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T H E E Y E O F E N T E R TA I N M E N T & L I F E S T Y L E
November 2011£1.50(where sold)
KERI HILSON
BLISSNew RNB Sensation from USA
SHOLA AMAOld Skool Diva Returns
LONDON RISINGClement Marfo | Artcha | XO Man
LOICK ESSIENExclusive Interview with the new gem
TOP BEAUTYVanity | Salon Revolution
MAD ON TATTOOSVivid Ink | Logans Cave
DJ DUMMYNew York Battle DJ Takes Flight
K-STARThai Boxing Academy Special
Join us online at...WWW.STREETCREDMAGAZINE.COM
‘More than beautiful...’
EXCLUSIVE
BIRMINGHAMS MOST SUCCESSFUL THAI BOXING GYM
BIRMINGHAMS MOST SUCCESSFUL THAI BOXING GYM
EDITOR’S LETTER
Welcome to the new trendy-size edition of your favourite maga-zine. Now, we all like to know what is current and no one wants to be left behind and this is what SC rep-resents as we make it our duty to update you on what’s hot and what’s not in many industries. This month we really go into fashion hair beauty and tattoos as we all like to present ourself well and all of that. Check out this prestine edition and let us amaze you with the glamorous looks of today that are set to take over.
We know you are keeping up with our our TV show wrapped around the magazine and this is our new added feature that we bring to you every month so you can get the ultimate Street Cred experience. There is no doubt that Keri Hilson is constantly touching the hearts of the nation with her songs so we have an exclusive on her and we also honour the late Amy Winehouse who is shar-ing our cover with Keri this month. R.I.P. to one of the world’s greatest voices. We are the eye of entertain-ment and lifestyle and committed to
showing our readers where to shop for great gadgets, clothes, food and general lifestyle. It gives us pleasure to show you things that you may not be aware of and we like to know that we have added that excitement into your life.
Enjoy a fun read of your favour-ite mag and let it be your No.1 guide to what’s new and of course what we see as the future. Stay safe and enjoy life.
Mark Dwayne, MDG
Published by InTouch Media, Fort Dunlop, Fort Park Way, Birmingham, B24 9TE.t. 0121 629 7728 - m. 07904 227 725
Editor-in-Chief: Mark Dwayne - Public Relations: Paivi Lehtonen - Head of Photography / Assistant Editor: Gordy Pix Photographer: Rosemarie James - Research & Features: Daina Andreson - DJ & Radio: DJ Mystikle Blue
Grimey News Editor: Nicki Kelly - Design & Art: John Northam (Doublesided Media Group)
GRIMEY NEWS (6) - BLISS (8) - HAIR & BEAUTY (9-11, 32-33)AMY WINEHOUSE (12-13) - LOGAN’S CAVE (14-15) - DIA-MONDE (16-17)KERI HILSON (18-19) - VIVID INK (20-21) - GOLDERY (22-23)LONDON’S RISING (24-25) - FOOD (26, 36) - LOIK ESSIEN (28-29)DJ DUMMY (30-31) - MOTORS (34) - HEALTH & FITNESS (35)COMMUNITY(37) - BLACK DIAMONDS (38)
www.streetcredmagazine.com
CONTENTS
KERI HILSON MARK DWAYNE
CALL STAR STUDIOS NOW FOR YOUR HOLLYWOOD MAKEROVER!
“Dangerous” - September 12th 2011
Musical stalwart James Blunt is set to release his new single “Dangerous” through Atlan-tic Records on September 12 2011. This is the 4th single from his million-selling third studio album, Some Kind of Trouble. The song was co-written by James and Steve Robson, who most notably penned Take That’s “Shine”.
James Blunt is currently in the midst of a 13 month world tour, having performed to over 250,000 people so far on this run. “Touring is the most fun you can possibly have. It’s the best invention anyone ever came up with.”
As part of his worldwide tour, he will be performing at Summer Sonic in Japan, Kaisafest in Helsinki, Life Festival in Poland, Summer Sound and Paleo Festival in Switzerland, Festivals de Carcassonne and de Cornouaille in France and Newmarket Nights, Kenwood and Guilfest in the UK.
Jessie J Admits to Receiving Death ThreatsTalk about the comeback king, the man who was once hated
for beating the living daylights out of his former girlfriend has
now taken Ushers spot in the RnB scene. Chris Brown is loved
right now for his hit after hit. Music hits, ha ha!Chris Hits Back!
In an interview with Q Maga-zine, Jessie J ad-mitted to receiving physical threats since crossing over to the U.S. with de-but album ‘Who You Are.’ “I’ve had peo-ple say, “I wanna kill you and your fam-ily,” death threats. I’ve had people say “I hope you get HIV and throat cancer at the same time”. I think the world has become obsessed with hating things,” says the pop singer.
Nicki Kelly meets KeriSee page 19 for review.
6 GRIMEY
KS MOBILE EXCHANGE AND REPAIR CENTRE
542 BEARWOOD RD, BIRMINGHAM0121 429 3714
CALL BEFORE 12 WE PICK UP AND DELIVER BEFORE 6PM SAMEDAY!
NO 1 IN BEARWOOD FOR REPAIRS AND UNLOCKING PHONES I.E BLACKBERRYS
NOKIAS IPHONE ETC
New York and LA are the usual music hotspots over the pond in America but we are currently seeing big rip-ples heading across the Atlantic ema-nating from the Southern US City of Atlanta, former Olympic host City, home to the Braves, Falcons, Coca Cola and hotly tipped girl group, Bliss.
Made up of singer/songwriters, Alex-is (Lex), Falicia (Cali) & Taryn (Shay), this enigmatic R&B trio offer music that is rich and full, realistic and di-verse, energetic and highly entertain-ing. They work together, not just on their vocals but on most aspects of their career, from arranging the har-monies to choreographing the dance steps and each take a part in the busi-ness side of the work including their own heavy promotion duties on so-cial networking sites such as Twitter.
We have seen teasing promo shots of the girls in tight body suits and ap-pearing to be scantily clad under bed sheets so it’s a fair bet that we will be seeing plenty of their smouldering sex appeal on our screens soon.
On May 6th 2011 Bliss released their new single, ‘Uh-Oh’ followed closely by the hotly anticipated video world-wide. The single is proving to be a huge success, downloads are shifting as expected, proving their self-belief and the group are finding that they are becoming very much in demand.
In early 2011, Bliss reached out with their hearts to the UK and became in-ternational ambassadors for The Tree Of Hope Children’s Charity. More and more artists are giving something back these days and for a group to
associate themselves with a charity early on in their career is an admira-ble choice. A European Tour is due to be announced in the coming months where you will have the opportunity to see first hand just what it is that Bliss can deliver. Tour dates and per-sonal appearances are currently be-ing set up and you can also expect to see them at a Street Cred event near you soon.
It is said that the name BLISS is an ac-ronym for Beautiful, Luscious, Intelli-gent, Soul Sisters. It’s looking like that description is pretty much spot on.
Catch the ladies on Facebook at www.facebook.com/offiicialBLISS and please look at the Tree Of Hope website at www.treeofhope.org.uk.
Welcome to BLISS
8 FEATURE
\\ Fashion BY MISS SELFRIDGES
9FASHION
Hav
en f
or g
litte
r di
vas!
VaityRookery Road, B21 9Q207946 275 310
10 HAIR & BEAUTY
Katie Vanity14 Years ago Katie landed to UK from Jamaica with an ambition to do hair and setting up her own busi-ness. She has been working as a mobile hair dresser in West Bromwhich for years and 4 months ago took the steps to set up her own shop in Rookery Road Handsworth.
“The biggest worry was how do my clients find me, but I have been promoting my business with cards and flyers and of coarse, with a word of mouth. I have always wanted to do hair and this is what I love doing.”
Katie is a specialist in Afro Caribbean hair and she wants to go into teaching. She has built her own business with hard work and a good network of friends.
“My clients are fashionable divas, who like to go partys. They like glitter and diamonds and they smile when they leave the shop because they are pleased with their hair.”
Katies shop is serving more than just community, people travel from far to have their hair done and the old customers from mobile days are still stay-ing with her.
“My inspiration comes from my kids. In the next month I will start to sell fashion accessories next door. Business world is a womens world.”
11HAIR & BEAUTY
On the 23.7.2011 3.54pm two ambu-lances arrived at Amy Winehouse’s Camden home. Shortly after the Metropolitan police announced that the world famous singer had been found dead. After this sad announce-ment fans gathered and started to leave flowers and short notes for the memory of the princess of Jazz. Amy’s music touched people with their honesty and gained her many awards at a young age. Her talent was phenomenal and the perfect singing voice was meant to be found. Amy adored the 1960’s girl groups and borrowed her signature beehive and public look from The Ronettes.
Amy was born in Southgate, North London on the 14.9.1983 as the younger sibling of two. Her family raised her with an interest in Jazz at early age and her father used to sing Frank Sinatra songs to her. She took a constant habit of singing and at school teachers found it hard to keep her quiet in class. When Amy was nine years old her grandmother suggested that she would take fur-ther training at Susi Earnshaw Theat-er School. At age ten, Amy founded a rap group called ‘sweet ‘n’ sour’ with a childhood friend.
Amy stayed at Susi Earnshaw school for four years before seeking full time training in the Sylvia Young Theatre School. She was allegedly expelled from Sylvia Young school for piercing her nose at the age of 14. She later attended the BRIT school in Croydon.
Amy had her first guitar when she was 13 and begun to write music a year later. Amy wrote her songs on the guitar. In an interview years later she said: “I wanted to write the music that was emotional and that I thought people would like to listen to. I write my own songs and I know my own style.“ Amy’s first album in
2003 ‘Frank’ was a huge success and won the Mercury Music Price. The follow up in 2006, ‘Back to Black’ made her an international superstar in her own rights. No person can argue with the six Grammy nomina-tions, of which she won 5, including Best New artist, Record of the Year and Song of the year. In 2007 she won the Brit award for The Best Brit-ish Female artist.
International success led Amy to the biggest stages of the world but her personal life begun to fall apart. It is thought that the death of her grand-mother in mid 2006 set her into a drug and alcohol addiction. She also married her on and off boyfriend Blake Fielder-Civil on the 18th of May 2007 in Miami, Florida. Blake was accused of introducing crack co-caine to Amy, who later said that the whole marriage was based on the drugs. The troubled marriage ended on the 16th of July 2009 and became final on the 28th of August.
Amy’s influence in the music industry is well recognized by many interna-tional artists. Adele has thanked Amy publicly for smoothing her entrance to the USA market and making it eas-ier for a unique non commercial art-ist to gain recognition and P. Diddy has acknowledged this also of Amy. Lady Gaga has said that Amy made it easier for a female non-conventional artist to achieve placing on the top of the charts. After the release of the ‘Frank’ album record companies searched for female artists with a similar sound and fearless attitude towards the honesty in lyrics. Adele was surely the second wave of this musical movement. During her short carrier Amy created a stream in the industry that has been long forgot-ten and which I could compare to the uniqueness of the late phenomenon of French singer Edith Piaff.
Amy struggled with her addiction for years creating tabloid headlines and in many interviews she openly admitted that she was having prob-lems with self harm, depression and eating disorders. Even during these times she still opened her doors to her fans and often invited them in-side her house. She clearly appreci-ated the support she received from the public and remained the same down to earth girl that made people knew her as. Despite the desper-ate attempts from her family and friends, Amy found it hard to shake off her addiction until in May 2011 Amy entered a clinic having decided that she did not want to be con-trolled by the drugs any more. She stayed in for a week.
Before her untimely Amy had started to work on her third album. In July 2010 she was quoted as saying her next album would be released no later than January 2011, saying “It’s going to be very much the same as my second album, where there’s a lot of jukebox stuff and songs that are... just jukebox, really.” A few days before her death she was seen on stage in Camden with her God daughter, Dionne Bromfield and no-body would have never guessed the tragedy which was about to occur.
Despite her troubled life and all her difficulties, Amy took over hearts of the music industry and gained a huge respect with a wide audience. Her music did not separate or cat-egorize people, everybody loved her music and honesty. Her straight forward style and nature made her the nations pet. She remembered her roots and remained the South-gate girl whose music millions loved. Just the fact that only weeks after her death both of her albums have sold themselves back to the top of the charts shows that her music is legendary and will be always loved.
12 TRIBUTE
The Amy legacy rolls on though; Tony Bennett recorded a song with her for his forthcoming album ‘Duets II’ which is scheduled for re-lease on 20th of September 2011.
Amy Winehouse leaves us at the tender age of 27. A poignant age in that such luminar-ies such as Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, Kurt Co-bain, Brian Jones and Jim Morrison also died at the same age.
Rest In Peace princess, We will pray for you.
Stars commented on Amys death:-
Singer Adele: “AMY FLIES IN PARADISE…”
George Michael: “Amy was, in my opinion, the most soulful vocalist this country has ever seen.”
Actress Alyssa Milano: “Tragic. Rest in peace, Amy Winehouse”.
MTV’s “The Hills” former TV star Kristin Cav-allari: “RIP Amy Winehouse. Such a talented artist”.
Rihanna: “I am genuinely heartbroken about this. Dear God have mercy! I am SICK about this right now!”
Russell Brand: “When you love someone who suffers from the disease of addiction you await the phone call, There will be a phone call. The sincere hope is that the call will be from the addict themselves, telling you they’ve had enough, that they’re ready to stop, ready to try something new. Of course though, you fear the other call, the sad noc-turnal chine from a friend or relative telling you it’s too late, she’s gone. Whether this tragedy was preventable or not is now irrel-evant. It is not preventable today. We have lost a beautiful and talented woman to this disease.”
Katy Perry: “Heart felt really sad, RIP Amy Winehouse. May she finally find peace.”
Kelly Osbourne: “I cant even breath right my now im crying so hard i just lost 1 of my best friends. i love you forever Amy & will never forget the real you!”
Discography - 2003 Album, ‘Frank’ - 2006 Al-bum, ‘Back to Black’.
Words by Paivi. 13TRIBUTE
Welcome toLogan’s CaveThe no 1 Tattoo studio in the Kingstanding area of Birmingham and Streetcred was in-vited to see the guys at work.
In September we did a competition to win a tattoo at the popular Logans Cave studio and hundreds entered.
We came out with one winner by the name of Sara Trinity who is seen in the pics hav-ing an amazing phoenix design. We as a magazine recommend you go to this place as it has over 25 years establishment and it simply is a great place to be with cool staff. One of the outstanding features of Logans is the cave with goth decor and amazing art pieces. Its definitely a different excperience for a Tattoo studio.
Logon says.... “Hello just to let everyone know whats happening at Logans Tattoo Studio we have had a fantastic first half to the year. We have done some absolutly amazing tattoos, we have opened a sec-ond studio in wales that is doing fantastic and its not even the height of summer yet.” “Barmouth Studio is as busy as the Bir-mingham, also we have tattoos in maga-zines one to look out for is “Tattoos Only” so we are thrilled about that, Logans Tat-too Studio just keeps going from strength to strength, we have a new Tattooist at Bir-mingham Michael come and check him out another fantastic artist to add to the team, we now do Laser tattoo removal as well as piercing.”
Logan’s Cave136 Hawthorn Rd,Kingstanding,Birmingham,B44 8PX0121 350 9020
14 FLAVA OF THE MONTH
15FLAVA OF THE MONTH
SHOLA AMAR I C H A R DB L A C K W O O D AND BLISS CRASH @ DIA-MONDE
THE ULTIMATE MONTHLY R&B HIP HOP AND OLD SKOOL PARTY
WOW! The queen of British R&B graced Dia-Monde@Sence in September to promote her new single Take It Back featuring Toddla T and J2K. An amazing turn out of old skool music lovers that got the one off opportunity to see her live. Shola hasn’t been to Birmingham for many years and thats what made it so special. Check out the pics of her on stage and min-gling with the crowd. Gosh doesn’t she look like Beyonce?
16 CLUBBIN’
17CLUBBIN’
Interview by Mark Dwayne Review By Nicki Kelly.
She says don’t hate me because i am beautiful and that she rocks. It’s the sexy confidence that makes American superstar Keri Hilson stand out today in the current rnb pop trend. Tracks like Get Ya Money Up Knock You Down and Turn My swag on that are the club smashers done by this pretty lady. What do you know about Keri Hilson? If you’ve not heard of her then where have you been? Or maybe you’ve already heard her work but just don’t know it. Keri is responsible for some big hits in recent years. Remember when Britney made her comeback and ‘Gimme More’ was a big hit? Keri wrote it. R e m e m b e r Omarion’s ‘Ice Box’? Keri wrote it. Remember the No.1 hit ‘The Way I Are’ with Timbaland? Guess who wrote and featured on it? Miss Keri Baby. There, you know her after all. Keri Lynn Hilson was born 5th December 1982 in Decatur, Georgia, USA. She discovered her passion and extraordinary talent for music at age of fourteen and learnt to play the Piano and sing. Years later, Keri began working with Producer and Songwriter, Anthony Dent who has previously worked with Usher & Destiny’s Child
amongst others and with whom she formed musical groups D’Sign and Pretty Toni both of which
ultimately fell by the wayside. After working as a songwriter as part of The Clutch, a five piece song writing group, Keri also featured on many hits for Timbaland including ‘Scream’ & ’The Way I Are’ and NAS’s ‘Hero’.
To take her new album ’No Boys Allowed’ to the masses K e r i embarked on a World Tour.
Starting in America supporting Lil Wayne on his ‘I
Am Still Music’ tour and then
h e a d l i n i n g her own
shows a c r o s s
Europe, The UK & The Middle East. I had
the privalage of seeing the show and caught up with the beautiful r&b star backstage for a little chat. Although no boys allowed she let me in ha ha
Mark Dwayne: Hey Keri How you finding the UK Tour?
Keri: This is my first tour headlining i am loving the experience and ive
always loved UK so for me this is a big thing i can express myself more because with supporting Neyo i had very little time on stage
Mark Dwayne:I was quite impressed with the dance routines as i didn’t know you could dance so well
Keri ‘Thank you its crazy because i don’t love to dance but i cant help it but somethings are just an expression of how you feel in that moment but i do enjoy letting loose so its good for me
Mark Dwayne: You worked with many artists and one of my favourites would be Kanye West who did your explosive single Knock You Down how was it working with a genious like that?
Keri: Well it was produced by Danger and it was already done with Neyo on it so it was complete and ready to be mastered for my album. I found myself in New York filming something with Kanye and we were vibing all day on this shoot and at the end of the day he said to me how do you feel about your first album couse i know you feel great about it and i was like i love it but the only thing missing is you and he was like well why cant i be on the album? and i was like well its being mastered tomorrow. As we was speaking it was being sent off to Canada, he said well if I do something tonight will it make that album? and I was like hell yeh so we booked the session quick before he could change his mind and that is how he got on Knock You Down single
Mark Dwayne: I notice you have this whole male type swagger as pretty as you are but your very hip hop
Keri: Yeh i got the direct approach, i guess it makes me stand out you know i
don’t take things too seriously i say things directly yes i am confident i make no apologies for who i am what i do i don’t approach my
// KERI HILSONE X C L U S I V E I N T E R V I E W !
18 COVER STORY
music to paint myself perfect i’d much rather women say damn, I never really said that out loud and I can say how i really feel
Mark Dwayne: I see you are extremely hands on is that important as an artist?
Keri: i am a song writer and vocal producer i am an arranger and lyricist you have to be involved in the project
Mark Dwayne: What do fans love about Keri do you think?
Q: I speak from my heart i don’t do the whole pr answer thing sometimes i am a little too truthful they like you know that when you talk to me i’m being genuine. I also very sarcastic it’s my nature i can’t help it ha
Mark Dwayne: So what’s your thoughts on current state of rnb?
Keri: Its still hot but all the dance kinda thing is something that the labels have gone into and that is something we cant help. Alot of the artists don’t have control in what is been put out there but i say there is a lot of cool stuff i mean ‘beautiful people’ by Chris Brown is great and people are a lot more open minded about what they hear these days but have to say artists really need to fight for themselves a lot more and take control.
Back in the O2, it was Showtime… As with many an artist, the DJ steps up and preps the eager crowd with track after track of this, that and the other but the fans gathered with cameras and banners grasped firmly in hand chant for the star of the bill to appear. DJ MARS continues to hype them up for ‘The Keri, No Boys Allowed Show’. Are you ready for Keri Hilson?
The lights are dimmed, the build up begins. The lights come back and there she stood. Opening the show with ‘No Boys Allowed’ fan favourite
‘Gimme What I Want’ she started to give the assembled mass exactly what they wanted... a show. As she shimmied around the stage, hit ev-ery dance move with perfect timing and sang like the rent is overdue, the crowd moved with her. Miss Keri was putting on a great show. At times the live drummer and DJ drowned out Keri’s vocals but this may have been a conscious effort as Keri wasn’t feel-ing her best before the show. Then the moment of a lifetime for many arrived… ‘Pretty Girl Rock’ Fans with VIP package access were invited up on stage to dance with Keri and to do ‘The Pretty Girl Rock’. The smiles from up there were infec-tious.
Throughout the night there were pauses where Keri left the stage and DJ MARS hyped the crowd, but these moments just tended to annoy the crowd more than get them hyped. They were all hungry for the star name. Keri had clearly brushed up on her Midlands language skills and inter-acted with the crowd throughout the show displaying her Birmingham Linguistics by referring to the crowd as “Brooms” rather than Brummies. There were a lot of proud Brooms in the house. Keri also performed her hit ‘Turn My Swag On’ which was made fa-mous by Cher Lloyd. Being hum-ble, Keri acknowledged this and gave a shout out to Cher which was only greeted by boos. She
asked the crowd “Do you not like Cher Lloyd?” which made the crowd boo even louder. The show was drawing to a close and Keri performed her final hit for the night and the one that put her out there, ‘Knock You Down’. The crowd went wild as soon as the first bar was played and she held the mic towards them allowing herself a little break as the audience took over the vocals, which she clearly enjoyed. Keri gave thanks and left the stage.
The American had conquered Eng-land, put on a great show and aroused a packed arena. Brooming-ham was content and fans left in awe having seen, sung and danced with their idol. You can follow Keri Hilson on Twitter @MissKeriBaby
‘yes
i am
confi
dent
i m
ake
no a
polo
gies
for w
ho i
am
wha
t i d
o i d
on’t
appr
oach
my
mus
ic to
pai
nt m
ysel
f
perf
ect’
19COVER STORY
20 ART
At Vivid, we like to do things dif-ferently. From our designer city centre tattoo studio, to our spec-tacular artists, that bring with them a wealth of experience and a truly global take on body art, to our relatively painless approach to tat-toos; we promise an entirely fresh approach to high-quality body art. Our artists will create individual and timeless pieces of work starting from
the initial consultation and artwork, through to application and after-care. Our highly skilled and experi-enced team will be with you at every step, happy to work on established designs, custom work or portraits, we will find the body art that works for you.
Our sumptuous city centre location and first-class customer service will immediately put clients at ease.
All our work conforms with the lat-est health and safety legislations as we aim to provide the ultimate body art experience and make it as relaxing and safe as possible. We hope to see you soon to create your masterpiece.
Vivid Inkt. 0121 633 48894 Smallbrook Queensway, B5 4EN.www.vivid-ink.co.uk
Welcome to Vivid Ink; a new experience in body art.
21ART
Founded by Winston MexicanThe Goldery is a very successful 25 year establishment situated in the Arcadian, Birmingham and founded by Winston Mexican, the man who is also the master-mind of the legendary world wide sound Love Injec-tion. The Jewellery store is the only one of its kind based in the city centre of Birmingham with a broad range of diamonds, bracelets, earrings, chains and a class selection of watches second to none. All the top brands From Rolex, Cartier, Bretleing and Jacobs you can find here.
When you watch the glossy American music videos and see the stars sporting the top watches and bling it is very likely you will find those pieces and the like at The Goldery jewellery store. Come and take a look at the highly recommended Goldery and we are sure you will find the shine you need. Find out more about Winston Mexican’s empire by watching Streetcred TV.
ESTABLISHED 25 YEARS
This is the bomb!
22 ENTREPRENUER
Founded by Winston Mexican
THE GOLDERYSPECIALISTS IN 9ct & 18ct JEWELLERY - 0121 622 5744
23ENTREPRENUER
London’s Rising
London has a plentiful bounty of clubs and music venues and on any given night you will find an abun-dance of flowering musical talent gracing the stages and vying for the attention of the ‘record buying pub-lic’.Individuals and groups alike, if you look you will find shining stars. Here Street Cred highlights five artists that are working hard on building their careers and who at some point you should endeavour to check out. They may just be the artist you have been waiting for.
XO MAN (Centre)
A giant amongst performers, XO is not only pushing his way into peoples ears with his refreshing blend of poet-ic storytelling rap with a touch of rock and assorted other musical genres, but he also happens to be an inch or two under seven feet tall and sports a dapper curly moustache. A former winner of the Hugo Boss Urban Rules competition and champion of many a performance, XO always stands out in the crowd. He writes quirky songs about his household appliances and girlfriends and when treading a stage with microphone in hand, he oozes a loveable larrikin charm and holds a warm and natural connection with the audience that sadly lacks in many an artist these days.
CLEMENT MARFO & THE FRONTLINE(Bottom Right)
This seven piece band have been on the ‘live gig’ scene for a few years now and earlier this year achieved major success with one of their tracks, ‘Champion’, chosen by Sky to play around their Super Bowl cov-erage. An extremely energetic and entertaining group to watch live, they have had the pleasure of be-ing supporting act to Florence & the
Machine and Plan B, while also man-aging to complete their own UK and European tour.
ARTCHA (Right Side, Centre Left)
The pedigree of this Hip Hop artist from North London is born from his love for the music and his full under-standing and appreciation of how it all ticks. Artcha is one of those prolific workers, the ones who forever want to better themselves and produce a formidable body of releases. He has several Mix tapes/EPs under his belt and 2011 will see his second officially released single, ‘Pump This’, taken from his forthcoming ‘Experience’ album. Always a solid performer us-ing various musicians to back up his style, Artcha has been applauded as a true exponent of his art. A project he started this year, ETV (End The Violence) aims to bring education, music, job opportunities and council to the young people in the UK.
THE MEDS COLLECTIVE(Centre Right)
What do you get when you com-bine a rapper, a singer, another rap-per, add some Hip Hop, R&B, Funky House, a dash of Nu-Soul, some Jazz and a bit of Dubstep? You get a fresh new group from London known as The Meds Collective. Paul-Lee, Hi-Breed and Mark Anthony are seem-ingly pretty busy from the look of their networking pages with gigs here and there suggesting that they are cementing their stage presence and forming their fan base instead of ly-ing around waiting for a lucky break. Hard work and the willingness to get out and about can often pay off and combined with writing and recording for their forthcoming album release, 2011 promises to be a year of growth and breakout success on the scene.
SD-JEM (Right Top)
A brother and sister duo with a sound described as Urban Pop, Shanel and Denis are both trained in Dance & Musical Theatre, write their own mu-sic and are currently recording their debut album whilst the first single, ‘I’ll be around’ is currently getting positive feedback on YouTube. Doing the live performance rounds at pre-sent, both are positive and entertain-ing characters with constant smiles and having been working together since they were young they admit to the occasional sibling quarrel but ultimately a definitive understanding of each other.
LONDON RISING
24 FEATURE
25FEATURE
The Talk of the Town!The place to go for authentic Carribean Food in the heart of the city centre Bir-mingham is The Talk Of The Town situ-ated opposite Sainsbury’s and when we say talk of the town it really is.
Everybody is raving about the first ever Carribean food takeaway/resturant which boasts a fantastic service by staff that really care about who comes in. This is something that has been needed for so long in the city centre of Birming-ham. A fast efficient relevant place for the food all nations adore.
The head of this successful business is Pat who has tapped into the market and is the only place of Caribbean na-ture attracting all nationalities, Never before has there been a place you can get your Mutton, Oxtail Chicken rice and other famous Caribbean dishes right in the heart of the town centre at such a big scale.
The genuine friendly and lovable Pat owner of this amazing business who is originally from London Brixton speaks for the first time to the media of his passion for delivering what people want and which funnily enough started as that little pasta place that did tradi-tional Italian food.
Talk Of The Town is on everybody’s lips in Birmingham because of the welcom-ing chefs that provide delicious authen-tic Caribbean dishes. ‘I used to have a recruitment agency doing construction’ explains Pat with his welcoming smile ‘When the work went down I went into the food business and became a quali-fied chef. I sold my agency and moved into the food business. I thought when I do this I had to do something that wasn’t offered by others and I thought pasta, everyone likes pasta and it worked straight away with no advertis-ing whatsoever. The business was doing really good but then a friend came in
and said you do all of this food why not Caribbean?
I thought why not I made some curry mutton put a little add on window and I sold it for only £3.48 and in 15 minutes it was all gone.
It started from making a small pot of mutton then I made a bigger pot. ‘Pat laughs ‘So now we are Talk Of The Town and we do a wide variety jerk chicken fried dumplings, banana fritters, salt fish fritters, our own style sauce with onions and peppers Acki and saltfish and still do the pasta beef lasagne meals that makes us attract a wide variety of people’.
It’s true, Talk Of the Town is very busy and constantly has people walking in by the minute especially lunch times and weekends. This clearly is a niche busi-ness and the future is bright for Pat as he looks to franchise his outlet to differ-ent citifies.
‘I get my chefs to put their heart and soul in the food and people say to me so much time that it’s the best meal I’ve ever had. I want to do things big and its on the agenda to do major festivals and franchise Talk Of The Town all over the UK. City centre is important and at-tracts great custom from the offices sur-rounding.
When you meet pat you feel you can trust him, he as the right attitude and is very much a people person ‘I work with my heart and if it feels right it is right and that what works for me’.
We talk to people ask where they work and we have a joke and talk of the town is talk of the town.
If you haven’t had the Caribbean food experience you need to try it and we at Streetcred can assure you of no disap-pointments.
Martineau Place, Birmingham.
“I get my chefs to put their heart and soul in the food
and people say to me so many times that it’s the best
meal they’ve ever had!’
26 EAT OUT
27EAT OUT
Street Cred’s Paivi talks to this rising talent about positivity, bright col-ours and gospel music.
He’s been a signed artist for three years now, his vocal talent is ap-plauded in the industry and he has featured on some memorable tracks with Chipmunk and Bashy but now the boy has grown up and is ready to clarify his own identity. Loick Es-sien, for a 21 year old, has achieved a fair amount in his career and looks like he has no intention of slowing down anytime soon. From childhood model and actor to Richard Black-wood’s MTV co-host and now rising music star, his new track and video, ‘How we roll’, is sweeping YouTube and the lists are buzzing over this young gent. The single is released on the 3rd of July and his eagerly await-ed debut album entitled ‘Identity’ comes later this year.
“I have lived in Fulham all my life. I have a very supportive mum and we have a very close relationship. I wanted to be an actor at a very young age. I did modelling and act-ing when I was about 8 years old and my mum always supported me. Later on I rolled to Silvia Young thea-tre school, and it was really there when I fell in love with music. I also discovered that acting was not really for me.”
When we talk about the music Loick loves, you can hear the passion in his voice. Music has obviously had a huge impact in his life.
“I used to listen to the big ones; I am really an old school fan. Artists like Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey and Aretha Frank-lin have had a big influence on me.
I also love gospel music and I think gospel still has a big influence on what I am doing today. I love gospel because of all the tones of the voices and the power of the songs. It’s just the whole delivery. Clark Sisters had a huge impact on me. I still listen to the gospel music.“
As Loicks’ schedule is busy and he is working in both the UK and USA, the conversation turned to the dif-ferences within the industry in these countries.
“I don’t think that in music there is a big difference between the USA and UK, but I do think that in the USA the artists are more advanced with working together. In the USA there is more ability to work with other artists. The UK urban scene is quite new, but given a bit more time I think we will catch up and will work more together and produce mutual pro-jects.”
As his fan base is growing fast we know that Loick has got something special. What makes his music and style unique?
“I think my music is unique as it rep-resents me. It tells people that I am a positive person and I have a positive outlook on life. I’m always smiling. I like bright colours; they represent me as a person and complement who I am. My favourite colour is charcoal green. It’s quite deep.“
The forthcoming album ‘Identity’ is being released later this year. The single ‘How we roll’ is out on the 3rd of July. I wanted to have a little peak into the new album and just who has been working on it with Loick.
“I just came from LA finishing the album. I worked with Labyrinth and Rihanna, but I think that people re-ally will be quite surprised when they see the credits on the album. I don’t want to tell too much as I want to keep the surprise factor.”
What about the next video? Which song will we see next?
“I have lots of choices for the next video, but nothing has been decided yet and I am concentrating on ‘How we roll’ at the moment.”
And Loick takes time to highlight his favourite track from the album. “My favourite pick of the ‘Identity’ album would have to be ‘You kill me’. It is one of my favourite songs, and it has a special meaning, not only for me, but also for the people who wrote it. I hope that people get the message and the feeling of the song.”
What about the future? What will you be doing in the short term and over a longer period?
“Later on this year I will be at the iTunes Festival supporting The Scripts on the 13th of July. The tour is being planned, but it’s not sealed yet, so I can’t really release the details for that yet. You can follow the updates of all the information on the inter-net. I hope to see myself in five years time reaching more people with my music. I wish to be in the position to make more songs with bigger scale.”
When asked if he could pick any art-ist to work with, his selection reflects the quality of the work he is produc-ing.
Loick Essien¬ London’s Gem of RnB
Words by Paivi
28 INTERVIEW
“I relax by sleeping. What people don’t see in this industry is how
you travel a lot, your lack of sleep. The schedule is quite hectic some-
times and you don’t get to rest enough. Fans don’t really see this
side of the business.”
“I would love to work with Usher, Eminem and Kanye West. I am a re-ally big fan of their music and I find them very innovative and creative and they always plan what they are doing.“
How do you relax between your working schedule?
“I relax by sleeping. What people don’t see in this industry is how you travel a lot, your lack of sleep. The schedule is quite hectic sometimes and you don’t get to rest enough. Fans don’t really see this side of the business.”
So what wise words does Loick have to share with those looking to make inroads into such a competitive busi-ness as is music? His advice is very down to earth and real, shared with a simple metaphor.
“I would advise anyone getting into the industry to stay focussed. You have to watch your own car, if you are watching other cars you will crash.“
While we await the release of ‘Iden-tity’ with anticipation, we can be satisfied to know that this young man is heading in the right direction with his positive outlook. With vari-ous summer appearances coming up, there will be a chance for all to see just what Loick is bringing to the party.
http://twitter.com/#!/LoickEssien http://facebook.com/loickessien www.loickessien.com
29INTERVIEW
Circa 2006, I was in New York and found myself watching a talented array of artists paying tribute to the recently deceased Record Producer, J Dilla, at a tribute show at SOBs. Amongst them was a name that I didn’t know, but after he had done his bit on the turntables, everyone in the house including me was ap-
plauding him. A few words with a young lady who turned out to be his manager, a quick photo or two with the smiling aficionado of the twin decks and a jump to 2011 when I am pleased to introduce that man, DJ Dummy, to you all here in the UK. Battle DJ, Tour DJ to Common and J.Cole and all rounder supporter of music, we welcome DJ Dummy to Street Cred.
Gordy: Give us a brief History of DJ Dummy. I started DJing at the age of 7, in 1984. My father was a DJ, so was my older brother, 2 uncles and 3 cousins. So I was around DJs a lot. I got my craft from one of my cous-ins and local DJs that used to spin outside in the parks of Coney Island, Brooklyn, NY. My first break was in ’90-’91. I was entering DJ battles; I wasn’t winning but I was making a 30 INTERVIEW
name for myself at such a young age.
Gordy: How did you get the name, ‘Dummy’? It’s a name I had from childhood. It wasn’t DJ Dummy, it was just Dummy, and then I entered a DJ competition and signed as DJ Dummy, I didn’t’ win but I made a name for myself so the name stuck.
Gordy: How broad is your DJing ex-perience? I guess you can say very broad, more than the average DJ. I do clubs, have been on the battle scene, tours, festivals, radio, and television; DJing has gotten me to a lot of places.
Gordy: When did you first start to DJ or want to be a DJ? I can’t remember ever wanting to be a DJ; I just remem-ber DJing at the age of 7, so I prob-ably started before that.
Gordy: Name the music genres you regularly play and one or two that you would NOT touch. I play all types of music regularly: rap, R&B, reggae, house, rock, pop; I play it all. There is no type of music I wouldn’t touch; I love music.
Gordy: What is the biggest crowd number you have played to? I can’t actually say. I’ve done a sold out Madison Square Garden, carnivals in London, Bonnaroo Festival (twice), and ‘Big Day Out’ festival in Australia.
Gordy: I first saw you play at the J Dil-la Memorial Show in NY in ‘06? Dilla is very popular over here. How much did Dilla influence you? I loved him and his music; he inspired me, but didn’t influence me.
Gordy: You have your own Online Radio Show. Tell us a bit about that please. My show is called ‘The Break-fast Club’. It’s the best morning show ever; you get to hear a wide variety of music unlike radio. I can play rap then play country music then house music then 80’s rock, I have no rules its just music to get people dancing in the mornings as they get ready
for work or school. Also there’s a live chat room so I interact with the listeners and we all have fun in the mornings.
Gordy: You are referred to as a ‘Bat-tle DJ’. Break this down in as much as what that means. A battle DJ is one that competes with other DJs for a title; I’ve gone up head to head with DJs and also competed in competi-tions where there are rounds of elim-inations. You get 2-6 minutes to do your best and destroy the other DJs.
Gordy: You tweeted about playing at The Whitehouse recently. What was that all about? Common is one of President Obama’s favourite rap-pers, so he invited Common to do a poem at the White House. Common wanted to bring the hip-hop side of his poetry to the event, so he needed me; I am Common’s DJ.
Gordy: What are your favourite ven-ues to DJ at? I don’t have one; it’s the crowd that I like.
Gordy: You recently supported Rhi-anna on her tour. How was the crowd and what type of music did you serve up to them? The crowd in Montreal was great! They were live and want-ed to party so I played all dance mu-sic: Timberland, Lady Gaga, Kanye, Michael Jackson etc
Gordy: You played at Rise Festival in London a few years back. Any travel plans out of the USA in the near fu-ture so UK/Europe can catch you again? I will be at the Wireless Festi-val in July with J.Cole and then a UK tour with J.Cole and Tinie Tempah.
Gordy: What do you think of the music coming out of the UK and are there any of our artists that you rate at the moment?Music is music to me, I don’t care
where they’re from, but I like Tinie Tempah, Wretch 32, I like some DJ Semtex songs and I always will love Beverley Knight.
Gordy: What are your Top 5 Tracks of all time that you like to play? That question can’t be answered. You’re asking a musical library to pick 5 top of all time, when I play artists like Ste-vie Wonder, Kanye, Drake, Michael Jackson, Prince, Nikki Minaj, Pearl Jam, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Jay-z, Swizz Beatz, and The Beatles. How do you pick a top 5?
Gordy: Your thoughts on Network-ing and Promoting in the Digital age? It’s the greatest thing; we can reach parts of the world that we couldn’t ever reach before, and much faster and cheaper.
Gordy: Records, CDs & Digital DJing? Discuss your thoughts on these and your preferred method of playing your music to the masses. Digital DJing is a gift and a curse. It sucks that digital made DJing so easy be-cause people who have no idea how are DJing now, because they’re not making money in their line of profes-sion. But it’s great for us DJs because we get to travel with all our music without heavy lifting and paying for extra baggage. I use computer soft-ware but I have to keep it on the vinyl controllers so I still have my feel of vinyl.
Gordy: Your Future plans? My plan is to get my show, The Breakfast Club, on cable television
Keep up to date with DJ Dummy at www.djdummythegenius.com
DJ DummyNew York’s Battling DJ takes a little time off from working with Common, J.Cole andRhianna to have a chat with Street Cred. Words by Gordy. Photography by Jai Nima Idowu.
31INTERVIEW
www.newbeginninghair.co.uk
New Beginning is proud to present New Beginning Hair Studio based in Birmingham's Unique Urban Village Jewellery Quarters.
NEW BEGINNING'S PHILOSO-PHY
Our philosophy is to deliver a unique service, through one to one consulta-tions on only appointment basis. To achieve the best to enhance our clients appearance and well being from with-in and without.
Brazilian keratin treatment is now available call for more info. Chemical FREE!
Wonder of New Beginning hair has a dynamic appointment only salon based in the Big Peg Jewellery Quarter Birmingham.
She has many years of being mobile aswell as working at the top salons in Birmingham and has gained a repu-tation as one of the hottest stylists around.
With years of experience in the hair trade, Wonder has a loyal clientèle that is satisfied with her professional-ism and welcoming attitude. You feel at home in the New Beginning sur-roundings, a relaxed atmosphere and a lovely person that caters for your needs. A unique selling point is that Wonder also caters for cancer patients.
When asked where the name was in-spired for her new business Wonder simply answered ‘its a new beginning for me and for all and you come and get pampered’ .
We love it.
Check out her full interview onStreetcred TV.
Wonder ShieldsThe Big Peg, Jewellery Quarter.
32 HAIR & BEAUTY
Birmingham Hair salon gets the thumbs up by Peter An-dre WOW! What Salon Revelution did next??It has been 25 years that Michael of Salon Revolutions based in the city centre of Birmingham has been in the hair trade giving customers a professional service second to none.
Originally Michael started out with his mother in Revo-lutions, Small Heath Birmingham but 6 years ago he de-
cided to take afro to the next level by giving a different approach and had the vision to attract a wider audience. There is not many salons that can say that they have had Peter Andre film their salon for his TV Show. That alone shows that his hair salon is a cut above the rest and grab-bing the eyes of the mass clientèle
“Hair dressing has always been my passion”, explains Mi-chael. “It is all I know and all I have ever had an appetite for. My passion is very strong and my vision is to have my salon at a very high standard. I have a talented team around me that also see my goal and create the positive atmosphere I want my clients to see.” When asked about
Peter Andre filming in his salon he responded: “I was ap-proached by email and within a few days I had a TV crew with bright lights in my salon and for me it was mind-blowing. Peter Andre was humble and down to earth and his interaction with everybody was amazing. The staff really enjoyed it and the clients were really happy to be a part of the whole Peter Andre experience.”
Speaking to Michael you can see why he is successful and
has maintained his status in this industry. He is loveable, focused and his determination makes you want to be around him. To be in the hair trade for over 25 years is an outstanding achievement and what we have seen by Salon Revolution is new trends that others follow.
“For too long I have seen salons run badly and I thought I had to take it upon myself to take afro to the next level. We don’t need to be ghetto. I wanted Salon Revolution to be upmarket and its working very well for us. I am moti-vated everyday with what I do as I am totally focused and know where I want to be.”
0121 633 [email protected]@salonrevolution.co.uk
Mon: 9-6Tues: ClosedWed: 9-6Thu: 9-9Fri: 9-6Sat: 8-4.30Sun: 10.30-4.30(alternate sundays)
Services:Nail ExtensionsSkin TestPress & CurlRoller SetSpeciality PonyWeave RowTrack by TrackRestyle
See website forcomplete list!
www.salonrevolution.co.uk 33HAIR & BEAUTY
Pimp My Rideby Wheel Factory style
Every man wants to have their car looking fine and now the girls do it too. April 2011 a new shop in Hawthorn Road, Great Barr opened the doors to help anyone to do just that. There are wheels for any car, with a touch of pink and purple for more feminine look and then the traditional chrome wheels to add the muscle factor to the more traditional cruiser. With 10 years in business Paul knows what he is talking about, after all he has been participating on the all famous Pimp My Ride UK, hosted by Tim Westwood.
In the shop you will find all the essentials from fitting kits to wheels and tyres. In the future the all amazing business wants to have premises with a garage for the client to drive the car in and out with new gear. If you want to see the selection online, you can just pop in to his ebay shop at www.stores.ebay.co.uk/mad-on-motors247 . This shop is eye candy to anyone who is looking to have the wow factor.... happy riding boyzzz !
34 MOTORS
City Open 6 Days a week - Perry Barr Open 7 Days a week
Get in great shape, self, distance, fitness, competition.Instruction by champion Thai Boxers
City 0121 622 4078Perry Barr 0121 331 4074
Seperate classes for children and women, beginners and fighters.
www.k-starthaiboxing.com
Q& A with Steve the founder of the most successful Thai Boxing gym in Birmingham.
Known as a masqualine sport but Steve says all ages and even females are welcome and that invitation is probably the reason why he is so successful in his area.
Q: Whats your target market?
Steve: We cover kids from the age of 5 – 6 there is no limit any-body can come, most people that come to K Star train for fitness and self defence. We have a successful world thai boxing cham-pion thats from our gym and that gives us credibility. We do our own events which are pretty successful also and that really shows the competitive side of the sport. K Star Thai Boxing events are regular and popular and its a great chance for the fighters to have their friends and family come and support them. Events are held at the tower Ballroom in Edgbaston Birmingham.
Q: Is it true that you used to be a fighter?
Steve: I used to do a little bit before but i’m getting on now. I actually was inspired to fight from when i used to get into alot of trouble in my younger years at the pubs and i thought profes-sional fighting is where i need to focus my energy. I used to do Karate and kick boxing then led to Thai Boxing and became my favourite hobby and eventually turned into a business.
Q: Why should people do Thai Boxing?
Steve: I do advise that everybody should do it as cheesy as it sounds but our clients will tell you that it really gives you confi-dence keeps you fit and its great mentally.
35SPORT
‘Breakfast made with heart’Giovannis breakfast bar is situated in the heart of Erding-ton on the side street from High Street. Happy customers come in for the food all day long and the place is never really empty. Friendly atmosphere with a good customer service offer the perfect surroundings to a family orien-tated restaurant.
Imad started his business 3 years ago and has built a strong reputation amongst the community by keeping his prices down and still offering the good quality food. Breakfast has not been compromised either with the price or the quantity. Main customers are the local peo-ple who want to sit down and relax after shopping.
“When I came here 8 years ago I had almost one pound in my pocket. All I have I made here, so it is possible. The hardest thing was to find out what I can do here. I have built my business up with my own hard work. I want to have a chain of Giovannis’ in local communities.”
“Hardest thing was to find out how I can build the busi-ness up. I keep improving the premises, and soon we will start to make pizzas here. I was a chef in the big restau-rant and wanted to start my own business, I have a pas-sion for food.”Imad invites all walks of life into his restaurant. Custom-ers like the warm feeling and community spirit, and up-stairs is under improvements to make more space for tables and hot plates.
Giovannis definitely gets a StreetCred Approval.
Erdington’s number 1 cafe! 0121 373 8295
36 ENTREPRENEUR
It all started 3 years ago, when 2 girls decided to put up their own hair salon with the help of the Princes Trust. Chantelle and Kelly had been out of work for a while and seeing that working for others did not bring the income they wanted, they decided to start a business of their own. First two weeks girls gave a promotional half price on everything and soon they gained a good base clientele of all ages and the whole fami-lies. Today few hundred people walk in to the salon weekly.
In 5 years time they would like to have KC’s Hair Design in high street and they are working very hard on it building the business slowly but surely. Girls are re-inventing them-selves by going to hair shows and exhibitions. They are con-centrating on Caucasian and Asian hair. Salon is doing all services including hair extensions and chemical treatments, all you need to do is ask for a deal. Little salon is like a family front room where everyone is feeling welcome and there is a comfy sofa for chilling and chatting. We think girls are doing fantastic job and big up girls and the community in Wilton market.
KC Hair Design, Wilton Market, Sutton New Rd.
Community is our little family
Flex Domestic0121 270 7086 / 07849 183 139
37COMMUNITY
0121 551 7999The word is strong about Black Diamonds tattoo ink based in Hock-ley Birmingham, Rapper Jawal of the famous Moorish Delta 7 hip hop band and former barber has got the whole town buzzing about his tattoo work and he even has regular a list celebs who use his service. It is amazing the art you see from this guy who is self trained and gives you personal designs to suit your needs.
The Black Diamond business is growing from strength to strength and there is big talks of the brand franchising in all major cities. If your a tattoo freak you need to go and check this place out. Book an appointment now because the stars do too!
38 COMMUNITY
monoB A R
Thursdays Shutdown Thursdays
Friday Connoisseur
Saturday Passion
The number 1 urban club in Arcadian Birmingham.
T H E E Y E O F E N T E R TA I N M E N T & L I F E S T Y L E
November 2011£1.50(where sold)
AMY WINEHOUSE
BLISSNew RNB Sensation from USA
SHOLA AMAOld Skool Diva Returns
LONDON RISINGClement Marfo | Artcha | XO Man
LOICK ESSIENExclusive Interview with the new gem
TOP BEAUTYVanity | Salon Revolution
MAD ON TATTOOSVivid Ink | Logans Cave
DJ DUMMYNew York Battle DJ Takes Flight
K-STARThai Boxing Academy Special
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1983-2011
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