Dreams of Olympia
Chicken Shop Date £££ Special Peng Humans Eyes and Ears People Just Do Nothing Yelawolf, Cover Drive Scorcher, Josh Osho Made in Britain Origrimey
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EYES AND EARS - This issues round up - Lola Chola, Snakeyman, Reality TV Makeover, Sister Lawyer Giftee
FEATURES – Olympic Special with Perri Shakes-Drayton, Olympic Hopefuls THIS IS REAL LIFE – Not Giving Up On the Job, Peng Humans, A Tribute to Rico
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The Printing of this issue would not have been possible without the unprecedented kindness and support of Wyndeham and Southern Print. With special thanks to Paul Utting and Paul Toms and the staff of Southern Print.
FASHION – Made In Britain, Stooki, Gwan Zine, TSP
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MUSIC – Chicken Shop Dates, Scorcher, Josh Osho, Tanya Lacey Sponsors Published by Hardcore Is More Than
The Cut
Cover photography by Sumaya
Music Ltd. This project is a partnership
258 Harrow Road
Yasin and Priya Balachandran
between Hardcore Is More Than
London W2 5ES
Styling by Patricia Williams Make Up by Adjhani Barton
Music and Paddington Development Trust Funded by Westminster City Council as part of the Youth Enterprise
Contact us at
Follow us at
Hub. With thanks to Paul Utting and
info@thisisthecut.com
www.facebook.com/thecutonline
Paul Toms at Southern Print Ltd.
www.thisisthecut.com
www.twitter.com/TheCutMag
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Watermelons are the best fruit ever, it’s official. For the ultimate in pink and green fashion, rock nails, tees and lips in the colours of the tropics. Brighten up your ears this summer with Alice Powell’s colourful handcrafted jewellery. For ‘stylequeens and superfly divas’, all available from The Earring Factory. http://www.theearringfactory.co.uk
Styling by Christina Daly Photography by Priya Balachandran and Sumaya Yasin, Jehan Hamze
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JUICY!
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they will receive CV and interview skills by qualified coaches and mentors.Since the launch of Circle Sports Circle Sports is a social in 2010 they have managed enterprise shop that opens to get local unemployed up permanent employment youngsters into permanent and apprenticeships employment positions such opportunities for young people as Esprit, Superdry and in Westminster London, aged Primark as well as internships between 18-24 that are not in and apprenticeships. employment or education. Circle Sports is located in It offers a 13 week training Westminster, Church Street programme that helps gain where they sell sports clothing customer service, business with all the money raised goes management, social media back into the community for and retail skills by doing sports programmes to help voluntary work in Circle young people develop and Sports Shop. This prepares excel their sports skills. and gives young people the www.circlesports.org experience they need to Text by Ronnie Grebenyuk increase their employment Photography by Saimir Hysenaj prospects. Furthermore
L MARSHALL
The multi-talented Arnold ‘SnakeyMan’ Oceng is one of few actor/rappers who have been able to venture into both avenues successfully. Known for his roles in Noel Clarke’s Adulthood and 4.3.2.1, The Cut caught up with SnakeyMan to talk about his recent role in Channel 4 series ‘Top Boy’, his new single and what he’s got planned for 2012. Text by Drew Mark Photography by Priya Balachandran, Candyd Claire and Jehan Hamz
Read t a m or e/t h is / htt p:c ut.c o m/ i st h e y man sna ke
This weeks Crush ♥ ♥ ♥ L- Marshall ♥ ♥ ♥ Catch him and Sneakbo on the single ‘Sing For Tommorow’. out now! www.lmarshallmusic.com Photography by Sumaya Yasin and Priya Balachandran
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6 DEGREES OF SEPERATION A We turned some of The Cut team into lookalikes from our favourite Reality TV shows. IGGY POP
B
Now match the outfit with the TV show… GEORDIE SHORE MADE IN CHELSEA THE ONLY WAY IS ESSEX
IGGY AZELIA
D
AN AZEALIA
C
AZALEA BANKS A = OLLIE - MADE IN CHELSEA B = SAM - TOWIE C = JAY - GEORDIE SHORE D = CAGGIE - MADE IN CHELSEA CARLTON BANKS
CARLTON BRICK *Clipart dedicated to Cut mentor, Jo Fuertes-Knight
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This kid has his vision set on changing the world with his words, but he emphasises that we must first change ourselves. Ibrahim Sincere is a young rapper/poet from London and member of the group ‘OntheD’, He propagates a message of revolution, spirituality and
activism through his music. Set to study a degree in Actuary with AAA at A-Level, his future looks promising, and after opening Lowkey’s recent album launch in Manchester, support for this artist is rapidly increasing. He’s recently released a YouTube video to his song ‘Rise Up’... So search that up and watch this space! Follow @ibrahimsincere on Twitter.
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“Some people think ‘ah little petite girl’ but trust me, when you hear my new CD, I’m like two people in one. I’m like a tiger when I’m going hard then I can be a loving sweet girl talking about love and kinda like a little cat so I’m kinda two animals inside. I can be a monster then I can be crazy so I could be an alien…” Lady Leshur on the meaning behind the lyrics for her tune ‘Lego’. Read the interview in full:
http://thisisthecut.com/lady-leshurr-2/. Photography by Sam Awuku and interview by Nellie Owusu
ARNOLD JORGE TASTE TEST: CUT: OPEN WIDE AJ: Woaaahhhhhh!! Bruv, Whatever this is, they need to stop selling it Bruv. Real Talk. Tandoori ting? CUT: Nope AJ: Chinese ting? CUT: Kinda… CUT: It’s…Chocolate Sauce and Chilli Sauce Watch the video in full www.thisisthecut.com Follow @ARNOLDJORGE
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a ny C u r e s io n, ct a ffli g d e at h. d in i n c lu t io n £20. Don a c lu d e ts in Clie n a B a rk e r Li n d T V’s R fr o m K EOV E A M 60M IN
LUCID LUX
Crazy-talented new Science Fiction Writer. Check out Wes Allen’s blog: www.lucidlux.wordpress.com
TONI’S GOT SOLE
Toni’s Got Sole make the lushest Espadrilles money can buy. Featured everywhere from Sunday Times Style Mag to Grazia to Time Out, with colours ranging from sky blue, stripes through to lime green; these are literally sunshine for your feet. Prices start at £15
Illustration by Mark Dear
http://tonisgotsole.com/
JUST JAM
Dear Sister Lawyer Giftee I am very confused at the moment. I have unnatural feelings for my brother. Ever since that night in Tokyo I’ve seen him in a different light. Do I take these dirty dirty thoughts and lock them away or pounce on him like the cat that I am? Yours, Troubled in Tokyo. Firstly, you should be ashamed of yourself. Now
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that we have established this, together we can build a bridge of trust in God’s name and store such feelings underneath this bridge never to be seen again. To rid yourself of these wandering eyes, I offer my personal help service entitled ‘lust withdrawal’ for the lowly price of £239.99. This includes a home
visit from myself, Sister Lawyer Giftee, coming to bless you from my right hand and sprinkle my special white powder which has been known to offer properties including spiritual cleansing (I can add another 2 grams of this powder at an additional cost of course) and this will most definitely rid you of your wanton desires. Respects, SLG
We’ve teamed up with our favourite Live streaming show JUST JAM to offer our readers the chance to win themselves what will surely be as a piece of history. Your very own JUST JAM Tee. To win answer this question: Who is pictured in this tee? info@thisisthecut.com
http://dontwatchthat.tv/just-jam
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Ever wondered what it’s like to be a fly-on-the-wall in a pirate radio station? Wonder no more. People Just Do Nothing is a video chronicle following the lives of a small community of people who, ironically, do many things; things that all contribute towards the running of Kurupt FM - a humble pirate radio station hidden in the heights of a tower block just on the outskirts of West London.
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Kurupt FM is fronted by MC Sniper and partner in airwave crime, DJ Beats, an unstoppable heavyweight musical duo with a history of classics (Reeboks and bars alike). Then there’s Steves, the mellow yet mischievous rave master, Decoy, Fantasy and Weapon X - all members of the Kurupt FM movement ready to take total control. As well as the collective of MCs and DJs, there is also Chabuddie
G, a jack of all trades/master of some, an ‘entrepreneur’ with his fingers in an endless number of pies. People Just Do Nothing documents the day to day graft of the “chamunity” as they face the obstacles between them and the conquering of the
airwaves. Absorb the garage, jungle, drum & bass, hip hop, r&b (not dubstep or funkyhouse) and more importantly, find out just how Sniper plans to “kill everyone, literally”. www.facebook/ Text by Marvin Alvarez Images by Bullion
READ
MORE ON OUR
WEBSITE The Cut’s getting it’s westcoast fix with Purple Naked Ladies, debut solo LP by 19-year-old DJ Syd tha Kid, sound engineer with Odd Future. Recording under the name “The Internet”, could Syd be the new Missy?
www. thisis thecut .com
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BEST OF
ILLUSTRATOR 5
Kiliwee Dance Craze
1.
Kiliwee is an exciting new dance that is taking Ghana and the UK by storm! Created by Pastor Danso, assistant Pastor of God’s Solution Centre; the dance is solely to praise God with, one of many tracks that are featured on the up and coming album, ‘Abbeam Family’ In less than 3 days of its release, this fun-filled video clocked up nearly 2000 views!! Look out for the debut album by the Abbeam Family on ITunes. Amazon and other leading music sites.
We’ve picked five of our favourite up and coming illustrators worth keeping your eyes on. Remember where you heard it first… www.thisisthecut.com
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2.
1. TS Abe www.tsabe.co.uk 2. Polly Norton www.pollynorton.tumblr.com 3. Mister Lego www.misterlego.com 4. Alex Peverett www.alexanderpeverett.computersclub.org 5. Christian Newell www.christiannewell.com
INDOOR CLOUDS
4.
5.
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Artist Berndnaut Smilde makes indoor clouds. http://tinyurl.com/ckyk33b www.berndnaut.nl
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2.
Here are five of our favourite up and coming young photographers. We like seeing through their five eye-views right now. See more images at
1.
www.thisisthecut.com
2.
1. Tariq Taybi www.henchlegs.tumblr.com 2. Funmi Wittle www.funmiwittle.blogspot.com 3. Nisa Kelly www.kosherkels.tumblr.com 4. Bafic www.bafic.co.uk 5. Sascha Marson www.thisisthecut. com/i-take-photos-4/
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3.
5.
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I was expecting someone like Eddie from the Tekken series to appear when I was told I was going to meet British Jiu Jitsu Champion Daniel Agard but after realising that he wasn’t even Brazilian, I quickly threw all other preconceptions out of the window. One of the ideas I held onto was that he could flip or something to someone as oblivious to martial arts as me, ‘nah, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu has more ground work and is more suited to little guys like me.’ The headlock he got (our photographer) Clio into was pretty impressive so I just left it at that. With the Brazilian Jiu Jitsu British Open taking place in a couple weeks, I’m sure Daniel’s in a dojo somewhere taking down opponents, small females or otherwise, in order to win. Follow @DreamerBJJ Text by Nellie Owusu
Do you have a major qualification in English ’cause you have the clearest pronunciation in grime? [laughs] I don’t you know! I think I got a ‘C’. I didn’t actually stick with English, I didn’t even finish college. Do you know what it was? I was trouble in school, not the type where I thought I was ‘bad’. I used to loose concentration quick and
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Why do you think your pronunciation is so clear then? I was raised that way, YOUR MUM DOESN’T RAISE YOU WITH SLANG WORDS. I was raised well.. not well, ’cause If you’re not well spoken it doesn’t mean that you wasn’t raised well, I’m not gonna say that but I was taught to speak properly with words. When I wanna be quick I use slang but with meetings and stuff like that I know I need to speak properly.
Text by Marvin Alverez and photography by Clio McLeary
ON SLANG
P MONEY
bring others down with me and just ’cause trouble, but I did work at home. If I missed out on the day at school I would do my work at home. I don’t know why I didn’t get an A* in English, everybody would say that ’cause of the way that I spit.. I’m not dumb.
READ IN FULL AT WWW.THISISTHECUT.COM, FOLLOW@KingPMoney
Photography by Clio McLeary
JUST NO People who “accidentally” touch your hand on the tube.
People who substitute full stops with “Shut Up!”.
People who take scenic photos from car windows.
People who do the cooking dance in the club People who walk round Shoreditch with SLRs taking pictures of the graffitti like they’re pros.
People who cry listening to Adele. People who wear Jordans and think they have swag.
People who say “Oi my size!”
People who say YOLO [You only live once for those that don’t know].
People who write on facebook pics, “like the pic not the link”.
People who say “I’m so random”.
People who paste the text into an email
rather than attaching a doc. #netiquette
OH GOD YES When you think it’s Monday and it’s actually Thursday.
Double Law and Order SVU.
When Ben Mitchell gets angry.
When the moon hits the sky like a big pizza pie THAT’S AMORE.
When the guy you likes facebook status goes to single.
When it’s “on the house”
especially if it’s chicken. Smooth travelling.
When a cat runs towards you in the street. When you pull out an ingrown hair…
At this point we ran out but Clio wanted to add
that she “doesn’t agree with vodka”.
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WEARING PLAID
The other week, half of The Cut team rolled up to the studio looking like extras for a McCoys Crisps advert. Bit last season, but it’s obviously not ‘Plaid Out’ yet. Lol. Hmmmm.
SKANKING OUT
At Hackney Weekend on June 23rd and 24th . Jay Z and Nas in one weekend!
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RAVING AT BOUNTY
Radi Dadi and the Bounty family never fail to let us down with their hard hitting selection of 90s Hip-Hop and R&B, New Jack Swing and Garage.
Reading Zadie Smith’s new novel ‘NW’ , out later this year. An ode to the postcode she grew up in, this will be her first novel in 7 years, so you can bet it will be worth the wait.
You’ll be entertained for hours at a time with the Vita, and if you’re sick of playing Uncharted (and let’s face it, when are you ever tired of playing Uncharted?) you can always plug in your headphones and listen to your favourite songs or watch a film, whether you’re at the bus stop, in the bath or have a few hours to kill. So due to all this, the PlayStation Vita is in a league of its own. PlayStation Vita – £230 (Wi-Fi)/£280 (3G) uk.playstation.com
Base: 150g digestive biscuits, finely crushed, 60g butter, melted.
Filling: 250g cream cheese, soften at room temperature, 75g caster sugar, 250ml (1 cup) natural plain yogurt, 75ml Ribena blackcurrant juice cordial.
WATCH
Watching Ridley Scotts long awaited Prometheus. Billed as the prequel to Alien, the film follows the crew of the spaceship Prometheus in the year 2085, as they explore an advanced alien civilization in search of the origins of humanity.
GO SEE PLAYING OUR PLAYSTATION VITAS
RIBENA MARBLE CHEESECAKE
Checking out the latest V&A Exhibition, ‘British Design-Innovation In The Modern Age’ Bringing together design Icons produced between 1948, when London last held the Olympics, right up to now, from Sex Pistols tees to Kodak brownie Camera’s. On from 31st March–12th August 2012. www. vam.ac.uk/
How To: Line your baking tin with cooking paper. Bash up the biscuits and combine them with the butter. Press this mixture into the base of the tin and put in the fridge to chill for an hour. Mix the soft cheese, sugar and plain yoghurt with a whisk. Split the mixture into two. Add 75ml of Ribena into one of the bowls and mix well with a spatula. Spoon the two mixtures in alternate blobs into the chilled crust. Level top and swirl with a knife through the mixture to create a marble effect. Refrigerate until set.
EAT AND SHARE…
WIN
Luxury chocolatiers Blowing Dandelion are causing a feeding frenzy amongst celebrities with their mouthwatering new range of handmade chocolates. The Cut, is offering one lucky winner the chance to design their own chocolate and flavour, see it being made and receive a box of your chocolate designs. Fancy a Tupac or Biggie filled with rasperry toffee, or a buttercream Timberland boot? Send us your ideas, don’t forget to include your name and contact details to info@thisisthecut.com. Title your email Blowing Dandelion Competition.
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origrimey Usually it’s the MC making the paper and all that metaphorical magic but at The Cut decided it was high time the script was flipped (folded); now it’s the paper that makes the MC. Introducing Origrimey, a finely folded fire spitting piece of art; complete with a hardback body stance and built-in hoody (not that it’s a grime artist uniform but they came out this way so just play along). Here are some appropriate names: P(aper) Money, Sketch MC, ok that’s it, your turn.
BEROCCA
NECESSARY
Please see below. Our most recent experiment has been to test the new berry flavoured Berrocca, to assess it’s energy giving properties. Let us asses the impact of the Berrocca: Hasumi will act as the control, drinking only water both times. Marvin, age 47 Nellie, age 51 Hasumi, age 67
Here at The Cut, our inhouse scientists have been eating a de-ageification paste out of a tube. Although they look in their teens, they are actually in their late 50s.
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Results: Although Marvin and Nellie were deeply energised by the Berrocca, Marvin had already had one previously in the day which he did not reveal until after the experiment. Thus the experiment was deemed void by Academy of Sciences and important resources were wasted. Subsequently Marvin was removed from the special paste programme.
Oslo based, Croydon born Producer and DJ, Tony F Wilson stuns with the beauty and atmosphere of tracks by his new collective Necessary. You can download the album for free at this link
www.weltschmerzindustries. comdownloads.htm
Buy the physical release
here:http://www.tigernet.no/
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I was hungry today – really hungry. I was by Marks & Spencers and like the impending diabetic I am, I headed straight for the cake section in the takeaway aisle. You would think that if you bought cake from Marks and Sparks, you’d be getting in exchange moist goodness, however I dug my spork into the slice and I was astounded.
Why was the texture of this cake almost akin to that of tiger bread? It was probably the driest cake I’ve eaten, my salivary glands wept as I forced its completion because well, you know, M&S cake ask for M&S prices. Do you want to know the worst thing? I wasn’t even hungry, I was M&S hungry. Text by Nellie Owusu
DIARY OF A BADMAN
Meet Humza, comedian and brains behind internet sensation ‘Diary Of A Badman’. ‘I believe Allah (God) gave me a talent to make people laugh, not in a big headed way cause I am crap at everything else, like my asian options were to be a doctor but I couldn’t, I would end up killing more people than saving them. Being a lawyer, that’s bare reading, that’s just long. So I used my talent to make video’s’. We promise, they will make you laugh out loud. wwww.diaryofabadman.net Read the article in full www.thisisthecut.com Photography by Priya Balachandran
I’ve got a new cat, she lives in the neighbourhood. She visits everyday, so she is called “Visitor Cat”. Her daughter has also started coming with her. They like to sleep on my bed, sometimes I have to sleep on the sofa so I don’t disturb them. However, in a shocking turn of events, it has come to our attention Cut HQ, that Visitor Cat is not the only animal doing visiting in London. We have unmasked a never-before-seen trend of animals that are not yours coming round every day for food. The Cut investigates. Nellie Owusu, “A fox once walked with me the whole length of Vauxhall Highstreet, everyone was looking at me like why have you got a fox walking next to you. At the end the fox turned and looked at me to say goodbye then walked away casually”. Tina “The people in the flat below me have recently built a shed. Now a cat climbs on the roof and onto my balcony and then comes in and sleeps on the bed. I’ve got a Visitor Cat too now.”
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Overall youth unemployment for
T
he other day I read an article in The Evening Standard by Joe Murphy about young people and jobs. As I read, I thought deeply about how it affected me and my peers. His article, titled “One million young people jobless” immediately caught my attention. Reading on I saw statistics like “Rise in youth unemployment to a record 1.2 million, up by 67,000 in three months” and “More than a fifth of 16 to 24-year-olds have no job”. Since 2009 I had been applying for that all so common Sales Assistant position. From then to now I had applied for over a thousand jobs and had four interviews, not getting any of the final positions. Pressure from my mum (especially now I’m 18) that I need to be a man and find a job – and watching friends talk about jobs they achieved through family ties that allowed them to buy the latest gadgets – did nothing but lower my confidence. I stared longingly at my Nokia 2730 waiting for that all important text saying ‘you have been accepted for an interview’. Just the other day my friend, an employee at M&S, told me about an employment opportunity at M&S Westfield in Stratford. Having been told
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women is at 18.5% and 24.9% for men. In January 2012 the unemployment rate for 16 to 24 year olds reached 22.5 percent, the highest since records began in 1992. Since the
I could not bring any one, I thought there wouldn’t be many people there; when I arrived there were already around 20-30 people. After being told to line up the queue, it quickly went from 30 to 50, 50 to 100 and finally 100 to 400. It stretched all around the centre. After an hour in the line we finally went upstairs to the main quarters, where we had to answer 10 questions on paper and if passed go through to a role-playing exercise. I got there at 3.45PM and came home at 10.30PM. Feeling blessed and elated that after all the waiting (not the six hour wait in the queue, but the two year wait) I was able to finally have a job. Looking at the 399 people that had to line up in the queue with the unsuccessful majority made me think deeply about the people close to me that really needed a job. It saddens me to say this but to be honest; almost all of my friends have applied for numerous jobs, just like me and are still being unlucky. The worse aspect of it is that I know there is a recession going on and I hear the Government are doing their
best to help young people find jobs, but I truly do not see this. I constantly wonder why there are no programs that train young people to learn the basic skills of a Sales Assistant or even to grasp the basics of interviewing techniques and – if they are available – how come they are not being promoted. Instead schemes such as the £50 a week from Job Centre plus, which require you to not be in education or receiving any income, is a popular way of getting paid. Now it is fine to have cash in the bank, but it takes away from the principle of working for what you rightfully earn. In no way do I see this to be a positive or productive step forward. To me it seems the Government is failing to realise that making people dependant on these types of schemes has no bright future. We are the leaders of tomorrow and how do we lead if we are dependent on a system that handicaps us? So to whoever who reads this old or young: Please keep trying. You’ve just heard my story and I know it’s far from the worst, but understand
start of the recession in 2008, youth unemployment rate for black people has increased at almost twice the rate for white 16-24 year olds. Unemployment among Asian youths is up around 18% over three years. *Figures taken from the Office of National Statistics
there are jobs out there, the only reason my friend told me about this job was because we bumped into each other on the way to college and he knew how much I had been trying but failing at job searching. If interviewing is not your thing then work at it - role playing is one way to improve, and practice makes perfect. On that day there were several different times I felt the urge of going home, because I had lined up in longer queues and at the door be told ‘you are not qualified’. To go back to my previous comment these schemes such at the £50 per week may sound good right now but imagine when you have a family to support - £50 is not a lot. Finally, the job process may be hard and you may have heard this before but never stop trying. There is a job out there for you. Text by James Childs
L
ondon’s Finest, Peng Humans (peng meaning good looking…if you don’t know, now you know), PengOnes Click Here Inih and even – wait for it – Jollof Spices; all these are the names of Facebook groups intended to broadcast the faces (and sometimes the bodies) of young people deemed attractive enough to be ‘the hottest spice in the larder’. Although to put this in context, one image was merely a guy’s hairline that had zig zags fashioned into it.
It works by you holding the half-narcissistic idea that you are a peng human or that someone you know is (sometimes these people have no idea their picture has even been submitted). You then send in a picture to one of these groups and if the hoi polloi concur that the person submitted is indeed good looking in some way, then the picture is added to an image album where supposedly superior pecs and breasts are immortalised forever. The argument that could be used in justification would be that they’re boosting self-confidence – if you’re confidence can really be boosted by voyeurs complimenting you. It is easier
insinuating you want people to call you pretty than flatout asking them to. But this boost backfires on people who get one or two likes on their photo and are forced to cry whilst others get 300 and reign supreme over all spices. Lord knows who started this but I enjoy flicking through images of people who clearly have better Photoshop skills than I do. It’s an addictive curiosity that grows and grows. After getting a good looking person that I’m pretty sure people could deem a hotspice, I decided to ask her opinion on the matter, ‘I suppose it’s flattering if one were to be a hotspice but people like to see hot people in one place so I understand
why they exist’. Another girl added: ‘Our generation is about looks - which is what these groups seem to promote. Because if a guy’s not good looking then you’re not going to talk to him especially if you don’t know him. That’s the way it is. It shouldn’t be like that but it is. I hate teenagers. We’re really shit.‘ It’s an overtly pessimistic view to leave this on so I’ll do my part and reassure everyone that it’s really not about being good looking, having the perfect body or any of that stuff – it’s actually about having nice clothes. And if you don’t, tough luck.
Text by Nellie Owusu
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R
ico Gordon was anything but ordinary, you would only have to meet him once and he would in some way have an effect on you. Whether it was making you laugh, putting a smile on your face or as a shoulder to cry on. For all those who knew him, they count their blessings everyday, because of the incredible impact he had on their lives. Having had such a positive effect on all the people he came across, his life was robbed from him and robbed from everyone who was close to him. Gun Crime needs to stop now, before another beautiful soul like Rico’s is taken away. He lost his life at the age of 21 on July 3rd 2011 and this world will never be the same. This is a tribute to the life of Rico Gordon. To educate people through his story that lives are precious and the people that get left behind will suffer through their life times, due to selfish and unnecessary acts of violence. Text by Ronnie Grebenyuk
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Born from the tragic and unprovoked stabbing of Oliver Hemsley, Art Against Knives is a youth-led charity which works to reduce the root causes of knife crime through arts initiatives that provide an alternative to violent gang culture. Get involved in their campaigning and look out for an exciting exhibition coming from them this summer. Backr is a social network designed to be useful for people in work, out of work and everywhere in between. They will hook you up with mentors and inspirational people who promise to back you, as well offering courses in new stuff like I Phone Application building. It’s free to access and open to everyone.
www.artagainstknives.com
www.backr.net
If you’re a 16-25 year old looking for a space to hold an event or activity but at a loss as to where to look, somewhereto might be what you have been looking for. The project is a movement to liberate under used, disused and empty spaces in the UK and get everyone thinking creatively about their communities.
IdeasTap is a one stop shop for opportunities for young people looking for a route into the creative industries. A place to network, promote, look for jobs, and respond to real client briefs. They’ve also just announced a new venture, the IdeasTap Spa, a series of networking and career development events which take pace all over the UK. If that wasn’t enough for you, get the chance to apply for £5000 in funding to get creative projects off the ground. Get in there.
The Creative Careers Coach is a specialist life coaching career service for those wanting to develop a creative venture, run by the amazing Rebecca Quansah. The website is the place to go for specialist workshops, one to one advice, and also check out a host of profiles of other creatives who will inspire you. www.thecreativecareerscoach.com
As if Hackney Weekend wasn’t enough, Radio 1 will be pulling out all the stops in Hackney this year, on the 1st of June Hackney Picture House will be opening the doors to the BBC Radio 1 and 1Xtra Academy, a place to be inspired, gain practical experience in the areas of business, the arts, career development and media. WORK IT, profiled in our ‘Made In Britain’ feature will be hosting a series of T-Shirt Design workshops too. http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio1/ hackneyweekend/2012/academy/
www.ideastap.com
www.somewhereto.com
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Perri Shakes- Drayton A Star Rises in The East.
Text by Fraser Simpson, Photography and Art Direction by Sumaya Yasin and Priya Balachandran on location at Mile End Park Stadium. Many thanks to Jay Stephenson-Clarke at Nike and Sharreen Alder at Exposure.
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PERRI SHAKES-DRAYTON.
‘I feel extremely lucky to be competing in an Olympics in my hometown, not many athletes get to do that in their careers so it’s important that I make it count and do my very best.’ Perri Shakes-Drayton. It’s a name that the whole world will be either watching, tweeting or reading about in the upcoming months. On the verge of the London Olympics, it’s inevitable that a certain 23 year-old hurdler from East London will emerge with not only an enhanced reputation both on and off the track, but hopefully a gold medal to show off in front of her friends, family and the world’s media. Born and raised in Bow, East London, Perri is one of Team GB’s rising stars and is tipped to win a medal in the 400m hurdles. Perri has already achieved an extraordinary amount over the past few years, setting record times for a UK junior athlete. For a professional athlete, improving on your personal best time is key, and it’s something which Perri does consistently, winning Bronze in the European Athletics Championship in Barcelona 2010 with a time of 54.73 seconds in the semi-finals, then setting an impressive 54.18 in the final. As well as this, she finished second behind current Olympic champion Christine Ohuruogu in the 400m in the 2009 British championships, before beating her in the 2011 trials for the world championships. Most notably, Perri achieved Gold this year in the world indoor 4x100m relay in Istanbul, narrowly beating the American individual 400m champion Sanya Richards-Ross by 0.03 seconds. She’s now sponsored
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“I’ve known my coach for 12 years. He’s like a father figure. He is very passionate about athletics considering he wasn’t an athlete himself…”
by McCains, she’s a SKY scholar, a graduate from Brunel University and one of the many faces of the Nike ‘Make It Count’ movement, which showcases the worlds best athletes to inspire and motivate people to achieve their goals in 2012. Although London 2012 will be Perri’s first Olympic Games, she nearly made it to the 2008 games in Beijing. ‘Missing out on the Beijing Olympics didn’t feel too disappointing at the time, as I was fortunate enough to be put on the BOA ambitions program to get an insight to how it feels to be a part of the games. Looking back, I know it would have been great experience. But, I’ve progressed since then and hopefully will not miss out in London this year.’ Since 2008’s disappointment, Perri has been hard at work. After achieving a degree in Sports Science at Brunel, her strenuous regime always keeps her occupied. ‘The first thing I do is eat, then I train for about two and a half hours, less if I’m in the gym. Then I have one hour for soft tissue massage or physiotherapy and eat again followed by a one and a half hour nap.’ Of course, behind every world-class athlete, there is a world-class trainer. In Perri’s case, its Chris Zah, who has been by her side since the very beginning and is the main enforcer behind her strict routine. ‘I’ve known my coach for 12 years. He’s like a father figure. He is very passionate about athletics considering he wasn’t an athlete himself. He works me hard but that’s because we both want to do well and one day make me a champion.’
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The London Olympics has sparked furious debate between politicians, sport personalities and the general public as to how the taxpayer can afford the cost, which risks going over budget by £11 billion. For proud Londoner Perri, she is more than happy at competing in front of a home audience. ‘I love the vibe in London! It’s lively and versatile. I still train where I grew up in East London and I couldn’t imagine moving anywhere else. Plus my family live here so I still have them constantly around me for support. Growing up so close to the Olympic park makes me so proud to be from East London. It will be a very exciting event.’ One thing which nearly every athlete worries about in preparation for an event is their diet. For Perri, she is allowed to take a relaxed approach to what she eats. ‘I’m very lucky as I enjoy eating healthily, so sticking to a strict diet it isn’t too much of a struggle. It’s important to fuel up with carbs before training and protein after to help recovery. I also have to make sure I drink lots of water, as it’s vital to be hydrated. For breakfast I’ll have porridge, two boiled eggs and orange juice. For lunch I’ll have a sandwich and then for dinner I like chicken and rice or spaghetti bolognaise - it varies depending on what’s in the fridge or cupboard!’ As well as having an ever growing fan base, which includes over 7,500 followers on twitter (@ Shakesdrayton), she receives incredible support at home. ‘I have a boyfriend who I have been with for three years. He is very supportive and understanding of my athletics career.’ Although Perri still has a long and successful career ahead of her on the track, she is always looking towards the future, with ambitions set
“I love the vibe in London! It’s lively and versatile. I still train where I grew up in East London and I couldn’t imagine moving anywhere else.”
on eventually bringing through natural, home-grown talent to compete in future Olympic Games. ‘I would like to give back to the sport and work with young people. They should try everything and anything, and then as they get older they will naturally choose one that they enjoy. It’s very important to love what you do. Train hard and don’t cut corners. It can be very easy to slack, so ensure you make every training session count.’ Perri is challenging you to make every minute count with the Nike Training Club Live competition. Visit facebook. com/niketrainingclubuk to join the challenge and #makeitcount. Page 21 Leggings Stylist’s Own; black crop top by Nike; gold beaded top by Topshop; red jacket by Nike. Page 22 Body by Simon Preen, Trainers by Nike. Page 23 Trainers, Shorts, Vest and wristbands all by Nike, Leather hood Stylist’s Own, Blue Hood by Poselli. Watch strap by Triwa. Page 25 Black Top by Topshop, White vest by Nike, Earrings Stylist’s Own. Styling by Patricia Williams Make-up by Adjhani Barton
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Of course, Perri ShakesDrayton is not the only young hopeful who will be flying the flag for great Britain. Look out for these guys on the track and field. Or if you fancy a flutter get down Ladbrokes and place some bets off The Cut tips… Louis Smith The 22 year old from Eye near Peterborough has already won silver at The World Cup on the pommel horse in China. He has been a 2-time European Silver medallist and Commonwealth Games Champion. Smith became the first Briton in 80 years to win an Olympic gymnastics medal four years ago and is one of the faces of the Great Britain team for London 2012.
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Tom Daley Tom Daley is a familiar face in the sporting world these days, having shot to fame in the 2008 Olympics as one of the youngest ever contenders for the 10 metre dive. He’s won sports personality of the year 3 times since then. Although he’s won medals in many other sporting championships, such as the European Championships and the Commonwealth Games. He’s yet to win an Olympic medal. Hopefully 2012 will change that. Gabrielle White The 22 year old from Leeds won the German Open badminton championship in 2011 with mixed doubles partner Rob Blair. She has played Badminton since the age of 7 “after watching my sister play” and her dream will be realised when she competes in the London Olympics.
Juney Montfallier The 18 year old from London has been feted for the shot put with her strength attributed to her diet of 16 eggs a day. Originally a ballet dancer, Montfallier’s transfer to shot put seemed a natural progression after she noticed her arms were “twice the size of the other ballet dancers”. Eleanor Simmonds Eleanor Simmonds is a 17 year old British Paralympian swimmer from Walsall who has achondroplasia. Simmonds competed at the 2008 Summer Paralympics in China in the 50m, 100m and 400m freestyle, 50 m butterfly and 200 m individual medley. She swims in the S6 disability category. At the age of 13, she was the youngest British athlete in China. She won gold medals in the 100 m and 400 m freestyle events.She won the 2008 BBC Young Sports Personality of the Year award. Simmonds was appointed an MBE in the 2009 New Year Honours. At 14 she is
the youngest person to have ever received this honour from the Queen. In March 2012, in the 200m individual medley, she became the first swimmer to break a world record at London’s Aquatic Centre. Her victory in a time of 3:08.14 broke her own previous best time by over half a second. Xavier Mohammed The 22 year old from London won gold, silver and bronze at the European Junior Championships in 2008 and silver at the World Youth Games in 2006. Xavier is currently studying in the USA but will return to represent Britain in the middle-distance and backstroke events. He is currently ranked 4th in the world in the backstroke event.
What are you most looking forward to most about the 2012 Olympics? And most importantly will it all be worth the money? Andrea, 19 I’m not really excited, The Olympics doesn’t matter to me, I’m not really into all of that does that sound bad?! I think it’s another hype thing, I don’t really know what’s the big deal, it’s just another marketing stream again to sell things.
Estelle, 17 I think it will affect me quite a lot because I live in central London. I think there’s gonna be quite a lot of tourists, it will be a lot busier maybe the crime rate will go up. I think it will depend a lot on the person whether they’re interested. If they’re not interested in sport it will be a bit pointless really. Tina, 12 I don’t really feel young children are involved, they should find a way to involve us. I don’t think it has been promoted enough to our generation.
Sarah, 12 and her mum My school hasn’t bothered to talk to me about it. [Mum chips in]. They need to put the money into schools. At the moment, in secondary school, at her school in year 7 before you’re allowed to start a new sport you have to be fairly good at it in order to be chosen, they have to try out, they can’t go in and build up their skills. It’s going to be an event that’s come and gone. Jade and Nasima, 17 I think it’ll be good for kids to get involved in sport. They’ll see some of their role models doing it like Michael Phelps and Usain Bolt. Kids volunteering and going to watch them, it’ll keep them off the streets. I live in East London quite near it and everyone’s excited with the new shopping centre and there’s a big build up. I did apply for tickets but I didn’t get any.
Sinead, 25 I think it’s a waste of money and they’re ruining the small local shops. I think it’s a sports event for the rich kids. They’re going to train up the youngsters for stewardships and then say “the training’s over, see ya!”. There’s not gonna be any jobs, we need jobs because the reason why a lot of the youth are hanging around is cos they’re is nothing for them to do. David, 21 The Olympics is gonna bring a bit of economy and more tourists coming to the country, more jobs. Young people will get into sports to try and win a medal or something, so more sports grounds will be opened for youngsters to keep them off the road. Text by Zohra Khan Photography by Priya Balachandran and Sumaya Yasin
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E V I F N E E T F FI S E T A D D N POU Don’t lose heart in these dire financial times, there’s still ways to woo your sweetheart without breaking the bank. Here The Cut show you fifteen ways how to impress that special somebody on a date for under £5. Thrice-married multi-millionaire J-Lo had it right when she said that “Love don’t cost a thing”. 1. A WALK IN THE PARK London is full of beautiful parks. The rose garden in Regents Park is a winner. (NB parks are best reserved for daytime dates, unless you want to look like you’re getting ahead of yourself) 2. ICE CREAM Cheap delicious and not particularly nutritious. Try Gelupo or Marine Ices. www.gelupo.com www.marineices.co.uk 3. MC DONALDS HAPPY MEAL Get greasy. . It’s cheap as chips.
4. A GAME OF CHESS Check mate. Although remember that getting crazily competitive then flipping the board over in defeat might sour the romantic atmosphere somewhat. 5. MUSEUMS London is full of free museums: The British Museum, The V&A and The Science Museum are free. 6. THE NIGHT SKY Concessions at Greenwich observatory are £5 but checkout the stars from the roof, or a hill. Nothing beats the cosmos for good mood lighting. 7. ROW A BOAT Rent a rowboat for £3.50 at Battersea Boating Lake. 8. BORIS BIKE RIDE If you make sure you dock your bikes every half an hour, this should cost you under £5.
9. FREE DRINKS THURSDAY First Thursday of every month in Shoreditch is when all the art gallery’s have their openings, mainly around Redchurch Street. Drinks are on me.
if you’re a cinema-phobe. http://www.curzoncinemas. com/film_on_demand/
10. SEE A MOVIE At the Coronet in Notting Hill, all films are £3.50 on a Wednesday and at the Prince Charles Cinema in Leicester Square, tickets are £4 with a membership.
13. GO FISHING It don’t get much fresher. Although again, this might not be great for a first date, as some women don’t enjoy lurking around canals and trying to avoid sitting on snails.
11. STAY IN & WATCH TV Put that TV licence to use.
14. GALLERY Impress your date with your knowledge of the arts. Go to the Tate Modern or Britain, The National Portrait Gallery or The Serpentine.
12. RENT A VIDEO Now you can rent movies online, through places like iTunes or through TV on demand, also now there’s Netflix. With the new Curzon On Demand set up, you can even stream new movies live
15. FISH & CHIPS Go easy on the vinegar. Text by Nick Bamigboye
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MARK DEAR www.ohdearlondon. tumblr.com
Chetan Kumar www.cheism.com
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B A NK NO T ES
Hasumi Elise Yamanaka
Here at The Cut we know most people aren’t feeling too flush at the minute. So in response to your budgeting (and spiritual) needs as well as establishing our own ministry, (see Sister Lawyer Giftee on Page 8), we’ve set up our own Bank: Banque De La Cut. That’s French for The Cut Bank. We asked 4 designers to come up with the new bank notes for our tills. The Cut Mint is printing the new bills as we speak but in the meantime feel free to cut out these wads and use them in local shops to boost your local economy – or as small fans.
Christian Newell www.christiannewell.com
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W H AT C A N Y OU DO W IT H 9k? Undergraduate university students will now have to pay £9000-a-year tuition fees to receive an education, a price which is putting more and more young people off further education. According to the most recent figures, the number of British people who applied for a full time university course dropped by 8.7% this year. So, The Cut wonders: instead of paying for University what else could you spend £9,000 on? Text by Fraser Simpson
Put it all on 17 black on a roulette table and hope for the best. Four 17.2 inch Apple Macbook Pros, which would set you back £2099 each.
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9 million penny sweets Buy nine thousand lottery tickets. Invest in some cheap cars and set up your own taxi company. Buy 45,000 2 for 2’s. Buy a lifetime supply of clothes from Primark. Nine Mulberry handbags.
19 shares in Apple. 9 Super Bowl According to tickets. This is Google Finance, the price set by one share the NFL (£1000 would set per ticket), you back $473 but on the (£301). black market they would Cosmetic cost anything surgery – in excess of According £4000. to www. harleymedical. A set of grills co.uk, a breast (for your enhancement teeth!!) Get the would cost Lil Wayne look, £3990, and it would LIPOSUCTION only set you would cost back around £2990. £6000. A weave from A Harley the same shop Davidson 1200 as Nicky Minaj. Custom, which starts at £8,649
e k a M y e n o Does M you H a ppy ?
1. LIE, CHEAT, STEAL. If it worked for Eddie Guerrero, it can work for you.
I could answer this question easily and simply say yes, money can make me personally extremely happy. With the humble £1 coin, I could buy 100 sherberts – thinking of the happiness that could bring me, well it just brings a tear to my eye. Alas, the saying does go ‘money can’t buy you happiness’ for a reason and unfortunately it just so happens to be the saying for quite a few people. Take Corey Haim (RIP) for example, the chubbier half of the ‘80s Corey duo and my favourite since Feldman got the reverse rat tail. It always seemed as though CF overshadowed him even to the point where I could not find out how much he had earned by age 13 (but I could for Feldman…) after starring in films such as Stand by Me
and The Goonies. At 16 he starred in The Lost Boys which earned $32 million at the Box Office – and yet all was not well for young Corey. After being exposed to alcohol at 15 which slowly led onto myriad drugs, Haim lost his wholesome image and was thrown out of the running of prospective husbands for Jewish (and otherwise) girls worldwide. Michael Jackson was bound to come up as a problem child faced with money. Around his death he was apparently in $400 million worth of debt and yet his property had two railway lines, 75 cars and he even managed to spend $63,000 on a necklace for Elizabeth Taylor. Coming from near enough nothing really did not give him the value of money, evidently, which is bad… real bad Michael Jackson. Forgive me, the musical pun had to be included.
Closer to home and an embarrassment to the UK, Michael Carroll won £9.7 million and only some years later signed up on the dole. Why? He managed to spend almost 10 million of the Queen’s finest British pounds on drugs, gambling and prostitutes. They must have been some extremely pretty women of the night. Psychologist Paddy O’Donnell claimed someone earning 25 grand a year would be more or less as happy as someone earning $250k, showing that money really does not mean happiness. At the Cut, we like sharing happiness with others so I’m going to give you my top three tips on how to stay happy with the money you have.
2. If you are unable to commit to tip number 1, then my second piece of advice would be repeat the mantra ‘money does not equal happiness’ to yourself as your friends drink their sorrows away with £10 doubles. 3. Keep images of the aforementioned people dotted around. You don’t want to end up like that, surely? Okay, I’ll be serious now if you choose not to take any of my advice (and I don’t blame you if you don’t), take this: live knowing you were born from happiness, as a child you made friends from happiness and as you grow as a person, you consistently give and receive happiness in many forms: money is only one of them. Text by Nellie Owusu Illustration by Hasumi Elise Yamanake
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MADE IN
BRITAIN W
ith Overseas imports now the status quo, what’s to be said for domestic manufacturing in the UK? Many analysts see Britain’s industrial area as a way out of the financial crisis: By increasing our exports, Britain as a country can make a load of cash. So, in this issue we look at a few of London’s young innovators who have embraced the idea of domestic manufacturing, for the better of Great Britain. These brands include Lovetits, Origin London and
Work It. Lovetits is a brand created by sisters Alice and Molly Goddard, who create their products at home and at fashion school. Origin London, an independent clothing company, has one of their member’s own grandmas contributing to the sewing of the clothing, while Work It, as well as having their own cult hip-hop night, also screenprint their t-shirts in London. Text and Photography by Amelia Dimoldenberg and Gabriel Noble
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ORIGIN
LONDON her opinion on domestic manufacturing, her favourite brands and much more. When did you start sewing? I’ve been sewing since I was a little girl, when I was, I guess 11 or 12, and I started sewing. My mother taught me how to use a sewing machine, and in school they actually taught sewing.
O
rigin London is an independent clothing company that prides itself on producing their clothes inside the UK. Not only that, Origin also works with some of the most talented creators in London, with their last run being a collaboration with art collectives TIMC and Puck. A vital member of the team is Alice Getz, who is Gabriel, the founder’s grandma and also the woman that does all the sewing for Origin. We’ve interviewed Alice to talk about her involvement with Origin,
What inspired you to become such a talented craftmaker? Well I think it’s the idea of being able to make something as a child, that you can actually construct something and use it and the satisfaction you get from creating something you can actually use yourself. Do you value hand-made goods? Oh absolutely, no question. I look for handcrafted things and I look for things that are unique, not mass produced. I recently bought a piece of
jewellery from somebody because it’s hand-crafted and it’s different. So I think it’s important to encourage people that do that kind of work. So on the labels you’ve so kindly sewn onto the Origin t-shirts, there is a tagline that said “Art Over Butter”, what do you think of that tagline? (laughs) Well to me it doesn’t really mean anything. You know, I like the art over something, but I’m not sure butter… It doesn’t make any sense does it? No it doesn’t make sense. Art is everlasting, I mean that’s the only way I can look at it. So yes, art over something. Art over butter? Art is permanent, butter melts away. Maybe you need another tagline. We were going to make it “Origin London: made in grandma’s sweatshop”.
I mean that would be cute, but it doesn’t really mean anything. It doesn’t necessarily need to make total sense though. I like the idea of people looking at something and thinking, “what does that mean, what are you talking about?”. We’re young guys, and as young guys the most important thing is to have fun and enjoy ourselves. So we want to convey that. So maybe “don’t take it seriously”, “strictly for fun”. Something that really says what you’re trying to do. What about “bacon over butter”? No, that makes no sense. And would you wear an Origin London t-shirt when walking across the road? No. Cool, what are your favourite brands? What are my favourite brands, hmmm. That’s a difficult question, because actually when I go back to the States (USA), I buy most of my clothes over there. There are certain brands I wear like Ann Taylor and others that aren’t really sold in the UK. When I’m in the UK, I wear M&S, I buy a lot from M&S. M&S is the one. In fact, I’m wearing an M&S sweater right now! www.originlondon.com
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LOVETITS Where does your brand name come from? *Both laugh* Alice Um I don’t really know, the name kind of explains the tops. Does this mean you guys are big lovers of tits? *Both laugh, again* Molly yeah course, it’s just a bit of fun really.
S
isters Molly and Alice Goddard are students of fashion print and knitwear at St Martins, but they have also set up their own small clothing line – Lovetits, producing hand made one of a kind tops and dresses. Their made to order quirky designs are all about embracing your womanhood and having fun.
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Does Lovetits have a clear brand ethos? If so what is it? Alice Well I think they’re just meant to be fun, something that you would wear at parties. I guess the whole thing is just meant to be quite humorous. What inspired you to make these types of clothes? Molly Alice made a sweatshirt with red heart Lovetits and then I made one to go out to a party one day and
then everyone started complimenting us and asking where they were from so we just started making them. What is the hardest part of the production process? Alice Making stuff on time. Molly Haha yeah making things on time is the hardest part because they are made to order. Do you think it’s important that your clothes are hand made? Molly Yes. Well actually I guess they could be mass produced at a factory somewhere because it’s more about the idea of the clothes rather than the technical beauty of them, in a way. But it’s nice when people and say things like ‘I’m small but have really big boobs’ – so we make the hearts bigger. I think that’s important, that they are not all the same.
How much of your time is spent making clothes? Alice Well we both do fashion degrees so it’s a lot of our time. What got you guys interested in fashion? Molly I think our parents have always been interested in fashion and so have we. I did work experience at school with Giles Deacon and that’s sort of what got me interested. Alice Yeah well Molly making clothes made me want to do it too haha. Do you find it easier or harder to work with your sister? Alice Easier, but we do argue quite a lot. Molly We argue because we can argue. What does the future hold for Lovetits? Molly It would be fun to make a lot more of them but that would be a case of getting them all made in a factory I think or even just getting a larger team so we could still make to order. http://love-tits.blogspot.de/
B
est friends WORK IT made a name for themselves as the original 90’s inspired club night. Fresh off the back of celebrating their fourth birthday, and following the release of a sell out line of Tees in Urban Outfitters, founders Sara El Dabi and Loren Platt talk a bit more about the inspiration behind the ‘Lyric Series’. What came first the Club Night or the Clothes? We started the club night four years ago, it was all about the music when we came up with the idea but the clothing is as much apart of the atmosphere.
Why the obsession with 90’s Hip-Hop? We grew up with the sounds of the 90s and had our first taste of the London club scene when that was the current sound. It takes me straight back to my first school disco and dancing to Shabba Ranks. How do you pick the lyrics that go on your T-Shirts? It is usually the cheesier lyrics we find most amusing. It is also the positivity of messages that put a smile on our face and that can be the most successful. What is your favourite 90’s Hip-Hop track? Hmmm difficult question. There are so many winners! But I think the most iconic tracks of that time are by Biggie.
How do you make your T-Shirts and where are your garments made? They are designed in our studio and we work with a local printer called Snow Print. http://www.snowprint.co.uk/. It feels good that we get to work with local people in our community. They’re made in Dalston. Thanks Matt! :) What’s the hardest part of the production process? Coming up with the slogans for the t shirts. Do you think it’s important for your garments to be produced in Britain? Yes, we think it is important to work in the UK and there is a lot of publicity at the moment about manufacturing in Britain. But at the same time we understand how hard it is for young people to start
up their own businesses and sometimes if you have a great idea you just have to get it done the easiest way for you! What do you like more putting on Work It club nights or making Work It clothes? I think I just answered that! They work together and give each other a reference point. I think through the club night we developed an instant audience for the t shirts and people already trusted the brand. Do you have plans to expand the brand? We’d love to expand into more clothing and we’ve recently released a series of mugs. Loving the home-wares tip at the moment! Watch out for Work It tea towels!
www.youworkit.co.uk
MADE IN
WORK IT
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Stööki is an independent Jewellery & Apparel label based in Europe. Presenting themed capsule collections, through interactive art and immersive events. Founded by three Craft Makers, who interpret their philosophy of Sound, Vision and Play through a lifestyle that speaks to many different genres. The main concept behind the Stööki Label, is within the unique duo design. Marrying a jewellery piece with the garment, transforming graphic art into a 3D form. As each collection evolves, you will have a chance to experience the Stööki lifestyle. Through a series of curated events, Stööki personally, invites you to participate and join the movement. The O B S C U R A Collection O B S C U R A is a minimal symbology collection presented through the theme of light. The 3 elements showcased visually represent collaboration, interactivity and vision. These are fundamental to our process and a manifesto to which Stööki stands by. Photos and Art Direction by Sumaya Yasin , Priya Balachandran Mark Dear and Stefan Shillingford With thanks to models Lamar, Cashel, Shama Anwar and Nadia Abbas
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Cashel wears Stööki, Logo T-Shirt, Stööki Boys Necklace, Stööki Obscura Snapback Hat, Stööki öcular Ring Shama wears Stööki, Obscura Beanie Hat, Stööki Girls Necklace, Stööki Boys Necklace
Lamar wears Stööki Logo T-Shirt, Stööki Boys Necklace, Stööki Obscura Snapback Hat, Stööki öcular Ring Nadia wears Stööki Girls Necklace, Stööki Element Ring
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Champions of the humble white tee, T-Shirt Party, are now in the second year of their mission to earn themselves the crown as the ultimate T -Shirt creation machine, coming at us week after week with concepts that are about celebrating everything that’s good about British Youth Culture and more. We love their visuals and spirit, so we’ve partnered up with them to offer you the chance to make it into the TSP archive. Pretty special stuff. We’re running a competition with them to give you the chance to design one of this years 52. Here’s your chance to sit alongside contributors like Tyrone Lebon, Daniel David Freeman and Ferry Gouw. The theme of the competition is London 2012. Interpret this how you want. The winning design will also be part of an exhibition at the Tate Modern’s new Oil Tanks space on August 24th, where TSP will be taking over the space with Cut family member ISYS and NTS Radio. Send your A3 sized JPEG of your design to info@thisisthecut.com with TSP COMPS in the header. www.t-shirt-party.co.uk
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PULL ‘EM UP GIRLS! HEADS WILL ROLL
GWANZINE If you haven’t seen the uber-hip GWAN-zine yet, then where have you been? One hyper-colour dose of London freshness served up by North London residents Lauren Brown and Sophia Sabados that will have you wishing you were part of their gang in an instant. In the words of the girls who make it, the ‘pictorial zine that focuses on the spectacle of today’s youth in all its glory’. One of our favourite features is YCGODLT (You can’t go out dressed like that!) something every girl should hear her parents say at least once in her life before she steps out into the dark London night. God, that sounds a bit ominous…
While the sunshine is in full force, step out in knee-high socks and shoes. Heads will roll. Who’s afraid of nobbly knees? Not me! The knee high socks look is still going strong. Us Cut girls got our best socks and shoes on and ventured into London’s transport jungle. TFL4LYF. Red Brogues – Doc Martens |Green Socks – Converted from Gloves | Red School Shoes – Doc Martens | White Brogues: Portobello Road Army Shop Leopard Print Creepers – Camden Market | Black & White Trousers – Camden Market | Speckled Socks – Urban Outfitters | Tiger Print Socks – Topshop | Patent Black Loafers – Russell & Bromley | Red All Star Converse – Office | Long Red & Blue Stripped Socks – American Apparel | Platform Clogg HeelsStylist’s Own | Knee High Yellow Stockings – Pierre Cardin Photography by Iona Azure, Nellie Owusu Styling by Amelia Dimoldenberg
Curly to Straight with MorrocanOil 1. Shampoo and condition hair using MoroccanOil shampoo and conditioner. Finish with a cold rinse to keep the hair smooth. 3. Apply a couple of pumps of MoroccanOil all over the hair, concentrating on making sure the ends are coated. 3. Rough dry gently to get the roots dry or use an afro-pik attachment. 4. Use a medium round brush and nozzle with the hairdryer on high heat and high speed and use a scooping motion at the roots to allow for more tension to get the roots really smooth. 5. Finally straighten the hair with a good pair of flat irons applying maximum tension but take it slow and be careful not to pass the irons over each section of hair too many times. 6. Finally finish with a light misting of MoroccanOil shine spray to make it look and feel ultra silky.
Now the duo have come together with Tyula White, to bring us the new ASOS boutique GWAN X TYULLERY, which allows shoppers to buy garments featured in GWAN magazine and jewellery from the brand Tyullery. Spend some ££ well: https:// marketplace.asos.com/ boutique/gwan-x-tyullery Get lost in the GWAN Tumblr: http://gwanblog.tumblr.com/
Text by Sapphire Lewis Photography by Sumaya Yasin and Priya Balachandran
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CSD
ChiCken S h o p D at e
CSD PIFF GANG This week the Hip-hop collective Piff Gang (Phaze One, Super Dertie, Relly Rellz, Skout, Don Silk, Prince & Skitz) took me to Nandos. I was really excited. Some may call me promiscuous for going on a date with the seven members of Piff Gang. I call you jealous. We were meant to be meeting at 6, however after half an hour sitting alone in Nandos I began to realise that the P in Piff Gang did not stand for punctual. Have you ever been on a date to a chicken shop before? R Yeah course everyone has, if you haven’t, well then you’re not from London. Don Silk (DS) Well this isn’t considered a chicken shop Skout (S) It’s a glorified chicken shop. DS No, it’s not even a
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glorified chicken shop- it’s become like that cause back in the day Nandos was the wave you get me. Anna the waitress, as her name tag reads, interrupts the interview with plates of chicken. DS Look you’ve got the same name backwards! Anna did not reply. Did you make an effort to get ready for this date? I hope you did. R You’re talkin’ about 45 minutes, I started with the moisturiser, had a shave and then I had a pedicure. Confusion quickly turned into awkwardness as I had to explain that our time at Nandos was something more than friendship. DS Your hair looks nice …thanks
If the whole of Piff Gang was dying in a fire who would you save? You can only save two. DS Ah crooked heart times Skitz (SK) I would save Jonny and Silk, because Jonny would drive me home after our awful time in the fire. DS I’d have to save lil Callum. Remember everyone else dies. DS We all die eventually R I’d pour petrol on the fire! …Suddenly the mood was quite morbid. Describe Piff Gang in three words. In Unison Wavey. DS Trill S and Pizzy. If your music was a piece of chicken how spicy would it be – to Nandos standards? DS Real Hot! SK Nah you see I don’t want it to burn my mouth, so I’d go for the medium – just a little tingle.
Could you please rate this…glorified chicken shop out of 10. DS This is not a chicken shop so it can’t be rated. Have you enjoyed our date? DS I’ve enjoyed meeting you, not the chicken. S There’s too many man, we need some more girls in here. Remember when you come for a date with Piff Gang you have to bring at least 10 girls minimum. Can I join piff gang? DS You have to get Piff Gang tattooed on you, so we know it’s real. Thank you very much, SK Do we kiss now? Find out more about Piff Gang here http://piffgang.tumblr.com/ Text by Amelia Dimoldenberg Photography by Nellie Owusu
D
Chicken Shop Date IT’S NATE CSD
ChiCken Shop Date I’m not a thief. No I’m not a thief; I’m not a bully, none of those things. It’s just to do with like, I know how it can be perceived yeah- but it’s just to do with achievement and stuff like taking opportunities. No stealing involved! If your music was a piece of chicken what would it be? That’s quite funny. Um hmm what piece of the chicken would it be, rahh alright hold on, if my music was a piece of chicken it would probably be like oakham, farm assured – home reared.
Nate, otherwise known as “It’s Nate” is one of the most promising London rappers I have ever had the pleasure of going on a date with. “4 wings and a coke please boss” he said, I ordered some chips (which I paid for myself) while he went to get a table – I could tell this was going to be romantic.
Organic? No! That’s the thing it wouldn’t be organic though, a blend of some sort cause I’m like a city boy — fuck it, my music would be like, a KFC bucket.
Your name stands for never ask take everything, does this mean you’re a thief?
*Phone rings* Alright bruv I beg you call me in five minutes, I’m in a chicken shop.
Do you get fan mail? Do I get fan mail? No fan mail – can you send me some? Course Safe. Do you get fans that are male? Haha, I’ve had a couple brothers been like “Yo your shits ill”. I saw some of your t-shirts on your tumblr- can I get a free one? When they’re coming out, they’re not even out yet – I’ve only got two but you will definitely get one. When are they coming out? In a year maybe, next year, maybe even this year I don’t know. Would you get mad if I used one of your t-shirts to wipe chicken off my hands? I wouldn’t get vexed at all; I would use my t-shirts to wipe chicken off my hands.
Have you enjoyed this date? It’s been amazing, hope I’ll see you again. *Blushing* Could you please rate the chicken out of ten. Wow, for greasiness I’ll give it 8, goodness- well it’s not very good for you so 2 and for satisfaction I’ll give it a 6. Will you invite me on another chicken shop date? Yeah but we’ll go KFC next time. Thank you very much. Wait, I would touch your hands yeah but I’ve got chicken on them. Find out more about ITSNATE here: http://neverasktakeeverything. tumblr.com/ Text by Amelia Dimoldenberg Photography by Clio McLeary
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MUSIC TANYA LACEY “…it’s so good to see a movement of real artists coming through, and to be a part of it just feels amazing.”
I wrote ‘Letter To My Ex’ with. I have a really good rapport with the American producers as well as the UK producers like Frazier T Smith and Labrinth – so I’ve been really lucky. Speaking of Labrinth, you and him worked together before all the fame. How does it feel to see him doing so well? I’m so proud of him. Do you know what it feels like – back in the day when Tweet, Ginuwine, Missy and Timbaland- when I used to read about how they came up together. It feels good because it’s real. Talent will always prevail. I worked a lot with Emeli Sande before as well, so it’s so good to see a movement of real artists coming through, and to be a part of it just feels amazing. Random fact? I’ve written singles for some major pop artists coming out next year. There’s been a gap in the market for a female songstress from the UK with the talent and looks we often see produced by our American counterparts. Tanya Lacey has both. The Cut recently caught up with the rising star to talk music, life and coming up from the grassroots..
journey has just been really authentic from the start. My manager found me in Bristol and we both decided to take the leap and move to London and just literally worked our way from the bottom to where we are now. It’s all about earning your stripes as a new artist, you know?
How did you make the transition from a girl in a small reggae band in Bristol to being discovered by Sony? I was working with some local guys in Bristol, and I was also doing gigs and stuff around Bristol with a good friend of mine called Jay who is now in my band, so the whole
Do you write all your own material? Where do the topics come from?I do co-writes because I have loads of concepts and ideas and stuff for tracks.
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Who are your main musical influences? People like early day Fugees, Lauryn Hill, Mary
Can you give us names of these artists? Nope …I’m not giving you nada! J Blige. I also love the old school 80’s hip-hop scene especially the New York scene. Slick Rick, De La Soul…A lot of the album was made in New York which was amazing because I really got to draw from those influences in terms of the beats we were using.
iPhone or Blackberry? iPhone! …Sorry ping gets no love from me!
Have you been working with any big producers? Yeah, I worked with Dallas Austin in Atlanta and an amazing producer and writer called Novelle. In New York I worked with WD and a guy called DJ Camper and Jared Cotter who
Oh yeah one last question… What’s your favourite magazine? The Cut! (Laughs)
Trainers or Heels? Wedges …I like boots or wedges. Bristol or London? Ahhh you’re out of order! Brondon! (Laughs)
Twitter: @TanyaLacey Facebook: Tanya Lacey Official Text by Dwayne Gordon-Harris Photography by Ashleigh Jadee
MUSIC JOSH OSHO
Josh Osho is a twentysomething Londoner with so much soul that he could probably lend some to today’s shameful flurry of dry music acts and still have enough left to revive the dead. Describe the transition from being a normal guy to being signed. On a day to day basis it’s still pretty normal so the transition’s more like a mental transition between doing what I do now professionally as opposed to doing it just because I want to. That’s where the transition is more than anything, a creative transition. Darkus has signed a lot of major artists, what was it like when you first met him? It’s kind of surreal. Based on predetermined ideas I have of a label or industry person, specially being the head of the label, he was not what I expected. He’s a pretty normal guy so that was a bit weird, but in a good way. You did a track with Ghostface Killah. How did that come about? I sat down with Darkus when I first signed to them and we were just having a normal conversation, not really on
a creative level, just getting to know each other. He was asking about my musical inspirations and I named a lot of different artists but we spoke about hip hop for a little while. Different names came up and we spoke about Wu-Tang. Based on that conversation, and after finishing the record and hearing the different undercurrents of hip hop in there, he phoned me a few months after that and said “What would you feel like if I told you Ghostface wanted to do Redemption Days?”. He played him the track and he liked it. So who were some of the other names you named as inspirations? Tracy Chapman and Ben Harper are probably my biggest two from an early age. U2, Mos Def, Wu Tang as well, Sinead O’Connor, India Arie, Donny Hathaway etc. Your dad was an ex-boxer, have you picked up any of his moves and have you ever used them? Well, if you ask an
“First step is this album and to get people paying attention to me. And then I wanna take a bit more time out to live again…” awkward question we’ll see. (I crossed off all my awkward questions after he said that, then he laughed it off as a joke but it was too late. I only had normal questions left) (I crossed off all my awkward questions after he said that, then he laughed it off as a joke but it was too late. I only had normal questions left) How do you look after your voice? Do you have a routine? I’m actually quite OCD about warm ups and stuff like that. I don’t like singing without doing it, not because I couldn’t but just because it’s like a mental thing, there’s like a pattern I have to go through before I sing. As well, I’ve heard so many scare stories and I get anxious about my thing so I just do bare warm ups.
Has singing ever got you in trouble? Just at school, when you’re just singing in class. And once I was busking at Hyde Park Corner at Speaker’s Corner and the Muslim guy beside me, preaching what he was preaching, didn’t like it and we got into a bit of a debacle. So what’s your 5 year plan? First step is this album and to get people paying attention to me. And then I wanna take a bit more time out to live again, and then get my head down and write the second album. I think I’ll get a bit more experimental with my second one. I haven’t really thought about five years ahead. Two years? Two years? Still nothing. Tomorrow? (laughs) No not yet. I’m just taking each day as it comes. He’s clearly not joshing. Follow his day to day www. twitter.com/joshoshomusic Text by Marvin Alvarez Photography by Sumaya Yasin and Priya Balachandran
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MUSIC SCORCHER
OTHER FACIAL TATTOOS
1. Drake fangirl
2. Lil Wayne
“It’s a bit different when you’ve got kids and bills to pay. We do a lot of things for the love…”
North London MC Scorcher came down to The Cut HQ to have a casual chat with me. Even though he almost crippled my hand with his tight grip, I remained optimistic because he’s hot. N: I saw on Twitter that you were looking for models to be in your music video – am I good enough to be in your music video? S: If you hit the casting, most definitely. N: Are you going to release any more Fuck Radio sets? S: I dunno man, I won’t even lie to you and say yeah, YEAH! You probably did things when you were young, you probably used to ride a bicycle or ride rollerblades. You don’t do them so much now?
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N: No I still do… S: Okay, well as you get older some things change innit. Spending however much we used to spend just to do a fuck radio set for free and have to write lyrics for months just to do a set for two for absolutely no financial benefit. It’s a bit different when you’ve got kids and bills to pay. We do a lot of things for the love, like the remixes. When we do the remixes we try to bring everyone out together, put out free mixtapes, we try as much as we can try man but some things are a lot and to get all the different people in the same place as the same it’s not always easy. N: So if a fan came up to you and said “I can’t afford to buy your single but I love your music” what would you say to that? S: I’d say “thanks for supporting my music, man”
N: You wouldn’t hold it against him? S: Nah! There are fans and there are supporters. If you support me, that’s great. If you’re just a fan, you like whatever you stumble across, I’m fine with that. You wanna go check my stuff out on youtube? That’s great. I’ve got nothing but love for them. Say I’m at a show and they say that, I’ll buy them a drink, I wanna take a picture with them put it on my phone so yeah I’ve always got time for them. N: During the raunchy scene in Top Boy, did you have a double or was that actually you? S: Nah that’s me…I do my own stunts. N: Are we inferring something happened there? S: I do all my own stunts N: Oh my. Have you had anyone approach you and say “hey I saw you on Top Boy which led me to listen to your music”? S: I was surprised, there’s so many people that pay no attention whatsoever to urban music that recognise me as Kymani. They have no understanding of the scene, they don’t care about the
3. Mike Tyson (and Pigeon)
4. Gucci Mane
Tinchys and the Chipmunks or Skepta or anyone. – Just Channel 4. You’re so used to being in your own bubble. If someone knew about me, I would assume that they would be referring to music. But there’s so many people that see Kymani. It kinda just shows that there’s a distinct difference in the music audience and television or movie audience. N: Would you say it’s a good or a bad thing? S: I think it’s a good thing because it allows me to shine a spotlight on. I think a lot of people were surprised when I did a warm up session. There were so many people that were like ‘wow he raps?!’ so that’s a prime example. After we were done he shook my hand again, this time it was a nicer grip that didn’t inflict pain upon me – a softer touch. It made me think that somehow, I had left an imprint on his heart. Text by Nellie Owusu Photography by Sumaya Yasin and Priya Balachandran
MUSIC YELAWOLF
“The greats of the game right now are just 40 or over 40, that’s just how it is and I’ve got a long way to go.” Ever wonder what Yelawolf was like before his odd collaboration with all-inone folk artist Ed Sheeran? The Cut spoke to him about his skateboarding past, early adventures as a slum don in Hollywood and why Wu Tang are legends and Odd Future aren’t. Welcome to London, you’ve only been here for several hours, how are you finding it so far? The movies, the double decker buses and little cars. All the streets, the cloudy overcast, it’s already rained. It’s like I thought it would be. People are really cool, most of them are really nice. Did you have any idea of the size of your fanbase outside of the US before you came out here? I had no clue, I would get tweets once in a while from
the UK. The first time I made a connection was actually through Lady Sovereign; that was like MySpace days. I didn’t know what to expect out here but you gotta build it up, you can’t just come out here and all of a sudden you’re somebody, you gotta earn it. Any more Outkast collabos in the works? Ah man, I grew up on records from Outkast, the Dungeon Family period you know. I grew up on ‘em and they’ve all gone on to become incredible artists so one day hopefully I’ll land a record with…Cee-lo maybe. Is skateboarding behind you now? Could you have made it as a skateboarder? At my peak, when I was 18 years old throwing myself to stairs and skating rails and just trying crazy shit, I could’ve possibly got in a situation had I been filming back then, but as I started to get hurt I just started digressing, skill wise. I could still skate and do
tricks and shit but I don’t do no gnarly shit. I wouldn’t try and do shit now that I know I could do. If you stop trying crazy shit for a while you start to lose your balls to do shit. Many rappers now tend to be in their early 20s when they get signed. You got signed quite a bit later, do you think maturity played a part in your first major signing? I signed to Columbia when I was 27 and we spent those next few years grinding out. We signed again with Interscope and Shady. I like to think that I represent a group of timeless artists with timeless music. I grew up listening to older artists and artists who wanted to imitate older artists, you know? More mature music. I grew up on Lynyrd Skynyrd etc. There’s a culture of kid’s music right now that’s kinda pulled the blanket over people’s eyes when the root of all of that is more mature you know. At the end of the day the more rooted mature music will last. The greats of the game right now are just 40 or over 40, that’s just how it is and I’ve got a long way to go.
You’re performing with WuTang soon, how does that feel? Well I performed with Rae once in ATL but this is the first time I’ll be performing with the crew so it’s gonna be a blast. At one point it was Wu-Tang and Outkast, pretty much all we were listening to. How do you feel about OddFuture being labelled ‘the new Wu-Tang’ by the younger audiences? They’re doing their thing you know, the beats are crazy, they’re crazy writers. Wu Tang did something that would never be done, they’re a group that cannot be imitated or recreated in any fashion. I mean they took over the world with brilliant music and… they just did something that no-one imagined could be done. So they’re incomparable but OddFuture definitely have their place in the game. Finally, if Radioactive was a skateboard trick what would it be? It would be a switch tre’ nose grind fakie tre’ out. That’s a big plan by the way! Radioactive is out now Text by Marvin Alverez Photography by Ahmad Graida
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MUSIC LONSDALE BOYS CLUB
“…we were all going to this space on Lonsdale Road to play guitar music, took it over and built our own studio there…” Where does the name Lonsdale Boys Club come from? We all met in north west London and we all shared a guitar teacher, and we were all going to this space on Lonsdale Road to play guitar music, took it over and built our own studio there so, if there is a club, our studio is the club.
Last week I interviewed the up and coming band The Lonsdale Boys Club. I was pleasantly surprised when Charlie, the band’s lead guitarist, walked through the door at the exact time we were suppose to meet (as I have had problems with other artists and their ability to keep time in the past).
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Was it Gary Barlow personally who asked you to join his label? Yeah, because Future is a small label, and they sort of have a quota so they bring one new artist in each year and they had actually already found their new artists for the year. But then they heard out song through Facebook and we got asked to play a few of our songs acoustically to Gary. After that we got signed.
If you had 10 pounds to spend in London on a day out, what would you do? Rent a DVD and get a Nando’s pitta. So you like Nando’s I love Nando’s. You’re supporting Olly Murs on tour, but what’s your opinion on talent shows? Um, I think, I don’t have a problem with talent shows, I just think that they have become a pastiche of themselves lately and unfortunately the real talent gets saturated by a lot of the other. (The interview is momentarily interrupted by the less punctual half of the Boys’ Club walking through the door)… So yeah I think they’re great if they are showcasing the right talent, but some people just go out to take the piss.
Snog, marry, avoid: Rihanna, Jessie J and Pixie Lott? Um I’d marry Rihanna, snog Jessie J, actually no...actually, yes I’d snog Jessie J and avoid Pixie. That’s harsh. Yeah that’s politics, you have to write down that I didn’t want to avoid Pixie Lott, it’s just how it happened. And again but this time for Susan Boyle, Cher Lloyd and Ann Widdecombe? I’d shag Ann Widdecombe, I’d marry SuBo and avoid Cher Lloyd. At this point, the interview turned quite awkward as I had never actually used the word ‘shag’ in the question; it was ‘snog, marry, avoid’. However, I guess The Lonsdale Boys Club must really like Ann Widdecombe. To find out more about The Lonsdale Boys Clubs click here
And onto the topic of fashion. Pink Crocs with white socks or lime green UGG boots? Lime green UGG’s...actually no we’ll go with the pink Crocs.
http://lonsdaleboysclub.com/ Text by Amelia Dimoldenberg Photography by Sumaya Yasin and Priya Balachandran
MUSIC COVER DRIVE “The UK can expect our own unique sound of carro-pop, it’s fun, it’s fresh, and it’s exciting. We try and bring our Barbados sunshine to the rest of the world.”
How many successful artists do you know that have come from the beautiful country of Barbados? Rhianna? Yeah, that’s all we came up with as well. But a new pop sensation is about to emerge from the south Pacific. Meet Amanda, T-Ray, Bar-Man and Jamal, who all are _ of the new pop band Cover Drive. The Cut met up with the ‘Lick Ya Down’ stars to talk about everything from first dates to their famous fellow Bajan. So your band consists of three boys and one girl- just like the Black Eyed Peas. Have you ever been compared to them? Amanda Yeah, we’ve been compared to them before and every time that happens it’s just a great feeling because they’re an amazing comparison. We’re different in some ways because we all play instruments, but we would love to be as big as them. One of the main ways that you attracted attention was through the ‘Fedora sessions’ videos. What exactly are they? T-Ray We got the name for the videos because of the Fedora hat, I love them. I have about 20. Then we put some covers up on YouTube and called them the Fedora Sessions and that’s how it all started out. We posted our cover of ‘Hey Soul Sister’ by Train, which was our very first cover. From that we got interest from Universal records in the UK and Sony in the US
What was your favourite song to cover? T-Ray Individually we have different favourites. My favourite is ‘Do It Like A Dude’ By Jessie J Bar-Man Mine is Ceelo Green ‘Forget you’ If you could collaborate with any artist from the Fedora Sessions, who would it be? Jamar I’d say Jennifer Lopez, because she’s hot. And you all have loads of pets… T-Ray I have two lovely, fat dumb rottweiler’s called Rocco and Rumour. Amanda I have a dog called Maximus. He is literally the size of my shoe! Where’s the best place to go on a first date? Amanda Well, I don’t know about best place, but I know the worst place to go is Nando’s! Because when you go there, you just lose all sense of decency when you get stuck in to the food there your hands get completely covered and you think ‘please don’t judge me!’
Amanda, as you are a female singer from Barbados, has Rhianna influenced your style? Amanda I think Rhianna opened the door for lot artists out of Barbados and she’s a huge inspiration, her career is amazing, everyone would love a career like that, so it’s really encouraged me to work hard. You’ve performed at (80s reggae legend) Eddy Grant’s house. What was that like? Jamar He is awesome; he’s like the equivalent to our Yoda. He lives on a huge plantation and he just comes across as really calm and peaceful. When we met him, it was like he was floating on his magic carpet and saying ‘Hello Cover
Drive, how are you doing?’ T-Ray He’s really our mentor and he gives us such great advice. What type of music can the UK expect from Cover Drive? Jamar The UK can expect our own unique sound of carro-pop, it’s fun, it’s fresh, and it’s exciting. We try and bring our Barbados sunshine to the rest of the world. www.wearecoverdrive.com Text by Fraser Simpson Photography by Edward Kagutuzi
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MUSIC CASTRO
“There is way too much segregation in this world and it only takes a few positive and ambitious people to come together and change the way things are seen and done.”
The Cut caught up with Castro, one sixth of rap collective D-Fam and the co-founder of StarzUp revolution. Why the name Castro. Anything to do with Cuban leader Fidel Castro? From secondary school I called myself Castro, not for the fact that I share views with the Cuban dictator, but I took the way he handled situations and incorporated it into my life: ‘Leadership, power, taking everything into my own hands and sharing equally with those around me.’ How many tattoos have you got? I currently have 144 all over my body. My favourite is my neck piece; I have the StarzUp hand sign at the bottom of my neck and the way it’s done has a 3D effect, love it! Who is your musical inspiration? Nowadays I would most definitely say Jay-Z. Seems a bit cliché, but the way
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he carries himself is more like a president instead of just a rapper, so his music, business savvy & persona make him highly influential to me. You are also the co-founder of the StarzUp revolution. What exactly is that? StarzUp is a positive movement that I’ve created to help try and bring people together to work toward a common goal. There is way too much segregation in this world and it only takes a few positive and ambitious people to come together and change the way things are seen and done. StarzUp means anything in life is achievable as long as we are willing to work hard in order to achieve it. The youth of the UK is regularly in the nation’s media, but for the wrong reasons. What do you make of that, especially as music is partly being blamed for contributing to bad behaviour? Even though we hate to admit it, music has a profound effect on the youth, especially in the UK where a lot of young people
come from broken homes. This means they have no role models, so they listen to music where the artist is speaking about the same situations they go through. The artist is not 100% to blame, but many rappers/Grime MC’s in the UK glorify that street lifestyle as something to be proud of instead of reporting on what goes on and telling their fans that there is a way out. Your brother is part of So Solid Crew – did you find it hard living up to his reputation? Yes, my older brother is Kaish from So Solid, my older cousins Megaman & Swiss are also part. Definitely, the success they had is extremely hard to mirror. But I was 14 when they came out, so watching them actually gave me the inspiration to know that this was possible, so I started to take music much more seriously.
caps are now back in style so I thought, why not? At first I was buying caps with other logos on and got tired of promoting them for free, so I researched and spoke to the right people to get it done. The StarzUp snapbacks will be available in the new year. Shortly after the interview, Castro and a few other Cut journalists got approached by muggers. The petty thieves obviously had more brawns than brains, trying to mug the 6ft twenty year-old with 144 tattoos. Suffice to say, Castro came out on top. Follow him @castrodfam www.castrodfam.com
And apart from being a musician, you also have your own range of snapback hats… I’ve seen how the snapback
Text by Fraser Simpson Photography by Edward Kagutuzi and Nellie Owusu
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