It was called Juice and the first issue was a few A4 sheets stapled together embarking on a more 'newsletter' territory.
This was before home PC's were big, and even before I had a word processor. In fact I did the early issues on an electric typewriter.
All the images were cut out of other magazines and some logos were created by friends - mainly those with a 'writing' bent. The cut 'n' paste action was done literally with scissors and a Pritt Stick. And I went through stencil transfers like nobody's business.
I managed to speak to a few artists such as the Krispy 3 and Katch 22 - who I interviewed at the Kold Sweat studios - and met some good people in the process. Some would become life-long friends. One in particular who would introduce me to the ways of the spraycan and night time adventures along train tracks....
This was a great time to be doing this - and I think I subconsciously knew it was the right time - as it was hip hop's Golden Age and the music was pouring out at a tremendous rate. In fact there are some classic jams in this issue's Review section. Little did I know how they would come to be revered in years to come.
I remember that I was into the music so much with such an undying appetite because there was really so many well-produced tracks around that I could never do this at any other time. This fanzine was of it's time for me. Never again will I have the voraciousness for hip hop in it's current form. And the time it took to put it all together could only be painstakingly done with a passion.
The readership wasn't high and was probably in the heady heights of 100 sales. The promotion was low-profile yet I got mentions on local press and radio as well as a shout on Kiss FM's Max & Dave's rap show.
The magazine was bought either direct from me or from my local specialist record shop, Dance 2 Records in Guildford. I heard from someone a few years ago that one copy sold for a lot of money in Japan on ebay.
As well as the magazine, I produced a 90-minute cassette tape which consisted of remixes and dj mixes and whatever else I could find to put on it.
Some of these were my contributions under various guises while others were from the Juice readership.
It all lasted for 2 years until another interest came into my life and sadly the mag was put on the backburner.
I have digitized the last issue ('Numba') 6 and the tape that came along with it.
Quite a few people have requested me to do this so I hope you enjoy it. And if you were involved with it at any stage please get in touch, it'd be great to get in contact again (and find out if you still have your copy!)
Tracklisting:
Link-a-rama
Download The Mag
Download The Tape
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