Devil In The Distance exclusive The Blogspot Mixtape [FREE]

That One Time will make your weekend

2008-07-26T05:52:00.001-07:00

It's on iTunes today. 'That One Time EP'

1. That One Time
2. Boyspot
3. Fight or Flee
4. Formerly...
5. That One Time [Lillica Libertine Remix]
6. That One Time [Aidan Lavelle from UNKLE Remix]

79p per track as usual. Get involved.

Devil In The Distance out next Monday.

TIME FOR BONUS COVERAGE:
If you're using the iTunes search don't expect to find 'That One Time' with the rest of my releases. That would be entirely too sensible. Expect to find it under that Latin artist who always releases my music. Oh yeah. Buying music is way too easy, we thought we'd make it a little more Crystal Maze.

FREE REMIXES:
That One Time (Akira The Don Remix) [Right Click and Save As] FREE
That One Time (Hunchbakk 2 Skool Remix) [zShare] FREE

VIDEO CO-DIRECTED BY ME:

Marvin- That One Time (New Video) from Marvin Thomas on Vimeo.

The Dark Knight- No Spoilers

2008-07-25T08:53:00.000-07:00

I'm going to watch it again next week to make sure I just saw what I think I just saw. Good lord.

Notable non-spoiler moments include cameos from...

Matthew Leitch aka. Stewart Jackson from the Renford Rejects.
and...

Ariyon Bakare aka. That guy from Family Affairs who got raped in prison and that guy in Doctors but most notably from the Top Girl premiere the other day.

Talib Kweli Documentary Trailer

2008-07-24T16:57:00.000-07:00

Talib Kweli has probably had more influence on me as a rapper than any other bar Big, Jay and maybe Method Man.

Murs & 9th Wonder- Sweet Lord (Free Album)

2008-07-24T05:34:00.000-07:00

Man I've been waiting for this. You may be skeptical, don't be, download and thank me later. Murs and 9th Wonder really held us down on tour with Akala.

Murs and 9th Wonder- Sweed Lord (FREE ALBUM)

Russia to ban Emo

2008-07-24T05:04:00.000-07:00

I feel sorry for this kid ^. This is the first image on Google when you type in "Emo". I'd have searched for a better one because he looks like Newt from Hollyoaks. Actually I'm going to find Newt for this post. One second.

Russia sees Emo as a threat of some kind. It's been described as a "dangerous teen trend" and it's future is under threat. Russia's doing a great PR job for Emo, making it illegal actually kinda makes me want to be an emo.

IPS servers to save industry with stern letters!

2008-07-24T04:39:00.000-07:00

As Universal hand the keys over to Rupert Murdoch ISPs in the UK are finally ready to accept a little bit of responsibility for illegal downloading killing the music industry. Not much, there are no compensation packages and you can pretty much bet that all of their advertising will continue to revolve around upload and download time but at least they acknowledge the problem. And I assume those letters will explode?

RWD review Devil in The Distance

2008-07-23T09:10:00.000-07:00

Beats go hard. Swear down.

Peaches Geldoff overdosed before 4:45PM

2008-07-23T07:31:00.000-07:00

First thing's first. Why is Peaches Geldoff on television? She has no talent, she has less than no talent, she is the worst presenter in TV history. Second, how stupid do you have to be to take class-a drugs when your mother was Paula Yates? I mean you have to be some new kind of spoiled rich kid stupid to do that. Third, how do you overdose Before 4:45PM? Overdosing on toast is difficult by 4:45PM, overdosing on a class-a substance? Are you drinking it? You silly little girl. She's not Amy Winehouse, nobody in the real world gives two f*cks about her. Can we please remove her from public consciousness? Didn't she start her career on a pedestal of some kind? I shouldn't let such a stupid, silly, pointless, scenester, twurp annoy me but she really, really, really annoys me.

Bob, deal with the situation.

Nuts Magazine: Buy That One Time

2008-07-23T05:35:00.000-07:00

Who are you to argue with Nuts Magazine? Buy Here.

Hyperfrank breaks it down

2008-07-23T04:30:00.000-07:00

Shit's very messed up right now. Very, very, very.

PLUS: Goldielocks says some shit that needed saying. Lily Allen? Are you f*cking serious?

Floodgates = Open

2008-07-22T09:10:00.000-07:00

Sky have announced the first music subscription service in a revolutionary partnership with Universal Music.

BBC.co.uk Reports.

That was a nice industry we had once.

Young Jeezy Feat. Kanye West- Put On VIDEO

2008-07-22T07:47:00.000-07:00

This video is superb. With 50 Cent failing to consolidate, Lil Wayne being a very easy target, T.I being in such indifferent form and Kanye West being about something so much bigger, the lane is wide open for Jeezy to swoop in and become the king of this rap thing (Jay-Z is the father of them all of course).

Swiped from Blob Blog

The Voice review Devil In The Distance

2008-07-22T05:11:00.000-07:00

Just in.

PREVIOUSLY: Interview In The Voice

Akira The Don- The Death Of Beef As A Viable Marketing Strategy

2008-07-22T04:25:00.000-07:00

Akira goes in on 50 Cent's 'Ryder Part 2' beat and goes in on 50 Cent period.

Akira The Don- The Death of Beef as a Viable Marketing Strategy [Right Click and Save As]

That's that pure rap shit. Off ATD16.

Another Devil In The Distance review

2008-07-21T13:48:00.000-07:00

I don't read my own reviews I promise. I get sent these and I put them on my blog. Okay I read this one. I like when people get the point of my music. Not to sound pretentious but I like to think it's a little deeper than your average. Subba-Cultcha know what time it is though.

Lyrically subversive, promising debut from Brixton Hip-Hopper

The commercial successes of British Hip Hop acts has been slim over recent years; more so for those who have avoided the cliché bombast of gangsta rap. Dizzee Rascal, of course, has been the leading pioneer of the genre, but for most it has been a case of re-inventing yourself to make dance floor music (compare Wiley’s ‘Wearing my Rolex’ to some of the tracks from his album ‘Treadin’ on Thin Ice’) or accept that a cult underground following is your most likely outcome (Lethal Bizzle, Taz, Prof. Green, the list goes on). ‘Devil in the Distance’ is the long awaited debut album from Marvin.

‘Devil in the Distance’ is an album that, for the most part, stands up well to comparison with any of his genre peers. The likes of ‘Goodbye’, a song about youth violence that feels particularly pertinent in the current climate, recalls the likes of ‘Can’t Contain Me’ by Taz, whilst ‘First Born’ shows a maturity in Marvin’s approach to lyrics; a frank honesty without the bravado some would inflect upon such a topic. Marvin also shows himself to be capable of great lyrical dexterity on the likes of ‘Fight or Flee’. There are a few blemishes upon ‘Devil In The Distance’, ‘Trocadero’ feels a little gimmicky whilst carry me seems like a compromise with the rest of the album; it’s piano accompaniment belying some frank lyrical content. However, the production on the album is first class (see the likes of ‘That One Time’) and ‘Devil In The Distance’ has enough strength to survive any critical savaging. Whether it has any crossover singles is debatable; unlike Dizzee Rascal’s debut it’s difficult to see which songs could bother the charts and it’s similarly difficult to pick out a song with the dance floor appeal of Wiley’s recent single, all of which suggests that Marvin is destined to be confined to his cult fan base alone. This would, of course, be a great shame as ‘Devil In The Distance’ is a mature, lyrically creative album that shows that British Hip-Hop can be creative and not rely upon well trodden rap conventions. He might not become a well known name with this album, but Marvin has created a debut that potentially sets the bar for all future British rappers. Innovative and surprising at every turn, this is a very strong first offering.

By: Lewis Morton

Out July 28th as I may have mentioned.

That One Time Out Today

2008-07-21T05:28:00.000-07:00

Kele Okereke racially attacked by the Sex Pistols? UPDATE

2008-07-21T03:46:00.000-07:00

Over the weekend at a festival in Spain John Lydon and his entourage have been accused of attacking Bloc Party's Kele Okereke with racial motives. I've never really liked Bloc Party or Kele in particular since he made up a bunch of shit about Art Brut and tried to get physical himself a couple of years back; but this is pretty shocking. His press statement below...

**************Press Statement*********************

Bloc Party’s Kele Okereke was the victim of an unprovoked racist attack by Sex Pistol’s singer John Lydon and members of his entourage this weekend, an attack which left Okereke with severe facial bruising, cuts to his face and body, and a split lip.

The incident took place on Saturday evening backstage at the Summercase festival in Barcelona; in which Lydon and his entourage were described by one witness “as acting like a gang of racist thugs”

The Sex Pistols were socializing backstage with an array of British bands many of whom witnessed the attack. Kele, a huge fan of Lydon’s approached the singer to ask if he would ever consider reforming one of his favourite bands, Public Image Ltd. The Sex Pistols singer became intimidating and aggressive while his entourage responded with a racist tirade including the statement, “your problem is your black attitude” Kele was then set upon by 3 members of Lydon’s crew who punched him in the face and head as well as attacking people who tried to protect Kele from the assault including Yannis Philippakis from The Foals and Kaiser chiefs Ricky Wilson. The incident was broken up by festival security and was later reported to Spanish police. Kele also reported the incident to police in the UK after returning from Spain.

Kele was in Barcelona for a short weekend break before he heads off on tour to Japan. The incident was witnessed by over 50 people, which included members of the Kaiser Chiefs Mystery Jets, Neon Neon, Har Mar Superstar and The Foals.

Talking about the incident Kele said "It's not an issue of the physical assault, even though it was an unprovoked attack, it is the fact that race was brought into the matter so readily. Someone as respected and as intelligent as Lydon should know better than to bring race into the equation, or socialise with and encourage those who hold such narrow-minded attitudes. I am disappointed that someone I held with such high regard turns out to be such a bigot."

That seems like half a story in many respects but Kele was able to draw on a few names there of people that aren't going to go against the legendary Sex Pistols unless they're 100% certain of what they saw. What's weird is that I'd have asked him the same question. Public Image Limited were the shit. I tell you what though, John Lydon would get parked. Brits abroad ey?

UPDATE: John Lydon has released a statement to the press this afternoon denying any racial motives and goes on to blame Kele's jealousy for the fracas...

NME.com writes

The Sex Pistols's John Lydon has hit back at claims he was involved in an "unprovoked racist attack" on Bloc Party's singer, Kele Okereke.

Kele Okereke claimed he was assaulted by Lydon and members of his entourage who had directed a "racist tirade" at him.

Members of Foals and Kaiser Chiefs were said to have stepped in to help the Bloc Party singer.

However, the Sex Pistols frontman has put the incident down to jealousy on Okereke's part.

"I feel very sorry for a man who needs to lie about what was a perfect evening," Lydon said in a statement. "After the show John Rotten and management remained behind to sign autographs, which we did for four solid hours without incident and had a great time talking to other Spanish bands. This seems to have sparked jealousy in certain bands.

"The trouble was brought to us, resulting in those causing the trouble being physically removed by festival security."

He added: "We are in the middle of a wonderful tour, after 30 years we are achieving a true unity in our audience. They are multi-varied, all ages, all races, creeds and colours.

"When you are at a festival with bands who are jealous fools, lies and confusion usually follow. If they need publicity so badly this is the allegation universe they run into."

Lydon concluded by telling Okereke to "grow up and learn to be a true man.

"When you have achieved as much as I have, come back and talk to me," he added. "It's a shame that the wonderful world of the media is riddled with nonsense like this."

Okereke indicated that he has contacted the police both in Spain and in the UK in following the incident, though Lydon did not mention this in his statement. It is currently unclear whether any further action will be taken.

Gordon feels awkward

2008-07-19T04:59:00.000-07:00

Alistair Darling says he's not giving up any more money for schools, the NHS or Transport until the economy stabilises. If house prices have anything to do with it, that could be two years at least. Vince Cable (Liberal Democrats) says "Ministers must not simply lop off the easiest bits of their spending commitments. Instead, the government needs to be very clear in setting its priorities for spending. This should include taking an axe to public sector bureaucracy, in particular the highly paid managers who occupy lucrative positions in quango land." But that's the government's power base! They've spent 11 years creating public sector positions for middle class voters. If Brown and Darling turn around and tell them they're out, well then they've got no hope of winning the next election. What a conundrum.

A BBC study suggests that 18% of 16-17 year olds are "Doing nothing", that's not fair I mean, they're keeping busy.

Gza got drunk, high, sleepy, forgot how to rap then dissed 50 Cent

2008-07-18T14:48:00.000-07:00

I mean...does he expect a reply? Gza used to kick the shit too..

Kano joins the Blogspot massive

2008-07-17T05:29:00.000-07:00

Kano's on Blogspot. He's prepping his return to grime 140 Grime St..

New Terminator Trailer

2008-07-17T03:49:00.001-07:00

This was the film I always wanted to see. I just don't understand how John Connor's army could deal with Terminators on a large scale. John's crazy Mum + an OG Terminator could barely deal with a single T1000. How the hell are John and Common going to be able to kill a whole planet of Terminators? And then eventually T1000s? If it's possible, then I want to see how. Terminator 3 was arse.

LINK: Terminator Salvation Trailer

The little blonde hero goes pop

2008-07-16T14:08:00.000-07:00

Why do they always come out reggae? What's up with that? This song is an atrocity. The major labels will save the music industry by signing every actor/actress with poor risk assessment capabilities. Ed Norton's album is gonna be classic! I heard he's waiting for Eric Banner to drop his album then he's gonna follow-up with the same thing but slightly more boring if you could imagine it.

Hero Freestyle [zShare]

2008-07-16T07:17:00.000-07:00

I previewed this on That One Time TV at the start of the week and have had a lot of requests for the MP3. Since Nas' slightly boring album came out this week I thought I'd let it go. Taken from my forthcoming, as yet untitled (I'm not calling it 'Untitled') mixtape...

Marvin- Hero Freestyle (zShare)

BONUS: Freeway- Hero Freestyle (zShare)

The first 'Devil In The Distance' review is in

2008-07-16T06:05:00.000-07:00

The first review of my debut album Devil In The Distance went live today. It's from GigWise . Check it out.

British Hip-Hop has come a long way since the 1980’s and standing at the forefront of what is now affectionately known as Grindie is a man called Marvin. Since crashing to earth two years ago, Marvin has dropped his Martian suffix for the release of his debut album, proving that he’s anything but from another planet. He is in fact from Brixton and ‘Devil In The Distance’, an album with more dysfunctionality than a curfew of ASBO’s, is an uncompromising and autobiographical stomp through the South London of his yoof, highlighting the gritty pressures of contemporary urban living.

Although its genre bending crossover appeal ensures musical accessibility, the emphasis is placed firmly on the use of observational lyrics and the window they open onto societal decay. Fuelled by an intense honesty, spat over unbending and hard-nosed instrumentation, the dark undertone of ‘Goodbye’ tackles the endemic spate of gun and knife culture head on and the socio-political theme continues further through ‘Get By (Be Good)’ and ‘Fight Or Flee’ by exploring the effects of isolation and fear combined with the frustrations of poverty and ultimately the harsh realities of life.

While instinctively pragmatic, Marvin does manage, in part, to conceal his heartfelt anger behind a thinly veiled guise. References to Masters of the Universe, Rainbow, Panda Pops, Chicago Bulls and Naf-Naf not only define Marvin’s era but also contain a matured innocence that allow him to openly discuss drug addiction, broken family dynamics, sexuality, racism, mental health and the vicious circle of stereotypical expectations examined in ‘First Born’, ‘Richards Nan’ and ‘Devil In The Distance’.

Marvin also understands the importance of optimism and the album is littered with hope through the interactive lust, patter and promise of ‘Trocadero’, self-confident belief of ‘That One Time’ and in ‘Superhero’, the acknowledgement that day-to-day survival is a worthy achievement in itself. Culminating with a soft step plea for help ‘Carry Me’ recognises that life is tough, made tougher going it alone and that to end the proverbial self fulfilling prophecy something has to give.

Jacqui Smith doesn’t have the answer and nor does Marvin. He’s not a politician or a gangster and doesn’t attempt to provide solutions to the widespread problems plaguing a desensitised zeitgeist. But his straightforward approach, authentic delivery and effortlessly sharp, subtle yet hard-hitting intelligence does expose an innovative trailblazer who, excusing the cliché, isn’t afraid to tell it how it is.

Huw Jones

Out July 28th.

Shoreditch Shuffle

2008-07-16T04:14:00.000-07:00

Shoreditch Shuffle is on Wordpress. You can now buy tickets and stay up to date with the latest additions to the festival I will be performing at in September. Also Check the Shuffle out on Who's-Jack.