DJ Grazzhoppa explains...

Ann Timmermans 4 da Grazz






Where does your name come from?
I picked the name because it looked good for taggin’ .changed the double s to z’s cause who wants “ss” in their name .lol
instead of “er” i used “a”,Herby Luv Bug gave me that idea in the 80’s.

How come you got infected with the hip hop virus in 1984?
By watchin “Wildstyle” & “Beat Street” i really got infected badly.
If it wasn’t related to hiphop i didn’t wanna hear about it .

You live, love, breathe hip hop. What exactly do you like about it?
The beats & scratchin’, the lyrics, graffiti, breakdancin’ & poppin’, i love all aspects of this hiphop universe. Also the fact that you can meet people all over the world and don’t really have to explain anything - it’s a universal connection.Also the fact that hiphop keeps innovating and re-inventing itself.

Now here's a tricky one... which aspects of hip hop culture sicken you?
Nothing really sickens me. i might not dig certain aspects of it but it’s all a part of the big picture.You need some Ying with the Yang.
You always have the choice to NOT listen to something but it’s all a part of it.There’s no law in hiphop and i like it that way. Everybody should be free to do whatever he wants, the crowd will decide in the end.

Are you as passionate about the other elements as you are about DJ-ing?
I was a writer & dancer before.Quickly i was more into makin the dancetapes (80’s electro back then) than actual dancin,that’s why i suck on the dancefloor LOL but i love to see poppers & breakers doin their thing.MC’s amaze me with their wordplay & energy.All elements have been perfected over the years and keep elevating to a next level over & over again.Graffiti art is insane right now compared to the 80’s.


Can you tell us more about working together with the love of your life, shiny lady Mo?
I love working with my wife,she’s so talented & amazing at what she does. Her lyrical skills and her knowledge about chords & arranging is phenomenal.She’s also a true performer you know,always keeping the crowd entertained. She’s my hero !

What's the Back to Scratch project based on?
Well basically we went back to 6 dj’s instead of twelve cause it was gettin’ hard findin gigs with such a massive group.But everybody is still involved.Almost all members have their own projects so we switch dj’s depending on agenda’s.Musically we go back to the core of hiphop.Dope beats ,cuts & having fun.Most compositions came out of freestyle jams we recorded.We listen back and use the parts we like and build songs around them.I like the fact that all dj’s have some musical input.So after touching jazz & world music we went back to hiphop cause we felt like it was needed .We are recording Back To Scratch so stay tuned for the upcoming release.

Which music inspires you?
All music can work inspiring .As a beatmaker i dig thru all kinds of records to find bits.so hiphop, jazz, funk, soul, dub, drum&bass, … depends on the mood i’m in i guess.

All time favourite tracks?
Anything by Donny Hathaway, Curtis Mayfield, Ultramagnetic MC’s,..

Favourite soul food?
my wife’s mac & cheese, yam’s ,Collard Greens (which we can’t get here), cornbread, i love italian food

Any last words...
Be on a look out for my new album “Intricate Moves 2” droppin’ on Chess Move Cartel (London) very soon.Stay tuned towww.grazzhoppa.com for more info.there’s a free download taster on the site.Also check out the Mo&Grazz album on there called “Gemini Remixed”, our 2nd album “Gemini” was remixed by various artists and is up for free download so Enjoy!!!
Also peep the True Masterz album “Tree Of Life” .i laced all cuts on there,beats by MighGawd & superb lyricism by JMega.
A new “Solid vs Green” (Smimooz vs Grazzhoppa) album is about to drop soon too.
Also i like to give a Shout out to: Praverb The Wyse, Reef Ali, M-Dot, BurntMD, Kwote1, Creme De La Creme, BLX, Smimooz, Jaba, CMC,
Thank you for this interview ,wish you all the best with the magazine.


STAY TUNED


Intricate Moves 2 - PromoMix
Dj Grazzhoppa - Partyrocka ft: K-Hill (beat by B.B.Z. Darney)
Dj Grazzhoppa - Wanted (beat by Blastah Beatz)

Reverse graffiti: battling against pollution and decay







This innovative art form consists of creating temporary pieces by selectively cleaning polluted urban surfaces. Armed with a high-pressure washer and stencils clean taggers transform dirty areas into unique biodegradable artworks.


Freed from built up dirt, designs, words, slogans, logos and images are formed by the white unsoiled bits in contrast to the dark tainted areas. Basically when you see these cheap reverse graffiti pieces you would think they were made with black and white spray paint.


Paul Curtis, known as grime writer Moose, was one of the first to use the reverse graffiti technique. This green graffiti pioneer used to work for the Leeds based Soundclash record label and discovered the immense possibilities of cleaning while dishwashing. Moose places stencils against surfaces and scrubs until they are clean using soap, a wire brush and a high- pressure washer to remove the dirt.This clean advertising artist had street branding contracts with Microsoft, Channel 4, Diego and Smirnoff but mainly sticks to his own art. One of the things he likes about dust tagging is to make people think about whether they appreciate clean walls or whether they simply have a problem with personal artistic expressions.


Brazilian artist and self-taught photographer Alexandre Orion(1978) put the first large scale reverse graffiti piece, a series of skulls, in São Paulo's Max Feffer transport tunnel.
Coming clean in street art can be dangerous. But who could object to positive, natural, creative street art? 


It's time for legislation to clean house as these artists are keeping it real.


www.foleygallery.com
www.alexandreorion.com


Article written by Ann Timmermans

Battle of the Year Braun World Championship Breakdance Montpellier





http://www.braunbattleoftheyear.com/boty-braun.html

What a man CAN be, he MUST be: reflections on self- actualization


Ann Timmermans


Happiness is in there, only to be found internally as it is a state of mind. Instead of blaming others or trying to change the world around us, we should change our minds to develop a positive mental condition. True happiness and complete independence are results of self-realization, of psychological growth and maturation.

( Guru ft Roy Ayers: Take a look at yourself: "Step back, analyze and use your own eyes to see. I can't be you, you can't be me. For your problems you can't blame no one else.")

Introspection( from Latin intro spicere: to look within), the technique of self-observing and examining inner activities, of reflecting on your memories, emotions and thoughts is the indispensable chief psychological method of learning about and of recognizing conscious and non- conscious mental processes. Briefly the key to knowing the true self. 

(Black Star K.O.S: "We keep it balanced with that knowledge of self determination. Knowledge of self is like life after death with that you never worry about your last breath. At exactly which point do you start to realize that life without knowledge is death in disguise. Knowledge of self determination. Stand in Ovation, cause you put the hue in human. Cause and effect, effect everything you do and that's why I got love in the face of hate") .

Self-reflection leads to better future actions and motivates to live up to one's own internal standards. 

( A Tribe called Quest The Remedy: Q Tip: "We all got different things we got to deal with. Sometimes I think people always want to put the blame on something else instead of looking at ourselves. But if we look within ourselves, we can prevent a lot of this nonsense sometimes. It's about relating back to the essence".)

The humanistic movement believed that humans are unique individuals who should be recognized and treated as such.

American humanistic psychologists Abraham Maslow and Carl Rogers developed and emphasized the psychological concept of self-actualization, which is a process of growing and developing as a person to fully use and exploit talents, to maximize individual potential, to become actually what one is potentially.

According to Rogers people evaluate experiences as positive if they enhance self-actualization and tend to seek these positive experiences.

Maslow described self-actualization as: " A musician must make music, an artist must paint, a poet must write, if he is to be at peace with his self. What a man CAN be, he MUST be". 

(Aloe Blacc: I'm beautiful: I'm gonna be the best me that I know how to be)

He believed that self-actualization is not just a human capacity but the highest human need in a hierarchy of needs. A hierarchy of five classes of needs( physiological needs, safety, belongingness and love, esteem and self-actualization) influence human behaviour.

As most people are preoccupied with what they do not have( deficiency orientation), Maslow advised to focus on what they do have(growth orientation). This orientation opens the door to personality growth and peak experiences, inspiring moments of intense joy, love, understanding and ecstasy. 

Maslow's The Farther Reaches of Human Nature( 1971) describes the eight ways in which individuals self-actualize.
1. Concentration: to experience fully, vividly, selflessly.
2. Growth choices: each decision is a choice of growth, to open yourself to
    new and challenging experiences
3. self-awareness: self-consciousness: know yourself. Take responsibility for
    your own negative mood, recognize feelings. Give a direction to your own
    development
4. Honesty: essential elements in self-actualizing are honesty and taking
    responsibilities for your actions
5. Judgment: follow your instincts
6. self-development: use your abilities and intelligence
7. peak experiences: think, act, feel clearly and accurately, more loving and
    accepting of others
8. lack of ego defences: drop them when appropriate

Self-actualized people have accurate realistic perceptions of themselves and the world around them, are motivated to help others. They tend to be open, unconventional and spontaneous, have a philosophical sense of humour and form very deep ties with only a few people. They need their independence and privacy. Self-fulfilled individuals have a childlike and fresh creativity and inventiveness.

Bear in mind that self-actualization is a never-ending process of making potential real. Try to see life clearly, utilize your capacities joyfully. Even simple experiences will be sources of inspiration and pleasure.

(Jurassic Five: Work it out: " Now if I know what I know you need to work it out. If you ain't happy with yourself you need to work it out.")


Article written by Ann Timmermans

Roots Manuva - 4 everevolution



London rapper and producer Rodney Smith released his fifth album, entitled 4 everevolution.( Big Dada/ Banana Klan) Crushing beats, clever rhymes, a unique British sound!


Tracklist:
1. First Growth
2. Here we go again
3. Skid Valley
4. Who goes there?
5. Watch me dance
6. Revelation
7. Wha' Mek
8. Takes time to
9. Beyond this world
10. Go champ
11. Get the Get
12. Crow Bars
13. In the Throes of it
14. Noddy
15. Much too plush
16. The Path
17. Banana Shank
18. Snakebite
19. Bustit

The Wonder Years album by 9th Wonder



Producer and DJ 9 th Wonder released his The Wonder Years album on September 27th 2011. An impressive list of MC's and singers worked together with hip hop professor Patrick Denard Douthit, known for his soul and jazz infused sound. He succeeded in producing another wowing record.


Tracklist The Wonder Years 9th Wonder


1. Make it Big ft Khrysis
2. Band Practice Pt 2 ft Phonte & Median
3. Enjoy ft Warren G, Murs & Kendrick Lamar
4. Streets of Music ft Tanya Morgan & Enigma of Actual Proof
5. Hearing the Melody ft Skyzoo, Fashawn & King Mez
6. Loyalty ft Masta Killa & Halo
7. Now I'm being cool ft Mela Machinko & Median
8. Never stop loving you ft Terrace Martin & Talib Kweli
9. Piranhas ft Blu & Sundown of Actual Proof
10. Peanut Butter & Jelly ft Marsha Ambrosius
11. One Night ft Terrace Martin, Phonte, Bird & the Midnight falcons
12. Your smile ft Holly Weerd & Thee Tom Hardy
13. No pretending ft Raekwon, Big Remo
14. 20 feet tall ft Erykah Badu & Rapsody
15. That's love ft Mac Miller & Heather Victoria
16. A Star U R ft Terrace Martin, Problem & EQ


Ann Timmermans

J-Live's fifth : S.P.T.A.



J-Live's fifth full length album Spitta is now available on cd and vinyl
( underground Thriple Threat label). S.P.T.A stands for Said Person of that Ability. 


The album features productions by RJD2, Nicolay, The Audible Doctor, Illastrate and J- Live among others.


J-Live explained that the album is about an inner conflict of the MC, producer and DJ.  A teacher himself, he's convinced that it is your duty to share your critical reflections, to teach and civilize.


Tracklist S.P.T.A. album J -Live:


1. As I start
2. From Scratch
3. The Authentic
4. Watch Sun Watch( ft underground Bronx MC YC The Cynic)
5. How I feel pt 3
6. The me and you( ft Anneice Cousin)
7. No time to waste
8. Pronounced Spitta
9. Life comes in Threes( ft Rasheeda Ali)
10. Great Expectations
11. Poetry in Ertia( ft John Robinson & Marq Spekt)
12. Home or Away remix
13. Half a Glass( ft Lyric Jones)


Ann Timmermans

Apogeic urban entertainment



German street art collective Mentalgassi represents fun in the streets. They develop their bright ideas together and inspire each other to share their temporary art with the world.

The artists easily succeed in transforming public space into a witty Alice in Wonderland like surrounding where astonishment is omnipresent and one doesn't cease to smile.

The three former graffiti artist core members expanded their range of media, growing into stylized techniques which are more likely to touch and surprise passers-by.
Highlighting overlooked areas and covering functional objects with large photographic wheat pastes. The majority of the used expressive faces posters aren’t watertight.

Street art installations such as the toilet photo booths, the Public Intimacy pieces or the wheat pasted ticket validators catch the eye, raise eyebrows, make you giggle, look back and giggle some more.

To call attention to the Amnesty International death row case of Troy Davis, the inventive Epicurean minds astounded London by means of their Making the Invisible Visible lenticular fence posters. Their self-evidence breathing work brings on emotions and reflections.

Apogeic urban entertainment putting a smile on your face whilst embellishing the long way to work, what more do you want?

Article written by Ann Timmermans


Invading space




An urban artist who was mad about computers started invading public space in form of mosaic game characters in Paris. He opted for the old, traditional and weather resistant medium because the tiny durable tiles represent the video games' pixels next to the fact that it's simply ideal to use on outside walls.

Space Invader( 1969, FR) catalogues his multicoloured tiling works, provides invasion maps and books.

His gallery work- Invader 's being represented by the Jonathan Levine Gallery- is somewhat different.

He manipulates and arranges Rubik's cubes to form outstanding gallery pieces.
His Rubik's cubism series include interpretations of music album covers, portraits of the Mona Lisa and the Dalai Lama, ... . He uses the mechanical puzzles as a painter uses paint.

His Imatrix pieces show genius thinking from a man who's obsessed by the digital world. When a picture from the digitally encoded piece is being read with a QR code/data matrix application the text "This is an Invasion" appears.

The Frenchman was arrested in LA( April 2011) carrying tiles and a cement bucket.
He has declared he is currently planning a museum invasion.


Article written by Ann Timmermans


Interviewing turntable master DJ Irie

DJ Irie, turntable master
How come you started DJ-ing at the age of fourteen?

I grew up in a small town called Heerenveen in a building complex. Over there we used to have a dance crew. And I started to make cassette tapes for us so we could practice. My parents used to have a turntable and a small record collection with stuff like the Beatles. That’s where I heard my first breakbeat (Sgt Peppers Lonely Heart Club Band). Me and the crew loved to dance to that part, although we had no idea that it was called a breakbeat at all. It just made us move. 
Around that time there were also 2 dj’s living in our neighborhood and one of them took me under his wing. We played 45’s of popular music like 2 Unlimited, Snap and other top 40 like that. I remembered always being more interested in the b-sides. The songs that were not so popular, remixes and such. One day this dj took me to play at a school party and when he left to go to the bathroom, he asked me to take over the decks. One guy asked me if I had any Public Enemy. At that time I had a copy of “Apocalypse 91…The Enemy Strikes Back” so I played “911 Is A Joke”. This totally killed the party and my mentor fired me after this! This is when I realized that commercial music is not what I wanted to do.
I actually started taking dj’ing more seriously when I joined my first rap group at the age of 16. But what really felt as the beginning of my career was when I entered my first dj battle in 1999 (Turntablized) 



You won many a DMC Battle( Supremacy and Solo). 

How come you prefer the Supremacy battles?


What I used to love the most when it comes to battling is being in someone’s face to diss him. I used to play a lot of basketball and I loved it cause I could trash talk and annoy my opponent in a direct way. So when I started battling I applied these same principles. In the solo battle there is no direct opponent, you battle everybody in one set. So I couldn’t diss anyone, look someone straight in the face while doing a scratch or beatjuggle, be intimidating. With the Supremacy battles it’s totally different since you do have someone to stand up to. I feel this is how a hip hop battle should be. One against one, man vs man. 


We were utterly gobsmacked when we recently saw your enlivening audio visual scratch show. Do you start with a certain concept or does it grow along the way? How much time does it take you to make an entire show? 

There was a time when I was a little fed up with turntablism. I had practiced my ass off to reach a certain level but the crowd most of the times wasn’t feeling it. They had no idea what I was doing and that got me really frustrated. So when I first heard that you could scratch with visuals I thought it was a great way to get the crowd more into my stuff. At first I started working with a visual artist because I didn’t had a video background. This process wasn’t a great success, mainly because the artist I was working with was quite lazy and didn’t share the same passion. After we split up I was really down to the ground for 2 days or so. Then I decided to take all that negative energy and transform it into positive energy. I started to cut and paste pieces of video’s, hip hop movies and youtube movies. When I first showed it to my friends they where pretty amazed by it so I kept on doing it and that’s pretty much where I am now.
So to answer your question: I do have a kind of concept and that is to give the audience something entertaining to watch and listen to. But I also heavily rely on mistakes and accidents. So the content of the show grows along as is goes. To make a show takes forever. It’s actually never finished. I’m always working on it. When I watch a movie I always have pen and paper in hand just in case I would hear a cool sample, so I 'd be able to write it down, look it up later and maybe incorporate it into my show.

What's your main aim when you're performing as a DJ?

I guess the main aim is to entertain people. I really hate it when artists go on stage and don’t consider the feelings of the audience. If you’re an egocentric maniac who wants to show off how good he is, I think it’s better if you just stay in your house and do art for yourself and don’t bother others with it.
As I grow older I find myself doing a little bit of teaching too. Although that’s not my main aim, it’s something I do feel strong about. It’s cool to show people a piece of movie or music that they might like and maybe look it up later. It’s a nice feeling to be able to broaden someone’s horizon. We live in a time of sharing knowledge. So with my art I try to share a little bit of mine.


The recent sequel to your first Hectic Eclectic mix(2008) consists of old school,  funk and soul tracks  as well as the uplifting Monty Python classic Always Look on the bright side of Life.  Why did it take three years to release this Hectic Eclectic 2.0?

A lot of things happened after the first Hectic Eclectic. I started doing the whole video stuff, started to play with a jazz band called Electric Barbarian and did a lot of shows with theatre group Ish from Amsterdam. This took a lot of my time and energy so I wasn’t thinking of doing mixtapes at all. Although the guys from The New Worck (they released both of the mixes) kept asking me when I was gonna do a new tape again. I wanted to deliver a quality piece and not just a random mix. This year the time was right to do so.

Can you tell us more about your collaboration with DJ Friss?

I met DJ Friss 4 years ago. He sent me an email saying he was a turntablist from Leeuwarden and that he had been following me for quite a some time. He asked if he could come to my studio so I could teach him some stuff. By that time I was working a lot with DJ Milton. So we all hooked up and got an instant click. Milton and I took Friss under our wings and started to train him for DJ Battles. Unfortunately DJ Milton stopped DJ’ing for a while. So Friss and I remained practicing. I felt he needed some real life dj experience so I started to pass gigs and workshops I wasn’t able to do to him, so he could grow more and more. Which he did. He’s an actual scratch beast at the moment, scratching way better than I ever did. He also performed well at this years Online DMC Battle.
At the moment we are doing a weekly online dj show on ustream. This is a good outlet for us where we can share our love for music. The show gives us a focus to come up with a new dj set every week. It’s also a good way to expose ourselves without leaving our studios.

All time favourite hip hop track(s)?

This is one of the worst questions you can ask a dj! You always feel like you forget a track…but anyway:
I love OC’s “Time’s Up” The lyrics he spits are like a small hip hop bible. 
I love J Live’s “Them That’s Not”. It’s such an original track! He tells a story about a rapper coming up, getting famous but afterwards losing everything again. The cool part about it is that the beat goes faster when the subject is coming up and then slows down again when his carreer is going downhill. To top it all up the track ends where it starts creating a vicious cicle. What a masterpiece!
My favourite albums are: KRS One’s “I Got Next”, Dangermuse & Jemini “Ghetto Pop Life” and Madlib & J-Dilla “Jaylib”

Thanks to DJ Irie

More about this DJ:

Mixtape:
http://thenewworck.com/genre/hiphop/the-new-worck-398-of-dj-irie

http://deejayirie.blogspot.com/2011/06/hectic-eclectic-20-behind-scenes.html

mixtape live on Ustream
http://deejayirie.blogspot.com/2011/07/hectic-eclectic-20-performed-live-on.html.


Don't do it to impress the press: street artist Roa



Picture: Ann Timmermans, Roa @ Rabot Ghent


Taking it back to the true essence of street art and hip hop culture, Belgian based graffiti artist Roa is so tall that he always stands out in a crowd.


As a youngster he was inspired and influenced by all the aspects of hip hop culture: skating, music of the Wu Tang Clan, Public Enemy, Eric B and Rakim, the Beastie Boys and naturally the freedom of expression by means of graffiti art. At that time his throw ups under bridges and on walls were to be seen in the vibrant streets of his hometown Ghent. 


He evolved from painting in a traditional way to his own graphic style of depicting his subjects, each piece clearly showing his painterly technique and love for nature. He combines rollers and spray cans to form the layers of his master pieces.


Intrigued by biology, his recognizable black and white animals are artistic expressions in correlation with abanonded sites, referring to these industrial spots as oasisses in civilization.


He believes that animals tell so much more about this world then anything or anyone else. No wonder he desired to become a vet as a kid. He easily succeeds in depicting vital beings in a way you may expect from masters as Picasso and Duchamps he loves so much. 


His unique monochrome paintings depicting rhinoceroses, birds, rabbits, fish, monkeys and cockroaches are yet to be admired in all major cities around the world.


Roa does his thing to express himself, to share art instead of the pursuit of his ego. Roa is on the roll!


Article written by Ann Timmermans


Picture Ann Timmermans, Roa @ Interbeton industrial site Ghent
Picture Ann Timmermans, Roa @Interbeton site Ghent

Jazzurected filling it in




Jazzurected is...

a Jazz / Hip-hop group, composed of MC and singer songwriter K.J.B.( 1982, Gouda NL)  & Kratos Himself( 1991, Goes NL).

Jazzurected started out when Kaycinn and Kratos Himself who attended the same school were returning from a great jam session.  They decided to work together on a project. DJ and producer Kratos came up with the name Jazzurected. 
The following days Kaycinn wrote some lyrics including his verse for the song  " Sometimes " on Kratos' beats. 
But there was still something missing...  Kaycinn then introduced his longtime buddy K.J.B. to Kratos.
After some time Kaycinn lacked time for Jazzurected because of his part in the awesome Dutch rock / funk / hiphop band called  Sabotage. Kaycinn and female singer Roxanne Janse often perform with Jazzurected during live shows.
From that moment on K.J.B. and Kratos himself formed a duo. They are now working on the Jazztronauts project.

Kratos is currently working on his own first solo album called " My Mellow Yellow Taxi " , in which K.J.B. will also feature.


According to us hip hop is...
We both find it hard to define Hip-hop. To us it is like a feeling.
The feeling you get when people are together and share the love for the art.

English or Dutch rhymes...

In our music we use English rhymes. In English we can both express ourselves much better then in Dutch.
It could happen in the future though. Music works in mysterious ways. Music is an universal language.

Our lyrics focus on....

our feelings, life experience and just having fun with music.
Just expressing what the beat / music makes you feel.
It all comes down to life and feeling.

Our beats....
The concept is that all the beats contain jazz samples. Some beats have got that oldschool hiphop sound but some are very experimental. We are trying to create a new, unique sound.

Old or new school...

Kratos:
There is no way I could ever choose between old or new school. New school can be cheap or fake but if you look hard enough there is still a lot of great stuff happening. And old school, I love the simplicity. Just a drum break and a loop and a rapper with a message.

K.J.B.:
I think a little of both but I think a better term for our music is " Our school ".
Because I personally think it's never really been done.



Jazzurected - Jazztronaut ( Demo Version )

Jazzurected - Without You Life Is a Lonely Ride [ Live ] Ft. Roxanne Janse 2011
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yAsecXPIgns

Jazzurected - Sometimes [ Live ] Ft. Kaycinn ( Audio only ) 2010

Donald D @ 12 hours of hip-hop. Ft. K.J.B
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bd5kharmy3k&feature=related


Call: +316 29 41 997 ( Jethro Hopmans / Kratos Himself )


Foto's:



Overige Links: