Getting back on early 1990's, there's a famous name comes up in mind when talking about Hip-Hop Music. Christopher Wallace, known better as The Notorious B.I.G. or Biggie Smalls, was started his career history in music as a rapper. Furthermore, He had a big influence in socializing and developing modern Hip-Hop music. He had taken place in a rivalry between West Coast and East Coast Hip-Hop music of this decade (1994 until 1997).

But the bad news that he is getting famous that day, not because of his song, but merely because of this West Coast and East Coast Hip-Hop war. Big and Tupac Shakur had become an important character at that age. The dispute between this two sides didn't look like which one is better at making a qualified hip-hop music, or any other things related to music talent in a healthy and positive way, but it is like a gangster war between those sides, not only in their music but including a real robbery and shooting. This commotion always catches media and society attention.

Actually, Big has a very good talent in music, especially at making lyrics. As always, he is said to be a very good storyteller through his hip-hop music. His lyrics are easy to understand, his rap style flowing like a dialogue between characters in his song. His message is clear, so the audience may understand the complexity of the rhyme structure, also with the wordplay he added to the song. We can see this clearly in one of his song, "Warning".

Big's music, as the other similar genres of rap music at that age, contains violence, alcohol, drugs, and criminals. He also encloses his actual life in his song. This is also the contents of his album, "Ready to Die". This album's concept is telling his life from when he was born, his rough childhood moments, grow into a teenager and meet drugs, his struggle in life, starts his career in music, until before this album was released. Ready to Die albums by Bad Boy Records, produced between collaboration with Sean ‘Puffy' Combs, Easy Mo Bee, DJ Premiers, and Blues Brothers.

Before release his first album ‘Ready to Die' in 1997, Big has been shot to death by an unknown assailant while driving in Los Angeles. That was the end of his full of story life journey. While still mourning for him, 16 days later, his album has been released. This album has become a big kick in hip-hop music industry. This is approved by this album becoming a number one in album charts in U.S. and receive a Diamond certification, which is rare for a hip-hop album to receive such a certification. It has become a classic, due to its no-doubt quality. It's too bad that he could just make this one album, and U.S. has lost one of the best hip-hop lyricists.

Biggie's life, as his story tells in his album, has not had a beautiful life. He has been through a lot of things and full of struggle. At childhood, he already has a rough life, surrounded by drug addicts and the dealers. Once he becomes a teenager, not surprised, he sells drugs. He also goes to jail for 9 months. After his debut in the music industry, he still lives in such a condition, because he has to deal with gangster life through gang-banging due to this West Coast and East Coast dispute. He feels the excitement for living such a life. But, despite that, there's also fierce of violence and a lot of threats happen to like a vicious circle, he cannot get out from. His commercial name ‘Notorious' might be coming from his story of life.

Maybe nowadays, it became greater the number of releases and special editions on vinyl where many are designed in a more modern, extravagant and colorful way, and even with new packaging. These "special" editions are the justification for dealing with the high price tag that the Record Store Day charge.

For fans and music lovers who buy physical albums, which is growing increasingly, even in the age of Spotify, it becomes a depressing disadvantage - where the release of new albums took the place of independent labels. Collecting Vinyl experience gained exclusive releases, regardless of the fact that the record was not the only supply source of musical material. Long before Napster piracy music was already present in countries like the former Soviet Union and Taiwan were the counterfeit vinyl production, and this practice has grown on a large scale by dealing with highly collectable items.

In the 70s, while the US soldiers were in Taiwan, they could hear all the new releases through locally pressed records, which these days are desired and purchased due to the eccentric and colorful layers of vinyl. Meanwhile, the black market bustled releases of Western rock music for music lovers of Soviet Russia by a few even pressed records discarded in floras of X-rays.

One of the most recent news was the fact of how the new album "The life of Pablo by Kanye West have hit record stores with clear and pink vinyl. Ironically, Kanye while his statements in the past were notoriously hyperbolic, this once declared that "the Life of Pablo" will never be released in physical formats where the album was not released on vinyl or by his record company or for him.

These copies were sold online or in record stores sold by an independent company in Europe have been identified that are scams. These copies were found errors in the order of the tracks that were leaked in the records of printed matter MP3s.

This version, of course, gained notoriety where everyone is eager to see the launch. However, this type of occurrence is not common where many other titles of R & B and hip-hop, especially the popular, obtained the bootleg treatment.

Titles like Drake If you are reading this it's too late, Rihanna ANTI, Frank Ocean ORANGE channel, A $ AP Rocky At.Long.Last.A $ AP and 'Death Grips Exmilitary were sold as colored vinyl by pirates online retailer of digital vinyl, based in Germany making these albums exhausted completely, and in turn causing the prices would rise highly.

Because these records are printed in relatively limited quantities, as was the increase in demand, the prices charged by them had a high scary. Vinyl for the Orange channel came to be sold at a cost of up to £ 39.52 (SG $ 80) for second-hand dealers in comparison to the price sold in the beginning it was € 12.95 (SG $ 19.70).

What is the real reason to buy bootleg vinyl? The hi-fi vinyl audio reproduction is one of the clearest vinyl sales of reasons for many of these consumers - even this point is something entirely debatable - and possibly all, of the bootlegs, are from the MP3 files and CD sources unless these two are not accessible enough to get Studio- quality data. Vinyl medium is delicate, and a source of sub-par can ruin a good piece of wax.

One of the reasons for the high demand of the sale of vinyl albums is the fact that most of these bão albums were released in a due manner by vinyl tape recorders, making the needs of desperate collectors and fetishists for these securities were met by smugglers.

In the US and throughout Europe, the bootlegging new vinyl goes far beyond hip-hop titles, and you can find many other types of recordings, including live recordings. The lavish prices and the original presses led consumers to invest in buying classic albums without any reissue, which have also been pirated, leading them to buy bootlegs Aenima of Tool albums, Valentine and My Bloody Loveless.

The bootleg vinyl will continue its course of production from the moment that demand persists, even with the new fact that police raided and seized the largest underground pressing plant in Europe. Many of these vinyl collectors still supply their wants by the sound quality of many titles - even with the parallel unhappiness in contrast, as the artists lose their work profits from the because of this piracy.

It is not an easy solution to the problem. However, it is clear that the artists do not lose anything if they emit their titles on vinyl. However dealing with the global demand is not easy or even fight the smugglers who seem to have been sending messages too quickly to address these needs.

In March 2015, after the digital release, Kendrick Lamar's To Pimp A Butterfly, was published in wax and as soon as it was also pirated. These vinyl sales have gained frightening proportions and preaches a model of one of the bastions of recent die sales of these albums until then considered traditional. However, as the labels do not appear to meet the demands and needs of consumers, surely someone will do it for them.

Floridian rock band Mayday Parade is set to return to Singapore on 1st of May 2019 headlining Skesh Entertainment's second installment punk/rock/emo full-day festival, aptly titled MAYDAY! SG. On the lineup will see Australian pop punk band With Confidence making their debut stop in Singapore. Regional support by Forests, Sekumpulan Orang Gila, Defying Decay, Tell Lie Vision, Thirds and MerchCow Battle of the Band winner.

Mayday Parade

Ten years ago, a group of friends from Tallahassee, Florida formed a band and traveled the country, selling their CDs to anyone that would listen in a parking lot at Vans Warped Tour. Building a following from the roots up, one fan at a time, Mayday Parade has garnered a lifelong massive dedicated fan base, in their evolution from hard-working local band to global force, thanks to energizing concerts and four studio albums full of heart-on-sleeve lyrics. With a catalog of six studio recordings, the band is celebrating their beginning with the 10th Anniversary Edition of their beloved debut album A Lesson In Romantics. This will be the band's 4th appearance in Singapore.

With Confidence

With Confidence are an Australian pop punk band from Sydney, Australia formed in 2012 by high-school mates Jayden Seeley, Josh Brozzesi and Samuel Haynes. Inigo Del Carmen joined soon after and the band started to get traction with their debut single “Stand Again” on YouTube. After the release of their debut EP ‘Youth', the band continued building fan base and played local support for 5 Seconds Of Summer, The Gateway Plan and The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus. In 2016, the band signed with Hopeless Records and released their debut album “Better Weather”, followed with touring across Australia, Japan and USA for the entirety of Vans Warped Tour. After a short touring hiatus in 2017, the band returned in 2018 at Warped Tour and released their 2nd album “Love and Loathing” on 10th Aug 2018.

Other bands on lineup: Forests (SG), Sekumpulan Orang Gila (MY), Defying Decay (TH), Tell Lie Vision (SG), Thirds (PH) and MerchCow Battle of the Band winner (tba)

Show Info

Date: Wednesday, 1st May 2019 (public holiday)

Venue: Zepp@BIGBOX Singapore / 1 Venture Avenue, Level 3, Singapore 608521

Starts: 2.00pm

Doors Open: 1.00pm

General Admission: $79

At Door: S$99

All prices exclusive credit card and Eventbrite charges

All tickets are free standing Tickets available now at

Eventbrite website

Facebook Event Page

About MAYDAY! SG Festival

MAYDAY! SG Festival is a 1-day music festival, organized by Asia Pacific specialist touring promoter Skesh Entertainment, featuring international and regional pop punk bands and other sub genres of rock and metal acts. Skesh raised significant attention after bringing UK's hottest pop punk outfit Neck Deep to the heart of the city and the region that witnessed a huge turnout. Skesh has been responsible for many successful regional tours by prominent international acts like Red jumpsuit Apparatus, Miss May I, Colerain, I See Stars, Chuck! No, Captain Chunck!, Issues, Mayday Parade and has also been driving force and catalyst for many regional bands' exposure in securing live performance opportunities in Asia.

The sunshine nation is an entity that was created in the year 2012. Since then the organization has become anonymous with great music, people and events. This is an entity that has been responsible for large scale festivals like the one they did at Fort Canning, hosting yacht parties around the Andaman Islands. They have also been responsible for putting together block parties in places like Boat Quay streets. This is a company that has had very great success in the most if not all their ventures. They are also responsible for organizing grand balls in upscale bars and their functions are always exceptional providing the unique experience their patrons have gotten accustomed to. The company has only been around for four years but already they have acquired the standard of a nightlife juggernaut within Singapore. Their success is accredited to the emotional connection they have forged with their audience. They have taken their time to form a community of loyal followers thanks to the lifestyle ventures these people have decided to undertake. This is a company that does not rely on any one major act but has created their own rotating community of major acts. In this way they won't be stuck in a bind if they have some form of unexpected mishaps or miscommunication. The way these people operate ensures that their patrons support them fully and for the long term.

Chit Chat with the boss

Talking to the director of Marketing and their Director of Events and Operations, Alexander Linnerth and Bernhard Schwarz respectively, they expresses their philosophy and the growth of the Sunshine National. They are two Austrians that created the company that offers the people of Southeast Asia unique music to complement their lifestyle concepts. The two entrepreneurs saw a new niche in a market that they could easily exploit. There were no organizations like Sunshine National in Singapore four years ago the two young men took their opportunity and as not looked back since.

The love they both have for music and travel lead them in the decision to creating this company. They have successfully created a company that combines great music and travel with events to provide new experiences that like-minded individuals can share. The pair was inspired by the concepts of events such as Lighthouse Festival, the Wilderness, Primavera and Yacht Week which are all very dynamic and successful festivals. The direction in which this company is going is the exact direction the founders want their business to head. The goal of the business is to do exactly what they are doing right now and this has not changed. They have promoted some of the most unique themed events and to many surprise, these events have been major success. The main aim of the company right now is to satisfy the need of their loyal community of followers.

Getting Started

It was a hard task getting in to this type of field in the country of Singapore and even more difficult to growing a community of loyal followers. Garden Beat is described by the founders as being the perfect festival celebrating god food, music and friendship in an ideal setting. The initial event that they promoted was the Sail Spin event. This is their most memorable event with the concept of sailing the islands of the Andaman. This was the first company to promote and event with this unique theme and to many surprise this was a very big success for the promoters. This was an event that none of them will soon forget. They have also stated with their own mouths that it was probably their all-time favorite event.

What to expect

The business head of this company might tell you that Sunshine Nation will provide only the best in good music, a difference in event concepts and a never before experience. The loyal community of followers of the Nation will probably tell you to expect the same thing. The last event just happened on 9th March 2019. There are many events planned for the next year. The same quality that fans of the Sunshine Nation has come to love and expect is the same quality that this entity plans to continue delivering top their loyal followers and the potential ones as well. This is a company that provides new experiences in terms of nightlife and event promoting.