Hey Young World,
This is the March 2024 edition of 1520’s Record Report, our series of monthly articles in which we recommend things we’re currently into.
We’ve picked the name Record Report in honor of Hip Hop magazine The Source, which’s album review section went under that name and, when we were growing up, told us what was worth copping and what wasn’t. In our own small way, we hope to do the same.
2004 ‘til Infinity
This year, every edition of 1520’s Record Report will include a recommendation of an album, a movie or a video game that came out 20 years ago, in 2004, a year that is very close to our hearts and whose pop culture fundamentally shaped who we (and many other Millennials) are today.
The Brothers Sun (TV Series)
Although Netflix seemingly cancelled it within 5 minutes after releasing it, we still highly recommend The Brothers Sun, a often funny, always heartfelt, action-packed combination of a crime/family drama and classic martial arts movies.
CTF 2024 in Arnhem (Performing Arts Festival)
After a successful start in Utrecht a couple of weeks ago, the Café Theater Festival, for which we do the marketing, is coming to one of our favorite cities in the world this weekend: Arnhem. If you’re in the area, don’t miss this chance to check out exciting new performances by up-and-coming performing artists in hospitality establishments across the city.
2004 ‘til Infinity: Dizzee Rascal - Boy In da Corner
Despite what some say, European Hip Hop was always way more than a copy of its big American brother, and just as worthy of its spot in the limelight. However, over the course of its history, certain albums really solidified that claim. Boy In Da Corner, the monumental grime album by British rapper Dizzee Rascal, is one of them. If what some (granted, mostly Europeans) say these days - that European Hip Hop might have surpassed American Hip Hop in terms of creativity and relative influence in the last 5 years or so - then Boy In Da Corner definitely played a huge role in getting to that point.
Dizzee Rascal was asked a few years ago on BBC Radio London whether he thought in 15 years time people would still be listening to his music. “Of course they would”, he laughed, “I’m here. I’m in the fabric.”
Word.
P.S. In the UK, Boy In Da Corner came out in 2003. It took a few months for it to come out in other European countries and the United States however. Since it definitely took until 2004 to really reach us - and since this segment is also about our personal experiences - we felt like it deserved a spot. Also, waiting what felt like forvever on a certain piece of media to come to your region was very much still a thing in the first half of the 00s.
One Love,
Marius | 1520