Not everyone in the photo made it to Australia for the first time, about 15 years after Wu Tang beat the shit out of the world scene… but some of them did, and from what we’ve heard from the Sydney event last night, it was enough to get the party started.

If you’ve not yet heard of Wu Tang Clan, well I wouldn’t really know where to start… so just go. do it. With some of the world’s most notorious emcee’s, and a big crowd of them at that (well not this time), there’s enough coming out of them to cover it all:

Wutang Clan – Triumph

Rumour has it that the crew was stripped back a little to RZA, GZA, Raekwon, and Inspectah Deck.

Personally – I don’t give a shit who turns up, it’s Wu man.

Mean

Melbourne tomorrow – Festival Hall – You can get your tickets ate Ticketmaster

…bs

Australian hip hop fans are blessed with the announcement of the massive ‘Low:Fi tour’ that will be traversing the country late October/early November this year. Featuring east coast hip hop heavyweight NAS, supported by the baritone himself Chali 2na of Jurassic 5, as well as turntable master Q-Bert and MC Supernatural, this is surely to be one of the biggest shows to hit our shores in 2009.

Long regarded as one of the best in hip hop, self proclaimed King of New York Nasty NAS heads back to Australia to headline his very own tour after supporting Kanye here late last year.  Since his 1994 debut album, ‘Illmatic’, regarded as one of the greatest hip hop albums of all time, NAS has remained at the forefront of the scene. Whether that be with his masterful flow and provocative rhymes, his well publicised ‘beef’ with Jay-Z (and subsequent reunion…) or the attention garnered by the controversial naming of his most recent album, there has been no escaping NAS’ impact on the shape of hip hop.

Coming through with strong support is the irrepressible Chali 2na of the now defunct Jurassic 5. Having just released his debut solo album, Fish Outta Water, the ‘verbal Herman Munster’ will be performing with a live band and is sure to entertain. Hip hop these days lacks such down-to-earth and laidback artists; having met 2na in Wellington back in 2004, I can honestly say he is everything that is right with the industry and is one of the nicest guys out, not to mention a solid performer on the mic and sure fire crowd-pleaser. No doubt he will be keen to impress fans with a combination of classic J5 bangers as well as decent collection of his new material.

Nas - I can

But it doesn’t finish there, the Low:Fi tour also features the MC/DJ combination of Q-Bert and Supernatural in a freestyle battle the likes of which you’ve never seen; a powerhouse pairing of arguably the most technically sound DJ in hip hop, and strongest freestyle MC in the scene. Qbert’s involvement in the DMC team The Invisble Sqratch Piklz in the mid 90’s (along with Mix Master Mike) positioned him as the world’s most respected hip hop DJ, and was subsequently banned from competing after wining 3 consecutive titles! He and two time U.S. freestyle battle champion MC Supernatural will amaze with their man versus machine, head to head, battle to the death that is rarely seen outside of the U.S.

Now, some lucky punters across the country are going to be fortunate enough to see all of these artists in one show, others, however, will have to attend separate gigs; let me spell this out to avoid confusion:
Sat 24th October, Adelaide – Summer Break, Rymill Park
(CHALI 2NA, QBERT & MC SUPERNATURAL ONLY)
On Sale Date: Thursday 20th August
Sun 25th October, Perth – The Aberdeen Hotel, Aberdeen Street & The Shed
On Sale Date: Thursday 6th August
Wed 28th October, Melbourne – The Palace Metro Theatre
(NAS ONLY)
On Sale Date: Thursday 20th August
Thurs 29th October, Adelaide – The Barton Theatre
(NAS ONLY)
On Sale Date: Thursday 20th August
Friday 30th October, Melbourne – The Esplanade Hotel
(CHALI 2NA, QBERT & MC SUPERNATURAL ONLY)
On Sale Date: TBC
Sat 31st October, Sydney – The Enmore Theatre
On Sale Date: Thursday 20th August
Sun 1st November, Stradbroke Island – Island Vibe Festival
(CHALI 2NA ONLY)
On Sale Date: TBC

And if you’re a Sydney dwelling hip hop and drum and bass fan, check out the link below, the above artists combined with some of the world’s best drum and bass DJ’s will surely make for one of the events of the year!
www.lowfi.com.au
Get your tickets soon as this will be one show you will not want to miss!

…Crack

If you think back to the last time the infamous “Rock The Bells” festival released their line-up in America, you might remember my little day-dream about bringing the most prolific hip hop gathering to Australia?  or maybe not in which case you can see it here. Well a few tours, headaches, and victories later for The Very Good Agency this still remains on the to do list… so imagine my surprise when I came across some cool cats in Sydney, who seem to have made a few more decent steps towards getting a case together for exactly that. You can check out the facebook group that they have created here and join if your into it.

The 2009 Press conference was held last month releasing yet again another awesome group of artists. Check it out.

2009 Rock The Bells press conference

So let me break that line-up down for you again if I may

and add the one’s not mentioned who are on:

]]> http://verygood.com.au/rock-the-bells/feed/ 0 http://verygood.com.au/che-fu-receives-queens-birthday-honour/ http://verygood.com.au/che-fu-receives-queens-birthday-honour/#comments Mon, 01 Jun 2009 12:03:35 +0000 Very Good http://verygood.com.au/?p=358 Congratulations goes out to Che Fu, or as he goes by his real name from time to time, Che Ness, who has had a laugh receiving a queens birthday honour addressed to Mr Fu. After replying with a simple request to please make it out to his real name, Che Kuo Eruera Ness, he now [...]]]>

Congratulations goes out to Che Fu, or as he goes by his real name from time to time, Che Ness, who has had a laugh receiving a queens birthday honour addressed to Mr Fu. After replying with a simple request to please make it out to his real name, Che Kuo Eruera Ness, he now receives the prestigious award in honour of his services to music in New Zealand. So Che is able to add yet another accolade to  the pile following his APRA silver scroll for songwriting, and his multiple New Zealand music awards for his solo work in which he is often backed by his wicked live band The Krates.

Dam Native feat. Che Fu – The Son

Throughout his amazing career he has been given some incredible praise from some of the industries finest talents including (among many others) Crowded House, and Chali 2na who praised him for having the natural progression of hip hop right, being as a master of his home territory first. I’m not sure how many hip hop stars around the commonwealth have been shouted out to by the queen though, so good on you Mr Fu, I mean Mr Ness, or is it Mr Groove?

Whatever it is…

shot bo

More Che Fu is at:

www.verygood.com.au/artists/che-fu

www.myspace.com/chefunz

…bs

“The law: in order to enter the Wu-Tang,
You must bring the Ol’ Dirty Bastard-type slang,
Represent the GZA, Abbott, RZA, Shaquan, Inspectah Deck,
Dirty Hoe getting low with his flow
Introducing, the Ghost…Face.. Killaaaaaaaahhh!!
No one could get iller!!”
(Ol’ Dirty Bastard, taken from ‘Da Mystery of Chessboxing’)

I spent about ten minutes trying to write an intro for this piece, when it struck me that Ol’ Dirty Bastard will forever have a better way with words than I will. Enough banter, Ghostface is coming to Australia! Original member of the legendary Wu Tang Clan, Ghostface (aka Ironman aka Tony Starks) will make his first ever trek out to this plentiful land to rock 5 shows across the country in June.

Ghostface first made his mark on the Wu Tang’s hip hop classic, “Enter the Wu Tang (36 Chambers)”, spitting venomous rhymes with smooth flows over The RZA’s gritty Shaolin inspired soundtrack. Groundbreaking it was, the hip hop world didn’t know what had hit it, and RZA’s Don-like management of the crew saw them go from little known to world dominators in no time; remember the Wu Tang clothing craze in the late 90’s, or Wu Financial on Dave Chappelle, ha!! Like most of the Wu family, Ghost has gone on to release numerous solo projects, the difference being his have probably been the most successful. He debuted with “Ironman” way back in 1996, having appeared on nearly every track of the acclaimed Raekwon release, “Only Built for Cuban Linx”, the year before. More recently he has signed with Def Jam and 2006’s “Fishscale” was well received and commonly noted as one of the best albums of the year.

A colourful character indeed, Ghostface regularly performed in a ski mask in the early days, this rumoured to be because he was wanted by police and didn’t want to reveal himself in public until he was cleared. Rumours also followed him in the late 90’s and early 2000’s, with speculation that he and 50 Cent had beef. Though rumours they have stayed, one such tale describes ‘Fitty’ getting thrown down a set of stairs by Ghost! Big tick in my books there, regardless of its accuracy.
Australian fans now get their chance to witness this powerhouse of modern day hip-hop live across the country backed up onstage by his fellow Theodore Unit artists Wigs, Trife, Du Lilz and DJ J-Love. Sure to be one of the gigs of the year, get in now and pick up a ticket before it sells out – fingers crossed that he brings some of the rest of the Wu Tang with him!

Ghostface Killah dates across Australia:
Adelaide, Tuesday June 23rd – HQ
Sydney, Wednesday June 24th – The Forum
Melbourne, Thursday June 25th – The Espy
Perth, Friday June 26th – Metro City
Brisbane, Sunday June 28th – Step Inn
Byron Bay, Wednesday July 1st – Beach Hotel

Check out Ghostface at:
www.myspace.com/ghostface

…Crack

Introducing De La Soul or explaining where they have been over the last 20 years seems a little unnecessary, in fact if you’ve not yet heard of them I think that you should go and sit in the corner and do your own research… or you can see them on their 20 year anniversary tour that stops through Australia and New Zealand in May

.

De La Soul Press Kit for ‘3 Feet High and Rising’

Australian Shows

Fri April 26 – Metro City, Perth
Fri May 1 – The Esplanade Hotel, Melbourne
Sat May 2 – Groovin The Moo, Townsville
Sun May 3 – Big Top, Brisbane
Tue May 5 – Metro Theatre, Sydney
Fri May 8 – Shores Complex, Adelaide
Sat May 9 – Groovin The Moo, Newcastle
Satu May 16 – Groovin The Moo, Bendigo

New Zealand Shows

Tue May 12 – SFBH, Wellington with DJ Marek
Wed May 13 – Lake Wanaka Centre, Wanaka with Sunshine Soundsystem
Thu May 14 – The Bedford, Christchurch with Stinky Jim and Sticky Fingaz
Fri May 15 – The Powerstation, Auckland with The Misfits of Science and DJ Sir-Vere

De La Soul - arguably the greatest hip hop group in the world’s history… It’s hard for me to say if The Very Good Agency would exist without them, or if I would be the person that I am today…

too much… honestly

see you in the front/fifth row if you manage to get a ticket before they sell out

You can check out more of De La Soul at:

www.myspace.com/delasoul

…bs

]]> http://verygood.com.au/de-la-soul-20-years-plugged-in/feed/ 0 http://verygood.com.au/dres-the-black-sheep-what-is-and-what-was/ http://verygood.com.au/dres-the-black-sheep-what-is-and-what-was/#comments Mon, 02 Feb 2009 05:42:03 +0000 Very Good http://verygood.com.au/?p=286 If your looking for the new flavour of the month fresh on the charts, then this article and even website probably isn’t for you. There’s a lot of great artists who have come and gone over the years leaving their mark on the scene since hip hop began to offer an alternative view of what [...]]]>

If your looking for the new flavour of the month fresh on the charts, then this article and even website probably isn’t for you. There’s a lot of great artists who have come and gone over the years leaving their mark on the scene since hip hop began to offer an alternative view of what is, and what it can be. I think about posse’s like Native Tongues which consisted on artists like De La Soul, A Tribe Called Quest, Jungle Brothers, Queen Latifah, Mos Def,  and I know that there are people who are beginning to listen to conscious music every day who have an interest in where these new artists draw their inspiration to create from. I get to surfing the internet and I think about an artist who has re-appeared more recently, Dres from Black Sheep.

Black Sheep as well as doing they’re on thing on Polygram Records, were affiliated with Native Tongues right from the early days, and so it’s no surprise to hear Dres recent solo work still delivering that old school flavour of beats with a positive spin, and enoyable perspective on current issues facing the world. Instantly being made aware of the style and quality he posesses’, I want to say that I was listening to Dres and Black Sheep’s music since their first release ‘A Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing’ back in 1992. I want to say that I saw them performing as the first hip hop group to play ‘The Tonight Show with Jay Leno‘, but although I may have and since forgotten, I have only recently given them any real attention after hearing a track that Dres released in 2006 called ‘Novakane Groove’.

What is
Dres of Black Sheep – Novakane Groove

I know I heard him on Handsome Boy Modelling Schools ‘White People’ Album on the track ‘First… and Then’ with fine production skills of Dan the Automator and Prince Paul.

and what was

Black Sheep – This or that

You can check out more from Dres and Black Sheep at:

www.myspace.com/blacksheep

…bs

CunninLynguists… can I get away with saying that? You can if you’ve heard of this three piece hip hop group consisting of Deacon The Villain, Kno and Natti (a later addition) from the southern states of America. Listening to Braille’s new album ‘The IV’ recently, I have been treated again to some of the production wizardry from Kno. Now 3 years since the release of their third album ‘A Piece of Strange’, I found myself asking… Where you at CunninLynguists?

Originally hearing their album ‘Southern Underground’ released in 2003, these guys marked a new generation of southern hip hop for me, which these days is too often full of childish hip pop (obvious exceptions like Outkast exist). CunninLynguists take a playful stance when making observations about the world, shedding light on the more serious things in life, while focusing on the simple pleasures in life. Working with some of the other more conscious and politically active names in hip hop including Cee-Lo, Immortal Technique, & KRS-One, Cunninlynguists have also shared the stage in 2008 with Australia’s own Hilltop Hoods for an

American tour. With some of the fastest raps, intriguing samples from all genres of music, sharp playful wit, and picture painting stories, CunninLnguists manage to cover most of the emotions that hip hop explores, and they do it with soul.

Soul and Gospel play a big part in CunninLynguists music, vocally and structurally, they even had an angel feature on one of their tracks ‘Seasons’ (Lauryn Hill). Their southern gospel influence is what truly separates them from other artists, the soul influences that stand out in both their music and lyrics creates an authentic vibe to their experiences, putting you in their shoes in such powerful pieces as ‘Rain’ and ‘Love’ feat. Tone Deff.

7 Years

4 albums

2 Official mix-tapes

1 Awesome group

CunninLynguists - KKKY

You can check out more of CunninLynguists at:

www.myspace.com/cunninlynguists

…bs

One of the hardest working live acts around is finally looking at settling down. That’s right; word on the street is that the world’s top hip hop band, the legendary Roots crew, will soon be taking up a residency on The Late Show with Jimmy Fallon. Having re-written the books on how to make hip hop, and, more importantly, put on a show, The Roots have developed a cult following amongst not just hip hop fans, but music fans in general.

It’s an unfortunate reality that lot of hip hop shows these days suffer from poor sound engineering; distorted vocals, and basslines that drown out everything else. The Roots, however, have mastered the art of performing live. Appearing on stage with Black Thought on the mic, undoubtedly one of the best emcees in hip hop history, a guitarist, keyboardist, beat boxer, backup singers , and the almighty afro-ed one, ?uestlove on the drums, The Roots put on shows that send chills down your spine.

America’s cult television talk-show, The Late Show , will be taken over by Saturday Night Live Star, Jimmy Fallon, in 2009. Fallon will replace Conan O’Brien, who is moving into Jay Leno’s spot on The Tonight Show. In a recent interview (posted on youtube but quickly pulled) ?uestlove said that The Roots would be retiring from large scale touring and become the house band from March 2009. Its a big move for the band, but he realises it’s the right time to do it; “I see the possible chance of this being a ‘bigger’ move … but on the real? I don’t know if I want to be 40, on the road and single no more. And with the kids my group has now getting older … it’s harder for the guys to leave more than it was when the kids were 2 and 3. And I can’t even start to go on that path till a woman takes me seriously. And ain’t no one taking a man serious who is in his own home for only three months out the year. I been in my crib since 2006 and I still ain’t unpacked everything yet.”

I personally, have never seen The Roots live, and therefore jumped at the chance when they were announced as one of the headliners for the 2009 Good Vibrations festival; they have been at the top of my list of ‘acts I gotta see’ for years. After hearing this news I’m now counting my blessings, as it seems this may be the last chance to see them for quite some time, if ever again, down this end of the world. So get your tickets now for your chance to witness the legendary Roots crew live on stage, the Sydney festival has already sold out and the others won’t be far away!

You can check out  more from The Roots at:

www.theroots.com

www.myspace.com/theroots

and get your tickets at www.googvibrationsfestival.com.au

…cracked

You might remember Bobby McFerrin from his smash hit in 1988 ‘Don’t Worry Be Happy’, or maybe from one of the TEN Grammy awards that he has received over his career, but like me you may not have given him much thought lately. From a musical family with his father Robert Sr Mcferrin being the first African American to be a regular in the New York Symphony Orchestra, it is no surprise that Bobby embarked on a musical pathway, the result of his exploration however cannot be understood by any influence or guidance he may have had, creating new realms of possibilty for artists to follow. On Saturday evening I was introduced to a video of a 2005 performance ‘Live in Montreal’ he held showing off his amazing talent for creating vocal pieces of art that defy logic and possibilty. His ability to fluctuate between four vocal ranges, combine accapella sounds with the beat he creates tapping on his chest, and the use of polyphonic sounds in which he creates 2 and 3 part harmonies from one vocal box are just extroadinary, and as for the musical pieces that he creates with these talents – they are just breathtaking…

Check it out:

Bobby McFerrin – Drive

As if his vocal talents aren’t enough, in 1994 Bobby Mcferrin was appointed creative chair of the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra and has made regular tours as the conductor for symphony orchestra including those from San Fransisco, New York, Philladelphia, Cleveland, Chicago and London.

Not much needs to be said when you have seen his performances, so I will leave those of you who are as inspired as I am can check out more of Bobby at:

www.bobbymcferrin.com

…bs