Biggie covers on Microsoft Songsmith

Microsft has just launched a developmental programme called Songsmith, which allows you to make music even if you don't know the first thing about music theory.

On the surface this seems like every bedroom rappers dream come true. After all you can't go to Hip Hop night any more without every second member of the crowd trusting their latest mix-tape on you or raving to you about the time they supported Jehst when he came to town.

Apparently it can pick up the tones from your voice and then translates these into chords, which it then puts over the top of drum loops along with a whole host of arrangements on top. On the surface this sounds like a gift to all those bedroom emcees everywhere.

Knowing nothing about music theory, so I fit their target audience perfectly. Time to see if this thing can handle a bit of Hip Hop in the mix as I attempt to cover the first verse of Juicy by Notorious B.I.G.

The simple answer is that no it can't really, nor is it particularly good for putting anything resembling a song together. I very quickly exhausted all the options and changing the chord options makes little difference to the overall track as there is no way to drop out or punch in the other instruments. Nor can you make any variations to the drums.

Also, because it works out the tune from the vocals when you are recording there are only drums which on the jazzier tracks is rather tough as snares and kicks fly all over the place. This is however quite good if you're trying to make a Hip Hop song because it's easier to follow the beat.

Are programmes like this likely to have Premo and co shaking in their boots? No. Simply there's just not enough leeway to get what you might want out of it, although this may change as it develops.

It might be fun for a few people to have a laugh with for ten minute but to be honest the main thing I learn was that people who have no knowledge of music theory, probably shouldn't make music and people who can't rap probably shouldn't try to cover one of the greatest rappers to ever touch the mic.


Crap Rap Files Vol 1. Vern - Juicy





Image courtesy of Chiceaux

Why are their no rap songs about darts?

The title of this post was a tweet I put out a few days ago and it seems that there is no answer. Which I happen to think is a bit of a shame. And no, all those Wu-Tang references don't count because The Clan, like everyone else, never actually rap about darts in the Lakeside sense.

Given that the rappers are predisposed to comparing themselves to comic book characters, soap stars, TV chefs and every major athlete going it seems unfair that darts players have been overlooked. Especially as it's possibly the most Hip Hop friendly sport around.

The gaudy jewellery; the over sized shirts; the plethora of nicknames; the conspicuous consumption of alcohol; the overbearing smell of testosterone; the token hoes in the crowd. Sounds rather like every gangsta rap video you've ever seen, doesn't it?

Yet they've been cruelly ignored by the Hip Hop community when clearly they're desperate for our acceptance.

To rectify this situation I would like to offer a four pack of Stella to anyone who sends me an MP3 of a rap about professional darts. No it does not count if it is in Dutch.

Image courtesy of johnwobert

Painting the Town: Oner signs and the City

Spending your Saturday nights down dingy alleyways furiously rubbing your hands to preserve some feeling in them and covering your jeans in paint whilst hopping over puddles, isn’t everyone’s idea of fun. Stepping out of the back door of Cathays Community Centre at Cardiff City Kingz b-boy battle on 6 December, there was a group of people for whom these conditions were a night on the town. They had assembled to use their numb fingers on paint caps to cover the entire back wall of the centre in their pieces. Many had been there all day. Several went long into the night finishing their work.

Much of the paint that covered that wall by the end of the evening had a common origin. Oner signs is regarded amongst many writers to be the only place to buy quality spray paint in the city. It has been an integral part of the scene for its 12 year history, supplying and connecting writers. When Kieran Jones, also known as Ron Oner, from which the company takes its name, started the business it was just him, in a garage, with only four quid for paint. Today Oner works with global brands such as Marks and Spencer’s and Topshop, supplying signage and materials for their local stores.

The business has however always served a much wider purpose than just selling signs. Many of the graffiti writers in the city have become connected through the shop. This was a conscious decision of Jones’s to support the small dedicated scene of writers decorating Cardiff’s streetscapes, “To be honest with you selling paint originally was a labour of love you couldn’t survive by selling paint alone unless you were wholesaling.” Not that the decision to make the companies workshop a stopping point for all those seeking quality spray paint wasn’t without it’s draw backs, as he explains, “It does get distracting and you’ve got to take the rough with the smooth. We like to support the younger people coming through and they get to meet the older painters when they come in to buy paint.”

This same openness allows graffiti art to reach a wider audience when Cardiff firms come in to pick-up their signage. This is a fact not unnoticed by writers in the city as one writer, simply known as Monk, explains, “They’re quite accessible to the general public as well as writers. It’s a good thing to a certain extent because people have to go there and they get to see what graffiti is all about from another person’s point of view because the people who own the shop are graffiti writers.”

These writers also provide a valuable resource for another aspect of the business; its community work. Oner are involved in around 12 projects a year painting and running workshops across the city. “We give the kids a brief history of what we think is good graffiti” says Jones, “and hopefully they take something away from it as well. Then the adults, because the kids are involved the adults are involved, [see it and] it tends to put graffiti in a slightly better light because they get to speak to someone who is not just vandalising.”

One of the writers involved with Oner’s graffiti workshops in the city, Craig Jenkins, who writes rarebit, is very aware of the fine divide between the legal and illegal side of graffiti, “I try and get that message across and edge them towards the more productive side of it rather than scribbling on a bus stop for example. If I had a criminal record it would stop me getting any youth work from it.”

Having been involved with graffiti in Cardiff since the 1980s Jones has seen it evolve, “It goes through fits and starts the graffiti scene in Cardiff. You’ve got the core writers who’ve been there since day one and they tend to push new writers as well.” He has seen graffiti move from crews to individuals and from younger to older writers as the city’s many students provide a fresh influx of talent. Jones is clear what’s needed to push writing forward in the future, “This is where that bit of battle comes in,” he says, “because people are always going to want to better themselves and better the next graffiti artist. If we can keep more people coming through battling each other then it’s certainly good for the scene.” No doubt Oner Signs will still be there to provide the paint as well.

Kieran Jones reminisces on one of his more memorable graffiti battles in the 80s.

Ugly Duckling Live in Swansea

If you fancy a slice of cheeky no nonsense fun-rap then head to Swansea's Sin City on 24 January to see Ugly Duckling play. It'll be smiles all round I reckon.

Image by Kevin Reese

Video: Everyday Normal Guy

I'm a bit slow on the up-take with this but it's funny and self depreciation is always a good look.

Linkage 8: Rakim, Fiddy and BIG

Bit of a US flavour with the links today with big hitters from nearly every era of Hip Hop.

Firstly, if you need a bit of Rakim those folks over at Da Peppa Mill have dug up some classic MTV footage back when he and Eric B were still cool.

Or if your after some of that golden 90s flavour check out a few new Biggie cuts lifted from the new Notorious movie courtesy of Nah Right.

Notorious B.I.G. - Love No Ho

Or possibly the next generation, once his voice breaks, C.J. Wallace with his late dad?

Notorious B.I.G. ft. C.J. Wallace - One More Change (Legacy Remix)

Love it or hate it 50 Cent sells a lot of records, so you might want to see what he's going to shop next with his new single. Courtesy of HHC.

Image courtesty of seretuaccidente

Video: EMC - The Show

This is possibly the first and last video by an American rap group to be filmed at a European festival. It's also one of my favourite songs of last year.