www.downtownsoul.com
pr@downtownsoul.com
BEAT THIEF
UK hip hop and soul producer who has worked with a variety of upcoming artists, with two full releases under his belt - "The Russian R3volution" (July 2009) and Poetic Pilgrimage's "Star Women" (Mar 2010). Current projects include what he calls his true debut, "Tales from the City OST" (Sep 2010), which will feature over 20 London emcees and singers, as well as collabos with conscious emcee Mohammed Yahya and singer-songwriter Sam Steele.
Email the Beat Thief
MARK ANTHONY
London emcee with Jamaican roots, Mark Anthony recently starred on the Parkside Project mixtape, promoted by UK Runnings, and after getting his name out on the live circuit at the end of 2009, now has two distinct projects of his own for 2010 - "Ghettolutionary" - droppin in May 2010, a fire-fuelled mixtape where he takes up the urban struggle, featuring production from Mups, Manga and Beat Thief among others; followed by the aptly titled "Grown Man Music", where he talks straight about his life and circumstances, look out for Mark Anthony at an open mic near you !
Email Mark Anthony
RICHARD ROE
Gruff and foul-mouthed yet conversational and eloquent, the paradox that is Richard Roe, so named because he doesn't exist... Richard Roe has previously recorded and toured with living dub legend Mad Professor and Ariwa Sounds; after an introduction to DowntownSoul by Neezy, he quickly got so many features it was only a matter of time before the man started putting his own project together. A walking rap lexicon, Richard Roe is a man with a story to tell...
Email Richard Roe
prodigious producer and emcee. Founding member of Reading crew DSM, has supported Canibus, credits include Mohammed Yahya, Poetic Pilgrimage, Spitz of Renwick, OC Jigga, Scotty Hinds and Frontblock. Shanakee dropped no less than three separate releases in 2008 and is currently working on the remix project "As A Man Fights" with the Beat Thief.
Email Shanakee
Recorded: 2009/2010
Released: Mar 2010
Artists: Poetic Pilgrimage, Sarina Leah, Mohammed Yahya
Poetic Pilgrimage's long-awaited second official release, "Star Women", has a jazz-soul-hop soundscape crafted by Beat Thief, who contributed all original production (6 tracks) to the project. Standouts include the haunting "Beautiful" feat Sarina Leah; the uplifting "Affirmation" feat Mr Drastick, Logic, & Genesis Elijah; and the duo's touching dedication to their muslim brothers, "I See You". 2010 has seen Poetic P tour Sweden, as well as performing live in the UK and Holland.
Recorded: Late 2009
Released: Jan 2010
Artists: Blazin' , Parkside
hosted by Tricksta, the Parkside Project features Blazin' from DowntownSoul, alongside Hicks, Spectral & Moscow. Led by the uplifting New Day, produced by Beat Thief, the mixtape features the four emcees going toe-to-toe over original production from Tricksta and Miss Tofelees, as well as US bangers. Click the cover to download for FREE
Remixed: July 2009
Released: July 2009
Remixed by: Beat Thief
a remix of the London emcee's debut mixtape, "The Russian R3volution" was completely remixed and released by the Beat Thief in just over two weeks during summer 2009, after UK Runnings' Tricksta had introduced the two artists over the net. Playing more like a mid 90's concept album, classic boom bap from the Beat Thief melds with distinctive flows for a tasty hip-hop feast. Click the cover to download for FREE
Recorded: 2007 - 2008
Released: January 2009
Artists: Haka, OC Jigga & Others
Haka's debut album has received rave reviews from across the UK hip-hop scene (google it if you don't believe us lol!), immediately placing him in the top rung of UK beatmakers, explaining why he's now working exclusively with established names like Logic and Big Cakes and has even had true titans of the UK scene asking after him. OC Jigga features on no less than 8 tracks, alongside some future classics from Non-Applicable as well as street spitters like DVS and KRZ.
Recorded: 2006 - 2008
Released: October 2008
Artists: Shanakee, DSM
Volume 3 of Shanakee's collection of unreleased tracks, remixes and freestyles
Recorded: 2007 - 2008
Released: July 2008
Artists: Shanakee, DSM, OC Jigga
"As A Man Fights" was a significant release from Shanakee, representing his first solo offering, and a heartfelt look at those issues which matter most to him. An introspective look at his life, family and direction "As A Man Thinks" is slow-burner classic with exquisite production entirely handled by Shanakee and guest spots from OC Jigga as well as his DSM cohorts.
Recorded: 2006 - 2008
Released: January 2008
Artists: Shanakee, DSM, OC Jigga
Volume 2 of Shanakee's collection of unreleased tracks, remixes and freestyles, featuring DSM, Silent and FrontBlock
Recorded: 2006 - 2007
Released: UNRELEASED (July 2007)
Artists: X-Ray, OC Jigga & Others
Its almost criminal that "X-Ray Vision" remained unreleased for two years after its completion in July 2007. Bringing together over twenty emcees from all over the US, France and the UK, with all the beats produced by X-Ray, this is a global eclectic hip-hop mix. Featuring acclaimed US emcees Cymarshall Law and JC the Truth, as well as OC Jigga, and French lumiaries such as Atsi, not to mention Logic, the Extremists and even Da Lench Mob affiliates Drunkside Locs from South Central LA ! And yet another FREE DOWNLOAD
Recorded: 2006 - 2007
Released: June 2007
Artists: OC Jigga, Haka, Shanakee
The seminal DowntownSoul release, "True Stories SW9" put OC Jigga on the UK map, and ended up in HHC, as well as getting airplay across the UK, and spawning off-the-wall Drum n Bass remixes - the interest generated by this release was inspirational at the time and showed the rest of us this hip-hop sh*t just might be worth it after all ! Features early bangers from Shanakee and Haka, as well as L.Man, Silent, DSM, Frontblock among others. FREE DOWNLOAD
DTS artists have appeared on a number of compilation mixtapes, particularly by heavyweights of the UK scene DJ Ames and Tricksta's UK Runnings. Below are a couple from 2009 - click on the covers for more details.