&B fusion project.
Manchester hailing singer/ songwriter Daley is pretty recognizable with his trademark hair and glasses, but his voice should be trademarked too! He is a combination of an indie and R&B artist. Check Daley’s sound out on his new mixtape Those Who Wait which you can get from his website Daley.Tv. Keep watch of this guy because he’s a rising star!
DELILAH
JOSH KUMRA
Age: 21 Hometown: London, UK Label: Atlantic/Warner Music Twitter: @delilahmusic Facebook: Facebook.com/ delilahofficial
Age: 20 Hometown: Swindon, UK Label: Sony BMG Twitter: @JoshKumra Facebook: Facebook.com/ joshkumra
Known for combining electronica and R&B into her own unique style, her music is full of emotion and soul. In her own right, she’s the female version of The Weeknd because her music sometimes goes dark and bassy. Her debut album From The Roots Up is out now.
Without realizing it, you’ve probably already heard of Josh Kumra since his vocals made Wretch 32’s Don’t Go one of the biggest hits of 2011. Since then he’s dropped his own debut “Helicopters and Planes” and EP of his own called The Soho Sessions.
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INTERVIEWBEATZ
Unsigned Hype is the UK’s Next Biggest Most Supportive Music Company. Unsigned Hype UK Known as UHUK aim to support talented youth around the world by expressing their creativity through Music. _______________________________________________________
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FUTUREBEATZ
INTERVIEWBEATZ
SMILER IS ON TOP OF THE WORLD. AND HE ISN’T DONE YET!
Beatz Magazine • www.BeatzMag.com • 19
INTERVIEWBEATZ 27 year old South London rapper, Smiler, is currently being regarded as one of the Hip-Hop scene’s most talented lyricists. Now signed to Warner Bros Records he is ready to take over with his hot new single and EP both titled ‘Top Of The World’ which features NME award winner Professor Green and female R&B singer Tawiah. We were luckily enough to get the chance to chat with the man himself! Here is what he had to say. For those who don’t already know, give us an introduction to who Smiler is and your journey so far? Smiler’s a lyricist from South London, I went away and came back reinvented my plan and tried to find my feet. I’ve been in the game since 2006 with my first tracked Neighborhood and I came back in 2008, so it wasn’t a consistent journey but from 2008 until now I’ve been at the game hard. I’ve had a number of different joints, I went to America in 2007, did a radio show with Marly Marl, Styles P and Jojo Pelligrino and a lot of other cats as well courtesy of 279. My journey has been pretty eventful to be honest, I’ve been through a lot, seen a lot, done a lot and I’m grateful to be where I am today, making the music that I love. As an MC you’re very expressive in your music in terms of your lyrics, what inspires your music? I just feel there’s so much to say how can one run out of inspiration? I take inspiration from a piece of paper blowing in the streets to gang fights and day to day things. Any and everything that I see is another topic to discuss and another topic to talk about so I feel like I need to tackle everything because I’m very passionate about what I say. You made a massive mark on the scene with Zane Lowe giving “Delorean” major airplay, but you’ve been around for much longer with 3 mixtapes, how much has it mean to you to achieve everything so far? It means everything to me, I’m forever grateful. There’s a lot of people trying to do the same thing so for myself to be noticed recognized and supported I express a lot of gratitude for that. When you’re putting rhymes and songs together, you’re formulating a plan, nothing is a given. The DJs are key tastemakers in music especially
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where the country is so small so radio, TV and all that are the best platforms to spread your music. Now you’ve been signed to Warner, can you give us any hints to what the album has in store? The album is gonna be very introspective to who Smiler is as an artist, what I stand for, what I love, what I dislike, what I represent. I’ve listened back to it on a number of different occasions and to be honest, I feel like it’s my best ever body of work including any of the other mixtapes I’ve ever had or put together. I feel like it’s a spot on representation of me. How did you decide which rappers were going to feature on the Rocksteady All Stars remix? I’m cool with everybody that was on the song, but I just felt they all had a different dynamic to provide. Random Impulse is a lyricist and he did his thing on it, the flow that he came with was crazy. Obviously myself I’m a lyricist and I’ve got a lot of entertainment value to the way I put rhymes together. S.A.S are more swag, Bigz is swag with it but he’s old school with it too. Tyler Daley, Shotty Horror they’re from up North. Dru Blu he’s hard on the road rap and obviously we can’t forget Fem Fel. What was it like working with Jakwob and experimenting with new beats and genres? Jakwob is a proper chilled out guy, one of the most chilled guys you’ll ever meet, so it was a really organic situation. I had a concept that I wanted to work with so when we got in the studio we played through a couple of beats. What I wanted to talk about is being in foreign territory, where I jumped out of the car walking down backwards and ended up in a dingy spot. By the time the music hit me it was so bassy, and fresh;, it basically described me entering the dubstep world. That’s how I introduced it in “Right Beside You” If you had to put your sound in a box, how would you describe it? Special. *Laughs* Genre-wise? I’m hip-hop with a new school twist. It’s not what hip-hop once was, I feel like it’s a lot more fresh. I don’t constantly talk about money or swag but at the same time I’m always conscious. I just feel like I’m touching every part of the spectrum when it comes to rap music.
What direction do you see for the future of the UK music scene? That’s a hard one to call. Everyone’s making different music and contributing brand new sounds that seem to be doing well. I think we’ll remain eclectic and have a lot of diversity within the chart music, but there’s always young, exciting emerging talent. I just know the game’s gonna get a lot more exciting, with more real musicians getting an opportunity to showcase what they’re about. Where do you see you and your music being in 5 years time? As I’ve grown older my ideals have constantly changed. Once upon a time when I was 16 I was thinking “by the time I’m 30 I want to have a million cash, and a Lambo and two houses” but as you get older you get more realistic. I’ve acquired a lot, but I’ve also taken losses as well. So honestly I can say no matter what, I want to have a strong illustrious career and find inner-happiness. You can have all the money in the world, and have everything you wish for on a material level, but you might dread getting up in the morning to go to work because you’re not happy how you earn your living. I just want to find inner peace; but still be wealthy so I can look after my family and hopefully remain with the same people I started with. A lot of people break up with friends over the years by fighting over money, girls and stupid things. I just want to keep it real with my people and build my career to find happiness. What advice would you give to upcoming artists to get noticed? If you feel like you’ve mastered your craft or have a voice that needs to be heard, then get in people faces and don’t let up. If you get a door slammed in your face, kick that door back open and reintroduce yourself. Just keep at it if you really believe in your heart it’s your thing, you’d be doing yourself an injustice by giving up. Smiler’s new EP ‘Top Of The World’ is available on iTunes from 2nd September for just £1.99 and features the original (Clean & Dirty) track with Professor Green & Tawiah as well as 3 remixes and the official music video. Visit www.Smilermusic.Com for more information on this release.
INTERVIEWBEATZ
Beatz Magazine • www.BeatzMag.com • 21
L O S CLEO If you listen to BBC Radio 1Xtra, then its most likely that you will already have heard of Cleo Sol and heard her music. If not then your missing out on some great music! Yes, Cleo Sol is the name on many music lovers lips right now with her new track ‘“Never The Right Time” currently featuring in BBC Radio 1’s ‘In New Music We Trust’ List. The hype can only have grown when she performed at BBC 1Xtra’s event ‘Majorca Rocks’ where she spent the weekend levelling up with top artists such as Sway. In 2011 she dropped her promo tracks ‘LoveBass’ and ‘Call for Me’ which received heavy support from BBC
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Radio 1, 1Xtra, Kiss FM, Choice and Rinse DJs ( inc Swerve, Trevor Nelson, Target, Manny Norte, Ace n Vis and Ronnie Herrel). ‘Call for Me’ was selected by Twin B as 1Xtra’s ‘Best of British Track of the Week’ in early May 2011. Cleo’s independent debut single ‘High’ (September 2011) achieved great underground success, playlisted on BBC Radio 1xtra & Choice FM as well as steady rotation on Radio 1, Kiss FM, Rinse FM & spins on TV channels 4Music, MTV Base, The Box, Channel AKA, Flava, Starz and others. Cleo then went on to grace the stage at the T4 On The Beach & Lovebox festivals during the summer.In
addition to receiving key TV & radio play, industry tastemakers (including MTV, MOBO) have marked her as a ‘one to watch in 2012. This didn’t go unnoticed as Cleo signed her first major deal with Island Records in December. Now in 2012 we chat to Cleo about what the experiance has been like and what the future holds for her. For those who don’t know, give us a brief insight into who Cleo Sol is and your musical journey to get where you are today? Cleo Sol, I’m a singer / songwriter from Ladbroke Grove, West London. I started working a few years ago with Davinche who got in touch with me a through Myspace. I featured on a few songs with him before working with Tinie Tempah, Wretch 32, Bashy and a few others.Then last year independently my management and I released a song called “High” which went really well for my first
solo journey. After that I signed with my label that I’m with now, Island Records and I’m promoting my current single “Never The Right Time” There’s a mixture of musical influences such as motown, jazz and soul in your music. What inspired this blend of musical genres? I think it’s to do with my upbringing, you know, all the music I listened to whilst growing up. My mum used to listen to lots of motown, I used to listen to lots of old R&B, (I still do) and my dad played lots of reggae. So I kind of took inspiration from everything I’ve heard and put it in my music. What drives you to create your unique style of music? Constant inspiration from other people now and throughout my life. People like Bob Marley pool different sounds together and not focus on one thing, so I try to do the same. Tell us about your new single ‘Never The Right Time’ and what is the story behind the song? This produced by Davinche. We were going through some old samples in the studio and we both stopped on an Isley Brothers sample and we both started nodding out heads getting really into it thinking “this is the one”. So he put a beat behind it, chopped it up a little bit and we wrote to it really quickly. It’s about the things that a lot of females including myself (and a lot of men) go through to change themselves when they first start to like somebody to impress them. It’s a fun, upbeat kind of vibe, for the girls. In the video your fans get to see your sexy side with the lovely lingerie. How has this video been particularly different to any of your other music videos? The video for “High” was kind of the fun side of me because it was filmed in my area with my friends, loads of colours and lots of energy from the West end of London but this video I wanted to take it somewhere else in terms of who I am. So I just thought you can mess around character, you can change your music, so why not play with different aspects of my personality. So we went a bit more mature, to show the flirtier side of me. How was your music transitioned between the track you did with Tinie Tempah “Tears” and where you are today? When I started out, I was just jumping on the wagon with Davinche so it was an opportunity to get my voice heard and get myself known featuring on other people tracks. It was really nice to being in that kind of scene meeting new people, but now I feel like it’s more who I am. Never The Right Time is something I would listen to myself so I thought I have to keep it true to myself and make music I like, that hopefully everyone else will like too. You’ve done several youtube acoustic videos to build a name for yourself, whats the next step for you? Still doing my Youtube acoustics, filming new videos as well but mostly I want to get more music out there, a few videos hopefully, performing everywhere to try and get my music heard. After performing at a few festivals whats the next milestone you aim to reach? Worldwide! I love the unity that music brings so I just want to tour and visit every country and see the world signing along and enjoying themselves to my music. That’s an amazing feeling to me.
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and bigger. To me it’s just small steps because when you start to see people sing along to your songs that’s an achievement, which is really nice. If you could work in the studio / perform alongside any artist who would it be? Stevie Wonder *giggles* that’s the main person I’ve listened to all my life and I still do because and he inspires me so much. Is there any chance of you experimenting with any other contrasting genres? I don’t know. I’m always learning so I don’t want to box my sound into a specific genre, like just pop or just R&B or just motown sounding. I always want to experiment, and if it feel right, it feels right and hopefully everyone else likes it. In your opinion, which UK artist is shining brightest right now and why? Hmmmm good question…..you know I really like Wretch 32 right now. He’s really starting to get recognized and for him to get a BET International Act from across the pond is a big achievement! Where do you see your music in five years time? Well I’d like to be on my third or fourth album by then, still enjoying myself most of all. Touring as much as I can, sharing the love of my music. Any advice for upcoming artists to get noticed? Now with the internet you can take advantage of the free tools to get recognized and get out there. You’ve got Soundcloud, Youtube, Twitter and so much more to get yourself heard. Any final words? I just want to say thank you to all my supporters and hope you like all the new music that’s coming. Visit CleoSol.Com for more of Cleo Sol and her music!
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INTERVIEW
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HOW MANY PEOPLE CAN SAY THEY HAVE WORKED WITH THE LIKES OF LABRINTH, TOURED WITH TINIE TEMPAH AND BEEN REMIXED BY RYAN LESLIE BEFORE THE AGE OF 23? I’M GUESSING NOT MANY OF YOU? WELL ONE MAN WHO HAS COMPLETED THIS INCREDIBLE FEAT GOES BY THE NAME ‘BLUEY ROBINSON’
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For those who don’t know about Bluey Robinson, give us a brief insight into your story up to where you are today. I grew up listening to a lot of Jackson Five and motown music. It’s not like it was played in my house a lot but we just had some vinyls and I just loved Michael Jackson from seeing him on TV and stuff. So I always wanted to be a singer based off that feeling that music gave me and I carried on performing and singing growing up through school at performances and eventually I formed a group with some school friends, that didn’t work out so I had to go solo, working with loads of different producers, trying to get my name out there writing and perfecting my craft a little bit. Eventually I met my manager, who’s still my manager today and we started doing the online videos of me singing out in public which got me a bit of attention from the UK music scene. So I kept building up my name doing loads of shows and supporting a few different people and eventually got signed to Sony, put out some songs, and yeah, I’m here today. Two of your tracks “Showgirl” and “Coming Back” are what many would call feel-good, genre crossover songs. What variety of influences brought this mix of genres together? Like I said, I love that old-school, Showgirl has got that kind of funk and that soul that Labrinth and I both love. I always wanted to have that influence in my music because it makes me feel good, it gives me the most joy. The same goes for Coming Back, it’s got retro “boomka-boom-ka-ka” soul feel. But I also like popular music that’s out today, not all of it, but a lot of it, and I want to try and make songs that are commercially viable and like you say I want to cross over genres to make new and exciting music. There’s a real element of soul in your voice that can best be heard in your refix of I Need A Dollar…. How did you upbringing mould your sound into what it is today? A kind of discovered this whole side of me by myself. My mum listened to a lot of reggae, especially Bob Marley, so I always had that rootsy kind of soul and music with a message vibe. I really connect to music with a feeling to it and so I kind of discovered a lot of music by searching for it, or from hearing it on the radio or from people showing it to me. Music is what I love and it’s what speaks out to me, I mean I started out making typical R&B because that’s what producers were making and that seemed what I should be making because I’m a black mixed race urban kind of singer from the UK, but I started to think to myself I’m a bit more than this and I want to experiment a bit more, and that’s when I started to throw the old school in. How did the Soul Sessions begin? When I met my manager, we kind of both knew you have to have an online presence in this day and age to make a name for yourself. Most of the time people are just sitting in their room, singing straight at a camera but we wanted to be a bit different and see a bit more of my personality and fun side. Initially I was just going to go out in Trafalgar Square and sing, but it didn’t work out because of too much background noise from the fountains and crowds. So off the cuff we decided to go
onto the Underground and the acoustics were great and it worked out dope! We carried on from there in Harrods, Paris and New York and it really took off online! What was it like supporting Tinie Tempah on his UK tour? Amazing! It was Tinie’s first headline tour, and it was the first tour I’ve ever done and it was really lovely for him to invite me because we’re from the same area, and I’ve known him since he was in school. It was a great feeling to be travelling around the country performing our music together. It was wicked but a bit surreal to be experiencing the tour lifestyle. What part of your journey so far has been most inspiring to you? There’s been a lot of things along the way that have inspired me, especially the Justin Bieber tour. Simply for the fact that I got to see what it’s like at the top, when there’s fans out there screaming your name in front of 20,000 capacity arenas. So I was mind blown a little bit, and knew this is what I wanna do, to be able perform around the world and have any many people as possible hear my music. Are we in for an EP or album soon? Definitely! I’ve been working on an EP for the last couple of months with a real summertime vibe and a message behind it. I’m writing it all myself, no co-writes or anything so far, it’s been a real fun experience. It’s called “The Late Shift EP” as of now, but that could change. It’ll be out on iTunes near the end of the Summer. After the sweeping craze of Afrobeats worldwide thanks to artists like D’Banj, do you see yourself experimenting with these kinds of beats or any other genres? Yeah! I Like afrobeats, I hear it on the radio all the time! Can you hear that? *dances* They’re playing Oliver Twist right now! I’ve already experimented with it a little bit. One song off the EP has got an element of it, it’s a bit tribal with a bit of old school garage in it. It sounds good! I’m open to experimenting; I don’t want to get tied to one genre because I like all different kinds of music. But I haven’t really done a house track or anything like that. What new sounds are on your iPod that you can’t get enough of? Let’s have a look, I’ve got Encore by Cheryl Lynn, that’s got 1983 written next to it, Dance Tonight by Lucy Pearl, Chakha Khan, Earth Wind and Fire. I’m not really up to date with today’s music am I? I’m getting stuck behind! I’ve been listening to a girl called Elle Varner, she’s quite a new artist who my boy Bally got me introduced to, I checked out some of her stuff and I think she’s really good. Got a bit of Beyoncé, Kanye West, Andre 3000, some Rick James on here [strums air guitar] Can I steal your iPod please? [Laughs] You have taste my friend! What direction do you see for the future of the UK music scene going in? Hopefully it’ll become like America where there’s an audience for everything but obviously we’re a smaller country. They’ve got a big hip-hop scene out there but the audience over here is more mainstream. We have a few breakthrough artists, but it never really pops off big
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time! The music seems to go around in circles, from the dance craze, to the people who want to bring it down to the bare roots or take it back old school. Hopefully more genres crossing like rock R&B and stuff but hopefully somewhere good, where I will fit in! What does the future hold for Bluey Robinson? Where do you see you and your music being in 5 years time? I’d love to be known around the world and my music to be loved. That’s what I’m here for, I’m doing this to go as far as I can. I hope I’m enjoying it as much as I am now, I want to be able to look after my family and to inspire some people, so I can carry on for another five or ten years. What advice can you give to upcoming artists trying get noticed? Do something crazy! Be yourself. I mean you can “not be yourself”, it works for some people. But find out what you like and the things that reflect you and blow them up so the whole world can see. Develop yourself and be as good as you can be, keep working and eventually people will wake up and take notice of you. Any shoutouts you wanna give? Shout out to Bally (Bluey’s manager) and Christian (guitarist), the whole London Village kids, F Street, my family, shout out you guys and York! It’s up to it! And to people who are nice in the world. Peace. Thank you. Check out www.blueyrobinson.com for more of Bluey Robinson
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JHENE AIKO 30 • Beatz Magazine • www.BeatzMag.com
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If this is your first time hearing of Jhené, do not read on until you’ve downloaded her Sailing Soul(s) mixtape. I promise you, it is amazing! Having been signed to Def Jam via No ID’s imprint in the closing stages of 2011, already complete with a strong base of music and large, loyal fanbase, it’s only a matter of time until she becomes a household name and we covered everything, from who and what we can expect from her DefJam debut, to the Jhené Aiko way of living, to the stories behind some of her songs and what the future holds for her beyond music. Have a read below! First off, for those who don’t know, give a brief insight into who Jhené Aiko is and your journey up until now! I am Jhené Aiko. I am a 24 year old mother, singer, songwriter and I guess I’ve been singing professionally since I was 12. I was signed with Sony/EPIC when I was 12 years old and got a release from them when I was about 15 or 16 to focus on school. I started writing more and I had a child who’s now three years old. Sailing Soul(s) was really the first project I got to put out; I put it out for free in March of 2011 and that was pretty much my introduction to the world I guess! I’m all about being true and honest with myself and with the audience, and sharing my experience and just connecting through that. How does your songwriting process work? Usually I’m at my house, I turn off my lights, sit at my computer, pull up garage band and just freestyle to the track! Sometimes I’ll say words and sometimes it’ll just be a melody but I’ll know what I’m trying to say and then I’ll go back in and listen to what I said initially and put words to it. Lately, I haven’t really been writing it down, I just kinda sing it until I’m saying something. What’s your favorite song you’ve ever recorded? I think that My Mine is one of them because when I first recorded it, I listened to it so much that it was almost like it wasn’t my song. It was something about how it made me feel. I think what I was going through when I wrote that song was so real that it was just like my therapy so the fact that my own song helped me means it has to be my favorite one! What motivates you to do what you do? Well, thank you! I think that life just motivates me! I take from a lot of different aspects of my life and I feel like sharing is caring, and if we can all connect through our suffering, then we can all help each other. I think that music is a big part of connecting with each other so when I see that people are still on twitter, being negative towards each other or when I see that on the news that somebody’s brother just got shot and killed or different things like that, I just want to sing to people and let them know that I’m going through something too and we’re all going through different things and so you know, yeah! One of the top tracks you’ve done is You vs. Them. What were you going through when you wrote that song and what is the concept behind it? When I start writing a song, I always take the approach of wanting the song to just mean one viewpoint and so when I started off, it was based around a guy that I had been liking for a long time (true story by the way!) and I just felt like we’d never really be able to be together. The line “the wanting you but never getting you, that keeps me wanting you” comes from the notion that when you get something, you kinda don’t want it anymore, along with the fact that I was never going to be able to have him completely and I also felt like if I did get to be in that relationship, then I would never be focused on my music because I would be so caught up in love that I wouldn’t 32 • Beatz Magazine • www.BeatzMag.com
be able to share my music with the world, hence “you vs them”. Then, it turned into also a story about the battle between having a child and not having a child. Personally, I’ve been in that situation before: not knowing whether you should have that child or just do what everyone else wants you to do and so yeah, the song evolved as I was writing it and I just pulled from different things I was going though. And another favorites is In Love We Trust. Was that written from an autobiographical viewpoint or was it about somebody else? The first verse was definitely myself and not only that but a lot of girls that I’ve grown up with; my sisters and some of my best friends pretty much share the same story. I think a lot of girls can relate to the first verse. And in second verse of course I’m talking about a guy but it’s the same thing; a lot of young men I know have been through similar stories, but definitely the first verse is about me! Onto the album Souled Out, when can we be expecting to hear it and are you going to try and get a hit before putting it out or just put it out for your fans when the time feels right? You know what, I kinda just want to put it out when I feel ready. I’m really unconventional in all that way, I don’t really have to get a hit single or anything. I’ve been getting so many tracks lately and I’m not used to that. I’m used to just having a handful to work with but now that the label (Def Jam) is involved, they’re sending me so much great stuff and I’ve just been writing and writing and writing! I’ll try and have it out as soon as possible! On that note, are there any features or producers that we can be expecting on the album? I can’t confirm any of them yet! Definitely, Fistcuffs are going to be on there for sure, along with No ID and I’m not going to confirm any others yet but if these don’t make it, I’m not going to be happy with the album. When you’d signed with No ID, one of the first things I thought was that a song with you, No ID and Common would be amazing! Has that happened or is that a possibility? That’s definitely something that I want to happen! Common and Nas; I want to get in with both of them! I want it to happen naturally though where they’re interested too and not for it to be like “let’s set up this meeting”. And obviously No ID has got the connections with Kanye who’s got the connections with Kid Cudi, who are both artists that you’ve said you would love to work with before! Has anything come of that or are you hoping it will? I’m hoping! Kid Cudi… I’m probably a little bit obsessed with him! Same thing though with that, I want it to happen where he’s interested in the music. [put this in quote marks maybe] Back to Souled Out, what is the deepest song that you’ve written so far for the album and could you explain the concept behind it? Souled out has been getting pretty deep. Especially the deeper I’m getting into writing, you know… The deeper it’s been getting both ways? Exactly! 3:16, the song I did a teaser for, that song’s pretty deep. It’s about addiction, not just drugs, addiction to anything that you go to when you’re in your darkest place and I think everyone can relate to that. We’ve all been to hell and back and that’s pretty much what 3:16 is all about: going to hell and back.There’s also a song called Everything Must Go on Souled Out that’s one of my
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personal favorites. The concept is just about how you lose everything eventually and getting comfortable with that idea and that it’s not a bad thing. I have some relationship songs on there too but I really just want to pour my soul into Souled Out and give the people a glimpse into the things that I think about daily. Having grown up as part of music industry, what would you say is the darker side to it is and what would you warn artists about who are just getting started out? I’ve seen a lot of my peers become popular, famous and I would meet them right before that and to see the difference. Some of them stay humble but a lot get… Souled Out in the wrong way? Yeah… they get caught up and I think it’s just really important to keep yourself grounded by keeping people in your life that have been there from the beginning. You don’t have to get a set of new friends. You don’t have to get a new wardrobe. People think that they have to start doing things that they think people do with money and it’s just like… you don’t though! Of course, get comfortable and do what you’ve got to do but a lot of people feel as if now, they have to do these different things and that really is not the case. It was shocking to me there have been people that I was really close with before the fame and I saw them at their peak and then I saw them when things stopped happening for them and to see them get humbled again, it’s like yeah… you should’ve know that at the beginning! But yeah, it’s crazy. I have a family that would never allow me to act even a little bit different so I’m grateful for that. Talking of that rise and fall, you and a lot of other artists over the past couple of years have been building the foundations and building themselves up to having the fanbase, music and stature normally only associated with a signed artist before actually signing a deal. Was this a conscious decision and is it something that you’d recommend to upcoming artists who’ve got the quality of music? Yeah, I mean when I did the mixtape, it wasn’t for a deal and I didn’t really have anything in mind, I just wanted to put out free music. I’d say that it’s definitely better to lay your own foundations, and to have a foundation, and to figure out who you are as an artist, what your message is and all of that before signing anything because you can put out one good song and then a label can call you up and you’ll be all excited and you’re going to take a deal and all of a sudden, they’ll have you doing something that’s totally not who you are. You’re going to be unhappy, I don’t think anyone is happy with not being themselves! I’d encourage any young upcoming artists to really just lay Were you surprised to find out that Rihanna is a fan of yours? Yeah, it was a surprise that she tweeted back. I’m very random on twitter. Twitter is literally just me picking out one of my millions of thoughts throughout the day and so I just said that and she replied and I was just like oh, maybe she knows who I am, I don’t know! She’s with Def Jam too though, she’s a Pisces and I feel like she’s misunderstood. I’m a Pisces also and I recognise who she is and even though I think we’re very different, I understand her and that’s why I though of that collaboration. What advice would you give to anyone feeling a bit lost in the world and wanting to live the Jhené Aiko way? This is really simple but it really helps: learn how to be in a room, by yourself, no music, no TV, no nothing, just
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silence! And to just practice being with yourself alone and once you start practising that and start enjoying that, things will start coming to you that you’re not even aware that are happening; you’ll start to not need anything from anyone else and it just puts you at peace with who you are. Once that gets solid or whatever, you can start going out in the world and people can just feel that you’re centred and it’s as easy as just being still sometimes, being quiet and being able to just not do anything and be happy! Back to the music, so far in 2012, what have been your favorite album and what are you really feeling right now? Right now, I’m really into Ab-Soul’s album Control System. I’m really into Kid Cudi’s WZRD. I’m really into John Mayer – Born And Raised. Those albums are literally what I’ve been listening to for the past two weeks so I’m not going to mention anything else! On the subject of John Mayer, you’re on the song with Micahfonecheck sampling him. I actually first heard of you on Bei Maejor’s mixtape, the first time I heard of Bei Maejor was because he had the song with Keri Hilson and now I’m hearing of Micahfonecheck because he’s got the song with you and it seems that a lot of upcoming artists neglect the collaborations side of things. Have they happened naturally or was this the intended effect? Yeah, most of them have been natural. Micah in particular, I’ve known him since I was 10 or 11 so he watched me grow up, watched me come into my own and he’s helped me along the way. I always joke with him because he always has me singing out of my comfort zone; I like to be more mellow and he’s like “well, but you can sing, you can do this with your voice so do it!” and so I appreciate him for that. With Kendrick, we have a mutual friend who’s part of his company, TDE, and he just recognized that we were on the same wave so he set that up and that was before Kendrick did his (O)verly (D)edicated mixtape. That happened naturally, we recorded that song and wrote that song so fast just because it was so natural! I think collaborations are important when they are natural and when they’re just put together, you can kinda tell. When it’s a true collaboration and you can get two artists that are thinking alike, it’s twice as good! And can we be expecting to hear Kendrick on Souled Out or you on his album with Dr Dre? You know what, I sure do hope so! I have an amazing song with Ab-Soul that’s gonna be on there. Of course they’re all busy so you never know. Definitely I’m pushing for that Kendrick collab though. Onto live performances, what’s the craziest thing that you’ve witnessed in the crowd performing or someone has said to you after the show? You know what, my crowd is always chill! Often, they’re just under the influence of… natural… things! I had a valentines day show this year and after the show, just guys from the audience were just coming up on the stage and giving me candy and flowers and I was just oh, wow, okay, I didn’t expect all of this! They were handing me notes and it all seemed really personal but it was funny and I appreciate that my crowd don’t get crazy and loud. Sometimes they don’t even make any noise, they just like to listen to me sing and I appreciate that. Apart from yourself, what other artists who we may not have heard are you tipping for big things and we need to be listening to? I don’t know how many people are onto Ab-Soul, I knowthat Kendrick right now is Top Dawg and he deserves
it because he’s amazing! But I think Ab-Soul is equally as good, he’s a nice counterpart to Kendrick. Past the next album, what does the future hold for you? I’m always going to put out music whether I’m signed or not signed or doing something else. I’m really into writing, writing is my passion so I definitely want to write books; not just autobiography type stuff, I want to do a young adult series and more fictional type things. I don’t really like to make plans for the future, I’m just going to continue to become myself I guess! Any final words for the world? Well I guess, I just want to say thank you to everyone that is supporting me and my music and what I’m trying to do. Thank you for being patient with me! I promise to always really take my time and put my soul and effort into giving the people that listen to me the best and just stay tuned! Thank you! Be sure to keep up with Jhené on twitter, @ JheneAiko, and on tumblr, JheneAiko, and I am sure that when it drops, Souled Out is really going to be something very special and groundbreaking. Until then though, make sure you’ve downloaded Sailing Soul(s)
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JUSTIN GARNER
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Fresh on the back of being named as, Amazon.com’s: Artists on the Rise, in May of 2012 and being featured for his single “We Rule the Night”, Justin Garner has dropped his new Album Titled ‘ I Am’. The R&B/Soul singer from the small town of Plaquemine, Louisiana, has a wave of other accomplishments, including being featured by MySpace and releasing his first official album Take It from Here in July of 2011. From the album “Cherry Bomb”, the albums lead single, became a viral success and was heavily requested at various radio stations across America. The album quickly caught the attention of music enthusiasts and industry heavyweights. Hi Justin, How are you? I’m doing great! Hope all is well with you and all of your readers. What was it like growing up as a musician in a town as small as Plaquemine, Louisiana? It was pretty awesome actually. It’s a small town, and everyone knows everyone but it has a sense of hospitality and comfort that I enjoy. I really had a great upbringing and my close family and friends definitely encouraged me to pursue music. Which artists inspired you when you first started out? I’m inspired heavily by past greats Lionel Richie and Michael Jackson, as well as artists of today such as Maroon 5, Usher, and Taio Cruz. Do they still inspire you today? Do you have any new inspirations? Yes. I’ve been listening to a ton of new music by artists such as The Arrows, Coldplay, Leona lewis and more. If you could choose just 1 artist or group to work with, from the influences you gave, who would you pick and why would you choose that artist or group rather than another? Taio Cruz definitely because I feel I could learn a lot from him musically and industry wise. He has his own label, retail brand, and is an incredible songwriter. All of which I hope to attain one day. Since you first came onto the scene, would it be fair to say that you’ve witnessed the demise of R&B and how do you see it evolving from here? I wouldn’t call it the demise of R&B, just more of a shift in tempo and delivery. R&B/Soul is alive and well and will always withstand time. I think it is great that a lot of contemporary R&B artists have been doing more crossover records because it shows growth. Pop is not something that is intentional or deliberate. It’s a sound that just comes naturally and feels good but has appeal to all races and backgrounds. I see no harm in a “urban” artist doing a “pop” record. To me, an artist’s career is all about growth. Pushing yourself to see what you could do, accomplishing the impossible and experimenting with your sound, voice, and vocal delivery. So in summation, I don’t see a decline in the R&B genre, just more of a change in the stage of some artist’s creativity. What is the general feeling of your new Album (“I Am”)? I Am is about showing who I am as an artist and writer and how I have grown from the start of “Cherry Bomb”. “Cherry Bomb” received a ton of spins and attention, and
now I want fans and listeners to get to know more about me as a vocalist, writer, and a person. You’ll hear on songs like “Kiss You Up” and “Assassin” where the subject material is a bit more mature, whereas songs like “Lights Go Down” and some others are more encompassing regardless of age. I Am was created to make a statement. I AM JUSTIN GARNER. Every lyric, vocal, background vocal comes from my mind and my body. No one created me or made into who I am. Any other info you can tell us about it? I Am contains my biggest songs and all songs have been re-mastered by Rak Studios (Ryan Tedder, Leona Lewis, Paul McCartney) in London, England, UK. The album also contains an exclusive stripped down version of my breakout song “Unbreakable”. Would you hope to have collaborations with other any artists or/and producers in the future? Which ? Yes! Definitely Leona Lewis, Jessie J, Far East Movement, and Sean Paul are a few. I love their work! As you look back over the career you started ... any regrets? Missed opportunities? No regrets at all. God has ordered my steps. No need to regret anything. Any Tours planned? Showcase ? If so are there any confirmed support acts? The I Am tour is planned and I’m looking to hit several key locations such as Tokyo and Yokohama (Japan), London (United Kingdom), and kick everything off from my home state Louisiana. I’ll keep everyone updated at www.justingarner.com! What the best piece of advice that someone has ever given you that you still use on a regular basis? I remember when I first began singing professionally and I was told how hard and sinister this music industry is. One thing that is important is remain humble. No matter how big or small of an artist I am, always remain humble, and always be willing to listen. Which track on the new album has the most meaning to you? Why does it mean the most to you? Stop the World has the most meaning to me simply because I wrote it for someone very special. Did you follow the same process with ‘I Am’ as you did with ‘Take It from Here’? What was this process? With I Am, I listed the songs in order by growth. Cherry Bomb was my first breakthrough single which caught a ton of buzz, but I want people to hear more of who I am as an artist and a writer. As well as singing, Do you do anything else? Yes. I’m a songwriter, vocal arranger, and learning the mixing aspect as we speak. If you hadn’t have been a singer, what profession do you think you would have pursue? I would definitely have been a marketing executive for a fortune 500 company. I Am is now available on iTunes, Amazon, Google Play, and all digital carriers. Be sure to follow Justin on Twitter, @JustinGarner, On Facebook fan page, Search ‘Justin Garner’. You can also check out his website www.JustinGarner.Com
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REVIEWS
Trey Songz - Chapter V When you consider the all-time smooth R&B legends; names like R Kelly, Boys II Men, Usher and Jagged Edge might be brought up, but it’s time Trey Songz was added to the list. Every artist goes through the maturity stage at some point in their careers and this is definitely the stage Trigga has reached. He’s at the pinnacle of his career now where he’s the master of his craft but also wants to diversify and broaden his sound. His respect for women hasn’t changed, he still romanticises about love making and his perfect woman but has he finished his maturing stage by the age of 27? Marking a new chapter in his life after the previous album ‘Passion, Pain and Pleasure’ comes the fifth album by Trey Songz, we get down to the nitty gritty and see what’s in store. We just hope it could climb up towards the top of the charts. Starting off with the title track ‘Chapter V’ comes an eerie, minimal R&B in classic Trey fashion; slow, echoed drum beats and soft scintillating vocals. He sets the tone for the album early on with tight production courtesy of Rico Love, Benny Blanco, Troy Taylor and more. ‘Dive In’ follows up the title track with similar minimal tones as the listener is left to marvel at the strength of Trey’s vocal talent. It’s amazing just how far he can stretch a single note but the real emotion comes out on the album’s lead single ‘Heart Attack’. The single dropped in late March so needs no introduction but it’s got raw emotion and strength behind his voice that not many singers in the modern R&B era show anymore. This is definitely a consistent theme throughout the album with powerful vocals and sensitive lyrics throughout, so it strikes the listener as odd on when Trey only enters the club for ‘2 Reasons’; the “bitches” and the drinks. It seems odd to hear Trey try his hand at rapping, not because he lacks the ability, but because his persona and character has been crafted towards smooth R&B that it’s better to hear him sing that rap. For that reason alone ‘Hail Mary’ would be suited to another artist because it’s got that new era rap style beat UK listeners fail to respond to. It works well for the featuring rappers Lil Wayne and Young Jeezy because they are accustomed to releasing hip-hop beats with a modern twist but Trey
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should stick to his master craft. However, a flavour of hip-hop from Maybach Music Group powerhouse Rick Ross works particularly well on ‘Don’t You Be Scared’ where the perfect balance of harmonies and verses makes the track well worth listening to. The Big Bawse drops some of his trademark bars discussing money, cars, women, bling and Without ruining what’s in store, expect powerful vocals and talented singing on ‘Bad Decisions’ and ‘Pretty Girls Lie’ but without a doubt the best track on the album is ‘Simply Amazing’ where he blows the roof on the album closing it off on a high note. Overall, you get the Trey Songz serving you wanted from the album with an extra serving of rap which makes the album a definite listen. With a chart prediction of number 6 due to other competing album releases this is a great album. However, it’s lacking the songs that’ll keep the album a timeless classic for generations to come, which is a shame because he’s a stunning artist. Overall, this fifth album covers all the bases of what you’d expect from a Trey Songz album? From the club bangers like 2 Reasons, to the Simply Amazing pop sing-alongs; from the classic slow jams like Fumble to the lament over a girl, Heart Attack inducing songs; this album is brilliant. But most importantly Chapter V is a solid representation and expression of Trey Songz’ various styles because most of the album is produced by the talented, Troy Taylor. Props to Trey on this album, it’s Simply Amazing! Buy your copy now, you won’t regret it! Chapter V is available on iTunes now for $11.99/£7.55 and in all good music stores (Where prices may vary). We strongly urge you to spend a little more money and purchase the Deluxe version for just $14.99/£9.44, which will give you 2 bonus tracks, ‘Ladie Go Wild’ and ‘Almost Lose It’ plus 2 music videos. If you decide to get it, Be sure to go to our facebook page (www.Facebook.com/BeatzMag) and tell us what YOUR opinion of it is.
REVIEWS
DJ KHALED - KISS THE RING ‘Working all winter, shining all summer…’ DJ Khaled is back again to heat up the end of summer by bringing together some of Hip-Hop’s biggest players on his sixth studio album: Kiss the Ring. Following on from the success of his last album ‘We the Best Forever’, Khaled has been busy creating an even bigger record, jampacked with artists ranging from Rick Ross & Lil Wayne to Plies & Kirko Bangz. With so much star power on one album, there’s no way it can disappoint… Can it? The first track on the album is called Shout Out to the Real (Ft Meek Mill, Ace Hood & Plies) and it is an emphatic start to the album from Khaled, as the intro gives off a royal feeling before jumping into a booming drum beat and fire lyrics from both Meek Mill & Ace Hood. Overall, this song won’t fail to get you pumped up and head bopping ready for the rest of the album. The album then leads onto B*tches & Bottles (Ft. Lil Wayne, T.I. & Future), continuing the theme from the first song, this is another club banger with an ear throbbing beat provided by Mike Will. T.I. is the standout performer on this track as his bars go perfectly with the beat as he boasts of his massive ego. The third track of the album is titled I Wish You Would (Ft Kanye West & Rick Ross) and any song featuring Kanye West is always going to be a high quality track. The upbeat tempo of the song is perfectly suited for Mr West’s rhymes and he even lends his voice to sing the chorus, baiting haters by saying ‘I wish you would try to play us’. Rick Ross is also a great addition to the song and gives another strong and consistent performance. When there is a DJ Khaled album about to drop, there is something you always expect from him and that is a heavy hitting lead single. This song definitely fits this category. Take it to the Head (Ft Chris Brown, Rick Ross, Nicki Minaj & Lil Wayne) is a star studded track with Chris Brown crooning through the memorable chorus and a star verse coming from Nicki Minaj as well as appearances from Rick Ross and Lil Wayne. Track number five is They Ready (Ft J.Cole, Big K.R.I.T. & Kendrick Lamar). The song samples an old soul song which has been creatively chopped and screwed to create
a catchy beat. Plus, the three featured artist’s vibe off each other perfectly switching up their flows from slow to fast effortlessly, my favorite song on the album so far. The seventh track on the album is Hip-Hop (Ft Scarface, Nas & DJ Premier), Khaled proclaims at the beginning of this song ‘this sh*t is special’, that comment is most definitely an understatement. Nas & Scarface bring their experience and expertise to tell us the story of how Hip-Hop has changed from when they both started in the game and educating the new crop of rappers on how to treat her (HipHop). Their wordplay and double entendres are even more amazing than you would expect from the two legends. The song is then complemented by the simple but effective beat created by Justice League to produce this thought provoking track. I did it for my Dawgz (Ft Rick Ross, French Montana, Meek Mill & Jadakiss). This track is probably the weakest on the album so far, with a repetitive chorus and generic sounding beat that sounds like it could have been recycled from a previous Maybach Music Group song. Don’t Pay for It (Ft Wale, Kirko Bangz, Tyga & Mack Maine) is the next track and it is a catchy, more upbeat song which is a nice change from the two previous, although it is not too far ahead in terms of quality. Wale’s verse is brilliant as you would expect, however, Tyga’s verse starts off poorly but is rectified later on in his bars. Ultimately, DJ Khaled succeeds in surpassing his level from his last album. Kiss the Ring is what you would expect from a DJ Khaled record; huge production with boisterous beats as well as countless of your favorite Hip-Hop artists on the same tracks. The album starts strongly and continues that trend throughout until running out of gas towards the end. Overall though, it’s an album I’ve enjoyed listening to with some star tracks, some average ones, let’s see how it does in the charts. Kiss The Ring is available on iTunes now for $9.99/£6.40 and in all good music stores (Where prices may vary). If you decide to get it, Be sure to go to our facebook page (www.Facebook.com/BeatzMag) and tell us what YOUR opinion of it is.
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FASHIONBEATZ
Kitenge 5 panel hat £35, moupia.bigcartel.com
Mickey Crew sweatshirt £50, asos.com Cuban Script sweatshirt £50, urbanindustry.co.uk
Denim and Cotton, Leopard crossover jacket £85, fresh2defclothing.com 40 • Beatz Magazine • www.BeatzMag.com
FASHIONBEATZ
Adidas Originals x Jeremy Scott Wings 2.0 “Stars & Stripes” £150, Shop.nicekicks.com
Supra Assault Burgundy £50, ubiqlife.com
Mens Picks By: Sam Bentley (BSKA)
Nike SB Zoom - Stefan Janoski “Camouflage”, Kicksonfire.com
Supra Pilot White Gum £65, suprafootwear.com
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FASHIONBEATZ Blue Galaxy Silk Shirt £25 gigivintage.co.uk Dixie Hockey Jacket £45 Dutty.Com
1980’s Sports Sweater £14, Beyondretro.com
Burger Locket Necklace £25, Lazyoaf.co.uk
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FASHIONBEATZ
WOMP! Leggings £45, Hellolaundry.com
Bristol Backpack £28, Karmaloop.com
Boy London Snapback £35, Selfridges.com
Beaded Clutch £38, Karmaloop.com
Big City Sneaker, £550, Beandd.com
Leather Bustier Dress £53, Karmaloop.com
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STARSTYLE
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Boys Sandwich Jumper Lazy Oaf £40.00 From being interviewed by ASOS, styled by the amazing Soki Mak for photo shoots (http:// sokimak.blogspot.co.uk), being a muse for Roberto Cavalli and almost never being seen without Maria Francesca Pepe jewellery, Yasmin Shahmir’s style icon status has never been questionable. And now Beatz gives you a glimpse into her wardrobe and how to get it!
Mini Roller Hat Topshop £25.00
With fringe loops, inverted seams and a huge platform heel, Yasmin’s boots are to-die-for, but a little pricey! So Beatz has scooped through every high street store to get you Yasmin Shahmir’s beautiful boots FOR LESS. Her 7 For All Mankind fringe boots (available from NordStrom) come in at £221.41, post and packaging not included. We found you ‘Tandie”, Black Studded Fringe Ankle Boots from Schuh for only £85, also available for free delivery! With a 7cm block heel, leather upper and lining and side zip you will be making a style statement in no time.
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CREDITS: THE ALTER EGOS OF NICKI MINAJ HANAH MAMOOJEE DRIZZY DRAKE’S THIRD ALBUM SIMON PHELAN THE RISE OF AFROBEATS LAURA OWUSU INTERVIEWS SMILER, BLUEY ROBINSON & CLEO SOL AYAZ HUSSAIN JHENE AIKO LAURENS HAINES JUSTIN GARNER GREGORY LINDFORD ALBUM REVIEWS AYAZ HUSSAIN LASÉ ANTHONY LAYELE FASHION PAGES SAM BENTLEY HANAH MAMOOJEE STAR STYLE HANAH MAMOOJEE WITH THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS: 8 AND 9.COM UNSIGNED HYPE TOP STREETWEAR.COM DEAD FUTURE APPAREL FRESH 2 DEF CLOTHING YE BEATZ PLEASE NOTE: WE DO NOT OWN, NOR DO WE CLAIM TO OWN, ANY OF THE PHOTOGRAPHY IN THIS MAGAZINE.
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FUTUREBEATZ
COMING SOON... ISSUE 2 THE G O.O.D MUSIC ISSUE CRUEL SUMMER KANYE WEST & KIM KARDASHIAN G.O.O.D VS MMG VS YOUNG MONEY AALIYAH’S POSTHUMOUS ALBUM
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