Tim Westwood

Tim Westwood (born 3 October in Lowestoft Suffolk),^[1]^[2]^[3]is a British rap DJ and presenter of the BBC Radio 1 Rap Show. He also presents the UK version of the MTV show Pimp My Ride. He is often referred to by other DJs and artists appearing on his shows simply as Westwood - he also uses the nickname the Big Dawg.

Disc jockey career

During his career, Tim Westwood has DJed for many radio stations, including the newly formed pirate radio stations Kiss FM (which he co-owned) and LWR in the 1980s, followed by mainstream station Capital FM (from 1987), before joining BBC Radio 1 in December 1994. He was the Radio 1 Rap Show's first presenter and has been its only permanent presenter; he is now one of Radio 1's longest-serving broadcasters.

Westwood djing at London's Moonlighting Club, Aug 2005

His first broadcast on a legal station appears to have been on 23 March, 1985, when he was a pirate DJ. He was a guest on a BBC World Service programme called Meridian where he discussed early hip-hop culture in London. After appearing in the 1987 BBC Open Space documentary Bad Meaning Good, which was an early work of his own company Justice Entertainment, he achieved TV exposure in the late 1980s fronting a slot on the ITV programme Night Network, produced by London Weekend Television.

More recently, he presented a series of his own television programme on UKTV channel UK Play, which has since ceased broadcasting. His Radio 1 show is produced by his independent company Justice Entertainment, which also produces Chris Goldfinger's dancehall show for Radio 1. He organises live performances and DJs for Radio 1, and other independent club nights often appearing alongside Chris Goldfinger. Justice Entertainment has also been used to recruit production team members, and staff to help stage the live appearances, in an interview with Virgin.net[2], Westwood describes how that has led to some youngsters getting full time jobs and learning about the music industry.

Westwood is heavily involved in the rap scene and is noted to be one of the early broadcasters and promoters of rap music. He was named Best UK Radio DJ in the MOBO (Music of Black Origin) Awards in 2000, 2003 and 2005. In interviews, he has said that he has strong moral convictions, and that he does not drink or take drugs. He is a patron of Feltham Young Offenders' Institution in West London, and specifically of its radio station [3]. Westwood was treated in hospital for bullet wounds, to his lower right arm, after a drive-by shooting in Kennington, South London, on 18 July, 1999. [4]

Criticisms

It has often been asserted, most recently in a column in The Guardian newspaper[5] and in an interview with Sacha Baron Cohen in Rolling Stone magazine[6], that Westwood was the inspiration for Ali G, the caricature portrayed by comedian Sacha Baron Cohen. In 2000, Westwood claimed in the NME that Baron Cohen had told him that he had based Ali G not on Westwood himself, but on the "white, provincial" hip-hop fans who phoned up his show.

Toby Young

Critics such as Toby Young have also derided Westwood's apparent emulation of African-American pronunciation and dialect, which is claimed to be at odds with his middle class Anglo-Saxon origins.[7] His father, William John Westwood was the Anglican Bishop of Peterborough until 1996 (and was himself a prolific broadcaster). He also (briefly) attended Norwich School, which is now a private cathedral grammar school (though it was a direct-grant grammar school at the time); during his Radio 1 show on 29 April 2006 Westwood tacitly alluded to this, claiming to "deny everything" and that he briefly attended an (unnamed) school which he had disliked intensely, going on to comment that he mainly attended the Hewett School in Norwich, but that this school would not be interested in him now. It has been claimed that his departure from Norwich School may have been connected to the fact that he has dyslexia.^{[citation needed]}

White people and hip-hop culture

Public reactions to Westwood from all sides arguably say a lot about the complex, conflicted nature of racial and cultural relations in modern Britain. On BBC Radio 4, The Now Show's Marcus Brigstocke often jokes about Westwood; this could be said to represent white, middle class mockery of hip-hop culture more generally and white people who adopt it in particular (although Brigstocke also mocks middle-class people who do more conventionally middle-class things). During the 1990s the British hip hop group Jeep Beat Collective released a song about him called "Tim Westwood is a Twat".

Part of the appeal, for Westwood's fans, and the annoyance of critics, is Westwood's eccentric catchphrases which can be heard throughout his shows on Radio 1 [8]. The broadcaster does not allow extreme bad language, even on late night shows so a series of sound effects, similar to screeching tyres, are often edited over obscenities.

Vocal style

Essential to every Disc jockey is the ability to develop a form of "patter" or vocal style to make him or her appealing to the listener[9]. As well as the loud sound effects, including explosions and repeated air-horns, Westwood uses his own form of street language. These include variations on: "That's the way it goes down", "Fall back!" and "Bow down and kiss the ring... and I don't wear any jewellery."

Westwood's shows involve heavy interaction between guests in the studio, the producer and other members of the production team who all engage in this banter. One of the newer catchphrases is "The king pin of the car game" reflecting his involvement in Pimp My Ride. Some of the language can be hard to decipher: "Go hard brother number one", Westwood referring to himself; "Go hard brother number two", referring to Chris Goldfinger whose show follows Westwood's on a Friday and is produced by Westwood's company for the BBC and "Go hard Brother number three" referring to Westwood's warm up DJ Dre, who is also part of the studio team.

He also uses other catchphrases such as "I like money" and "my main man up in the building it's how we does" - normally when a special guest visits the show. The phrase "we out - one" is the normal way of ending the show and "strap it up before you slap it up - use a latex if possible" is becoming a more popular catchphrase with Westwood's strong belief in safe sex.

Quotes from rap luminaries such as Juelz Santana, Pharrell Williams, Snoop Dogg and 50 Cent; on Westwood's Radio 1 website leave no doubt about the support he gets from big US acts. The hiphop duo Capone-N-Noreaga have also mentioned his name in a positive manner on the song "Banned From TV".

Expressions like "Exactly!", and "We're getting down to the dirty-dirty/Dirty south" - which refers to either deep south hip-hop or Brixton south London. They are commonplace alongside various combinations of "That's a big/good look", "Good looking out there", "Holler!".

The language reflects hip-hop culture, the word on the street and the language used by DJs in battles as a form of taunting the opposite number. In May 2005, Lil Jon, the so called "king of crunk" appeared on the show for a sound clash combining short bursts of tracks, many of the above expressions and lots of verbal banter drawing on the studio crew, and listeners to get behind either Westwood or Lil Jon. Crunk as a form of hip-hop is well cited for its intensity that has seen it banned from many US clubs.^{[citation needed]}

Commercial influence

^{[citation needed]}Westwood has been criticised for overt promotion of music released on Def Jam Records, part of Universal Music Group. He has released many compilation albums through Universal Music.

Criticism by Conservative leader

On 6 June 2006, BBC Radio 1 and Westwood's show in particular was accused of encouraging knife and gun crime by Conservative Party leader David Cameron [10] who was speaking at a British Society of Magazine Editors event.[11] Radio 1 controller Andy Parfitt [12] said there was no truth in claims, he told the Press Association news agency: "There's been a debate about this particular genre of music for many years. Hip-hop is of great interest to many people in our audience. I strongly refute that any of our programmes condone violence, gun crime or knife crime."

MTV's Pimp My Ride

In 2005 MTV announced that Westwood had been confirmed as the presenter of the UK version of Pimp My Ride [13]. Already an established programme in the US[14], Pimp My Ride, takes a viewer's car - usually a rundown wreck - and converts it, or customises it with fancy paintwork, reavamped upholstery and new technology including plasma TV screens, hi-fi's and game consoles.

A big custom car fan, Westwood was quoted in the The Guardian Newspaper in February 2005, after he'd been confirmed as PMR's UK presenter: "When I heard that MTV were making a version of the show for the UK, I got straight on the phone. Can you imagine the bling machines we're going to create that'll be cruising down your local high street? We're gonna be crazy."

The show's executive producer, Sean Murphy, added: "Westwood loves his cars and his enthusiasm is irresistible." The first ever UK episode of PMR was broadcast in the UK on MTV in June 2005, then appeared for a second series in June 2006 and is returning for a new series in April 2007.

New slot on Radio 1

On 4 July 06, Radio 1 announced a new schedule that will mostly affect specialist music slots on the station. Westwood was confirmed [15] as one of four presenters who will host a programme as part of the station's strand 'In New Music We Trust', (INMWT)[16][17]. It has been running four nights a week since 25 September 2006 at 2100 [GMT]. Westwood's show is for one hour every Tuesday. Westwood's Friday slot, currently two hours, has been given over to a showcase of music from 1Xtra, called Take Over, and Annie Mac's Mash Up, but his Saturday show has been extended to three hours, and is on-air from 2100 to midnight.

2006 MOBO nomination

Westwood was nominated for a MOBO in 2006, he was in the best DJ category.[18][19]. The other nominees were: Shortee Blitz, Semtex, Trevor Nelson and Steve Sutherland. [20]. The award was won by Sutherland.

Discography

Westwood Volume 1
Westwood Volume 2
Westwood Volume 3
Westwood Platinum Edition 2003
Westwood: The Jump Off
Westwood 6: The Takeover
Westwood 7: The Big Dawg
Westwood 8: The Invasion
Westwood Heat: Volume 9
Westwood X
Westwood 11 : Ride With The Big Dawg
Westwood: The Greatest

References

The phoney, cynical world of Ali G's role model by Matt Born, Daily Mail, 9 June 2006, retrieved 9 June 2006
Guardian Unlimited, (Guardian Newspapers), 24 February 2005
BBC News: New Schedule
Virgin Interview
BBC: In New Music We Trust

[1] BBC Radio 1 Press Office, Biographies: Tim Westwood (accessed 27 Mar 07)

[2] Daily Mail (online) The phoney, cynical world of Ali G's role model... 9 June 2006, (accessed 27 Mar 07)

[3] IMDB [1]

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