Audio / Visual Artist + Dj
Half of MiZi
Sheffield, UK

All contact:
james.o.micallef@gmail.com
or DM

Welcome to 'The Creative Condition' podcast: an ongoing exploration of human creativity, hosted by The New York Times, Adidas, and Premier League illustrator and author Ben Tallon.


Creativity is an often misunderstood pillar of human happiness, something far bigger than artistic talent and crucial for fulfilling lives and careers. 

Little by little, Ben builds an archive of valuable stories, experiences, and tips to help you maximise yours.


Featuring exclusive interviews with experts and thought leaders, including illustrators, rock stars, artists, sensitivity experts, designers, emergency service workers, Olympic gold medal winners, comedians, microbiologists, photographers, fighters, and many others.


Supported by founding sponsor illustrationx.com


Also supported by the Ukrainian Institute https://ui.org.ua

Contact Ben at hello@bentallon.com and join the chat on socials at @bentallonpod. Subscribe and review on Apple podcasts at: 

https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-creative-condition-podcast/id1038442077

An underdog from the underground, Buffalo-bred rapper Westside Gunn brings the sounds of '90s hardcore rap into the 21st century alongside his brother and fellow emcee Conway. With their tales of street life, drugs, and gun violence, the pair have employed sample-heavy production in the gritty East Coast tradition of the Lox, Mobb Deep, Capone-N-Noreaga, and the Wu-Tang Clan. In addition to his work with Conway and their Griselda labelmates, Westside Gunn branched out on his own with a series of Hitler Wears Hermes mixtapes issued in the 2010s, as well as solo albums such as Flygod (2016), Supreme Blientele (2018), and Pray for Paris (2020), the latter of which cracked the upper half of the Billboard 200. The lengthy, guest-heavy full-length And Then You Pray for Me appeared in 2023 and reached the Top 30 of the same chart. The EP 11 and a mixtape, Still Praying, were released almost simultaneously in 2024.

Born Alvin Lamar Worthy in Buffalo, New York, Westside Gunn started rapping at a young age. In high school, he joined with Conway (born Demond Price) and fellow rappers Benny the Butcher and Machine Gun Black as the Forerunners. They stuck together over the years and in the early 2010s, they founded Griselda Records. In addition to output as Westside Gunn & Conway, Worthy began issuing his own mixtapes, including the Hitler Wears Hermes series, which kicked off in 2012. With his strong, steady rhymes and often laid-back production, he released five installments of the Hermes series into 2017. 

His debut studio full-length, Flygod, arrived in 2016 and featured appearances by Benny, Conway, Roc Marciano, Danny Brown, Action Bronson, and more, as well as production by Statik Selektah and the Alchemist. In 2017, Griselda inked a deal with Eminem's Shady Records, which graduated Westside Gunn to the majors. That same year, he hopped onto a collaboration with MF Doom titled WestsideDoom, and a year later he issued his sophomore LP, Supreme Blientele, which featured many familiar faces from Flygod, as well as new guests Jadakiss, Busta Rhymes, Anderson .Paak, and producers Pete Rock and 9th Wonder. 

After Griselda hit the Top Ten of Billboard's R&B/hip-hop and rap charts with WWCD, Westside issued the solo album Pray for Paris in April 2020. DJ Premier, DJ Muggs, the Alchemist, and Tyler, The Creator were among the contributors to the set, which entered the Billboard 200 at number 67 and the R&B/hip-hop chart at 39. A second Gunn album, Who Made the Sunshine, was initially set for release that August, but it was delayed following the death of longtime Griselda Records collaborator DJ Shay from COVID-19. The album eventually appeared in October 2020 and featured appearances by Benny, Conway, Slick Rick, Black Thought, and others. Two tracks, "Julia Lang" and "TV Boy," arrived in March 2021 as the first songs released off Gunn's mixtape Hitler Wears Hermes 8: Sincerely, Adolf. Hitler Wears Hermes 8: Side B followed. The mixtapes Peace "Fly" God and 10 (the final installment in the Hitler Wears Hermes series) appeared in 2022. The studio album And Then You Pray for Me arrived in 2023, boasting guests like Rick Ross, DJ Drama, Denzel Curry, and Boldy James. It reached number 29 on the Billboard 200. In 2024, Gunn issued the EP 11 as well as the DJ Drama-hosted mixtape Still Praying. ~ Neil Z. Yeung, Rovi

BOOKING & GENERAL INQUIRIES: mikeb909@gmail.com

BIOGRAPHY

You don't mess around when labeling someone as a musical pioneer; it’s a dangerous path to tread. When it comes to the name DJ Nu-Mark however, it’s a safe bet.
As a Los Angeles native, Producer, Turntablist and member of the legendary Hip-Hop group Jurassic 5, DJ Nu-Mark is considered one of the most innovative on the scene. He continually showcases his expanding taste in music through live sets and dj streams where he displays rare covers, multi-track edits and performs his children’s musical toy set.
Nu-Mark ignited his career releasing Kanye West’s debut production with Chicago native, Grav on Correct Records while simultaneously producing the Jurassic 5 EP circa 1996. Nu caught solo acclaim with the drop of his industry celebrated Blend Crafters EP which featured his timeles cover of John Lennon’s “Imagine” and featured production for MF Doom. Nu’s debut LP, Broken Sunlight revealed his innovations into a jaw dropping collection of heartfelt music featuring Aloe Blacc, Quantic, Large Professor, Bumpy Knuckles, A-Skillz, J-Live
Tiron & Ayomari, and Charles Bradley.
It comes as no surprise when you see the list of coveted stages that Nu-Mark has performed on around the world, including Glastonbury and Coachella. As per his stellar reputation of being one of turntablism and sound design, Nu-Mark has also judged numerous DJ competitions including Red Bull Music Thre3style with Jazzy Jeff, DJ Craze, Skratch Bastid and many more.
You can also add in Nu-Mark's own label – Hot Plate Records, which has released a hoard of production collaborations, including his sought after Run For Cover LP in 2021 featuring Bacao Rhythm & Steel Band, Full Crate, Jungle Fire, The Traffic and more. Nu brought along Pharcyde’s Slimkid3 under the
faction TRDMRK on two albums featuring Del the Funky Homosapien, Diamond D, Darondo, Guilty Simpson, and Murs which shot to number one on the CMJ charts.
Nu-Mark's ongoing “Zodiac Tracks” is further testament to the fact that music is a life blood for this man. With his unwavering adoration of vinyl, the renowned collector pays homage
to pivotal artists by mixing them seamlessly in their respective astrological sign in live Birthday tribute videos. The project has been so successful that, after reaching millions of views, Nu- Mark teamed up with Method Man (Wu-Tang Clan) for an exclusive song to honor all the astrological signs in a song called “Zodiac Killah”.
Nu has a keen eye for musical evolution. Known for his trademark ability to conjure up sounds from the most bizarre of items, including a collection of children’s toys, late night talk show host and producer James Corden enlisted Nu-Mark to take on the role of in-house DJ for the hit TV show –
Drop The Mic.
To date, Nu-Mark has been featured in the critically acclaimed documentaries / motion pictures; Scratch, KeepinTime, Where We’re From, Coachella: The Movie, Rock the Bells, Popstar and MacGrubber. Nu-Mark created original beats and co-scored Tom & Jerry (2021), Battle Of The Year starring Chris Brown and Ride Along 1& 2 staring Ice Cube and Kevin Hart.
Whether it’s behind the decks or a mixing desk, on the silver screen or the TV; Nu-Mark continues to raise the bar with his collaborations and a list of upcoming sample packs. This diverse artist is gearing up to remind us why he is a musical pioneer (in case anyone could forget)!

Chris Bliss is following