BIG BABY GANDHI - BEEN A VILLAIN
The Upside would like to apologise for the break in regular service, and would like to assure you that we shall be recommencing shortly. In the meantime, why not check Queens’ rapper, Big Baby Gandhi’s ‘Been a Villain’, produced by Hot Sugar, video directed by Katy Porter and Dapwell. Greedhead most definitely is the label to watch this year!
(Source: dasracistilluminati)
TITANIC PROJECTIONS - JERRY HOFSTETTER
To commemorate the 100 year anniversary of the Titanic sinking, Swiss light artist Gerry Hofstetter has projected giant images of the ships onto icebergs in the North Atlantic where the Titanic sunk.
Despite being a rather macabre tribute to the 1’517 lives that were lost in the tragedy, Hofstetter reveals his justification on his website. 
If you have a dream or an idea,
be careful, it may be a vision.
If your heart catches the spirit of that vision,
Realize it, with passion.
And never forget, success is the only solution.
CANCER FOR CURE - EL-P
New York hip hop monster El-P has been a big deal in hip hop for over a decade, since the days of Rawkus and Def Jux Records, producing underground hip hop laced with his acerbic, aggressive and reference heavy rap. His new joint, Cancer for Cure, drops on May 22nd, and is trailed by this brief and slightly mental teaser. You can pre-order the new album at http://www.definitivejux.net/
THE INVENTION OF THE AMERICAN FOOTBALL HELMET
Long before the days of high tech sports equipment, and laboratory safety tests, the inventor of this early American football helmet shows the toughness of his lid by allowing guys to kick him in the head whilst wearing it.
GRAND HOTEL CENTRAL - BARCELONA
A few days after my thirtieth birthday, I flew to Barcelona with 3 good friends to celebrate, bookended with a few days in Palma either side. We stayed in the Grand Hotel Central, on Via Laietana, on the edge of the Barri Gòtic, or Gothic Quarter, and renowned as one of Europe’s coolest hotels. As well as being a great base to explore the city, we were holed up in complete luxury, with my club suite having the largest bed I have ever slept in, and a wet room that could comfortably accommodate 5/6 people.
Given the baking Catalan heat at that time of year, we made more than good use of the rooftop pool with views over the city, and on one night I was lucky enough to witness an incredible thunderstorm from there (see below).
I LOVE PARIS IN THE SPRINGTIME - GRAND PANDA
Last week, General Deluxe reminisced about his adventures during a high-school trip to Fougeres in France, a magical and formative week filled with sunshine, illicit firework-purchasing, and the perils of climbing into medieval weaponry. A brief conversation with my flat-mate reveals that he too went on a European jaunt while at school, visiting the idyllic German town of Traben-Trarbach; here, the principal activities seem to have been petty shop-lifting and sampling as much local wine as could be procured from the poor, unsuspecting townsfolk.
I, on the other hand, did not get to sojourn in foreign lands during my school years. Sob, sob, sniff, sniff (or whatever noise a sad, regretful panda might make). The furthest afield I got was going to Hull one year, to visit the Humber Bridge. That’s right, our most exotic school-trip was walking 2200 metres across a bridge.
Never mind, readers, I’m over it now. And I have since made it out of Yorkshire a good few times. Just last weekend, in fact, I grabbed my beret, boarded a plane and hit up Paris for a few days. Oh no, I hear you cry, not Paris. Eiffel Tower, yawn, yawn. Louvre, snooze-fest. She’s going to bore us to tears with stories about baguettes and garlic. Fear not, friends, nothing could be further from the truth.
I spent the weekend visiting my friend George, who has lived in Paris for years. I have known George for over a decade, and he is one of my closest friends. However, I have learned to expect strange things to occur where he is involved. It was with George that I once stayed in a hotel which could have been more accurately described as a transvestite brothel. And George was there when our pedalo nearly crashed into a river-cruiser because we had inadvertently steered into Amsterdam’s main shipping canal. Last time I visited him, we went to an exhibition about the 1910 Paris Flood and then did karaoke in the illegal basement of a Korean bakery. Conventional tourism isn’t really a factor when you’re on holiday with George. Here is some stuff that happened on my latest trip to Paris:
1. We went to a wine-fair, where Parisian folk go to look disdainful for the afternoon, eyeing all the wines scornfully as though they are piss, before buying at least 7 crates of the stuff. George and I, on the other hand, tried about 18 types of wine, practised our Gallic shrugs and looking disgruntled, and then left. And it was all for free. Paris is great.
2. George has 2 things that I must get immediately for myself. The first is a board-game about the London Underground. It is guaranteed to make an evil transport-planning genius out of everyone who plays, and is the most fun I have ever had with a dice. Fact. The second is a miniature polar bear who lives in your fridge. He helps you with fridge-related decisions and helpfully reminds you to save energy by saying such things as ‘Global Warming!’ and ‘Shut the fridging door!’ Amazing.
3. I watched Top Chef. It’s sort of like Masterchef, only better. Mainly because the contestants cry more, and they have to do things like make a dessert out of fish. That’s right, fish. I think there’s an American version, if you don’t have George to translate the French one for you. Although once you’ve learned poisson and merde, I doubt you’ll have any trouble.
4. We went on a day-trip to the zoo. George, his friend Steph and I took the train just south of Paris, expecting a 30-minute walk to an idyllic haven for animal conservation. Instead, we got off the train, walked for an hour, discovered the zoo’s address doesn’t exist and that no local residents have ever heard of it. We finally located it a good 4km further on, just past a school for Apprentice Witches. I’m not even joking. The ‘zoo’ turned out to comprise of a lot of chickens, a stunted cow and an albino wallaby. Their ice-cream was good, despite the fact that when George inquired about one of the flavours, the zoo-lady said he could try it because she certainly wasn’t going to. The 15km-walk and rubbish zoo aside, I look back on the whole thing fondly, if only in a ‘what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger’ sort of a way. Above is a photo of the zoo’s ‘Tropical Terrace’, presided over by an evil gnome. Obviously.
Grand Panda
CAINE’S ARCADE
9 year old Caine is a huge fan of arcade games; his dad said he couldn’t walk past one without wanting to go in and play. So over one summer holiday, whilst killing time at his father’s auto parts store in East LA, Caine built his own arcade using just cardboard, tape, and his old toys. Sadly, due to the location of his father’s store, passing trade was thin on the ground, and he had only one customer. But that customer had a big heart and a camera, and most importantly, knew how to harness the power of the internet.
If you have 10min to spare, check out this lovely short film. It will make you feel warm and fuzzy inside!
KAP CITY - KAPITAL KO
Manchester hip hop artist Kapital KO drops his take on Tyga’s ‘Rack City’ to a tightly shot video, produced and directed by IconX Entertainment’s own videographer/cinematographer, Stephan ‘SmallBeats’ Small. Filmed in part in a karaoke bar in Manchester’s Chinatown, I was lucky enough to be attendance to shoot some stills, keep your eyes peeled for them.
Remember, it’s KAP CITY BITCH!
