| THE VOICE JUNE 28 - JULY 4, 2012 23 | 23

LabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthLabrinthHackney’s humble heroHackney’s humble heroHackney’s humble heroHackney’s humble heroHackney’s humble heroHackney’s humble heroHackney’s humble heroHackney’s humble heroHackney’s humble heroHackney’s humble heroHackney’s humble heroHackney’s humble heroHackney’s humble heroHackney’s humble heroHackney’s humble heroHackney’s humble heroHackney’s humble heroHackney’s humble heroHackney’s humble heroHackney’s humble heroHackney’s humble heroHackney’s humble heroHackney’s humble heroHackney’s humble heroHackney’s humble heroHackney’s humble heroHackney’s humble heroHackney’s humble heroHackney’s humble heroHackney’s humble heroHackney’s humble heroHackney’s humble heroHackney’s humble heroHackney’s humble heroHackney’s humble heroHackney’s humble heroHackney’s humble heroHackney’s humble heroHackney’s humble heroHackney’s humble heroHackney’s humble heroHackney’s humble heroHackney’s humble heroHackney’s humble heroHackney’s humble heroHackney’s humble heroHackney’s humble heroHackney’s humble heroHackney’s humble heroHackney’s humble heroHackney’s humble heroHackney’s humble heroHackney’s humble heroHackney’s humble heroHackney’s humble heroHackney’s humble heroHackney’s humble heroHackney’s humble heroHackney’s humble heroHackney’s humble heroHackney’s humble hero

Blue Ivy goes to her fi rst concert!

Why is everyone talking about Naomi Campbell?

POSTER BATTLEAnthony Joshua & Ryan Bailey Ryan Bailey Ryan Bailey

24 � THE VOICE AUGUST 16 - 22, 2012

ALEX BROWNING is an award-win-ning director and performer who is justas comfortable shining the spotlighton others as he is standing in it him-self.

With a deep enthusiasm for allthings creative, Alex, who is studyingpolitics and philosophy and econom-ics at the University of Manchester,has been recognised as one ofCourvoisier’s The Future 500 TopBusiness and Creative Brains in the UKand is a 2010 Black YouthAchievement Arts Award recipient.Alex is also an O2 Media Award nomi-nee.

“I want to represent positivity andinspire other black students by show-ing them the opportunities that areopen to us within arts and media thatso few of us seem to take,” he said.

His music video, When I Am Small(remix) for American rapper ¡OYE! wasselected for the BBC Big ScreenManchester, which showcases thebest emerging talent in the local area.The video has also been nominatedfor Best Music Video at Screentest,the National Student Film Festival2012, and was also the official selec-tion in the Best Music Video categoryat the International Student FilmFestival London.

Alex is in pre-production for hisdebut short film which is being spon-sored by UK Creative Industries, partof UK Trade & Investment. His work asa director and performer isavailable at www.alexbrowning.tv.

www.rarerecruitment.co.uk

Alex Browning

They spent as much time on Twitter as they did competing. Here, we list aselection of tweets from athletes during the London 2012 Olympic Games

Email us your Student ofThe Week candidates:

Young.voices@gvmedia.co.uk

GOLDEN TWEETSMO FARAH(@Mo_Farah)This is what Iworked hardfor...!!!!Shabba...!!!!Yeeeezzzzzz!!!!Thanks every-one...!!!

USAIN BOLT(@UsainBolt):To Jamaica theland of birth...Greatest coun-try ever.. it's agreatest joy torepresent thepeople of myhome land

WARREN WEIR(@Warren_Weir)Leaving theOlympic Village"I will never for-get here LON-DON2012 adream becamereality"

LOUIS SMITH(@louissmith1989):Wow crazyyyyy !!Wat a mad dayloved the support atnorth greenwicharena all though itwas mad scary.Love all my fansand friends xxx

DAVID RUDISHA(@rudishadavid)I'm very happy tohave set the newworld record of1:40,91sec in800m at theOlympics 2012.#teamkenya#London2012

ASAFA POWELL(@OfficialAsafa)Congratulations to@usainbolt forGold, @yohan-blake for Silverand @warren_weirfor Bronze in theMen's 200m. RTfor Team Jamaica!

ANTHONY OGOGO(@AnthonyOgogo)So happy andproud of @gbbox-ing and the wholeof @teamGB what a monumental coupleof weeks. Gutted it'scoming to an end.

JESSICA ENNIS(J_ennis)I can't thankeveryoneenough for thesupport theyhave given meover the pastfew weeks! I’mblown away!Can’t believe I’mOlympicChampion!

YOHAN BLAKE(@YohanBlake)Coach Mills fornational hero!!Usain is a leg-end but ourcoach is aHERO!!

GABRIELLE DOU-GLAS(@GabbrielleDoug)Thank you guys foreverything! I am SOgrateful God hastruly blessed me!Remember toALWAYS give himthe glory for he isGREAT!

JAMES ELLINGTON(@Jellington100m):Thanks to all thepeople who havewatched and sup-ported me,been atough day but im atough guy and candeal with it,i'll beback thanks

NICOLA ADAMS(@NicolaAdams2012)Thank u evry1 4ur support, i stillcant believe whti have achievedbut i know icouldn't do itwithout u all, uvebeen wonderful "#fanpower

LOUISE HAZEL(@LouiseHazel)Thank you for allof your support,sponsors,friends and fam-ily! Made mydream cometrue! Xxx

CARMELITAJETER(@CarmelitaJeter)I grew up in a bas-ketball house,thats what we did.played PG. Onlyran track my fresh-man year of highschool to stay inshape. Lol

RYAN BAILEY(@RBailey_sprints)We didn’t win butwe did break theAmerican recordand old worldrecord. When I gotthe baton, I wasthinking, ‘Run! Runfor my life!’

SHELLY ANNFRASER-PRYCE(@Realshellyannfp)That run was for allmy MVP team-mate!!!!! You sharein my success and Ishare in your disap-pointments!!!! #thismedal is for all ofyou:)

ALLYSONFELIX(@Allysonfelix)Thanks for abeautiful timeLondonTown!It's beengolden!#wheel-sup

LEBRON JAMES(@KingJames)Congrats to ourWomen's hoopsquad on winninggold once again!Amazing and his-toric run they'vebeen on."#USA

* Tweets appear as they do on Twitter

AUGUST 16 - 22, 2012 THE VOICE � 25

IN THE last few monthsall eyes have been onHackney. From festivalsto the recent Olympics,the east London bor-

ough has never strayed too farfrom our lips.

But there is a pair of lips (andeyes) that will remain besottedwith the area when all the hypeand cameras leave – cueHackney’s proudest resident,producer, singer and songwriter,Labrinth.

So proud is our Lab, real nameTimothy McKenzie, of his place ofbirth, he even manages to prisemy much-loved ‘I love Hackney’badge (pinned securely to myjacket) from my possession when

we meet.“Oh I love that,“ he says point-

ing to my newest accessory.“I haven’t got one,” he adds for

extra measure. Cue the violinstrings and the awkward preg-nant pause that follows.

Reluctantly, I unpin my badgeand hand it to the star, who is nowgrinning like a Cheshire cat.

“Ah thanks man,” he sayseagerly pulling the badge frommy hand and adding the sharpitem to his person.

I glance down at my barejacket. Surely I should get a betterinterview now, right?

We start by discussing therecent BBC Hackney Weekend, atwo-day festival – the first of its

kind in the east London borough.Performances throughout the

sold-out event, which took placeon Hackney Marshes on June 23and 24, included US superstarsJay Z, Rihanna and our very own,Lab.

“It was the best man,” he tellsme when asked about his experi-ence on the smaller 1Xtra Stageon the Marshes, where acts suchas fellow UK rappers, Chip andSway also performed.

He adds: “I’m a bit upset that Ididn’t get to go on main stage,though. I was in my hometownman, c’mon!”

What must have made it aneven more bitter pill to swallowwas the fact that the 23-year-old’sfriend and collaborator, UK rapperTinie Tempah, for which he co-wrote and produced his break-through track, Pass Out, gave a20-minute performance on themain stage – alongside the likesof the aforementioned US musicroyalty.

“The BBC disappointed me,but I had the best experience inthe tent,” he candidly admits.

“I almost welled up when I got[to Hackney Marshes]. This iswhere I used to chill and hangout, so to perform there was wild”

Asked whether the star, whobecame the first non-talent showsigning to Simon Cowell’s Sycolabel, performed his number threehi t ,

Let The Sun Shine on a weekendwhere the weather could haveonly be described as depressing,he replied:

“Do you know what’s wild? Thesun wasn’t properly shining whenI went on, but whenever I performthat song, the sun always finds itsway out. I performed it at the Isleof Wight Festival, which wasbefore the Hackney Weekendand the sun came out too. I feellike the sun has been followingme in this very odd way. Somepervy sun,” he laughs.

Success is another (and mostwelcome) factor that has followedthe star. His debut albumElectronic Earth, which was pre-ceded by singles Earthquake, fea-turing Tinie Tempah and LastTime, peaked at number two inthe charts, selling 32, 281 copiesin its first week. The singlesreached number two and numberfour, respectively.

His latest release is Treatment,a record about “that momentwhere love sends people a littlebit crazy,” looks set for similarsuccess

Speaking to Blues & Soul earlierthis year, Labrinth said: "BasicallyElectronic Earth as a title repre-sents musically where I'm headingas an artist in that I want to be ableto make both acoustic and elec-tronic music side-by-side. Youknow, on

one side you have artists likeAdele who's very much on anacoustic vibe, and then on theother you have like maybe Justicewho are a kind of electro-houseband. And to me, what I'm aboutas a musician is joining those twoworlds together. Electronic Earthtruly represents me as both anartist and a producer."

He’s even making ripplesacross the pond. US star Ushersaid that his favourite song is TinieTempah’s 2010 hit, Frisky, pro-duced by and featuring Lab.

He laughs modestly.“Love goes straight back to

Usher. We worked together andhe’s a good guy.”

If he had to choose, would it beperforming or producing that hashis heart?

“I love performing. Nothing canbeat 50,000 people jumping upand down to one of your songs,but I’m still banging out beats inthe studio and writing songs.”

Treatment is released on Sept 9through Syco

Following the controversial news that rapper Drake wouldbe the co-executive producer of an album by latesinger Aaliyah, a parody Twitter account was set up

by an anonymous fan of the Rock The Boat star.

“Yo @drake whitney houston and lisa lefteye lopes both say hi and that they're not

interested in being forced to collab with u.”

Dear Kat,

I am jealous of my younger sister because my parents spoilher too much. I just turned 18 and I got some vouchers forH&M. She is turning 11 at the end of the month and my mumpromised to buy her an iPad 2.

Her dad left my mum recently and I don’t want to feel thatway about her so I do try, but I just can’t take the disrespectfrom my mum.

Joy, 18

Dear Joy,

First of all, let me just say that I respect your honesty. It takescourage to admit when you are jealous.

It might be an idea to actually talk to your mum about your con-cerns and explain how her actions are making you feel.

You should also take into consideration that your little sister’sdad has recently departed, so both your mum and sister may bedealing with the loss in their own way.

Your mum choosing to ‘spoil’ her might just mean that she is try-ing to make up for the fact that her dad has gone.

I hope that you haven’t let this affect your relationship sister. It’snot her fault.

Either way the key is to open up about how you feel.

Let me know how it goes.

NAOMI CAMPBELL:The supermodel foundherself at the centre of

unwanted media attentionafter she was snapped withwhat appears to be a hugebald patch at the front of

her head.

JOHN LEGEND: The singer was told to‘rest’ by doctors after

being rushed to hospitalfollowing a 'bad case of

the flu'

RICK ROSS:The self-proclaimed ‘Boss’shot to the top on the UScharts with latest albumGod Forgives I Donʼt,

despite its release beingdelayed for more than a

year.

BLUE IVY: The baby daughter of Jay Zand Beyoncé was spottedhaving a good time (and

bottle) at her father’s recentWatch The Throne concert.

East Ender Labrinth talks to YV’s Dionne Grant about the love of hismanor, controversy at the Hackney Weekend and working with Usher

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Sephora,south London

Dinah,south London

TWEET OF THE WEEK

Aaliyah

POSTER BATTLEANTHONY JOSHUA & RYAN BAILEY

VOTE NOW!! Email us at young.voices@gvmedia.co.uk or tweet us @Youngvoicesmag #YVPosterBattle

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26 � THE VOICE AUGUST 16 - 22, 2012