Independent Review of the UMA 2004 by an audience member ‘Ivan Jackson’

The 9 th November 04 marked the second annual UMA’s, all roads led to London ’s prestigious Barbican, which housed the star studded event. Scores of people assembled on Silk Street , queuing eagerly to catch a glimpse of the many acts that had contributed to the underground scene, not even the cold autumnal weather could deter the loyal audience, who kept warm spirits with jovial laughter and banter as they talked amongst themselves and exchanged pleasantry’s. High powered cars aligned the forecourt, I’m talking big boy Benzos to blacked limousines. There is a consensus within the scene that this awards ceremony in particular has been embraced and accepted by the music purists, acclaimed as the people’s choice, It is regarded as the real deal, minus the intrusive media hype and void of the sugary coated gimmicks associated with other ceremonies. 20% of the proceeds dedicated to supporting the cause of the Unicef charity to help alleviate and bring to a halt sexual exploitation as a trade. In attendance were the bigwig A&R execs and industry collective, to the archetypal connoisseur not to forget the avid listeners who were out in there thousands, to voice there support and appreciation, with the shared passion for the neglected British music arena. The renowned Barbican set the stage for a promising night and Trus’ me this was definitely a good look.

The V.I.P reception was a close knit and intimate gathering of like minded people, who mingled freely by networking and discussed anything and everything over a drink or two, it read like a whose who of the media and sports world, Premiership footballers both past and present were in the house repping the underground as a united front as well as Stylists to the stars and there entourage. Veteran Rodney P was in effect, still holding it up. Trendy new hot designer Evanjai was rocking the highly sought after E-fit clothing line, bigtime producer Wookie could also be seen socialising.

The line-up boasts some of the most influential acts on the underground circuit, acknowledges there hard efforts, and commends them for there works over the past year. Different musical genres were represented, all under the broad umbrella of urban music forms, the spectrum extending from Trance to Gospel to grime all of which reflect the progression of a defined British sound, a unified music that people from varied walks of life can familiarise with and relate to. Everybody’s taste was catered for, I for one was pleased at how diverse the audience were, music has no face and therefore is not plagued by discrimination of race or colour, reinforcing that music as an art form can not be categorised as a black or white thing, but shares a universal language.

Opening proceedings were fronted by ex Eastenders sweetheart Michelle Gayle and current wayward opportunist, lovable rogue Gary Beadle aka Paul Truman (the younger readers could be excused for thinking that Michelle Gayle is a new kat to the game, but for those of you that are old enough, cast your mind back to the early nineties, she put herself on the musical map with her landmark pop debut single your sweetness) if that hasn’t quite jogged your memory, she put on stellar performances as Hattie Tervernea in Eastenders. After recently appearing in Born in the USA she has upped the anti and begun to relaunch her singing career with a new sexy reinvention. As for her sidekick for the night, you can catch him most weeknights on BBC1 plotting more mayhem on the square, he kept things moving with his quick witted humour and energetic breed of comical genius and off the cuff ad lib.

As the first act of the night was introduced, the whole auditorium came to life, and the sea of people occupying the balconies shifted to a wave of excitement. A vibrant buzz erupted, and the masses arose to there feet with rapturous applause some vocally simulating rapid gun fire, welcoming Doneo as the first live performance.

Lethal Bizzle saw of all opposition in the hotly contested category of Best video for the Forward riddim (Pow), Kano was accredited as Best newcomer, Estelle copped Most inspiring act, Best Drum and Bass act of the year was given to IC3. Wileys consistency gained him Best Garage act, the front runners in the Gospel category were awarded to Raymond and co, the closely fought battle for Best Hip hop was deservedly rewarded to klashnekof, Lemar was acknowledged for Best crossover act, the close run and coveted category of best RNB went to Gemma Fox, Rhian Benson revered for her soulful edgy voice won best Nu soul act, but an untimely accident in which she sustained injuries prevented her from collecting the award her mgt cordially accepted on her behalf. Lee Henry pipped Royston to the post for Best unsigned act, Split Mic were the winners of Best compilation, Ty earned himself Best urban album, the title of Best Reggae act belonged to Savanna, Soweto Kinch topped the nominations for Best jazz act. Ras Kwame was crowned Best U.K DJ, Best underground D.J was awarded to Mixologists, JDs hard efforts paid off as he picked up Best underground producer, Best radio station was collected by Bassline fm Best Club Night was humbly accepted by jump off Mean Fiddler.

To conclude the nights awards John Fashanu presented Beverly Knight with a Lifetime award for her unmistakeable achievements spanning 10 years + she was one of the key figures who paved the way for a thriving scene that we now refer to as urban/underground with her monumental groundbreaking track (Flavour of the old school) just to let you know that it hasn’t gone unnoticed Bev.

Highlights of the night unravelled as Klashnekoff’s exercised his vocal dexterity and let off a verbal volley of speed knots everybody, knows he rhymes tight, he Over rode a technical hitch nicing up the crowd with an accapela, before absolutely ripping it with his stage presence, he’s big out ‘ere , and comes highly recommended, watch out for future projects. The legendary Omar, the brainchild of 90s soul timeless classic (There’s nothing like this) treated us to an energetic Soca fusion, the audience gladly warmed to his offering. The much talked about Kano hyped it up by dropping his dancefloor banger P’s and Q’s accompanied by Godsgift, the performance went down a storm. TYs electric stageshow as we’ve come to expect was of the highest order, effortlessly demonstrating why his got respect in the industry. Lee Henry’s soulful tones stretched vocal boundaries to the limits with his Burning desire to set the circuit ablaze and the fire is already well lit, he is a beacon of hope, with ambitions of plying his trade as a credible artist, tipped for success in 05. Comedian Kojo came on stage to present an award and had the audience bending up in stitches. The Forward riddim closed as the final act, the crowd voiced there appreciation confirming that the grime scene is still a progressive sub genre of garage, it shook the venue from the foundations, pure vibes.

As I mentioned a little earlier in this article the British music scene is a vibrant force that knows no boundaries, however it is still at an organic stage at this moment in time and needs to be nurtured for growth. Nevertheless on the whole we are on the right path to a healthy, thriving and productive industry. This goes out to the unconvinced individuals that were maybe present at this event and you know who you are. We should be dealing with positivity not verbally aiming to shoot down our future stars, your time could be better spent in supporting our British acts rather than exercising negative energy, dimming the determination of the next bright spark who aspires to be a film or music director, it comes like you don’t want us to succeed, after all what have how proverbial stateside big brothers ever done for our lives? Yeah their s**t is hot but there experiences a lot of the time differ from ours. So, why not embrace the British perspective to which you can relate to the content? when are we gonna stop bad minding and sabotaging our up and coming artist, with comments like “his flows not tight or the production is weak” etc the only purpose this serves is to undermine the essence of what we’re trying to achieve hindering our progress as a unit, we need to be unified in our struggle, although its true when they make reference to strength in numbers we don’t see enough of this school of thought. and that’s why I gotta give a big shout out to Estelle, even though she wasn’t at the awards, instead of hogging the limelight for a minute feature and collaborate with your fellow Artists on a mutual platform there is a need for integration.

That concludes the U.M.A’s for another year, I’m now officially off duty heading to the after party, free to let down my fro and get liquored up. This is Ivan Jackson signing out, Roll on 2005 nuthin’ cant stop we!