Okayplayer
It's bigger than hip hop

?uestlove (you know, the best drummer in the world, with the afro and over 2 million followers on Twitter) isn't just my homeboy, he's my boss. For the last four years I've been writing reviews and interviews for his website, okayplayer, about hip hop, funk and soul and luk thung. For my services to music, I was awarded a ?uestlove Drumstick by the man himself in 2009. Some might say it was just a random present given on the spur of the moment, but me and ?uest both know it was much more than that.


"Man, I could sit here and talk to you all night and all day, and you could never get to the depths of the pain that I've been through. When Martin Luther King said 'I've been to the mountaintop,' I know what he meant, there's no more life can show you. It's a blessing that I'm still alive."

Taken from an interview with Charles Bradley, Utrecht, 2011.





Let me take you back to Amsterdam, December 2006. Ty is preparing to play the smaller room of the Melkweg, while Mobb Deep headline next door. It's a situation our hero is intimately familiar with; preaching to a small bunch of the converted while the masses flock to see US heavyweights. Except The Infamous have neglected to catch their flight, so Ty is promoted to the main stage where he's faced with the herculean task of placating a thousand very angry, very disappointed people.

Taken from an interview with Ty, London, 2010.



One of my favourite Russian proverbs (I've got to make some use of my high school Russian classes) is 'God loves a trinity'. Which basically means that the big man would most likely be down with "Look Around The Corner", being as it is a collaboration between three very special musical entities: Alice Russell, Quantic and The Combo Barbaro. Respectively that's a fantastic singer, a hugely talented producer/arranger/guitar player and a band of South American musical legends coming together to make something very special indeed.

Taken from a review of "Look Around The Corner" – Quantic & Alice Russell with the Combo Barbaro, 2012.

What: Music Reviews and interviews
Client: Okayplayer

 

Nobody Beats The Drum
Blood On Their Hands

Every Nobody Beats The Drum video until 2011 had been made by their very own visual maestro Rogier van der Zwaag. But when he needed a new concept for their track Blood on my hands, he turned to me. Probably
 because I knew far more about Nigella Lawson and horror films than he did.We invited the original Dutch DJ Joost van Bellen to cult Dutch cookery show Nicole Brings To Dinner, and bloody good fun was had by all. Except the cat who we wanted to use for one sequence, but refused to cooperate, much to the chagrin of Hilde, our lovely actress, who staunchly cuddled him for a half an hour despite being allergic to cats. True story.

What: Music Video Concept/Direction
Co-director: Rogier van der Zwaag