Queens duo Mobb Deep
are set to tour in the UK with renowned DJ/producer Alchemist from January 31
February 2, 2005. Havoc and Prodigy will perform songs off their latest album
Amerikaz Nightmare as well as classics from Murda Muzik and The Infamous.
Following their sold out July concert in London, the duo and their DJ The Alchemist
are prepared to take on London, performing for the first time in Manchester and
Bristol.
The Speaker’s
Corner in Hong Lim Park hosted the Singapore Hip-Hop Festival for the first
time last week. The event attracted one of the largest crowds ever, bringing
over 2,000 Hip-Hop lovers together. Local Hip-Hop acts, DJ’s, graffiti
artists and breakdancers took part in the event. "We felt the scene in
Singapore was quite matured already, and we could actually help them to go up
to another level,” said Daniel Cheok, Singapore Hip-Hop Festival organizer.
‘A lot of the times they were doing things on a platform level, which
are small scale events. With this event we can help them to grow."
New Zealand youngsters
have apparently caught on to the Health Ministry’s national "No Rubba,
No Hubba Hubba" campaign, which uses A Hip-Hop song to promote decreasing
high rates of sexually transmitted diseases amongst teens. "The image just
suits them and they relate to it really well," said Whangarei Family Planning
Association Sexuality and Relationships educator Wendy Baker. She added that
the campaign created "healthy dialogue" on safe sex amongst teenagers,
who sing the memorable campaign song with friends and at social events. "I’d
absolutely put my life on it that the message [to wear condoms] is getting across."
"Hubba Joe" serves as the spokesman/emcee for the television and radio
campaigns, which feature him at a party rapping about the importance of wearing
condoms. The ministry organized the $2.2 million campaign to target Maori and
Pacific teens between 15 and 19, who reportedly have the highest rate of sexually
transmitted diseases in New Zealand.
In related news,
New Zealand researchers have found that a local Hip-Hop slang common amongst
most New Zealand rappers is infiltrating conversations between Hip-Hop fans,
according to a university study. Radio and television have reportedly embraced
the Hip-Hop accents, which combine American and Maori vernacular, to attract
a younger audience. One reported instance of Hip-Hop lingo in local speech was
the use of "d" instead of "th" in words like "this".
"It’s not necessarily faking the American accent. It’s absorbing it, emulating
and re-using it," said Otis Frizzell, a veteran rapper, TV and radio host
and commercial voice actor who has been criticized in New Zealand for faking
an accent. "There is an American aspect to rappers’ voices, but it’s an
assimilated musical form," Frizzell continued. Telecom’s Boost Mobile cell
phone brand has reportedly increased its customer base by 400% this year since
using Auckland rapper Marek’s
American-inflected tones in commercials.
