The British rapper has worked on the publication with #Merky Books, the book publisher which he created with Penguin Books. The book’s premise and aims are to celebrate real-life superheroes, the figures chosen will be made up of 50 British icons, selected by Stormzy and #Merky Books. Those chosen will represent bravery, empowerment and individuality, and in turn, these icons and their stories will inspire and empower children. Proceeds from the book will also be donated to Stormzy’s charity #Merky Foundation. The charity promotes ways to battle racial injustice, last year the foundation donated £500,000 to fight racial inequalities.

#Merky Books took to their Instagram account to announce the news.

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The real-life superheroes included in the book include comedian Mo Gilligan, supermodel Jordan Dunn, mathematician and MBE holder Dr Anne-Marie Imafidon, sprinter Dina Asher-Smith, celebrated author Candice Carty-Williams, Baker and presenter Liam Charles, former footballer and MBE Ian Wright, actor and presenter Reggie Yates and footballer Rinsola Babajide. Many more familiar faces and acclaimed icons will also be included, chosen from different fields of arts and entertainment , sport, film, music, fashion, food and culinary arts and literature.

Babajide had this to say regarding his involvement with the upcoming book. “It’s such an honour to be part of this project and I’m so proud to help inspire the younger generation … I’m hoping to reach mainly those who look like me and have doubt in their mind about being able to make it professional in whatever they love, whether that be sports or in the performing arts industry.”

Along with an introduction by Stormzy, the individual stories will be told by Sophia Thakur, an acclaimed author and award-winning poet. Thakur penned the celebrated 2019 release ‘Somebody Give This Heart A Pen’, it was her debut book and was featured in the BBC and Stylist Magazine. Every superhero will come with a powerful story and equipped with an actual superpower; each icon’s story will be powerfully described by Thakur’s words. Joining the team is unknown illustrator, Denzell Dankwah, a 21-year-old student from the University of Gloucestershire. Dankwah contacted #Merky Books directly, the student messaged the team through their Instagram account and showed the publishing group his comic book illustrations.

Thakur has provided the following statement concerning the new publication and emphasises the importance of the book. “The earliest seeds that are planted often influence the rest of the garden. If from a young age, we only really meet blackness from a position of weakness, of slavery and shootings … stereotypes and racist media … as children, we don’t get an opportunity to develop a healthy and confident outlook on what it means to be black. It was important to work on this book to plant a new seed of celebration. Of black excellence into our young minds who will hopefully bloom into their very own superheroes. Confident and powerful.”

The upcoming publication’s illustrator Denzell Dankwah has also described his excitement over the project whilst giving thanks to the team behind the book. “Working on this project has been an exciting experience as I grew up with a love for superheroes and cartoons. Since my illustrations are heavily influenced by comic books, this was a great opportunity to portray such huge figures and role models as heroes for young readers to look up to. This is a dream come true as I’ve always wanted to illustrate a book and I’m grateful to have collaborated with Sophia and the amazing team at #Merky Books.”

‘Superheroes’ was conceived to not just inspire but to also represent icons of colour, currently, the statistic of children’s books published between 2017 and 2019 that represent or personify characters of colour is only 7%. With the publication of Stormyz new project, we can hope that not only will be a percentage increase but also will bring a new chapter in the publishing industry.

Click here to pre-order the book.

Revealing the news on Instagram, Cox wrote: “I’m delighted to share the news that my autobiography, called #OhYesOhYes , is out this August. Pre-orders – including a signed special edition in an individually numbered case that comes with an exclusive 10″ of I Want You (Forever) – are available from link in bio.”

 

 

 

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A post shared by Carl Cox (@carlcoxofficial)

The autobiography discusses the DJ’s life journey, from growing up in Manchester to moving to South London and pursuing his music career in the 80s. ‘Oh yes, oh yes!’ tells the story of the man known as ‘the three deck wizard’ and ‘the King of Ibiza,’ in his own words. Reminiscing his time on the dance scene, across the world from Melbourne to Ibiza, the book explores how this house-hold name of dance came to be. 

Initially set to be released last year, the autobiography now has a release date of 19th August 2021.

Speaking with Mixmag about his forthcoming book, Cox said: “I was looking for a publishing partner who would understand how important it is for me to share my story and insights to a global audience but who could also understand and respect how I connect with people on an individual level. White Rabbit gets it. They not only have the clout and backing of a big player, but the personal touch that I need in order to fully share my life on and off the dancefloor.”  

In a review of the DJ’s upcoming autobiography, Waterstones wrote: “In this electrifyingly honest and intimate memoir from one of the giants of dance music, producer and DJ Carl Cox chronicles his life and career, offering a fascinating insider’s view into the development of UK club culture.”

Carl Cox is a globally renowned producer and DJ, he has won the Best International DJ Award three times, the Best Techno DJ Award six times, the Best Ibiza Club Night one time and has received a record 32 consecutive nominations since the awards began in 1998. The producer and DJ has been hailed for being instrumental in the emergence of the British rave scene.

The British DJ and record producer has also recently been revealed to be part of the  Parklife 2021 line up, among other big names in techno, including Honey Dijon and Annie Mac. 

Speaking about Cox, fellow DJ Fatboy Slim said: “Carl has always been my favourite. He is the complete DJ, also the DJs DJ. Records come to life when he plays them, rooms come to life when he rocks them. His enthusiasm is infectious, his commitment complete.”

‘Oh Yes, Oh Yes!’ comes out on 19th August 2021, and is being published by White Rabbit. 

Book pricing
Hardback: £20
eBook: £10.99
Audio £21.99

His releases his humorous biography this week and thanks his twitter trolls for the inspiration behind his new book. He admits to ‘The List’ that, “Twitter brings out the worst in people.” He added that “Twitter allows me to reply to people as a human rather than a marketing team … in fact, I am just a vulgar idiot. Twitter brings out the worst in people and Instagram brings out a side in people to show off their life that doesn’t really exist. “That results in other people feeling inadequate about themselves.” 

With over 2 million twitter followers, James appears regularly on the news feed although he’s not modest about his success and he told Metro “I really don’t care, actually. I only reply once a month because I know the real world is a much more interesting and better place and I suppose it’s just not taking it seriously – or taking myself too seriously.”

His witty comebacks to his critics have made James a very popular person to follow. One woman who requested that “we take a moment to remember just how awful James Blunt was” to which James replied, “No need, I have a new album coming soon.” On another occasion when someone mocked him for only having 200,000 followers he replied, “Jesus only needed 12.” The Express

Metro noted that another critic tweeted, “I’m on the metro and drunk while listening to music, but I genuinely don’t know how @jamesblunt isn’t regraded as the best musician in the planet. You’re all asleep!” James Blunt’s comeback was, “Kids – this is why we don’t drink and tweet.”

Kids – this is why we don’t drink and tweet. https://t.co/eDX6OVnFWp

— James Blunt (@JamesBlunt) July 22, 2020

James has been through a difficult time recently due to his father’s ill health having suffered from a chronic kidney disease. He’s recently made a recovery having been donated a kidney by James’ cousin Charles Blount. James shows his appreciation towards his cousin and he told The Express, “My father is very well and has been given a new lease of life. My father and I are incredibly grateful to the generosity of my cousin, who’s now become a much closer cousin.” 

Having come through all this, James has a lot to look forward to with his new book being published on Thursday 5th November. He explains to Metro his reasons behind his book as the second lockdown is fast approaching, “The second wave of virus is with us now. People have been panic buying loo roll and there is a shortage. This book is designed to be read sitting on the loo and pages used as appropriate afterwards.” – 

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Never before has a book been published that is so perfect for you to read while sitting on the loo.

A post shared by James Blunt (@jamesblunt) on Oct 9, 2020 at 10:02am PDT

The book will feature Pendegast’s own personal collection of flyers from his days in the rave scene, along with his personal written anecdotes from his time during the era. Th initial run for it will be limited to 500 copies and will be published through Dukes Editions. More information can be found at the crowdfunding page where you can also support the campaign.

The late 80s and early 90s was the when the UK rave scene found recognition. By 1991, there were notable organizations such as Fantazia and Raindance holding massive legal raves across the country, both indoors in warehouses and outdoors in fields.

The era was dubbed “The Second Summer of Love” which referred to both of the years 1988 and 1989. This was when electronic dance, coupled with the drug MDMA led to a phenomenon within youth culture with the advent of the raves and free parties being held. The reason it was called this was because of parallels that were seen with the Summer of Love of the 1960’s, firstly because of the music using psychedelic beats reminiscent of that era and because of the hedonism involved being seen as so. It also brought some of the fashions back such as the tie-dye.

Particular places associated with the movement included the Hacienda, the legendary Manchester venue that was also synonymous with the Madchester scene which was happening at the same with bands such as the Happy Mondays and the Stone Roses. The iconic Smiley Face logo is seen as a symbol of the era.

However, by 1992 the scene saw some major changes, when many local councils starting passing by-laws and increasing fees in an attempt to stop these organisations from acquiring the necessary legal fees needed to hold these events.  Unfortunately for the scene, this signalled the end of the era, as large outdoor rave events soon became outlawed.

The music itself also saw a shift in style in the early 90’s, which made events more costly and more difficult to promote. This soon led to the era of illegal raves, also known as the “Free Party” scene, which also reached its climax after a big festival was held, where several individual systems were set up near Castlemorton Common.

The Government took legal action. Under The Criminal Justice And Public Order Act 1994 the definition of rave music was defined as: “Music” includes sounds wholly or predominantly characterised by the emission of a succession of repetitive beats.” The reason for the Acts introductions was because of alleged disruption that raves were causing with nearby residents, in an order to protect the countryside.