"The most dangerous, ya guaranteed favourite..." Five Steez is an emcee's emcee for anyone that needs reminding that lyrics matter. A true school lyricist representing 1/4 of Kingston Jamaica's The Council, the talented wordsmith shows grit in his penmanship guaranteed to 'Get Props' on this latest installment produced and manufactured by Toronto producers, The Quarter Inch Kings.
This is how it went down at A.C.T.I.O.N. Jamaica's The Apollo Series on January 27. The Council performed for the first time since the release of Nothing Else Matters, albeit without Nomad Carlos. It was an epic night. These highlights cover just about the entire set(s). Yes, we did two sets as that's a part of the event's concept of 'rotating sets' for the featured acts.
A Hip Hop event in Jamaica is a rare occurrence, and chances are if you have ever been to or heard of one, it would be Pay Attention, Jamaica’s premier Hip Hop event from 2012 to 2015. The team behind Pay Attention is now presenting Made You Look, a new Hip Hop party series, set to begin on Saturday, March 31 at Stone’s Throw Bar, 1B Mannings Hill Road.
Made You Look will feature Hip Hop and R&B music, including selections from the local scene, played by Inztinkz, Gilly LvLz & DJ Elmo. The night will also be topped off by a live cypher featuring Inztinkz, Five Steez and The Sickest Drama – three-fourths of the Hip Hop collective, The Council, which also runs the Pay Attention movement.
This will be the second staging of Made You Look since a ‘pilot’ was held in May 2017. “The local scene has been missing this flavour for some time now,” says Five Steez. “We had an impact with Pay Attention and we want to do the same again. We want to provide people with a space to enjoy some quality Hip Hop music all night and we intend to make it a regular thing.”
Inztinkz, who also serves as resident DJ for Made You Look, says, “Patrons can expect to hear everything from old school Hip Hop, straight through the golden eras to the new school, both mainstream and underground.”
The night’s cypher is also bound to be entertaining. The Council is fresh off the 2017 release of its album, Nothing Else Matters, and its new music video, Council Arts. “We’re going to give them lyrics as usual,” says The Sickest Drama. “It won’t be a regular performance, however. We’re going to keep it spontaneous so you never know what may happen.”
Admission to Made You Look is $500 and ladies enter two-for-one.
The Council, has released its first music video, for the song, Council Arts, from its album, Nothing Else Matters. Directed by Scotty Dreamkiller, shot by Warren Buckle and edited by David ‘Enco’ DaCosta, it shows The Council in an intense cypher, with exciting visual effects complementing it.
Originally released in September 2015, Council Arts was the first track recorded by long-time collaborators Five Steez, The Sickest Drama, Inztinkz and Nomad Carlos under the name, The Council. It also appears as the first song, after the Intro, on the crew’s album, which was made available in September 2017.
On the track, the four MCs trade powerful verses over a hard-hitting boom-bap beat with a rich female vocal sample, chopped by Inztinkz, the group’s producer.
Nothing Else Matters, which also boasts art direction by Scotty Dreamkiller (Jomé Anderson) and Warren Buckle, features neck-snapping drums and majestic instrumentation, matched by superb rapping, articulating an unheard ‘third world’ perspective, but a narrative similar to other cities globally, The album is available on CD and digitally at http://bit.ly/TheCouncilAlbum, and on online outlets such as iTunes, Spotify etc.
The Council is Kingston, Jamaica’s champion team for the Hip Hop culture, consistently releasing music as solo artistes over the past decade and staging events. The collective has collaborated musically for many years, culminating in the production of Kingston's premier Hip Hop event, Pay Attention, from 2012 - 2015, and most recently, its late 2017 album, Nothing Else Matters.
Music, poetry and other forms of art will be the highlight of a new event – The Apollo Series – set to take place at The Haven, 12 Hillcrest Avenue on Saturday, January 27. The showcase will feature three main performers as well as an open stage for musicians, poets, dancers and comedians.
The first staging of The Apollo Series will be headlined by poet Simon the Writer, local Hip Hop collective The Council and Reggae artiste Koro Fyah.
Simon the Writer, also the host and organiser, says, “Our show will have what I call ‘rotating sets’, where our featured acts will deliver a performance and then return to the stage later to deliver another.” In between the headliners’ sets, the stage will be open for a short period to willing performers in the audience. “There are not many places or events where upcoming talent can hone their skills and be heard,” says Simon. “We see The Apollo Series as being the perfect platform. We will also give you a variety of quality acts in a different format.”
Simon the Writer is a published poet who has won several Jamaica Cultural Development Commission (JCDC) awards. He will be followed by Five Steez, Inztinkz and The Sickest Drama of The Council, a four-member collective that recently released its album, Nothing Else Matters. The event’s trio of performers will be completed by Bebble Rock Records’ Koro Fyah, who is still promoting his 2016 debut EP, Rough Diamond.
Admission is $500 and showtime is 8PM.
The Apollo Series is being presented by A.C.T.I.O.N. Jamaica and is sponsored by the Main Event Entertainment Group and Marketing Plus Communications.
Yes! Nothing Else Matters Limited Edition CDs are now shipping worldwide! The album comes in a black eco-wallet with artwork by Jomé Anderson and Warren Buckle, and photography by Yannick Reid.
Orders are taken on Bandcamp and are sent (from New York) within 5 business days. Customers in Jamaica, however, may contact me to purchase a copy.
I will be live on stage on Saturday, November 25 at Cosmic Rotation at The Haven, 12 Hilcrest Avenue. Naomi Cowan, Ranoy Gordon, Tara Harrison and, of course, Skygrass, will also be performing. Admission is $1,000 presold / $1,200 at the gate. Come out and have a good tme!
Tony Polanco basically visited Jamaica with his family, came to Kingston and met up with me one Sunday evening at Gambling House Recording Studio, where I was with The Council. I took him around New Kingston a bit, mostly along Knutsford Boulevard and its environs, and we got some footage at the same time... the end result being the Night Streets music video and this interview - Night Streets: the Documentary. Walk with me as I talk about how I got the name Five Steez, how I got into Hip Hop and what the local Hip Hop scene is bringing to the table.
On the three-year anniversary of his 2014 EP These Kingston Times, Five Steez has released a new visual for one of its songs, Night Streets, in which he is moving around his stomping grounds.
The video was shot by Tony Polanco on his recent visit to Jamaica as Five Steez took him around the business district of New Kingston.
With one verse over some smooth jazz flipped by Truck Julius, Five Steez represents Kingston proudly, stating, “I’m here to put my city on the map with the rap / fine art, detailed like a graph with the stats”.
Night Streets is the seventh cut on the 8-track These Kingston Times, listed by World Hip Hop Market as one of 2014’s best international Hip Hop releases.
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