So Ms. Hill is slated to perform at the ‘Rock the Bells‘ tour this summer, it’s reported she will be performing her entire classic album ‘The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill‘. If this actually happens and Lauryn performs as stated it will be a welcome back to the stage and mainstream that many of her devoted fans myself included have been waiting for… and although I won’t make a single stop on the tour *wails into the computer screen* just seeing this on Youtube will be enough to make my year.
*Fingers and toes crossed*
I believe Kanye said it best…
“Lauryn Hill say her heart was in Zion
I wish her heart still was in rhymin’
’cause who the kids gonna listen to? Huh?”
Festival season is fast approaching. If you’re not too keen on slummin’ it in a wet field fret not, there are other more dignified options! Soundwave festival basically sums up my philosophy on life: good music, good weather and good company. All taking place in Croatia, Time Out describe it as ”Perhaps the summer’s most beautiful site”. Tickets are a mere £75 and if you’re not one for flying the roadtrip option is bound to be fun!
So mostly this past weekend was one long celebration what with the sun blessing us and all, but the biggest of all came when we all rejoiced in our Dearest Kesi turning 23. She decided on an impromptu bowling party which was all in all pretty fabulous, getting pissed and watching those that cannot bowl to save their lives is a pretty funny/unique experience!
When I was 7 years old I made my First Holy Communion. Nothing too strange about that except, as a gift from my Godmother I received… an 8 Tape Jungle mix pack! For those of you not too familiar with ancient mixtapes, it looked something like the picture below, with neon graff on the front. This was long before Rihanna and Beyonce adorned flyers and mixtapes.
It was 1995 and my dad (bless him) was still mourning the death of the Acid House scene. He had totally immersed himself in the thrills and pills of Acid culture and would often remind me that ‘the system would never allow me to rave the way he had’. But, being an only child, attending a Catholic school and living in a leafy part of West London meant my ideas of a rave and raving were very distorted. That however didn’t deter me from describing myself as a ‘Junglist Raver’ at my first violin lesson (aged 7). My teacher thought I was being (I quote) ‘uncouth’ and needless to say things started on a bad note. I quit weeks later, a regret I still harbour.
Anyway, a natural progression from Jungle music was obviously UK Garage and in Year 6 I performed to an MJ Cole track at my farewell assembly. Years later my mum confessed to being ever so slightly embarrassed at my bizarre routine which kinda resembled the Riverdance.
By the time I started Secondary school, (all girls, Roman Catholic) I had devised a fool proof life plan in excruciating detail. It involved owning a few pirate radio stations (I had no idea they were illegal) and finally attending that ‘rave’ I had dreamed of. When I decided that to become an MC, (MC KC) as a means of gaining access to those top secret radio locations, my aunt intervened with this man:
His name is Todd ‘The-Best-To-Ever-Do-It’ Edwards. The year was now 1998, and my aunt a House/Funk/Rare-groove DJ, took me on a trip to a Soho record shop. She gave me a few wise words and reassured me that there were many ways to enjoy music without being an MC ( I was awful anyway). I left the shop with a Tuff Jam compilation album and a few flyers for good measure.
The Todd Edwards track on the album was unlike anything I had ever heard before. Admittledy, I’m the first person to roll my eyes when people croon on about songs that’ changed their lives’ however, the track below possibly reshaped my whole teenage path. It certainly stopped me from wanting to emcee.
And now, as the days become warmer Todd will once again resume pole position in my life. No one can chop ‘n’ screw a sample the way Todd does!
![[jay1.jpg]](http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_15rJg20mR7k/S6a1qWjzZBI/AAAAAAAACT4/kJKupVIdsiw/s1600/jay1.jpg)
