2006-03-03 01:47:32 I have been in New York for a couple of weeks...here's a little offering...a retrospective.. How Me and Darren Got Together: A Modern Tale of Fraternal Love... With a relentless determination Rockit set off across the ocean from the veritable paradise that is New Zealand on a quest to seek fame, fortune and...umm...to visit family in London. The visiting of family was accomplished with aplomb...the fame and the fortune was a little harder to come by... Meanwhile a man waits...he's tall...he's handsome...he's got an ear for eclectic masterpieces...a hankering for music that rises above the mainstream...he's got a wild talent...an animal instinct for damn good sounds...he's waiting...for the tide to come in or whaterver...He lives in London...he is Masonic.... After spending weeks harboured up with a motley crew in a backpackers discussing the meaning of life with crack addicts, low lifes and financially struggling terrorists Rockit needed to work...the two pieces of toast that came complementary with the board he paid wasn't quite hitting the spot...hungry and tired he decided to bite the bullet and return to whoring himself on the street, albiet the high street but most definitely the low-life that is retail...he took a job in a clothes store... Masonic was considering: Dreadlocks or no dreadlocks while his fingers slowly became amalgamated with the turntables and a killer set began its winding path into the air of his apartment block and mixed with the smells of the crisp, charcoal infused meats cooked on the streets by rugged and homely humming folk on the street...P.K got up from the couch in Masonic's lounge...a local rapper of considerable note...he bathed himself in the beats spun by his compadrie and the words effortlessly spilled out complementing the scenario like the perfect seasoning... Rockit tossed and turned..."This wasn't the way it was supposed to work out", that mantra buzzed through his head...and it rung out and had a resonance of a spiritual truth...but his mind was always in seventh heaven as a dirt cheap and deadly chemical cocktail ripped itself through his unstable brain scissoring vital synapses that enabled the human to be "normal"... At work that day...as he folded another flimsy overpriced garment,Rick his fellow slavemate shoved his cellphone in Rockit's face...some guy...in some lounge...freestyling...and a sublime tune underpinning the whole thang... "We have some hip-hop nights..come along"...a date was set...a time given..and the rest as they say...is history: Masonic opened the door for Rockit...Rockit entered. The Rockit was offensive...Masonic was not defensive...the music flowed....the concepts erupted...the world begain to change...slowly...the integrity was flawless and a duo was born...when you are in need, when cynicism has cast a long shadow over your mind...when there is no way out of your confusion there's two people you can trust...charismatic...undeniable...subliminal...one mic...two turntables n' a whole lottal love...and the earth turns a little faster...word...

2005-08-31 13:53:01 REVIEWS: MC ROCKIT with DJ Masonic were born New Romantic rather then plain old "romantic". This is hip-hop about G&Ts, love and Rockit's love of pop. Where are the guns? Well, there's a bit about TOP GUN , but DJ Masonic draws groans from the audience by sampling "Take My Breath Away". Rockit doesn't do gold chunks and diamond rocks;he's more Redcoat then fur coat,both in appearence and approach. He can do nihilism very effectively-it's almost too good to be satire. While Masonic works at the turntables, Rockit trots camply round the stage mixing poetry and short stories, flirting with the audience and rapping to the ringtone on his mobile-with surprising success. It's a fun and original performance with lots of energy and wit. Once the audience have realised what's going on they love it and, at £3.50, it's a bargain. ZOE GREEN- THE SCOTSMAN. If you're looking for something completely cutting-edge in a space so intimate it sucks you in, you have to check out Born Romantic. While MC Rockit is far from being the next Eminem, he has a charismatic quality that manages to charm the audience, no matter how small. Despite the tiny audience, you would think Rockit was performing for a full house as he never once let his energy wane: the ladies will be swept away by his smooth words and men will be impressed by his ability to do so. If anything, you have to check out Born Romantic for the beats spun by DJ Masonic who, mark my words, is going to be the next big thing. THREE WEEKS

2005-08-26 14:33:42 and then there was one...got a couple of good reviews...a couple of good contacts and yeah... ...did not make a wave...and i think we have the show that is capable of doin that... ...but...first fringe and really had no idea about the marketing/promo/publicity it takes to get out there... ...the feedback has been ridiculously positive..."special"..."moving"..."brilliant"..."fantastic" "want to follow you round the country"..."touched me"..etc...and i kinda had faith that the show had that power...to really move people... ...of course its a shame our audience hasn't been bigger...but the show has really grown... ...it is a personaly challange more then anything...this performing gig...its about my chase to get it right and then some each night...and yeah...the discovery that there is no option as a peformer but to let it all out up there... ...i did have one bad night...just kinda gave up before i went on...was still a good show for the audience...but personally disappointed... ...Edinburgh is not cool...it is a great event...but it ain't cool... ...so...a few more days...and the experiment on how much alcohol and cigarettes a human body can handle continues...i am sure i have developed about seven tumours in the last 48 hours... ...and then there was one...but there will one after that...sometime...someplace...its inevitable now cos we've discovered that we have something that is worth continuation...

2005-08-22 00:57:39 on friday night we had a breakthrough...we turned and burned...its what yo hope for as a performer...that the creative juices just start exponentially flowing...when yo feel the magic...it was a good performance and the show kicked off... sat we had our first big crowd...standing room only and it rocked...people come to get passion...and thats exactly what we are providing now.. this fringe thang is probably the wrong stage for what we are doing...there is a whole genre...its very traditional in many ways...the cabaret etc...its definitely not a modern push...so we are quite out of place...and the hip-hop culture is not embraced as i thought it would be.... its so commercial up here too...been out doing flyers...its just sardines...sucks... but everyone has loved the show who has seen it...and that's something...but yeah...in fifty years this is the kinda show that will be bread and butter for the fringe people set on a mentality of getting grey heads and flabby bums on seats for something "risky"...

2005-08-15 17:11:21 well...first week done...and the reality of the fringe fest is setting in... kinda thought that perhaps i was above being a flyer whore...but after audiences of 10,8,15,2 and 5...the pride lost walking the street seems a considerably easier pill to swallow then the pride lost performing to an emptyish house... i mean...i arrived with no flyers, no posters and a good show...but that ain't enough... and the fringe isn't really cutting edge...it has its own genre of tried and tested wackyness...and we are actually different...there is a lot of snobby conservativism here...along with a few folk who really wanna let there hair down... comments about the show from the few to the many: fantastic,brilliant,awesome dj,seen nothing like it, very talanted, fun...and its all true... so...dug deep into the pocket...got some flyers done...gonna hit the streets and try and pull these grey haired folks away from the blunt blade and onto something really cutting edge...

2005-08-11 13:43:31 first night last night..went well...for the few people that attended...damn...maybe my anti-flyer/anti-marketing stance isn't going to be commercially viable... but it was a tight show maybe a little too tight..but that's nerves... and the feedback was great..so...on with the show... of course I'm a little disappointed that more people didn't show...but... saw some cabaret at the bongo club after...very good...elephantman elvis impersonator was funny... it has taught me that you can go as far as you want...as long as you do it well... crazy?wierd?it's all just fine...as long as you do it with style...

2005-08-08 13:14:05 having the time of my life...crazy/fun/stupid/weird/rockin/gritty/shitty...feel at home... saw a couple of great shows on sat..."the lad lit project":great open performance from the actor..."headwig and the angry inch":blew my mind...rocked... had a sound check yesterday...wicked...and then did some promo on the royal mile...ummm...that was pretty dry...put we'll put it down to experimentation... and the opening party...nudey magician chicks pulling scarves outta their jewels...cut oriental men doing kung-fu...the lyric, "and then you love me in your mouth"...some funk...some dancin and just a little bit of eye sex...yes...yes...yes... so the beat rolls on...but quicker now... its more frenetic and yet more relaxed at the same time...its a festival...humans letting their hair down and going...lets celebrate individuality as a community...being different is ok didn't you know?... so...i'm happily pickin the pieces of my mind off the floor and from the walls...its time too cut loose...god is spelt F, U, N... it's just a really good time....

2005-08-06 15:33:07 Racism is low down n dirty...and definitely shame...can't really relate but anything that makes a man feel isolated n threatened just goes to prove that ignorance is anything but bliss... The fringe vibe is living up too its reputation. Just a lot of fun...free for all kinda anything goes woopeeee!! Good shite. Liver/lungs reduced to thirty percent operating effeciency...but still very much alive... Saw three shows...took me back to my student days...except they were less inventive...and they weren't students...and yeah... But just a flick through the programme this morning and wow! Basement Jaxx vs Born Romantic on the Sunday of the 28th...I might forgive a few punters for rolling along to the former...tempted myself...shit...I really want to dance! It's a nice day here. People are exponentially rolling into the city...more fun...more ripping the shit...less liver n lungs...but more livin n more then just a lil...peace...

2005-08-03 22:16:44 just saw a free show...wasn't worth it...reminded me of something a tutor once said to me..."You've just made we waste part of my life"...I think a lot more people who figure that they are artists should be working in Woolworths...and probably a lot of people who are working in Woolworths should do some art...intellectual posturing and earnest bollox...yuck...make me sick... The venue is very cosey and slick...gonna be sweet... Had a little bit of a nervous batch of insecure thoughts...but that happens...only human and all that...just keep reminding myself not too take myself to seriously..else I'll end up issuing forth drivel and inane "clever" plattitudes like that shite I sat through this arvo... I mean as soon as you start to think you're onto something you're fucked...it all becomes preachy...do what you do but don't sow it all up... idealism - reality + sense of humour = survival...

2005-08-02 18:47:50 Took the train up to Edinburgh yesterday...feel...free in a way...on the train there was a stunning blond lass...didn't even consider it though...arrogance and self-esteem had taken the day off...not a chance I thought in between lil peeks between the seats...I was getting off the train, just passing her and she leaned over to her friend and said..."How cool is that guy"....ha!...didn't Shakespeare say somethin bout fears stopping yo from reaching levels yo are capable of...it's a safe bet he said something deep about fear that could be applied to scoring chicks yo think are out of your league.... Edinburgh is pretty...not as pretty as some of those London girls mind yo...jeez...a couple of them in particular had a beauty that really tested my remedial sanity... ..ohhh...the show...gonna make a few additions... saw some young guys promoting their show...some barbershop megamix acapella thing...and they had nice flyers...it depressed me... I hate the lameness of life in general...I think life/music/everything has the potential to be so raw/fractious/lively/different/confrontational/weird/absurd and so wholly juicey...and it pisses me off how everyone just goes in for some safety net called morality where they can pretend to be comfortable and deny the fact they are seeing their true potential just be sucked into the vacuum of the socially acceptable...jeez...drives me nuts... some sense of power...some sense of validation...its such nonsense...and barbershop?!what the fuck!!! but who am I too judge right...umm...tis I M.C Rockit...come judge me and judge for yourself if I deserve to be judgemental...or at least a mental judge...peace...

2005-07-30 12:56:59 Hey...bottom lip was stuck on the floor round 8 last night...invited a few people around who have been involved in the show...who then didn't...so I called up Masonic n told him to stay home and rest, while I moped around the house to face my impending failure and staring my wild unpopularity in its cold hard face... but then my cousin rocked up...all the way from across town...and with a cute friend...the show had to go on...gave Masonic a call but he was now tied up... but yo can't leave an audience empty handed...ripped out a few records...improvised a mini-show for my little crowd of 5 and naturally delivered a little magic... audiences are sacred...you gotta respect that...no matter how sorry yo feel for yourself...you gotta bring that shit no matter what... ...while I'm here I gotta say a big thankyou to Seth for his wonderful generousity...the use of turntables, computer, records, bike, meals and his lounge floor...thanks mate...I couldn't have done this without you...also Tom and Nicola for their hospitality...Jack for the poster (can't complain when there is three photos of me...genius)...and Patrik for the website...excellent... Train ticket booked...flat sorted...material nailed...the show is gonna go on and I ain't feeling sorry about that...not one bit...

2005-07-28 12:45:29 15 cigarettes...5 beers...3 slices of pizza...1 spliff...odd numbers that add up to an even night...its all good...see when yo got the heart of a champion a bit of poisen is easy to digest...its fibre... Yesterday started out with the blues but gradually progressed towards a more positive perspective...the run through went really well...just relaxed a bit with the words...didn't push so much...had nothing to prove so nothin to lose..was nice...real nice... I mean yo don't have any option but to play yourself...I think Nick Nolte said that... I gotta say...I really believe there's not gonna be a better show out there this year...that's terribly arrogant...I know...but in terms of creativity, originality and just straight out intensity...I think the duo of Rockit and Masonic is solid...its a neat little package and it is what it is...and whats more a fool is foolproof...and yours truly is definitely a fool of the highest calibre...word... I am very realistic despite the rhetoric...I mean I have a very active imagination which I do indulge in but realise it is a fantasy life...and my visions of grandeur are amusing when compared with dull reality...so, in the cold hard light of day I gotta say...I still reckon our show is gonna be an incomparable force for good at Fringe 05...

2005-07-26 16:47:12 everyone loves the truth...but a lot of people just don't realise that they do... chalked up another week of romantic failures...just haven't quite grasped the concept of removing my heart from my sleeve... got some feedback the other day about my performance onstage being hard to read...they didn't know where I was coming from...didn't know how to take it...what market was I going for...ummmm...to be quite frank I don't care...I mean as soon as I worry about targeting an audience I know I would have sold out...my art is my art...I have always been a stubbourn mo fo in regards to that...so what if only 2 people get me...so be it... I guess I can be a little pushy and confrontational...but...I gotta respect my gut which is tattood with the phrase:no holds barred... I nearly vomited with panic the other morning...a strange sensation...panic...hmmmm...it's probably a good sign right? I am gonna have a small preview in the lounge on Friday...flatmates and a few friends...just a handful...get some criticism...the more destructive the better... I think there is a lot of great music out there...but I think pleasure has become a commoddity...no one is really searching for shit that moves them personally...they just wait for the conveyor belt of consumerism to feed them with something that suits their pallatte... That's the real world...no one really cares enough to go out of their way...so they sit through that half-baked movie cos it will do...no one wants to go out of their way in search of meaning and power and passion and tears... Fuck. It's a fast food mentality... Art isn't meant to be neatly packaged nor easily digested nor merely entertain....I love pop culture..don't get me wrong...but there's an edge missing I reckon...at least that's what I have observed in my 27 years on this world...what is that ege? I dunno but it's sharpened with courage,depth, creativity and wisdom...fuck the fake glamour...real pain doesn't hurt as much as denial in the long run...trust me on that one...

2005-07-19 22:48:01 got some lines to cram into my memory...worry get the back! little issues are rearing their ugly heads and baying for my attention...forms...venue...advertising salesmen-how they get my number...the fringe is corporate...worries... and then you start philosophising...about popular culture...about modern artists...about the lack of fuckin soul and depth and fun,fun,fun...how did we all get so streamlined and boring...opening cans of spontanaeity...watching cheap thrills...where's the fuckin hero? right here? a new friend of mine made an interesting point about limitations actually being good for artistic endeavor...i tell myself i can create worthy shite...not because i have had a background that nurtured my technical proficiency...not cos i dot my i's cross my t's,spell correctly or memorised "How to master grammer in three easy steps"...but cos i wanna do beautiful things and rebel against fear, and open my wounds and speak whats on my mind and answer questions that can't be solved by Harvard graduates with economics prizes and jerks that dress a little too neatly to show off how well their property portfolio is doing... bitter? y angry? y insecure? Y confident i am going to keep rippin the shit till my last? of course.... so worries...kiss my behind from where you are...and get used to the view...one mic...two turntables n a whole lotta love forever...aiight!

2005-07-16 13:11:08 Sat morn..ouch...but the show must go on...we did another open mic night this week...went rather well...yeah...but I did lose my timing on the last verse of the second song...lost the audience a lil...it was a little mistake but it took the gloss off what was a great hit out...crowd all clapping n all that live energy jazz... I think what people want from a performance and a performer is emotional edge...technical ability is all fine and good, but if it ain't coming from a human place, if it's just a slick machine with no soul...its a vapid exercise... You gotta have an idea of what you're about when you're out on stage...comfortable in yo skin...else yo is just gonna be pushing an idea of yourself...the immediacy of the live moment will be lost... I love letting it all hang out...I may not be perfect...not even close....but I'm worth a look cos I'm not afraid to be seen no more...

2005-07-11 11:31:11 the ups and downs...jeez...it's not an ideology worth living for if people have to die right? DJ Masonic came over on Saturday and we had a practise...I really value having a good DJ...a good DJ is someone who can push your musical taste n move yo music to a place where you couldn't have gone by your lonesome...Masonic does that. I tend to make do, even if something isn't the best produced, i can be sentimental with my choices and go for something a little hackneyed...also I am conservative...once I have chosen something...I wanna stick with it...On Saturday there is a track I have been rehearsing a short story too..I was quite set on it but Masonic thought it was a tad saccharine...and I told him if he could find a track better I'd go with it...but in my head I was pretty sure I'd stick with the status quo number cos I'd rehearsed with it so much and being a person who staves off insecurity by getting really familiar with shit...I didn't think he could find something...but he put on a track I hadn't heard for a long time but which has entered my head some mornings out of nowhere...one of those tracks that has been a mystery but you know you are in love with...so yeah...big ups to Masonic...for making sure progress happens to the last...cos there's nothing like finding the best tune for the job and not settling for comfortable...

2005-07-06 23:09:40 ummm...tired...mind numb...soul bruised...did not run the show today...told myself it was in danger of being over rehearsed...although I have never actually experienced having anything over rehearsed in my entire life...this show has reminded me about how goddamn profoundly truly overwhelmingly how brilliant an artform music is...jeez...the way it gets yo in the deep places...the way it gets yo feet/fingers tappin...the way it just lifts yo spirit...gets yo through those little wars...and I refuse to let my ears take those sounds for granted...but before I get all "inspirational" on myself...I'm tired and even my favourite tune won't let me forget that at the moment...at what stage in life does it get effortless? Handed out little strips to everyone at work with my web address...I dunno...I can't help but feel naieve...like I'm that artist who has no idea about what works in this colour coded real world...so I reckon I'll take the easy option and go to sleep tonight believing in fate and dreams coming true...

2005-07-05 14:03:31 pop isn't dead...but it is certainly more then a little middle-aged...starting to e-mail round these agents...it's funny how this system works...I mean...everyone looks for the next big thing by trying to fill there books with an immitation of the current big thing...ummm...but you know...always means that originality has an impact when it pushes through...old Tom on the telly last night...laughed a bit hard,too often at lame jokes...but..."Top Gun"...the man can die with a deep feeling of satisfaction from that film alone...gonna have to have a homage in the show methinks...my marketing budget consists of a tin full of loose change I've been collecting...still a naive part of me holds onto the whim that if the show is sweet...the people will come...the electrician enjoyed it when I forced him to listen to it in the lounge the other day...not that the British need a lot of convincing to sit down on the job...oh...once you decide to love everything you can never lose...word...

2005-07-04 16:17:29 36 written in red in the corner of my diary...it's not long...at the beginning of the year August/Fringe seemed a distant, age away...but 36 days...36...and of course there are those inevitable swarm of insecurities...will anyone come, and if anyone comes will they dig it...well...I dunno...what I do know is that the two turntables and the microphone in the lounge/bedroom/studio are my meaning for living and have been for the past six months...they've got me through hours of menial labour for menial money with menial minds...shit...London is tough...have I done my time on the bottom rung of showbiz? short answer: yes, long answer: YEEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSSS!!! So if there's one sucker that rolls up August the 10th...I garauntee they will get their three fiddy worth...25 years in institutions....now the so called real world...36 days...can't wait...well I can, I have but now there's light...