Brüknahm 2nd LP. CITY OF LIGHT (OUT NOW ON i Tunes!!!)

Our French American Brothers Siba Giga, Kiambu (Alphabet Soup) & Saundi's group Brüknahm have just released their 2nd LP. CITY OF LIGHT. (Recorded in Paris) features a progressive blend of Jazz, Electro & Hip-Hop.
featuring David Murray, Nasheet Waits, Abraham Burton, Rasul Siddik, Get Open among others.

Brüknahm CITY OF LIGHT is available on iTunes here!!!!


Saundi & Siba Giba
We have discussed Siba Giga and The Get Open Crew here. Siba Giba's hard working Hip-Hop ethics did much to inspire us at The Kool Skool. His large production credits include working with Everlast (3X Platinum "Whitey Ford Sings the Blues" LP 1998). Sadat X & Get Open EP (Yellow Production 1997). Bruknahm (Overtime Records/Knitting Factory 2002).
He also worked with Jazz Legend Lester Bowie (Art Ensemble of Chicago), Maceo Parker, Vinia Mojica, Daddy-O (Stetsasonic), Shurik'n (IAM /France), Faf LaRage (France), Main Concept (Germany), and Producer for The Jettsonz Productions (Nina Sky, Sean Paul)

The now hard to get "Freestyle" (Massot/Millet Pub. France-1992) a book of interviews and photos of international Hip-Hop artists including Afrika Bambaataa, The Last Poets, Public Enemy, KRS 1, Rock Steady Crew, MC Solar, IAM, NTM among others, Co-authored with his late mother D.Bardin is a classic. It was a companion book to the Paris-Tonkar "Graffiti art in Paris and France in the 1980s", and we featured it here


Saundi on the keys!
Overtime Records Inc. is an independent music production and publishing company, based in Brooklyn NY. Established in 1999, Overtime Records has released various LPs over the years including the group Get Open (Hip-Hop), Bruknahm (Jazz/Electronica), recently the coffee table book, "Jazz Zoom, Carrying It On" by photographer Desdemone Bardin (RIP 2001).
http://www.wix.com/sibagiba/siba-layout

Brüknahm on iTunes http://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/bruknahm/id402976396

Sebastian Bardin-Greenberg

SibaGiba / SBG

Hip-Hop Loves Foundation

www.hiphoploves.com

www.dvcpress.com

www.myspace.com/sibagiba

www.myspace.com/bruknahm

"Portraits De Cite'" A French Hip-Hop City Photos From The 1990's (Book Review)

Portraits De Cite' (2008)
French Hip-Hop City Photos from the 1990's
With work by: Bakir Ziani, Richard Hort, Ambroise Mendy, Jean-Paul Gentile, Abdel Ben Massaoud & Mohamed Boughamni

On a recent trip to France I found this in a book shop, they really celebrate a varirty of French people representing Hip-Hop culture. Here are some of the highlights.


Raiders Caps

From an outsider, the French Hip-Hop scene has always looked amazing. In the 1990's Movies like La Haine, Graffiti Books like Paris Tonkar,groups like NTM, Assasin, Iam, MC Solaar, DJs like DJ Dee Nasty, Crazy Fast Camel (DMC Finalists); Graffiti Writers like Tran, Nasty, Color, Kay One GT (and his French Hip-Hop shop in London) and U.K. legend Mode2 (moving to Paris); and the many French B-Boy/B-Girls making a huge presence in the International Hip-Hop scene.


Headspin

Obviously France is a huge country, so the market is enormous and so can support a proper functioning Hip-Hop industry. Unlike the U.K., the French government also passed a law forcing French Radio Stations to play a large percentage of French Language music. This in turn has created a large selection of French Hip-Hop artists, and labels to sign them.


B-Boys

In the 1990's French Hip-Hop only Radio stations like SkyRock and others supported this progressive movement, and many local councils all over France have laid on big budget community Hip-Hop Events that feature B-Boy, Mcing, Dj and Graffiti. It is common for French Artists to do collaborations with high profile MC's like Nas, CNN, Wu-Tang, the late Guru and many others, French Graffiti Mags can be bought in the smallest village News Agents, and B-Boys who travel the country and world doing showcases. It would be useful for the UK scene to take note and learn from our French Family!


Freight


Grasshopper Style


Power Moves

Paris Tonkar from Paris Tonkar on Vimeo.

Also to see The Kool Skool's Review and info on "Paris Tonkar"


Paris Tonkar is about to release a new Graffiti Magazine more info below


Paris Tonkar now has a Blog
Paris Tonkar Flickr
Paris Tonkar on Vimeo

Yo Pegasus!! Yo Tasek!!

RUBBLE KINGS: NEW YORK CITY STREET GANGS AND THE MUSIC THAT BROUGHT THEM TOGETHER

Puerto Rock Power!

Shan Nicholson, Kool Skool Family and director of Downtown Calling, is just putting the finishing touches on his new documentary on New York City gangs called Rubble Kings.

RUBBLE KINGS TRAILER from shan nicholson on Vimeo.

"From 1968 to 1975, gangs ruled New York City. Beyond the idealistic hopes of the civil rightsnmovement lay a unfocused rage. Neither law enforcement nor social agency could end the escalating bloodshed. Peace came only through the most unlikely and courageous of events that would change the world for generations to come by giving birth to hip-hop culture."

EL-P -"Time Won't Tell" from shan nicholson on Vimeo.

He also directed El-P's new video project -"Time Won't Tell"

http://shannicholson.com
Shan Nicholson on Vimeo

Get Open Crew/Alphabet Soup

The Get Open Crew
(from left)Kiambu/Push, Devan/Seyes, Baruch, Siba Giba and friend below
The crew was a collection of DJs, MCs, Producers and Graffiti writers, this was taken by me in New York 1992


Push Seyes 1992
Push was also known as Kiambu, an MC in Alphabet Soup (Headrush) an Early 90's Hiphop group, and Bruknahm. They had the sickest Blackbooks I have ever seen then and since. Next to the Syo (Seyes) throwy is a Omni 156/AOK/XTC/BYI throw up, who we also knew.


Push Blackbook Piece


Seyes83 Blackbook Throw-up


Alphabet Soup Press Shot
The group consisted of:
(from left Nubian, Melkuan, Deflon, Brother Love and Kiambu)

The group came out in 1991, and sounded similar to the Native Tongue's Black Sheep, but the production was a bit more experimental, and it was more openly Conscious/Political. It was released by independent label Akirfa Recordings which I think was based in a Comic shop, because that's where I got my copy, until Kiambu gave me some more to give to UK DJs. I met the rest of the group briefly when they came to our collage to chill with Kiambu.
I have a copy of a radio tape I recorded in London Xmas 1991 of Westwood or someone on Kiss playing it, and it featured in a Hip-Hop chart (Blues & Soul?) when it came out too. The group was forced to change their name to Headrush as there was another group called Alphabet Soup at that time on a major label.


Alphabet Soup E.P. 1991 Cover

Download theE.P. here Courtesy of L. Max Toilet’s “Toiletries” original post

Kiambu became a part of Bruknahm with along with Siba Giba and X-clan associate Saundi, and Released and album under that name and still record under the name The Get Open Crew, working with some European artists and Sadat X (Brand Nubian, LowLife). Deflon produced a track on a Mo Wax compilation in 95/96.

Siba Giba originally from Paris, grew up in New York City, going back and forth. He has released two books, one a Hip-Hop version of the famous original Paris Graffiti Book 'Paris-Tonkar', featuring interviews with KRS-One, Tim Dog, and others in 1992. The other one was a Jazz book project, "Jazz Zoom, Carryin’ It On" started by his mother by Desdemone Bardin, who sadly passed away before she could see it finished. Desdemone Bardin was one of the first French educators to use Hip-Hop as a way to teach English, and was an early promoter of the culture in Paris.
He released his first record with a German label, and recorded a crew track with fellow label mates First Down a UK Hip-Hop group featuring Aroe (Aroe & The Soundmakers).
He runs OvertimeRecords and has produced for California early 90's underground legends Freestyle Fellowship, Daddy-O (Stetsasonic), Everlast (House Of Pain) and others.


He is currently working on The Hip Hop Loves Foundation. The Hip-Hop Loves Foundation (HHLF) educates underprivileged people globally through Hip-Hop culture’s positive and unifying attributes.

He is still making music and here is a exclusive copy of his Swagger Like Us remix
Swagger Like Us SibaGiba Brazil Remix - T.I., Lil'Wayne, Jay-Z etc
Download here

www.myspace.com/sibagiba
www.myspace.com/bruknahm
www.dvcpress.com


'Paris-Tonkar' The French Graffiti scenes version of Subway Art
Info for Paris-Tonkar
'Paris-Tonkar' Graffiti art in Paris and France in the 1980s." Doriath, Ben Yakhlef Format : 21 X 24 à l'italienne. Prix Public TTC: 190 FF. ISBN: 2-908382-09-6.