Retiring, Retiring, He Can't Stop Retiring

Hey did anyone else hear that Wiley's retired? No one's mentioned anything about that yet have they?

It's Logan I feel sorry for. That's like 25 per cent of his playlist gone. What the hell is he gonna play now? Anyway, I called up Wiley to get the worldwide exclusive, never seen before reasons why he's putting down the mic.

Me: Hey Wiley, how are you?
Wiley: Did I mention I've retired?

I heard about that. How do Big Dada feel about it?
I've got a kid - a yoot, a young'n, a little one.

Erm...
Did I mention I've retired?

Is it true Footsie tried to rush you? Was that the final straw?
I'm retiring, you know. Let the world know: Wiley has retired.

Yeah...
When someone stops doing something they've been doing as a career for a number of years never to do it again, it's called retiring.

Erm...
I've officially retired.

So... see you down Scratcha's studio laying down some new tracks in a couple of months?
Yeah, definitely.



I'm all about this video right now. What could be better than dressing in new clothes, showing off your new Chevrolet, hanging out with your friends and being really mysogonistic? (I'm joking about the last part, I promise). The Lil' Jon beat is retarded, too.



R.I.P. Disco D who committed suicide earlier this week. He was one of my favourite ghettotech producers from back in the day, and was making power moves as a hip hop producer, so it's sad to see him gone.

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Jammer told me he's made seven full mixtapes. He went crazy and made all the tracks after his girlfriend split up with him last year. Expect one full mixtape filled with tracks of him crying - nothing else, just constant crying. (Only joking, of course). He'll be releasing one a month starting next month. Hmmmnnn...

That's a metaphor

Scorcher, Wretch 32 and Logan Sama showed up on day two of Vice Kills Barcelona. I didn't really see them during the day because they arrived quite late. They were funny to hang out with though. Wretch tried to say I'd given his mixtape a bad review (which he was totally cool about) but I was sure I hadn't even reviewed it, and I checked when I got back and I was right. Hold tight me.



Logan, Scorcher and Wretch got kicked out of their hotel the morning of their flight (which was at 9 PM that night) so spent most of the day sat in McDonald's with their suitcases. They then went and did a bit of shopping before we all headed to the airport. We were at the airport for ages 'cos the flight was delayed, and every time one of the MCs got lost, they'd shout "sho'" really loudly and wait for someone to reply. It worked really well - I'm gonna try it out next time I lose my parents in the supermarket.

So yeah, when we got on the plane, Wretch started pretending he was really terrified of flying - like, he was shaking and stuff and pretending he was gonna faint. He then got a sick bag and pretended he was going to be sick as we were taking off and he kept slumping on me like he was ready to puke all over me. I was seriously regretting sitting next to him and wanted to move seats, but then he suddenly switched and was normal again. It turned out he had been taking the piss all along. Seriously, if there's a part in the next Dubplate Drama for an MC who is terrified of flying, Wretch should definitely get the part.

Btw, in case you get confused, Wretch and Scorcher are pretending to be one another in the film above. They were messing about quite a lot.



Scorcher took the camera and did a bit of filming, but mostly used it to film girls. He also did this great film of the plane taking off with his commentary on what was happening, but it's kinda ruined because it was way too dark outside to see anything.

It's a par (it's not really, but I just felt like saying that)

Faction G, Jammer & Mika

I'm just back from Barcelona. It went way too quickly, but it was still a good little trip. Jammer was hilarious from the second I met him at the airport. He was so excited and hyperactive - it was like he'd never been abroad before. On the plane, you would have thought he had Tourettes - he didn't stop speaking the whole way.



About an hour into the journey, he started MCing and wouldn't stop. Everyone on the plane was looking round at him, like: What's up with this guy? He was sat next to Sinden listening to tunes on his laptop, and freestyled along to everything. Oh yeah, he also brought this weird marketing strategy book with him that had a cover reminiscent of a shitty Jackie Collins novel, but was all about how not to throw away your money or something like that. He only read about two pages of it on the plane, though.



Faction was a lot more sensible on the plane. Mika bought some Haribo sweets at the airport, so we ate them on the way to Barcelona.



When Jammer got to the hotel, he attacked the mini bar and drank pretty much the whole thing (champagne, beer, spirits, everything) by himself. Then, he chased up and down the hotel corridor shouting at people. After that, we headed out to get food and Jammer ran into every restaurant we passed roaring at the people inside and then running out again. He also chased after any dog we passed and screamed at it. I remember one moment in particular where he ran after this terrified little chihuahua, while its owner hurled abuse at him. I didn't get any of it on my camera, but we had a film crew with us fliming for VBS, so expect to see the footage very soon. Trust me, it was pure gold. I'm still laughing at the thought of it now. I'm surprised he didn't get arrested. Eventually, we ended up getting some food but Jam was too drunk to eat and spent most of the time trying it on with girls at other tables, who were surrounded by big beefcake Spanish guys.



Later that night, we headed to the club, and Faction and Jammer MCed over my set. After the performance, Jammer left with two girls and then returned an hour later and we did another set. He also tried it on with the barmaid (pictured above) but she didn't really understand English. (Seriously, how can you not love Jammer - NO HOMO). By this point he was totally wasted and had lost his phone. I don't remember seeing him when the club closed, so I've got no idea how he made it back to the hotel. I heard a rumour the next day that he had missed his plane back, so there's a chance he might be missing. Jam, if you're out there, let me know buddy. I've got that CD with all those new tracks of yours that you said not to share, which you left at the club.

The day Jammer and Faction left, Scorcher, Wretch 32 and Logan Sama showed up. Check back tomorrow for a full report on what happened.

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You can read an interview I did with Lee 'Scratch' Perry here.

I know goons like Abdul Choudhury

Dirty Canvas Vs. 7 Year Glitch was really good on Saturday. Tempa T was the highlight - I can't believe how much energy he always has. Ruff Sqwad were good too. Tinchy was standing around for ages for the Ruff Sqwad set. I think Fuda Guy actually did a PA of one of Tinchy's songs for him. I initially thought that Tinchy was now so big headed he refused to MC for less than a few bills. But then he was on the mic later on, so all is forgiven.

I've got a few pics of the night here that I took on Lektrogirl's camera. She's got some more here if anyone cares about that kind of thing.



Here is a clip of Tempz's PA. He told me later that night that the rumours of Chronik being on lockdown are true. Apparently Chronik caught someone trying to burgle his house and beat him half to death, so now he's in prison. Mental image: here.

Rest in Peace

R.I.P. S.K.I.T.Z. Beatz's cat (pictured above), which died on Thursday night. S.K.I.T.Z. buried it just an hour before he came to DO IT! Me and the cat were catching joke the night before it passed away, so it's a lot for me right now. I only met it that one time, but I felt like I really got to know it - it was that kind of cat.



DO IT! on Thursday was OK. Knuckles and Faith SFX and Black The Ripper and those kinda guys came down. These girls came up to me asking when Statik (who didn't show) would be playing so I told them he had been on really early and they'd missed him. I thought that was the best thing to do. That way I made it seem like it was their fault for not showing up earlier. I'm mad, me. What am I talking about?

So, yeah quite a few girls showed up, which doesn't really happen at a night that regularly books grime artists. I didn't really get any good pictures, so if anyone took any please send them to me. I'm going to be doing two nights per month starting February. I'll be bringing over a lot of international artists, so look out for that.



This is another freestyle from Tempa T and Brazen that I filmed on Wednesday. I'm DJing tonight with Tempa T and Ruff Sqwad and Badness and some more DJs and MCs, so come down. More details here.

Now it's getting darker / When I was a kid I had a blue parka - orange hood with fur

Guess what? Roll Deep have just gone and released the best grime mixtape ever made. Seriously, Rules & Regulations really is that good. We're taking pretty much flawless from start to finish. No cheese (thank God), all grime. I just got the CD on Tuesday night so give me a couple of days and I'll put up a full review. I was gonna play an hour of Aidonia tracks at DO IT! on Thursday, but now I think I'm just gonna play the whole CD from start to finish.

Btw, did anyone hear The Movement on Westwood? Seriously, what the fuck were they up to that night? They sounded really shit for some reason. Maybe it was the hip hop beats or the lack of mixing, but it was embarrassing. They were amazing on Logan's show a few weeks before so I don't know what was happening.



I've just come back from S.K.I.T.Z. Beatz's house. He's playing at DO IT! tomorrow (well, later on today considering it's now after midnight). He will be playing with Brazen and Tempa T (who has just been added to the lineup). Check back in a few days for a full interview with S.K.I.T.Z. I've also got an interview with Kano tomorrow. I found out he's definitely in that Def Jam computer game, but Sov isn't (thank you God, once again).



This is what you'll be missing out on if you don't come to my night.



I'm playing two dates in Barcelona next week. The first night, I'm DJing with Jammer and Faction G on mic, and on the second night Logan will be performing with Scorcher and Wretch 32, so I'll be keeping it low key with a dancehall set or something. I'm still trying to decide who I'm going to sit next to on the plane across.

Don't Sleep

Next Thursday I'm doing this night what is free. Don't come. No, actually do. It'll be fun.



I'm playing at this night a few days later. Should be great. They've just added Badness (who is my 2nd favourite MC right now) to the lineup. Keep checking back here for news of loads more events I'm involved in coming up in the next few months.



I did a quick phone interview with Kaine from the Ying Yang Twins recently. Read the full thing here.