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UMA - URBAN MUSIC AWARDS - LONDON 3rd November 2007
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Stars out for Urban Music Awards - published 5 November 2007
Jade Goody was on her usual ditzy form at the Kickers Urban Music Awards - where she couldn't remember which gong she was due to present.
The Big Brother star was in a spot of bother before the star-studded bash at the New Connaught Rooms in London, when she admitted: "I'm presenting an award for Most Inspirational Artist I think it is, I don't know really, I keep forgetting what the award is for."
Diva Gabrielle won the Outstanding Achievement Award, while the Lifetime Achievement Award went to UB40 before frontman Ali Campbell performed to close the show.
Ali said: "We're not really an awardsy band you know but this award was voted for by the public. It's not the business patting me on the head you know, which I don't approve of, but I certainly approve of this and I approve of the Urban Music Awards as well and long may they reign."
Dizzee Rascal took the public-voted Most Inspiring Act award and triple nominee Lemar won Best Album for Truth about Love.
Celebrities who attended the fifth annual awards included Kimberley Stewart, Louisa Lytton, Michelle Gayle, Ashley Cole, Ian Wright and DJ Spoony.
Jade Goody at the Urban Music Awards
UK, London, 2 Oct 2007, the 5th Annual Kickers Urban Music Awards was launched last night. The final music awards ceremony will be held on the 3rd of November 2007 in London, when the show will be attended by more than 1,200 Artist, DJs, producers, promoters, record labels executives, celebrities from the world of music, radio, TV, sports and urban music fans from across the country.
What an amazing buzz there was in the spacious vaults of Cargo, a night club in Rivington Street, London, EC2. Strangely, a street not on TomTom! Naughty Tom, at least the one I was road testing.
Kismet: Mandy, Lera and Charley - girls with attitude 2007
We'd heard this was going to be a night to remember and indeed it was as the 20 finalists in the "The Best National Unsigned Act Tour" strutted their stuff, amid am appreciative audience, myself included - I had not expected the standard to be so high - hit me someone - this is the UK, and don't we consistently produce quality chart toppers.
The act which really did it for me was the Kismet Girls, a group of three sensational looking singers performing original works, with a stunning stage act, beautifully choreographed and executed by the three hotties from around the London area. The best performance of two works was on a song called 'Stalkers' - the stalkers being the girls. Watch out boys! Although their other song, 'Addictive', possibly had the edge on production. if they keep it up, I'm sure it won't be long before this dynamic trio are snapped up. Yep, believe it or not they are un-signed hence the tour.
I got a chance to talk to the girls behind the scenes and found them to be down to earth on the one hand and exciting on the other. Not surprisingly, they share similar views on a number of subjects, such as the environment, wanting less hostility around the world and hoping for an end to poverty in less developed countries. Yet here we have three excellent stage movers, two of which were professional dancers - I'm not surprised by that. They also write great songs, tackling subjects from a different angle, so injecting some humour and sparkle, which they project from the stage with feeling and style. Well done girls for making the evening. You've got everything going for you and I hope this is picked up on. NK
Linford Christie and Lisa Maffia
Josephine Speedos Sweet XX Monage Andriah Mr Midas Claire Maria Sparks & Scarce Shikane Ali Carla Manganiello Monage Handzblitz Charlotte Holland, U.F.O The Reluctants Mizz Tee Jah Paul Ewing
These
finalists were picked out of 75,000
entries from The Loot, Footlocker stores and through their Nationwide
search.
Joss Stone, a 17-year-old soul singer from Devon, beat Dizzee Rascal,
Jamelia, Lemar and The Streets to win best British urban act at the Brit
Awards. Her victory has reignited the debate about what urban music is.
Ty,
British hip-hop artist
"I'm
not really comfortable with the word urban. It's a word that's been
manufactured in this country and America to describe black music. The
word urban seems to cover such a broad range of black music that it's
wrong. How
far are the Brits removed from inner-city music and what people are
doing? It's so far removed that I don't expect them to get it bang on.
The music industry isn't championing music from our particular genre
very well anyway.
People
don't feel like that's anything to do with us. I don't feel like urban
music's just been celebrated by [Joss Stone] winning or her being
nominated, or by the Brits acknowledging that there's an urban music
scene because it's all a kick in the teeth at the end of the day. It's
not really relevant.
If
Joss Stone is the closest thing that they feel comfortable championing
because of what she looks like and how she sounds and who she's signed
to, then so be it. It's got nothing to do with what's really going
on.
Mark
Sadler, head of music programming at MTV Networks UK & Ireland
"Urban
as a genre is very broad. If you look underneath urban, there are a
number of core elements that include hip-hop, R&B, garage and into
that obviously comes soul. Joss Stone is a soul artist. Her first album
was called The Soul Sessions. So urban is a very broad brushstroke that
is the umbrella over the top of sub-genres, and there are offshoots of
all of those.
Joss
Stone has had amazing success [in the US] given that she's a UK artist.
What has really captured everybody's imagination is that here you have a
17-year-old from Devon with a voice to die for and a bunch of really,
really good tunes and she looks good - I think that's what's done it.
"
The
award for best British urban act was voted for by viewers of MTV Base.
Chris
Blenkarn, deputy editor, Touch magazine - "the original urban
magazine"
"
I don't think Joss was not a worthy winner. She makes soul music and
that definitely comes under the category of what we describe as urban.
The fact that she's from Devon is the interesting thing because most of
the music we cover is made in large cities and she's literally rural. The
great thing about urban music is that there's a big range. If there is
some sort of root with black music or dance music in Britain, I think
that's where you can call it urban - that's where this new sub-category,
or uber-category, has come from.
Joss
Stone is certainly not old enough to have had some of the experiences of
an older soul singer, but you couldn't argue that she was being
inauthentic with her emotions - it is coming from somewhere genuine. It
has to come across as real. That's the only cut-off point we have here
and that's the only way by which we judge people."
Jordan
Kensington, organiser of the Urban Music Awards
"What
urban means to us as an organisation is the politically correct term to
describe music which originated from a black background.
Music
should become inclusive and if we are fighting for a multi-cultural
Britain, then we should be fighting for inclusion rather than exclusion.
If Joss Stone can be accepted within the urban music community, I think
acts from other ethnicities doing classical music and rock should be
accepted too.
Race
doesn't make a difference if everyone is included. Out of all the awards
dished out yesterday, I'm still trying to find out what people of other
races received any sort of recognition or award. "
Oxford
English Dictionary
"A
type of music (especially street music) that originates from a city, and
typically reflects or is characteristic of urban life. "
Lera
Charley Mandy
News UK UMA Oct 07: The Kismet Girls - an outstanding new girl group, great songs and routines - watch out for them in 2008 (A&R departments call 01323 831727 for details) Photos © NJK
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