The Very Good Agency

4 3 2 1 – the K-OS YES! countdown is over

Countdown is up people! K-OS (a.k.a Knowledge of Self) has finally released his fourth studio album entitled ‘YES!’. (can I get an amen people)

After 3 amazing albums to date (‘Exit’, ‘Joyful Rebellion’, Atlantis Hymns for Disco’), we can expect another mash up of every style and sound experimented with to date, and of course his own banging flavour that puts him on the top of so many playlists around the world. K-OS confesses on his official web-site “I’m a historical opportunist who’s grown up on everything from Dylan to Marley to KRS-One… I’ve never seen myself as just a hip hop artist”, well as far as I know, this may be the best way to describe him to newer appreciators of hip hop in reality, as this is what true hip hop is really all about.

Here’s a wee taste of the new album…

K-os – 4 3 2 1

Can’t wait to get my hands on this album, and thankfully now I don’t have to.

If you haven’t had the chance to check him out before, you can catch up at our previous articles.

Looking forward to hearing the remixes he has included in the album too, should have attracted some pretty interesting submissions knowing the fan base he has around the world i’m sure.

Good times people.

You can check out  more from K-os at:

www.k-osmusic.com

www.myspace.com/kos

…bs

Tags: Funk, hip hop, Soul

True Live – Found Lost

Listen up kids… because following ‘The Shape Of It’, one of the greatest Australian hip hop albums of the decade, Melbourne six piece jazz, hip hop, classical, crossover group True Live have announced their new album release ‘Found Lost’.

With the album hitting the streets on April 4, True Live will play in Melbourne tomorrow night (March 10) if you can make it to ‘The Toff in Town’, before undoubtedly touring more extensively post release to give all of their new and old school fans a chance to catch their energetic live show (which is really responsible for this group’s massive reputation after a relatively short career so far). Maybe it’s the classical training and wealth of experience that these guys have that brings such a raw energy to their performance, or maybe it’s the breath of fresh air they promote from such an array of influences, but who really cares where it came from, all I care about is that feeling you have every time you walk away from one of their gig’s that you have worn your legs out from bumping to the madness they always inspire in any crowd.

True Live are unlike any other Australian crews really, and with the rumours i’ve heard surrounding the new release suggesting MC Rhyno has twisted their sound, with a heavier reliance on vocals as well as his traditional smooth rap style, maybe the new True Live will even be unlike True Live… if that can make sense? hmmm anyway…

here’s a look at the old True Live, and you can go from there I guess

True Live -Keep Myself Awake

nice huh

You can check out more from True Live at:

www.myspace.com/truelive

…bs

Tags: Australian Artists, Funk, gigs, hip hop, Soul

I-Nation Festival 2009 about to go off

People……. If you can remember/scroll back to an article on this site from last year, about the New Zealand musician/producer/all round nice guy: Mr. Oakley “O.G.” Grenell, then you might have already heard of ‘I-Nation’. If you haven’t heard of it yet, I would like to inform you about this legendary annual music festival held in Whitecliffs, North Canterbury. This years line up includes Very Good favourites like Tiki, The Little Bushman, Ladi 6 and members of shapeshifter.

I-Nation was described as “the outdoor party of the year” by one NZ magazine, which is a pretty big statement these days, with the amount of outdoor parties going on in NZ. So it basically goes down (and off) out in the bush with a mean-as sound system and family-friendly environment. As the official website states: “This year the legendary valley of Whitecliffs just 45mins west of Christchurch will once again host some of Aotearoa’s finest talent in Drum n Bass, Dubstep, Jungle, Funk, Soul & Breaks.”

There is less than three weeks to go and tickets are selling fast for the gig, which is expected by the organisers to sell out. If your not in the area to catch it, make sure you at least check out the website! It has some cool stuff, full information on all the artists, maps and a full run-down off the whole situation really.

Ticket Info:

$85 Tickets plus BF available from Cosmic Corner Stores NZ-wide or $100 Limited Gate Sales available upon entry.  Tickets can also be purchased online from www.cosmiccorner.co.nz/tickets – Children under 15 free with ID if accompanied by a parent or guardian.

When/where it’s at:

…Yossarian

Tags: Dub, Festival, Funk, New Zealand Artists, Reggae, Roots, Soul

Zap Mama

Maya Angelou – ‘Phenomenal woman’

“….its in the reach of my arms
the span of my hips
the stride of my step
the curl of my lips
Im a woman,
Phenomenally
Phenomenal woman
thats……”

.

From the misspelling of the artist “brandy” [during one of my youtube scavenger hunts] I was fortunate enough to stumble on this gem of a “oh heeellll yeah!” or else known as “Bandy, Bandy” by Zap Mama ft Erykah Badu.

Zap Mama and Erykah Badu – Bandy Bandy

Marie Daulne, the founder and leader of Zap Mama, was born in Republic of Congo the fourth child of a Walloon (French-speaking Belgian) father and a Bantu mother. Daulne was only a week old, when her father was attacked and killed by Simba rebels, who were opposed to mixed-race relationships. Pygmies rescued her family from the rebels and she pays homage to those pygmies in the song ‘Gati’ from the album, ‘Supermoon’.

With an eclectic history of influences including Etta James, Bob Marley, Run DMC & Beastie Boys to {Dualne and her sister’s} mother’s Congoan songs and French radio, Zap Mama was born.  This polyphonic, harmonic music has a mixture of heavily infused African instruments, R&B, and Hip-hop with a strong emphasis on the traditional African harmonies.

Two decades later, seven albums, collaborations with Talib Kweli, The Roots, Common, Bahamadia & Jazzyfatnastees, and tracks featuring on blockbusters like ‘Mission Impossible’ & the recent art film, ‘What about me?‘, Zap Mama can be explained in just one word…… “dope”.

Not only does this woman’s beauty make you blush, and her wails get you high, Zap Mama is an evolution of the soul who never fails to get you movin’ like …..

“…like Bandy Bandy (the snake), wave your body…“

You can check out more from Zap Mama at:

www.zapmama.com

www.myspace.com/zapmama

www.zapmama.be

Tags: Collaborations, hip hop, Soul

K-OS – Yes! remix competition

Woah!!!!!!!

I have seen a few interesting remix competitions over the years and I am usually not too surprised or interested when I hear about them nowadays, but I think this one has the potential to be truly awesome. There are not many artists on the scene today who grab me like K-OS (a.k.a. Knowledge of Self) I like the way he sings, I like the way he raps, I like the way he innovates instead of reproducing other peoples ideas, and now I like the way he has decided to get his community involved in his upcoming album ‘Yes!’ by releasing a bonus cd with 11 remixes from fans who decide to download the audio from his website and arrange them to their own liking.

The 11 remixes will be judged by K-os and two label representatives from ‘Universal’ and ‘Indaba music’ and released as a bonus album to ‘YES!’ which is due in the Canadian Spring of 2009. This competition is sure to bring some fresh talents out of the woodwork which I am really looking forward to hearing, if you want to get involved and submit a remix of your own, ten of the eleven tracks are ready to download at this address

So get into it, and have some fun!

and if you haven’t yet heard K-os check out the following track for a taste of his genius…

K-os – The Love Song

and you can check out more of K-os at:

www.myspace.com/kos

…bs

Tags: Blues, Funk, hip hop, Soul