Saturday August 18th 2012 / Hockley Flyover (underneath), Birmingham / 12noon – 9pm
Free admission / Family friendly

The Flyover Show 2012 headliners are:

MAXI PRIEST
MAXI PRIEST will be headlining The Flyover Show 2012. One of the most successful solo reggae artists of all time, ‘second only to Bob Marley’, MAXI PRIEST has released 10 albums since his debut, ‘Intentions’, in 1986.

MAXI PRIEST’s globally selling singles, such as ‘Wild World’, ‘Some Guys Have All the Luck’, ‘Close to You’ and ‘That Girl’ helped disseminate reggae roots around the world.

MAXI PRIEST, alongside Paul ‘Barry Boom’ Robinson, also produced the first UK reggae track to reach No1 in Jamaica – Philip Levi’s ‘Mi God Mi King’ (1984)
http://www.maxipriest.com/

Janet Kay
Returning to The Flyover Show for its 2012 event, is reggae legend and ‘queen of lovers rock’, Janet Kay. Renowned for her seminal reggae track, ‘Silly Games’, Janet Kay is the first British Black Female reggae artist to top the UK British pop charts.
http://www.janetkay.com/

Wordsworth MC
Born and raised in Brooklyn, Wordsworth MC travels from the US to appear at The Flyover Show 2012. Part of ‘rap supergroup’ Emc – with Punchline, Stricklin & Masta Ace; Wordsworth has also featured on albums with Mos Def, Talib Kweli and Tribe Called Quest.

Wordsworth’s debut album, ‘Mirror Mirror’ was released in 2004; his latest, ‘The Photo Album’, was released in June 2012. Wordsworth was also involved in the critically acclaimed MTV comedy sketch series ‘Lyricist Lounge’.
http://www.halftooth.com

Basil Gabbidon
Founding member of Birmingham born reggae group, Steel Pulse, Basil Gabbidon performs at The Flyover Show 2012. Currently touring his latest album, ‘Reggae Rockz’, the 3 time Grammy nominated Gabbidon is joined by Burning Spear bassist, Paul Beckford.
http://gabbidonband.com/

Also performing will be the MOBO Award winning Soweto Kinch, DJ Winchester, plus local rising stars Lady Leshurr and Deci4life. There will also be a specially commissioned performance from Birmingham Royal Ballet.

THE FLYOVER SHOW 2012 / Full line up

Walking distance from Birmingham City Centre, The Flyover Show 2012 can be accessed via four subway tunnels, feeding into the location from; Soho Rd, New John St, Great Hampton St and Heaton St.

Live music, graffiti art, break dancing, food and a host of activities for all ages will be taking place from 12noon until 9pm.

The Flyover Show remains, as it has always been, a free admission and family friendly event.

For any press enquiries regarding The Flyover Show 2012, including interviews and accreditation – please contact Ed King at edking2210@gmail.com
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FLYOVER SHOW 2012 – Celebrating Jamaica

The Flyover Show 2012, “celebrates the cultural contributions of Jamaica to Britain throughout its programme”, says founder Soweto Kinch.

Artists performing at the event; alongside a preceding series of workshops held in schools across the city, will explore and represent Jamaica’s influence in the UK, “both historically and as a dynamic force in contemporary culture.”

The West Midlands has the second highest concentration of British Jamaicans in the UK, particularly in the areas that join at the Hockley Flyover, such as; Handsworth, Lozells and Aston.

Birmingham is also host to the Jamaican track and field 2012 Olympic team, who will be staying and training in the city before the games.

“Jamaica, much like its athletics team, has imparted a cultural phenomena and impact far beyond its relative size as an island,” says Kinch.

“The Flyover Show 2012 will explore, through a variety of platforms, how it (Jamaica) has provided a badge of identity in the face of racial marginalization.”

Previous shows have explored other pertinent issues of race and culture; including the portrayal of women in the music industry, and positive Black male role models.

“The Flyover Show 2012 intends to continue and extend its pattern of connecting different generations through its rostra,” concludes Kinch.

The Flyover Show was created and founded by Soweto Kinch.

Soweto Kinch is an award winning musician and creative. For more information visit www.soweto-kinch.com

The Flyover Show was first held underneath the Hockley Flyover, Birmingham, in May 2008.

The Flyover Show has returned each year since 2008 at the same location.

On March 31st 2012, The Flyover Show held its first international event; a 2500 capacity sell out show in Freedom Square, Johannesburg, South Africa - http://www.theflyovershow.co.za

The Flyover Show 2012 receives funding from; Arts Council England, Birmingham City Council and Marketing Birmingham.

Previous artists performing at The Flyover Show have included; Ms Dynamite, Bashy, Goldie, Omar, Janet Kaye, Akala, Andy Hamilton, Julian Joseph, Jay Phelps, Eska, Speech Debelle, Jonzi D and Why G?

The Flyover Show 2012 takes place underneath the Hockley Flyover, from 12noon to 9pm, on Saturday August 18th.

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Andrae Melody Palmer affectionately known to some simply as Mr. Melody, former front man of the UK Gospel-Soul group Nu-Soul, is a gifted singer songwriter whose material confronts some of life’s uglier truths as well as embracing the beauties we often take for granted.

The south London native accredits his inner city upbringing on the streets of Brixton with giving him the fuel and astuteness to pursue his musical aspirations, evidence of which can be found in passionate vocal performances. Together with hard work and dedication, Mr. Melody’s undeniable talent has presented opportunities to share his musical aptitude with audiences from London to Europe, Africa and the Caribbean; inspired by life experiences each song bursting with a realism and candidness that appeals to a diverse listenership.

Melody cites prominent influences in his stylistic development are the likes of gospel influenced soul artists such as Sam Cooke, Marvin Gaye and Donnie Hathaway and more recent icons such as Musiq, Lauren Hill and BILAL. A student of various genres his delivery is unique and memorable. In addition he’s armed himself with meaningful (non cliché) lyrical content (much to the delight of ‘AMP’ and Nu-Soul Devotees), this combination accompanied by rich soulful music is seemingly ‘filling the gap’ left by these great pioneers.

The musical journey started with the young artist performing at live talent shows in Jamaica at the tender age of only 9 years old! Collaborating with chart topping Reggae artist and dancehall favourites of the 90’s era. But he’s ventured pretty much everywhere from church conventions to intimate bars and clubs, quickly becoming a fan-favourite on London’s vibrant open mic circuit. More recently elevating to guest radio appearances, university tours, open-air festivals and numerous televised performances. Mr. Melody the well-travelled performer and consummate professional, has amassed a ‘who’s who’ list of collaborators including Dizzee Rascal, DJ Ironic and Chaz Jankel (of Block Heads Fame) not to mention the controversial Vybez Kartel to name but a few. His ineffably charismatic performances embody the SOUL of music, making him transferable to any genre and style.

Mr. Melody joined forces with the other Nu-Soul members towards the end of 2004, creating their signature soulful sound by merging their beautifully balanced harmonies with captivating lyrics, which they have paraded around the country for the past seven years achieving national recognition. Their resolute status as forerunners and pioneers of UK Gospel, R&B and Soul has afforded the talented collective critical acclaim and commissioned comparisons to their American counterparts, Boyz II Men.

Faced with uncertainty of the groups future 2011 has seen Mr Melody return to his roots as the vibrant soloist going it alone and the release of his 1st single entitled; FOR MY PEOPLE (available for purchase from all good digital outlets).

The future seems to be exceptionally bright and very rich with potential for this young man and it’s a safe bet to say it’s only just the beginning of what will be a monumental career in music.

http://www.facebook.com/MrAmpOfficial

https://twitter.com/MrAmpOfficial/

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Birmingham Royal Ballet dancers will be performing a new ballet piece “Last Dance” created by Company dancer Kit Holder especially for Simmer Down festival 2012. The piece was inspired by roots reggae music and musical ideas initially developed with Soweto Kinch. The piece was premiered on Sunday at Simmer Down and will be used as the stimulus material for a community dance project developing local dance artists starting in October 2012.

Birmingham Royal Ballet will be at The Flyover Show, Birmingham 18th August 2012.

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This is what Val Wilmer wrote for www.guardian.co.uk, published Monday 11 June 2012

“In 1949, the Jamaican tenor saxophonist Andy Hamilton, who has died aged 94, faced a dilemma. As a musician he had reached the top, entertaining Noël Coward and friends at the Titchfield hotel in Port Antonio, then hired as a bandleader by the actor Errol Flynn for parties on his yacht, but his personal life was in crisis and he needed to escape. He joined others of his generation by moving to Britain, where he became a celebrated jazzman and prominent figure in the fight for Caribbean self-determination.

He left without warning, hiding himself on board a banana boat and arrived in England as a stowaway. After serving the mandatory 14-day sentence for this misdemeanour, he went in search of his countrymen. He was disappointed at what he found: some living in wretched conditions while others resorted to nefarious means for survival. London was not for him, he decided, and he headed to Birmingham where industry was hungry for labour.

He found factory work and played there with Jamaicans including the trumpeter Dizzy Reece and the saxophonist Sam Walker, but when they left for London, he was treated with disdain and indifference on attempting to make contact with the wider Birmingham jazz community. Refused permission to play at one session, he went home, sat down and wept. He put his saxophone under the bed and forgot about music.

Then, at the Good Companions, a local pub where, under the rubric of the Black and White Club, inter-racial social sessions were organised by a South African doctor, he formed a lasting friendship with the Jamaican RAF veteran and pianist Ron Daley (stage-name Sam Brown). By 1953 they were playing together in the West Indian Modernists.

At the Vittoria restaurant in Hockley, local women attended their events and both men met their wives. Hamilton, who would have 10 children with Mary, a nurse, took credit for initiating many mixed marriages in those difficult times by providing the atmosphere in which such relationships could flourish. For this, he became the target of racists and the recipient of hate-mail, and lost his teeth when attacked on the bandstand. He held firm, helping to create the foundation for the new multicultural Birmingham. In 1990 he was granted the freedom of the city in recognition of his work in community relations and, in 1996, received an honorary MA from the University of Birmingham.

Born at Port Maria on Jamaica’s north coast, he was the only child of Michael Hamilton, a butcher and farmer, and his wife, Miller. He formed a singing group in childhood, his first instrument, in the boy scouts, being a cornet. He played the trombone and tuba with a Salvation Army band, then his father helped buy him a tenor saxophone. His models were the American jazz musicians he heard on the radio.

In 1944 he travelled to the US as a migrant worker, like many Jamaicans. He found musical work in upstate New York too and also heard and met Louis Jordan and Duke Ellington. Among the records he took back to Jamaica were Body and Soul and It’s the Talk of the Town by Coleman Hawkins: “He was the one to baptise me.”

I was discussing Hamilton with a neighbour in the 1980s, and she confirmed he was first choice for all Birmingham West Indian functions. He put on his own dances and educated youngsters through his big band and workshops, while his weekly pub sessions featured leading American jazz stars, as well as locals such as Gary Crosby, Dudu Pukwana and Nana Tsiboe. And yet he remained puzzlingly unknown outside the Midlands.

I interviewed him for a national newspaper in 1990, and recommended his band for the Soho jazz festival in London. A well received recording for World Circuit Records resulted, pairing him with his musician sons Marc and Graeme, and fellow saxophonists including David Murray and Andy Sheppard. He had a new lease of life, travelled widely, appeared on television and was the subject of articles and student projects.

At his best, Hamilton’s playing demonstrated great warmth and originality. The influence of the early saxophone masters was present, but he moved with the times and his later work demonstrated an intriguing mix of elements of both Hawkins and John Coltrane. The oblique Caribbean phrasing that owes its debt to the rhythms of the mento and calypso was always there, shaping both his delivery and his aesthetic.

In 2008 he was appointed MBE and he continued to flourish until recently, encouraging new players, never sounding, or looking, less than impeccable. He is survived by Mary and eight of their children and by five children in Jamaica.”

“Andy Hamilton was a huge personal influence and it was a privilege to have him as a guest at the Flyover Show so many times – where it felt part jam session and part presidential address.  He was always inspiring and cut an impressive figure in his immaculate suits – playing with that massive sound and signature style right until his last. We were fortunate to have both his musicianship, and his presence as a direct link to the first Jamaicans that stamped a new identity in Britain.” – Soweto Kinch August 2012

http://www.bearwoodjazz.co.uk/andy.html

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/culture-obituaries/music-obituaries/9317675/Andy-Hamilton.html

http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2012/jun/11/andy-hamilton

http://www.birminghammail.net/news/birmingham-news/2012/06/04/birmingham-jazz-legend-andy-hamilton-dies-aged-94-97319-31107543/

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Diego Flex was born in Jamaica, winner of Tastee Talent show grand final (a local talent competition) .

He first came to the UK in early 2000 to represent Jamaica in a Talent competition called Jam In UK , held in Wolverhampton.

Life took turns when he met his fiancé and decided to settle in the UK with the intention of spreading his music to a wider audience. Since then he has kept on doing his music sharing the stage with the likes of Beenie Man, Assassin and I Octane. Diego Flex  released his first single -  Every Body To The Party in 2011.

https://twitter.com/DIEGOFLEX_BAND
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Diego-Flex/142446245831713

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Music insiders would have you believe that there are a variety of musical genres and categories, and that common ground is few and far between. However, the bottom line is that people embrace music and rhythms that mean something to them, no matter what their background. As Maxi Priest knows, music is universal. Over the course of 10 albums and countless live performances all over the globe, Maxi has unleashed a one – world music that heals, rejuvenates and uplifts.

The second youngest of nine children, Maxi’s parents had moved to London, England from Jamaica. His father was a steelworker in a factory, while his mother devoted her life to Christianity; she was a missionary at a Pentecostal Church and lead singer for the church choir, and as a youngster Maxi grew up listening to gospel, reggae, R&B, as well as pop music.

While working as a carpenter building speaker boxes for a local reggae sound­system, Maxi Priest began singing over the mic at live dancehall sessions with artists such as Smiley Culture. In 1984 Maxi made a bit of history after he and Paul “Barry Boom” Robinson produced Philip Levi’s “Mi God Mi King, ” the first UK reggae tune to reach Number One in Jamaica.

His 1988 album Maxi was recorded in Jamaica with legendary musicians Sly Dunbar, Robbie Shakespeare, and Willie Londo, and was released in America by Virgin Records. With “Some Guys Have All the Luck”, a cover of Cat Steven’s classic “Wild World” that gave Maxi his first U.S. smash hit, and roots tracks like his duet with Beres Hammond, level, gaining him worldwide recognition.

Two years later, Maxi released Bonafide, which achieved gold status, and the single “Close To You” hit Number One on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart and Number Two on the Hot R&B Singles chart.

In 1991, Maxi’s collaborations with Roberta Flack, “Set The Night To Music”, and with Shabba Ranks, “Housecall,” again took Maxi to the highest chart echelons, and he capped off the year by releasing Best Of Me, a powerful compilation of hits from his four previous albums.

By the early to mid 90′s, Maxi was critically acclaimed for his skills in balancing hard­core reggae vibes with more mainstream pop sensibilities and that approach added to his growing popularity as both a recording and touring artist.

In 1996, Maxi released the hit CD Man With The Fun, which contained the crossover single “That Girl,” a duet with Shaggy. “That Girl” became a Grammy Nominated track and the accompanying Hype Williams – directed video became an MTV staple.

CombiNation, released in 1999, is a sexy and soulful album embracing reggae, hip­hop, R&B, rock, jazz, pop and rhythms, containing production and songwriting work by Sly & Robbie, Robert Livingston, Simon Law, and Joe. The album contains “Mary’s Got A Baby,” featuring a sizzling rap from Beenie Man; pumped up electro‐dancehall beats on the fierce and furious “She Wants To Dance” featuring toasters Degree and Red Rat; an uplifting track “We Tomorrow’s People” a collaboration with the acclaimed acid jazz band Icognito; the smoothed out old‐school R&B Donny Hathaway/Roberta Flack cover of “Back Together Again” featuring Elisha La’Verne; and the righteous reggafied take on Stevie Wonder’s classic Golden Lady.”

Since his 1988 debut, Maxi has enjoyed tremendous success as a singer with popularity and recognition around the world. In fact, he is the most successful reggae solo artist in the world, second only to legend Bob Marley. He has enjoyed numerous worldwide hits as well as a Number one pop chart smash and is widely credited with helping spread the gospel of reggae and Caribbean music.

His 2005 album, “2 The Max” includes the dancehall anthems “Full Hundred” and “Sweat A Go Buss” (featuring Beres Hammond) and the hot new single “Believe In Love” featuring 2005′s hottest new rhythm.

Maxi Priest’s music continues to grow. 2008 saw Maxi on tour with UB40, Toots and the Maytals, Third World and Rik Rok on the great Reggae Sunsplash Tour. Also Maxi’s new video, “Makes Me Wanna Hallah” (from the album to be released soon) is capturing a new and excited group of Maxi Priest fan.

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BEENIICE is a 20 year old actor, singer, songwriter and DJ in Birmingham UK. He writes a range of different musical genres including bashment, grime, rap, funky house and slow jamz.

https://twitter.com/IBEENIICE

http://www.facebook.com/pages/BEENIICE/290559257648806

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Queen Nefatiti is a singer/songwriter/performer out of Birmingham, England. Her music incorporates elements of Reggae, Blues, Jazz and Gospel. Her career began when she won a singing competition in London.

She has performed at prestigious venues such as Wembley Arena, Ocean and Birmingham University. Her many musical influences include Billie Holiday, Horace Andy and Burning Spear, this is evident in her ambient spiritual vocal style which has a tuneful, distinct seventies feel. At the moment, Queen is busy in the studio recording her album.

http://uprightmusic.co/artists/qween-nefatiti/

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Award winning alto-saxophonist and MC Soweto Kinch is one of the most exciting and versatile young musicians in both the British jazz and hip hop scenes. Undoubtedly, one of the few artists in either genre with a degree in Modern History from Oxford University he has amassed an impressive list of accolades and awards on both sides of the Atlantic – including a Mercury Music Prize nomination, two UMA Awards and a MOBO for best Jazz Act in 2003. In October 2007, he won his second MOBO Award, at the O2 Arena, London where he was announced as the winner in the Best Jazz Act category- fending off stiff competition from the likes of Wynton Marsalis.

His skills as a hip hop MC and producer have also garnered him recognition in the urban music world: having supported the likes of KRS ONE, Dwele and TY, and being championed by the likes of Mos Def, Rodney P and BBC 1-Xtra’s Twin B.

Kinch’s projects also extend beyond recorded albums. Writing the score for Jonzi D’s Hip Hop Theatre production Markus the Sadist (2010), and Sampad’s In The Further Soil (2010), a dance-theatre piece. Kinch also wrote and acted in the latter piece, which toured throughout India for a month. Most recently he was commissioned to write a new score for the Hitchcock silent movie ‘The Ring’ which received a standing ovation.

‘At the BFI launch, Soweto Kinch brought the house down, playing part of his sax score to a scene from The Ring.’ David Gritten The Telegraph

In 2011 he collaborated with the BBC and Drum and Bass producer Goldie. By Royal Appointment is 3-part prime time reality music show, following Goldie, Soweto, Guy Chambers and Ms Dynamite as they discover and coach a group of 12 vulnerable young mentees towards their first live performance before HM Prince Harry at Buckingham Palace. Kinch, describes how the programme (transmitted in February, 2011) really allowed him to extended his work as a curator and mentor, “it was a radically fresh approach to discovering and nurturing new talent, and an antedote to the usual pop formulae and manufactured music.”

His last release The New Emancipation draws its inspiration from 19th century work songs and early blues, exploring the modern resonances of the emancipation story. From debt/wage slavery, to creative oppression in the music industry and ideas of race in a post-Obama age it combines this rich musical inheritance and revisits it with stellar jazz ensemble and modern hip hop production. Number one on the Rise Best Albums of 2010, the album features a prestigious international lineup, including Byron Wallen, Justin Brown (US), Eska Mtungwazi, Femi Temowo, Shabaka Hutchings and Harry Brown among others.

Currently touring this material with his core quartet, Kinch has earned a number of 5 star reviews for his recent live performances. His performance at the Queen Elizabeth Hall (2010 London Jazz Festival) confirmed Kinch as a major figure in the UK scene, as The Evening Standard’s Jack Massarik described, “it was hard to imagine stronger contemporary jazz being played anywhere else in the world.”

2011 saw Soweto and his quartet taking his music to increasingly diverse audiences across the world, including territories from the USA and Germany to Dubai, Morocco and Botswana. And entrenching his signature sound, mixing jazz and hip hop.

2012 will see the release of his much anticipated forth album based on the seven deadly sins which was showcased at eXplorations @ King’s Place at the end of January to criticial acclaim. The album release will be supported by a UK tour in October 2012.

This is a video from his last album

www.twitter.com/sowetokinch
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Soweto-Kinch-Official/157925057577022
http://soweto-kinch.com/

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Smash is an all round entertainer, singer, lyricist and rapper. He recently acted in Same Difference, a spoken word play that took place at The Drum in June 2012 and Real Deal Comedy Jam Tour, as the first Birmingham comedian to make an appearance on the show in Manchester, Nottingham & Bristol in December 2010. He organised and hosted his own talk show Smash’s Views between April 2010 and April 2011. He has hosted & performed at countless talent shows in & around Birmingham over the years, performing along side some of Birmingham’s biggest names as well as performing in Northern Europe in April 2012.

Smash received a ‘Recognition Award’ at a youth excellence event for his contribution towards the entertainment in the Birmingham community in 2011  and won an open mic competition at the library theatre in 2008.

http://www.facebook.com/smash.entertainz
https://twitter.com/smashentertainz

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The story begins, albeit briefly, in the small rural town of Buff Bay, Jamaica. Basil Glendon Gabbidon was born on 29 October 1955, the eldest of four talented Gabbidon brothers, Colin, O’Neil and Ian and a sister, Beryl. Soon after the family moved to Kingston, where his father Joseph, a carpenter by trade, built the family home, when he wasn’t on the stage as an amateur entertainer, actor and comedian.

Many Jamaicans had fought for Britain in the Second World War and Basil’s father came over in the late fifties to seek a new life for his young family, followed a couple of years later by Dorothy. Soon after Jamaican independence, in 1963, Basil along with Colin, followed their parents to Britain, just before his ninth birthday. “My dad picked us up at the airport with a bowler hat on. I thought, oh, we must be in England, as he’s wearing a bowler hat,” he recalls. Initially his parents had lived in Cardiff but when the boys joined them, they moved to become part of a thriving Afro-Caribbean community in the Birmingham inner city area of Handsworth.

Basil went on to be a founding member of Steel Pulse, which was formed in 1975 in Handsworth Birmingham other founding members were schoolmates David Hinds (the primary songwriter as well as the lead singer and guitarist) and Ronnie “Stepper” McQueen (bass).  McQueen suggested the group name, after a racehorse, and they soon fleshed out the lineup with drummer Steve “Grizzly” Nisbett, keyboardist/vocalist Selwyn “Bumbo” Brown, percussionist/vocalist Alphonso “Fonso” Martin, and vocalist Michael Riley.

Steel Pulse is one of Britain’s greatest reggae bands, in terms of creative and commercial success. Steel Pulse started out playing authentic roots reggae with touches of jazz and Latin music, and earned a substantial audience worldwide. Their 1978 debut, Handsworth Revolution, is still regarded by many critics as a landmark and a high point of British reggae. By the late ’80s, Steel Pulse had won a Grammy and were working full-fledged crossover territory. They subsequently returned to a tough-minded, rootsy sound and have added touches of dancehall and hip-hop along the way.

Since leaving Steel Pulse and the dissolution of Bass Dance, Basil has been far more choosy about his live performances. He’s appeared with friends in the guise of the more occasional Gabbidon Worldwide, or Gabbidon International or just plain Gabbidon with irregular gigs taking place in clubs and venues across the Midlands and at festivals like ‘Black History Month’ or the ‘Making Friends with Music’ day of world music and dance at the Birmingham Symphony Hall where he gave his own potted version of the history of reggae backed by a collection of family and friends in September 2002.

In recent years, Basil has spent a lot of his time making real efforts to encourage the school children and youth of Birmingham and the Midlands to enjoy and participate in music through a series of community music programmes. His real aim is to set up a music academy for under-privileged youngsters in Birmingham, with the aid of government money and help from sponsors. “There are other ways to keep music alive apart from constant gigging and replaying your old stuff. I’m now trying to put back what I got out of it. To try and motivate local people and promote music to the youngsters in schools in particular. I will never stop making music. I’m enjoying it more now over the last few years. Seeing how hard Buju Banton worked made me realise how lazy I was before. Hence why lots of things are moving now. The energy is back, I can play any music I want to, not just reggae. My confidence is bubbling again.” When he’s not encouraging the next crop of musical talent to blossom, Basil is still making music himself, and he has plans to release a single in the near future. He already has an album’s worth of concept material in the can and waiting to be released. And with other projects in the melting pot, including his own music company and talent agency, watch this space for the next absorbing chapter in the Basil Gabbidon story.

http://gabbidonband.com/

http://andybrouwer.co.uk/basil.html

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Sic’Nis is an acronym that stands for: Succeed-In(g) Impossible Circumstances Needs Intellectual Strength – A mantra that best describes events in her life thus far.

A lyricist, writer, Radio-Presenter and aspiring performing artiste, it was her passion and love for music, and it’s associated art-forms, that made a career-path in music inevitable.

Born in Birmingham and growing up in the notorious Handsworth borough, Sic’Nis started out singing in the family church (her uncles and aunts play various instruments i.e piano, guitar) and writing songs/stories and poems since the age of 7 years old. Writing became an escape, through which she could retreat from her reality, and be anything, go anywhere in the world that she wanted to be or go.  She discovered that not only did she love writing, she actually had a real talent for it.

Throughout her teenage years she entered, and won many talent competitions dancing in groups, she was always singing, always dancing, always writing.  Her gift was noticed by the Deputy Head of her Secondary School, and he encouraged her to think seriously about developing her writing skills and combining them with her love of/talent for music.

It would prove to be several years before she did indeed take heed of his words, but would be far from the last time she was given that advice.

A few life-changing events led Sic’Nis to realise that life’s too short to focus on anything other than what you love, and she began to take her talent and unique skills seriously, and, she began to hone, craft and fine tune her craft, namely her rapping, combining melodic flows with clever, metaphorical lyrics, and her niche, which is the fact that she doesn’t use obscenities and writes about positive, socially conscious topics.

She started recording her tracks and performing at local charitable events, incl, Mothers Against Guns, in Victoria Square B’ham city centre,  Action for Haiti and Help Heal Haiti as well as most recently opening for multi-platinum selling Ghostface Killah of Wu Tang Clan, and Akala plus many many more over the years.

Music is her passion, her second love and she explores it with a true purity to express the brightest and the darkest emotions one can feel. A true inspiration and role model for perserverance and strength, it is her self-belief, confidence and determination that led her from being an unknown local artist to having her own radio show on local community, ofcom  registered NewStyle 98.7fm. Presenting the Homegrown Show with Sic’Nis on Tuesdays from 7-8pm, using the show to shine a spotlight on up and coming artistes in the Midlands, something that was lacking at the time and still is now. Influencing a lot of artists along the way.

Socially she can fit into any environment with a witty approachable manner and has shared her talent with and throughout her community.

Sic’Nis also hosts a radio show on http://wutangradio.com every Friday 9pm est/1am uk – interviewing the icons she grew up listening to, and sourcing/promoting independent artists from across Europe;

Sic’Nis’ 1st EP, The Prequel is live shortly on ITunes/Napster/Amazon etc and features her iconic underground hit “B C Heavy”.

Currently putting the finishing touches to an EP entitled “You’re Gonna Love Me With My Clothes ON!”.  The recent release via Juice String/Jeremy Sylvester – Ah Wah Do Dem – 2 mixes of this track reached no 2&3 respectively on the TraxSource.com Top Download Chart, within 2days of it’s release on 15/04/2012.

Destined for more than greatness Sic’Nis is definitely one to watch, forever.

Sic’Nis    Succeed-In(g) Impossible Circumstances Needs Intellectual Strength

http://sicnis.com
http://youtube.com/mssic1
http://soundcloud.com/sicnis

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If he is not busy in the Studio working on projects within the community and Newports arts and development or for signed artists, you will find DJ Winchester out on the road with the likes of Akil The Mc {Jurassic 5} Souls of Mischief and Lady Leshurr to name a few.

Winchester Dj/Producer of Birmingham  based  Hip Hop Group “Pentalk” has been busy over the past few years building his recording studio and working  with Booking agency 1step Productions to bring some of the finest in hip hop talent to a town near you. He has recently created  studio number 2 for his own projects/record label Soulfull Records.  You can expect some boom bapness coming your way very soon.

Twitter
@winchizzzle
@1StepProduction

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In 1991 Janet Kay became a massive hit in Japan with her version of Minnie Ripperton’s ‘Loving You’ and was signed to Sony Music Japan for over 12 years and recorded 6 albums.

Janet has been a regular visitor, touring Japan yearly since the early 90’s.  In the UK,  Janet  affectionally known as the ‘Queen of Lover’s Rock’, performs regularly and has been a regular performer at London’s Jazz Café.

Janet is presently recording her new album.

Janet Kay will be performing at The Flyover Show, Birmingham 18th August 2012

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