So, the Mercury Prize 2025 is upon us!! Aish is aware of it, Swy is here to break it down solo, as per usual.

Substack: https://open.substack.com/pub/thebellejoypod?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android&r=58n98d

The theme track is an instrumental version of Frontier Life, done by me.

You can find my music on Soundcloud as Swy, and on BandLab as Suaibu Jallah.

You can find Aish's music on BandLab as Takers.The Bands: https://open.spotify.com/show/05UJp7raNm86mLwS2O9dY9?si=0cc28b64f87a483e

The Swycast Convos: https://open.spotify.com/show/4gjFkxM2j9mb8wjTWLLpfG?si=cfbaecf7d6464b02

Find us on IG:Bellejoy: @thebellejoypod24 (same with Threads)

Aish: @aisha_mcn

Swy: @swymaj02

Business Email:thebellejoypod24@gmail.com

Website: https://bellejoypodcast.wordpress.com/

Howdy up everyone!! Swy here, and this is our very first interview we bagged with an active artist. Mark Hefferman, AKA Pocket Lint, has blessed us with some poignant music which explores a lot of themes, linked with a fascinating-yet-oversimplified (in my humble opinion at least) period in the mid 20th century. Yes. This is not a history podcast, I know. Still, history does intrigue me and Aish, particularly how culture within societies are best informed by contemporary art. Well, in this case Mark and I look at that time period in retrospect, largely through his music, especially with his 2024 album The Jet Age.

Of course, Aish and I reviewed the lead single off of this record, E28-39, the month before the album's release, which serves as a prelude to this interview I did with Mark. So do check out that episode first, it'll really give you a nice perspective on the whole thing. Okay? Cool.

Also, being the Autistic Rambler I am, plus Mark's very fascinating music and life story, plus his historical knowledge of the era which he encapsulates well in The Jet Age, we ended up recording for two hours. Therefore I've split this convo into two parts. The second of which I am hard at work with editing as of writing this description (27/07/2025). Also, I dream of overlaying images, and audiovisual footage on both parts to make the video format seem more interesting, as well as better informing you lot how we think. We're gonna need an editor to work on that better than I can, so that'll take a while. But keep your eyes peeled once a more visual version of this interview comes out in the near to medium future.

Substack: https://open.substack.com/pub/thebellejoypod?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android&r=58n98d

The theme track is an instrumental version of Frontier Life, done by me.

You can find my music on Soundcloud as Swy, and on BandLab as Suaibu Jallah.

You can find Aish's music on BandLab as Takers.The Bands: https://open.spotify.com/show/05UJp7raNm86mLwS2O9dY9?si=0cc28b64f87a483e

The Swycast Convos: https://open.spotify.com/show/4gjFkxM2j9mb8wjTWLLpfG?si=cfbaecf7d6464b02

Find us on IG:Bellejoy: @thebellejoypod24 (same with Threads)

Aish: @aisha_mcn

Swy: @swymaj02

Business Email:thebellejoypod24@gmail.com

Website: https://bellejoypodcast.wordpress.com/

We're sticking to the themes of rap and hip-hop this summer. Well Swy is, cos y'know....

He decides to film a commentary on a video posted by epic sociopolitical and (relevant to this podcast) cultural juggernaut on YouTube, FD Signifier. The original video, "Hip-Hop Has An Age Problem.... kinda", is up on his more ranty channel, Signified B-Sides. Honestly, if he can be asked, Swy'll link the video, and Fiq's main channel here in the shownotes.

MAIN CHANNEL: https://youtube.com/@fdsignifire?si=hy2TZXCrtIQS62rA

VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=idn7yJ2NGk4&pp=ygUaaGlwIGhvcCBoYXMgYW4gYWdlIHByb2JsZW0%3D

Should any of y'all like what you see, do follow this podcast for more arts and culture relating to generational feels, Gen-Z in particular, and almost exclusively based in music.

Finally, before the whole "shownotes shpeel", I (Swy) will admit that I knew nothing about Clipse before this reaction, aside from Chains & Whips w/Kendrick Lamar on it, nor did I care enough to listen to the full album. As of this episode' release I have bumped it about a good handful of times, and have checked out countless reviews of said album, Let God Sort 'Em Out, so perhaps I'll do a snappy review of it myself, Time is crunching on me though, so I doubt it.

Substack: https://open.substack.com/pub/thebellejoypod?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android&r=58n98d

The theme track is an instrumental version of Frontier Life, done by me.

You can find my music on Soundcloud as Swy, and on BandLab as Suaibu Jallah.

You can find Aish's music on BandLab as Takers.The Bands: https://open.spotify.com/show/05UJp7raNm86mLwS2O9dY9?si=0cc28b64f87a483e

The Swycast Convos: https://open.spotify.com/show/4gjFkxM2j9mb8wjTWLLpfG?si=cfbaecf7d6464b02

Find us on IG:Bellejoy: @thebellejoypod24 (same with Threads)

Aish: @aisha_mcn

Swy: @swymaj02

Business Email:thebellejoypod24@gmail.com

Website: https://bellejoypodcast.wordpress.com/

Jim Legxacy, an underground rapper from Lewisham, released a mixtape called Black British Music on July the 18th. I got a song which references this day directly, but for different reasons. Maybe I'll talk about my debut album, which came out the same day if you wanna be shocked. BY 'I' I mean Swy.

I did a full reaction to the mixtape on my Twitch, which is linked here, though the stream itself may have been deleted as I did it that week (deletes 15 days after streaming):

https://www.twitch.tv/swymj23

Still, I gotta give my opinions on the record, but not without help. So I reviewed Pitchfork's article on BBM, and I implore y'all to enjoy the process.

Substack: https://open.substack.com/pub/thebellejoypod?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android&r=58n98d

The theme track is an instrumental version of Frontier Life, done by me.

You can find my music on Soundcloud as Swy, and on BandLab as Suaibu Jallah.

You can find Aish's music on BandLab as Takers.The Bands: https://open.spotify.com/show/05UJp7raNm86mLwS2O9dY9?si=0cc28b64f87a483e

The Swycast Convos: https://open.spotify.com/show/4gjFkxM2j9mb8wjTWLLpfG?si=cfbaecf7d6464b02

Find us on IG:Bellejoy: @thebellejoypod24 (same with Threads)

Aish: @aisha_mcn

Swy: @swymaj02

Business Email:thebellejoypod24@gmail.com

Website: https://bellejoypodcast.wordpress.com/

Swy had a little thing to say about an album from a pretty obscure artist....

Substack: https://open.substack.com/pub/thebellejoypod?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android&r=58n98d

The theme track is an instrumental version of Frontier Life, done by me.

You can find my music on Soundcloud as Swy, and on BandLab as Suaibu Jallah.

You can find Aish's music on BandLab as Takers.The Bands: https://open.spotify.com/show/05UJp7raNm86mLwS2O9dY9?si=0cc28b64f87a483e

The Swycast Convos: https://open.spotify.com/show/4gjFkxM2j9mb8wjTWLLpfG?si=cfbaecf7d6464b02

Find us on IG:Bellejoy: @thebellejoypod24 (same with Threads)

Aish: @aisha_mcn

Swy: @swymaj02

Business Email:thebellejoypod24@gmail.com

Website: https://bellejoypodcast.wordpress.com/

So we got the rap trio Kneecap, out in the firing squad for reasons I break down. Here we go.

Swy's set up a Sunstack for this podcast: https://open.substack.com/pub/thebellejoypod?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android&r=58n98d

The theme track is an instrumental version of Frontier Life, done by me.

You can find my music on Soundcloud as Swy, and on BandLab as Suaibu Jallah.

You can find Aish's music on BandLab as Takers.The Bands: https://open.spotify.com/show/05UJp7raNm86mLwS2O9dY9?si=0cc28b64f87a483e

The Swycast Convos: https://open.spotify.com/show/4gjFkxM2j9mb8wjTWLLpfG?si=cfbaecf7d6464b02

Find us on IG:Bellejoy: @thebellejoypod24 (same with Threads)

Aish: @aisha_mcn

Swy: @swymaj02

Business Email:thebellejoypod24@gmail.com

Website: https://bellejoypodcast.wordpress.com/

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to Kneecap and Their Impact

03:26 Controversies Surrounding Kneecap

05:34 The Origins and Evolution of Kneecap

07:42 Political Messaging and Its Consequences

09:43 Kneecap's Cultural Significance and Musical Style

12:02 The Band's Response to Criticism

14:20 Kneecap's Future and Ongoing Challenges

34:48 New Chapter

Back for another Article Reads. Yes. Swy is gonna milk this trick down. This time, Kooks frontman Luke Pritchard plays a few songs at Prince Charles Cinema.

Having mentioned CBC's role in keeping Canadian music alive, linked below is Polyphonic's video, Canadian Music Is In Danger:

https://youtu.be/xlviMeXOlGk?si=2m0dsvto6HoUA7fZ

The theme track is an instrumental version of Frontier Life, done by me.

You can find my music on Soundcloud as Swy, and on BandLab as Suaibu Jallah.

You can find Aish's music on BandLab as Takers.The Bands: https://open.spotify.com/show/05UJp7raNm86mLwS2O9dY9?si=0cc28b64f87a483e

The Swycast Convos: https://open.spotify.com/show/4gjFkxM2j9mb8wjTWLLpfG?si=cfbaecf7d6464b02

Find us on IG:Bellejoy: @thebellejoypod24 (same with Threads)

Aish: @aisha_mcn

Swy: @swymaj02

Business Email:thebellejoypod24@gmail.com

Website: https://bellejoypodcast.wordpress.com/

This is a first in Bellejoy history, where one of us (mostly Swy) reads an article and tries to give a well-informed opinion. Due to both our schedules not being free enough to record and post episodes frequently, this'll be a recurring series which should hopefully make up for otherwise lost time. We'll return to our standard episodes later this summer, especially once Swy wraps up his uni days and Aish gets settled (we'll explain later down the line.

The theme track is an instrumental version of Frontier Life, done by me.

You can find my music on Soundcloud as Swy, and on BandLab as Suaibu Jallah.

You can find Aish's music on BandLab as Takers.The Bands: https://open.spotify.com/show/05UJp7raNm86mLwS2O9dY9?si=0cc28b64f87a483e

The Swycast Convos: https://open.spotify.com/show/4gjFkxM2j9mb8wjTWLLpfG?si=cfbaecf7d6464b02

Find us on IG:Bellejoy: @thebellejoypod24 (same with Threads)

Aish: @aisha_mcn

Swy: @swymaj02

Business Email:thebellejoypod24@gmail.com

Website: https://bellejoypodcast.wordpress.com/