Today we release the 4th instalment from the Setting Standard Series by Tha 4Orce.

Imagine for the last 4 years straight every month Tha 4Orce has dropped a single plus videos delivering 4 albums. One Of the greatest hip hop artists ever to come out of the UK. The talent this man has. Not just an M.C, a competent DJ, an Incredible producer with a long history in studio engineering and mastering.

I got to work on the project, editing the videos as well as photographing and designing the album artwork. It’s been nothing but a pleasure to work alongside Tha 4ORce on every project. We have been through some very tough trying times. its been a real journey.

Order your copy here.

This project has been three years in the making. After the release of Dicemans debut solo album the Power of Now produced by J.Depina and myself we embarked on our second album Powermoves.

Then the pandemic happened. My life changed there and after loosing my job my circumstances changed. Diceman also invested in equipment. Drum machine after drum machine, exploring production and building his skills and experience of the tools that make this music.

For years even before I was part of the picture. He had this vision of having all the equipment and tools to be a fully independent force. This was not an investment just for himself but for his crew too, the Legion.

I came along and showed him how to do it.

Over that time I continued to release more projects with TR Love, Si Spex, Tha 4Orce, A.dee and Chucky Smash. While doing that me and Dice always communicated. Things were going slow in my opinion and the energy from Dice needed a spark. Something had to happen to kick start a new chapter. Dice always kept writing lyrics and would call me all the time over the years spitting bars and explaining them.

Many years before I met Dice I knew the Producer and B-Boy Maurizio the Nextone. I spent a lot of time with him, at his studio Beats for Life and watched him work. He has an incredible history and story. My gut was telling me that if I put Mauri and Dice together I think we can produce something very special. All of us have our own stories and been on our own journeys. We all know what its like to the underdog and overlooked. We all have a fire in a belly.

We all have plenty in us and plenty to prove and goals to achieve. I set up a meeting and introduction to everyone and also a time we can listen to Mauri’s music and select music to put an album together. I know Mauri very well and I know he knows where I’m coming from when I say this. Mauri makes music every day. A listening session could be long and can for days if he wanted too. So my idea was to keep it short. My mindset was pick the beats Dice write the album, record it lets get it out and keep it moving.

We picked the beats, I left Mauri and Dice to form a friendship and build a working relationship. So they can see what they can create together.

This didn’t turn out how I planned. Dices circumstances changed. We are all grown men and have our own responsibilities. Depression is no joke. Loosing motivation is a killer. It has a knock on effect and when you got productive people like Mauri and myself it has an impact. We need each other to be motivated. Otherwise once that high and excitement of creating is gone its painfully draining.

This was addressed and we had a meeting 6 months ago addressing everything and being as clear and honest with each other as we possibly can. It was not a pleasant meeting at all. Our aim however was to get everything out in the open and get back on track.
I had actually flown to New York to finish off the last 4 songs recording them at Dice’s House of Bars. The footage you will see in the footage below is from October 2023. The footage of Mauri is from 2011 filmed in Italy.

I decided to release some of this footage to really address the place we are in right now. I had to create a film to inspire my brothers and really put out into the world the real truth that artists deal with behind closed doors.

Action was required. This film is solely my opinion. Both Dice and Mauri did know this was coming.

Over the last two weeks, Mark has been on my mind.  Over the last few years, I have lost many of my friends and family due to health issues or complications.

I think about my own journey and whilst making my film the amount of people I lost close to me while I carried on working.  I was asked once why to you carry doing what you’re doing.  One of my answers is that many people who were part of my journey either passed on or their lives took them in a different direction.  Some people who are still alive are proud to see me still doing what I’m doing. Living their dream so to speak.  Keeping that dream alive. 

Before Mark passed I was heading to NYC to show people a rough finished draft of my film ‘looking for the perfect beat’.  Before flying out Mark would ring me regularly from his home in Germany.  Late evenings we would play each other beats, and Mark would play me his new music and talk about his ideas. I sent him the links to my film which he watched and just a couple days before I left the UK he talked to me about his thoughts on my movie. 

What happened after most people know.  Mark is no longer here.   He has left a strong body of work that all of us can be proud of. 

Back in the 1990s when the internet was still dial up.  Websites were all code and videos were in flash format I had a site called www.nu-skratch.co.uk.  I was always out with my camera and my friend Chris Malbon was designing and building websites.  He was up on the new technology.  My close friend Steve Bridger understood HTML and would put up the content I created onto the site as and when I passed it on to him, which was all the time.  One of the reasons he left the crew.  I went to college and learned HTML to continue the site.

In 2000 I was at Marks home in Kingston where I filmed this piece.  Extracts from this appeared on my site back at that time.  I held on to this very preciously for years.

As hip hop is changing, ideas, attitudes, and even it’s history are being re-written I felt compelled to put this out.  Whatever your thoughts are, you are free to think them.  I put this out so people don’t forget who Mark B was. To get to know him a little more about him and see coming from Mark his passion for his craft.  He was a big part of my journey.  A good friend. I appreciate the friendship we had and I will never forget you.

Thanks to Casz from M.S.I for helping me film my part. Huge thanks to Damian Wilkes for introducing me to Mark back in 93. Samebeat Records.

Today I saw the deeply sad news that Chris Lewis had passed on. Myself and the team from King of the Beats are heartbroken and would like to pass on our sincere condolences to you Sasha and the family & friends of Chris.

King of the Beats what it became and what it is today would not of happened the way it did if it was not for Chris. I got introduced to Chris about 2009/10 by Kev DaKosta I believe. It was a long time ago.

I had 10 years before made the film King of the Beats featuring The Creators, P Brothers, Beyond There, The Nextmen & The Unsung Heroes. The film’s concept, the challenge of digging for records and producing something with just a budget of £20 ten years later still intrigued people. This led me to create the format for a live event which I was able to package and present alongside a tour with Mikey D from the Hip Hop Group Main Source.

When I went to London to meet Chris, Sasha and see the venue I was met with such positive and supportive energy. Chris himself was an avid record collector and also had a history with the city of Birmingham from when he was a student if I remember correctly.

We quickly formed a very strong friendship and The Vibe Bar became the home of King of the Beats. Chris & Sasha introduced me and the crew to everyone. Every member of staff got to know us. From that point The Vibe Bar became a meeting place for years.

Chris invested so much energy into supporting the event and doing everything within his power to make the event a success, it was clear he personally loved the concept of KOTB. Chris infact was the first person we gave an award to for all his support and effort.

There was a lot of us involved with the event. Sparkii Ski the host, DJ Devestate, Cutmaster Swift, Malcome. the Steel Devils, Keith, Jay King, A.Dee, Pogo, Tha 4Orce and so on. Whatever money we made we split between us. After a course of shows the next step was to start the record label. This was to give artists passing through a platform to have their music pressed on wax. This happened because of Chris’s & Sasha support. After years of working together, the Venue was taken over and Chris and Sasha moved on. Our last gig there was done under the new management. Things were not the same.

Chris had moved onto a new pasture and I got caught up in my divorce. We kept in touch via social media and would drop messages to each other from time to time. waking up this morning to see that Chris has passed is devastating as I’m not going to be able to speak to him anymore. He was such a good person. Real honest. He cared about you and how you were. He cared and had a passion for music and the arts. He was a musician. He is part of my journey and nothing can ever take him away from that.

All of us here, are deeply saddened. I personally want to pay tribute to Chris Lewis a really important part of this story. Never to be forgotten.

We can announce that this week we will be shipping the long-awaited third album in the Setting Standards Series.

I would like to take the time out to first apologize to all those who supported this project and purchased the record very early on. We are grateful for your support and patience. the record arrived this weekend and we will start shipping the item now.

Cafe Artum alongside the team at the Hockley Social Club to celebrate 50 years of Hip Hop have asked me to program an event to be held in Cafe Artum on the 12th of August.

I joined the team at HSC over 2 years ago as a dj and video/photography collaborator. The owners always made it very clear to me how important it is to them that Hip hop music is represented in their venue.

My first time djing there was alongside Birmingham Veteran E Double D. So aside from me just playing there, there are many other DJs there who do play quality hip hop music. James Swindourne who is one of the owners has always been keen to get me involved in there events and has been watching and paying attention to my journey for many years now and alongside Jayson Wynters from Cafe Artum they have been programming with their team led by Andrew Milford and George been putting on some very intersting cultural events in the Cafe Artum Space.

August the 12th to mark and celebrate 50 years of hip hop I will be screening a version of my film alongside my guests DJ Sparra ( Former DMC Champion) and tha 4Orce ( recording artist). The Event will start at 2pm and the film shall start 2.30 pm sharp. The film is 96 min long and then be followed by a quesions and answers with my self and my guests.

The Q&A will be streamed live via IG. If you can not make it tune in from 4pm UK time. The event is free and the film itself is made and directed by a local unfunded artist. In the words of Lord Finesse, ‘This is a film for us by us’.

We are also proud to present at this event our new lp Setting Standards 3. Our new release arrives from the plant this week so that this event will be the first time this album will be available to purchase. The Album is by tha 4Orce who will be in attendence. Get your copy signed at this event.

Great news, After 3 weeks since submitting the album the Test Pressings have arrived.

Thanks to everyone supporting our projects, we are very close to dropping our new album KOTB 0019 Setting Standards 3 by Tha 4Orce. A remix project from one of the UK’s most prolific and talented artists. This is a limited edition pressing.

Leading up to the release of the debut album by Chucky Smash from the Legion. The Taking of Pelham is finally getting a release.

Chucky sat down to do an interview with A Vision Media. Speaks about his history and early experiences. Forming the group The Legion.

The group had a classic 12′ Jingle Jangle, produced by Molecules probably the least talked about producer from that very special fertility we can associate producers like Showbiz, Diamond, Buckwild, Lord Finesse and Minessota among others.

Molecules return to produce most of this project the taking of Pelham 123. Tune in get to know Chucky Smash.

We are proud to announce the release of our new project.  The album ‘The Taking Of Pelham’ by Chucky Smash.   Hailing from the group ‘The Legion’  this is Chucky’s Debut album. 

Recorded at the DITC studio the album has been 2 years in the making.  Largely produced by Molecules this Album speaks volumes.  nicknamed Yoda Chucky Smash has his own sound, there is not another M.C that sounds like him.  Kick start 2023 with something that will not disappoint.  The album has taken almost 2 years to record.  In the studio Showbiz’s son Jahlil RL recorded the lp.  DJ Eclipse makes a guest appearance on the cut as does tha 4orce who had the job of mixing the album.  Key Figures returns to produce two of the tracks on the project.

Once again this is a great example of the artists themselves coming together to create, record, produce, manufacture and distribute our own product.  We are trying hard to encourage and bring each other up, learning from the experience that we can do this ourselves.

We are proud to announce Diggers issue 2 is now available to order. Limited to only 100 copies printed you can now order from our store. Shipping date Nov 10/11.