91Èȱ¬

With K.I.G Family's "Head Shoulders Knees And Toes" getting signed to a major label All Around The World/Universal/Island and all of the other labels looking to sign underground hits such as Attacca Pesante's "Make It Funky For Me" and Princess' "Frontline", it seems like the stage is set for funky to make a big dent in the pop charts in 2009.

Is this a good thing? On one hand it introduces a whole new audience to the genre and it could allow the artists that have been grafting away on the underground scene to finally get a proper pay cheque for the work they've put in. On the other hand, going 'pop' could commercialise and damage the scene forcing it to go back underground - similar to the mainstream's infatuation in the past with Jungle, Garage and last year's Bassline phenomenon.

What do you think - is Funky going to be big in 09 and if it is, will it be the end of Funky or just the beginning?

Every week I pick one record that isn't just hot, it's Jam Hot and it becomes my record of the week. This week, the honours go to B.o.B's "I'll Be In The Sky"

So who is B.o.B?

- 20 year old Bobby Ray Simmons aka B.o.B is from Decatur in Atlanta - same place as Outkast
- He got into Hip Hop when he was introduced to DMX's It's Dark And Hell Is Hot album in the 3rd Grade at school
- He produces, writes, raps, arranges and mixes his own music and my 1Xtra listeners described him as a cross between Gnarls Barkley and Outkast
- T.I. has signed him to his label Grand Hustle and featured him on the album Paper Trail
- "The Adventures of B.o.B", his debut album is due out later in the year
He's been tipped as one to watch by many HipHop tastemakers including 1Xtra's own DJ Semtex
- For more on B.o.B you can check out his

What do you think? Jam Hot or Jam What are you doing?

Last night on the show, Rusko passed by the studio for a quick chat and to drop a very sick dubstep guest mix. I've been trying to get Rusko into the studio for ages and since his record "Cockney Thug" is my Jam Hot record of the week for this week (and the first one of 2009) we took it as a perfect excuse. He was a great interview and we even helped him with the problem of naming his album ("Jobsagudun" I reckon).

You can check the full show on the 91Èȱ¬ iPlayer up until next Thursday 15th Jan but I HAD to post the mix for you to hear right here on the blog. Seriously, we had texts from people saying this mix converted them to Dubstep!

**UPDATE - You missed your chance! Make sure you're locked in live to the show in future so you miss nothing!!**

It's the first full week of 2009 and we kick off with a HUGE record as this week's Jam Hot record of the week. Potentially my favourite dubstep record EVER - Rusko's 'Cockney Thug'.

23 year old Christopher Mercer aka Rusko is from Leeds. After graduating from Leeds university with a degree in musical performance, he was introduced to dubstep through the legendary Leeds dubstep night SUB DUB and a debut appearance from the "Digital Mystikz" - Mala & Coki. Having spent the previous 10 years making future dub alongside Leeds very own Iration Steppas, Rusko connected with the dubstep sound and moved down to London to further advance his musical opportunities with Sub Soldiers label mate Caspa. His remixes for Adele's 'Cold Shoulder' and Leon Jean Marie's 'Bring It On' were on heavy rotation on my show last year as was 'Cockney Thug'.

The record was originally released on the Babylon EP in 2007 and became a dubstep anthem so big, it's being re-released as a single in Feb/March. It samples a line from the Armando Ianucci show spoken by the actor Alan Ford (famous for the character Brick Top in Guy Richie's film Snatch). Rusko will be passing by the 1Xtra Towers tomorrow just after 8.30pm and will be dropping a very sick guest mix and we'll find out what makes him tick! In the meanwhile, click on Rusko's picture to check out his myspace.