After a busy and drizzly week under the unwavering cover of London’s grey skies, the Ctrl.Alt.Shift street team were well up for a weekend mission out of the capital. As we busted out of Paddington station on a train that stank profusely of a cocktail of fast food dinners, we got us a table, and got hyped up about the night ahead...
'Our mission was simple: big up Ctrl.Alt.Shift, spread the word about our unique way of addressing global poverty and social injustice, whilst throwing a few interesting shapes to pounding hip hop and dubstep in the process'
The team landed in Oxford quicker than you can say ‘dirty dubstep’, and we were whisked straight to the city’s o2 academy... there was work to be done.
The evening was off to a great start; and after a cracking backstage interview with the night’s headline acts and a much needed Lebanese takeaway... the CAS team hit the cluuuub. Our mission was simple: big up Ctrl.Alt.Shift, spread the word about our unique way of addressing global poverty and social injustice, whilst throwing a few interesting shapes to pounding hip hop and dubstep beats in the process. 
Easy!
'Former Jurassic 5 member Akil the MC was next up to grace the stage, effortlessly embarking on a musical mystery tour that incorporated some winning tracks from his new solo project Sound Check, as well as some much loved J5 classics'
Kicking off proceedings at the o2 academy was fantastically quirky New York native Louis Logic, a man who describes himself as “half black, half Puerto Rican, and raised by a family of Italian immigrants.” Louis performed an eclectic mix of keyboards and rap vocals. Most importantly, he wins the CAS team prize of 'most rock n roll member of the tour'... thanks to a combination of his bad ass tattoos and flamboyant storytelling of debauched on the road antics. 
Former Jurassic 5 member (and the Ctrl.Alt.Shift team’s new best mate) Akil the MC was next up to grace the stage, effortlessly embarking on a musical mystery tour that incorporated some winning tracks from his new solo project Sound Check, as well as some much loved J5 classics.
'The crowd revelled in the reverberations of Akil’s powerful vocals and hard hitting lyrics, and shook their Friday night thang to a healthy dose of storming beats issued by Akil’s childhood buddy, the fantastic DJ T Minus'
Wannabe MCs from the audience were even invited to rap with Akil on stage, and Oxford’s home grown talent did a good job of representing, relishing the opportunity to rap alongside one of the original pioneers of West Coast hip hop.
As the CAS team went back to their positions as ambassadors for youth activism and social justice around the world, the dubstep started to kick in - the bass making our bones shake inside our oversized red T shirts. UK DJ Reso got the people jumping with some seriously grimy dubstep beats, and triple UK DMC team champions the Disablists kept things rolling way into the small hours...
'The dubstep started to kick in - the bass making our bones shake inside our oversized red T shirts...'
After having signed up a small army of CAS supporters, and spending hours embracing a bizarre breed of expressive dance using the Ctrl.Alt.Shift magazine as a prop, (see photos for reference…) we finally packed up our wares, and piled out of the club into a taxi.
Dragging our weary selves through the revolving doors of the Travelodge, we were blinded by the strip lights and the drab colours of that standard issue schoolroom / hotel / public institution décor, and began to ponder the massively appealing notion of passing out in our ‘family’ room. Just as we were about ready to call it a (long) night, who should we happen to stumble upon but Akil the MC and DJ T minus... having a cheeky Facebook session on the computers in the hotel lobby!
Clearly, it was time to make our neighbours for the night a hangover-repelling bedtime cuppa, and reminisce about the night’s events before we all hit the hay. Chats were had, stories were told, tea was guzzled... and Akil even scribbled us a list of his top tips on who's keeping it real and relevant in hip hop today, on both sides of the pond.
Top and tailed in our Travelodge beds, the CAS team slept sound in the knowledge that it had been a great night’s work.
'We’d spread the word about the ground-breaking and creative work Ctrl.Alt.Shift does to raise the profile of those affected by poverty, corruption, climate change and social injustice all over the world, from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe'
We’d pioneered a new style of magazine-swinging dancing.
We’d skanked on down to a mind-altering cocktail of hip hop and dubstep.
We’d extended a bit of English hospitality to one of our all time American hip hop heroes... and got his full agreement that 6am is the perfect time for a cup of English tea.
Words: Eva Baker
Photos: Kristen Park