The ARTFUL DODGER (A. DEE) is widely credited with being one of the first aerosol writers to come out of the UK in the early 1980s, making the successful transition from the streets to the corporate world. This has included work for LucasFilm, BAA Heathrow Airport, MTV, The South Bank Show, and the breakfast cereal Weetabix, as well as having painted numerous backdrops, album sleeves and logos for music acts and record labels.

Throughout the past 25 years A. DEE’s work has taken a personal evolution through the history of the letterform, from Gothic Calligraphy and aerosol writing on the streets of London, through to PSYCHOVISUALISTICS (PSY-VI) — a soulful expression of light and colour which he describes as being “VISUAL MUSIC”

In 1994, A. DEE set up TRUE TO THE GAME to show Aerosol Culture in a positive light and establish a common understanding of its purpose and significance in 20th – and now 21st – Century Western Culture, which prompted him to both produce and direct a 2-hour documentary film on the global impact of Aerosol Culture called GET THE MESSAGE. To date, he has continued designing corporate identities and canvases, youth culture-related logos, visuals and clothing designs, as well as holding various exhibitions and spray-painting workshops for young people up and down the country (one, on a housing estate in South London, winning an award from the late Princess of Wales).

In continuing with his efforts to keep ahead of the pack and up with the changing face of technology, A. DEE is now producing digital 3D work and concept designs for videos, and has also set up a project called B-WRITE (www.b-write.com) that teaches women how to create striking urban murals with spray-paint.

C@NTACT: adee001 AT hotmail.com

Famela’s background initially was in advertising and graphic design within the publishing industry. Whilst working as a graphic designer for a company that published computer graphic magazines, she discovered a fascination for animation. She decided to study Animation at Tower Hamlets College, London, before moving on to study for her Bachelor’s Degree in Post-Production and Visual Effects at Teesside University in Middlesbrough.

Famela’s work experience with a London postproduction company as an Assistant Digital Compositor gave her the opportunity to work for clients such as:

• Warner Brothers
• Universal
• United International Pictures
• Twentieth Century Fox
• Sony
• Pathé
• Paramount
• Momentum
• Buena Vista

Working mainly on worldwide translations of title sequences, her work included subtitling, roto-scoping and dust-busting, on films such as:

• Ant Bully
• Blood Diamond
• Breaking And Entering
• Casino Royale
• Déja Vu
• Flags of Our Fathers
• Freedom Writers
• Ghost Rider
• Goal 2
• Happy Feet
• Talladega Nights
• The Departed
• The Prestige, and many more.

C@NTACT: famela AT ntlworld.com:

Nadia Jin is a graphic designer who has been living and working in the UK for the past two and a half years. Since the beginning of her career she has been working mainly as a graphic, spectacles and textiles designer in design capital cities such as Lisbon, Paris, Milan and London.

Her clients include Alexander McQueen, Vertigo – for Worldwide Independent Film Magazine and Killine-Creativoptic (i.e., Specsavers, ASDA/Walmart, Elizabeth Arden, NBA, Faconnable and Quiksilver). She is currently the assistant graphic designer of Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance.

Recognised as being the founder of the Hip-Hop Producer Beat Battles movement, Pritt Kalsi originally started out in aerosol art in the mid 1980s, developing his creative skills painting characters and portraits. Years later, he got involved in the music aspect of Hip-Hop culture, building a small reputation in his home city of Birmingham amongst locals as, ‘that guy that searches for those old records to sample’.

After meeting The Artful Dodger at an international Hip-Hop event in Kent in 1997, and seeing his film on Aerosol Culture, ‘Get The Message’, he was inspired to make a documentary Hip-Hop film of his own, The Men & Their Music; a totally self-funded venture driven by Pritt’s passion for Hip-Hop music. With his unique and unorthodox style of Guerrilla filmmaking, coupled with a direct and honest approach to story telling, it earned him the respect of reputable Hip-Hop artists across the globe.

It was in 1999 whilst working on The Men & Their Music that Pritt came up with the concept for his highly respected and widely imitated beat battle format The King Of The Beats. A cult film that is one of the most talked about endeavours in Hip-Hop culture. His aim was to create something to keep ‘music sample culture alive’, putting artist and producer legends, both new and established all on the same platform, with one thing bonding all of them together; their love for old records and the passion for searching for those dusty grooves, just as the DJs did back in the 1970s with the early Hip-Hop block parties and jams of the South Bronx.

His return to the film The Men & Their Music in 2005 was interrupted by DJ Supreme – founder of the seminal UK Hip-Hop group, Hijack – who commissioned him to embark on a project that told the story of the group’s rise and demise.  With no official budget, Pritt went on to film, produce and direct The Turntable Trixters for which 2006 saw him pick up a BFI award for the film.

In 2007 – after much demand, he decided to return to his cult film The King Of The Beats to produce a sequel. The time had now come to begin producing the project as a series of films. The new King Of The Beats film now has a more global theme, with competitors from the USA, UK and Australia (and soon Japan), all taking on the challenge. The King Of The Beats concept has even attracted the interest of other schools, colleges and universities.

In 2009 Damion Wilkes of Kidderminster Collage, invited Pritt to speak to students there about how he got into Hip-Hop and the whole break-beat phenomenon. It was a huge success, and feedback from both students and lecturers has been more than positive.

For an example of a previous King Of The Beats class, go to kingofthebeats.com/education.html

C@NTACT: nuskratch AT hotmail.co.uk

Since the late 80s No Sleep Nigel has worked as a professional recording and mixing engineer from the days of 2″-wide 24-track analogue multi-track tape to today’s all-digital formats.

He is known mainly for his work with pioneering artists from the UK Hip-Hop scene such as Blade, Gunshot, The Herbaliser, Hijack, Hunt Finn, London Posse, MC Mell ‘O’, Phi Life Cypher, Task Force, etc., but has also worked alongside the likes of The Residents, KLF, and former JBs Maceo Parker, Alfred “Pee Wee” Ellis & Fred Wesley. He was also a founding member of UK House duo The Moody Boys (AKA The House Addicts) alongside Tony Thorpe.

C@NTACT: nige@nosleepnigel.demon.co.uk

Si Spex is best known as one half of hip-hop production unit “The Creators”. Through The Creators Si has had over 30 releases spanning over 10 years, climaxing with the 2000 release of there internationally acclaimed L.P “the Weight” on Wall of Sounds Bad Magic imprint.Si Spex’s workload over the last decade reads like a who’s who of Hip Hop talent. In fact his first official release as The Creators was the remix of Nas’s all-time classic “It aint hard to tell” (Columbia U.K 1995) For the remainder of the 90’s most of The Creators output was upon UK/US label Blind-Side which culminated in the 96 release of there first mini L.P ‘The Creators have a master plan‘. This is now a rare and sought after item that has over the years commanded quite a high price in Japan.

After there spell on Blind side records The Creators launched there own imprint ‘Creative entertainment’ and released the killer 12” ‘Execution expert’ feat long time collaborator Big Kwam. This record made some noise over the pond with Hot 97’s Funkmaster flex championing it and even jacking the stabs for a production on one of his mix tape tracks.

After this initial success The Creators set about working on their most ambitious project to date. A full-length long player featuring the cream of Hip Hop’s underground talent. After numerous trips to the States and countless hours in the lab the L.P was complete. The only problem was that it had become too big for them to release them self’s so in stepped Wall of Sound records and the rest is history. The Weight featured artists such as Mos Def, Talib Kweli, Dilated Peoples, Mad Lib, El Da Sensei, Phill The Agony, and the Scratch Perverts to name but a few. The L.P picked up much praise with some tracks gaining Radio One daytime play. After the L.P and a couple of additional Creators releases including the top 40 B-Side remix of Dilated Peoples Expansion team, Si and Julian decided to disband The Creators and go there separate ways.

Since going solo Si has worked on a number of projects, most notably the 2003 release ‘Fly Like A Seagull’ on Illicit Records. An epic take on the cut and paste genre, this record is widely credited as utilizing the most individual samples in any dance music record. (GrandSlam magazine).

Throughout this time Si’s D.Jing capabilities were also very much in demand, spinning at countless clubs and festivals throughout Europe and as far as New York. Some D.Jing highlights include opening for Hip Hop inventor Kool Herc in Dublin, touring Europe with Ugly Duckling, Rocking the dance tents at Reading and Leeds festivals and also being the D.J support for hip hop Heavyweights such as KRS One, the Beatnuts, Guru, Razell, GZA, Black eyed peas, flava flav, DITC, to name just a few.

Si along with the unsung heroes features in both of the King Of The Beats (KOTB) films. Firstly as one half of The Creators and more resently solo in the sequal KOTB 2. As with the King Of The Beats movies Si is more than happy to pass on all of his 20 + years beat building experience and looks forward to sharing it with the students embarking on the King Of The Beats course.

SELECTED DISCOGRAPHY
“The Creators” Productions
The R.A.T.S -Original Ghetto Youth 12 ” (white label indie/uk)
Mcm-Straight on Up (BMG/UK)
Two Face (aka Natural Elements)-NYC/Hey Hey Hey (Blindside/USA)
Big Kwam-Regardless 12″ (Blindside/USA)
Phi-Life Cypher-Rhyme of The Times (Jazz Fudge/UK)
Ambivilanve-E.P. (Creative Entertainment/Japan)

TV/FILM
The Creators-Heartpound (Used As channel 4 Jingle to promote new season)
The Creators-The Music (Excert Used As Jingle on MTV For Over 3 Years)
The Creators feature in UK hip hop documentary “The Pioneers” as well as a number of similar films and TV appearances.
The Creators feature in the film “King Of The Beats (KOTB)” where they compete with other hip hop producers to make the best beat in a day.
Si Spex features in the follow up “King Of The Beats 2”

AWARDS
McGavin Convention USA (The Creators, Best New Hip Hop Producers in 1997)
UK Hip hop awards (The Creators, Best Hip Hop Producers 2000)

C@NTACT: sispex@tiscali.co.uk

Born and raised in Hackney east London, Dennis has had a number of year’s experience of working within the local community. Starting out as a humble window cleaner, Dennis eventually went on to teach Graphic Design at the London College of Communication, University of the Arts London. His past experience has included him designing for Transport For London as apart of the Platform For Art project, Lewisham Hospital, as well as working with establishments such as The Imperial War Museum. In 2007 Dennis took part in the Black 100 plus exhibition, which highlighted the achievement of Black people in the United Kingdom.

Other experiences include working with other educational establishments such as Hackney Community College, and voluntary organisation such as DM Education and Training Services in which he works with young people around notions of identity and Black British culture.

Dennis is a committee board member of Amelu Arts an organisation set up to organise events centered on African culture, and promote cultural diversity within the wider community.

At this moment in time, Dennis currently studying a Post Graduate Certificate course in Teaching and Learning, at the University Of The Arts London. From their it is his intention to progress from this course onto the MA course in Graphic design at the LCC.

C@NTACT: dennis.brown AT lcc.arts.ac.uk

Before returning to Britain at the age of seven, Ronnie McGrath was brought up in Kingston, Jamaica, by his grandmother, Sarah. Residing in the East End of London, he worked as a Graphic Designer, before leaving the industry and becoming a full time musician. In 1989 he became a founder member of the now defunct musical group The London Afro Blok, who toured Europe, performed for the Queen and opened the 1994 Commonwealth Games in British Columbia, Canada.  In 1993, he was commended for his writing by ACER, who later published and awarded 1st place for his writing in 1994. A graduate of Manchester University’s MA in Novel Writing, Ronnie’s formidable short story The Day Before That One, Too, is published in IC3, The Penguin Book of New Black Writing in Britain. His other published work include a chapbook, Poems From The Tired Lips Of Newspapers, 2003, reprinted again in 2005 and 2007 by the Tall-Lighthouse Press, and the novel On The Verge of Losing iT, ankhademia press, 2005. Also published by ankhademia press is Ronnie’s first spoken word CD Acoustic Avant-Gardism, Streams of Consciousness Poems for Neo-Surrealists, 2007. Data Trace, a collection of Ronnie’s inimitable poetry will be published in 2009 by Salt.

As an academic and experienced creative writing teacher with a particular interest in issues concerning writing and identity, Ronnie has worked with a large and diverse range of learners in London and throughout the country. As such he has worked for Spread The Word – Literature Development Agency, Dartington College, Thames Valley University, Greenwich University, Goldsmith College, University of London, Wandsworth Prison, Bethlem Hospital, Jubilee Books, CEL (Community Education Lewisham), Greenwich Maritime museum, Gosport College, Lapidus and Museum of London, Docklands.  To date he is a Creative Writing Lecturer, specialising in text and image, at the University of the Arts, London College of Communication.

MEDIA

Geoff Schumann, show BBC London Radio
Doton Adebaya, BBC London Radio
BBC 4 Television, West Indian Front Room
Resonance FM, London
CBC Canadian Braodcasting Corporation
Colourful Radio, London
1 Xtra

C@NTACT: r.mcgrath AT lcc.arts.ac.uk / www.ronniemcgrath.com