Name:Mister U Country:United Kingdom State:London Gender:Male
Interests:Music, just passionate about music, playing my guitar, reading, sport, games, organising parties, watching movies, where do I find the time for all this?? Expertise:Jack of all trades and master of none...
Hey all, been a loooooong while since I updated this. So sorry!
Anyway, my time blogging might be coming to an end soon with some new projects. Squat is still going strong as usual, and now I've become a CD reviewer with one of my favourite sites, www.411mania.com. I'm also hoping that they'll give me a weekly r'n'b column as well, where I'll discuss news, opinions, and new tracks etc. If so, then I'm pretty much gonna stop blogging, since 411mania has a huge readership, and is desperately in need of some more balanced music coverage, as the site is very rock and hip hop centric at the moment.
So for now I'll leave you with my updated playlist. Adios!
People often ask me why I refuse to play certain songs. Terrible I know since I'm supposed to be a DJ, but there's always good reasons:
1. The song is shite (Crank that Soulja Boy youuuuuuuuu are shite!)
2. It's played out (Be faithful Crooklyn Clan, your remix of "Love like this" is just rinsed!!)
3. Erm....I don't have it in my collection
Now I know this is rather controversial, but a lot of this is due to my age. I grew in a golden age of r'n'b, when good soulful tracks were getting pumped out every week. The music was more fun, more energetic, and had more meaning. In these times a lot of new music are a bunch of wannabes with a copy of Cubase pimping their tracks out on the internet. If Soulja Boy had came out 10 years ago he would have been laughed at and sent packing back to the music school, but modern urban music is so bad that kids don't really understand what quality music is about. (Sorry Corey and Shaz, I know you guys like it but I will always hate Crank That). Music has devolved to a point where the most simplistic of beats and over amplified rapping can make you a hit single.
This may sound like a terrible rant, but the only other option is that I'm getting too old for this shiet. Which I really don't want to consider right now.
Moving onto my second point, a lot of songs have been rotated so often that it's just boring to hear them now. Examples are: Jump Around, Be Faithful, Tokyo Drift , Crank Dat (again), Put your hands up for Detroit. RINSED OUT! I always try and stay away from songs that have just been played constantly - I believe that if I can find other ways to get the crowd hopping it will make me a better DJ. Obviously its easier for me since I don't gig as much as other DJ's, but that's my choice. I want to make every set I play memorable for the right reasons. I've started to push out brand new tracks to educate the punters, and I always throwback a bit of classic old school to remind people of what good music is. It seems to be working so far. There's a bigger meaning behind of all this, but I'll save it for another time.
Allow me a moment to gloat: I've been hearing a lot of the new tracks I've been pushing out on the radio two or three weeks after I've debuted them in clubs. So remember, you've heard it here first!
Just as I promise to revive my blog, I don't update it for a month. Good start eh?
Anyway, its been a super busy month for me. Started a new job, parents been and gone, and plenty of gigs played and upcoming. I've been reflecting on DJ life a lot recently. While chatting with my good pal DJ Nibbler we were discussing how long we've been in the game and how long we got left. I'm 28 now, and I'm thinking that I've probably got a shelf life of 4 years tops before I start to get too old to DJ. The biggest problem with getting old is not the skills or the time - it's keeping up to date with the new music. Even at my age, I'm already out of touch with what the kids are listening too, and it kind of hurts. Two of the biggest stars out there at the moment are Soulja Boy and L'il Wayne. For the former, everyone who knows me knows how much I hate "Crank That". As for L'il Wayne, I really can't see how this guy deserves to sell over a million albums in less than a month. I forced myself to listen to his album all the way through, and apart from one or two gems, its very average.
The two albums I've been listening to recently are Cherish - "The Truth", and the self titled effort from Day26. If you didn't know, Day26 is the group formed from the tv series "Making the Band 4". The album has actually been out for a couple of months, but I went back to it recently after only skimming through it at the time of release and it's a lot stronger than I realised. "Got me going", "Since you've been gone", "Come in" and "Exclusive" make this album worth the charge alone. As for Cherish's album, there's loads of quality on this, but it seems to have slipped under the rader. Check out "I ain't trippin", "Before you were my man", and my personal favourite "Amnesia" which is a killer slow jam.
Anyway I figured out how to upload my recently playlist so have a gander!
Yup. I think its time to return to Xanga once again and give my adoring fans what they want......more of me!
Just kidding! I've actually decided to revive my Xanga because I haven't written anything about r'n'b, hip hop or DJ'ing for a long time. All my writing has gone into Squat for the past 18 months, but now I feel like I need to get back to my roots a little bit and do something that isn't always about Chinese music. Anyway, some thoughts on the artists and albums that have been shaking the music world recently.
Usher - Here I Stand Quite a few people have said this is a disappointment. Personally the major disappointment was "Love in this Club" as the first single. I absolutely hate the song and I wasn't expecting much from this album. However, "His mistakes", "This ain't sex", "Something Special" and the title track "Here I stand" are urban classics that push this album into the must have category. Especially "Something Special". I just love that song!
Mariah Carey - E=MC2 CRAP!!! Yup, this album is rubbish. A major disappointment to say the least.
Ashanti - The Declaration I'm kinda torn with this release. I think its a decent pop/r'n'b album that should sell pretty well - Ashanti is very marketable because a) she's hot, b) she can sing, and c) it's been absolutely ages since her last album. With the majority of r'n'b fans yearning for a return to the old skool, this is good timing for her to come back. However I've listened to this album about five or six times and I cannot remember any of the tracks on it, which is never a good sign. If you're a super fan pick this up, otherwise I think you're better off saving your cash.
Estelle - Shine This is a critic pleasing album for sure. However, urban fans won't find much to appeal here, it's definitely a sound that will appeal more to the pop market. She tries really hard to be Lauryn Hill, mixing in a variety of different themes, and even trying to sound like her at some points. I respect Estelle for what she's done, but unfortunately for her this album is a contradiction by its very existence. She recently complained that white artists cannot produce black music that she can relate to - however I would say her music is far more accessible to the white pop market.
Well that's it for now. Here's my retro tune of the moment. Watch out!
