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 )

http://soundcloud.com/jazzurected/jazzurected-jazztronaut-demo

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

http://soundcloud.com/jazzurected/jazzurected-sometimes-ft

Donald D @ 12 hours of hip-hop. Ft. K.J.B

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bd5kharmy3k&feature=related

Site: http://www.jazzurected.wordpress.com

Soundcloud: http://www.soundcloud.com/jazzurected

Contact: jazzurected@gmail.com

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

Foto's:

http://jazzurected.wordpress.com/pictures/

Overige Links:

K.J.B.: http://www.myspace.com/misterkjb

Kratos Himself: http://www.kratoshimself.com

Kaycinn: http://www.myspace.com/kaycinnn

Sabotage: http://www.myspace.com/onderschatdekunstniet

Roxanne Janse: http://www.myspace.com/dievanmij

The Light of the Sun, Jill Scott's latest

American neo soul diva Jill Scott( 1972), discovered by The Roots'Amir Thompson in the nineties, worked hard on the fifteen tracks of her brand new album entitled The Light of the Sun. The official single 's the moving song So in Love, featuring Anthony Hamilton. Scott also worked together with Eve and The A Group( Shame) and with Paul Wall.
Great buy for a romantic, soulful and groovy night!


Article written by Ann Timmermans

You can’t let the Streets beat you! Guerrilla Granny crafts reviving...

In 2005 clothes shop owner Magda Sayeg AKA PolyCotN started decorating Houston's grey environment with leftover pieces of yarn.


Her aim, to create a warm and human local living area, appeared to be a success as her Knitta granny graffiti project soon developed into a new urban art form in the United States. A wrapped doorknob lead to this relatively new world-wide street art phenomenon.


Instead of employing paint guerrilla knitters embellish urban settings by  wrapping busses, cars, trees, mail boxes, lamp posts and other somewhat cold public objects in jolly, colourful, woolly non-permanent, easily to be removed knitted or crocheted cloth.


Nowadays yarn storming crews such as Knit The City tackle places as Covent Garden and the Chinese wall. The first International Yarn Bombing day was held on June 11th 2011.


Article written by Ann Timmermans


www.knittaplease.com


Yarn Bombing: The Art of Crochet and KKnit Graffiti, Mandy Moore and Leanne.... , Arsenal Pulp Press, ISBN-13 9781551522 555

Dan Witz interview

Dan Witz, 59. 3-16-59 Delancey St. (Under Williamsburg Bridge) NYC 1994

You provide people with free anonymous street art installations. Where does your love for urban art originate from?

I started doing street art in the late 1970’s. I was attracted to it back then because hardly anyone else was doing it. Times were different: originality was more important than it is now. Also, doing street art seemed a good way to insure i didn’t end up spending my life just making objects for rich people to decorate their homes with.

Your street art is not restricted to the traditional bombing, you utilize a whole range of materials. How has your approach to the arts changed over the decades you've been practicing it?

The progression of my technique is a consequence of my need to adapt to changing conditions on the street. The approach is basically the same, it’s the need to avoid getting caught that’s kept me updating and adjusting my installation strategies and my technique and media.
In New York City, with the rise in real estate prices and the consequent lowering of tolerance for street art, my projects have had to evolve. I used to spend hours on one piece, standing there painting with tiny brushes. But starting in the 1990’s, with the police cracking down and graffiti becoming a felony, I had to get off location faster. So I began using stickers or modules that I made at home,  sometimes integrating them into the wall with an airbrush shadow. Ironically this adaptation caused my output to be of a much higher volume and more pervasive than if I’d been left alone to just paint on a wall.
These days, with the popularity of street art, I’ve had to seek out new locations to put my stuff, which has further helped my work to expand in many ways. Obstacles, it turns out, for me are almost always good things.


What was the message behind your Hoodies series? 

That was back in the early 1990’s.The hoody was conceived as a kind of  danger sign, an archetype (for me) of disenfranchisement and loss.
A lot of people assumed it's an anti-drug message because I put them up in the drug selling areas, but my intention was much broader than that. Back then New York City was a pretty sad place. Crime, homelessness and rampant drug use were running the streets; alarming numbers of people were sick and dying with AIDS. To me it seemed like the end days, the plague years. I conceived of that character as a high sign of the times, an archetype of despair. There was no message per se, the hoodys were supposed to be just another ominous apparition in a streetscape already teeming with them.


Could you tell us more about the recent What the Fuck pieces?

It’s a continuation of my work using trompe l’oeil (fool the eye) techniques. My goal these days is to make it seem as if a real person (or whatever) is lurking there behind the grate. To this end i use digital media and overpaint it using all the illusionistic painter’s tricks I know. When people encounter my stuff I want it to seem so real that I’m hoping they’ll respond first to the scenario, to what’s going on--I want their initial response to be shock and WHAT THE %$#@? rather than just realizing it’s art and wondering who the artist is.


What do you dislike about the art world?

That evil mammon! Ok, I admit it: I’m as weak as the next artist. I mean who wouldn’t want to be loved and validated by all those art world hipsters in their interesting eyeglass frames? But if i’m not careful, success in that narrow world can become my primary motivation for making art. This is why I keep coming back to street art. Since it’s not for sale, and no one can own it, the art world doesn’t quite know what to do with it, or me, and leaves us pretty much alone. Don’t get me wrong, they try, they’re sure there must be money in it someplace, but in my case, this has pretty much been an exercise in futility.
In my opinion, the mere idea of an art form not being dependent on any power on high—on any curatorial or commercial filter for its existence--is huge news: this is a paradigm shift comparable to any of the big ones in art history.
And I don’t dislike the art world, for the most part it means well, but let’s be honest: it’s a business and by definition that means a whole bunch of  restrictive ‘bottom lines’ that is inimical to the freedom needed to break away and make any kind of game-changing art.
That said, when people find out I’ve had a long career doing free, anonymous street art, they almost invariably say something like, “Wow, that’s interesting Dan, but how do you make a living?” The answer, that I show in ‘real’ art galleries as well, sometimes seems mildly disappointing to them, like they were hoping maybe I was a tattooist or a taxidermist or something.



Future and current projects?

Right now i’m gearing up for a big solo show of paintings that opens June 30th at Jonathan Levine Gallery in Chelsea. The majority of my new work is street related but these are highly detailed mosh pit paintings that i’ve been working on for the past 7 or 8 years.

Thanks to talented street artist and amazing painter Dan Witz...
Do visit:
www.danwitz.com
www.jonathanlevinegallery.com

Dan Witz, wmsburg bklyn 2009 fr dark doings

Interview by Ann Timmermans

Be one's own woman

For centuries women have been repressed due to social and cultural structures. This patriarchal suppression with roots in Christianity was passed down from generation to generation. Male dominance, taking place in every public and private layer of society, restricted women’s freedom to the performance of household chores. As women were economically dependent they were trapped in obeying their rulers who regulated religion and politics.

Safely hidden at home, invisible to the outside world the female’s inherent qualities were allowed neither to flourish nor to be thoroughly explored. This caused the absence of women in the art world. Men considered it inappropriate and dangerous to divert women from their roles as inferior mothers and wives. Excluded from the study of the nude model, they were denied the essential basis for the pursuit of an artistic career. Moreover women weren’t allowed in the guilds. It is obvious that institutional discrimination simply prevented these disempowered women to achieve the same status as men in arts.

The few well known female artists mostly derived from artist’s or aristocratic families. Their pieces were excluded from museums as art history was blind to the achievements of women.

Unfortunately this initial injustice had a major effect on the present and future status of contemporary female artists. Up to now, female art is underrepresented in art exhibitions. Their underestimated art is currently valued at a fraction of the male’s.

Nowadays the absolute bias in favour of men affects the patriarchal role pattern whilst proportional participation in all facets of society is crucial for emancipation in order to alter adopted attitudes. Actual gender equality fails to occur in our civilization. In order to question all sexist prejudices, fundamental self-criticism is indispensable.

As long as women don’t have the same status as men in life, they won’t be able to achieve the same status in art.

Article written by Ann Timmermans

Break dance world championship Unbreakable 2011 - Final - Neguin vs Morris

This energetic urban dance style originated in New York city's hip hop scene.
DJ's such as Afrika Bambaataa, Grandmaster Flash, Kool Herc and Kerlbert Clap spinned beats on their record players, looping the breaks. Break beats and jazz, soul, funk, disco and hip hop samples were used to create a rhythmic feel for break boys to show off their innovative skills. This cypher street dance was initially referred to as b-boying.  ( old school break-dance moves consisted mainly of floor work: rapid, often circular movements on the floor with hand and foot support.)

As break-dance is a mixture of acrobatics and dance one needs to be muscular and hardworking to engage oneself in the dance style. Break dance involves rapid moves with different parts of the body touching the ground, nowadays mostly performed to the rhythm of rap music. There's a large variety of break-dance moves. The four primary movements are top rock, down rock, power moves and freezes/suicides.

There are no female divisions in breakdance jams( eg Freestyle Session, Circle Kingz, Summer Sickness, Evolution and Battle of the Year), obliging b- girls to compete with b boys on equal terms,  which might explain why there are few female breakers. Battles are either one to one or crew competitions.

Sixteen b- boys and a b-girl( eg Nauty One- Korea, Sam revell aka Sambo -Belgium, Thesis- USA) gathered in Antwerp to compete with each other in a one to one battle. Brazilian Neguin convinced the jury after an impressive final battle against American Morris.

Article written by Ann Timmermans

Wonderwoman Jean Grae

Women are underrepresented and under respected  in every professional layer of society, be it even worse in the arts and music industry. In hip hop  the term femcee is sometimes experienced as belittling or offensive.


Female hip hop prodigy Tsidi Ibrahim(1976) AKA Jean Grae, formerly known as What? What?, is a skilled rapper and producer. 


Grae's parents were jazz musicians, their daughter reaped the fruits of her parents' love for music.  She enrolled in La Guardia School to study Vocal Performance and majored in Music Business at NYU.
This classically trained musician was part of the disbanded Natural Resource crew in the nineties. What? What? changed her artist's name into Jean Grae, after the X- men character Jean Grey. 


The comic lover is a self-made underground artist who is clearly driven by her passion for writing. This polysyllabic wordplay talent excels many a man. In addition the MC has a great flow and a unique sound.
She uses wit in her storytelling and moreover always keeps it real, a rare characteristic only a genuine MC possesses. She earned a lot of respect because she does not show her sexy booty in order to sell records as it is commonly done by lame superficial musicians. 
Hip hop's all about the music, not the appearance.

No wonder the Cameo Queen worked with Mos Def, The Roots, Phonte, Ground Zero, Talib Kweli, Abdullah Ibrahim,The Herbaliser, Atmosphere, Masta Ace, Immortal Technique, Vordul Mega, C-Rayz Walz, Brooklyn Academy Crew, ... Mr Len( Company Flow) also featured Grae on his solo album, paving the way for a somewhat more mainstream public.In 2002 Grae released her first LP Attack of the Attacking Things. In 2004 she released her second album entitled This Week.


With 9th Wonder she recorded her third album Jeanius(2008) from scratch. 9th had no pre-made beats, Jean no pre- written lyrics.
The record contained autobiographical and emotional elements( e.g. My story about abortion) and featured Phonte, Median and Lil' brother.


According to rumour Grae is currently collaborating with 9th, Clinikal and Passion Hifi on her fourth album Phoenix. Childhood friend Talib Kweli signed her to his Blacksmith Records and  commonly refers to her as one of the few true mc's. She should simply be worldwide recognized as one of the best mc's...


This musician is all about realness, wordplay, beats, be it what hip hop should be. She breathes it, she lives it, she is hip hop. 




Article written by Ann Timmermans


Jean Grae's blogspot
Twitter Jean Grae
Grae's myspace

Review: Diversidad - A unique European experience

As I am currently located in Madrid , I decided to purchase a copy of Spanish  'Hip Hop Life Magazine'  which promoted the European hip hop project "Diversidad" . ( also the title of their first single)


The three-year project was initiated in 2008 by Laurence Touitou and the European Music Office to illustrate how music, hip hop and urban culture has the ability to bring people together, regardless of their language or religion.  


Twenty hip hop artists( 12 nationalities) seized the opportunity to record 14 tracks in 9 different languages. The recording was done in studio ICP( BE)  in ten days time.


Spike Miller, Cookin' Soul, Eversor, C.H.I. and DJ Cut Killer provided the beats.
Cut Killer also took care of the scratching.
The CD features Curse & Mariama( GE), Marcus Price(SW), Orelsan, DJ Cut Killer & Spike Miller ( FR), Rival & Pitcho( BE), Luche(IT), Frenkie( Bosnia),  GMB aka Gery Mendes & MC Melodee(NL), Valete(P), Spanish Nach & Cookin' Soul (Big Size & Zock), Croatian Remi & Shot, C.H.I.(LU) and Eversor(GR). 


The greater number of the rapping and singing is done in the participants' mother tongue, in contrast to the choruses which were mainly done in English. The English translations of the lyrics are provided on the website, as well as the CD cover designs.


I believe the artists and producers keep quality and commercialism well balanced.  The diversity in nationalities add to a diversified, lively, almost exotic atmosphere.  Personally I think it's a pity the Dutch artists on the CD recorded their track in English. However I can only approve of this international initiative.


The CD( free documentary DVD included) can be ordered via the website.




Article written by Joachim Boonaert 


Links:
http://www.diversidad-experience.com/
http://www.hiphoplifemag.com

There's hope for critical artistic expressions beyond dispute: Frank Shepard Fairey

LA based street artist Shepard Fairey (1970) graduated from the prestigious Rhode Island School of Design. Frequenting the skateboarding scene as a youngster, he used his professional stenciling skills on clothing and skateboards designs.


The contemporary artist relates to the authentic aspects of hip hop culture and freedom of speech. 


This man's clearly driven by street art imagery in all its forms( posters, stencil art, collage, screen printing, wheat pasting, ...), using his talent to criticize socio political situations such as war, materialism or propaganda in a witty, emotive and slightly commercial way. 


His Andre the Giant (Has a Posse) stencils and stickers started out as an inside joke.  The wrestler's unique and goofy face was transformed to a simple black and white image which was distributed  in cities all over the US. Later on he added the word OBEY to the popular image with the purpose of making people question authority.  "Andre the Giant has a Posse" is also the title of a documentary made by Helen Stickler .


Guerrilla artists Fairey, Robbie Conal and Mear One collaborated on the Be the Revolution(2004, anti-Bush) street art campaign. In the same year Roger Gastman and Fairey founded pop culture and lifestyle Swindle magazine. 


Furthermore the illustrator founded Studio number one, a creative agency which designs album covers, clothing and movie posters, a reliable income for Fairey's family.


The graphic designer gained fame when he created the iconic style Obama Hope poster (2008) and stickers during the US presidential campaign. The red and blue Andy Warhol 's style resembling piece was based on a photograph by Mannie Garcia(Associated Press), leading to copyright infringement claims. Recurring subjects under discussion concerning  art in public spaces are illegitimacy, fair use and derivatives. 


Thanks to this massive exposure and the caused commotion, Fairey's work has already been shown in solo gallery exhibitions and at the LACMA, MOMA NY, ICA Boston, MCA San Diego, National Portrait Gallery Washington DC and at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London.


Remaining loyal to urban culture, Fairey performs on stage as DJ Diabetic and MC Insulin. He even collaborated with DJ Shadow. Banksy's film Exit Through the Gift shop, an inside story of street art,  contains footage of Fairey, Ron English, Space Invader, Swoon among others.


Despite long- winded art critic disputes about the originality and value of his versatile creations, this reporter of peace has become a  street art symbol as well as an asset in contemporary art. Two of a trade never agree. 

Article written by Ann Timmermans

Keep it real

Hip hop music is not restricted to wordplay, flow, beats and rhymes. It represents freedom, righteousness, equality, knowledge, understanding, wisdom and tolerance.


A hip hop artist remains in quest for facts, peace, unity, love and fun.
 (The Roots and Bahamadia, push up your lighter: I' m living life within a labyrinth of nonsense, stimulating the mind, inclined to rap about facts I never fake facts)

 A real life MC can only be credible when he's telling the truth. Honesty and pride are essential aspects to earn respect.
 ( Mind power, A Tribe Called Quest: it's about your spirit...a weak foundation doesn't make a good home, reality and intelligence, see your life for what it is)

Genuine hip hop artists awe listeners by means of meaningful lyrical contents, their well reflected thoughts entering the public's ears, possibly altering their attitudes and views. This soulful rhythmic storytelling is a true inspiration for a generation.

Authentic hip hop expresses reality, messages integrity, keeps it real.

Self-determination, education and self-realization enable a clear view on the choices you make in life. To become a meaningful Master of Ceremony who teaches lessons, one needs to comprehend and master his own life, norms and values. The right attitude in life's crucial to be part of a hip hop nation.

(Jurassic 5, Get it together: I'm trying to live my life right, I don't want to lose my soul, pay with my life, you got to be your own man and handle your biz)

Hip hop's powerful freedom of speech platform voices unjust issues of racism, politics, sexism, homophobia, unfaithfulness. It analyzes socio political structures and rejects any form of prejudice and discrimination.( speak truth to power) Therefore critical thinking is a bare necessity in motivating change of the game. This goal can be obtained when expressing yourself, your opinion, your struggle and frustration in a respectful creative, cultural, original, experimental or emotive manner....

 Basically it is all about positivism, peace, living right and the significant presence of love. This is the only way this art of poetry can become food for the soul and for thought.

However some youngsters prefer the futile temptations of money, power and fame to the essence of hip hop.
Ego-driven hip hoppers vulgarize the valuable essence of music.

( A Tribe Called Quest: Phony rappers who do not write, who do not excite, you play yourself in front of your enemies, lying to no end, MC's for me make things happening, talk about a world but in a form of rapping, I got to keep it real)

 Music lovers aren't the slightest interested in cursing ghetto talk about though pimps, pussy, ho's, bimbo's, drugs, glamour and dough. All bitches want to suck my dick lines and rhyming lies are not to be considered food for the soul. That's literally called dropping shit.
 (De la Soul, Stakes is high: I'm sick of bitches shaking asses, I' m sick of talking about blunts, love for the fact of no longer loving yourself kid)

 These self-indulged ivory towers all want a piece of the pie but are not aware of the fact that they are in it for the wrong reasons. Hip hop's merely a commercial convenience to these haters, not a way of life. They are not able to keep it real or do right. If you don't care, don't talk to the snare!
 ( NWA, express yourself: not what society wants u to be, rap 4 the pop charts, exaggerate- a little fiction)

They twist the constructive bases of respect and authenticity into a foul abusive concept. In stead of talking sense, they talk nonsense to get in groupies' pants. 
 (Slum village, Forth and back: Don't make no sense, you ain't got to grab the microphone to pay your rent, too many so many so called mc's rapping, put your shit down, you can't make it happen)

 These unashamed superficial MC's utter disrespect by declaiming homophobia, violence and sexism due to the simple fact that they lack self respect and self reflection. The right of freedom of speech expires when you disrespect human rights. Hip hop creates, innovates but never denigrates.

These fools of society misuse the artistic, social, political and economic impact of music on society, forming a distorted, foul image of hip hop culture.

Moreover this prejudiced bullshitting obstructs the road of significant hip hop towards liberation of the arts. It simply perverts musical sincerity .

As I recall music's a matter of the heart, not of appearance!


(Slum Village featuring Dwele, tainted: Is it real love? Your man is doing things I can't really say, don't sound so good, it sounds tainted to me, it's the same thing in love as in music business, people smile at you when they really want to frown, that's just the way tainted folk get down, just keep it real and we'll see, keep love from being tainted)

Article written by Ann Timmermans