A Quietus Interview
Glenn Branca
Black Sky Thinking
Is The BBC The Enemy Of Hip Hop?
Is The BBC The Enemy Of Hip Hop?
Adam Narkiewicz
, June 26th, 2008 00:00
Last week amongst the detritus thrown at UK rapper Lethal Bizzle by the audience at Download was a banana skin. Forget about this though - a bigger problem facing UK hip hop stars, argues rapper/writer Adam Narkiewicz is the media itself
Just over a week ago (that's about a year in Internet Time) a rapper called Lethal Bizzle played a British Heavy Metal festival called Download. And he got bottled.
Surprise sur-fucking-prise, right? About a couple of years ago 50 Cent received similar treatment at the rock-centric Reading Festival. And if Noel Gallagher has his way, the same thing will happen to Jay-Z at this year's Glastonbury. No mind that Jay-Z is one of the most important artists of his generation - in the UK, he's mainly known for that Annie sample. Regardless, the announcement of the dude's headline slot received a shitload of press, so you can imagine the thought process in booking Bizzle for Download. All press is good press, even when there's a big wad of racism involved (see last year's Celebrity Big Brother). And racism was what was going on here right?
Right.
Well, not quite.
Like really, what was Lethal Bizzle doing at a metal festival? Anyone that's seen him knows the dude puts a serious amount of energy into his live show. His beats are hard. Shit, he's even got a few guitar riffs in there these days. But he is not, by any stretch of the imagination, metal. So was that crowd reaction racism? What do you think would have happened if they'd put Patrick Wolf on? The kid would have gotten holes put through his face. I imagine he'd have been called a faggot, but I wouldn't take this as evidence of rampant homophobia in rock crowds. It's more the effects of the all encompassing social and cultural segregation and ignorance that is still, in this dark year of our Lord, 2008, standard.
Bizzle wins over the Download crowd
Bizzle did get a banana skin with "black cunt" written on it lobbed at him. "That's pretty shocking," admits Tego Siegel, an artist manager and rap journalist. "[But] if there are 1000 people in England in one place how many of them are going to be racist? Realistically it's going to be more than one. If an idiot took that opportunity to act upon his ignorance then he's pathetic. The branding of the whole festival as racist is pretty weak though."
"I wouldn't say there was a racial element to what most people were doing, I really wouldn't," wrote Bizzle in The Guardian. "I know the history of Download and that it's really central to the metal scene, that the fans are passionate and protective of their music."
Which is true. Sepultura, for instance, have a black frontman, and they do fine at Metal festivals. Because they're metal. As do God Forbid and Skindred. Because they're metal. To a lot of Download attendees, Bizzle was the antithesis of everything they stand for. This is because they do not know Lethal Bizzle. This because Lethal Bizzle isn't allowed in their world.
POW! The song that was so badass it got banned in Essex in 2004
"With maybe two exceptions in Dizzee Rascal and Roots Manuva, black music is seen as being ignorant, shallow and soulless," says Tego. "There's no infrastructure for grime or hip-hop outside of a few radio stations that are barely listened to and a couple of TV channels that actually seem to go out of their way to make grime and hip-hop look like the most ignorant, pointless music in the world."
The BBC will tell you it's an equal opportunities broadcaster. They've got numerous presenters of varying skin tone, and, shit, they've got 1Xtra, the black music digital radio station, dedicated purely to music of colour. A specific colour, mind. When V2 released Bizzle's 'Babylon's Burning The Ghetto', a song I produced that sampled The Ruts last year, they had to release it as a double A-side with the traditionally grimey Bizzle Bizzle - 1Xtra wasn't about to play a rap song that sampled guitars. And Radio 1 wasn't about to playlist any grime. And Bizzle, as a black artist wasn't about to get on Radio 1 playlists without a 1Xtra cosign. Confused?
Akira The Don and Bizzle shoot the shit
"When you are literally tailoring your music to specific sub-divisions of radio broadcasters you're in trouble," notes Tego. "How can the art be taken seriously when as an artist you have to bend over backwards, fuck yourself twice and eat your own shit just to be heard by white audiences?"
So 1Xtra, the BBC's barely-heard digital radio station serves as British black music's very own ghetto - if you adhere to the rules, maybe you'll get played there. And if you're making a video, you'd better adhere to the most self-destructive stereotypes you can muster, or Channel U and MTV Bass, your only outlets, could probably ignore you. And don't try playing any gigs, unless you're supporting white people. They'll most likely get cancelled.
Babylon's Burning Down The Ghetto - but is it the 'white' version or the 'black' version?
"In 2002-3 I tried my hand as a promoter and actually wanted to bring hip-hop music to the indie kids in an indie world with an indie atmosphere," says Tego. "We had a venue ready to go in the West End, we had acts on standby, we had branding, we had concepts, we actually had partnership from the main hip-hop magazine in Britain and one of the key indie websites at the time, but at the last minute the gig was pulled because a government letter went out to local councils who forwarded them on to local venue managers telling them not to promote any hip-hop nights that summer."
"It's funny how when you have punch-ups at a rock gig they call it moshing, but at a hip-hop show it's a riot," Bizzle mused when I spoke to him about this late last year.
"Actual music fans in this country want Lethal Bizzle, they want Dizzee Rascal, they want Roots Manuva," says Tego. "If you offer Dizzee to 6Music listeners, they react, Xfm and 6Music are responsible for pushing Roots Manuva, The Streets and Dizzee Rascal into the space that they're currently in but since then the creation of a Black ghetto at the BBC and MTV has made it very, very difficult to cross that boundary.
"Dizzee was quite vocal around the release of his last album that he was struggling to reach the fans in this country that took to him on Boy in da Corner because he was being sectioned into a world that is way too small for his talent and his profile. So when Lethal Bizzle tries to step out of his remit, his ghetto, he gets abuse to the extent that he got it at Download Festival."
This is something the Bow born overground star of grime alleged himself last year: "The word that keeps getting used with me is 'polarise'. 1Xtra is the station for the blacks. Nothing really ever makes it off there on to the main station. It boxes it all off, man. That's what polarises people."
Divide and conquer has been Neo Labour's modus operandi all along, and nowhere is it as apparent as in the music industry. The New Era fitted caps and low-slung jeans combos sported by white kids all over the country are testament to the mixed-genre outlook of the Youth Of Today, but those tastes are outright denied by radio programmers and concert organisers.
"Can a Tinchy Stryder single work next to a Good Shoes single? Absolutely." says Tego. "It does, it's what they're playing in the indie clubs around the country, but the system currently does not allow that to be possible. On the mix shows perhaps, Zane Lowe, Annie Mac, Bobby Friction, MTV 2 maybe, but when it comes down to it, as a hip-hop fan in Britain I would not be hearing metal, indie or anything with a guitar, you simply would not hear it in your world... as an indie fan I'm hearing very little hip-hop music and as a metal fan I'm pretty much hearing none. Is that racist? Probably."
Andy Abrahams: So terrifyingly black he needs his own radio station?
The BBC response
The view of the BBC, perhaps obviously, couldn't be more different. The Quietus put the issues raised above to George Ergatoudis, Head of Music BBC Radio 1. Ergatoudis was keen to have it announced that he was “very close to black music” because he had started KISS when it went legal in 1999, said that 1Extra was “absolutely, categorically not ghettoizing black music”.
When asked - in a week that had seen senior BBC Non-Executive Director, Samir Shah accuse the BBC of having a failing equal-ops policy and of being run by a “metropolitan, largely liberal, white, middle-class, cultural elite” " if 1Xtra was ghettoizing forms of UK urban music such as grime and dubstep, he refuted it emphatically.
He said: “That’s fundamentally wrong. You can look at Radio 1’s mainstream output and Radio 1’s specialist output. We had ’Police On My Back’ by Lethal Bizzle on our B-list play list last year and we added Tynchy Stryder yesterday. We’ve had strong support for Dizzee Rascal for many years now.”
When it was pointed out that Dizzee Rascal had stated categorically that he found it harder to get mainstream coverage now because of the effect of 1Xtra, Ergatoudis said: “Dizzee Rascal right now is enjoying being on our A-list.”
When informed that The Quietus was of the opinion that having a specialist black station was a step backwards towards the knuckleheaded days of US chart segregation into Rn’B/Hip Hop and ’normal’ music he concluded: “Absolutely, fundamentally not. When 1Xtra launched people were really worried that this was going to happen. They thought that it would be an excuse for Radio 1 not to play black music but it’s fundamentally not the case.”
He also added that people just had to check Radio 1’s play list this week to see how much the station supported black music.
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Derek Walmsley
Jun 26, 2008 6:40pm
Jun 26, 2008 6:40pm
Some truth and quite a lot of bluster in this article.
Of course Dizzee Rascal is going to insist 1Xtra isn't big enough for his talent – that's him minding his own interests, pure and simple. However, for the dozens of grime MCs who get played on 1Xtra every week, they might have a different opinion on whether it's ghettoizing them.
As for Bizzle, he has more or less entirely left his roots behind in favour of a much poppier sound and jumping in to bed with almost anyone who will do a collab with him. Good luck to him (genuinely so, and I'm sure this will help) but it's not entirely surprising he finds himself something of a figure of fun (nor that he's a mixed success at a supposedly metal festival).
Sure, Radio 1 should play more grime, and there is a semi-racist side to this. It's a wider, institutional problem.
The more general problem is the dire state of Radio 1, more or less a bastion of light entertainment these days (in contrast to the more weightier concerns of, er, Radio 2). You could argue this is a case of people disliking music of colour, but it might be more appropriate to say people just like bland, washed out music. Bland is the only colour allowed.
Thing is of course, 1Xtra has done extraordinary things for grime and dubstep. It's been absolutely instrumental in fostering these forms of music. The BBC still does extremely good work in places.
jonny mugwump
Jun 26, 2008 6:47pm
Jun 26, 2008 6:47pm
Lets throw the net much wider- forget the BBC and lets check out the real demons- music journalism (not including your good selves of course).
Come on- lets face it- every week Q does its 100 greatest albums of all time- maybe Miles will get one in there, Hendrix too and Marvin Gaye but ONLY the social Gaye, not the sexual one. Hip Hop- don't make me laugh- maybe Public Enemy, possibly De La Soul and that will be it. Let's add Uncut, Mojo etc etc. And sure there are specialist journals but this is about the mainstream.
Remember britpop- a load of utterly apalling retro guitar bands with fucking union jacks living in 1964. The Gal*****rs for fuck's sake. Rave and Jungle were the true heirs to that title- original and birthed from multiracial artists, all of them BRITISH. There has been no change since then.
The NME maybe? hahahahaha
Music journalism rarely ventures beyond some kind of english lit BA. They need dumbass floppy-fringed lyrics set to crappy nerdy piss-poor derivative guitar music. Music journalism has NEVER been an equal opportunities employer.
Check Kanye West- he has social issues so he gets coverage and look at what a lazy jerk he is. Even today's article by andrew mueller highlighted the legion of shite spawned by Camper Van Beethoven.
I remember when Melody Maker put the black A.R.Kane on the cover back in 1988. Lowest selling issue ever.
Twice this week you guys have tackled issues around hip hop for good and for bad and you are to be commended for it. In the year that grime (which is supposedly dead) has chucked out two utterly fantastic albums (Riko's The Truth and Trim's Soul Food Volume 3) there is much to celebrate. Keep going and fuck the magazines :)
Hugh
Jun 26, 2008 7:21pm
Jun 26, 2008 7:21pm
The most depressing part about all this is the huge depth of ignorance shown by people on the Download forums:
http://forums.downloadfestival.co.uk/fb.aspx?m=2780807
Dear Jesus wept, a large number of them seem to think that because the articles say that some racist people threw things and gave racist abuse, it somehow means that they're all racists. I love metal, but damn, do I hate stupid metal fans even more.
jonny mugwump
Jun 26, 2008 7:50pm
Jun 26, 2008 7:50pm
actually, to just qualify some things i said above- not that hip hop or anything needs the media AT ALL- its hardly some obscure genre after all.
There is a wealth of excellent blogs that deal with hip hop, grime, dubstep whatever with a super-high standard of theory and writing.
So these genres don't need the coverage, either content to flourish underground or be huge without help. The shame of it is the ignorant policy that could make music coverage in the media so much MORE than what it really is...
Tim Russell
Jun 27, 2008 2:14am
Jun 27, 2008 2:14am
This would suggest rock fans are becoming less, rather than more tolerant. As a regular Reading-goer in the early 90s, I saw Public Enemy, Gravediggaz, Credit to the Nation and Cypress Hill all going down a storm with the indie/rock kids.
Richrdjamesuk1981
Jun 27, 2008 11:17am
Jun 27, 2008 11:17am
Well, first of all I am not a fan of Lethal Bizzle (I prefer Dizzee Rascal because he is interesting lyrically and music wise) but I don't think he deserved what has happended to him at the download festival.
My issue is and I don't care what anyone says this country has and knows how to promote indie and pop music , and thats it.
For the music industry it's easy and doesn't take much work. It is one of the reasons i left the industry as i was sick of artists constantly being not promoted properly. Even back catalog artists are the same and don't get me staretd on world music-which most labels are shambolic at promotion.
Hip-Hop, Soul and other more black genred themes , struggle and most are independent, or mainly done through the live circuit.
When i was growing up, I loved all types of Black music, funk (Funkadelic), Rock (Hendrix, Living Colour, Fishbone), Folk, (Richie Havens), Jazz (Miles Davis),Reggae (Bob Marley, Peter Tosh), Afro Beat (Fela-Kuti), and world music, Soul (Stevie wonder (though in the 80's was pop), Hip-Hop (A Tribe Called Quest,Public Enemy, Credit to the Nation) but the trouble is since Hip-Hops metoric rise, most forms of other black music has been put on the back burner, this is due to the US utilises Hip-Hop for selling large units, i.e. Public Enemy (they sold alot of units-don't believe the hype!), to Dr Dre and to late artist such As Jay z, 50 Cent, Kanye West and now Lil Wayne (sold a million in the states first week).
So in the UK we listen to mostly American music-i prefer US msuic but i still think it's unfair, in France 70% of music on radio must be french, we need to do that here, why don't we?!
As we do pay a licience fee for BBC radio station through our TV licience.
1xtra has tried to help, but can also be seen as a double edged sword, and sometimes widens the gap more then narrowing, sorry it does, why don't they play more Black rock groups and other music their are some out there, maybe not many but still fair is fair.
An example recently
Leon Jean Marie is a Island aritst at Universal, guy can sing, play mutiply instruments, but radio and music televison won't play him to A list as he is a quote 'Black guy playing white indie music', and not being rude the guys msuic is good, not some shoddy sh*T like David Jordan, who was embarrassing.
Now Bloc Party and TV on the Radio has Black lead front men and the Nosiettes have a Black lead female vocalist but are they accepted on Urban radio stations or Black music video channels-you can answer this too..and even on mainstream radio- Bloc Party are, but TV on the Radio are one of the best bands out there, but don't seem to have much overall radio coverage.
All music should be played to enrich the mind, but it won't be until both sides of the coin accept and play each others music.
Also Black music which is on the mainstream radio is POP it is different, though the call it R&B?!?!
But for me journalists also don't help on general, like jonny mugwump said the Q 100 greatest albums, not many black artist have albums there or very high up in the lists.
My favourite top 100 albums only 8-12 features in most lists, but my list would is very different, and is more down to individual tastes.
But the crux to this is until people are more ingrained to a mix of music on mainstream radio, nights out, TV and so on then it will always be an uphill struggle.
Louis
Jun 27, 2008 11:20am
Jun 27, 2008 11:20am
The Bizzle thing is a difficult one. My gut reaction is that it's just an example of the rock festival tradition that says it's OK to bottle the shit out of the band or artist (be it 50 Cent or Daphne And Celeste) that doesn't quite fit the event's remit. Sure, US hip-hop crossed over with UK rock audiences last decade, but grime still has a way to go - for rock/metal fans it's still the music listened to by 'chavs' (awful fucking word) or 'hoodies' (ditto) or at a push, indie 'hipsters' (that too), and therefore probably music to align yourself against, not with. The manner in which some members of the crowd did decide to demonstrate this was, patently, racist but I'd like to think this was more circumstantial than evidence of any serious inherent racism. Maybe I'm just naive, but I hope not.
For what it's worth I recall indie crowds had a pretty negative attitude to Bizzle early on, partly through a distrust for grime, but partly because his attempts at crossover seemed quite craven. He's got a lot better at it and while I still don't think his grindie records quite hit the mark (I'm still looking forward to the Fire Camp album to be honest, should it ever appear) he's got it working live for sure.
I don't buy the idea that the BBC or 1XTRA is racist and I think Ergatoudis makes a reasonable case for his defence. The corporation is hamstrung by the fact it has to balance being a populist station AND attempting to support new music in an age when media is moving towards specialisation, catering to niche audiences, etc. This might be a problem, if it weren't that audiences are more flexible too; I doubt anyone flicks the dial to 1XTRA and stays there, but I'm sure it's an occasional port of call for many, particularly thanks to Listen Again. I'd rather have a rack of specialist stations like 1XTRA that try to do their job right, rather than one supposedly populist station that, in attempting to please everyone, ends up resorting to tokenism.
Rich
Jun 27, 2008 11:30am
Jun 27, 2008 11:30am
Hm. In a UK context it's more helpful to think of grime, dubstep, whatever less "urban" music (ahhh, now that's euphemistic) more *very specifically* London music. There are literally millions of people across the country who couldn't care less that MC Stabby is the stabbingest and you'll get stabbed so bad if you should happen to cross his path or how him and his peergroup drawn from his neighbourhood are amazingly skill at both doing the sex with girls and then stabbing the girls. Seriously guys, enjoy your local music scene, but don't kid yourself that it has any relevance to anyone outside of the capitol.
And that also applies to stunt-booking hip-hop artists into unsuitable festivals. Yes, it's ugly and shit that the audience reacted like they did but as you point out, if you go to a metal festival then metal you crave. What, honestly, do you expect to happen? Would a grime night book a metal band?
Bored of Dictators
Jun 27, 2008 12:03pm
Jun 27, 2008 12:03pm
Didn't Glastonbury begin as a rhythm and blues and jazz festival? And aren't there several stages full of non-Beatles inspired toss and insipid plod rock revivalism? And isn't Maxi Jazz one of the icons of Glasto? There're enough festivals and radio stations with acts as diverse as Fratelli's and The View being trumped as the saviours of "pop" by aging students, desperate for a night drinking lager with Liam and Patsy, on the set of Big Breakfast, with the cast of The Word hanging in the background, smoking Bensons & Hedges bummed off of Paul Weller. White powder is the new white power and othersuch mantras.
Louis
Jun 27, 2008 12:05pm
Jun 27, 2008 12:05pm
Totally disagree with the idea that dubstep is specifically London music - I've probably seen more live dubstep outside the capital than inside it (plus this very week I got this album Analog Clash, a double CD compilation of US dubstep, most of which works pretty well). Grime might be specifically London music but to suggest it's of no interest to anyone outside London is like suggesting that reggae is of no interest to anyone outside of Trenchtown.
And you leave MC Stabby alone, I'll happily rep for his breakout hit 'Stabby Stabby' as being one of the finest grime twelves of last year
John D
Jun 27, 2008 12:35pm
Jun 27, 2008 12:35pm
I've been to grime nights in Manchester.
I've picked up a lot of dubstep in Piccadilly Records.
John D
Jun 27, 2008 12:38pm
Jun 27, 2008 12:38pm
For the record: I don't think 1Xtra is racist or intentionally unhelpful. But, as with Radio 6, no one listens to it. R1 is fucking dogshit but it nearly always has been.
I've commissioned a piece in defence of 1Xtra and that will run early next week.
AK
Jun 27, 2008 12:50pm
Jun 27, 2008 12:50pm
Cosign Jay dee there.
I fucks with 1Xtra. More on youtube though, oddly.
Re Jay Z at Glasto, Roots ManoovAH made a good point in an interview recently, in which he asked what the reaction to eminem playing would have been.
Totally cosign the music journalism point as well. Select was my favourite mag in the 90s as it was the only one that covered Menswe@r AND the Wu.
stu
Jun 27, 2008 1:03pm
Jun 27, 2008 1:03pm
Just a quick point, not sure how relevent it is to the discussion, but a lot of provincial white middle class metal fans (and I should know, been a provincial white middle class metal fan) associate things like grime, drum and base and dubstep with the provincial, white middle class and working class kids that beat seven shades of shit out of them most of the time. I hate the word chav, but whatever subculture that word is supposed to represent, stereotypically hate metal, as do the 'indie' fans (or guitar pop), the club circuit goers (18 - 25 middle class types that love R. Kelly and friends, they typically refer to it as 'headbanger shit.')
It's an ugly stereotype, one that I try to correct, but I'd say in irony it's Bizzle's association with certain white subcultures that earned him a bottling at Download.
Louis
Jun 27, 2008 1:20pm
Jun 27, 2008 1:20pm
I dunno, is the listenership to 1XTRA that bad? RAJAR says 500,000. Sure, next to the 8 million people who listen to R1, that's not much, but for a station with shows playing stuff that might sell 2,000 copies on vinyl, it's not too shabby either.
Also, does that figure include Listen Again? Given most of the specialist (ie good) shows are on late I reckon that's where most of the action is.
thesvenhunter
Jun 27, 2008 1:27pm
Jun 27, 2008 1:27pm
I think the real issue you're all avoiding is when are Gorgoroth going to get played on Radio 1?
Never: that's when.
As usual, the only people truly discriminated agaisnt are white, middle class, aryan males.
Disgusting!
jonny mugwump
Jun 27, 2008 1:37pm
Jun 27, 2008 1:37pm
Re: the above comments about dubstep and london- i'm with Louis- that was OVER a long time back. The best Dubstep Allstars for a while, compiled by Bristol's Appleblim is predominantly made up of Bristolians, Germans and the Dutch. And, arguably our finest DJ right now, Kode9 is all over the globe every night.
However Louis, DJ stabby is WAY over-rated- you need to check out MC Nun-Chucku from the Partial Tarts Kru.
Richardjamesuk1981
Jun 27, 2008 4:39pm
Jun 27, 2008 4:39pm
Also Jay-Z performing at glastonbury, now would he get bottled.
Perhaps not, but he may if he perfomed at Reading, you never know, but their is a difference in talent too. Jay-Z has obviously worked with rock gorup Linkin Park and did the Grey Album with Dangermouse (well not really collaborated but it is intersting!), so he was alwyas willing to cross-genre.
NAS has done the same and Kayne has worked in many different styles and will continue to do so, Coldpalys next album i beleiev will be produced by him. The Strokes and The Rapture by Pharrel and Timbaland respectively..
N*E*R*D trys to broaden what they do to, listen to the new album..
Dizzee when he performs at festivals doesn't have trouble. Why is this, well an idea, he never tried to term himself he came from the Grime scene and left to move on and tired to broaden his music, which he hasn't yet matched the success or critical acclaim of his debut but their is still time.
Dubstep is a good scene and is not constatuted to london only, Bristol has a massive scene, but the genre needs a hit song in the mainstream to become very popular like Roni Size did with D&B and Artful Doger did to get garage to where it got to. But if this happens it will become mainstream, which is where msot of the producers of it don't want it to go, as at the end of each decade their is a dance msuic genre what blows up, maybe dubstep isn't it.
But for me Reggae is always a genre that bubbles under and makes little appearnaces ever so often, Santogold's new album showcases soem and if grime, Hip-Hop and other artists snatch onto it it would do well as it has universal aappeal and sales, and in Japan the worlds largest digital legal download market Reggae is huge!
Plus one style i never see very much is electronica music performed by a black artist or group, maybe this is where Bloc Party will go.
Plus other aritst never tried to term a new genre 'Grindie' , you see that already pisses people off, awho like indie music , and also those who like Grime, as in general apart from East London the scenes don't mix.
davidmc
Jun 27, 2008 6:48pm
Jun 27, 2008 6:48pm
I've never understood Download. It seemed to come out of that awful, aborted Monsters Of Rock 1997 idea where they were going to have a punk/indie stage and a dance stage. And the name of the festival is fucking crap.
I'd say if anything grime and dubstep get disproportionate airplay/magazine coverage considering how much the records themselves sell. Certainly if you compare it to the airplay/coverage of other niche but big-selling genres, like metal for instance, then those genres aren't doing too badly out of the media.
I broadly agree with louis' points re daphne & celeste/bizzle - its pretty obvious that's why he went down bad - but if there was any actual racist abuse going down then that's unforgivable; download is a festival for young people who consciously align themselves with vague notions being marginalised themselves, and they should know better.
Chris
Jun 29, 2008 2:27pm
Jun 29, 2008 2:27pm
50 Cent got bottled at Reading because he fucking sucked.
John Doran
Jun 29, 2008 3:59pm
Jun 29, 2008 3:59pm
Don't be fucking stupid. Otherwise The Offspring, Razorlight, The Darkness, Reel Big Fish, Drop Kick Murphys, Thrice and Taking Back Sunday would have been bottled off.
Historically it has only ever been music made by black artists (50 Cent/Steel Pulse), pop music (Daphne and Celeste) or bands with an androgynous image (The Rasmus/MCR) who get bottled.
It's typical of a lot of the little fucking scrotes that they'd sooner hang round and listen to music they don't like and throw stuff at the stage (in some cases seriously injuring band members, photographers and security staff) rather than walk for four minutes and watch something new at one of the other tents.
Meatloaf got bottled off once admittedly and he does suck.
Jack
Jun 30, 2008 1:08am
Jun 30, 2008 1:08am
What has 1Xtra done for dubstep? I can't really think of any shows on the station that play it regularly and certainly not before the scene "blew". Mary Anne Hobbs on R1 was the only place really pushing it and although I don't particularly like her as a DJ she did play a reasonably large role in its success.
Wouldn't say it's done much for grime either. Only had a semi-dedicated slot in Westwood for what, 6 months? You hear the odd bits and pieces in Cameo, Target and Ras Kwame's show but the sound was never really pushed particularly hard by the station.
John Doran
Jun 30, 2008 12:46pm
Jun 30, 2008 12:46pm
He'd do anything for love but he wouldn't do *that*.
David Harrison
Jul 10, 2008 1:00pm
Jul 10, 2008 1:00pm
Doran, you missed off Meatloaf and Bonnie Tyler, the masters that kicked off the the bottling off of bands at festivals.
I think Lethal Bizzle got bottled because he represents the gangy knifey bling culture. His show is very ego driven and they were the 'hoodies' before going on stage. And that there stabby killy look regularly intimidates and bullies middle class metal fans. Personally I am not a fan of bizzle, pretty sub interesting beats, formulaic raps and totally moronic MCing.
Unknown
Aug 27, 2008 11:52am
Aug 27, 2008 11:52am
In reply to Jack:
"Wouldn't say it's done much for grime either. Only had a semi-dedicated slot in Westwood for what, 6 months? You hear the odd bits and pieces in Cameo, Target and Ras Kwame's show but the sound was never really pushed particularly hard by the station."
This isn't true. Back in 2002 when the scene wasn't even on the radar for most people, grime already had its own dedicated show courtesy of Femme Fatale. Richie Vibe Vee played a lot of grime too, and when Cameo's show started at the end of 2003 (I think?) it was pretty much straight grime. The shift away from grime reflected the shift of the audience towards bassline and funky.
Likewise Jay Da Flex's show in 2002/2003 was one of the only outlets of dubstep during the scene's formative period.
Goldblade
The National
Vår
The Memory Band
The Focus Group
Neon Neon
News Headlines
Jun 26, 2008 4:46pm
By placing the YouTube link in the article you have successfully destroyed your own argument. It provides compelling evidence to suggest that the reason that no radio station would play that Lethal Bizzle single is because it is shite.
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