Some Have Gone and Some Remain
"In My Life" on repeat but also independent rap tracks from the 90's
Took me ages to do another newsletter didn’t it? Soz.
I’m trying me best here, I promise. Life has been throwing me curveballs, knuckleballs, fastballs, sliders. The lot. Here’s a link to all the different type of balls you can have thrown at you in baseball.
Since I’m heading back to Liverpool to play all night long with the hip-hop Brothers Grimm known as No Fakin’ this weekend (basically my own personal versions of Obi-Wan Kenobi / extended Scouse family - think older brothers) it seems right to pull out an old article I did a few years back that spotlights the halcyon days of going to clubs in Liverpool for some rap ack-shun.
It’s actually a bit of a long(ish) read and comes with some monster hip-hop joints to play so that’s ya lot this time around. Oh and if you scroll to the end there’s also a little One Glove gigs related treat. The least I can do for asking you to sign up for this sporadic newsletter innit. Enjoy it.
Tales of Rap in a Mersey Paradise
It's the mid to late 90's and while the house music world casts its gaze on the internationally renowned clubbing behemoth that is Cream, a lesser-known club institute of Liverpool is formed amongst a backdrop of drug wars and continued economic decline. The club night serves as a Mecca for almost 8 years to those outsiders who want to let loose to something entirely different to a four-to-the-floor beat. A cocktail of live hip-hop, paired with DJ's and a dance floor focussed club experience that has rarely been seen in Liverpool since. This is No Fakin'.
While the club was born officially in '97, the touch paper was lit in '95 with four lads - Paddy, Ciaran, Mick and Paul - making the weekly pilgrimage from Liverpool to Manchester to catch DJ Chubby Grooves at Headfunk. The main man behind the counter at Fat City Records, Chubby's all encompassing DJ sets went deeper than anything the lads had encountered before. Funk and soul breaks, latin and reggae joints, alongside some of the freshest hip-hop out of the States - at a time when house music dominated the clubbing landscape in the North West, this was unheard of.
Inspired by what they'd witnessed, No Fakin' was brought to life in March of '97 at the intimate Zanzibar in Liverpool. The notion that the lads could be onto something special was visceral and that first night has long gone down in local folklore. The Zanzibar was packed to the rafters, underground hip-hop was playing loud, the hosts were tentative but the atmosphere was alive with a crowd of Liverpool's music and fashion stalwarts hungry for something a bit left field. In the words of Kwinzola, "it was fucking beautiful".
This was a time gone by. Simply word of mouth, a solid cut & paste flyer and a good vibe in the venue ensured that No Fakin' drew in crowds of hip-hop heads, decked in Dickies, Wallabees and North Face jackets. While the club nights in Manchester specialised in a more eclectic sound, the No Fakin' crew were heavily influenced by the ever-growing independent US hip-hop scene a la Stones Throw, Rawkus and Fondle 'Em Records. They championed a straight up, 'no additives no preservatives', hip-hop sound, with which the foundations of the club were set.
"It's December '98 and we put a little known All Natural on, they'd released '50 Years', a tune that stood toe to toe with '93 til Infinity' as an underground classic. Capital D had studied under Dug Infinite and was bubbling as the next best thing a few years after Common and way before Kanye on the Chicago scene. He worked the crowd man, they loved him, he'd do his show in the middle of them & pass the mic to local MC's. There was a rapport between our crew, All Natural, and the crowd, and they played for us a good few times over the years with each show selling out. Their second album, 'Second Nature' dropped and "the Liverpool crew and No Fakin'" were mentioned on the sleeve - not even the liner notes, the fucking sleeve!"
Soon enough, with insight, hook ups and contacts, the No Fakin' crew were fast able to become one of just a couple of go-to clubs for touring US underground hip-hop acts. Everyone from the most underground indie hip-hop acts like L-Fudge, DJ Craze, J-Live, All Natural, People Under the Stairs and Lootpack, to bonafide legends like Maseo (De La Soul), Grand Master Flash, Jeru the Damaja, El-P (Company Flow / Run the Jewels), Alchemist, Prince Paul and DJ Kool Herc rolled through the doors of the Zanzibar between 1997 and 2004.
The word had spread that this was the party to play in the UK. Liverpool was getting props from the likes of DJ Spinna & MC Kriminul on recordings (check Jigmastas 'Across the Globe' below), with many acts returning to the city to bask in the unique vibe and community feel that came with playing at No Fakin'.
In many cases, the crew and those in attendance were fortunate enough to witness artists who had yet to blow up. In an era when the Internet was still somewhat in its infancy, No Fakin' provided the platform for people to hear the sounds of tomorrow. One particular night stands out in 1999, with the UK debut of Lootpack alongside Stones Throw Records founder, Peanut Butter Wolf.
"We're sat there one night with Madlib, during soundcheck, smoking Red Seal, talking about hip-hop, talking about well documented bootlegs, talking about Liverpool's scene. The guy went on to be a living legend - a bit of an enigma - but on that night, him, Wild Child, DJ Romes and PBW were fresh, hungry, straight up amazing. No airs or graces, just real artists with a show that needed to be witnessed". It's widely assumed that Madlib did in fact purchase some of those bootleg records from a local scouse record dealer during that very trip and used them for countless samples still heard today.
And then of course, amongst the names that had yet to blow up or bubbled below the surface, every now and then a hip-hop God would make their city debut and top the bill.
"You know, putting Grandmaster Flash on is a staple for any club but to host Kool Herc and DJ Charlie Chase was a different kettle of fish. Herc started on a bad note, insisting that he use his own custom centres for his 45's about 5 minutes before his set. They were left at his hotel and he was pretty pissed at this point. Fast forward a couple of hours and he's rocking the house, using TL (aka Tony Lawson, the local MC in the crowd) as his hype man and insisting that Tony was the best MC he'd heard in the UK. Who knows, maybe that night TL really was the best MC in the UK? Come the end of the night I'm sat in a clapped out C-reg gold Scirocco, Herc - a huge unit of a man - sat in the passenger seat eating a Botan burger reminiscing about his set, the crowd, the venue and the waifs and strays of the city at 3am."
It's fair to say that No Fakin' brought a wide array of people from Liverpool and beyond, together. The power of music, whatever the genre, and the chemistry of likeminded people on a dance floor, will always provide the most lasting moments - but not everyone can claim to have had these moments with NYC legends and founding members of the Cold Crush Brothers.
"Charlie Chase, humble & overflowing with positivity. He represented every kid who does it for the game, not the profit. His set was a testament to his roots & to see him dropping records and then joining the crowd to get down to each jam was a stunning exhibition of a musical OG, reaping the benefits of a lifetime of loving the dance."
Ultimately, it is the people who make a club an institution. The crowd, the venue and the doormen all played their part in making the club the success it was. People got wasted, smoked plenty and caught a groove. But there was always the feeling that, aside from wanting to go wild, the No Fakin' crowd were so hungry to listen. With the likes of Peter Parker, Dan Greenpeace, Mr Thing, First Rate, Hugh & Kam (Mr Bongo), Vadim and DJ Format coming through to play with such regularity that they were almost residents per se, this was a crowd that DJ's across the UK wanted to play to.
"I always remember Mr Thing with his boundless energy for the scene commenting on the freedom to go as deep as you want and still move the crowd. Outside of No Fakin' (and maybe a handful of other clubs) if you strayed too far from 'Simon Says', 'Ante Up' and 'Witness the Fitness', you could find yourself in trouble."
20+ years have passed since that first get down in '97, and while the crew no longer host parties in the Zanzibar, the legacy and impact of No Fakin' remain integral to not just Liverpool's hip-hop scene but club culture and music in the city generally. The crew continue to bring a level of authenticity to live shows and club nights in Liverpool at a time when culture of all forms appears to become increasingly throwaway in this modern, internet-driven world.
"Handing out fliers, putting posters up in the rain, arguing with each other, making a couple of quid, losing a few quid more & all because, crowd aside, we were putting on something that we wanted to see."
That's how it was. That's how it is. No Fakin' forever!!!
Now here’s ten tracks that helped define the No Fakin’ era as compiled by Kwinzola…
Third Sight - Rhymes Like A Scientist
Juggaknots - Clear Blue Skies
All Natural - 50 Years
Lootpack - Whenimondamic
Jigmastas - Across The Globe
Medina Green - Crosstown Beef
People Under The Stairs - San Francisco Knights
Nine - Fo’Eva Blunted
Styles of Beyond - Survival Tactics
7L & Esoteric - Def Rhymes
The One Glove Summer Residency!!!
Phew! OK. Hope you enjoyed reading all of that?
As promised, some exclusive business for the loyal newsletter subscribers. This isn’t officially getting announced until Tuesday but I might as well let yas have it now.
Super hyped to be asked back to Night Tales Loft each Saturday in July and we’ve got some beautiful heads joining me. Proper friends and family business. I love each of them dearly. So choose ya poison! Me & Stu Clark (Wolf Music), me and Giulia Tess, me and Alex Nut, or me all night long for a summer session. Heavyyyy!!!
Ya can get tickets via Dice or Resident Advisor. It’s up to you. OK, I’m out. PEACE!
