The Cold Cut

Estelle ft. Kanye West- American Boy

Finally. Estelle is about to blow up, big time. I've been sitting patiently, twiddling my thumbs, for years, waiting for her talent to become appreciated. And now the time has come.

'American Boy', the second single from new album 'Shine', is the song which lays it out. Estelle is essentially one of the UK's brightest hip-hop hopes, but she has yet to make it big. The last few months, and the build-up to the new album's release, have been different. The sight of this song at the top spot on the Hype Machine was a great sight, and I even managed to get 'Wait A Minute (Just A Touch)' to number one a couple of months back. These are milestones, and the single already has the makings of a hit, after receiving some serious airplay on UK radio and great write-ups across the board on blogs and in various publications.

The placement of Kanye West on this track is key, and he acquits himself well. However, the story behind this collaboration is more important than the result. In Estelle's own words:

"So then Will pulls out the beat and this is me: 'woooh, let me get down to this one, it sounds like a funky house tune.' And we wrote the song. Then we asked Kanye to be on it, and he said 'let me listen to the rest of the album and see what it's like. He genuinely liked the whole album, so he appeared on the song."

Kanye West's seal of approval is not something to be sniffed at, and I will await the release of 'Shine' on May 6th with bated breath. 'American Boy's physical release is March 24th, and as a download on March 17th. Visit Estelle's site. Do you love the single? Have you been a fan since the beginning?

2008 is shaping up to be a huge year for music, and these are the best of the British bands releasing new material this year.

Cajun Dance Party- These 5 London teens are still at school and yet they've already released two spectacular singles, The Next Untouchable and Amylase. Which is pretty amazing given the time constraints of A-Levels (trust me, I'm in the same boat!). Their album will be amazing.

Cajun Dance Party- The Next Untouchable
Estelle- This West London born hip-hop artist is widely respected in the music world, and not without reason. At the age of 27 she already owns a record label, Stellar Ents, which allowed her to release her own album, 'The 18th Day', 3 years ago. If you haven't heard '1980', one of her singles, download it now. Her new album, 'Shine', is out on February 12th, and whilst she has the talent, Estelle has never hit the bigtime. Signing to John Legend's label can't hurt, and neither can production by Will.i.am, Kanye West and Wyclef Jean.

Estelle- 1980
Estelle- Wait A Minute (Just A Touch)

Glasvegas- Everyone compares them to The Jesus And Mary Chain; its a fair comparison, but why not relate them to something new? Purely because no-one sounds like Glasvegas any more. Alan McGee has been gushing about them for ages, but whereas this is generally unfounded, for once he is right. Destined for great things...

Glasvegas- Daddy's Gone

Foals- These guys are going places. 'Antidotes', the first album, is out March 2008, and already things are hotting up at the Foals camp. Not content with the production, they re-mixed the entire album themselves, to their specifications. Ballsy, but will it pay off? Yannis (centre above), the mop-topped lead singer of this Oxford based five-piece, obviously thinks so.

Foals- Hummer

The Courteeners?- The question mark isn't a typo. Liam Fray (closest in the pic), lead singer of The Courteeners, is following in the footsteps British frontmen by mouthing off about how his band are going to create one of the best British albums ever. Sometimes, this is the truth: see Oasis, Stone Roses etc. Sometimes, however, it isn't: take The Twang as a recent example. Which will he be? On the evidence of 'Cavorting', the latter. But that doesn't stop me wondering 2008 will be the year when we witness his fall from grace.

The Courteeners- Acrylic

The Ting Tings- I'm not even going to attempt to explain this one, other than that they're a boy-girl duo who make fun pop music. Oh, and they wont disappointed; they've been around for a while, signing to a major label 3 years ago, but the deal fell through due to creative 'differences'. A new deal is in the works, but just let their music speak for itself.

The Ting Tings- Great DJ

Those who will be big but I don't need to write about:
Adele- Possibly the voice of 2008?