Certified Banger: What’s up Skandal? How are things with you?
Skandal: Things are s**t bruv - my macbook just died on me! Imma jump off a building in a minute, I may have lost near 3 years of work and rough songs.
CB: Man that's bad - hope you revive it, then you can get a PC and transfer all the files! You’ve just dropped your mixtape ‘Hunger Pains’ with the mighty DJ MK. How well is that being received?
S: It's doing really well, to be honest. I knew it was a solid release due to the work we put in but it's done well; it got album of the week in The Independent newspaper!
CB: High praise indeed! Tell us a bit about it – is it a collection of stuff you’ve been working on over a short or long period of time? Are there original beats or dubs? How would you describe its overall sound?
S: I'd say I had my mind set on doing a mix CD with an idea of spitting that UK way over some of them down south beats (which I really happen to like). We threw some good old hardcore Dilla/Black Milk-esqe boom bap ish in to mix it up a lil. Overall the release has a very electronic sound to it with the exception of a couple soul samples on the down south beats.
Most of the tracks are dubs, not that many people will know the ones I've used and two joints are produced by Beat Butcha ('Bold As F**k' and 'Home Ec').
CB: Do you consider ‘Hunger Pains’ as your platform to higher things? What will you be doing next?
S: Yeh of course, I mean all this graft is gearing up to an album. I'mma put out a few good more mixtapes before I drop that as I'm still relatively unknown. But yeh onwards and upwards!
CB: What is your focus as a rapper – do you prefer story telling, lyricism, rhyme for rhymes sake – how would you describe your style as an MC?
S: A jack of all trades and a master of none! To be honest I'll try and do it all, story telling, straight bars, emotionally charged s**t, songs, hook based s**t, commercial ish. What ever I feel at the time. I mean I love Hip Hop so you know it's in me to "keep it real" no matter what I do.
CB: Your first official release (was it ‘Project A’?) was pretty different to the mixtape – the beats were more grimy. Where do you think you sit when it comes to genre? Are you embraced by both the Hip Hop and the Grime scene?
S: Mmmmm by the artists yeh. Like I've said before no one can say I'm wack, so I get love from both sides of that coin. I mean it's obvious I'm influenced by both genres. But I'd still say it's Hip Hop. Grime has a lot of elements of Hip Hop too so even if I work with a grime artist or do a Grime or Dubstep track I'mma still bring that essence we all know and love to the table.
CB: You featured on the first volume of my ‘On The Radar’ series and it’s good to see how you’ve grown and progressed in the year since that dropped – what advice would you give to an underground artist about surviving in this game? Is there a particular formula?
S: Yeh safe for putting me on there bro, it gave me a leg up at the time. Umm as for advice, all I can say is if you like my progression and you wanna follow that formula all I'd say is curb your ego, listen to criticism and take it on board, especially if its one of your peers or someone you rate. Pay attention to producers and listen to any direction they or your engineer maybe give you. Oh and dedication. Work hard and be dedicated.
CB: I’m always on the look out for new artists to support – who is worth my support in 2010?
S: Me!
CB: What would you rather have – 50 Cent’s money, Jay-Z’s rhymes or Eminem’s pop star status?
S: Ooo you making me think here, mmm if I had 50 Cent's money that would mean I'd have his business acumen right? That's a string I've yet to add to my bow and that money would help push my music to another level commercially and internationally so I'll go wit Fiddy!
CB: OK, so if you could choose one thing (skill, style, image etc) from one rapper to have as your own what would you choose? If someone had to pick one of your attributes to be theirs, which do you think they’d take?!
S: You know what, I haven't got an image, it's not something I set out to have or I'd have one right? But I've noticed you need one to stand out from the crowd. Everyone has an image from Immortal Technique to Lil' Wayne and that's one thing I'm lacking. I'd have to take, Bubba Sparks! Naaa I'm playing... I'd try and create my own image dawg, I can't be on that plagiarism shiiiiiiet!
As for mine I know it wouldn't be the nose picking, I'd have to say it would be my work ethic, not many are matching mine these days. We could all do with some hunger pains!
CB: Thanks for answering my (sometimes strange) questions. Anything you’d like to add before we finish?
S: Naa fam I'm good. Bless it up yeh. Shout out to all my real heads! Oh yeh check djgone.tv
Peace
Friday 4 December 2009
Tuesday 17 November 2009
Vee Kay Interview Number 2!
Certified Banger: Can you tell us your necessary background details so we can build on basics for the rest of the interview? For example: who you are, where you are from, projects you have worked on, people you have worked with.
Vee Kay: I'm Vee Kay, I make Hip Hop and trans-atlantic-speed-bhangra. It's a fairly new genre, but it's coming on with quite a following - so far there's about 14 people into it!
CB: How would you describe your sound? Is there any one track that would best define your style?
VK: My sound is a mixture of Rice Krispies and chocolate. Oh, sorry, that’s Krispy Cakes. Well then my style is just whatever it comes out like at the time of creation - sometimes I'll make a beat with an artist in mind and we'll go from there, otherwise it's whatever sound I find that inspires me first.
CB: Who have been your biggest musical influences and which Hip Hop producers have inspired you?
VK: Biggest musical influences are people that I grew up listening to like The Big Bopper or Frankie Goes To Hollywood....also Annie Lennox.....later on, when it came to Hip Hop I always wanted to make beats like Wyclef and A+.
CB: Do you have a musical background? Do you play any instruments?
VK: I got a Kazoo and a Penny Whistle. The Kazoo got some pimped up diamantes on it, so you know that s**t bangs.
CB: How did you find out that you were handy when it came to crafting beats?
VK: My old producer went off and started making music for Pete Waterman, so I decided that after they didn't want my dulcet tones on their tunes that I'd go back to underground hip hop and pretend that I never sold out....the rest is history...
CB: Do you feel like many producers are overlooked or overshadowed by the MC's that rap on their beats?
VK: Yeah, some producers are really unlucky and get overlooked.....Andy from Wham was a brilliant songwriter, but George Michael f**ked him off and went solo. Same with Kanye - Jay Z overshadowed Kanye on their tunes, but that’s cos Kanye sucks.
CB: What are your three pieces of equipment do you value most when it comes to production?
VK: I got a AMD Athalon PC that I got from my mate Dave, it's got a 10GB hard drive and 32KBS of RAM, so its fast as hell, I also got Cubase 5 which is what I use to sequence my Akai s20 with 16 seconds of sample time.....I also got a broom to keep my s**t tidy!
CB: What other programs/equipment do you use?
VK: Sometimes I use a mic to record vocals, but most of the time I rock some headphones through the input so I can keep it grimey. Programmes wise I download all my samples from Limewire.
CB: What process do you go through when writing a track? Do you start with a tune, a sample, a drum beat or a concept? What happens next?
VK: Most of the time I'll get a track that I really like, like Black Eyed Peas, put that into the sequencer, then I'll layer my sounds and drums EXACTLY the same as they are on the B.E.P tune, then once I've finished, I mute the B.E.P tune and voila! I got myself a banger straight up.
CB: How do you prefer to work when collaborating with rappers? Do you both get in the studio and write together or is there a separate process?
VK: I got a slight case of Agraphobia, not massive, but sometimes I get nervous around rappers, mainly because I hear them sounding really aggressive on the tracks. If I want some vocals then I'll usually myspace them and see if they can record at theirs and then send me the stems. Black Eye Peas don't come across aggressive so I'd be happy getting in the studio with them, but that’s about it.
CB: Have you ever been given some invaluable advice when it comes to producing? What tips would you give to an aspiring Hip Hop producer?
VK: Someone once told me that you should never, and I mean NEVER, start the bar with the snare at the beginning, basically switching the pattern of the drums. Snare, Kick, Snare, Kick. It's true too, it sounds awful. If you want to make Hip Hop, the best advice I can give you is to get on myspace, get limewire, a copy of a sequencer and then just loop everything up. No one cares about finding vinyl anymore, so get in while it's easy!
CB: What can we expect from you in the future? Are you currently working on any exciting projects?
VK: I'm working on a 16 track concept album that’s like a Jazz odyssey, but completely inspired by Buddy Holly. He was massive into his Jazz, and if he hadn't have died, he'd have been a pioneer of Hip Hop. There's no proof of that, but it is fact. Before he died he was tentatively in talks with Herbie Hancock to work together. I'm currently looking for labels for it at the moment.
CB: Any last words or plugs?
VK: Enjoy life and live each moment like it's your last. Do one thing a day that scares you and never throw a 15 year old to the floor - there's a good chance they'll punch you in the ear!
Vee Kay: I'm Vee Kay, I make Hip Hop and trans-atlantic-speed-bhangra. It's a fairly new genre, but it's coming on with quite a following - so far there's about 14 people into it!
CB: How would you describe your sound? Is there any one track that would best define your style?
VK: My sound is a mixture of Rice Krispies and chocolate. Oh, sorry, that’s Krispy Cakes. Well then my style is just whatever it comes out like at the time of creation - sometimes I'll make a beat with an artist in mind and we'll go from there, otherwise it's whatever sound I find that inspires me first.
CB: Who have been your biggest musical influences and which Hip Hop producers have inspired you?
VK: Biggest musical influences are people that I grew up listening to like The Big Bopper or Frankie Goes To Hollywood....also Annie Lennox.....later on, when it came to Hip Hop I always wanted to make beats like Wyclef and A+.
CB: Do you have a musical background? Do you play any instruments?
VK: I got a Kazoo and a Penny Whistle. The Kazoo got some pimped up diamantes on it, so you know that s**t bangs.
CB: How did you find out that you were handy when it came to crafting beats?
VK: My old producer went off and started making music for Pete Waterman, so I decided that after they didn't want my dulcet tones on their tunes that I'd go back to underground hip hop and pretend that I never sold out....the rest is history...
CB: Do you feel like many producers are overlooked or overshadowed by the MC's that rap on their beats?
VK: Yeah, some producers are really unlucky and get overlooked.....Andy from Wham was a brilliant songwriter, but George Michael f**ked him off and went solo. Same with Kanye - Jay Z overshadowed Kanye on their tunes, but that’s cos Kanye sucks.
CB: What are your three pieces of equipment do you value most when it comes to production?
VK: I got a AMD Athalon PC that I got from my mate Dave, it's got a 10GB hard drive and 32KBS of RAM, so its fast as hell, I also got Cubase 5 which is what I use to sequence my Akai s20 with 16 seconds of sample time.....I also got a broom to keep my s**t tidy!
CB: What other programs/equipment do you use?
VK: Sometimes I use a mic to record vocals, but most of the time I rock some headphones through the input so I can keep it grimey. Programmes wise I download all my samples from Limewire.
CB: What process do you go through when writing a track? Do you start with a tune, a sample, a drum beat or a concept? What happens next?
VK: Most of the time I'll get a track that I really like, like Black Eyed Peas, put that into the sequencer, then I'll layer my sounds and drums EXACTLY the same as they are on the B.E.P tune, then once I've finished, I mute the B.E.P tune and voila! I got myself a banger straight up.
CB: How do you prefer to work when collaborating with rappers? Do you both get in the studio and write together or is there a separate process?
VK: I got a slight case of Agraphobia, not massive, but sometimes I get nervous around rappers, mainly because I hear them sounding really aggressive on the tracks. If I want some vocals then I'll usually myspace them and see if they can record at theirs and then send me the stems. Black Eye Peas don't come across aggressive so I'd be happy getting in the studio with them, but that’s about it.
CB: Have you ever been given some invaluable advice when it comes to producing? What tips would you give to an aspiring Hip Hop producer?
VK: Someone once told me that you should never, and I mean NEVER, start the bar with the snare at the beginning, basically switching the pattern of the drums. Snare, Kick, Snare, Kick. It's true too, it sounds awful. If you want to make Hip Hop, the best advice I can give you is to get on myspace, get limewire, a copy of a sequencer and then just loop everything up. No one cares about finding vinyl anymore, so get in while it's easy!
CB: What can we expect from you in the future? Are you currently working on any exciting projects?
VK: I'm working on a 16 track concept album that’s like a Jazz odyssey, but completely inspired by Buddy Holly. He was massive into his Jazz, and if he hadn't have died, he'd have been a pioneer of Hip Hop. There's no proof of that, but it is fact. Before he died he was tentatively in talks with Herbie Hancock to work together. I'm currently looking for labels for it at the moment.
CB: Any last words or plugs?
VK: Enjoy life and live each moment like it's your last. Do one thing a day that scares you and never throw a 15 year old to the floor - there's a good chance they'll punch you in the ear!
Phoenix Da Icefire Interview
Certified Banger: Tell us about Phoenix Da Icefire - who is he?Phoenix Da Icefire: The character I have created goes by the name of Phoenix Da Icefire, he is my alter ego, much more fierce and stronger than I show in my day to day life, I feel like I can do almost anything when I slip into the character of Phoenix.
I am also the other half of Higher Heights and was responsible for bringing out the ‘Anathema’ LP by Triple Darkness, I first featured on ‘High Fidelity’ (by M9) on a track called ‘Holy Water’ and a track that I have got for my album called ‘Mental Prisoners’. I put it on there so I could test the waters with the UK scene.
CB: You’ve just released your mixtape ‘Baptism Under Fire’. What else is on the way?
PDI: I’ve got an album coming called ‘Right Timing the Quantum Leap’, it features Kyza Smirnoff, Triple Darkness, 9 Planets, Jah Miracle, Midas Touch, Yasine and El Crisis.
CB: Which words best describe your style?
PDI: The best way to describe my style is “free style”. I don’t believe in being caged behind my own bars like prison, my music is supposed to set me free, that’s why every track sounds different, I can do almost anything but my usual sound would be a cross between Common, Mos Def, Talib Kweli and Wu-Tang all in one.
CB: Who have been your biggest musical influences and which Hip Hop artists have inspired you? Which are your favourite albums? What music were you brought up on?
PDI: I was brought up on The Fugees, Nas’s ‘It Was Written’ for me was one of my favourites, Killah Priest, Canibus for his battle style rap, Talib Kweli, Common and Mos Def to name a few.
CB: When was the first time you rapped?
PDI: There was a sound track to Space Jam, which had Busta Rhymes, Method Man and LL Cool J on it (‘Hit ‘Em High’) and me and my younger brother practised it and learnt all the verses to that song.
CB: Haha, me and my brother did the same thing with the same song! So, who else have you grown with musically?
PDI: There are a lot of talented people round my way - P-Money, Firmer Dee AKA Funky De, Little D, Blacks and AKS - we used to all be in a crew together and now I see everyone branching off and taking it to the limit. It was a garage crew back then and now I’m in a group with AKS as well as J Da Exodus called Midas Touch so it’s funny how it works out.
CB: What are your thoughts on the current state of Hip Hop?
PDI: I think hip hop has now become the voice of the corporate rather than the people now, but these days people are waking up and getting wise to the lies that are being fed to them everyday and they want to hear conscious music because they can relate to the real issues they face everyday as opposed to hearing about the girl they might meet at a club!
CB: What process do you go through when writing a track? Do you start with a beat, a concept, a lyric that you thought of in the shower? What happens next?
PDI: Have you ever used the term vibe? Well that in itself is a subconscious grasp on the fact that everything is made of vibrations - what I do is listen to the vibe or vibration of the track and try to align myself with what I hear. In other words I tune myself into the instrumental, once I’ve done that I get a title and a melody for the chorus if there is any. I believe the instrumental itself and the rapper or singer are two separate halves like man and woman and it’s up to the artist to know whether he/she is the right fit.
CB: Interesting and very different answer! Where do you hope to see yourself in 5 years, 10 years time? Is it an achievable goal?
PDI: I plan on being the UK’s landmark for Hip Hop.
CB: Highly aspirational! Any last words?
PDI: To all the artists out there have a clear goal in what you are trying to achieve, make sure its realistic and you are true to yourself and you will succeed in anything and everything.
Wednesday 16 September 2009
Delusionists Interview
Certified Banger: Can you tell us your necessary background details so we can build on basics for the rest of the interview? For example: who you are, projects you have worked on, people you have worked with.
Ben Black: Ben Black aka Beanz aka that rapper/producer out of Delusionists. We dropped our debut EP 'The Prolusion' earlier this year, which was a strictly in-house production. Off the strength of that we're starting to link with some other heads so we've got a few remixes and collabos bubbling beneath the surface... Some of it has come off the back of being on OTR4 so big up to Certified Banger for that!
CB: What are your current or upcoming projects? ie albums, singles, tours, guest spots…
BB: At the moment we're still pushing 'The Prolusion'. We're pressing hard copies of it and trying to get 'em in people's hands at shows and when we're out and about. There'll be a few bonus cuts on there too - remixes and a couple of other things we've been working on lately, like 'The Movement' which we dropped a couple of weeks back. Oh, and a remix of 'Parallel Worldz'.
The album is also well and truly in the works and I'm enjoying writing it and piecing it all together. I've produced all of our stuff myself so far but I'm taking a bit of a backseat this time and my boy Slim Pickens (UK All Day) has stepped up to handle a lot of the beats. He did The Movement and it instantly just seemed to fit, so we're using that as the blueprint for the way forward. We're also trying to hook up a few suprise collabos for the project, which should get people excited if it comes to fruition...
CB: How would you describe your sound? Is there any one track that would best define your style?
BB: Difficult to say, man! 'The Prolusion' was all about finding our sound really so you'll find a mix of styles on there. Fast, slow, happy, sad, clever, ignorant... It kind of shows the full repetoire of what we could do at the time.
I suppose 'The Evil' sums us up best though, because it deals with two sides of a coin. It's like a message to females saying "Look, I am a twat, I will do twattish things. But I KNOW I'm a twat and I intend to change'. A lot of hip hop deals with the first part, in that it puts a spotlight on the negative behaviour but doesn't always acheive a balance by showing the other side. I suppose we're coming from a similar angle to someone like Common - he's said some pretty ignorant s**t in his time, particularly in his early career, but it's always tempered with the conscious, insightful stuff. Some people would say that's contradictory but humans aren't one dimensional, so music should reflect that.
But yeah, you'll hear a lot of cocky, bragging stuff from us because that's what we enjoy, but you might just hear some deeper stuff if you listen close enough. I like the type of Hip Hop where you won't necessarily pick up on things until you've had a few listens, so we try to make stuff that has a little something beneath the surface.
CB: Who have been your biggest musical influences and which Hip Hop artists have inspired you? Which are your favourite albums? What music were you brought up on?
BB: I was chatting about this to DBF (fellow Delusionists MC) the other day and we agreed that pound-for-pound Jay-Z has probably been our biggest influence over the years. Can't say I'm too impressed with BP3 though...
Other than him, I'd say De La, Tribe, DOOM and Jehst have all been massive influences at various points in my development as an emcee. De La and Tribe because they showed that you don't have to be "hard" to make proper Hip Hop. DOOM because I love the way he just seems to be having a laugh without being a corny punchline rapper. And Billy Brimstone because he's consistently proved that a Brit can be up there with the best in the world, and that gives you belief!
I could write a huge list of my favourite albums but the ones that spring to mind? 'The Score', 'ATLiens', 'The Chronic', 'Midnight Marauders' and more recently Q-tips' 'The Renaissance'. And now I feel bad because I've left out loads of classic albums... '36 Chambers'! Oh, and just to avoid being a complete cliche, 'Illmatic' probably isn't in my top ten.
CB: What is your earliest memory of anything Hip Hop related? First rap track heard? First time you rapped?
BB: My earliest Hip Hop memory was my brother playing 'The Show' in the mid-80s. Inspector Gadget was my s**t at the time and when I heard that theme music mixed with that beat I was hooked from then on. I've got to thank my big bro really, for letting me watch them breakdancing movies with him and letting me 'borrow' his Eric B and Rakim records. Yep, I've still got 'em and no, you ain't gettin' 'em back!
I did fanny about with poetry for a bit but I wrote my 1st rap when I was about 10. It was for a school project about tbe Tudors. Henry VIII was the original gangsta! "F**k a pimp slap, cut that bitch's head off!" Me and a few others performed it to the class and when i realised that I could get away with doing that instead of proper work there was no stopping me. Our next one was about Ancient Egypt and I've been writing gradually less educational rhymes ever since.
CB: Where are you from? Can you tell us a bit more about the Hip Hop scene there?
BB: Well, I've lived in West London for the last few years but I was brought up in Lowestoft (Google it). There wasn't any sort of Hip Hop scene, other than a few of us who used to play basketball and listen to whatever The Source told us to. It was good though because it made me go out and seek Hip Hop culture and allowed me to have a fairly unique take on it without being influenced by friends or whoever saying this or that is what i should be into. I didn't really feel that peer pressure to be into any acts in particular, because nobody else really had a f**king clue about Hip Hop. I think you also value stuff more if it's hard to come by, y'know? Which is probably what's up with things at the moment - you don't even have to walk to the shop to get an album now, let alone pay for it! I can remember saving up for weeks just so I could go and get the Dogg Pound album when it eventually came out in the local record shop (about a year after it was released).
CB: What about the Hip Hop scene in general, UK or worldwide – where do you think it’s headed? Are things good/bad? What are your current philosophical thoughts on the current trends in rap music?
BB: Arrrgghhh! The current trends... Well, there is a lot of shit out there. That's my philosophical insight! But nah, there's always been rubbish out there, it's just that now the rubbish is getting some exposure. I'm a bit suspicious of big name DJs getting behind acts that have their ads all over telly and the internet, like "You really like that? Really!?!". Maybe I'm just being cynical but it's a bit strange that you want to co-sign something with a big marketing budget but you don't say f**k all about something of real quality like 'The A-loop Theory'. That's not supporting the scene, it's damaging it by making the general public think "oh, so this is what British Hip Hop sounds like...".
But I've gotta say, although it hurts to see hip hop bastardised and repackaged to suit the teeny boppers you can't be that mad. I can't lie, I liked Kriss Kross and MC Hammer as a kid - who didn't? As long as there's some balance I think Hip Hop will be okay, but if Gang Starr came back sampling 2 Unlimited I'd be worried. What's reassuring is that hip hop will always rebel against itself. For example, there's a lot of people trying to 'Push the boundaries' production wise and neglecting the lyrics a bit. But I think there's a lot of fans who just want to hear some no-nonsense music and entertaining lyrics, which hopefully is where we come in.
CB: What process do you go through when writing a track? Do you start with a beat, a concept, a lyric that you thought of in the shower? What happens next?
BB: It's any and all of those things! Quite often i'll just hear a word or phrase and think "I've never heard that on a record" and I'll think of something that rhymes with it and take it from there. That's one way to stay original I suppose. More concept-heavy songs can take ages to write though. Sometimes a beat conjures a certain emotion and you want to do it justice so you have to choose your words carefully. I've just started writing to other people's beats and that's much easier coz you're not thinking 'That bassline's a bit muffled" or whatever. You can just concentrate on the lyrics and let the producer take the blame if people don't like the beat!
CB: Where do you hope to see yourself in 5 years, 10 years time? Is it an achievable goal?
BB: I want to be in a position where we can put out music from ourselves and others and have a fanbase that trust us to consistently put out strong product. If I can sort out the business side of things so i can do my bit for the artform and support my family, i'll be happy. I know it's gonna be a long, hard road but If I didn't think it was achievable I wouldn't bother.
CB: Any last words?
BB: Yeah, I haven't had a chance to do the whole cliched shout out thing yet so... Big up all the people that have got behind Delusionists so far; Certified Banger (obviously), Disorda, HHC, HipHopHypeDog and all the bloggers, DJs and heads who have let us know we're doing something right.
Also, shout out to the crew - DBF, Chantelle, Zombie Killer, PITMO, Mr Baker, Slim Pickens and King Hektah. Oh, and go cop 'The Prolusion' and keep in touch on Facebook or Twitter and check out the blog, Beats Laying About - it's not exactly Certified Banger but we do our thing!
Ben Black: Ben Black aka Beanz aka that rapper/producer out of Delusionists. We dropped our debut EP 'The Prolusion' earlier this year, which was a strictly in-house production. Off the strength of that we're starting to link with some other heads so we've got a few remixes and collabos bubbling beneath the surface... Some of it has come off the back of being on OTR4 so big up to Certified Banger for that!
CB: What are your current or upcoming projects? ie albums, singles, tours, guest spots…
BB: At the moment we're still pushing 'The Prolusion'. We're pressing hard copies of it and trying to get 'em in people's hands at shows and when we're out and about. There'll be a few bonus cuts on there too - remixes and a couple of other things we've been working on lately, like 'The Movement' which we dropped a couple of weeks back. Oh, and a remix of 'Parallel Worldz'.
The album is also well and truly in the works and I'm enjoying writing it and piecing it all together. I've produced all of our stuff myself so far but I'm taking a bit of a backseat this time and my boy Slim Pickens (UK All Day) has stepped up to handle a lot of the beats. He did The Movement and it instantly just seemed to fit, so we're using that as the blueprint for the way forward. We're also trying to hook up a few suprise collabos for the project, which should get people excited if it comes to fruition...
CB: How would you describe your sound? Is there any one track that would best define your style?
BB: Difficult to say, man! 'The Prolusion' was all about finding our sound really so you'll find a mix of styles on there. Fast, slow, happy, sad, clever, ignorant... It kind of shows the full repetoire of what we could do at the time.
I suppose 'The Evil' sums us up best though, because it deals with two sides of a coin. It's like a message to females saying "Look, I am a twat, I will do twattish things. But I KNOW I'm a twat and I intend to change'. A lot of hip hop deals with the first part, in that it puts a spotlight on the negative behaviour but doesn't always acheive a balance by showing the other side. I suppose we're coming from a similar angle to someone like Common - he's said some pretty ignorant s**t in his time, particularly in his early career, but it's always tempered with the conscious, insightful stuff. Some people would say that's contradictory but humans aren't one dimensional, so music should reflect that.
But yeah, you'll hear a lot of cocky, bragging stuff from us because that's what we enjoy, but you might just hear some deeper stuff if you listen close enough. I like the type of Hip Hop where you won't necessarily pick up on things until you've had a few listens, so we try to make stuff that has a little something beneath the surface.
CB: Who have been your biggest musical influences and which Hip Hop artists have inspired you? Which are your favourite albums? What music were you brought up on?
BB: I was chatting about this to DBF (fellow Delusionists MC) the other day and we agreed that pound-for-pound Jay-Z has probably been our biggest influence over the years. Can't say I'm too impressed with BP3 though...
Other than him, I'd say De La, Tribe, DOOM and Jehst have all been massive influences at various points in my development as an emcee. De La and Tribe because they showed that you don't have to be "hard" to make proper Hip Hop. DOOM because I love the way he just seems to be having a laugh without being a corny punchline rapper. And Billy Brimstone because he's consistently proved that a Brit can be up there with the best in the world, and that gives you belief!
I could write a huge list of my favourite albums but the ones that spring to mind? 'The Score', 'ATLiens', 'The Chronic', 'Midnight Marauders' and more recently Q-tips' 'The Renaissance'. And now I feel bad because I've left out loads of classic albums... '36 Chambers'! Oh, and just to avoid being a complete cliche, 'Illmatic' probably isn't in my top ten.
CB: What is your earliest memory of anything Hip Hop related? First rap track heard? First time you rapped?
BB: My earliest Hip Hop memory was my brother playing 'The Show' in the mid-80s. Inspector Gadget was my s**t at the time and when I heard that theme music mixed with that beat I was hooked from then on. I've got to thank my big bro really, for letting me watch them breakdancing movies with him and letting me 'borrow' his Eric B and Rakim records. Yep, I've still got 'em and no, you ain't gettin' 'em back!
I did fanny about with poetry for a bit but I wrote my 1st rap when I was about 10. It was for a school project about tbe Tudors. Henry VIII was the original gangsta! "F**k a pimp slap, cut that bitch's head off!" Me and a few others performed it to the class and when i realised that I could get away with doing that instead of proper work there was no stopping me. Our next one was about Ancient Egypt and I've been writing gradually less educational rhymes ever since.
CB: Where are you from? Can you tell us a bit more about the Hip Hop scene there?
BB: Well, I've lived in West London for the last few years but I was brought up in Lowestoft (Google it). There wasn't any sort of Hip Hop scene, other than a few of us who used to play basketball and listen to whatever The Source told us to. It was good though because it made me go out and seek Hip Hop culture and allowed me to have a fairly unique take on it without being influenced by friends or whoever saying this or that is what i should be into. I didn't really feel that peer pressure to be into any acts in particular, because nobody else really had a f**king clue about Hip Hop. I think you also value stuff more if it's hard to come by, y'know? Which is probably what's up with things at the moment - you don't even have to walk to the shop to get an album now, let alone pay for it! I can remember saving up for weeks just so I could go and get the Dogg Pound album when it eventually came out in the local record shop (about a year after it was released).
CB: What about the Hip Hop scene in general, UK or worldwide – where do you think it’s headed? Are things good/bad? What are your current philosophical thoughts on the current trends in rap music?
BB: Arrrgghhh! The current trends... Well, there is a lot of shit out there. That's my philosophical insight! But nah, there's always been rubbish out there, it's just that now the rubbish is getting some exposure. I'm a bit suspicious of big name DJs getting behind acts that have their ads all over telly and the internet, like "You really like that? Really!?!". Maybe I'm just being cynical but it's a bit strange that you want to co-sign something with a big marketing budget but you don't say f**k all about something of real quality like 'The A-loop Theory'. That's not supporting the scene, it's damaging it by making the general public think "oh, so this is what British Hip Hop sounds like...".
But I've gotta say, although it hurts to see hip hop bastardised and repackaged to suit the teeny boppers you can't be that mad. I can't lie, I liked Kriss Kross and MC Hammer as a kid - who didn't? As long as there's some balance I think Hip Hop will be okay, but if Gang Starr came back sampling 2 Unlimited I'd be worried. What's reassuring is that hip hop will always rebel against itself. For example, there's a lot of people trying to 'Push the boundaries' production wise and neglecting the lyrics a bit. But I think there's a lot of fans who just want to hear some no-nonsense music and entertaining lyrics, which hopefully is where we come in.
CB: What process do you go through when writing a track? Do you start with a beat, a concept, a lyric that you thought of in the shower? What happens next?
BB: It's any and all of those things! Quite often i'll just hear a word or phrase and think "I've never heard that on a record" and I'll think of something that rhymes with it and take it from there. That's one way to stay original I suppose. More concept-heavy songs can take ages to write though. Sometimes a beat conjures a certain emotion and you want to do it justice so you have to choose your words carefully. I've just started writing to other people's beats and that's much easier coz you're not thinking 'That bassline's a bit muffled" or whatever. You can just concentrate on the lyrics and let the producer take the blame if people don't like the beat!
CB: Where do you hope to see yourself in 5 years, 10 years time? Is it an achievable goal?
BB: I want to be in a position where we can put out music from ourselves and others and have a fanbase that trust us to consistently put out strong product. If I can sort out the business side of things so i can do my bit for the artform and support my family, i'll be happy. I know it's gonna be a long, hard road but If I didn't think it was achievable I wouldn't bother.
CB: Any last words?
BB: Yeah, I haven't had a chance to do the whole cliched shout out thing yet so... Big up all the people that have got behind Delusionists so far; Certified Banger (obviously), Disorda, HHC, HipHopHypeDog and all the bloggers, DJs and heads who have let us know we're doing something right.
Also, shout out to the crew - DBF, Chantelle, Zombie Killer, PITMO, Mr Baker, Slim Pickens and King Hektah. Oh, and go cop 'The Prolusion' and keep in touch on Facebook or Twitter and check out the blog, Beats Laying About - it's not exactly Certified Banger but we do our thing!
Wednesday 2 September 2009
Lunar C Interview
Certified Banger: Can you tell us your necessary background details so we can build on basics for the rest of the interview?
Lunar C: Yoyoyo, I’m Lunar C - an MC from Missing People and Sinoptic Crew.
CB: What are your current or upcoming projects? ie albums, singles, tours, guest spots…
LC: I’ve been working on quite a lot of projects this year. A few months ago me and Missing People released our debut EP ‘Glossop View’. I’m just about to release my debut solo project ‘The Lunar CD’ which should be out in the next two months and will only cost £1; so get your squid out! It’s gonna have roughly 20 of my best tracks on there and some sick features from West Yorkshire’s finest MCs and producers. Also the whole Sinoptic crew (Lunar C, EXP, JND, Angry Nik, WYdeboi, Neverlearn and Angela Bellis) have got ‘The Badger Sex mixtape‘ coming in the next few months too which is just gonna be all of us killing it. This year I’ve featured on JND’s ‘Working Classics’ ,Mastermind’s ‘Cut n Paste mixtape’ and I’ve just laid a verse down on a remix of Wu-Tang’s ‘Criminology’ track which is gonna be 6 MC’s: Me, Jack Flash, J Simple, Joker Starr, Spida Lee and Gen for Gen’s ‘Forbidden Jutsu mixtape’. Me and WYdeboi have been collaborating with a sick beatmaker from Leeds called Bridgens ,I’ve collabed with No Pretense, Adverse and Immranimal from Shedmen, Leady and maybe more which I might have forgotten. I’ve also got a crew of about 6 14 and 15 year old MCs that I’m kinda mentoring and they know all about Hip Hop which is rare for young UK MCs these days. I truly believe they are gonna shock alot of people with the skill they already have - they freestyle and write everyday and are about to do their first track soon so look out for Kontraband, Kid Nem and Sinister!
CB: You’ve been busy. How would you describe your sound? Is there any one track that would best define your style?
LC: If I had to describe my style I would just say my name is quite self explanatory. I’m a bit of a lunatic and I just write whatever comes to mind and it’s usually either a bit perverted and a bit crazy but I can switch it up and be versatile when I want to.
CB: Who have been your biggest musical influences and which Hip Hop artists have inspired you? Which are your favourite albums? What music were you brought up on?
LC: I’m only 19 so I think in the beginning it was Wu-Tang clan that got me hooked on Hip Hop but I’ve always been into music; all different types. My dad brought me up on everything from Red Hot Chilli Peppers and Faith No More to Mos Def and Cypress Hill so I’ve acquired quite a varied taste. I go through phases of listening to different rappers though at the mo I’ve been listening to a lot of Rakim ,Sage Francis and MF Doom .
CB: What is your earliest memory of anything Hip Hop related? First rap track heard? First time you rapped?
LC: I must have been a sprog but I can remember the first time I tried to rap. All I used to do when I was like 13 was sit in my room and listen to Wu-Tang (I know I keep mentioning them but, f**k you; they’re dope) tracks over and over and memorize the lyrics so the first time I tried to write my own they just sounded like a weak version of them so I only ended up writing a couple of bars and didn’t try again till I was 16. Since then I haven’t gone a day without rhyming .
CB: Where are you from? Can you tell us a bit more about the Hip Hop scene there?
LC: I’m from Bradford, West Yorkshire. I personally think that WY has most of the best artists in the UK and I rep it to the fullest. Bradford is also making a name for its self too which is exciting ‘cause it’s been a long time coming. We used to have Breadbins and Stack Chedda which Dr Crobe and Miki B (Brutal Artistry) used to put on but they came to an end a while back and I only managed to make it to one of those nights ‘cause of my age. But now Bane and Miki B are putting on a new night in Bradford called ‘DISGRACELANDS’ which is fire and is really helping the Bradford and WY scene to grow!
CB: What about the Hip Hop scene in general, UK or worldwide – where do you think it’s headed? Are things good/bad? What are your current philosophical thoughts on the current trends in rap music.
LC: Obviously I don’t think the Hip Hop scene is in the best shape its been in but I think there’s hope for determined talented artists if we just push our product in the right way and maybe stop moaning and being depressed and bitching. I was talking to an MC called JSN who does Hip Hop and Grime and we was having a little debate. I said to him “You need to listen to more UK Hip Hop. Why don’t you?” and he said “because most of it is just people moaning and it’s not positive” and to be fair to a degree I agree with the dude. Qe need to stop bitching as much about what we’re not doing and actually give it a go, but also I see it from the point of view of a struggling artist where you can only rap about what you know and if you’re poor then most of your s**t is gonna be about that. I don’t know if real Hip Hop will ever be a lucrative business again, the media only ever dare steal watered down parts of our culture and capitalize on it; they aren’t interested in the raw form – it’s too risky.
CB: What process do you go through when writing a track?
LC: I’ve always got bars going through my head which I usually write down and make a verse out of but these days I’ve been trying to write to beats and make some proper tracks because there is a difference between good bars on a good beat and a good track, with a good track everything has to blend and be perfect and capture a vibe.
CB: Where do you hope to see yourself in 5 years, 10 years time?
LC: I’ve got a lot of things cooking up for the future. In 5 years I hope I’m alive and living off music and have enough money to eat and smoke weed!
CB: Any last words?
LC: GET YOUR SQUID OUT! Lunar C
Lunar C: Yoyoyo, I’m Lunar C - an MC from Missing People and Sinoptic Crew.
CB: What are your current or upcoming projects? ie albums, singles, tours, guest spots…
LC: I’ve been working on quite a lot of projects this year. A few months ago me and Missing People released our debut EP ‘Glossop View’. I’m just about to release my debut solo project ‘The Lunar CD’ which should be out in the next two months and will only cost £1; so get your squid out! It’s gonna have roughly 20 of my best tracks on there and some sick features from West Yorkshire’s finest MCs and producers. Also the whole Sinoptic crew (Lunar C, EXP, JND, Angry Nik, WYdeboi, Neverlearn and Angela Bellis) have got ‘The Badger Sex mixtape‘ coming in the next few months too which is just gonna be all of us killing it. This year I’ve featured on JND’s ‘Working Classics’ ,Mastermind’s ‘Cut n Paste mixtape’ and I’ve just laid a verse down on a remix of Wu-Tang’s ‘Criminology’ track which is gonna be 6 MC’s: Me, Jack Flash, J Simple, Joker Starr, Spida Lee and Gen for Gen’s ‘Forbidden Jutsu mixtape’. Me and WYdeboi have been collaborating with a sick beatmaker from Leeds called Bridgens ,I’ve collabed with No Pretense, Adverse and Immranimal from Shedmen, Leady and maybe more which I might have forgotten. I’ve also got a crew of about 6 14 and 15 year old MCs that I’m kinda mentoring and they know all about Hip Hop which is rare for young UK MCs these days. I truly believe they are gonna shock alot of people with the skill they already have - they freestyle and write everyday and are about to do their first track soon so look out for Kontraband, Kid Nem and Sinister!
CB: You’ve been busy. How would you describe your sound? Is there any one track that would best define your style?
LC: If I had to describe my style I would just say my name is quite self explanatory. I’m a bit of a lunatic and I just write whatever comes to mind and it’s usually either a bit perverted and a bit crazy but I can switch it up and be versatile when I want to.
CB: Who have been your biggest musical influences and which Hip Hop artists have inspired you? Which are your favourite albums? What music were you brought up on?
LC: I’m only 19 so I think in the beginning it was Wu-Tang clan that got me hooked on Hip Hop but I’ve always been into music; all different types. My dad brought me up on everything from Red Hot Chilli Peppers and Faith No More to Mos Def and Cypress Hill so I’ve acquired quite a varied taste. I go through phases of listening to different rappers though at the mo I’ve been listening to a lot of Rakim ,Sage Francis and MF Doom .
CB: What is your earliest memory of anything Hip Hop related? First rap track heard? First time you rapped?
LC: I must have been a sprog but I can remember the first time I tried to rap. All I used to do when I was like 13 was sit in my room and listen to Wu-Tang (I know I keep mentioning them but, f**k you; they’re dope) tracks over and over and memorize the lyrics so the first time I tried to write my own they just sounded like a weak version of them so I only ended up writing a couple of bars and didn’t try again till I was 16. Since then I haven’t gone a day without rhyming .
CB: Where are you from? Can you tell us a bit more about the Hip Hop scene there?
LC: I’m from Bradford, West Yorkshire. I personally think that WY has most of the best artists in the UK and I rep it to the fullest. Bradford is also making a name for its self too which is exciting ‘cause it’s been a long time coming. We used to have Breadbins and Stack Chedda which Dr Crobe and Miki B (Brutal Artistry) used to put on but they came to an end a while back and I only managed to make it to one of those nights ‘cause of my age. But now Bane and Miki B are putting on a new night in Bradford called ‘DISGRACELANDS’ which is fire and is really helping the Bradford and WY scene to grow!
CB: What about the Hip Hop scene in general, UK or worldwide – where do you think it’s headed? Are things good/bad? What are your current philosophical thoughts on the current trends in rap music.
LC: Obviously I don’t think the Hip Hop scene is in the best shape its been in but I think there’s hope for determined talented artists if we just push our product in the right way and maybe stop moaning and being depressed and bitching. I was talking to an MC called JSN who does Hip Hop and Grime and we was having a little debate. I said to him “You need to listen to more UK Hip Hop. Why don’t you?” and he said “because most of it is just people moaning and it’s not positive” and to be fair to a degree I agree with the dude. Qe need to stop bitching as much about what we’re not doing and actually give it a go, but also I see it from the point of view of a struggling artist where you can only rap about what you know and if you’re poor then most of your s**t is gonna be about that. I don’t know if real Hip Hop will ever be a lucrative business again, the media only ever dare steal watered down parts of our culture and capitalize on it; they aren’t interested in the raw form – it’s too risky.
CB: What process do you go through when writing a track?
LC: I’ve always got bars going through my head which I usually write down and make a verse out of but these days I’ve been trying to write to beats and make some proper tracks because there is a difference between good bars on a good beat and a good track, with a good track everything has to blend and be perfect and capture a vibe.
CB: Where do you hope to see yourself in 5 years, 10 years time?
LC: I’ve got a lot of things cooking up for the future. In 5 years I hope I’m alive and living off music and have enough money to eat and smoke weed!
CB: Any last words?
LC: GET YOUR SQUID OUT! Lunar C
Tuesday 1 September 2009
The Riddlah Interview
Certified Banger: Can you tell us your necessary background details so we can build on basics for the rest of the interview? For example: who you are, where you are from, projects you have worked on, people you have worked with.
The Riddlah: Cool, yeah, I grew up listening to many different types of music. From as early as I can remember I have been surrounded by music around the house, back when I lived at my mum’s, with my older brother heavily involved in the underground metal scene in Scotland and my older sisters’ love for musicals and plays. I’ve always had a passion for music and kinda wanted to do something. Once I got to the age of choosing a genre so to speak, Hip Hop was what I had grown to like the most. I grew up in Leith, Edinburgh, and went to a prominent Leith school, made lots of friends due to my outgoing side, and Leith became my ‘hood’. Once leaving school time came, when I was 16 (in ‘98) I started to show more interest in writing rhymes and I wondered if it was possible for Scottish people to rap. Things have moved on in massively over time, and I’ve now worked with a lot of the biggest names in the Scottish Hip Hop scene, and I continue to try and push our Scottish sound further south for listeners. I’m always contributing beats and rhymes to projects artists are working on, and you can find quite a lot of my work on local releases, but I also release my own UVBeatz Volumes, on free downloads and printed CDs with covers, these releases are proving to be quite popular with them getting downloads from other countries too, not just in the local scene, im currently putting most of my energy into the LP I’m working on. It’s gonna feature artists from all round the globe but still dominantly Scottish. Release details will follow in the near future with it being a more proper/professional release.
CB: How would you describe your sound? Is there any one track that would best define your style?
TR: Well I can cater for many different sounds and styles but lots of people have told me you can tell it’s one of my beats. I personally can pin point my sound, I like to make all different feelings through music, so I could come out with a soft almost R’n’B beat one minute, then the next day feel in the mood and end up making something banging or dark. Then these beats are normally chosen by an artist When I personally want to make a track, with me spitting on it (which I don’t do so much these days) I normally choose the hard beats.
CB: Who have been your biggest musical influences and which Hip Hop producers have inspired you?
TR: Wow, there are tons, dunno where to start so I’m just gonna shout a couple names that are big inspirations to me: Film maker - I like to listen to the emotion put into the scene of a film and make that work with music. John Carpenter was a massive influence to me; I just love his simple synths and melodies. RZA has a massive influence too; he lives the producer’s dream! The work he has done on film is amazing! Always gotta show respect to Dr. Dre too.
CB: Do you have a musical background? Do you play any instruments?
TR:Funny, ‘cause no I don’t really have any experience of playing any instruments, again lots of people have told me I should have done music at school or even college. I can play a keyboard for recording to make beats, but I believe if you claim to play an instrument, you should be able to just play it.
CB: How did you find out that you were handy when it came to crafting beats?
TR: When I started making music with Madhat in a group called Dark Rumours I began to make beats and I found it fascinating how many different things you can do and over time have learnt more and more techniques and nice touches that make a beat. Man, it ended up taking over from wanting to spit; I just wanted to make beats.
CB: Do you feel like many producers are overlooked or overshadowed by the MC's that rap on their beats?
TR: Well, I think it comes down to how into the music you really are as a fan, and how the individual single or album is marketed. If you really are a true fan of something, you end up checking the CD to see who produced what track but a lot of people just like the music and label it by the MC on it. On the marketing topic, some Albums have the MC and the producer as the main concept of the album - I like this and think it makes people more aware of the talents of individual beatmakers. I mean, check out the marketing put into Timbaland, Kanye West, DJ Muggs, Dr. Dre - they all try to put the message over to bring recognition to the producer. I don’t think its really a topic to worry about, in fact I think the beatmaker/producer profile is going upwards.
CB: What are your three pieces of equipment do you value most when it comes to production?
TR: Im a big believer in having the right speakers (or monitors), you gotta hear exactly what your end result is; no good using poor speakers. I got EDIROL MA-15D, my keyboard is a main player in my production, coming up with a melody naturally; an old Panasonic connected through midi, touch sensitive, running and connected through FL Studio 8 Producer Edition, on PC - very under rated programme, you gotta know what your doing.
CB: What other programs/equipment do you use?
TR: I got a copy of Sonar for recording and Sound Forge, an Allen & Heath ZED 14 mixing desk/console, a Behringer mic, Eltax Sub Woofer, deck and crossfader, and my ever amazing brother on Guitar - he loves his Les Paul.
CB: What process do you go through when writing a track?
TR: Well, I don’t really have a set course, more like a few different ways to go about it. So to get different sounding beats, if you start of with percussion or drums you will most likely end up with a drum orientated beat. Start with the music and it goes the other way around – I keep changing and switching.
CB: How do you prefer to work when collaborating with rappers?
TR: Again, it all depends on circumstances, some people record elsewhere and send me lyrics, some come to my lab, some ready written, and some chill and write at in the studio with me, that’s when I end up writing too, and dada! you got Riddlah on a track. It’s not often that I plan to be on a track or do a solo one, normally just an off the cuff thing.
CB: What tips would you give to an aspiring Hip Hop producer?
TR: You end up learning as you go yourself, with the technical stuff, like connections and quality setting on things, I like to chill and watch other beat makers doing there thing, I love chilling with Nasty P and learning more things he does that I don’t, but also things I do he doesn’t - so beatmakers out there, I’m watching!
CB: What can we expect from you in the future? Are you currently working on any exciting projects?
TR: Well yeah, I’m working on my LP as I said; really looking forward to getting it completed, dunno what’s planned for me production wise other than that, but I’ve always got other things I’m involved in with other artists on their projects, as long as Scottish Hip Hop is still pushing and making moves I'll be there doing my thing!
CB: Any last words or plugs?
TR: Show support to Scottish Hip Hop, a growing scene full of talented artists, make sure and get your self a copy of my recent ‘UVBeatz Recordings Vol.2’ FREE DOWNLOAD LINK: http://rapidshare.com/files/236858968/UVBeatz_Recordings_Vol.2.rar , and keep up to date with: www.myspace.com/uvbeatz , lastly shout out to, Madhat at MCF Records, Blasfimasinna also on MCF, Wardie Burns one of the Twisted Methods and WERD at SOS for all his help! Alexis at Savage Sound System, Nasty P KFM Records, Jonny on the Guitar, Steg G at Powercut Productions and Jay at MCF Records also - all these people keep me busy and keep me involved, Thanks! Sorry if I missed you out, you know what these things are like, you always forget someone. UVBEATZ!
The Riddlah: Cool, yeah, I grew up listening to many different types of music. From as early as I can remember I have been surrounded by music around the house, back when I lived at my mum’s, with my older brother heavily involved in the underground metal scene in Scotland and my older sisters’ love for musicals and plays. I’ve always had a passion for music and kinda wanted to do something. Once I got to the age of choosing a genre so to speak, Hip Hop was what I had grown to like the most. I grew up in Leith, Edinburgh, and went to a prominent Leith school, made lots of friends due to my outgoing side, and Leith became my ‘hood’. Once leaving school time came, when I was 16 (in ‘98) I started to show more interest in writing rhymes and I wondered if it was possible for Scottish people to rap. Things have moved on in massively over time, and I’ve now worked with a lot of the biggest names in the Scottish Hip Hop scene, and I continue to try and push our Scottish sound further south for listeners. I’m always contributing beats and rhymes to projects artists are working on, and you can find quite a lot of my work on local releases, but I also release my own UVBeatz Volumes, on free downloads and printed CDs with covers, these releases are proving to be quite popular with them getting downloads from other countries too, not just in the local scene, im currently putting most of my energy into the LP I’m working on. It’s gonna feature artists from all round the globe but still dominantly Scottish. Release details will follow in the near future with it being a more proper/professional release.
CB: How would you describe your sound? Is there any one track that would best define your style?
TR: Well I can cater for many different sounds and styles but lots of people have told me you can tell it’s one of my beats. I personally can pin point my sound, I like to make all different feelings through music, so I could come out with a soft almost R’n’B beat one minute, then the next day feel in the mood and end up making something banging or dark. Then these beats are normally chosen by an artist When I personally want to make a track, with me spitting on it (which I don’t do so much these days) I normally choose the hard beats.
CB: Who have been your biggest musical influences and which Hip Hop producers have inspired you?
TR: Wow, there are tons, dunno where to start so I’m just gonna shout a couple names that are big inspirations to me: Film maker - I like to listen to the emotion put into the scene of a film and make that work with music. John Carpenter was a massive influence to me; I just love his simple synths and melodies. RZA has a massive influence too; he lives the producer’s dream! The work he has done on film is amazing! Always gotta show respect to Dr. Dre too.
CB: Do you have a musical background? Do you play any instruments?
TR:Funny, ‘cause no I don’t really have any experience of playing any instruments, again lots of people have told me I should have done music at school or even college. I can play a keyboard for recording to make beats, but I believe if you claim to play an instrument, you should be able to just play it.
CB: How did you find out that you were handy when it came to crafting beats?
TR: When I started making music with Madhat in a group called Dark Rumours I began to make beats and I found it fascinating how many different things you can do and over time have learnt more and more techniques and nice touches that make a beat. Man, it ended up taking over from wanting to spit; I just wanted to make beats.
CB: Do you feel like many producers are overlooked or overshadowed by the MC's that rap on their beats?
TR: Well, I think it comes down to how into the music you really are as a fan, and how the individual single or album is marketed. If you really are a true fan of something, you end up checking the CD to see who produced what track but a lot of people just like the music and label it by the MC on it. On the marketing topic, some Albums have the MC and the producer as the main concept of the album - I like this and think it makes people more aware of the talents of individual beatmakers. I mean, check out the marketing put into Timbaland, Kanye West, DJ Muggs, Dr. Dre - they all try to put the message over to bring recognition to the producer. I don’t think its really a topic to worry about, in fact I think the beatmaker/producer profile is going upwards.
CB: What are your three pieces of equipment do you value most when it comes to production?
TR: Im a big believer in having the right speakers (or monitors), you gotta hear exactly what your end result is; no good using poor speakers. I got EDIROL MA-15D, my keyboard is a main player in my production, coming up with a melody naturally; an old Panasonic connected through midi, touch sensitive, running and connected through FL Studio 8 Producer Edition, on PC - very under rated programme, you gotta know what your doing.
CB: What other programs/equipment do you use?
TR: I got a copy of Sonar for recording and Sound Forge, an Allen & Heath ZED 14 mixing desk/console, a Behringer mic, Eltax Sub Woofer, deck and crossfader, and my ever amazing brother on Guitar - he loves his Les Paul.
CB: What process do you go through when writing a track?
TR: Well, I don’t really have a set course, more like a few different ways to go about it. So to get different sounding beats, if you start of with percussion or drums you will most likely end up with a drum orientated beat. Start with the music and it goes the other way around – I keep changing and switching.
CB: How do you prefer to work when collaborating with rappers?
TR: Again, it all depends on circumstances, some people record elsewhere and send me lyrics, some come to my lab, some ready written, and some chill and write at in the studio with me, that’s when I end up writing too, and dada! you got Riddlah on a track. It’s not often that I plan to be on a track or do a solo one, normally just an off the cuff thing.
CB: What tips would you give to an aspiring Hip Hop producer?
TR: You end up learning as you go yourself, with the technical stuff, like connections and quality setting on things, I like to chill and watch other beat makers doing there thing, I love chilling with Nasty P and learning more things he does that I don’t, but also things I do he doesn’t - so beatmakers out there, I’m watching!
CB: What can we expect from you in the future? Are you currently working on any exciting projects?
TR: Well yeah, I’m working on my LP as I said; really looking forward to getting it completed, dunno what’s planned for me production wise other than that, but I’ve always got other things I’m involved in with other artists on their projects, as long as Scottish Hip Hop is still pushing and making moves I'll be there doing my thing!
CB: Any last words or plugs?
TR: Show support to Scottish Hip Hop, a growing scene full of talented artists, make sure and get your self a copy of my recent ‘UVBeatz Recordings Vol.2’ FREE DOWNLOAD LINK: http://rapidshare.com/files/236858968/UVBeatz_Recordings_Vol.2.rar , and keep up to date with: www.myspace.com/uvbeatz , lastly shout out to, Madhat at MCF Records, Blasfimasinna also on MCF, Wardie Burns one of the Twisted Methods and WERD at SOS for all his help! Alexis at Savage Sound System, Nasty P KFM Records, Jonny on the Guitar, Steg G at Powercut Productions and Jay at MCF Records also - all these people keep me busy and keep me involved, Thanks! Sorry if I missed you out, you know what these things are like, you always forget someone. UVBEATZ!
Thursday 27 August 2009
Leady Interview
Certified Banger: Can you tell us your necessary background details so we can build on basics for the rest of the interview?
Leady: My name is Leady and I have featured on Mixtapes such as UK Runnings, HHB Radio Mixtapes, Certified Banger "On The Radar", I have worked with the likes of Filthy Rich, JabbaThaKut, Beit Nun, Baron Samedi, Joe Gutta, Lunar C, WydeBoi, EXP, and plenty more.
CB: What are your current or upcoming projects?
L: Currently I'm working on my Solo Project 'Toxic Nonsense' as well starting possible joint projects with the likes of Manchester based Producer X-FIRE or Huddersfield producer Kegzi. Obviously I have a track featuring on the current Certified Banger 'On The Radar Vol.4'. Also I will be featuring on a project that will be released by E.L.D.E.R.S, a coalition of MCs from the states, Canada and the UK put together for working together, and promoting each other as well, so with that said, keep eyes open for the debut from E.L.D.E.R.S - 'The Black List'.
CB: How would you describe your sound? Is there any one track that would best define your style?
L: I'd describe my sound as very British. I think the track so far which best defines my style will be 'Remote Control' with Lunar C and Wydeboi taken from Lunar C's forthcoming solo project.
CB: Who have been your biggest musical influences and which Hip Hop artists have inspired you? Which are your favourite albums? What music were you brought up on?
L: My biggest Hip Hop influence would be KRS ONE, just for how much he has done for what we love doing today. Musical Influences would be Miles Davis(expect a few tracks using samples), Nina Simone, Guns and Roses, Van Halen and Meat Loaf. Hip Hop wise, my influences are as mentioned KRS ONE, Dilated Peoples, Roots, Method Man, RedMan.
CB: What is your earliest memory of anything Hip Hop related? First rap track heard? First time you rapped?
L: First album I listened to would have been an Ice T CD, can't remember the actual title though that would also contain the first real rap track I heard. First time I rapped I was terrible,but it's what got me started and to where I am now.
CB: Where are you from? Can you tell us a bit more about the Hip Hop scene there?
L: I'm from Leeds, West Yorkshire, the scene here is full of talented MCs, DJs and producers, just not enough people really working hard and pushing themselves properly. Obviously West Yorkshire is home to the massive Don't Talk To Strangers -
Leeds being home to a lot of the members.
CB: What about the Hip Hop scene in general, UK or worldwide – where do you think it’s headed? Are things good/bad? What are your current philosophical thoughts on the current trends in rap music?
L: Hip Hop at the moment in my opinion is being hurt with all this terrible autotune stuff out there now. However I don't think this is bad because we still have and always will have in existence a strong underground scene.
CB: What process do you go through when writing a track? Do you start with a beat, a concept, a lyric that you thought of in the shower? What happens next?
L: It depends on the mood really, sometimes I might have a topic or something I want to say in which case I get a beat to fit the tone, or for the most part I'll listen to the beat and let that guide me through everything from topic to how I want to approach the track and say things.
CB: Where do you hope to see yourself in 5 years, 10 years time? Is it an achievable goal?
L: Still doing what I love doing, hopefully will be able to say I've been around Europe and so on to perform my music etc.
CB:Any last words?
L: Shout outs to Missing People, Freyed Knot, Chief Wiggum, 9 Lives, all DTTS, DS Fam, Alphabetix, Jack Dans, Crack House, Organised Mess, E.L.D.E.R.S, Blessed House, Snafu, DBO, wiz, IrnMnky, ESSDEE, everybody repping for Leeds and West Yorkshire haha, Big up JabbaThaKut, Megamouth, Jack Flash and the rest of Groundwurq, and obviously Certified Banger - the greatest blogspot going, anybody else, if I forgot you, then sorry.
Also check out:
www.myspace.com/mrleady
www.reverbnation.com/leady
www.youtube.com/leady
www.youtube.com/Illuminatielders
www.myspace.com/illuminatielders
Leady: My name is Leady and I have featured on Mixtapes such as UK Runnings, HHB Radio Mixtapes, Certified Banger "On The Radar", I have worked with the likes of Filthy Rich, JabbaThaKut, Beit Nun, Baron Samedi, Joe Gutta, Lunar C, WydeBoi, EXP, and plenty more.
CB: What are your current or upcoming projects?
L: Currently I'm working on my Solo Project 'Toxic Nonsense' as well starting possible joint projects with the likes of Manchester based Producer X-FIRE or Huddersfield producer Kegzi. Obviously I have a track featuring on the current Certified Banger 'On The Radar Vol.4'. Also I will be featuring on a project that will be released by E.L.D.E.R.S, a coalition of MCs from the states, Canada and the UK put together for working together, and promoting each other as well, so with that said, keep eyes open for the debut from E.L.D.E.R.S - 'The Black List'.
CB: How would you describe your sound? Is there any one track that would best define your style?
L: I'd describe my sound as very British. I think the track so far which best defines my style will be 'Remote Control' with Lunar C and Wydeboi taken from Lunar C's forthcoming solo project.
CB: Who have been your biggest musical influences and which Hip Hop artists have inspired you? Which are your favourite albums? What music were you brought up on?
L: My biggest Hip Hop influence would be KRS ONE, just for how much he has done for what we love doing today. Musical Influences would be Miles Davis(expect a few tracks using samples), Nina Simone, Guns and Roses, Van Halen and Meat Loaf. Hip Hop wise, my influences are as mentioned KRS ONE, Dilated Peoples, Roots, Method Man, RedMan.
CB: What is your earliest memory of anything Hip Hop related? First rap track heard? First time you rapped?
L: First album I listened to would have been an Ice T CD, can't remember the actual title though that would also contain the first real rap track I heard. First time I rapped I was terrible,but it's what got me started and to where I am now.
CB: Where are you from? Can you tell us a bit more about the Hip Hop scene there?
L: I'm from Leeds, West Yorkshire, the scene here is full of talented MCs, DJs and producers, just not enough people really working hard and pushing themselves properly. Obviously West Yorkshire is home to the massive Don't Talk To Strangers -
Leeds being home to a lot of the members.
CB: What about the Hip Hop scene in general, UK or worldwide – where do you think it’s headed? Are things good/bad? What are your current philosophical thoughts on the current trends in rap music?
L: Hip Hop at the moment in my opinion is being hurt with all this terrible autotune stuff out there now. However I don't think this is bad because we still have and always will have in existence a strong underground scene.
CB: What process do you go through when writing a track? Do you start with a beat, a concept, a lyric that you thought of in the shower? What happens next?
L: It depends on the mood really, sometimes I might have a topic or something I want to say in which case I get a beat to fit the tone, or for the most part I'll listen to the beat and let that guide me through everything from topic to how I want to approach the track and say things.
CB: Where do you hope to see yourself in 5 years, 10 years time? Is it an achievable goal?
L: Still doing what I love doing, hopefully will be able to say I've been around Europe and so on to perform my music etc.
CB:Any last words?
L: Shout outs to Missing People, Freyed Knot, Chief Wiggum, 9 Lives, all DTTS, DS Fam, Alphabetix, Jack Dans, Crack House, Organised Mess, E.L.D.E.R.S, Blessed House, Snafu, DBO, wiz, IrnMnky, ESSDEE, everybody repping for Leeds and West Yorkshire haha, Big up JabbaThaKut, Megamouth, Jack Flash and the rest of Groundwurq, and obviously Certified Banger - the greatest blogspot going, anybody else, if I forgot you, then sorry.
Also check out:
www.myspace.com/mrleady
www.reverbnation.com/leady
www.youtube.com/leady
www.youtube.com/Illuminatielders
www.myspace.com/illuminatielders
Wednesday 15 July 2009
SubSpecies Interview
Certified Banger: Yo! This is a first for me… tell the people why:
Chris Hughes: We are Subspecies, an urban/streetwear label that was formed by a troop of talented designers who were tired of the poor quality that mainstream brands were banging out and selling out to the sheep of society.
CB: So tell us about your product a bit more. What did you set out to achieve with it?
CH: We want to create something that is a little different from the rest of the brands that are out there, using good graphics on quality fabrics. All our tees are limited edition and there are only 450 of them per style/colour worldwide, so if you’re in a club with someone wearing a Sub tee the same as you... that's just fate!
CB: Who does the designs and what is the inspiration for them?
CH: The design team consists of General Thade, Ceasar & Nim; Three wise monkeys who all come from varied backgrounds who can influence each other in their areas. We get our ideas from the depths of our minds and try to stay away from trend direction too, that stuff’s for the catwalk cats and the la-di-das of this world. I mean who makes these trends up? Someone trying to sell you a book for £600 per season, thats who. That’s why we made ours limited edition, there are no boundaries, you’re guaranteed to be different - a Subspecies. There are No Gods, No Masters!
CB: How are you different to the average garm pedallers?
CH: Did I mention quality?! We get lots of mail from our customers telling us "they get the graphic now!" People buy things ‘cause they look good, but at Subspecies there's usually a hidden meaning or message in the graphic - you know, propaganda.
CB: You support the local music scene here. Who did you hook up with from the Hip Hop crowd?
CH: We hooked up with Bane from No Pretense who is a local Hip Hop artist up in West Yorkshire and we just respected each other’s talents. We are all about supporting local talent!
CB: Are you a Hip Hop fan? Who do you rate musically at the moment?
CH: Yes. Obviously we like the music our sponsors produce, but on the treehouse studio turntables this week are Cypress hill, New Kingdom, The Goats, Talib and a bit of Fushniks. We're a bit old skool!
CB: Who else do you sponsor?
CH: We sponsor Monsieur Phil Kyle, a s**t hot tattooist from a programme called London Ink, UK Hip Hop artists Jack Flash, Chief Wigz, 9livez, Spida Lee, No Pretense, Brutal Artistry, Knew Jeru’slum, Dr Syntax, we have a BMX team and we collab with Plug and his team - one of the UK’s top graffiti artists.
CB: Would you be open to expanding your sponsorship of artists outside of the local Hip Hop scene? Who would you like to see modelling your threads?
CH: Of course, we want the cream of the crop reppin’ our garms, be it a hip hopper or a body popper, if you got skillz to pay tha billz we got the garms to slide on your arms!
CB: How do you hope to grow as a business? Will there be a bigger range? Different items of clothing?
CH: We got a whole range of things to be released; the next drop consists of more limited edition tees, some hoodies and a polo shirt. We have belts, underwear, bags and we're getting a lot of girls asking when we're bringing their range out, so that's what’s happening at the mo.
CB: Is there anything you’d like to say before we finish? Any plugs etc?
CH: Yeah, get on our website www.subspecies.co.uk and www.subspecies.bigcartel.com and buy some garms off us!
Chris Hughes: We are Subspecies, an urban/streetwear label that was formed by a troop of talented designers who were tired of the poor quality that mainstream brands were banging out and selling out to the sheep of society.
CB: So tell us about your product a bit more. What did you set out to achieve with it?
CH: We want to create something that is a little different from the rest of the brands that are out there, using good graphics on quality fabrics. All our tees are limited edition and there are only 450 of them per style/colour worldwide, so if you’re in a club with someone wearing a Sub tee the same as you... that's just fate!
CB: Who does the designs and what is the inspiration for them?
CH: The design team consists of General Thade, Ceasar & Nim; Three wise monkeys who all come from varied backgrounds who can influence each other in their areas. We get our ideas from the depths of our minds and try to stay away from trend direction too, that stuff’s for the catwalk cats and the la-di-das of this world. I mean who makes these trends up? Someone trying to sell you a book for £600 per season, thats who. That’s why we made ours limited edition, there are no boundaries, you’re guaranteed to be different - a Subspecies. There are No Gods, No Masters!
CB: How are you different to the average garm pedallers?
CH: Did I mention quality?! We get lots of mail from our customers telling us "they get the graphic now!" People buy things ‘cause they look good, but at Subspecies there's usually a hidden meaning or message in the graphic - you know, propaganda.
CB: You support the local music scene here. Who did you hook up with from the Hip Hop crowd?
CH: We hooked up with Bane from No Pretense who is a local Hip Hop artist up in West Yorkshire and we just respected each other’s talents. We are all about supporting local talent!
CB: Are you a Hip Hop fan? Who do you rate musically at the moment?
CH: Yes. Obviously we like the music our sponsors produce, but on the treehouse studio turntables this week are Cypress hill, New Kingdom, The Goats, Talib and a bit of Fushniks. We're a bit old skool!
CB: Who else do you sponsor?
CH: We sponsor Monsieur Phil Kyle, a s**t hot tattooist from a programme called London Ink, UK Hip Hop artists Jack Flash, Chief Wigz, 9livez, Spida Lee, No Pretense, Brutal Artistry, Knew Jeru’slum, Dr Syntax, we have a BMX team and we collab with Plug and his team - one of the UK’s top graffiti artists.
CB: Would you be open to expanding your sponsorship of artists outside of the local Hip Hop scene? Who would you like to see modelling your threads?
CH: Of course, we want the cream of the crop reppin’ our garms, be it a hip hopper or a body popper, if you got skillz to pay tha billz we got the garms to slide on your arms!
CB: How do you hope to grow as a business? Will there be a bigger range? Different items of clothing?
CH: We got a whole range of things to be released; the next drop consists of more limited edition tees, some hoodies and a polo shirt. We have belts, underwear, bags and we're getting a lot of girls asking when we're bringing their range out, so that's what’s happening at the mo.
CB: Is there anything you’d like to say before we finish? Any plugs etc?
CH: Yeah, get on our website www.subspecies.co.uk and www.subspecies.bigcartel.com and buy some garms off us!
Monday 6 July 2009
Truth Interview
Certified Banger: Yo Truth! For the peeps who don’t know, who are you and what do you do with your time?
Truth: I refresh a lot of internet pages whilst looking for a job. Ain’t NOBODY hiring right now. I’m also an MC, an inactive beat maker since my MPC broke and I promote the Rapsploitation Sessions nights in Ipswich (www.rapsploitation.co.uk)
CB: You just released your EP ‘Prorastinat(K)ing’. I think I know the answer but how did the name come about?
T: Yeah, no clues in the title homeskillet! I’ve just been meaning to release something for time, and last three years being at uni I’ve been hella lazy so when people asked what I was doing online I’d just type procrastinat(k)ing to style s**t out. Cus I’m a fly mothershutyomouth. Badaboom. It was originally meant to be called ‘61 Grace’. But I wanted to use that for my first proper album. Hence why on your download half the tracks are apparently named that so I probably won’t use that now. It also says there’s a track 8 missing, that was supposed to be a cut with Ezra and Respek BA but we couldn’t get it all recorded in time. Professionalism is the objective sir. Professionalism.
CB: Have you had a good response to it so far? Will that give you more ‘get up and go’ for an album maybe?
T: Yeaaaaah. People have been real generous with their feedback, maybe it’s my overpowering muscular physique that makes ‘em say that, but it’s still nice to hear. Truth be told I haven’t really been writing or making music for a couple years now so to just drop some naughtys on some nuggets and them be feeling it is inspiring. I’m very grateful for the kind words, or even if you just took the time to check it at all, I know there’s a lot of s**t being thrown at you online.
CB: How difficult is it to be as independent as you are as an artist? Would you like to be signed to a label?
T: I don’t know man. I don’t really think about it strategically when it comes to making music. It’s never been a career objective to be a professional musician, it’d be nice, but I have no intention of selling music. The traditional sense of selling records is dying quickly which to me is cool. There’s a whole lot of new means and medias to get your music to people and I’m excited to see business become creative now too. Actually, that’s probably the thing that would want me make to wanna try and make something from this s**t as it’s a challenge and would be fun to try and release it uniquely. But it’s more a hobby for me. From a promoters perspective as well as an artist - I think a lot of artists in England are too desperate to make it a career instead of taking time out to build a fan base and often try to overcharge and expect a lot more than the scene makes viable. Big rock bands charge less than independent Hip Hop artists and who’s got the bigger fan base? But at the same time, there’s not really that next level to aspire to without switching up your style in England so I guess trying to get the duckets now can be excused… I dunno.
CB: Which is your favourite track on the EP?
T: I like ‘Sideview’, as a listener I actually enjoy that. That was written a few years ago and it’s the first track I did with my good friend Jimmy Green that I really felt, from a lyrics / vocal side of things. And ‘Take Time’ as well; Sivey made that beat for me a while back and I was two ways about recording on it as I didn’t know if I wanted to play on the ‘Truth’ thing much as I don’t even like it as a name. But that s**t’s got the Sivey midas touch.
CB: Are there any tracks on there that you feel need explaining in anyway?
T: ‘Pass That’ is about not smoking weed. Thank You. Also, my friend Fatty owes me a steak for name dropping him in a song.
CB: What’s the best lyric you’ve ever written?
T: I don’t know, I’m pretty underwhelmed by my stuff in comparison to a lot of people. Ask me what my favourite lyric I’ve heard is and I could reel a few verses off. I’m just a fan, man. I’m just doing this for s**ts ‘n’ giggles man.
CB: How did the hook-up with the other MCs on the EP come about?
T: Well Grimlok I’ve known for a while now. I met him through the other Colony members when I hosted a show we booked them for. Them guys have all been real good and supportive of my s**t for a while now, me and Grimlok have a similar appreciation for the observation of the art of MCing and had been meaning to do a cut for a while.
SonnyJim and Kosyne are real good people too. They’ve showed me a lot of love. I think I first had contact with them because of the battles we all did for Jump Off back in ‘05. I brought them over for a show in Ipswich a couple times too. But once again, they been real supportive of my stuff too and I’m fans of them as well so getting them on was an honour. SonnyJim was the first MC out my circle to compliment me on my beats, and I was pretty f**king geek about that. Make sure you check out Eatgoodrecords.com and Louisden.com and buy the Eat Good Records compilation - it’s ridiculous and I’m on it.
I’ve known Conflix for a few years also. We always spoke about doing something together and he started going on about how he was gonna stop rhyming and all that horrible stuff, so I said not before I got a verse from you. I put the track with him n sonny together originally for Archimedes (who produced it) mixtape or something, but I stole it for my s**t!
I mean, I’m flattered to have all the artists and producers on it; I was fans of them ALL before I got to work with them so it’s real humbling to have them on.
CB: Does it help to be in other areas of the UK scene (ie promoting shows) when it comes to putting together your own music?
Yes and no. I’ve been living in Manchester and London over the last 3 years when I started Rapsploitation Sessions so I wasn’t really living here in Ipswich. But it’s hard to promote the shows in Ipswich, we’re basically re-building a scene. It’s good for meeting other artists though and feels good when the city turns out for a show – like we’re doing something for the spot I was born in. Artistically, I love being from outside of the main “Hip Hop cities” in the country. Gives more space to develop ideas etc, on the flip there’s less people to bounce off but you know - ups and downs to everything I guess. Complaining about it ain’t gonna make it any better.
CB: Ipswich eh? In two sentences sell your town to a Hip Hop head!
T: Come on dude, make it difficult for me! I’ll give you a few combos for your money:
Rapsploitation Sessions
Reggie Rhythm
Arnie Sarnies
Roy Keane
Muddle’s Teas
Cathedral Cheese - you can get that anywhere, but that deserves a shout out. I’ve been into that a lot recently.
Oh my bad, I just realised you said two sentences and not two words – I must have roped you in anyway right?
CB: What’s next for you then? What are you working on?
T: I’m working on getting a job and a flal - real life s**t s**t sheun. Maybe an old school retro arcade machine and some gold fronts. I got a doctors appointment at 3:30 to get my ears syringed - imma have super hero hearing after that though – will be able to hear your thoughts.
Gonna just try make some good music and throw it out there. Try up my skills.
I don’t ever wanna say I got this n that project coming out, cus if I do, it’ll never happen. Just wanna make some good music and try and get out and do some shows etc. I feature on the Eat Good Records compilation, that’s definitely coming out as I’ve got my copy so GRAB THAT.
CB: Any last words to wrap this up?
T: Much love to Certified Banger for supporting - the illest Hip Hop blog in the country. Umm, just keep bugging me for a real life exclusive Cee Banger big dawg freestyle when my studio’s set up. You’ve read enough for today children – go play in the sun, but use suncream, or wear an astronaut suit if you’re truthey-albino.
http://www.rapsploitation.co.uk/
Truth: I refresh a lot of internet pages whilst looking for a job. Ain’t NOBODY hiring right now. I’m also an MC, an inactive beat maker since my MPC broke and I promote the Rapsploitation Sessions nights in Ipswich (www.rapsploitation.co.uk)
CB: You just released your EP ‘Prorastinat(K)ing’. I think I know the answer but how did the name come about?
T: Yeah, no clues in the title homeskillet! I’ve just been meaning to release something for time, and last three years being at uni I’ve been hella lazy so when people asked what I was doing online I’d just type procrastinat(k)ing to style s**t out. Cus I’m a fly mothershutyomouth. Badaboom. It was originally meant to be called ‘61 Grace’. But I wanted to use that for my first proper album. Hence why on your download half the tracks are apparently named that so I probably won’t use that now. It also says there’s a track 8 missing, that was supposed to be a cut with Ezra and Respek BA but we couldn’t get it all recorded in time. Professionalism is the objective sir. Professionalism.
CB: Have you had a good response to it so far? Will that give you more ‘get up and go’ for an album maybe?
T: Yeaaaaah. People have been real generous with their feedback, maybe it’s my overpowering muscular physique that makes ‘em say that, but it’s still nice to hear. Truth be told I haven’t really been writing or making music for a couple years now so to just drop some naughtys on some nuggets and them be feeling it is inspiring. I’m very grateful for the kind words, or even if you just took the time to check it at all, I know there’s a lot of s**t being thrown at you online.
CB: How difficult is it to be as independent as you are as an artist? Would you like to be signed to a label?
T: I don’t know man. I don’t really think about it strategically when it comes to making music. It’s never been a career objective to be a professional musician, it’d be nice, but I have no intention of selling music. The traditional sense of selling records is dying quickly which to me is cool. There’s a whole lot of new means and medias to get your music to people and I’m excited to see business become creative now too. Actually, that’s probably the thing that would want me make to wanna try and make something from this s**t as it’s a challenge and would be fun to try and release it uniquely. But it’s more a hobby for me. From a promoters perspective as well as an artist - I think a lot of artists in England are too desperate to make it a career instead of taking time out to build a fan base and often try to overcharge and expect a lot more than the scene makes viable. Big rock bands charge less than independent Hip Hop artists and who’s got the bigger fan base? But at the same time, there’s not really that next level to aspire to without switching up your style in England so I guess trying to get the duckets now can be excused… I dunno.
CB: Which is your favourite track on the EP?
T: I like ‘Sideview’, as a listener I actually enjoy that. That was written a few years ago and it’s the first track I did with my good friend Jimmy Green that I really felt, from a lyrics / vocal side of things. And ‘Take Time’ as well; Sivey made that beat for me a while back and I was two ways about recording on it as I didn’t know if I wanted to play on the ‘Truth’ thing much as I don’t even like it as a name. But that s**t’s got the Sivey midas touch.
CB: Are there any tracks on there that you feel need explaining in anyway?
T: ‘Pass That’ is about not smoking weed. Thank You. Also, my friend Fatty owes me a steak for name dropping him in a song.
CB: What’s the best lyric you’ve ever written?
T: I don’t know, I’m pretty underwhelmed by my stuff in comparison to a lot of people. Ask me what my favourite lyric I’ve heard is and I could reel a few verses off. I’m just a fan, man. I’m just doing this for s**ts ‘n’ giggles man.
CB: How did the hook-up with the other MCs on the EP come about?
T: Well Grimlok I’ve known for a while now. I met him through the other Colony members when I hosted a show we booked them for. Them guys have all been real good and supportive of my s**t for a while now, me and Grimlok have a similar appreciation for the observation of the art of MCing and had been meaning to do a cut for a while.
SonnyJim and Kosyne are real good people too. They’ve showed me a lot of love. I think I first had contact with them because of the battles we all did for Jump Off back in ‘05. I brought them over for a show in Ipswich a couple times too. But once again, they been real supportive of my stuff too and I’m fans of them as well so getting them on was an honour. SonnyJim was the first MC out my circle to compliment me on my beats, and I was pretty f**king geek about that. Make sure you check out Eatgoodrecords.com and Louisden.com and buy the Eat Good Records compilation - it’s ridiculous and I’m on it.
I’ve known Conflix for a few years also. We always spoke about doing something together and he started going on about how he was gonna stop rhyming and all that horrible stuff, so I said not before I got a verse from you. I put the track with him n sonny together originally for Archimedes (who produced it) mixtape or something, but I stole it for my s**t!
I mean, I’m flattered to have all the artists and producers on it; I was fans of them ALL before I got to work with them so it’s real humbling to have them on.
CB: Does it help to be in other areas of the UK scene (ie promoting shows) when it comes to putting together your own music?
Yes and no. I’ve been living in Manchester and London over the last 3 years when I started Rapsploitation Sessions so I wasn’t really living here in Ipswich. But it’s hard to promote the shows in Ipswich, we’re basically re-building a scene. It’s good for meeting other artists though and feels good when the city turns out for a show – like we’re doing something for the spot I was born in. Artistically, I love being from outside of the main “Hip Hop cities” in the country. Gives more space to develop ideas etc, on the flip there’s less people to bounce off but you know - ups and downs to everything I guess. Complaining about it ain’t gonna make it any better.
CB: Ipswich eh? In two sentences sell your town to a Hip Hop head!
T: Come on dude, make it difficult for me! I’ll give you a few combos for your money:
Rapsploitation Sessions
Reggie Rhythm
Arnie Sarnies
Roy Keane
Muddle’s Teas
Cathedral Cheese - you can get that anywhere, but that deserves a shout out. I’ve been into that a lot recently.
Oh my bad, I just realised you said two sentences and not two words – I must have roped you in anyway right?
CB: What’s next for you then? What are you working on?
T: I’m working on getting a job and a flal - real life s**t s**t sheun. Maybe an old school retro arcade machine and some gold fronts. I got a doctors appointment at 3:30 to get my ears syringed - imma have super hero hearing after that though – will be able to hear your thoughts.
Gonna just try make some good music and throw it out there. Try up my skills.
I don’t ever wanna say I got this n that project coming out, cus if I do, it’ll never happen. Just wanna make some good music and try and get out and do some shows etc. I feature on the Eat Good Records compilation, that’s definitely coming out as I’ve got my copy so GRAB THAT.
CB: Any last words to wrap this up?
T: Much love to Certified Banger for supporting - the illest Hip Hop blog in the country. Umm, just keep bugging me for a real life exclusive Cee Banger big dawg freestyle when my studio’s set up. You’ve read enough for today children – go play in the sun, but use suncream, or wear an astronaut suit if you’re truthey-albino.
http://www.rapsploitation.co.uk/
Friday 3 July 2009
ABD Interview
Certified Banger: Yo ABD, congratulations on the Golden Mic Challenge win! Before we get into this, let us know about yourself, give us all the info we need:
ABD: Ok I’m 23 and been rhyming since I was 14, so 9 years at some point this year. My main crew is Alphabetix, I’m also in Northern Hostility, and I usually have the odd live band side project here and there (not at the mo!) I come from York but I've been living in Leeds about 4 years. Alphabetix have our own label – 30Tonne Slug on which we plan to release our own stuff. We put out a 12” of my old crew 118SoundSystem in 2006.
CB: What were your prizes for winning the GMC?
ABD: I got the mic (a gold Shure SM58), £150, some LRG tees, Jumbo Records tees, and supposedly a Mr Thing beat and a support gig (watch this space!)
CB: How important to you was it that you won? Did you feel like it was deserved recognition for your time on the Leeds scene?
ABD: I didn't actually feel I deserved it! Not cos of time on the scene – that's irrelevant compared to skill – but just cos I choked in some of the battles, which no one else did.
CB: What did you think of your adversaries? Were you confident?
ABD: All sick. If I had judged it I reckon Jack Dans would have won and Fourney P would have been runner up. I had a feeling Fourney had pre-written a lot of his battle rhymes, and I'd like to hear Jester Jacobs in more of his own style than Orifice Vulgatron's, but they were all heavy. I was pretty confident though.
CB: Which line against you in the battles did you like best?
ABD: I thought it was well spotted when Fourney P likened me to Jurassic Five – a lot of my own mates haven't clocked that similarity, and it makes a nice change from Bob Marley jokes and ripping my dreads out or strangling me with them (yawn!)
CB: Tell us about your pre-written track, that went down really well. What’s it all about? Will it be recorded and released?
ABD: I'm not a Bible basher or nothin’! Haha! It’s about how all the different religions are saying the same thing and praising the same God. Separation is an illusion. Everything is everything; God is part of everything and everything is part of God. God isn't the owner of the planet who tells us what to do and punishes us for disobedience. It's the creative force that keeps life going. Doesn't matter if you're a Christian, Muslim, Rasta or Jedi, you naturally have an awareness of ultimate truth whatever your culture. We have to start believing in ourselves! Yeah I'm planning to put it out there.
CB: You really pulled the crowd into your performance and they reacted with a great show of support. How do you make sure you get that?
ABD: Ok I’m 23 and been rhyming since I was 14, so 9 years at some point this year. My main crew is Alphabetix, I’m also in Northern Hostility, and I usually have the odd live band side project here and there (not at the mo!) I come from York but I've been living in Leeds about 4 years. Alphabetix have our own label – 30Tonne Slug on which we plan to release our own stuff. We put out a 12” of my old crew 118SoundSystem in 2006.
CB: What were your prizes for winning the GMC?
ABD: I got the mic (a gold Shure SM58), £150, some LRG tees, Jumbo Records tees, and supposedly a Mr Thing beat and a support gig (watch this space!)
CB: How important to you was it that you won? Did you feel like it was deserved recognition for your time on the Leeds scene?
ABD: I didn't actually feel I deserved it! Not cos of time on the scene – that's irrelevant compared to skill – but just cos I choked in some of the battles, which no one else did.
CB: What did you think of your adversaries? Were you confident?
ABD: All sick. If I had judged it I reckon Jack Dans would have won and Fourney P would have been runner up. I had a feeling Fourney had pre-written a lot of his battle rhymes, and I'd like to hear Jester Jacobs in more of his own style than Orifice Vulgatron's, but they were all heavy. I was pretty confident though.
CB: Which line against you in the battles did you like best?
ABD: I thought it was well spotted when Fourney P likened me to Jurassic Five – a lot of my own mates haven't clocked that similarity, and it makes a nice change from Bob Marley jokes and ripping my dreads out or strangling me with them (yawn!)
CB: Tell us about your pre-written track, that went down really well. What’s it all about? Will it be recorded and released?
ABD: I'm not a Bible basher or nothin’! Haha! It’s about how all the different religions are saying the same thing and praising the same God. Separation is an illusion. Everything is everything; God is part of everything and everything is part of God. God isn't the owner of the planet who tells us what to do and punishes us for disobedience. It's the creative force that keeps life going. Doesn't matter if you're a Christian, Muslim, Rasta or Jedi, you naturally have an awareness of ultimate truth whatever your culture. We have to start believing in ourselves! Yeah I'm planning to put it out there.
CB: You really pulled the crowd into your performance and they reacted with a great show of support. How do you make sure you get that?
ABD: Eye contact, getting down with the people, trying to maintain a good vibe, believing in myself (how can you expect others to if you don't?). I visualize light too and imagine everyone getting hyped and having a mint time.
CB: Are you working on any recorded material at the moment? Will we see an ABD or Alphabetix LP anytime soon? What’s next for you?
ABD: The Alphabetix EP ‘Alphabetix Anonymous’ is pretty much finished and coming this summer. Me and Jack Dans are collaborating on a little EP, plus I've started planning out my first solo EP. That's gonna be strictly conscious tracks – I'm sick to death of rappers who only rap about rapping!
CB: How does performing live differ to recording music for you? Which do you prefer?
ABD: Well you don't get two bites of the cherry on stage! It's all about the live thing. I take ages to record cos a take's never quite perfect, but in front of a crowd you have to just rock it! And once it's gone it's gone – it doesn’t matter how well a performance went cos it served a purpose at the time and hopefully at least someone had a good time! I like how no one owns live music – the last note sounds and it vanishes leaving just the vibe.
CB: Who are your influences musically and who would you recommend to people? Who on the Leeds/UK Hip Hop scene do you rate?
ABD: My influences include Phi Life Cypher, Mos Def, Talib Kwali, Canibus, Jurassic Five, Blak Twang, Sage Francis. I would recommend Pep Love from Hieroglyphics and Pumpkinhead. Matter's the one to watch in Leeds. I actually believe he's gonna revolutionize the whole scene one day! Also D.S. Fam rep hard and deserve all the success they get. And obviously Mr Ris and Angelesk from Alphabetix – both massively inspiring MCs.
CB: Thanks for taking the time to do this, any closing/self-promotional/wise words?
ABD: Yeah everyone should read these three books: Conversations with God by Neal Donald Walsh, The Celestine Prophecy by James Redfield, The Holographic Universe by Michael Tablot. You can get them all for pennies from the 2nd hand section on Amazon, and I reckon if everyone reads them it'll improve the state of affairs on the planet.
Tuesday 14 April 2009
Haka Interview
Certified Banger: Haka, could you introduce yourselves to us a bit? Who are you? Where you’re from? What do you do?
Haka: I’m a producer, originally from Ladbroke Grove, West London. But I moved to South London when I was 17 and been in Battersea since.
CB: How long have you been producing for? How did you start out and what inspired you?
Haka: Only been producing tracks for about 6 months/a year, but been making beats for about 4 years. I started out just playing guitar in to Acid Pro and sequencing some simple beats.
There wasn’t one thing that inspired me, it was everything - my surrounding, my boys, my older brothers playing Tribe Called Quest, De La Soul, Eric B & Rakim etc when growing up, I just grew a passion for the culture and music.
CB: How did you first go about getting your beats heard? How did you get them to MCs? Did you have any knock backs or did you wait until your beats were top quality before getting them heard?
Haka: I been making tracks with my boys since I was 15, even though my beats were bate, its all experience, you can’t really wait until your beats are on point ‘til you start recording, ‘cause there’s so much you need to learn and experience with recording techniques etc. But I remember showin’ love to mans like Lowkey, Doc Brown, Klash, Mic Assassin etc at Deal Real when I just got in to the music, me and my boys were the youngest there, but I just soaked it all up, I weren’t askin’ dem guys to do tunes, I knew weren’t ready and had a lot to learn. But now I’m workin’ on tracks with some of them guys so it gets to a point where you don’t need anyone to tell you you’re good enough, you know when you’re on point.
CB: When you give an MC a beat, what do you expect them to do with it? Do they have creative control?
Haka: Man, before I give any rapper a beat, I have a chat with him about his ideas for the beat, and unless we both agree on the idea, its getting scrapped or we'll both have input on the tune. A lot of rappers ask for a beat when we're chillin’ and I'll be honest with dem if I don’t think they'd come hardest to the beat, but at the same time, if you work enough with a rapper, you have a mutual respect, and I just leave them to zone out and do what they do best.
CB: What’s on your mind when you’re making a beat? Do you always go for a similar sound?
Haka: I zone out when I’m makin’ a beat, I could be in my own world for hours. Whatever mood Im in at the time, will show in my beat. And ‘cause I’m new to the scene I’m always trying different techniques, programmes, effects etc when making a beat so I never make a beat the same as the last.
CB: How do you manage to get the more melodic R’n’B-ish side of Hip Hop mixed with the gritty, stripped back side of Hip Hop?
Haka: It's mainly about how you work your samples, you have to piece together the beat like a puzzle, trying out different drums, samples etc. But the way you EQ your beat makes all the difference. I grew up listening to a contrast of hip hop, from hearin’ the gritty sounds of Mobb Deep and Wu, to Little Brother, A Tribe Called Quest, Devin the Dude etc. I think to incorporate both the RnB'ish side and the gritty side, you gotta know some music theory, and a knowledge of the instruments you’re using helps a lot, knowing the chords, key etc.
CB: What’s more important to you: making a track for the club, the car, the ipod or the home stereo? How and where do you listen to music?
Haka: Making a track for a club has never been important to me, when I make music, the main thing is that I like it, but I mainly play my stuff in the car or on my ipod, I don’t play my own stuff at home too much unless I’m boasting to someone or with my boys playin’ new stuff.
CB: Are you a perfectionist?
Haka: Definitely, I’m never %100 happy with my stuff, I always aim for perfection though.
CB: Your album ‘Underground Journeys’ is more a collection of tracks you’ve done, would you agree on that?
Haka: Yeah definitely, it's a mixtape first and foremost, some tracks on there are album tracks, but by releasing this CD I wanted to show the versatility of my production and that I don’t stick to one style.
CB: Which are your favourite songs on there?
Haka: 'Makes Me Say' is definitely a banger, some of you may have heard it on a few radio stations. 'We Got Dat' and 'Dats My S**t' are my favourite harder/grittier kinda tracks. And 'N.A.M.E' is another smooth track.
CB: Can you tell us a little more about N/A who features on your album?
Haka: He's my brother man, and the best artist in the UK, hands down in my opinion. Me and Jetsun Beats are joint producing N/A's debut album this summer, it's pretty much done, we're just tightening it up and adding the finishing touches right about now. N/A and my other big bro OC Jigs definitely came the hardest on my CD, much love to dem man der.
CB: Are you working on another producer album? What formula will you follow for the next one, did you learn any important lessons during the making of ‘Underground Journeys’?
Haka: I’m doing a few downloadable EPs this year, so keep your eyes peeled, gonna send them around for free on datpiff.com just to give the people some real shit for free. I learnt a lot of lessons from the last couple years of putting ‘Underground Journeys’ together, it's turned me from a beat maker in to a producer.
CB: Who would you like to work alongside? Any particular MCs – US or UK?
Haka: I’m workin’ alongside my favourite rappers right now - Jigs and N/A, so boy, I mean obviously I'd love to work with Cormega, Tragedy, Jay-Z n all the greats but I’m happy with my team right now.
CB: Finally, What are your goals for your music? Where do you want to take it? Are you happy where it is? What drives you?
Haka: I just love making music, I wanna be able to hear my own tracks and be inspired. I want to take it back, back to when Hip Hop was at its realest, I want to see Hip Hop back the way its supposed to be, I’m not happy where it is right now, we got the most talented artists in the UK - producers like Harry Love, Lewis Parker, rappers like Yungun, Klashnekoff, Skinnyman, but instead all dese s**t grime youts are blowin’ and takin’ the throne in the UK, that Hip Hop should have.
Haka: I’m a producer, originally from Ladbroke Grove, West London. But I moved to South London when I was 17 and been in Battersea since.
CB: How long have you been producing for? How did you start out and what inspired you?
Haka: Only been producing tracks for about 6 months/a year, but been making beats for about 4 years. I started out just playing guitar in to Acid Pro and sequencing some simple beats.
There wasn’t one thing that inspired me, it was everything - my surrounding, my boys, my older brothers playing Tribe Called Quest, De La Soul, Eric B & Rakim etc when growing up, I just grew a passion for the culture and music.
CB: How did you first go about getting your beats heard? How did you get them to MCs? Did you have any knock backs or did you wait until your beats were top quality before getting them heard?
Haka: I been making tracks with my boys since I was 15, even though my beats were bate, its all experience, you can’t really wait until your beats are on point ‘til you start recording, ‘cause there’s so much you need to learn and experience with recording techniques etc. But I remember showin’ love to mans like Lowkey, Doc Brown, Klash, Mic Assassin etc at Deal Real when I just got in to the music, me and my boys were the youngest there, but I just soaked it all up, I weren’t askin’ dem guys to do tunes, I knew weren’t ready and had a lot to learn. But now I’m workin’ on tracks with some of them guys so it gets to a point where you don’t need anyone to tell you you’re good enough, you know when you’re on point.
CB: When you give an MC a beat, what do you expect them to do with it? Do they have creative control?
Haka: Man, before I give any rapper a beat, I have a chat with him about his ideas for the beat, and unless we both agree on the idea, its getting scrapped or we'll both have input on the tune. A lot of rappers ask for a beat when we're chillin’ and I'll be honest with dem if I don’t think they'd come hardest to the beat, but at the same time, if you work enough with a rapper, you have a mutual respect, and I just leave them to zone out and do what they do best.
CB: What’s on your mind when you’re making a beat? Do you always go for a similar sound?
Haka: I zone out when I’m makin’ a beat, I could be in my own world for hours. Whatever mood Im in at the time, will show in my beat. And ‘cause I’m new to the scene I’m always trying different techniques, programmes, effects etc when making a beat so I never make a beat the same as the last.
CB: How do you manage to get the more melodic R’n’B-ish side of Hip Hop mixed with the gritty, stripped back side of Hip Hop?
Haka: It's mainly about how you work your samples, you have to piece together the beat like a puzzle, trying out different drums, samples etc. But the way you EQ your beat makes all the difference. I grew up listening to a contrast of hip hop, from hearin’ the gritty sounds of Mobb Deep and Wu, to Little Brother, A Tribe Called Quest, Devin the Dude etc. I think to incorporate both the RnB'ish side and the gritty side, you gotta know some music theory, and a knowledge of the instruments you’re using helps a lot, knowing the chords, key etc.
CB: What’s more important to you: making a track for the club, the car, the ipod or the home stereo? How and where do you listen to music?
Haka: Making a track for a club has never been important to me, when I make music, the main thing is that I like it, but I mainly play my stuff in the car or on my ipod, I don’t play my own stuff at home too much unless I’m boasting to someone or with my boys playin’ new stuff.
CB: Are you a perfectionist?
Haka: Definitely, I’m never %100 happy with my stuff, I always aim for perfection though.
CB: Your album ‘Underground Journeys’ is more a collection of tracks you’ve done, would you agree on that?
Haka: Yeah definitely, it's a mixtape first and foremost, some tracks on there are album tracks, but by releasing this CD I wanted to show the versatility of my production and that I don’t stick to one style.
CB: Which are your favourite songs on there?
Haka: 'Makes Me Say' is definitely a banger, some of you may have heard it on a few radio stations. 'We Got Dat' and 'Dats My S**t' are my favourite harder/grittier kinda tracks. And 'N.A.M.E' is another smooth track.
CB: Can you tell us a little more about N/A who features on your album?
Haka: He's my brother man, and the best artist in the UK, hands down in my opinion. Me and Jetsun Beats are joint producing N/A's debut album this summer, it's pretty much done, we're just tightening it up and adding the finishing touches right about now. N/A and my other big bro OC Jigs definitely came the hardest on my CD, much love to dem man der.
CB: Are you working on another producer album? What formula will you follow for the next one, did you learn any important lessons during the making of ‘Underground Journeys’?
Haka: I’m doing a few downloadable EPs this year, so keep your eyes peeled, gonna send them around for free on datpiff.com just to give the people some real shit for free. I learnt a lot of lessons from the last couple years of putting ‘Underground Journeys’ together, it's turned me from a beat maker in to a producer.
CB: Who would you like to work alongside? Any particular MCs – US or UK?
Haka: I’m workin’ alongside my favourite rappers right now - Jigs and N/A, so boy, I mean obviously I'd love to work with Cormega, Tragedy, Jay-Z n all the greats but I’m happy with my team right now.
CB: Finally, What are your goals for your music? Where do you want to take it? Are you happy where it is? What drives you?
Haka: I just love making music, I wanna be able to hear my own tracks and be inspired. I want to take it back, back to when Hip Hop was at its realest, I want to see Hip Hop back the way its supposed to be, I’m not happy where it is right now, we got the most talented artists in the UK - producers like Harry Love, Lewis Parker, rappers like Yungun, Klashnekoff, Skinnyman, but instead all dese s**t grime youts are blowin’ and takin’ the throne in the UK, that Hip Hop should have.
Tuesday 31 March 2009
Knew Jeru'slum interview
Certified Banger: Introduce yourself please (who are you, where are you from, what do you do?):
Jonny Alpha: We are Knew Jeru’slum: Myself and Watson G on the spits, my beautiful missus Belinda Hards on the vocals, and on the most part, production from Yorkshires illest - Brutal Artistry. We’re from various ends of West Yorks - Hudds, Falihax and Bradford. Knew Jeru’slum is a project we started a couple of years ago really, me and Watson were getting some ideas together, then he and his lass introduced me to Belinda – her sister, and when I was chatting her up I found out Belinda’s an amazing singer too, it all linked there, then we met Miki B and loved what he does plus we all got a love for the gospel, so that’s us.
CB: Whats in the name?
JA: Knew Jeru’slum comes from the new earth, the resurrected earth in the bible after the second coming; we are associating ourselves (and everything we know) with our stakes in heaven. The ‘knew’ part is our knowledge of this and the ‘slum’ part is our recognition that we have some way to go before we get there. We also thought it just sounded dope too!
We’ve had quite a few Jews adding us on Myspace recently. We’re not Jewish, just want to make that clear.
CB: Let’s talk about your new single ‘Non-Apologetix’. What’s the idea behind it? Is it a statement of intent for the rest of your music?
JA: ‘Non-Apologetix’ is kind of an intent for the album. When it comes, peeps who listen in detail will hear stuff they may not agree with - yes, we are Christians, yes, we write about that, but yes, we do write about the same stuff everyone else does –that is – personal experiences, life choices, loves and hates etc -things we spend time pondering about.
Watson G: The name came from the books (Apologetics) peeps write to explain their beliefs, so we went with the double meaning of it, to say look we’re explaining our beliefs but we aint sorry about them, cause we aint got nothing to be sorry for, its just other people come with their preconceived ideas of what a Christian is and straight away think negative things, we’re all about good vibes, we aint hating anyone. Word!
CB: The single features Manchild from Mars ILL. How did that come about? Is Mars ILL a group you listen to a lot?
JA: Mars ILL are dope, Manchild is one of my favourite artists and has been for years now, and Dust is seriously underrated. I emailed Manchild and told him such things followed by the following question: ‘will you drop a verse on this track please?’.
CB: Mars ILL are known for an underground, credible approach to Hip Hop that often has a Christian message. How similar to them are you as a group?
JA: When I started looking through artists with a Christian message, I found few I could actually feel... a lot of its cheesy, preachy, commercial... lightweight to be honest, Mars ILL on the other hand got dirty beats, basslines, and Manchild just keeps dropping magic verses. No one can pigeonhole mars ILL, they make very good hip hop that anyone can listen to and if you listen well, you’ll get educated. Its very important to us to be ourselves in this, to speak about what’s important to us and let people get an insight to our lives, none of that’s any good if its confined to the bottom shelf in a Christian bookshop – who’s gonna hear it then? We make hip hop for all heads, where ever you come from. This single and album contain Christian content, but I don’t class it as ‘Christian hip hop’ at all.
WG: I second that actually, I aint a Christian rapper, I’m a rapper who’s a Christian, so our music just reflects our life like any others, we try stay away from the cheesy and just be honest and real.
CB: Do you listen to a lot of Gospel Hip Hop? Does that influence you at all? Could you recommend any artists?
JA: Not really, I do like some of Pigeon John’s stuff, Corey Red’s tight, Peace 586, Greenjade and Zionnoiz; we ciphered a bit with some of them guys in Birmingham which was fun, all dope, all safe. I listen to more gospel reggae and soul, Adelaide Mckenzie, Ife, Sherwin Gardner, Beres Hammond…
WG; also check out KMA Reveal he’s a top artist.
JA: Yeah top guy, he’s working on an album too, you can check him on Myspace. Props to Homecut too, looking forward to his album.
CB: The production on the single reminds me of Public Enemy. Who did the beat and is that a sound we can expect from the rest of your material?
JA: A few people have said that. Brutal Artistry Productions, he’s producing most of the album, but being the eclectic guy he is and [the eclectic guys] we are, you can expect a lot of variety on there.
CB: Can we talk about the album? How’s that coming along, when can we expect to hear it? What themes do you rap about on there?
JA: Well, the ‘Jerus and Gentiles’ LP is well on the way, we are hoping for a late summer release God willing, but it is going well.Some of the themes include spiritual dryness, Belinda got a solo on there which will turn heads, we got a dark one letting rip on some fourth dimensional tip. It’s a journey, an insight, its personal experience - a diary so to speak.
CB: Who features? Who does production? Any good tales about collaborations, recording experiences etc?
JA: As I said, Brutal artistry on the Productions and collaborations wise we have some guests on there, all who share the faith: Andy H (First Word) I’ve known him a few years now, and he’s an amazing Turntablist! He was happy to jump on there - sound guy! Pigeon John features on the next single ‘Hibernation’, which is a double A side with ‘Elevation’ by No Pretense ft. Prince Po on the flip. If we had a couple of Gs to fly there, Pigeon was inviting us to go record at his yard and vibe with him...until I pointed out the ‘UK’ part of our email address, he never noticed that but we’ll possibly be linking whenever we get to the US. We got Naryckin – check him on Myspace, he’s a soul singer and gospel choir director from Pennsylvania, a good friend of ours, we’ll be doing some new stuff next year with him and a couple of other guys, recording it over there too, but more later about that.
CB: So you’re collaborating with American artists. Are you hoping to push it out there and to the fans of those artists?
JA: Yes. The UK is a small place really, we get more positive feed back from across the seas - it’s strange! Got some other links happening on our next EP ‘Plastecine’, which is completely different. Got some whole other level going on there and the peeps over there who have heard the first tune for it are going bananas. Looking forward to going over there, got invites to eat Chinese in Philly so you know I’m down!
CB: It’s coming out on the newly formed Don’t Talk To Strangers label. How involved are you with that? What are your thoughts on going so indy?
JA: I’ve been involved in DTTS from the start, one of the original members (and co-owners) working hard to become independent and to progress the music for ourselves and for others. Me, Bane, Muz and Dead have been at it for years trying to get to the stage we’re at. Watson joined later and has been chipping away with us since. Brutal Artistry, Wigz, Spida Lee are all now pursuing progression under the DTTS umbrella. I love being indy, it’s important to us all not to be in charge of anything but our music and to encourage others to up their game to be challenged ourselves, and to see the fruits of our labour being bought and then being recognized and appreciated. DTTS has grown and developed just as we have as artists, and now it’s time to flood the market.
CB: What’s it like for you coming straight outta Yorkshire, a place most famous for its ripper, puddings and dales?
JA: It’s ace. I like it a lot, you can take it for granted quite easily, but I don’t, I hate big cities and 52 lane roads. I had a bad experience in Stratford after Fresh 98 - I crossed a road and bent down to tie my laces then 3 cars emergency stopped. I was in middle of the road! Then me and Bane chilling after that outside the Victoria station and this crazy women tipped a crusty old man out of a wheelchair on us! Give me Batley or Dewsbury any day! No one ever asked me "where you attt???!!" up here either which is a good thing. Not gonna write an album on the topic though.
WG: I don’t tend to talk about geography and where we’re from either that much because I aint that bothered really, I’ve moved all over anyhow, so I try not to let it affect my lyrical content to much, because I want people to connect with it everywhere not just West Yorkshire, Halifax where live.
CB: Cool, well it’s good that you’re repping us in the wider world, we appreciate that! Thanks for the interview, hope the single and album go down well! Round up in a way of your choosing:
WG & JA : Thanks so much for the encouragement, cop ‘Non-Apologetix’ on itunes, Play.com, Amazon etc. Etc. From TUES 31/03/09! Peace to all! Certified Banger for a Bafta! 1
Check out:
Myspace.com/jonnyalpha1
Myspace.com/knewjeruslum
Myspace.com/watsong1
Myspace.com/brutalartistry
Jonny Alpha: We are Knew Jeru’slum: Myself and Watson G on the spits, my beautiful missus Belinda Hards on the vocals, and on the most part, production from Yorkshires illest - Brutal Artistry. We’re from various ends of West Yorks - Hudds, Falihax and Bradford. Knew Jeru’slum is a project we started a couple of years ago really, me and Watson were getting some ideas together, then he and his lass introduced me to Belinda – her sister, and when I was chatting her up I found out Belinda’s an amazing singer too, it all linked there, then we met Miki B and loved what he does plus we all got a love for the gospel, so that’s us.
CB: Whats in the name?
JA: Knew Jeru’slum comes from the new earth, the resurrected earth in the bible after the second coming; we are associating ourselves (and everything we know) with our stakes in heaven. The ‘knew’ part is our knowledge of this and the ‘slum’ part is our recognition that we have some way to go before we get there. We also thought it just sounded dope too!
We’ve had quite a few Jews adding us on Myspace recently. We’re not Jewish, just want to make that clear.
CB: Let’s talk about your new single ‘Non-Apologetix’. What’s the idea behind it? Is it a statement of intent for the rest of your music?
JA: ‘Non-Apologetix’ is kind of an intent for the album. When it comes, peeps who listen in detail will hear stuff they may not agree with - yes, we are Christians, yes, we write about that, but yes, we do write about the same stuff everyone else does –that is – personal experiences, life choices, loves and hates etc -things we spend time pondering about.
Watson G: The name came from the books (Apologetics) peeps write to explain their beliefs, so we went with the double meaning of it, to say look we’re explaining our beliefs but we aint sorry about them, cause we aint got nothing to be sorry for, its just other people come with their preconceived ideas of what a Christian is and straight away think negative things, we’re all about good vibes, we aint hating anyone. Word!
CB: The single features Manchild from Mars ILL. How did that come about? Is Mars ILL a group you listen to a lot?
JA: Mars ILL are dope, Manchild is one of my favourite artists and has been for years now, and Dust is seriously underrated. I emailed Manchild and told him such things followed by the following question: ‘will you drop a verse on this track please?’.
CB: Mars ILL are known for an underground, credible approach to Hip Hop that often has a Christian message. How similar to them are you as a group?
JA: When I started looking through artists with a Christian message, I found few I could actually feel... a lot of its cheesy, preachy, commercial... lightweight to be honest, Mars ILL on the other hand got dirty beats, basslines, and Manchild just keeps dropping magic verses. No one can pigeonhole mars ILL, they make very good hip hop that anyone can listen to and if you listen well, you’ll get educated. Its very important to us to be ourselves in this, to speak about what’s important to us and let people get an insight to our lives, none of that’s any good if its confined to the bottom shelf in a Christian bookshop – who’s gonna hear it then? We make hip hop for all heads, where ever you come from. This single and album contain Christian content, but I don’t class it as ‘Christian hip hop’ at all.
WG: I second that actually, I aint a Christian rapper, I’m a rapper who’s a Christian, so our music just reflects our life like any others, we try stay away from the cheesy and just be honest and real.
CB: Do you listen to a lot of Gospel Hip Hop? Does that influence you at all? Could you recommend any artists?
JA: Not really, I do like some of Pigeon John’s stuff, Corey Red’s tight, Peace 586, Greenjade and Zionnoiz; we ciphered a bit with some of them guys in Birmingham which was fun, all dope, all safe. I listen to more gospel reggae and soul, Adelaide Mckenzie, Ife, Sherwin Gardner, Beres Hammond…
WG; also check out KMA Reveal he’s a top artist.
JA: Yeah top guy, he’s working on an album too, you can check him on Myspace. Props to Homecut too, looking forward to his album.
CB: The production on the single reminds me of Public Enemy. Who did the beat and is that a sound we can expect from the rest of your material?
JA: A few people have said that. Brutal Artistry Productions, he’s producing most of the album, but being the eclectic guy he is and [the eclectic guys] we are, you can expect a lot of variety on there.
CB: Can we talk about the album? How’s that coming along, when can we expect to hear it? What themes do you rap about on there?
JA: Well, the ‘Jerus and Gentiles’ LP is well on the way, we are hoping for a late summer release God willing, but it is going well.Some of the themes include spiritual dryness, Belinda got a solo on there which will turn heads, we got a dark one letting rip on some fourth dimensional tip. It’s a journey, an insight, its personal experience - a diary so to speak.
CB: Who features? Who does production? Any good tales about collaborations, recording experiences etc?
JA: As I said, Brutal artistry on the Productions and collaborations wise we have some guests on there, all who share the faith: Andy H (First Word) I’ve known him a few years now, and he’s an amazing Turntablist! He was happy to jump on there - sound guy! Pigeon John features on the next single ‘Hibernation’, which is a double A side with ‘Elevation’ by No Pretense ft. Prince Po on the flip. If we had a couple of Gs to fly there, Pigeon was inviting us to go record at his yard and vibe with him...until I pointed out the ‘UK’ part of our email address, he never noticed that but we’ll possibly be linking whenever we get to the US. We got Naryckin – check him on Myspace, he’s a soul singer and gospel choir director from Pennsylvania, a good friend of ours, we’ll be doing some new stuff next year with him and a couple of other guys, recording it over there too, but more later about that.
CB: So you’re collaborating with American artists. Are you hoping to push it out there and to the fans of those artists?
JA: Yes. The UK is a small place really, we get more positive feed back from across the seas - it’s strange! Got some other links happening on our next EP ‘Plastecine’, which is completely different. Got some whole other level going on there and the peeps over there who have heard the first tune for it are going bananas. Looking forward to going over there, got invites to eat Chinese in Philly so you know I’m down!
CB: It’s coming out on the newly formed Don’t Talk To Strangers label. How involved are you with that? What are your thoughts on going so indy?
JA: I’ve been involved in DTTS from the start, one of the original members (and co-owners) working hard to become independent and to progress the music for ourselves and for others. Me, Bane, Muz and Dead have been at it for years trying to get to the stage we’re at. Watson joined later and has been chipping away with us since. Brutal Artistry, Wigz, Spida Lee are all now pursuing progression under the DTTS umbrella. I love being indy, it’s important to us all not to be in charge of anything but our music and to encourage others to up their game to be challenged ourselves, and to see the fruits of our labour being bought and then being recognized and appreciated. DTTS has grown and developed just as we have as artists, and now it’s time to flood the market.
CB: What’s it like for you coming straight outta Yorkshire, a place most famous for its ripper, puddings and dales?
JA: It’s ace. I like it a lot, you can take it for granted quite easily, but I don’t, I hate big cities and 52 lane roads. I had a bad experience in Stratford after Fresh 98 - I crossed a road and bent down to tie my laces then 3 cars emergency stopped. I was in middle of the road! Then me and Bane chilling after that outside the Victoria station and this crazy women tipped a crusty old man out of a wheelchair on us! Give me Batley or Dewsbury any day! No one ever asked me "where you attt???!!" up here either which is a good thing. Not gonna write an album on the topic though.
WG: I don’t tend to talk about geography and where we’re from either that much because I aint that bothered really, I’ve moved all over anyhow, so I try not to let it affect my lyrical content to much, because I want people to connect with it everywhere not just West Yorkshire, Halifax where live.
CB: Cool, well it’s good that you’re repping us in the wider world, we appreciate that! Thanks for the interview, hope the single and album go down well! Round up in a way of your choosing:
WG & JA : Thanks so much for the encouragement, cop ‘Non-Apologetix’ on itunes, Play.com, Amazon etc. Etc. From TUES 31/03/09! Peace to all! Certified Banger for a Bafta! 1
Check out:
Myspace.com/jonnyalpha1
Myspace.com/knewjeruslum
Myspace.com/watsong1
Myspace.com/brutalartistry
Monday 30 March 2009
Ghost Interview
Certified Banger: How would you describe your instrumental output? Is it Hip Hop?
Ghost: I think so. I grew up on Hip Hop so I consider anything I make an extension of Hip Hop. I grew up listening to classic Hip Hop from the early 90s so even if my music isn't a classic Hip Hop sound the ethos behind the music is taken from that time, a time when the music was more than just a ringtone, a fad - it was music with passion and soul.
CB: Which do you prefer: creating instrumentals tracks or beats for MCs? How does your mindset differ when you’re doing either?
Ghost: I like to do both, I think over time I've learnt about making music which is probably why more of the recent stuff is instrumental. It's a challenge to make the music interesting without a vocal when you have no formal musical training whatsoever. The important thing is to keep the listener entertained enough without a vocal ‘cause all the attention shifts to the music, you have to add more depth to an instrumental.
CB: What sounds are you currently into using? What records do you look for to find samples – or is that a secret?!
Ghost: No secrets! I look for all sorts, from jazz to rock. When the soul sampling sped up vocal samples boom took off I went the other way.
CB: How do you feel about being compared or likened to artists like DJ Shadow, Bonobo and Quantic?
Ghost: I'm not complaining about that. These guys have made themselves careers out of music so if I can be compared to any of them I'm happy. It was certainly never my intention to sound like anyone other than myself.
CB: Do you listen to music by those guys? Do you think you create music in a similar way? Have any of them ever had an influence on you?
Ghost: I do listen to all of their music and it’s inevitable that some of what other artists do will have an influence on the music you make. I know that the last few years I've not followed anyone else's path and looked to myself for inspiration. I can say honestly I never listened to any of their music whilst making this album.
CB: So what’s with the move to New Zealand? Is that to improve the creative process?
Ghost: A number of reasons, after a very long stint in London I was exhausted! I was living on the breadline all day every day, and life had just become the same old routine. I had an opportunity to do something different and I thought f**k it. I'd actually been offered a place at Uni studying Sound on one of the top courses in the capital but decided that a move away would be better for me mentally. Since I've been here I've felt rejuvenated towards music, people's attitudes are great, very helpful and very very supportive of my music.
CB: So you’re in NZ, from the UK but your album came out first in Japan! Why is that? Do you have a big following over there? Why do you think that is?
Ghost: Haha, yeah I know it's all over the shop. The Japan thing came about cause Breakin Bread licensed my first album over in Japan, I saw an opportunity to license 'Freedom of Thought' and I didn't think twice about it. All of my releases have sold well out there - I couldn't say why I just don't know! obviously I'm very grateful to the labels and fans supporting out there.
CB: Do you think people in non-English speaking countries have more of a grip of what music is actually hot? Do you think they succumb to fads as much as the US and the UK do?
Ghost: That’s a good question, I think that money, power and marketing can do anything anywhere. I've seen first hand that some countries are quite a bit behind on what's 'hot' in the UK and the US, and frankly they have a much better taste in music and how they respect the music and the artists, I hope it stays that way, I don't think it will. But then again you never know, I have my hopes.
CB: What’s the Hip Hop like over in NZ?
Ghost: From what I've seen NZ Hip Hop seems in the same vein as the US market musically. I've been very busy and haven't traveled all over yet so ask me in another 6 months and I’ll have a better angle to answer that from. There are some dope artists though, and some shite, just like you get everywhere. One thing I’ve noticed is that they support there talent here in a big way. Since I started the radio show a month back I’ve got an appreciation for the support artists get out here, it's shocking to think the UK doesn’t support its musical talent like NZ.
CB: Are there any good records stores for digging in?
Ghost: Yeah I got some digging spots, a couple of good ones!
CB: How do you feel about your music being bootlegged?
Ghost: I accept that downloading happens and people get music for free, I’ve given quite a few tunes away free for people to download over the years ‘cause I want to say thanks to the people that support and buy my music. But like I said in my blog the annoying thing for me is the recent music of mine I saw available for download free must have been uploaded from the promos sent out, the promos that are supposed to help you as an artist. It's basically an inside job and that just isn’t good enough, these people should know better.
CB: I agree. What can you tell us about the new album then? Who’s on it? What’s changed?
Ghost: What did you want to achieve by making it? The new album is called 'Freedom of Thought’; it's more instrumental than my first album. It's probably the last album in this style I’ll do for a while. It's a better body of work than my first album in that it's more together, it's a more complete package. The tunes were put together over a couple of years and what was going on for me over that time, a lot of changes in my life. Features on there include two Verb T collaborations, Finale, Jehst and Dubbledge. The sense of achievement I got from making this album was knowing I’d put together a collection of music that complemented each other, that’s just through learning about what an album should be in my eyes. I'm not sure what's changed, I’ll leave that for everyone else to decide. I just hope people see that I put my heart and soul into making this album just like I do with every piece of music I make.
CB: When do we get to hear it then? Will you be doing shows in the UK off the back of it?
Ghost: The album will be out late May early June, I will be doing some shows hopefully in the autumn. As you mentioned I’m away in New Zealand right now, I’m putting together a live show which features me on 2 decks, my laptop and MPC, re-creating tracks from the album. I want to do some show's so hopefully that can happen; sadly it's hard getting good management to organize show's. I've organized a lot of shows for myself, Kashmere and Verb T over the years but it's harder to continue doing all the organizing yourself when you have to juggle music, radio, life etc.
So anyone reading this wanting a show please send me a message!
CB: What other work are you doing at the moment? Have you done any production work on any other albums recently?
Ghost: I haven't done a lot other than my own stuff really. Saying that I’ve already got the album with Kashmere and Verb T, our collaboration project called Invisible Inc, virtually finished and we're just trying to organize someone to put that out, we might end up doing that ourselves it just needs a label to commit to what we're trying to achieve. That album sounds amazing and is a real departure musically from what people know us for doing. It's a shame we have to wait so long for the release ‘cause it doesn’t sound like anything else around at the moment. I've got half an album with Verbs recorded, we'll keep plugging away with that.
CB: How did your work on both albums with Finale come about?
Ghost: Finale is a top geezer, he's been around for a while. I think I met him through an old forum a few of us used to chat on, he was working with Beat Butcha and I just reached out to him and said did he wanna do some vocals for me. He's always been on the ball and dealt with things, I really hope his album puts him on the map, I think it will.
CB: Who are you feeling in the UK Hip Hop scene right now?
My crew Invisible Inc! Anyone who is out there working hard and not being a d**khead I’m feeling
CB: Can you finish off with some life improving hints and tips for all the wannabes out there?!
Ghost: Don't do this thinking you'll make money, work hard, grow a thick skin quickly and make sure you're doing this for the right reasons, enjoy yourself!
Ghost: I think so. I grew up on Hip Hop so I consider anything I make an extension of Hip Hop. I grew up listening to classic Hip Hop from the early 90s so even if my music isn't a classic Hip Hop sound the ethos behind the music is taken from that time, a time when the music was more than just a ringtone, a fad - it was music with passion and soul.
CB: Which do you prefer: creating instrumentals tracks or beats for MCs? How does your mindset differ when you’re doing either?
Ghost: I like to do both, I think over time I've learnt about making music which is probably why more of the recent stuff is instrumental. It's a challenge to make the music interesting without a vocal when you have no formal musical training whatsoever. The important thing is to keep the listener entertained enough without a vocal ‘cause all the attention shifts to the music, you have to add more depth to an instrumental.
CB: What sounds are you currently into using? What records do you look for to find samples – or is that a secret?!
Ghost: No secrets! I look for all sorts, from jazz to rock. When the soul sampling sped up vocal samples boom took off I went the other way.
CB: How do you feel about being compared or likened to artists like DJ Shadow, Bonobo and Quantic?
Ghost: I'm not complaining about that. These guys have made themselves careers out of music so if I can be compared to any of them I'm happy. It was certainly never my intention to sound like anyone other than myself.
CB: Do you listen to music by those guys? Do you think you create music in a similar way? Have any of them ever had an influence on you?
Ghost: I do listen to all of their music and it’s inevitable that some of what other artists do will have an influence on the music you make. I know that the last few years I've not followed anyone else's path and looked to myself for inspiration. I can say honestly I never listened to any of their music whilst making this album.
CB: So what’s with the move to New Zealand? Is that to improve the creative process?
Ghost: A number of reasons, after a very long stint in London I was exhausted! I was living on the breadline all day every day, and life had just become the same old routine. I had an opportunity to do something different and I thought f**k it. I'd actually been offered a place at Uni studying Sound on one of the top courses in the capital but decided that a move away would be better for me mentally. Since I've been here I've felt rejuvenated towards music, people's attitudes are great, very helpful and very very supportive of my music.
CB: So you’re in NZ, from the UK but your album came out first in Japan! Why is that? Do you have a big following over there? Why do you think that is?
Ghost: Haha, yeah I know it's all over the shop. The Japan thing came about cause Breakin Bread licensed my first album over in Japan, I saw an opportunity to license 'Freedom of Thought' and I didn't think twice about it. All of my releases have sold well out there - I couldn't say why I just don't know! obviously I'm very grateful to the labels and fans supporting out there.
CB: Do you think people in non-English speaking countries have more of a grip of what music is actually hot? Do you think they succumb to fads as much as the US and the UK do?
Ghost: That’s a good question, I think that money, power and marketing can do anything anywhere. I've seen first hand that some countries are quite a bit behind on what's 'hot' in the UK and the US, and frankly they have a much better taste in music and how they respect the music and the artists, I hope it stays that way, I don't think it will. But then again you never know, I have my hopes.
CB: What’s the Hip Hop like over in NZ?
Ghost: From what I've seen NZ Hip Hop seems in the same vein as the US market musically. I've been very busy and haven't traveled all over yet so ask me in another 6 months and I’ll have a better angle to answer that from. There are some dope artists though, and some shite, just like you get everywhere. One thing I’ve noticed is that they support there talent here in a big way. Since I started the radio show a month back I’ve got an appreciation for the support artists get out here, it's shocking to think the UK doesn’t support its musical talent like NZ.
CB: Are there any good records stores for digging in?
Ghost: Yeah I got some digging spots, a couple of good ones!
CB: How do you feel about your music being bootlegged?
Ghost: I accept that downloading happens and people get music for free, I’ve given quite a few tunes away free for people to download over the years ‘cause I want to say thanks to the people that support and buy my music. But like I said in my blog the annoying thing for me is the recent music of mine I saw available for download free must have been uploaded from the promos sent out, the promos that are supposed to help you as an artist. It's basically an inside job and that just isn’t good enough, these people should know better.
CB: I agree. What can you tell us about the new album then? Who’s on it? What’s changed?
Ghost: What did you want to achieve by making it? The new album is called 'Freedom of Thought’; it's more instrumental than my first album. It's probably the last album in this style I’ll do for a while. It's a better body of work than my first album in that it's more together, it's a more complete package. The tunes were put together over a couple of years and what was going on for me over that time, a lot of changes in my life. Features on there include two Verb T collaborations, Finale, Jehst and Dubbledge. The sense of achievement I got from making this album was knowing I’d put together a collection of music that complemented each other, that’s just through learning about what an album should be in my eyes. I'm not sure what's changed, I’ll leave that for everyone else to decide. I just hope people see that I put my heart and soul into making this album just like I do with every piece of music I make.
CB: When do we get to hear it then? Will you be doing shows in the UK off the back of it?
Ghost: The album will be out late May early June, I will be doing some shows hopefully in the autumn. As you mentioned I’m away in New Zealand right now, I’m putting together a live show which features me on 2 decks, my laptop and MPC, re-creating tracks from the album. I want to do some show's so hopefully that can happen; sadly it's hard getting good management to organize show's. I've organized a lot of shows for myself, Kashmere and Verb T over the years but it's harder to continue doing all the organizing yourself when you have to juggle music, radio, life etc.
So anyone reading this wanting a show please send me a message!
CB: What other work are you doing at the moment? Have you done any production work on any other albums recently?
Ghost: I haven't done a lot other than my own stuff really. Saying that I’ve already got the album with Kashmere and Verb T, our collaboration project called Invisible Inc, virtually finished and we're just trying to organize someone to put that out, we might end up doing that ourselves it just needs a label to commit to what we're trying to achieve. That album sounds amazing and is a real departure musically from what people know us for doing. It's a shame we have to wait so long for the release ‘cause it doesn’t sound like anything else around at the moment. I've got half an album with Verbs recorded, we'll keep plugging away with that.
CB: How did your work on both albums with Finale come about?
Ghost: Finale is a top geezer, he's been around for a while. I think I met him through an old forum a few of us used to chat on, he was working with Beat Butcha and I just reached out to him and said did he wanna do some vocals for me. He's always been on the ball and dealt with things, I really hope his album puts him on the map, I think it will.
CB: Who are you feeling in the UK Hip Hop scene right now?
My crew Invisible Inc! Anyone who is out there working hard and not being a d**khead I’m feeling
CB: Can you finish off with some life improving hints and tips for all the wannabes out there?!
Ghost: Don't do this thinking you'll make money, work hard, grow a thick skin quickly and make sure you're doing this for the right reasons, enjoy yourself!
Friday 27 February 2009
Marc7 & Soup (ex-Jurassic 5) of Portable Payback
Certified Banger: What’s up Portable Payback?! Thanks for reaching out to me! I’m pretty excited about the project you two have got going on. Let’s talk about it: For those who don’t know; who are you and who were you?!
M: I’m Marc 7 formerly of Jurassic 5
S: I’m Zaakir aka Soup
CB:And what’s in the name Portable Payback? Where did that come from? Is it anything to do with James Brown?
S: Sev came up with the name and I like the fact that it has no hold to it… meaning we can go wherever… It's portable. And I think ALL hip hop has something to do with James Brown.
M: The name came to me one day when I was in the kitchen talking to my wife, I was watching a commercial that mentioned the word “PAYBACK” and I said to myself, “Portable Payback, that’s the name of the group”.
CB: So you literally just dropped ‘Relax’. What’s that all about?
M: We felt like if we’re gonna reintroduce ourselves we’ve gotta put out the hottest single first and let everyone know we’re back, we’re super talented and we’re ready. Soup and I are about to pull a Ghostface and Raekwon on everybody that’s sleeping on us.
S: It just came about for me, the first way we did it was totally different from what you hear now. And it wasn’t like we were trying to make a statement, that’s just where the music lead us.
CB: Did you know Young Einstein had used that same Simon Haseley sample? Is it a bad thing that you both came out with it together?!
S: I found out through a review that we got and my first thought was DAMN (until I
heard it) after that I was like we good. Cause theirs is waaay different!
M: I heard the song and it sounds nothing like ours, in fact it’s a lot faster. Ugly Duckling are all good dudes and I wish them success with their new album.
CB: The single is taken from an EP. What’s it going to be called? What can we expect from that?
M: There’s no name for the EP as of yet but you can expect it to drop this summer followed by heavy touring in the U.S. and Overseas.
CB: Will you be going off in a different direction to your work with Jurassic 5? Will there be things that are kept the same?
M: The sound were coming with in my opinion is nothing like J5 and I think the only thing that will be the same is the work ethic and the showmanship.
S: MOST DEFINITELY ! Only thing that'll look and sound familiar will be me and Sev and that’s where it STOPS!
CB: Soup, I know you sing, will there be more melody with Portable Payback?
S: All day long and I don't care what Seven say. He jus mad cause they don't consider him the “lil Luther” of love!
CB: Your voices are both quite recognisable, a must have in this over-MC-saturated world. Would you agree with that?
S: That and having your own bag!
M: I would have to agree with you 100 percent. Thank god we put in work early and built a fan base.
CB: What are your feelings post J5 as a result of everything – from the group‘s conception to the split, the good and the bad?
M: The good thing is that I enjoyed my time in J5 and was ready to ride with the fellas to the end. The sad part is that the fans were robbed of a proper farewell tour because Chali 2na quit out of the blue in the middle of our 1st euro tour in 3 years to pursue his still yet to be released album.
S: I'll never front on the experience cause that was more than I could have ever dreamt, but the people, certain ones - total frauds!
CB: What were your personal feelings about ‘Feedback’?
M: I thought Feedback had some really great records on it, but there was no push. Also it was a mistake to release the Dave Matthews song right out the gate.
S: I dug it! I felt we were turning away from that "halo rap" meaning "eat your vegetables, look both ways before crossing the street, lets all share in the goodness".
CB: Has your experience with record labels influenced how you intend to progress with Portable Payback?
S: Look, the days of bashing labels are over, its to many ways to do without them. Everything we've done will influence our progress with this movement.
M: Soup and I are in a ownership position now. Our current deal allows us to retain ownership of our masters as well as split profits 50/50.
CB: Have you got any more plans for the near future?
M: I’m still writing films and Soup and I have projects that we’re about to unleash. We’re just excited to get the album out and tour again.
S: We better, but right now this is the spring board. And thank you for being our FIRST and ONLY interview so far. For real, thank you so much.
CB: Well be sure to keep me in the loop! Thanks for taking the time to do this. Are there any things you want to add before we wind up?
M: I just want all the J5 fans to know that Soup and I have love for all you guys and pray that you’ll support us in our new endeavour.
S: Don't expect and look out for what we do next.
M: I’m Marc 7 formerly of Jurassic 5
S: I’m Zaakir aka Soup
CB:And what’s in the name Portable Payback? Where did that come from? Is it anything to do with James Brown?
S: Sev came up with the name and I like the fact that it has no hold to it… meaning we can go wherever… It's portable. And I think ALL hip hop has something to do with James Brown.
M: The name came to me one day when I was in the kitchen talking to my wife, I was watching a commercial that mentioned the word “PAYBACK” and I said to myself, “Portable Payback, that’s the name of the group”.
CB: So you literally just dropped ‘Relax’. What’s that all about?
M: We felt like if we’re gonna reintroduce ourselves we’ve gotta put out the hottest single first and let everyone know we’re back, we’re super talented and we’re ready. Soup and I are about to pull a Ghostface and Raekwon on everybody that’s sleeping on us.
S: It just came about for me, the first way we did it was totally different from what you hear now. And it wasn’t like we were trying to make a statement, that’s just where the music lead us.
CB: Did you know Young Einstein had used that same Simon Haseley sample? Is it a bad thing that you both came out with it together?!
S: I found out through a review that we got and my first thought was DAMN (until I
heard it) after that I was like we good. Cause theirs is waaay different!
M: I heard the song and it sounds nothing like ours, in fact it’s a lot faster. Ugly Duckling are all good dudes and I wish them success with their new album.
CB: The single is taken from an EP. What’s it going to be called? What can we expect from that?
M: There’s no name for the EP as of yet but you can expect it to drop this summer followed by heavy touring in the U.S. and Overseas.
CB: Will you be going off in a different direction to your work with Jurassic 5? Will there be things that are kept the same?
M: The sound were coming with in my opinion is nothing like J5 and I think the only thing that will be the same is the work ethic and the showmanship.
S: MOST DEFINITELY ! Only thing that'll look and sound familiar will be me and Sev and that’s where it STOPS!
CB: Soup, I know you sing, will there be more melody with Portable Payback?
S: All day long and I don't care what Seven say. He jus mad cause they don't consider him the “lil Luther” of love!
CB: Your voices are both quite recognisable, a must have in this over-MC-saturated world. Would you agree with that?
S: That and having your own bag!
M: I would have to agree with you 100 percent. Thank god we put in work early and built a fan base.
CB: What are your feelings post J5 as a result of everything – from the group‘s conception to the split, the good and the bad?
M: The good thing is that I enjoyed my time in J5 and was ready to ride with the fellas to the end. The sad part is that the fans were robbed of a proper farewell tour because Chali 2na quit out of the blue in the middle of our 1st euro tour in 3 years to pursue his still yet to be released album.
S: I'll never front on the experience cause that was more than I could have ever dreamt, but the people, certain ones - total frauds!
CB: What were your personal feelings about ‘Feedback’?
M: I thought Feedback had some really great records on it, but there was no push. Also it was a mistake to release the Dave Matthews song right out the gate.
S: I dug it! I felt we were turning away from that "halo rap" meaning "eat your vegetables, look both ways before crossing the street, lets all share in the goodness".
CB: Has your experience with record labels influenced how you intend to progress with Portable Payback?
S: Look, the days of bashing labels are over, its to many ways to do without them. Everything we've done will influence our progress with this movement.
M: Soup and I are in a ownership position now. Our current deal allows us to retain ownership of our masters as well as split profits 50/50.
CB: Have you got any more plans for the near future?
M: I’m still writing films and Soup and I have projects that we’re about to unleash. We’re just excited to get the album out and tour again.
S: We better, but right now this is the spring board. And thank you for being our FIRST and ONLY interview so far. For real, thank you so much.
CB: Well be sure to keep me in the loop! Thanks for taking the time to do this. Are there any things you want to add before we wind up?
M: I just want all the J5 fans to know that Soup and I have love for all you guys and pray that you’ll support us in our new endeavour.
S: Don't expect and look out for what we do next.
Tuesday 24 February 2009
B'Tol
Certified Banger: Yo B’Tol! We’ve finally got this thing happening! Start us off with telling us who you are and what you do:
B'Tol: Well – the name is B’Tol, I’m a 25 year old emcee and some time producer hailing from the fair metropolis people like to call Bristol! I started writing and experimenting with verse about ’93/’94 – I was at a real mixed secondary school at the time, and it was a real blessing. I was surrounded by and involved in so many different cultures and sounds and somehow Hip Hop found its way to me. I’d kind of heard the standard chart stuff, but my Jamaican mates were giving me Gangstarr tapes, Redman, Hijack, London Posse and early 3PM and Smith and Mighty TDK’s with the almighty Kellogz on and I just kind of fell in love with it. I started off by simply breaking, as my mates would tell me that white boys couldn’t rap! But I started to write on the sly and practice my little 16 bar verses as much as I could, then one day I was invited to my friends in St Pauls to eat in ‘96. To this day I can remember exactly what went on. The 90’s in Bristol were strange times, there was still some racial tension from the St Pauls riots 16 years prior. Paul’s had this air of danger amongst the white outsiders and it was very much a case of there being racial segregation in accordance to regions in Bristol. Also, there were huge tensions between the Bristol born Jamaicans and those who had found their way to Bristol at a later date. I won’t lie, due to the history and what the white lower and middle class folk would talk about, I wasn’t sure… but the moment I walked into my friends house I was made completely welcome. He had three generations of his family under one roof, and there were about 15 of us crowded around the dinner table and the most incredible spread of food I’ve ever seen. His older brothers were friends of Kelz, Chrissy Chris and Lynx, and so after dinner, the whole family crowded round and we chucked on some James Brown breaks and starting breaking in the front room in front of his grandparents! When my mate and his brothers started to rap, I had this little 16 that I’d been practicing for donkeys, so I swallowed my pride and kicked it… and the family went nuts! From there I started to write more, but I’d say it wasn’t until about 2002/2003 I really thought I could start making proper songs and the like. I joined British Intelligence and the rest is set in CD and MP3 with me working with Jagos and the biggest friend and influence I’ve found in hip hop, DJ Rogue.
CB: So what’s in the name B’Tol?
B'Tol: Having been around hip hop culture and becoming a part of it at an early age, it was always the mantra that you should represent were you’re from… So I toyed with different ideas for a long time but never found something that fit. I was given a b-boy name (Freakee Freeze, because strange freezes were always the strongest part of my repertoire!) but it never really stuck. I went under the moniker of Friggy Ballss for a while, but one day I was heading out of Bristol, and noticed on the roads it would say B’TOL M32 or whatever… I thought B’Tol sounded good, it represented my heritage and such, sounded a little like “Be Told” (at the time I was listening to a LOT of old KRS and the whole edutainment thing stuck with me!) and so I took it on. Later, I also found out B’Tol is also a scientific term (for what I don’t know!) and during the 90’s loads of emcee’s were talking about “dropping science”, so it seemed to also represent the era I grew into hip hop, so I stuck with it.
CB: Bristol has quite a rich Hip Hop heritage. How does that affect you now? I know you’ve already dropped a few names but do you have heroes from the early days of the Bristol music scene?
B'Tol: The aforementioned 3PM were the guys who really inspired me at first, especially ‘Better Late than Never’, I had got into Smith and Mighty at a later date – I won’t begin to pretend I was listening to them in the late 80’s, but that was more dub than hip hop per se. Later it was the likes of Aspects, Vertabrae, Fat Club, Souljah Clique, Numskullz, Hairy Parents, Sir Beans OBE, Massive Attack and Portishead to name a few.
Having that kind of calibre of people involved in the scene meant I had no choice but to come completely correct. It’s affected me in the sense that back during the late 90’s you didn’t really have the internet and all that bollocks – the only way you would get noticed was by being fucking good! So I had to make sure I honed my craft and had my own way of doing things – something which I believe is missing from a lot of recent hip hop. That pressure also became a bit of a burden though, and is the reason why I really didn’t do anything properly until after 2000. I kind of put this pressure on myself to try and fit in to the echelons of Bristol music, that bloody cliché that people throw around about the “Bristol sound”, and it was to my detriment. Once I found my feet, and also found that I always got the best reaction when I stopped worrying about the “Bristol sound”, the rest followed.
As a result of that now, I’m working with the likes of Beans and Rola from Numskullz, I can kick it with Kelz and chat to Turroe, people I had real admiration for back in my youth! Maybe there’s a lesson there.
CB: Who else is doing their thing right now in Bristol? Who do you rate for the future?
B'Tol: At this moment in time I honestly think that we have an embarrassment of riches in Bristol. For quite a small sleepy city, there is so much talent and so many unique voices, and the scene is really starting to bubble again. Plus, with the Fat Club ‘Proper Bristol Hip Hop’ DVD getting press in the likes of HHC, I think people are really respecting the heritage this city has and looking to it for inspiration and more progressive forward thinking hip hop, as well as that straight up boom bap or whatever.
A lot of the guys above are still doing their thing, but I’ve gushed enough on them! Right now, I think the best emcee in Bristol, and possibly in the UK is Sir Plus, the guy is a monster! His old spar Terminal as well is ridiculous. Then we’ve got some absurdly good groups/crews coming through – Da Label have got a roster of artists that’s simply ridiculous, with R.E and Ceaze really sticking out for me. Se Fire have taken that quintessential Bristol sound and made it their own, mixing dub elements with drum and bass, Dub step and straight forward Hip Hop. Central Spillz are kind of merging Grime, Dub Step and Hip Hop and making some really fresh sounding tracks. The Swamps are absolutely smashing up anywhere they play. Then you’ve got crews like Mad Method and Project 13 who are about as west country as you can get and have been gigging for donkeys and doing things the right way. With people like Sober and Dribbla, K*Ners, Awkward, Middleman, Jimi Presha, Blacksmith, Ben One, Jagos, Split Pupil, First Degree Burns… I could go on for hours! But each of the folks mentioned are doing things on their own terms and doing it brilliantly, whilst all still coming from the roots of hip hop. I’m also part of a monthly night known as The Hip Hop Lounge where myself and several other guys from the scene are trying to put together a night where every aspect of the cities scene is represented and also have an avenue to network and such, and it’s completely not for profit. The next one is actually Friday 27th Feb and we’ve got Mystro down for it. The future’s bright in this here city.
CB: Tell us about your own work: What have you released that you want people to listen to?
B'Tol: I had some earlier stuff that is now cringeworthy! But the first project I was a part of that I was really proud of was the British Intelligence CD “NOTANMCEP”, a 5 track which we distributed through a massive guerrilla campaign I think in 2003, which ended up in us distributing about 50,000 CDs by leaving them on trains, coaches, buses, in shops and the like with a little comic strip saying to people to simply copy the music, and then leave the CD somewhere else for another person to pick up. It really helped us generate a buzz nationally and we gigged for quite a while on the back of that, but I don’t have a copy anymore! So if any Certified Banger readers have a copy, hit me up! The next project was the British Intelligence album ‘Hole in my Old School’. Sadly, we split up before we could get it out properly, but early tracks were played on Radio 1 and the song ‘Gravity’ won a 1xtra Homegrown vote, and we were getting recognition state side too, with a track getting on a Def Jux mixtape and US DJ Noah Zark playing the tracks quite a bit! That album is now available for free on the old Myspizzle and is a good introduction to me and the way I do what I do.
The project right now, which we released last year is ‘Something’s What We’ve Done’ with the young lad Jagos. It’s a mini-album we put together at the beginning/middle of 2008 and it’s been snowballing slowly since then. To date, we’ve got rid of about 3,500 copies. The track ‘Finish This’ with Da Herbalis’ was included in the first ‘On the Radar’ Compilation, ‘People’ with Koast of Central Spillz has been used by Project 360, has had mainstream radio play in New York, and has also been used in a Bristol Graffiti video promoting the ‘Children of The Can’ publication, and due to the press and such we’ve been getting recently, we’ve whacked it up on Itunes so people can get it a lot easier!
Currently me and Jagos are putting together ‘Something’s What They’ve Done’, the remix album, and we’re almost done - it’s sounding really good – it’s really interesting to give your tracks to other people and see what they take from them and the new direction a song can take simply by changing the beat. Also myself and Koast are rejigging ‘People’ with an assist from Project 13’s incredible songstress Eva Lazarus to make it not just a new beat, but a bit of a neo-soul re-imagining of it, taking it from classic soul to something a bit different and more progressive.
I’m also on Mr Loop’s ‘Bury All’ album, which HHC just acclaimed their homegrown album of the month – specifically the tracks ‘Satisfaction pt.1’ with Yosh, Mudmowth, Vee Kay, Wordsmith, Slippa and Zoo Mark, and ‘Try Again’ with Eva Lazarus. So go check them s**ts out!
CB: Which of your own tracks are your personal favourites? Do any of them have interesting stories behind them?
B'Tol: My personal favourites change! I think ‘Strike’ from the British Intelligence was the first track where I really put an image of myself out there, and it’s definitely one of my favourite verses. “Monolith of the south with a spliff and a stout, politicking in the kitchen while we listen to Strauss, gals I kiss on the couch, til I’m whipping it out, with a smile quick stick this in your clout!” WOOOOOW …” pretty much sums me up! (Although I’m happily wifed up these days).
The track ‘Saturday Night Live’ is a direct result of a gig I had where I was bombarded by an influx of kids who all sounded exactly the same and they all just spat really bad self centred verses at me when I was just trying to simmer down after the show! But it served as an interesting state of play record, and I really believe a lot of folk need to fix up and stop making such insular music that has obvious constraints and discursive issues and embrace different ideas, and different accents! It does seem like there’s a UK Hip Hop voice that a lot of kids have, all using exactly the same slang and perpetuating this kind of pseudo-patois vocabulary… which me and Da Herbalis’ then addressed in ‘Finish This aka Rassclart Rappers’. ‘People’ is just my love song for expression, be it through Hip Hop or whatever, and having that form of release. I honestly believe that if it wasn’t for Hip Hop my life would be altogether different now, having suffered from depression in the past, having issues with substance misuse and tempestuous teenage years, it could’ve been very different, and I’m blessed. So maybe that’s my favourite!
CB: What inspires you to write songs? What is your biggest influence? Do you ever struggle to come up with subject matter?
B'Tol: The thing with me is that I cannot just sit down any old time and write – I need to be captured by something, be it a moment, life, a beat, a word, a book or a news report and some people become I frustrated by that. Of course I COULD just force something out, but I think that’s just a waste. Part of me thinks that maybe my creativity is some finite source that will one day just run out, so I try to be careful, but also I’m quite esoteric, so I believe in creative energies and such. It’s about moments, it being personal, but also relating that to grander themes so it’s not just a song or verse about me, but relating it to human issues and making sure that anyone who hears a song that I make can take something from it. Even if it’s just one line or whatever, then I’m more than happy.
And I also just try to be honest. I think its human nature to open up to something if you can feel its honesty. We’re all humans, and we’ve ALL had relative suffering, and we’ve all had happy moments. That is what makes life so interesting.
CB: What’s your mantra? What do you aim for when making a song? Is it all fun? Can it be dark? What do you think the people want to hear?
B'Tol: I think that due to the way I came up in Hip Hop, and the folks who have influenced me, and the people I’m surrounded by on a daily basis, I have quite a quote unquote “Old School” mentality. I believe in community, I do charitable work with various folks – people like the National Association for Children of Alcoholics and I’ve done youth work in the past. I really believe in Hip Hop as being a positive force. That’s not to say I won’t make dark songs, but it’s really easy to piss and moan about something and point toward things being f**ked up and crazy, but it takes real balls to actually say “well, maybe if we did THIS, we could change that”, and I always try to put that across in my music.
The current project I’m working on is my solo album proper entitled ‘Seeing Self’. It’s based on the theories of Carl Jeung and his work on the conscious and subconscious mind. It also serves as a really interesting way to frame a body of work – in that I can deal with personal issues, and relate them to a much grander narrative. But it is also about knowing yourself and saying that unless you really know what you’re made of, what it took to become the person you are and what social, political or personal issues took place to form the “self”, how can you honestly tell others how to live their lives? We’re surrounded by people who tell us how to live, who use masks and cater to our egos in order to hide what is being unsaid, so I think it’s about time we all took a long look at ourselves, dealt with the things we ALL suppress and maybe, just maybe, something good could come from it.
CB: Is there anything you would avoid writing about? Do you get into politics? Do you like to rap about social issues?
B'Tol: Politics are a really contentious issue – everyone has their own opinions and everyone can point at what’s wrong and get all shaky fisted about it, but as I’ve said, I think it’s about prescribing ideas and saying that maybe things are a bit messed up, but there is always a way out of it, and maybe we could try this. I think it’s also a little sad that we just generally don’t talk about politics that much anymore, it’s become marginalized, and folks would rather just sit playing their PS3’s, moan about the state of the nation or whatever, yet not actually engage in any political debate, or any kind of activism or political forum. Maybe if we all got more involved, actually used our votes and our voices, then we wouldn’t have so much to bloody moan about!
The only thing I try to stay clear of is straight up braggadocio rap – I like my music to have a point. I know I’m far from the greatest person on Earth, and I’m not the best rapper, so I won’t write songs about being the best rapper on Earth or battle bars. I like to hear that kind of thing, but I had my spate of battling and what not. I’m done with that now! Though saying that – doing ‘Satisfaction pt.1’ for Loop was enjoyable as it had been a long time since I’d written that kind of thing… so who knows!
CB: What social or economic issues bother you at the moment? Obviously there are a lot to talk about – there’s the credit crunch, knife crime, kids having kids…
B'Tol: The credit crunch is an obvious one, but I think people need to take a little responsibility for what’s happening. Obviously, the banks hold some of the blame, we’re shown that if we don’t consume on a huge basis, have the latest HD TV or whatever we’re inadequate. But we need to take some of that on our shoulders, because we seemed to believe we could borrow money exponentially and there would be no repercussions, or that the value of property would just constantly increase and there would be no crash!
Then this links back to the whole crime issue and kids having kids… It’s like we’re taught from a very young age that capitalism is the way; that we should consume on a massive scale, and if you don’t, then you’re inadequate. It breeds this whole mentality of one-upmanship, that kind of corporate cut throat stereotype is now beginning to permeate not just the business world, but culture and society in general. Now I’m not saying any of this is justified, but if you’re told that you’re inadequate because you haven’t got the latest Nike SB’s, let alone the fact that you can’t put food on the table, and there’s this whole dog eat dog mentality, then crime becomes a realistic outlet. Further, you’re being told that you need a home, yet you got out of school with few qualifications to your name, and the only realistic avenue you have to earn money is to work some minimum wage job which you’ll never be able to get a mortgage with, you’ll be taxed out the arse and you’ll be broke. But, if you have a child, don’t get a job and such, then you can actually get more money through benefits than if you were slogging it out at some fast food restaurant, AND you get a roof over your head. If you try to look beyond the whole issues of class, whether or not such behaviour is right or wrong or whatever, it’s basic human survival, and as much as we want to judge, as much as the tabloids want to reprimand benefit cheats, crime and whatever, you have to kinda say, “If I was in that situation, what would I do?” It’s easy to judge, but once you’re in that position, we as humans have a strange way of justifying things.
CB: What’s the solution to such problems? Does the responsibility lie with the government and schools? Parents? People in prominent positions such as rappers, sports stars? Who can actually make a difference in your opinion?
B'Tol: I wish it was as simple as saying that there is some hard and fast way to solve things, but there really isn’t. We’ve lost all sense of community in this country – the old folks are scared of the young hoodies, apparently violent crime is on the increase, though there are just as many reports to contest that, we’re bombarded by war and suffering from the media, all our hospitals are dirty s**t holes and apparently a zillion Polish guys are coming over every second to take your women and our jobs. This means we’re being distracted from the things that truly matter in life, the little interpersonal relationships and nuances that make life special. People don’t smile at each other in the street anymore! What’s that about?!?!
But the fact is, we can all blame the Murdoch’s of this world for perpetuating these messages, but we f**king buy into them! We need to start taking responsibility for what is happening. It isn’t the duty of one individual to change the world and right all the wrongs for us, we ALL need to stand up and be counted, be accountable not for our individual actions, but of the culmination of everyone’s actions! Essentially it’s about empowerment – we all can do something do change the world, but it’s easier to sit back, distract ourselves and forget it.
CB: What's coming next from you musically? Will it reflect any of these current issues?
B'Tol: My solo album is in the works at the moment, and I’m getting really excited by it! I’m working with a few artists, some regional, and one or two international, but you’ll have to wait and see on that one!
I’ve just finished a track with Ben One that will be on his release and hopefully my album called ‘4:12’ which I think is my strongest song to date. I’m also putting together a little project called ‘The Cover Charge EP’, which is essentially a covers project – either re-imaginings or rejigs of some of my favourite tracks, and I shall also be singing on it! I just want to have a bit of fun, and I’ll be distributing that for free once it is finished. I shall also be popping up on some stuff with Sir Beans, Central Spillz, Rola, Ben One, DJ Rogue, Mr Loop and Project 13 amongst others, so it is all systems go at the minute.
CB: Is getting radio play, for example on Radio 1, something you want to achieve? Do you think that is necessary for UK Hip Hop? Or should it stay out of the pop world?
B'Tol: I’m lucky in that I’ve already had the privilege of Radio 1 airplay, and I won’t for a minute lie and say it wasn’t a blessing or an exciting time, but I don’t think it is essential. I think people just need to concentrate on the artistry, make songs, beats and albums they believe in, then give themselves the best opportunities they can to make it successful… and success is such a relative thing these days anyway!
I think if you’re making great, soulful music, then it will get heard regardless. Also, if you’re doing it for the right reasons, it becomes less about being a success and more about the message – I’d be just as happy playing to crowds of thirty as to thirty thousand!
Where do you want to take your music? Obviously you want it heard by as many folk as possible. How are you gonna achieve that? What do you think of the current methods people use? Does the internet change that?
Man, I could rant about current methods all day! I think Myspace is a gift and a curse to be honest. When I was a young ‘un the only way to get any recognition was firstly by honing your craft, being involved and making sure you stood out from others, and secondly, being dope! Now someone can make four songs, chuck em on Myspace, get a friend blaster and add 30,000 people and think they’re the shit… where’s the craft? Where’s the open mics, the love, actually getting involved in a community and giving something back?
Then you get the people who do the little bulletins, the popular thing at the moment is Rhianna and Chris Brown. The Bulletin will say something like “Picture of Rhianna’s injuries revealed”… you’ll click on the bulletin, and there’ll be a picture, then that person will imbed their player in the bulletin and the autoplayer will kick in – PING, it adds to the play count! It’s bad enough you need to ride some other c**ts coat tails, but you’ve got 30,000 plays or whatever, yet how many people actually LISTENED? It’s like the only people they’re fooling is themselves.
But, at the same time I’ve heard some of the best music I’ve ever had the pleasure of hearing through Myspace, and met and linked up with some great musicians through it, so I’ve had benefits. For some people also it is the ONLY avenue they might have, so it can become a very powerful thing.
My personal bug bear is when folks use the internet to bemoan things, to cast down something they don’t like. If you don’t like something, move on! Just accept that you may not like it, but to others it could be the s**t. It’s about maturity. I’ve had people talk all kinds of shit to me over the internet, and when I catch up with them face to face, they change their tune pretty quickly! If you held those opinions in the past, then you would say it to someone’s face, it would be dealt with, and it would be done. I’ve had things said, or seen things said about other people that are really unjustified, and if they’d been said to someone’s face, then that person would’ve taken a beat down. People hide behind the anonymity, use aliases and such to cast people down. I’d have much more respect for them if they had the minerals to say it person to person, and they accepted what ever repercussions might come with it.
CB: Have you got any plugs, shouts or thank yous you wanna say before we finish?
B'Tol: Yes! ‘Something’s What We’ve Done’ is now available through itunes, so go have a listen and if you like it then please support! And look out for ‘Something’s What They’ve Done’ coming very soon. A gert big thank you to all of those who’ve supported the project up until now, it means a lot.
Shouts to DJ Rogue – I don’t say it enough, but if it weren’t for that grumpy c**t, I would’ve given up a long time ago. The guy keeps me grounded and is my most honest critic, and is one of the countries best DJs, so fark off!
And to Jo, the Mrs, for always supporting and pushing me forward.
And big ups to Bristol – the city and the artists who are keeping it fresh and interesting and making folks take notice again!
And cheers to Certified Banger for the support and positive words!
Plup plup!
B'Tol: Well – the name is B’Tol, I’m a 25 year old emcee and some time producer hailing from the fair metropolis people like to call Bristol! I started writing and experimenting with verse about ’93/’94 – I was at a real mixed secondary school at the time, and it was a real blessing. I was surrounded by and involved in so many different cultures and sounds and somehow Hip Hop found its way to me. I’d kind of heard the standard chart stuff, but my Jamaican mates were giving me Gangstarr tapes, Redman, Hijack, London Posse and early 3PM and Smith and Mighty TDK’s with the almighty Kellogz on and I just kind of fell in love with it. I started off by simply breaking, as my mates would tell me that white boys couldn’t rap! But I started to write on the sly and practice my little 16 bar verses as much as I could, then one day I was invited to my friends in St Pauls to eat in ‘96. To this day I can remember exactly what went on. The 90’s in Bristol were strange times, there was still some racial tension from the St Pauls riots 16 years prior. Paul’s had this air of danger amongst the white outsiders and it was very much a case of there being racial segregation in accordance to regions in Bristol. Also, there were huge tensions between the Bristol born Jamaicans and those who had found their way to Bristol at a later date. I won’t lie, due to the history and what the white lower and middle class folk would talk about, I wasn’t sure… but the moment I walked into my friends house I was made completely welcome. He had three generations of his family under one roof, and there were about 15 of us crowded around the dinner table and the most incredible spread of food I’ve ever seen. His older brothers were friends of Kelz, Chrissy Chris and Lynx, and so after dinner, the whole family crowded round and we chucked on some James Brown breaks and starting breaking in the front room in front of his grandparents! When my mate and his brothers started to rap, I had this little 16 that I’d been practicing for donkeys, so I swallowed my pride and kicked it… and the family went nuts! From there I started to write more, but I’d say it wasn’t until about 2002/2003 I really thought I could start making proper songs and the like. I joined British Intelligence and the rest is set in CD and MP3 with me working with Jagos and the biggest friend and influence I’ve found in hip hop, DJ Rogue.
CB: So what’s in the name B’Tol?
B'Tol: Having been around hip hop culture and becoming a part of it at an early age, it was always the mantra that you should represent were you’re from… So I toyed with different ideas for a long time but never found something that fit. I was given a b-boy name (Freakee Freeze, because strange freezes were always the strongest part of my repertoire!) but it never really stuck. I went under the moniker of Friggy Ballss for a while, but one day I was heading out of Bristol, and noticed on the roads it would say B’TOL M32 or whatever… I thought B’Tol sounded good, it represented my heritage and such, sounded a little like “Be Told” (at the time I was listening to a LOT of old KRS and the whole edutainment thing stuck with me!) and so I took it on. Later, I also found out B’Tol is also a scientific term (for what I don’t know!) and during the 90’s loads of emcee’s were talking about “dropping science”, so it seemed to also represent the era I grew into hip hop, so I stuck with it.
CB: Bristol has quite a rich Hip Hop heritage. How does that affect you now? I know you’ve already dropped a few names but do you have heroes from the early days of the Bristol music scene?
B'Tol: The aforementioned 3PM were the guys who really inspired me at first, especially ‘Better Late than Never’, I had got into Smith and Mighty at a later date – I won’t begin to pretend I was listening to them in the late 80’s, but that was more dub than hip hop per se. Later it was the likes of Aspects, Vertabrae, Fat Club, Souljah Clique, Numskullz, Hairy Parents, Sir Beans OBE, Massive Attack and Portishead to name a few.
Having that kind of calibre of people involved in the scene meant I had no choice but to come completely correct. It’s affected me in the sense that back during the late 90’s you didn’t really have the internet and all that bollocks – the only way you would get noticed was by being fucking good! So I had to make sure I honed my craft and had my own way of doing things – something which I believe is missing from a lot of recent hip hop. That pressure also became a bit of a burden though, and is the reason why I really didn’t do anything properly until after 2000. I kind of put this pressure on myself to try and fit in to the echelons of Bristol music, that bloody cliché that people throw around about the “Bristol sound”, and it was to my detriment. Once I found my feet, and also found that I always got the best reaction when I stopped worrying about the “Bristol sound”, the rest followed.
As a result of that now, I’m working with the likes of Beans and Rola from Numskullz, I can kick it with Kelz and chat to Turroe, people I had real admiration for back in my youth! Maybe there’s a lesson there.
CB: Who else is doing their thing right now in Bristol? Who do you rate for the future?
B'Tol: At this moment in time I honestly think that we have an embarrassment of riches in Bristol. For quite a small sleepy city, there is so much talent and so many unique voices, and the scene is really starting to bubble again. Plus, with the Fat Club ‘Proper Bristol Hip Hop’ DVD getting press in the likes of HHC, I think people are really respecting the heritage this city has and looking to it for inspiration and more progressive forward thinking hip hop, as well as that straight up boom bap or whatever.
A lot of the guys above are still doing their thing, but I’ve gushed enough on them! Right now, I think the best emcee in Bristol, and possibly in the UK is Sir Plus, the guy is a monster! His old spar Terminal as well is ridiculous. Then we’ve got some absurdly good groups/crews coming through – Da Label have got a roster of artists that’s simply ridiculous, with R.E and Ceaze really sticking out for me. Se Fire have taken that quintessential Bristol sound and made it their own, mixing dub elements with drum and bass, Dub step and straight forward Hip Hop. Central Spillz are kind of merging Grime, Dub Step and Hip Hop and making some really fresh sounding tracks. The Swamps are absolutely smashing up anywhere they play. Then you’ve got crews like Mad Method and Project 13 who are about as west country as you can get and have been gigging for donkeys and doing things the right way. With people like Sober and Dribbla, K*Ners, Awkward, Middleman, Jimi Presha, Blacksmith, Ben One, Jagos, Split Pupil, First Degree Burns… I could go on for hours! But each of the folks mentioned are doing things on their own terms and doing it brilliantly, whilst all still coming from the roots of hip hop. I’m also part of a monthly night known as The Hip Hop Lounge where myself and several other guys from the scene are trying to put together a night where every aspect of the cities scene is represented and also have an avenue to network and such, and it’s completely not for profit. The next one is actually Friday 27th Feb and we’ve got Mystro down for it. The future’s bright in this here city.
CB: Tell us about your own work: What have you released that you want people to listen to?
B'Tol: I had some earlier stuff that is now cringeworthy! But the first project I was a part of that I was really proud of was the British Intelligence CD “NOTANMCEP”, a 5 track which we distributed through a massive guerrilla campaign I think in 2003, which ended up in us distributing about 50,000 CDs by leaving them on trains, coaches, buses, in shops and the like with a little comic strip saying to people to simply copy the music, and then leave the CD somewhere else for another person to pick up. It really helped us generate a buzz nationally and we gigged for quite a while on the back of that, but I don’t have a copy anymore! So if any Certified Banger readers have a copy, hit me up! The next project was the British Intelligence album ‘Hole in my Old School’. Sadly, we split up before we could get it out properly, but early tracks were played on Radio 1 and the song ‘Gravity’ won a 1xtra Homegrown vote, and we were getting recognition state side too, with a track getting on a Def Jux mixtape and US DJ Noah Zark playing the tracks quite a bit! That album is now available for free on the old Myspizzle and is a good introduction to me and the way I do what I do.
The project right now, which we released last year is ‘Something’s What We’ve Done’ with the young lad Jagos. It’s a mini-album we put together at the beginning/middle of 2008 and it’s been snowballing slowly since then. To date, we’ve got rid of about 3,500 copies. The track ‘Finish This’ with Da Herbalis’ was included in the first ‘On the Radar’ Compilation, ‘People’ with Koast of Central Spillz has been used by Project 360, has had mainstream radio play in New York, and has also been used in a Bristol Graffiti video promoting the ‘Children of The Can’ publication, and due to the press and such we’ve been getting recently, we’ve whacked it up on Itunes so people can get it a lot easier!
Currently me and Jagos are putting together ‘Something’s What They’ve Done’, the remix album, and we’re almost done - it’s sounding really good – it’s really interesting to give your tracks to other people and see what they take from them and the new direction a song can take simply by changing the beat. Also myself and Koast are rejigging ‘People’ with an assist from Project 13’s incredible songstress Eva Lazarus to make it not just a new beat, but a bit of a neo-soul re-imagining of it, taking it from classic soul to something a bit different and more progressive.
I’m also on Mr Loop’s ‘Bury All’ album, which HHC just acclaimed their homegrown album of the month – specifically the tracks ‘Satisfaction pt.1’ with Yosh, Mudmowth, Vee Kay, Wordsmith, Slippa and Zoo Mark, and ‘Try Again’ with Eva Lazarus. So go check them s**ts out!
CB: Which of your own tracks are your personal favourites? Do any of them have interesting stories behind them?
B'Tol: My personal favourites change! I think ‘Strike’ from the British Intelligence was the first track where I really put an image of myself out there, and it’s definitely one of my favourite verses. “Monolith of the south with a spliff and a stout, politicking in the kitchen while we listen to Strauss, gals I kiss on the couch, til I’m whipping it out, with a smile quick stick this in your clout!” WOOOOOW …” pretty much sums me up! (Although I’m happily wifed up these days).
The track ‘Saturday Night Live’ is a direct result of a gig I had where I was bombarded by an influx of kids who all sounded exactly the same and they all just spat really bad self centred verses at me when I was just trying to simmer down after the show! But it served as an interesting state of play record, and I really believe a lot of folk need to fix up and stop making such insular music that has obvious constraints and discursive issues and embrace different ideas, and different accents! It does seem like there’s a UK Hip Hop voice that a lot of kids have, all using exactly the same slang and perpetuating this kind of pseudo-patois vocabulary… which me and Da Herbalis’ then addressed in ‘Finish This aka Rassclart Rappers’. ‘People’ is just my love song for expression, be it through Hip Hop or whatever, and having that form of release. I honestly believe that if it wasn’t for Hip Hop my life would be altogether different now, having suffered from depression in the past, having issues with substance misuse and tempestuous teenage years, it could’ve been very different, and I’m blessed. So maybe that’s my favourite!
CB: What inspires you to write songs? What is your biggest influence? Do you ever struggle to come up with subject matter?
B'Tol: The thing with me is that I cannot just sit down any old time and write – I need to be captured by something, be it a moment, life, a beat, a word, a book or a news report and some people become I frustrated by that. Of course I COULD just force something out, but I think that’s just a waste. Part of me thinks that maybe my creativity is some finite source that will one day just run out, so I try to be careful, but also I’m quite esoteric, so I believe in creative energies and such. It’s about moments, it being personal, but also relating that to grander themes so it’s not just a song or verse about me, but relating it to human issues and making sure that anyone who hears a song that I make can take something from it. Even if it’s just one line or whatever, then I’m more than happy.
And I also just try to be honest. I think its human nature to open up to something if you can feel its honesty. We’re all humans, and we’ve ALL had relative suffering, and we’ve all had happy moments. That is what makes life so interesting.
CB: What’s your mantra? What do you aim for when making a song? Is it all fun? Can it be dark? What do you think the people want to hear?
B'Tol: I think that due to the way I came up in Hip Hop, and the folks who have influenced me, and the people I’m surrounded by on a daily basis, I have quite a quote unquote “Old School” mentality. I believe in community, I do charitable work with various folks – people like the National Association for Children of Alcoholics and I’ve done youth work in the past. I really believe in Hip Hop as being a positive force. That’s not to say I won’t make dark songs, but it’s really easy to piss and moan about something and point toward things being f**ked up and crazy, but it takes real balls to actually say “well, maybe if we did THIS, we could change that”, and I always try to put that across in my music.
The current project I’m working on is my solo album proper entitled ‘Seeing Self’. It’s based on the theories of Carl Jeung and his work on the conscious and subconscious mind. It also serves as a really interesting way to frame a body of work – in that I can deal with personal issues, and relate them to a much grander narrative. But it is also about knowing yourself and saying that unless you really know what you’re made of, what it took to become the person you are and what social, political or personal issues took place to form the “self”, how can you honestly tell others how to live their lives? We’re surrounded by people who tell us how to live, who use masks and cater to our egos in order to hide what is being unsaid, so I think it’s about time we all took a long look at ourselves, dealt with the things we ALL suppress and maybe, just maybe, something good could come from it.
CB: Is there anything you would avoid writing about? Do you get into politics? Do you like to rap about social issues?
B'Tol: Politics are a really contentious issue – everyone has their own opinions and everyone can point at what’s wrong and get all shaky fisted about it, but as I’ve said, I think it’s about prescribing ideas and saying that maybe things are a bit messed up, but there is always a way out of it, and maybe we could try this. I think it’s also a little sad that we just generally don’t talk about politics that much anymore, it’s become marginalized, and folks would rather just sit playing their PS3’s, moan about the state of the nation or whatever, yet not actually engage in any political debate, or any kind of activism or political forum. Maybe if we all got more involved, actually used our votes and our voices, then we wouldn’t have so much to bloody moan about!
The only thing I try to stay clear of is straight up braggadocio rap – I like my music to have a point. I know I’m far from the greatest person on Earth, and I’m not the best rapper, so I won’t write songs about being the best rapper on Earth or battle bars. I like to hear that kind of thing, but I had my spate of battling and what not. I’m done with that now! Though saying that – doing ‘Satisfaction pt.1’ for Loop was enjoyable as it had been a long time since I’d written that kind of thing… so who knows!
CB: What social or economic issues bother you at the moment? Obviously there are a lot to talk about – there’s the credit crunch, knife crime, kids having kids…
B'Tol: The credit crunch is an obvious one, but I think people need to take a little responsibility for what’s happening. Obviously, the banks hold some of the blame, we’re shown that if we don’t consume on a huge basis, have the latest HD TV or whatever we’re inadequate. But we need to take some of that on our shoulders, because we seemed to believe we could borrow money exponentially and there would be no repercussions, or that the value of property would just constantly increase and there would be no crash!
Then this links back to the whole crime issue and kids having kids… It’s like we’re taught from a very young age that capitalism is the way; that we should consume on a massive scale, and if you don’t, then you’re inadequate. It breeds this whole mentality of one-upmanship, that kind of corporate cut throat stereotype is now beginning to permeate not just the business world, but culture and society in general. Now I’m not saying any of this is justified, but if you’re told that you’re inadequate because you haven’t got the latest Nike SB’s, let alone the fact that you can’t put food on the table, and there’s this whole dog eat dog mentality, then crime becomes a realistic outlet. Further, you’re being told that you need a home, yet you got out of school with few qualifications to your name, and the only realistic avenue you have to earn money is to work some minimum wage job which you’ll never be able to get a mortgage with, you’ll be taxed out the arse and you’ll be broke. But, if you have a child, don’t get a job and such, then you can actually get more money through benefits than if you were slogging it out at some fast food restaurant, AND you get a roof over your head. If you try to look beyond the whole issues of class, whether or not such behaviour is right or wrong or whatever, it’s basic human survival, and as much as we want to judge, as much as the tabloids want to reprimand benefit cheats, crime and whatever, you have to kinda say, “If I was in that situation, what would I do?” It’s easy to judge, but once you’re in that position, we as humans have a strange way of justifying things.
CB: What’s the solution to such problems? Does the responsibility lie with the government and schools? Parents? People in prominent positions such as rappers, sports stars? Who can actually make a difference in your opinion?
B'Tol: I wish it was as simple as saying that there is some hard and fast way to solve things, but there really isn’t. We’ve lost all sense of community in this country – the old folks are scared of the young hoodies, apparently violent crime is on the increase, though there are just as many reports to contest that, we’re bombarded by war and suffering from the media, all our hospitals are dirty s**t holes and apparently a zillion Polish guys are coming over every second to take your women and our jobs. This means we’re being distracted from the things that truly matter in life, the little interpersonal relationships and nuances that make life special. People don’t smile at each other in the street anymore! What’s that about?!?!
But the fact is, we can all blame the Murdoch’s of this world for perpetuating these messages, but we f**king buy into them! We need to start taking responsibility for what is happening. It isn’t the duty of one individual to change the world and right all the wrongs for us, we ALL need to stand up and be counted, be accountable not for our individual actions, but of the culmination of everyone’s actions! Essentially it’s about empowerment – we all can do something do change the world, but it’s easier to sit back, distract ourselves and forget it.
CB: What's coming next from you musically? Will it reflect any of these current issues?
B'Tol: My solo album is in the works at the moment, and I’m getting really excited by it! I’m working with a few artists, some regional, and one or two international, but you’ll have to wait and see on that one!
I’ve just finished a track with Ben One that will be on his release and hopefully my album called ‘4:12’ which I think is my strongest song to date. I’m also putting together a little project called ‘The Cover Charge EP’, which is essentially a covers project – either re-imaginings or rejigs of some of my favourite tracks, and I shall also be singing on it! I just want to have a bit of fun, and I’ll be distributing that for free once it is finished. I shall also be popping up on some stuff with Sir Beans, Central Spillz, Rola, Ben One, DJ Rogue, Mr Loop and Project 13 amongst others, so it is all systems go at the minute.
CB: Is getting radio play, for example on Radio 1, something you want to achieve? Do you think that is necessary for UK Hip Hop? Or should it stay out of the pop world?
B'Tol: I’m lucky in that I’ve already had the privilege of Radio 1 airplay, and I won’t for a minute lie and say it wasn’t a blessing or an exciting time, but I don’t think it is essential. I think people just need to concentrate on the artistry, make songs, beats and albums they believe in, then give themselves the best opportunities they can to make it successful… and success is such a relative thing these days anyway!
I think if you’re making great, soulful music, then it will get heard regardless. Also, if you’re doing it for the right reasons, it becomes less about being a success and more about the message – I’d be just as happy playing to crowds of thirty as to thirty thousand!
Where do you want to take your music? Obviously you want it heard by as many folk as possible. How are you gonna achieve that? What do you think of the current methods people use? Does the internet change that?
Man, I could rant about current methods all day! I think Myspace is a gift and a curse to be honest. When I was a young ‘un the only way to get any recognition was firstly by honing your craft, being involved and making sure you stood out from others, and secondly, being dope! Now someone can make four songs, chuck em on Myspace, get a friend blaster and add 30,000 people and think they’re the shit… where’s the craft? Where’s the open mics, the love, actually getting involved in a community and giving something back?
Then you get the people who do the little bulletins, the popular thing at the moment is Rhianna and Chris Brown. The Bulletin will say something like “Picture of Rhianna’s injuries revealed”… you’ll click on the bulletin, and there’ll be a picture, then that person will imbed their player in the bulletin and the autoplayer will kick in – PING, it adds to the play count! It’s bad enough you need to ride some other c**ts coat tails, but you’ve got 30,000 plays or whatever, yet how many people actually LISTENED? It’s like the only people they’re fooling is themselves.
But, at the same time I’ve heard some of the best music I’ve ever had the pleasure of hearing through Myspace, and met and linked up with some great musicians through it, so I’ve had benefits. For some people also it is the ONLY avenue they might have, so it can become a very powerful thing.
My personal bug bear is when folks use the internet to bemoan things, to cast down something they don’t like. If you don’t like something, move on! Just accept that you may not like it, but to others it could be the s**t. It’s about maturity. I’ve had people talk all kinds of shit to me over the internet, and when I catch up with them face to face, they change their tune pretty quickly! If you held those opinions in the past, then you would say it to someone’s face, it would be dealt with, and it would be done. I’ve had things said, or seen things said about other people that are really unjustified, and if they’d been said to someone’s face, then that person would’ve taken a beat down. People hide behind the anonymity, use aliases and such to cast people down. I’d have much more respect for them if they had the minerals to say it person to person, and they accepted what ever repercussions might come with it.
CB: Have you got any plugs, shouts or thank yous you wanna say before we finish?
B'Tol: Yes! ‘Something’s What We’ve Done’ is now available through itunes, so go have a listen and if you like it then please support! And look out for ‘Something’s What They’ve Done’ coming very soon. A gert big thank you to all of those who’ve supported the project up until now, it means a lot.
Shouts to DJ Rogue – I don’t say it enough, but if it weren’t for that grumpy c**t, I would’ve given up a long time ago. The guy keeps me grounded and is my most honest critic, and is one of the countries best DJs, so fark off!
And to Jo, the Mrs, for always supporting and pushing me forward.
And big ups to Bristol – the city and the artists who are keeping it fresh and interesting and making folks take notice again!
And cheers to Certified Banger for the support and positive words!
Plup plup!
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