Thad Baron

So I’ve been very fortunate to have a had a two decade relationship with this here corporate music industry, always a DJ and an avid record collector. In the mid 90’s whilst working at Wyldpytch Rekords I was asked to do club/radio promo by ZTT‘s Head Of A&R, Simon Aldridge for his new girl band named ‘All Saints’.

In 1996 I was brought into the A&R world of Universal Music by Simon Goffe, and after a 5 year stint, Music Week wrote about my departure.  I moved onto pastures new and set up www.2RYPE.com on Nov 27th 2000.

The time spent in the USA secured many relationships, after working on several projects with J Dilla whilst at Universal Music, I travelled to Detroit to continue working with arguably Hip Hop’s greatest beat maker J Dilla :-

Click the link below to hear about my life with J Dilla.

And working with a blossoming Rapper/Producer named Kanye West while on A&R duties for Edel/Island UK :-

Click the picture below :-

and a young DJ/Producer named Mark Ronson who gave my UMA winning producer Baby J the parts to remix his Amy Winehouse collab ‘Valerie’ from his ‘Version’ album.

Click the photo below to watch video :-

After working with the great visionary Chris Lighty as A&R for Violator/Primary Wave, the BBC contacted me to help them with their documentary soon after his death :-

Radio 1Xtra Stories: The Story Of Chris Lighty – Hip Hop’s Money Man

Click photo :-

Now in a contemporary age of the internet, social media, blogs and the likes, it’s with great admiration that today many UK ‘black music’ artists are flying the flag as independent artists and achieving chart positions in the 20s and top 10s in both singles and albums. Bugzy Malone, JME, Skepta, Kano, Ocean Wisdom, Krept n Konan, Stormzy etc etc.

Jamal Edwards and his SBTV empire achieving an MBE from her majesty Queen Elizabeth 2nd, and from headlining my Camden Crawl event in 2012, now doing an SBTV showcase highlighting British talent at SXSW, Texas.

From an international spectrum, Skepta being endorsed by and performing with Drake. Media sensation Kanye West acknowledging the UK Rap scene and getting them to join him on stage at his 2015 Brit Awards performance.

To north London rapper Little Simz being endorsed by Grammy winning rapper Kendrick Lamar, headlining my Camden Crawl event in 2014 and now being featured in Forbes Magazine ’30 Under 30‘ faces to watch.

Chris Price the new Head Of BBC Radio 1 / 1Xtra stating ” the talent of black British artists and said the recent Brit awards could have done a better job of reflecting the diversity of UK music ”

and this is Music Week’s recent front page, not ONE person of colour !!!!

Perplexing and contradictory somewhat ????

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So it’s a chilly evening in London Town and I’m rapping online and cracking jokes with my Detroit homie of nearly two decades, Phat Kat….

Kat, a long time friend and music collaborator of James Yancey, says he’s about to jump on a plane and come to Blighty (England…) to roc mic at the Doctor’s Orders 10^th Anniversary, celebrating Dilla’s life.

In hindsight, I was fortunate during the early noughties to spend time in Detroit with my music fam and after hanging with Dilla in London he instigated my working relationship with protégé Detroit beatmaker, Wajeed (pka Jeedo). 

Immersed in music from a child, the journey has taken me to running clubs and DJing to working in central London’s Wyldpytch Rekords, continuing to my entrance into the corporate music world in the mid 90s.

I have always been aware and a fan of Dilla’s musical DOPENESS !

A soundtrack of my life with fond memories from being in LA on A&R duties for (Edel / Island) working with Kanye West and us waxing lyical about Sa Ra Music, Wajeed and of course J Dilla.

During my A&R years at Universal Music, I worked on LA raptress T Love’s ‘Long Way Back’ album which had production from Dilla and both rapping and the soulful vocals of a young Dwele.

Click the photo below to listen to T-Love Feat Dwele ‘Long Way Back’ 

I also A&R’ed Spacek (an electronic soul/funk/ RnB collective from south London), signed to Mos Def’s ‘Goodtree’ record label, the EP featured Black Thought, Bahamadia, Slum Village,

and a fresh Dilla laced qwerky boom bap remix of their single ‘Eve’ Feat Frank n Dank

Click the photo below to listen to Spacek Feat Frank n Dank ‘Eve’ (J Dilla Remix)

While he’s here in London I managed to catch up with Phat Kat for my BigPromoShow on Itch.FM, we just reminisced about life, music and Dilla !

Click the image below to hear Phat Kat in interview :-

WOW ! Ten years already….

Click the photo below to see pics of J Dilla Changed My Life event !

The 10^th Dilla Changed My Life event at Scala, Kings Cross was a VERY busy multicultural affair of joyous fans all there to enjoy and pay homage to Dilla’s life and music. Hosted by UK Kiss FM’s Shortee Blitz.

DJ’s on the night Kid Kanevil, Mr Thing, Spin Doctor, DJ Maseo (De La Soul) and performances from Illa J, Phat Kat, Slum Village. An electric atmosphere throughout and reaching fever pitch at times, a special moment being when Illa J (Dilla’s lil brother) got the whole audience to sing ‘Happy Birthday Dear Dilla’  it was a fitting way to mark the decade of his passing, with all the proceeds donated to J Dilla Foundation & Lupus UK.

Click the photo below to see lil bro Illa J leading the birthday singalong to Dilla !

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So man like Ocean Wisdom pka ‘Spitz Wisdom’ is very fast winning fans in the culture of mcing / rapping / barring / spitting ! Call it what you want..the lyrical dexterity of story telling and world play, all encompassed by the 70s born culture that is Hip Hop. Hailing from the eclectic melting pot of North London, Camden Town (C Town to coin the local vernacular) and now residing in sunny Brighton.

Ocean Wisdom has been putting in the work on rap freestyle platforms for a couple of years now, even though still only 21 years of age. Last year I was privileged enough to have the first exclusive play on radio of his debut single ‘Walkin’. It wasn’t long before the video hit a million views and promoters, radio stations and blogs all came courting his superfluous talent.

To present day, now signed to the very reputable UK independent High Focus Records and 4 singles and videos deep into the project.. Ocean is set to release his debut album  ‘Chaos 93’ on February 22nd.

The album features beatmaker Dirty Dike on all productions and has features from Foreign Beggars, Klashnekoff, The Four Owls, Dirty Dike, Jam Baxter, Lunar C, Edward Scissortongue & Remus.

Click the image below to watch Ocean Wisdom ‘One Take’ video

With radio and blogs worldwide embracing the project, we implore y’all to go support di ting !!!!

Click the pic below to get tickets to Ocean Wisdom – Chaos 93 Album Launch :-

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Sus Bully, beeeeen rhyming… a decade deep in the music game from the school of underground rap and appearing on prestige UK rap shows DJ 279 (Choice Fm), Tim Westwood (Radio 1), Big Ted & Shortee Blitz (Kiss Fm) and international mic duties.

Being a versatile and confident producer/singer/songwriter has seen him co-produce with various artist/Djs, from (Rock, Hip Hop to Dance music) whilst securing TV/Film and European chart success as well as LIVE festival performances with his Hip Hop band ‘Backyard Bully’.

Releasing music independently via FTRSNDMTRX, his new EP ‘Soul Of Independence’ is an honest catalogue of witty and observational bars and story telling. A consistent lyricist, (Sus’s embraces anything from DJ and radio culture to consumer retail politics to the UK prison system). Blackeys excels on production and ‘Get Away’ is a monumental joint !

Sus Bully’s intricate flows within flows and perfect diction is pure heaven for fans of the reality rap. !!!

Click the image below to listen to Sus Bully ‘Soul Of Independence’ :-

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Hype and Fever are musical siblings. Bhumeet (Cold Fever) and his brother, Naveen (Hype Hyphen). Collectively they are :-

DJ / Production / Rappers.

Imagine Dj Jazzy Jeff and Fresh Prince/ Disclosure/ Public Enemy but being British born mixed Indian and Jamaican. They have been working on their own genre of music called ‘Desi Reggae’, which is a fusion of Indian/Reggae and EDM. Heavily involved in writing other genres of music as well but have been focusing on ‘Desi Reggae’. They played at Glastonbury, Exit Festival, Boomtown Festival and a few others last summer and have universal appeal based on crowd reaction and feedback.

Click on the image below to listen to Hype & Fever – S.S.A.D.

S.S.A.D. will be released in February, followed by the video in March and the ‘W.A.V.E.’ EP in April, the EP will also feature a special mix of their BBC Maida Vale performance from last summer.

Click the image below to watch Hype & Fever EPK :-

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It’s a Monday night in November and mother nature is finally beginning to slap the extended mild summery weather into oblivion. The infamous Roundhouse music venue in leafy Camden is the spot for the Joey Bada$$  / Pro Era tour. Only a few months previously I had managed to catch Pro Era member CJ Fly in action at the Jazz Cafe. The Roundhouse fully embracing Hip Hop have had Common, Nas and now The Pro Era massive in attendance (CJ Fly, Kirk Knight) The scarf and wooly hat brigade congregate outside in a long ass line of biblical proportions. Joey Bada$$ set was a full on boom bap fantasy in a modern world of pop and trap; Waxing lyrical with joints from his debut ‘1999’ Mixtape and his debut album ‘B4 DA $$’. Irish soul boy Maverick Sabre who has a penchant for embracing Hip Hop also guested on stage with Joey Bada$$ performing their singles ‘My Yout’ & ‘On & On’. Much dialogue was had in the public domain after Malia Obama tweeted a photo of Mr Bada$$ and its good for Hip Hop to see his  brand of lyricism grow from strength to strength.

Watch Joey Bada$$ & Maverick Sabre perform ‘On & On’ :-

Fresh from performing his feature at the Roundhouse, the Irish MC, guitarist and soul boy Maverick Sabre held court at his own headline gig later in the week at the Kentish Town Forum on Thursday evening. My PR company BigPromo has had a long relationship with Mav ever since he moved to London and we promoted his debut single ‘Sometimes’ and later got him on to BBC Radio 1 DJ Huw Stephen’s show and a live performance at the legendary Maida Vale studios. Now a seasoned artist with a new album ‘Innerstanding’ the stage was set with a more than  competent live band. Unleashing a string of sing along stadium anthems to rapturous applause.

Watch Maverick Sabre perform ‘Sometimes’ :-

Watch Maverick Sabre perform ‘I Need’ :-

Socials :-

@joeybadaSS

@mavericksabre

@thadboogie

All roads last Thursday led to The Jazz Cafe for the London leg of the Talib Kweli UK tour. On support duties were London collective OthaSoul with Itch Fm’s very own DJ Chux on the cut. Jungle VIP and Dozer Carter are the integral members of the soul/boom bap collective, representing north London. Tracks performed are from their debut album ‘The Remedy’

Next up on the Talib Kweli support bill was eclectic songstress Olah Bliss, she gave a vibrant performance of her new material freshly recorded in Los Angeles. With her flowing blonde plaits and very tight band musicianship, especially from the drummer.

Watch Olah Bliss and band in action :-

After Olah Bliss, next up we had the boom bap duo DJ RD & rapper Larynx supported on beatbox by award winning MC Zani.. This duo have managed to grace the stage with legends Raekwon and Nas in 2015 and have released an EP and a mixtape via Coast2Coast. Their most recent musical offering being the ‘Glory & Paper’ mixtape distributed by Dat Piff.

During his set Talib Kweli brought out the infectiously talented New York singer / songwriter Yummy Bingham, looking regal with her flowing mane of white plaits she demolished her set with a rendition of her De La Soul collabo ‘Much More’ alongside her solo material, to whoops and screams of appreciation.

The headline act on his 5th appearance in the UK this year was one of half of Reflection Eternal. Brooklyn native Talib Kweli, running through a kaleidoscopic repertoire of hits from his near two decade catalogue. He had the boom bap audience eating from the palm of his hands. The partisan crowd all participating in Talib’s tribute to the now deceased Detroit beat God to the stars, J Dilla

Watch Talib Kweli perform Slum Village ‘Look Of Love’

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It’s a warmer than usual Wednesday evening up in the big smoke and we’ve congregated in Hackney.The queue outside Birthday’s is humongous.. much anticipation for a very popular emerging singer, rapper and guitarist from Texas via New York City named Post Malone. Only 20 years of age and managed by the homie from Hackney, UK … London Dre

In literally a calendar year Post Malone’s radio and his club banger ‘White Iverson’ has gone from strength to strength, managing to pick up more than a million plays in a calender month and subsequently signed to Universal Republic by A&R supremo, the famette Wendy Goldstein. Establishing itself as being one of the most popular songs on urban radio, it’s time for him to represent to his quickly emerging UK fanbase.

Warming up the cdj’s is the host for the event and none other that BBC 1xtra’s DJ Semtex, followed by a hype DJ set from Post Malone’s DJ. The ratio between the sexes is pretty even and the atmosphere is electric.

Post is ushered through the crowd towards the stage, sheltered by security and he is met by intense hi five’s and hollers of appreciation.Running through his tracks like ‘Too Young’, ‘Tears’, What’s Up’ etc the crowd are whipped into a frenzy of excitement and approving screams and applause.

Click the photo below to peep Post Malone @_Birthdays performance :-

Click the photo below to peep Post Malone @_Birthdays performance :-

Socials :-

@postmalone

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@_Birthdays

Still remarkably warm for a November evening in the big smoke, there is a huge congregation of fans gathered outside the Jazz Cafe, Camden Town. Surprisingly, a kaleidoscopic array of ages in the queue, fans of that 90s flava of boom bap and lyricism.

Phife Dawg, a Brooklyn native of NYC and integral original member of the legendary A Tribe Called Quest seldom performs in the UK and his group even less so. It’s a milestone in Hip Hop culture that this year marks the 25th anniversary of ATCQ’s debut album ‘People’s Instinctive Travels And The Paths Of Rhythm’.

The evening begins with some strong UK in the form of Micall Parknsun & Skillit performing, swiftly followed by a Q&A session, with members of the audience quick firing questions to Phife, accompanied with a plethora of camera activity and many an avid fan with vinyl album in hand waiting for a signed autograph and a selfie.There is a mass of Trinidadian supporters in the audience and even Trini flags flying.

Phife and his DJ Rasta Roots take’s the stage and begin running through an immense back catalogue spanning over two decades, Phife had the crowd in the palm of his hands, with the majority of songs performed being the epitomy of crowd and response participation. Electric Relaxation, Once Again, Check The Rhyme, Award Tour, Can I Kick It, Dear Dilla etc…

Click the photo below to see Phife Dawg in action :-

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Over the last couple of calendric years the UK pop and urban music landscape has indeed taken a turn for the better with the DIY attitude particularly for UK rap acts. This has subsequently had members of the genre chart in both an independent and major label capacity. I’ve known my west London homie and camera man to the stars, Morgan Keyz for a good few years now, having worked with SBTV when I made them media partner at the Camden Crawl Music Festival in 2012 in my capacity as committee member. Morgan introduced me to west London rapper Louis Rei’s lyrical rap song ‘Let It Go’ approx 2 years ago and i was hooked.ever since.

To present day and Louis Rei, Haile and Akelle Charles have teamed up and formed the group WSTRN.. now signed to UK Atlantic Records and managed by Morgan Keyz. It’s a Wednesday evening in London town and all roads lead to The O2 Islington, just off Upper Street, N1.. Tonite’s festivities are WSTRN as the the main support for Manchester rapper Geko’s headline show. I first encountered Geko 2/3 years ago when we filmed him for my ChanneluHD #Hotbarz series.. A freestyle rap online show showcasing the talent of today’s UK lyrical rap generation. The atmosphere from the get go was utter and pure excitement.. Teenage kids, bouncing and reciting rap bars and the hooks while somehow getting up on the stage. The frenzied excitement coming to its height when UK rapstar Chipmunk entered the stage to spray his remix bars on Wstrn’s current single ‘In2’

The venue dotted with music industry luminars and DJ’s, embraced the rapping and performance skills of the headline act, Geko has indeed become the complete artist package. The captivated audience reciting every word while capturing the occasion with a sea of camera phones and the frequent blasts of fog horn.

Watch Wstrn perform ‘Best Friend’

Watch Wstrn perform In2 :-

Watch Geko perform Baba :-

Socials :-

@wstrnmusic

@realgeko

@thadboogie

@djsemtex

@vashplayhard

@taponeswa

@djironuk