Author Archives: DJ Kraze One

Tinkers Bridge Paint Jam (Part two)

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Welcome to the second part of the documentation of the Tinkers Bridge Paint Jam. Like the artwork displayed in part one the images in this section were also created in September 2019 and cover the entire second section of the double underpass that runs between the Milton Keynes estates of Tinkers Bridge and Simpson. To view the artwork created in the first section of the underpass please see: Tinkers Bridge Paint Jam (Part one).

The second section of the mural which is located at the Simpson end of the underpass was created by graffiti artists Siren, Focus, Loki, Scuba, Tops and Vapor. These artists, some of which are Milton Keynes natives, make up elements of later generations of prolific local writers. The below images display the various sections of the mural by each individual artist.

“Siren” by Siren – Simpson, Milton Keynes, 2019. Continue reading →

James Jessop

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James Jessop is one of several pioneering graffiti artists to paint Milton Keynes network of bridges and underpasses and has been inspired by books such as Subway art and Spray can art. In the 1980s during UK Hip Hop’s first wave James established himself as a graffiti artist in his home town of Leighton Buzzard before expanding in to neighbouring areas such as the newly established city of Milton Keynes. James‘s achievements are already well documented online but in this article we would like to focus on his pioneering contributions to Hip Hop, Skate-board and Street culture in Milton Keynes during the late 1980s and early 1990s.

“Diab” by James Jessop – Milton Keynes, 1992.

During the 1980s Milton Keynes became a local hub for street culture. The architecture of Milton Keynes provided a perfect environment for skateboarding and the numerous bridges and underpasses have served as canvases for taggers and street artists over the years. In the early 1980s James practiced and developed his artistry encompassed by a newly established UK Hip Hop culture. Continue reading →

Welcome to Breaktothebeat.com

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The break to the beat website was set up and established by pioneering Hip Hop practitioner Kraze One with the aim of documenting Hip Hop culture that evolved in and around his home city of Milton Keynes, UK during the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s. The website covers all elements of Hip Hop Culture (Emceeing, Deejaying, Breaking, Graffiti Art) and attempts to honour, document and educate visitors on the achievements of practitioners with a connection to Milton Keynes during this period.

Since the establishment of Breaktothebeat.com the team have hosted a series of community exhibitions, block parties and academic conferences aimed at raising the profile of local Hip Hop culture within its global context. BTTB have collaborated with local organisations such as The Open University, Living Archive Milton Keynes, MK Gallery, Woughton Parish Council, Black Sheep Collective and have partnered with numerous local music venues to host Hip Hop cultural related events. The below links contain some examples.

In 2026 Kraze One established Break To The Beat Records, an independent label created to preserve and further document Hip Hop and related music with local connections. The creation of these releases not only gives unreleased local music an opportunity to be consumed outside of the digital domain, but it also gives supporters of the project the opportunity to take away and keep a tangible piece of local Hip Hop history.

The below list contains details of the recording projects that Break To The Beat Records have collated, released and supported. Details on how to purchase our products are available in the merchandise section of the website.  

The website is separated in to dated categories and each section contains a list of the artists, crews, projects and releases related to these specific periods. Clicking on an artist name or interview will display the information that we currently hold. For details on our current projects  and events or to get in touch. please visit our Instagram account @breaktothebeat.mk or our Facebook page Break To The Beat.Com. Thanks for visiting Breaktothebeat.

MK HIP HOP CULTURE PART 1 (Artists established during the 1980’s)

In 2024 DJ Kraze One recorded a podcast to showcase some of the examples of Hip Hop music that have been made available by artists with a connection to Milton Keynes during the 1980s. Some of the recordings are taken from cassette demos submitted by local artists for the archive project. The idea was to provide a sonic experience of what recordings of Hip Hop music in Milton Keynes sounded like during this period. To listen to the podcast please follow this link to our Break to the beat mix cloud site: Milton Keynes Hip Hop History Part 1 (Mix cloud).

MK HIP HOP CULTURE PART 2 (Artists established between 1990 – 1995)