Author Archives: DJ Kraze One

The Criminal Minds (TCM) Part One

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The Criminal Minds (TCM) are one of a handful of pioneering Hip Hop crews from the UK that formed outside of London or any other major UK city. TCM‘s origins date back to a period during the early 1980s when UK citizens started to become participants in Hip Hop culture as it spread from the USA to the world. By the late 1980s TCM along with several other generational peers were pioneering a unique form of UK Hip Hop music that would later be defined as Britcore.

The Criminal Minds sketch – Claire Hawes, Mid 1990s.

By 1992 TCM evolved with the UK music scene and pioneered several Hardcore/Drum & Bass recordings releasing music on a selection of established record labels including Labello Blanco and White House. In the below series of articles we aim to document the history of the collective as well as pay homage to their achievements in both music and Hip Hop culture. Part one of the series will focus on the time period between 1985-1990 and conclude with the groups first official release “Guilty as charged“. Continue reading →

OUnity Event March 2020 (The Open University)

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Break to the beat’s second event entitled “OUnity” evolved from the response received by the staff at The Open University‘s Walton Hall campus to the MK Hip Hop Culture exhibition held in October 2019. Organised by DJ Kraze One and Sam Hazell with support from the Open University’s BME Network, the event featured a selection of local vinyl DJs and performances from several rappers and singers.

OUnity video – The Open University, 2020.

The team at Break to the beat were able to construct the above video that features footage including several of the live performances captured during the event which was held in an underground location known as the cellar bar. The below flyer was also designed and circulated before the event took place.

“Ounity” flyer by Marcus Young.

For information on future Break to the beat events please visit our social media pages.

MK Hip Hop Exhibition 2019 – The Open University

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Break to the beat’s first local Hip Hop Culture exhibition took place over a 10 day period during October 2019 at The Open University‘s Walton Hall Campus in Milton Keynes. The exhibition, aimed at documenting Hip Hop culture that evolved in and around the Milton Keynes area was organised by Barry Watson & Sam Hazell, with support from The Open University’s BME Network. The exhibition consisted of a lunchtime launch event hosted by Justice and DJ Kraze One that featured live scratch demonstrations from DJ Moschps and DJ Boothy. 

MK Hip Hop Culture Exhibition – The Open University, 2019.

The team at Break to the beat were able to document the exhibition in the above video that was created using footage taken during the launch event. After the launch several pieces of artwork created by local graffiti artists along with a selection of vinyl records, cassettes, CDs, flyers and other memorabilia were publicly displayed in the Betty Boothroyd library for 10 days. Members of the public as well as Open University students and staff were then able to view the display. 

“Milton Keynes Hip Hop Culture Exhibition” Poster by Claudia Torres.

For information on future Break to the beat events please visit our social media pages.