Monthly newspaper and online publication targeting 18 to 35 year olds. The ultimate guide to the hottest parties, going out and having fun. Music, fashion, film, travel, festivals, technology, comedy, and parties! London, Barcelona, Miami and Ibiza.
Issue link: https://read.uberflip.com/i/572275
B. Dolan released his highly anticipated new album Kill The Wolf back in July via Scroobius Pip's Speech Development label. His first LP in five years, the record features production from Alias, Cecil Otter, and Buddy Pearce, as well as an eclectic cast of collaborators including Aesop Rock, Buck 65, Kathleen Stubelek and the late Dave Lamb. Now Dolan is ending the summer by taking the album on tour, first in America and then this side of the pond, including a London headline show at XOYO on September 23rd. His live shows have become the stuff of legend; he once brought a 20-piece marching band overseas with him as backing, and he's rocked over 500 shows internationally in the last decade. Born in Rhode Island, Dolan grew up surrounded mostly by metal music, but got into hip-hop through sharing tapes with his friends. After moving to New York to pursue his dream of becoming a rapper, he got into poetry slams as part of HBO's Def Poetry, winning many titles. Although he was affiliated with Def Jam as he was starting out, he moved away from the organisation, "I used to battle rap to hone in on my skills but realised that battle rap wasn't real and that rappers just died off. I also distanced myself from Def Jam as my sound wasn't viable as a commercial product." Dolan left New York after 9/11 left him in a "paranoid mental state', heading home to Rhode Island where he got into the local arts community and explored activist work. He created the consumer activist website Knowmore.org, which connects consumers with social responsibility information about corporations. He also teamed up with Sage Francis and began working with his label Strange Famous Records, which he has released on since 2008. In the last ten years B. Dolan has built himself to be one of the most respected and urgent rappers in independent hip-hop and an important figure as an activist, spreading positive messages through music. In his track 'Which Side Are You On' he deals with gay rights, something he has cared about since his school days, "I have been lucky enough to have gay friends since high school, my girlfriend was close to two lesbians who I also became friends with. I noticed that rap music was working against gay and LGBT rights, and I started to speak out on this." In 2011 Dolan released 'Film The Police', a track that was relevant at the time but is perhaps even more so four years on, becoming a global tagline of the struggles facing many in the US. It remains one of the most important independent rap tracks of the last decade. It can feel like consciousness and activism is missing from rap – it's something we called out only last month – but with artists like B. Dolan still holding it down, there is hope for hip-hop. 7 33 Issue 79 / 2015 HIPHOP / RNB guestlist.net The celebrated hip-hop artist and activist has come to our shores for a UK and European tour B. Dolan