2007 In Review

Ok I know it's been since august that I haven't updated this blog... Shame on me! How can I blame it on the fact that I prefer to write on paper with a pen instead of typing... old habits die slowly I presume... So anyways, here we are now, it's nearing the end of the first month of the New Year 2008 and I thought that I would just post a huge review of 2007, the life and times of the Urban Camper... 2007 brought about a lot of changes, was filled with blood, sweat and hard work which 2008 should show the fruition of. Now... I've decided to make this entry more of a portfolio thing, going through each month listing the shows, musical collaborations and travels I embarked on... So... Hmmm... where to start? At the beginning of course!

Feb 2007
- Collabo with Dj Goldfish "Planet Love" which to date is still not finished... Come on Alvin, stop slacking bro!!!
- HP Inter-Action performance alongside Transient Vortex @ Maison, KL.
- Travelled to Singapore to see J5 & Beastie Boys @ Good Vibrations Festival
- Travelled to Jakarta to finish off the month with The International Diplomats and finishing our 1st mixtape Just Duit! Vol.1

Other notable events:
Reshmonu's album launch @ Laundry, VOA performance @ Laundry, Blast Off Finals @ Ruums & Chinese New Year in Singapore (gone is the year of the pig... the rat is coming!)

March 2007
- Performed at the Java Jazz Festival with Warriors of Manga and Indra Lesmana's Brothers of Revolution in Jakarta.
- Performed at Public, Jakarta, along side Warriors of Manga and Reel People
- Travelled to Bandung to check out an underground Hip Hop gig featuring Homocyde
- Recorded with Larry (x-Sova) in Jakarta
- Did an experimental set with Dj Nasa & Renchong @ RuangRupa art house, Jakarta
- Performed with The Diplomats International for Hip Hop Asongan 4 on jl. Fatmawati, Jakarta. This event was a free side-of-the-road affair for the community.

April 2007
- Performed with Saykoji @ the 16th Anniversary for Bintang @ Senayan, Jakarta
- Travelled to Lombok with Saykoji to perform at Sahara in Mataram
- Celebrated my Birthday with a special show with Dipnet @ Bliss, Jakarta
- Travelled back to Kl after 2 months in Indonesia...
- Rehearsals began for the TROACO album launch with IGC

Other notable events:
Jennifer Johns @ Loft KL, The arrival of Don't Panic malaysia.

May 2007
- finally got to perform "6 MC's" with Weapon X and Ken Hell and Joe Flizzow during their show @ laundry
- The arrival of Eardrums 7 Nations CD featuring 2 songs with Vandal
- Shamik's first show in KL @ Laundry with a Vandal appearance
- Collabo with DJ Uno and Saer Ze "Dance Floor Queen" soon to hit airwaves!
- Fly FM Campur Chart show with Transient Vortex and Shamik @ Laundry
- Sweet 16 show with DJ Nesh in Ampang, KL
- Travelled to Singapore for a show @ Velvet Dragon

June 2007
- Singapore Street Festival 3 performances
- More rehearsals and Prep for my TROACO launch
- 17 Magazine show @ Sunway Lagoon with DJ Nesh
- TROACO album launch @ laundry with Stylustiks, DJ Tasc, IGC, Gold Mountain...
- Guinness Black event in Genting @ Arena Of Stars with DJ Nesh
- Shoot for Raja Lawak comedy show, I was in a few skits...
- Performance @ Absolute Chemistry with Transient Vortex

Other notable events:
Transformers the movie opening night, Qumran's wedding, Juice Mag's 5th anniversary and TROACO CD's finally arrive!

July 2007
- Travelled to Bangkok, linking up with Dandee of Silk Sounds performing at Route 66
- Collabo project with Dandee (still in the works) entitled "VANDAN"
- Travelled to Singapore for the TROACO album launch at Red Bar, Singapore
- Travelled to Hong Kong and performed with Gold Mountain & INK @ Sugar Club
- Collabo track "Smoker Delight" with Gold Mountain

Other notable events:
Malaysian DJ Championship & battle of the year competition, Apartment grand opening & lots of love from Nike Malaysia!

August 2007
- Returned to KL to collaborate on the Road 2 Zion Mixtape
- Travelled to Jakarta to work on tracks for the Diplomats Int album
- Shot the video for Lalala with Destiny Inc in Jakarta

September 2007
- This month was pretty much a write off... consider is time off to absorb the events of the previous 8 months...
- I think there was a Botswana national day pageant and talent show I judged and I did meet the guys from Slapshock who are based in Manila, Philippines.
- Oh... The Road 2 Zion Mixtape launch was in Sept as well, where I performed @ Modestos in Sri Hartamas.

October 2007
- performed at a show @ Ibiza, KL for the Nigerian Independence day
- Shot the video for Crazy by Ash Nair featuring Vandal and Moots!
- Travelled to manila, Philippines to collaborate with Dcoy and Artstrong, did a radio show live at Monster RX FM(?)
- My song Lalala is used for a movie called Susahnya Jadi Perawan
- Vandal appeared on Morning Crew Corner with JJ & Rudy on HITZ TV, KL
- Travelled to Laos to perform at Mekong Deck and Club Romeo
- No dressing up for the halloween party at Laundry...

November 2007
- Collabo with James Baum called "Shawty"
- Performed Crazy with Ash Nair at KDU college event
- Performed with Pop Shuvit & Dandee for The Freakshow Tour in Penang, malaysia
- Travelled to Jakarta for the movie promo tour (Susahnya Jadi Perawan)
- Performed @ Caesar's in Yogyakarta, Indonesia with Raben and Saykoji
- Performed in Makasar, Sulawesi, Indonesia @ Colours Cafe for movie promo
- Performed at 5 malls across jakarta for movie promo tour.

December 2007
- Worked on completing the Just Duit! Vol.2 Mixtape with Dipnet in Jakarta
- Travelled back to KL to meet Shamik before he left to India
- Shamik performs @ Laundry with special appearance by Vandal
- Performed Crazy with Ash Nair @ Laundry for Tiger FC event
- Performed hype man with DJ Nesh @ Atrium, KL
- Travelled to Jakarta for a show with Diplomats Int at EX plaza called "Urbanize"
- Special performance for Rewind @ Blowfish in Jakarta
- New Years Eve show with DJ Nesh @ Mid Valley Megamall called "Midzone Countdown"

Other Notable events to round out the year:
Mistah's birthday and Rewind in JKT, Jazzy Jeff in and NSG's going away party in JKT, I Am Legend launching, Dj Q-Bert in KL and Singapore!, DJ Cash Money and Rewind in JKT, Soft Launch of Retro Bar, KL, Christmas with James and Cassie eating crab, Mmmm... talking to my parents and family in Canada always brings a smile to my face!

Well there you have it... Seems like it was a busy year and sooo many things happened it's been hard to remember all the details but at least writing this little blog entry has helped!

Next up will the 2007 in photos... hehehe...

New Kicks...

I came with these...



Now I have these!!!









Yes... It's infectious... Thanks to Nike Malaysia!

Pop Shuvit's Freakshow Video

Greetings! Just wanted to feature a video by my KL homies Pop Shuvit featuring Dandee of SilkSounds in Bangkok... Check it out!

Lawa King - The Videos

Check out the videos from my appearance on Malaysia's #1 comedy show - Lawa King (i love the laugh track!)


Scene one - I'm Sorry!



Scene Two - White Guy Knows Malay



Scene Three - On the Live show



Scene Four - Vandal Performs Lalala (Acapella)



Thanks to the crew at Lawa King and Homegrown!!!

Hong Kong Hostage

Updates galore... This one is gonna be short, not quite as long as my week in the HK chilling with the Hierophat family. To put it short Hong Kong is definitely a one of a kinda place with a vibe like no other city. From the studio I enjoyed a variety of mouth-watering take out and a damn good burger with Gold Mountain and DJ Yin. A night of Heroscape and Skunk made my month and guest appearing with GM at Sugar Club was a night to remember! Unfortunately I didnt take many pix and my lazy ass hasnt uploaded them to my mac yet so tough luck!

GM and I did manage numerous freestyle sessions, one crazy budbomb inspired 2hr session just before I left to the airport was one for the books! I got a little too caught up in the world of Tomb Raider Anniversary, but we did manage to record a few songs and Big ups to GM, Lambert, Alex, Robbie, Tiffany, Master Mic, Ink and everyone else who made my stay as enjoyable as it was!

Pics coming soon!

Bangkok Invader

Been a bit slow updating things with all the travelling around but I have time tonight to talk about my trip out to Bangkok... At first I wasnt sure if I was gonna go, late on booking my ticket drove the price up a bit and the timing was tight for everything else going on around KL. I'm definitely glad I made the trip though! My boy Dandee from Silk Sounds and Bangkok Invaders came through to pick me up from the airport. It was my first time at the new airport and it's massive! Dandee works in the clubs (Slim, Route 66 & Bed) as en emcee with his two DJ's Ono and Meeh, so after we dropped off my bags we pretty much bounced straight to RCA. If ya dont know RCA is this strip of warehouses that has been turned into a club district. It been around for a while but now it's THE place to be to party in Bangkok. And yes... people really know how to party in Bangkok!



I also had the opportunity to hang out on Kao San Rd for a night... I was supposed to meet up with DJ Tasc and Rob Solo, but they never made it so I just wondered around aimlessly until I bumped into this Swiss girl I'd met on the plane. After chatting with Zahn, an artists who has a gallery in one of the back alleys, I popped in the Reggae bar and that pretty much where the night started. It ended shortly after jamming at this drum and bass club and drinking whiskey with some other travellers til the sun came up, then i crashed on a bunk bed I paid 80baht for... Kao San is definitely an interesting place...

Had the chance to catch up with my boy Cider, who was out bombing a wall with some other graff cats.



The rest of the week pretty much continued on with the same vibes, party, eat good food and rest... Dandee and I are working on a project called VANDAN, it's an EP featuring guest spots from Gold Mountain, Way of Thaitanium, Nesh and Ras Muhamad. Keep your ears open!

Urban Camping Gets Podcasted!!!

Ok, today I was up mad early and with not so much sleep I made the most of my time, by spending it online... Big ups to my man Fame aka Shane for unknowingly putting me on to doing this podcasting thing... I've always wanted to but never found (made) the time for it... So without further ado, let me introduce to you the first ever Urban Camping Podcast! You can subscribe to it, or just go and listen... up to you :)

Urban Camping - Podcast of a Nomadic Addict

Download episode 1 (18 min)