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Future Sounds of London
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By Time Out editors
Posted: Tue Jan 24 2006 
Plan B
We say More than just a cockney Eminem, or an X-rated Mike Skinner, 23-year-old east Londoner Ben Drew could well be the most exciting MC this city has produced. He raps and sings dark, brutal, cinematic, blackly comic songs about urban life – sex, love, violence, murder – with a soulful voice over a spartan, folksy acoustic guitar accompaniment, which means that he’s played hip hop jams, indie venues and folk clubs. His album is out later in the year and has been recorded with Anglo-American psych-folk collective The Earlies and punk-funk producer Paul Epworth.AdvertisementHe says ‘I started out accompanying myself on guitar, singing Justin Timberlake-style soulful songs at R&B venues. I soon got sick of it. It wasn’t me. After a couple of years of that I thought: Fuck this sweet-boy shit, it’s time for Plan B. I gonna do things on my own terms.
I’m gonna tell stories in my songs. I can be who I want to be. I can be a thug, a victim, a gangster; I can be dead, I can be black, I can be white. I can be a cunt if I want to be.
‘It’s like being a film director, working with characters. It’s always the strong characters that draw me into films. You want to see characters like Ben Kingsley in “Sexy Beast” or Brad Pitt in “Fight Club”, or Jules and Marsellus in “Pulp Fiction”. You want great stories and sharp dialogue. And that’s what I want to achieve in my lyrics.’
The Feeling
Matt Willis
Sway
The Boy Least Likely To
Andrew McCormick
Guillemots
New Young Pony Club
London’s other ones to watch
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4 comments
Dear Time out Team,
I am very glad that time out exists and find it one of the most helpful websites for going out in london. But one thing which strikes me is the fact that the ads you guys are putting on your website are more and more taking over the whole window I am looking at. that could even be acceptable. But imagine you are looking for some nice event and then around a 3sq cm patch are at least two moving images which show a TV advertisement for a beer brand or some software solutions. Frankly speaking: how the hell can I still enjoy to look at this site when constantly harrased by stuff which I dont want to see? Will your website one day end up with 80% of the screen occupied by at least 5,6 or seven or even more different advertisement clips ? I know the competition is hard but really , you dont want the time out website to end up being a pinboard with a little bit of nightlife guide at the bottom. Think about that guys...
good luck and best regards Martin
THE REAL HEAT
matt is cool and deserves the best that he can get in the charts good luck!
Glad to hear about Matt! Shame he went into rehab but glad he did too, since it was his choice and he wanted to get better! I'm going to meet and sing in a studio with Matt Willis next week and I can't wait! Wish me luck people! hehe! (love Matt Willis from the begining and further more!) eeee!!!