My Bristol Favourites: Luke Taylor

Luke Taylor is a former rapper who has now started an independent record label, Out The Box Music; and an artist management company, Proud Lion Management. He currently manages artists including Dejay, King Aggi and Pine.

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Here are Luke’s top-five Bristol favourites:

Eastville Park

“You know how in the movies, a character may have a place they always run away to when it all gets a bit too real? For me that place is Eastville Park. I have a huge emotional connection to this park due to all the great memories. It was the place me, my brother and friends played basketball and football. It was the place we rode our bikes. It has everything one can require from a park; basketball, tennis courts, bowling, football ground and of course your swings and all that. It even has a swimming pool with no water in it. Ha! 

“As you venture more into the woods, it can make you feel like you are really far away from the noise and commotion of the endz. A lake, a river and a waterfall. It’s perfect. If you make your way to Snuff Mills, it will take you back in time as it tells a history of Bristol you won’t find elsewhere. More recently, it has become host to some of the best musical festivals in the country like Love Saves The Day and Tokyo Dub. It’s the place where I’ve been involved in the biggest snowball fight in the winter and the biggest water fight in the summer.

“An interesting story is one day a few years ago I believe I saved a little girl’s life there. It was on my morning run and I was running up the steps which lead back to the park from the lake. If you know these steps, you know they are no joke. As I got midway there was a little girl, maybe six or seven years old, flying down, screaming, not holding onto the handlebars. My reaction was to grab her and land on my back with her as the bike went flying down. She was with an older man, who looked like her grandad, who as you can imagine was just frozen in shock at the top of the steps. I was definitely in the right place at the right time. So one time for Eastville Park.”

Stapleton Road

“The best way I can express my attachment to this road is by quoting a line from an old rap of mine where I say: “Going on sho without getting on stage, look I’m married to the streets, we had the wedding on Stapes.”

“Stapes is of course the nickname for Stapleton Road. It’s the main road of Easton where I spent a lot of my time growing up. It is by far the most culturally diverse road in the city. It is home to some of my favourite pubs. If you are a lover of reggae and homegrown hip-hop music, it is where you will find my favourite record shop, Genesis Records. It’s where me and my friends would hang out as teenagers and where I still go to get my haircut.

“Stapleton Road has many times been called the worst road in the UK for crime. I’m not sure how accurate this is but for me, the way I see it, it’s just home sweet home.”

The Kuumba Centre

“The Kuumba Centre is a community centre in St Paul’s. It is a place that truly represents the history and presence of African and Caribbean people in the city. It is also a safe place where you will find the Rastafarian community and the hippies of Stokes Croft in true unity, in the name of dub music, good food, weird art and all that jazz.”

Theatre West

“I love the theatre culture in Bristol where the company is making effort to hire Bristolians; giving back the economy and art to the community. Specifically, the Theatre West season is always good as they take you to different venues around Bristol that I would not necessarily go to or feel welcomed to and get to watch plays. Some of my favourite plays were at the Alma Tavern: Children of the Salt, After the Accident and Trade It. Show of Strength and The Wardrobe Ensemble have also impressed me.”

Alwaha

“Alwaha is a Lebanese and Mediterranean takeaway on Wells Road. If you’re looking for hot food for Lunch at a reasonable price, you won’t do better than Alwaha. Simple.”