Filed under: Features, Gigs, Interviews, Music, Music News, Must Read, Reviews, Things We're Diggin' | Tags: Backstage, Erykah Badu, Exclusive, France, Gig, Hip Hop, Interview, Meets, Pictures, PinBoard, Q&A, Review, Soul

3 days ago, while in Paris, PinBoard had the distinct pleasure of meeting one of the most innovative and exciting artists around today. Erykah Badu’s style, creativity, vision and movement is unparalleled. And so, to have had the opportunity to not only see her live in Paris, but also to meet her, speak with her and gain insight into who she really is, as a person – was truly an honour.
I’ve seen Erykah Badu live many times, but her show in Paris topped them all. The location, the vibe, the excitement and her performance made it a truly special gig. One I won’t be forgetting in a hurry. Performing a vast selection of new and old material, spanning all her albums, Badu with all her might, sang “On & On”, “Didn’t Cha Know”, “Healer”, “Soldier”, “Orange Moon”, “Other side of the Game” & “Me”, ending perfectly with “The Light” and…”A Milli”. And shouts to all our Parisian readers out there: ya’ll sure know how to get down! The energy was palpable.
But it’s the randomness of all of this which still feels quite surreal. From discovering that day Erykah was playing Paris; to finding out that the only tickets left were €60 (a large chunk of our 4 day budget); deciding we’d try an alternative route i.e. the hookup; Sending a couple emails around; hearing back from a contact in Dallas, Texas informing us that we not only had tickets but also backstage passes; finding the venue (a minute outside of the centre of Paris); to realising that ‘backstage’ really meant an intimate Q&A with the lady herself! Er, surreal to say the least! Completely unprepared, we frusiouly tried to remain cool, calm and collected. After all, we were repping London hard that night! Haha!

We got a few solid questions in, recorded most of the session. The footage is dope, and the pictures we have are incredible. I’m planning to roll of all of this out, along side our Sean Paul interview and Marsha Ambrosius (video) interview in the coming week or so.
Trust me, you’re gonna love, love, love, love, love it!
Peace, Love & Erykah Badu
Speeakz & Crew
Shouts to Carla & Mike
Filed under: Gigs, LDN Life, Music, Music News, Must Read, Things We're Diggin' | Tags: Floetry, Gig, Hip Hop, Jazz Cafe, London, Marsha Ambros, Marsha Ambrosius, Review, Soul

Yesterday/Lastnight (Sunday 5th July) was insane.
Jumping between Hyde Park/Wireless and Camden/Jazz Cafe was, er, interesting to say the least.
Wireless of course was off the chain for all types of reasons which I will go into on another post (coming soon), but Jazz Cafe and more specifically Marsha Ambrosius was stupendous.
I’ve waited a long, long, long time to catch this lady sing live. Never got a chance to see her during the Floetry days and while they were dope as a group, it was always Marsha’s voice that got me locked in. Her vocals are like no one else’s, soon as you hear it, you know it’s her. Soulful, yet so Hip Hop.

So yea, arrived at the Jazz Cafe for about 10pm, listened to a couple of UKSOULJAM’s warm up acts and waited for the headliner to arrive. Once she did the audience was 100% locked in. A mass of people who knew lyric-by-lyric, adlib-by-adlib, all eager to see this home grown star return to the London stage. Lord knows it’s been too long!
She came on and opened with “Co-Star” off her insanely dope (cannotstoplisteningto) “Yours Truly” mixtape. A great way to start the evening, it’s one of the illest cuts off that tape. While the set was only short (about an hour) she covered a lot of ground and did the tunes everyone wanted to hear. As soon as she sang ‘baby’ from “Getting Late” – that was it. The crowd erupted into a shattering sonic scream, literally blowing Marsha back. She continued to perform one of her most stunningly beautiful tracks, in the most…Stunningly beautiful way. Her voice, I will say over and over, is mind blowing. She then went into “Say Yes”. Ha, you can only imagine the reaction of the soul-hungry crowd, right? Yup, everyone went mental [again]. She loved it, she knew it was the song everyone was waiting on. Easily one of Floetry’s best (and biggest) tracks – written of course, by Marsha. A sultry, sexy, meaningful and deep song that everyone soul fan references. She sang is perfectly.

Aside from “Say Yes”, the track I think we all, unanimously wanted to see her perform, was “Butterflies”. Marsha famously wrote the song for Michael Jackson which subsequently ended up on his Invincible album. Easily one of the stand out tracks on that record (outside of “Rock My World”). It was evident she was going to perform the song in light of MJ’s passing, and we were all anxiously waiting for an emotional rendition of it. But before she sang that song, just as she sat on her piano, she spoke briefly about the King of Pop saying “I worked with that man, spent time with that man, I spent time with his kids – I cannot believe he’s gone”. Visiably upset, it was clear that Ambrosius had been deeply affected by his sudden and untimely passing. She continued saying “before I sing ["Butterflies"], I’d like to perform a song we were working on, but never got to finish”. Wow, I mean, you can imagine what that was like. I for one felt incredibly privileged. I don’t remember what the song was called, but we do have footage of it (coming soon), but she sang and played with so much passion – the Jazz Cafe grew silent. No backing vocalists, no band – just her and her piano. It was a moment. After a roar of applause, she began to play “Butterflies” – most probably the most emotionally charged part of the evening. As an MJ fan, a Marsha fan and a fan of that song – it was phenomenal.

“Butterflies” signified the end of her set, sadly. I really could have done with another hour of her on stage – an hour wasn’t enough. She has tons of material and could have quite easily performed for the rest of the night, but that’s just me acting spoilt. I was happy I got to witness her music live, something, as I mentioned, I’ve been waiting for for a long time now.
I just hope she returns again soon!
PinBoard had the pleasure of interviewing Marsha Ambrosius just before her gig. We got some real exciting stuff coming, including some exclusive, exclusive material from the lady herself. The interview will be up soon. Watch out for that.
Peace, Love & Marsha Ambrosius
Speeakz
Shouts to UKSOULJAM, Keep the Faith, Paul Aaron & Marsha Ambrosius
Filed under: Gigs, LDN Life, Music, Music News, Must Read, Things We're Diggin' | Tags: Floetry, Jazz Cafe, London, Marsha Ambr, Marsha Ambrosius, Soul, UKSOULJAM

UKSOULJAM brings you a UK Exclusive as MARSHA AMBROSIUS of Floetry headlines her first UK gig in a few years & also her first UK gig since Floetry split. For the first time in the UK Marsha will perform material from her eagerly awaited solo album which features collabs & production work from some of the finest names in Neo Soul & Credible Hip Hop.\
Avid Floetry & Marsha fans will be aware that Marsha knew, worked & recorded with MJ writing his hit “Butterflies” (originally a Floetry song). Marsha will perform a special version of “Butterflies” on this July 5th show.
You can buy tickets HERE or on the door. Price: £8 advance, £10 on the door. £13 for upstairs restaurant table spaces.
You know how much a fan of Marsha Ambrosius I am, so ya know I’m gonna be there.
Peace, Love & Marsha Ambrosius
Speeakz
Shouts to Paul
Filed under: Gigs, Music, Music News, Must Read | Tags: Coldplay, Gig, Hip Hop, Jay-Z, London, Wembley Arena

Yup. You heard me. Jay-Z & Colplay > Wembley Arena > 18th & 19th September 2009.
Now, you’re either gonna be super excited about this, or like me, not. I mean, Jay-Z of course, I’d be excited, but Coldplay? Man. Why they gotta do that for? I know I’m about to insult a bunch of people, but I really, really cannot stand Chris Martin or his band! They’re just so…Boring!
But as I type/moan, I know that this is Hova and so, Speeakz will most likely have to be there regardless lol!
Peace, Love, Jay-Z & Coldplay
Speeakz
Filed under: Gigs, LDN Life, Music, Music News, Must Read, Things We're Diggin' | Tags: Gig, Hard Rock Cafe, London, Mr Hudson, Pop, Q Music Club, Review, the Noisettes
Last night I was invited to attend the Q Music Club held at the Hard Rock Cafe on Park Lane, to catch Mr Hudson & The Noisettes live.
I’m a big fan of the Noisettes and so I was pretty excited about seeing them live for the first time. I’ve seen Mr Hudson a few times previous to last night and while not his biggest fan, I remain open minded about his new material and really do love his new single “Supernova”…So was looking forward to hearing that live.

Anyways, Mr Hudson was up first – performing only 5 tracks including the aforementioned song and new single “Supernova” which sounded even better live! He also sang “There Will Be Tears”, another song that’s growing on me, as well as “Too Late, Too Late” from his debut album with the Library. It was a nice, albeit short, set.
After a short interlude and a few too many canepes (mini burgers, chicken sticks & chocolate brownies? Yes please!) and a couple (on the house) drinks, it was time for the Noisettes. As mentioned previously, I hadn’t before last night, seen this band do their thing live – not even on TV, so I had no expectations, but was curious to see how they got down on stage. And boy oh boy, was I in for a shock!


…The stunningly beautiful lead singer Shingai was spellbinding to watch. Her energetic stage antics and powerful (and I mean powerful) vocals brought the songs I love off their album alive, adding a whole new dimension to them in the process. I knew she had a dope voice, but I never knew she got down like that. Jumping in and out the crowd, on top of bar fixtures [see picture below] and back onto the stage again – I was out of breath just watching her! Strumming her bass, while rocking out with her band, Shangei oozed star quality. She most certainly has “it”, whatever “it” is. I was perfectly blown away – to say the least.

I have some footage of both acts on stage, and will try my best to get that up by the end of this week (if not sooner), so bear with me on that. In the meantime, make sure you check both Mr Hudson’s new stuff and the Noisette’s new album (out now)!
Peace, Love, Q Music Club, Mr Hudson & the Noisettes
Speeakz
Shouts to Natalie
Filed under: Gigs, LDN Life, Music, Music News, Must Read, Things We're Diggin' | Tags: Beyonce, Gig, London, Pictures, Pop, R&B, Review, The 02

To be honest, it’s not much a review, because all I can say about Beyonce is that is, without any questions or debate, the best female R&B/Pop artist out there. Simple. Don’t come to me with your Rihanna’s, Ciara’s (whom coincidental I was sitting next to at the gig!), Keri Hilson’s etc – they don’t come close. Don’t get me wrong, I think they’re all cool in their own right, but next to Bey, they all pale in comparison. This may upset a few, but in my opinion it’s not up for discussion.


Her voice is as breathtaking as her beauty – flawless in fact. Not one note out of tune, not one ad-lib miscalculated, every song sang to pure perfection. I did warn you, not much a review here. Her choreography, while not the most complex I’ve seen was effective nonetheless. I enjoyed the show aspect of the concert too – I thought it flowed really well and played the ‘Sasha Fierce’ thing off quite well (a theme I’ve never really been too found of). Ms Knowles performed all the tracks we wanted to hear including “Crazy In Love”, “Upgrade You”, “Me, Myself & I”, “If I Were a Boy”, “Diva” and of course “Halo”. Not to mention a dope medley of Destiny’s Child biggest tunes! During “Baby Boy” she flew up and over the crowd and landed on the mini-stage right.next.to.my.seat – my girl was singing while dangling upside down – c’mon!
…I literally took some 200 odd pictures. I went ‘flicking’ crazy.




So yea, I was a stupidly huge fan before I saw her live and now – I have probably earned my ’stan’ stripes. All jokes aside though, I do not think there is a better female pop/R&B artist out there at the moment (or has been in a very, very long time). While many will hate and most will have their opinions the facts don’t lie. Her voice is faultless, her moves are cool and her concepts (videos etc) are contemporary and graceful. I have no doubts in my mind that in 25 years, people will look at Beyonce and hold her in much the same regard we now hold Tina Turner.
Peace, Love & Beyonce
Speeakz
Filed under: Gigs, Music, Music News, Must Read, Things We're Diggin' | Tags: Britney, Britney Spears, Circus, London, Pictures, Pop, Review, Show, The 02
If Hip Hop is my wife and Soul is my lady, then Pop is that chick I guiltily run back to that no one knows about.
PinBoard is proud to be a little different, a little diverse, and while we’re 99.9% about Hip Hop/R&B/Soul, we also can down to a little unadultered pop music. Booooooyaaaa! So, with my free* ticket in hand, I sat back (ok, stood up) and watched Britney’s circus roll in.
…And oh, what a freak show it was!
It safe to say, no one pays to hear Britney sing, but miming the entire way through was a bit shambolic. And while it’s clear Ms Spears still remains a bit…’vacant’ and not 100% back in the game – what she does on stage for two hours (ish) is nothing short of spectacular. Granted, she had a few extended moments off stage (costume changes etc) – but nevertheless her show was just amazing. Dwarfs, acrobats, flame throwers, martial arts, clowns, dancers and all sorts helped Britney put on one of the most extravagant shows I have witnessed since Michael Jackson’s in 1997. And damn, I don’t know what the hell that man is gonna bring if his show is gonna be even bigger?!
Anyways, Britney isn’t one to analyse, you don’t need to think deeply about her artistic integrity or her musical ability – you don’t even go to hear her sing. What you pay for is to see her entertain and while I don’t necessarily feel she ‘loves’ what she does like she used to and actually at moments, felt quite sorry for her – she is, without a doubt, a born entertainer and whether you like to admit it or not, she’s a legend in her own right. Check out some of the snaps from last night…

^ Never been a Ciara fan but wow, did she kill it on stage. Her moves are beyond serious! God blessed her with an amazing bumper too (just FYI).








So there you have it. Britney does the 02 big styleeee! I know she ain’t to everyones taste, but as I’ve said a zillion times before, music is about having fun and she most certainly granted us that.
PinBoard will now return to it’s regular scheduled programming.
Peace, Love & Britney
Speeakz
P.s true story: after the gig, I listened to a combination of Nas, Jay-Z, Wu Tang, Brother Ali & Immortal Technique – you know, just to restore balance! LMAO!
*Shouts to Suneetha for the good, good hookup!
Filed under: Gigs, LDN Life, Music, Music News, Must Watch, Things We're Diggin' | Tags: Cargo, Commercial, Flyer, Gig, LDN Life, Maluca
Yesterday I posted up the flyer for this event, now here goes the video commerical…
Maluca > Cargo > Saturday 30th May 2009 > Be There.
Peace, Love & Maluca
Speeakz
Shouts to Peggy & James
Filed under: Gigs, LDN Life, Music, Music News, Must Read, Things We're Diggin' | Tags: Deviation, Fabric, Gig, Hip Hop, J Rocc, Live, Madlib, Review

Last night was pretty intense. Fabric, a place I haven’t passed through since…Damn, my college days. A very different kinda Speeakz used to get down inna that place on a regular. It took two legends to get me back in that there, and boi, drunken memories aside, I can not regret attending, one bit.
It was truly an amazing sight to see that many people (850+ I hear) out, ready to rave, on a Tuesday night. It’s rare, very rare in fact, but people were ready and willing. The vibe was so on point, no ’scenester’ stooshness/stupidness (the kids stayed at home), no waste drunken foolishness – this was a strictly Hip Hop event.
I arrived about 11ish, at which point, J.Rocc was on spinning his soul out. The dude kilt’ it. Like, completely smashed the venue to pieces. The tunes he was dropping were sending us all into a sense of musical euphoria. I can’t possibly go through all the tunes he played coz they were all pretty serious, but I remember quite vividly going crazy when he dropped Aaliyah’s “Rock the Boat” (Lola, I SEE you!).

…Then, he dropped “The Red”. People who know me well enough, know that that tune is my all time favourite Dilla beat. But wait, what was that? Madlib on stage performing it LIVE? Are you taking the piss? By this point we were up on the balcony, and sh*t, I could have quite easily jumped over with excitement. Madlib, rocking “The Red” was most certainly the highlight of my night.
It was only a short time after this that Madlib took to the decks properly to start his set. Course, by this point everyone’s anticipation levels were reaching maximum. We were waiting for those classic Lib’ tracks, waiting for him to drop something that was gonna make us all go wild but, unfortunately they hardly arrived! Now, I don’t want to be too harsh or nagative on him, because all fans of his should know the kinda dude he is. He’s serious, he’s deep, he’s intense. So, to expect anything less that random instrumentals, new productions (”that you’ll never hear again”) and strange interludes would have been a lil’ naive of you. But, inbetween the odd chaotic musical rant, he did drop some new Madvillian, some new Quasi & some new Beat Konducta – which all seemingly went down well.

Unfortunately, raving on Tuesday has its downfalls, the main one being work the next day. So, we retired relatively early-ish. But I heard after we left J Rocc jumped back on the stage and once again, brought the house down. I’m even hearing (from various people) that he’s the best live DJ peeps have ever seen. Hmmmm. I mean, I wouldn’t like to comment on that, but I wouldn’t necessarily complain about that claim. He’s incredible. But together, Madlib & J Rocc are even better. Their chemistry is something very cool to behold.
Benji B & Co took Deviation to the next level last night. They truly outdid themselves. Til’ the next one!
Peace, Love, Madlib, J.Rocc & Deviation
Speeakz
Filed under: Gigs, LDN Life, Music News, Must Read, Things We're Diggin' | Tags: Benji B, Deviation, Fabric, Hip Hop, J Rocc, London, Madlib

London, it’s that time again! Last week our excitment was shattered with the news that the Madlib/J.Rocc gig at Fabric was cancelled, but this time, this time it’s all systems a-go! Tonight is the night! Deviation @ Fabric featuring the LEGENDS that are Madlib & J.Rocc. Oh. My. Daze!
…Tonight we shall worship. And rave.
Tickets still available on the door – GET THERE EARLY to avoid disappointment!
Peace, Love & Deviation
Speeakz
Filed under: Gigs, LDN Life, Music, Music News, Must Read | Tags: Cargo, Hip Hop, June 20th, Lixo, London, Melo-X, Midnight Rockers Express, Rox, Summer bubblers
Filed under: Gigs, Music, Must Read, Things We're Diggin' | Tags: Deviation, Fabric, Hip Hop, J Rocc, London, Madlib, May 19th

Filed under: Gigs, LDN Life, Must Read, Things We're Diggin' | Tags: Bashy, Crazy Cousins, Hip Hop, ILuvLive, Kele Le Roc, Leicester Sq, Sound, UK

I’ve only been to one ILuvLive event (which I think is pretty sh*teous of me) and that was the one that Ms Dynamite headlined – it was such a heavi night! Their line up is always impressive and when I went the vibe was overly cool!
Anyways, it’s ILuvLive’s 5th birthday and to celebrate they’ve pulled out all the stops with one killer line up. Performers on the night include: Bashy, Baby J, Kele Le Roc, MJ Cole, Attacca Pesante, MPHO & PA’s from MJ Cole, K.I.G, Shysti, Maxwell D, Bring it Back & Gracious K. Damn. Can’t knock that hustle one bit!
The event, hosted by Ras Kwame & Twin B will be going down @ Sound in Leicester Square. Tickets cost £8 in advance (book HERE) & £12 on the door.
I highly recommend you be there. I will be.
Peace, Love & ILuvLive
Speeakz
Filed under: Gigs, LDN Life, Music News | Tags: Deviation, Fabric, Hip Hop, J Rocc, Madlib, Postponed

It is with great disappointment and many apologies that we announce that tonight’s event, Deviation at Fabric (featuring Madlib and J Rocc), has had to be rescheduled. Due to passport issues, Madlib was unable to catch a flight in time for tonight – as a result, the event has now been moved to TUESDAY, 19 MAY. Tickets (including the half-price tickets we gave away) are valid for the rescheduled show, but Fabric can also offer full refunds if necessary.
We sincerely apologise for the many inconveniences and disappointment this may cause you.
For more information, please contact info@fabriclondon.com or call the Fabric office on 0207 336 8898.
*RE-SCHEDULED EVENT DETAILS*
TUESDAY 19TH MAY 2009. DEVIATION SPECIAL AT FABRIC HOSTED BY BENJI B, JOINED BY SPECIAL GUEST DJS MADLIB & J. ROCC.
FABRIC, 77A CHARTERHOUSE STREET, LONDON, EC1M 3HN// 9-3 AM// £10.
TICKETS: 0870 0600 100 OR WWW.FABRICLONDON.COM
Gutted. Literally, this messes up my life. Ergh! These things just can’t be avoided, so can’t be blaming the promoter, venue or artist. Sh*t happens. So, now I need to go change some things around (praying that’s possible) to ensure that I can make it next Tuesday!
Peace, Love & ______
Speeakz
Filed under: Gigs, LDN Life, Music, Music News, Must Read, Things We're Diggin' | Tags: Bloombury Ballroom, Daniel Merriweather, Gig, June 3rd 2009, London, Mark Ronson, Soul

People, the homie Daniel Merriweather will be performing at the Bloomsbury Balloom on June 3rd 2009!
Backed by a nine piece band (plus special guests) Daniel Merriweather will be rocking London Town properly. There’ll also be a DJ set on the night from Daniel’s producer and chum – Mr. Mark Ronson.
…I’ve had Merriweather’s album Love & War (June 1st) for a minute now and like I’ve said on multiple occasions – it’s pretty damn impressive. His voice are ridicoulous and his writing skills are just dope.
Tickets go on sale Friday 8th May and are priced at £12.50 (we appreciate credit crunch prices!) and will be available to buy online here or by phone on 0844 576 5483
Related: PinBoard Interviews Daniel Merriweather
Peace, Love & Daniel Merriweather
Speeakz
Filed under: Gigs, LDN Life, Music, Music News, Things We're Diggin' | Tags: Deviation, Fabric, Hip Hop, J.Rocc, LDN Life, London, Madlib

Deviation > Madib & J.Rocc @ Fabric > Wednesday 13th April 2009 > Buy tickets here Advance tickets have sold out. Get there early to buy on the door!
…You miss this and I don’t even know what to tell you. Lol.
Peace, Love & Deviation
Speeakz
Filed under: Gigs, LDN Life, Music, Must Watch, Things We're Diggin' | Tags: Asher Roth, Asleep in the Bread Aisle, Be By Myself, Candy Rain, Gig, I Love College, Lark in my Go Kart, London, Notting Hill, PinBoard, Pinboard TV, Taberna, Tabernacle
Yesterday we brought you a full review of Asher Roth’s debut gig in LDN Town. Now, we got some exclusive PinBoard footage for ya’ll! Check Roth performing tracks off Asleep in the Bread Aisle including “Lark in my Go-Kart”, “Candy Rain” (WTF?!), “Be By Myself” & “I Love College”.
…OH and peep Ginger Kid & Mr Londoner jump on the stage, around the 1.43 mark < I told you boys the footage was coming! Haha! They said they wanted to “Do Something Crazy”!
Peace, Love & Asher Roth
Speeakz






















