Mr Loop Interview

Certified Banger: Mr. Loop! How goes it?

Mr. Loop: I’m good, nothing to complain about!

CB: First of all tell us, if it’s not obvious, how did you get your name?

Mr. Loop: Well, two reason really – my surname is Lupin, and I’ve always been called Loop as a nickname my whole life, and I make crusty Hip Hop using sample loops…

CB: And now please tell us how you named your album ‘The Bury All’:

Mr. Loop: That’s just another play on words – I’m originally from Canterbury and featured a lot of east Kent artists on the album, and also its kind of ironically arrogant cos I’m kind of a humble dude, haha!

CB: It’s your first album isn’t it, debut as they say. Might we have heard you on anything else previous to this?

Mr. Loop: There are a couple of mixtapes knocking around that I’ve done beats for, there’s a Kojack Brothers mixtape called ‘A Fork & Other Cutlery’. Quite a few people have my beats, but I’m not sure what they’ve done with them to be honest! I did some other stuff before my album that hasn’t actually come out yet, for example I have a beat on the Rapskallions album ‘Slicker Than a Bucket of Snot’, which should be out shortly on the Sweatbox Sounds imprint.

CB: You make the beats on which many MCs spit. Let’s break that down a bit: Why do you make Hip Hop?

Mr. Loop: I’ve always loved Hip Hop since I was a kid, that and funk and soul, and I cant really play any instruments, haha! On the real though I grew up listening to The Pharcyde, Tribe, Gangstarr – all that good American s**t, then got into my uk stuff like Blade, and the UK scene seemed to go from strength to strength with the likes of Low Life Records etc starting up… I just always wanted to either rap or make beats. I tried emceeing – even did it live once, but I don’t really have the right skill set for that… I’d also like to graff, but my painting skills really are s**t!

CB: Are your productions sample based? What do you go for when digging? How often do you find a useable break or loop?

Mr. Loop: I always sample s**t. I love taking something from a different era and flipping it into something completely different that a completely different type of person will feel.

When I’m digging I go for anything that looks interesting. I mean, you got all your classic breaks and stuff, but I like weird s**t as well, like Yodelling records and all that kind of stuff – I’ve got a pretty ‘sample anything’ mentality. I’m of the Lewis Parker school of thought – there’s at least one thing on any record, be it a kick drum, a horn stab, anything that you can sample.

CB: Do you just loop stuff or do you chop it up and switch stuff round? Explain how you dos it:

Mr. Loop: A bit of everything. Sometimes you find something that sounds dope just as a loop and all it needs is a sprinkling of some other melody, a big fat drum pattern and a bass line, but sometimes you need more than that – I loop, I chop, I EQ the s**t out of stuff, whatever sounds good to my ears.

CB: What do you aim for, aside from perfection, when creating the perfect beat?

Mr. Loop: Something that sounds good! Depends really – if it’s a mellow introspective number I want something mellow and introspective to complement the emcee, and if it’s a rowdy jump up joint I want the beat to reflect that and kick you in the balls! I wouldn’t know about creating the perfect beat, don’t think I’ve ever done that, but you just kind of aim for something that sits well sonically. Having said that, Yosh was talking to me the other day about doing a really happy fun beat and getting him to get all Necro on it and chat bout shanking and murking, would be truly jokes!

CB: Which, if there is one, is your favourite track off the album? Which one would you put in a time capsule if there was only digital space for one song?

Mr. Loop: From an emceeing point of view I’d probably say ‘The Middle Path’, I think it’s seriously dope, but from an overall song point of view it would have to be ‘Out on the Razz’ – Lyrics are funny, tune gets people head nodding, it goes down well at live shows, and we had a right laugh recording it in the studio.

CB: Fun is important I think! Which other tune would you put with it? It can be any song in the world ever.

Mr. Loop: That’s a hard question! It would probably have to be ‘If you want me to stay’ by Sly and the Family Stone. Love that tune too much!

CB: MCs: you got loads on your album. How does one go about orchestrating these large manoeuvres?

Mr. Loop: The first emcees I hooked up with were the Rapskallions (Slippa & Zoo Mark). I linked them through Vee-Kay whose studio I was using at the time for a project I was doing. Through them I linked loads more people down in East Kent – Yosh, Humble Pious, J-Soles, Doc Cerberus, Remi etcetra. Also going out and about at shows down there helped me link with people. I managed to get Wordsmith on there ‘cause Vee was mixing the ‘Pursuit of Harmony’ LP at the Sweatbox, and he has Words down there all the time, dude is absolutely sick – that album is gonna be absolute fire when it drops.As for the others – Mudmowth, 777, Beit Nun, Super Dertie, B’tol & Eva – I liked what they did so I did some cyber stalking and asked if they wanted to get involved, and they liked my beats so they said yes.

CB: So the internet’s a useful tool for you. But do you like people stealing your music on the day it’s released? Can you summarise your much debated thoughts on that right here and now?

Mr. Loop: Haha, you’ve obviously seen my rant elsewhere! My thoughts were just that if you like something you should support it. If you want my full thoughts you can find it easy enough by googling!

CB: Yeah I saw all of it! So, what’s the future of music and the internet? I Hope at least CDs never go obsolete, what’s the outlook on physical product in your view?

Mr. Loop: I think they’ll always be a place for CDs (or some similar physical media). Some people like the aesthetics of a physical product, and they make a great promo tool as well. I think having a proper physical product may also increase the amount of value someone puts on something as well. Maybe not, I could be wrong, but I attach more value to something I can actually hold than a stream of data. Maybe I’m just a caveman and need to be dragged into the 21st century!

CB: Nah, I’m totally with you on that one! What shall we all do now that we’ve read this interview with your Hip Hop producin’ self?

Mr. Loop: Er, go buy my album from www.suspect-packages.com – it’s only £6 for the CD… also check out the other artists on Sweatbox Sounds and their projects: Vee-Kay – ‘The Audio Workout’, The Rapskallions – ‘Slicker Than a Bucket of Snot’ (coming soon) and the Yosh EP and Album (also coming soon). Plenty more stuff from myself in the pipeline including a new album which is a kind of collaboration. I’ll let you know more when we’ve finished recording. Apart from that, go out, have fun, enjoy life, and play nice!

Peace

Oh, can I give a shout to big Vee-Kay, The Rapskallions, Yosh, and everyone else I work with.

CB: Yes. Peace.

JC Interview

Certified Banger: Yo JC, how are you?

JC: Yes bruv, I'm good man. Everything is good, just taking a break from studio, trying to cook up some fresh bangers haha. Big up Certified Banger though, if I'm not making music that's where I'm at, reading all the latest hip-hop news brrappppp.

CB: Let's get right into talking about your latest release, the very heavy 'The KHz Project'. Give us the outline of it:

JC: Yes. Thank you for the props, I'm glad you like it. Well all this started back in 2003 about 3 years after I first started making beats. I had an idea and I guess that's just part of who I am; if I want to do something I see it through, and although it's taken nearly 6 years, it's done now, so better late than never. The concept is kinda comical with a serious theme, I basically break into the BBC and hijack the radio, in an attempt to stand up against the commercial garbage music that pours out daily across our airwaves. Funny, but since I started this they are playing loads more decent independent music now, but still not enough, so it's kinda relevant still.

CB: There are some fairly well known guests on there. How did those collaborations materialise?

JC: Mostly, they had heard of me through my work with Hoodz. I have a lot to thank Hoodz for, and working with them proved mutually beneficial because just as they were waiting and waiting for years for the right producer to come along to bring out their energy with the right beats, I was propelled into a position where people knew me for something, so if it wasn't for Hoodz, none of the collabs would've happened, I'm sure of that. So big up the HU all day.

CB: In my opinion you made a significant contribution to the overall sound of the Hoodz Underground album ('Bringin' it Back'.). How did you develop that sound that is still evident on your new release?

JC: Thank you, that's a big compliment. I really just try to inject energy into my music. Music should stir up emotions, that's how I feel. See with the Hoodz, the type of beats they would select would be the hype beats, the ones with a lot of energy which gives them the perfect platform to express their collective rowdiness, because, as anyone who has witnessed a HU show will tell you, they definitely like to bring the ruckus. On this record, I like to think I've expanded on the range of emotions involved, so you have some hypeness, some really chilled relaxed beats, and some kinda conscious melancholic beats also.

CB: How do you work when it comes to MCs using your beats?

JC: It depends, I mean on this record I had much more control and in most cases the artists were looking to me to provide the concepts, so that was exciting for me. I had to sketch an outline of where I wanted certain tracks to go, and then it was left to the artists to paint in the lines. In some cases, tracks just evolve on their own, that's what happens when you deal with artists who are talented - they are able to bring beats to life on their own, so in some cases, it was a natural process. Of course it's different when I sell a beat though, I'm not really looking to have any kind of input on that front, I'll leave that side of things down to the artist.

CB: Which tracks are your favourites from KHz in terms of your production? And which are your favourites in terms of the rappers' input? Which tracks are receiving the most buzz?

JC: I like ‘Judgement Day’, I think that is the stand out track and that is really the one that most people are feeling also. I thought it all came together really well. I laid it out like it could be a story, but it came back as a bragging rights track from the rappers, and Leona killed it off with the hook. That's the one right there. I also like the title track KHz because I like the energy it brings, and I like ‘The Day’ because it sums up where we're at right now with the struggle we have to go through in this game, R.C kills it with the line "then they stack us at the back, hoping we won't chart".

CB: You're giving it away for free. How come? What do you hope to gain from that? Is it a feasible business model?

JC: Well this is the kind of thing I'm talking about. As an artist, the biggest hurdle is building your name. I don't have no major label backing me, I don't have a marketing budget, I don't have a street team or a management company who are paid to push the name. It didn't make sense to go with a hosted service and do a full digital release, or even a physical release charging people for the product when no one really knows the name. In that sense, this is a chess move and after spending nearly 6 years and thousands of pounds of my own cash money on something just to give it away for free, no one could accuse me of not paying my dues. I just hope people feel the music, that's the bottom line. This is here to entertain people, if I do that, I hope I'm on the way to building my fan base and being in a position where people could see themselves going out to HMV to pick up the next JC album, knowing that they are going to get good entertainment for their hard earned cash.

CB: Some folk like to know stuff like this: What equipment do you use and what process do you go through when making a beat? What do you think about when creating?

JC: Well right now I'm using a MacBook running Logic Pro. This was a gift from my very amazing super generous and supportive wifey so I have to just big her up for that. It's an upgrade from my previous Mac which is really on its last legs. I was using an MPC before that too but I ran into some financial difficulty a few years back and it was a choice of either getting evicted or selling that, so I tearfully parted ways with it. I hope to get one back at some point though, dope drum machines. I don't really think too much about ideas, if I hear something, and I can see potential in it, I'll try it out. Sometimes it doesn't come off, other times you stumble across something better trying out something else, it's all just part of the fun of beatmaking. I really like to make loops out of stuff, so it sounds like a loop, but actually isn't. A lot of my production revolves around that theme. Instead of just taking a loop, make your chops sound like you've all you've done is just taken a loop, that way it sounds natural, but is also quite clever. Simple and clever, that's the key.


CB: You're from Sheffield. What's it like in Hip Hop terms? I think I remember an open mic night being featured on TV once, were you there?

JC: Next question! Sheffield is dry mate. There's talent about but the scene is difficult and no one is really putting hip-hop shows on no more. A grime artist would get a slot over a hip-hop artist now, standard. In September time when all the students arrive there are a few things going on, but that's only for one or two months a year. Lame really. I remember the show, it was Jahnell and T4 who did that, as he's from Sheffield and he wanted to get us some exposure. Maybe he can get some of my beats on TV? Jonny? You reading this?

CB: Could Hip Hop in the UK survive if London was razed to the ground and was never rebuilt? Where would UK's Hip Hop capital be if that happened?

JC: Tough to say, I think maybe Birmingham or Notts would have to take the throne. Manchester can keep the dubstep cup though!

CB: You work with some artists local to you on 'The KHz Project'. Who are they and can you tell us more? Can you recommend any underground or up-and-coming artists?

JC: Yeah there's a lot of talent in SY. Big up Taurus go check him out, VenDetta is a dope rapper from Sheffield who really needs to get writing and recording, Tef is based in Doncaster and is part of Figgaz of Speech, there's Leona who featured on ‘Judgement Day’ who is now in a group called Bad Habit, there's a few cats doing their thing man, it's live-o up in SY, don't sleep. Joe Gutta lives near Doncaster too man, and he's cold, big up the UN all day.

CB: What does the rest of 2009 hold for you as a producer?

JC: Really just looking to move forwards, get to work on a full album, get started on a dual production project with my man Taurus, maybe get asked to do a few remixes, and sell a bunch of beats along the way. If you are an artist looking to get some fresh beats just hit me up on the email which is jc.productionz@gmail.com, and we can get it crackin’. Eventually I want to score film and do advert music and things of that nature, so I do think outside the box… occasionally!

CB: Any last words?

JC: Yeah thanks for taking the time out to ask me some questions, thanks for the support, thanks to everyone doing their thing to help me, you all know who you are and your help is appreciated more than words can say. If you contributed in any way to the making of The KHz Project, thanks to you, you all made it happen and hopefully I can build from here on out. Look out for me in the 09. Peace

JVF Clique

Certified Banger: So, where are you coming from? Part of the world? Tell us about it – in general and with regards to Hip Hop, and what mentality do you have when creating the rap music?

JVF: Well we’re from Hinckley town, Leicestershire, The Middlelands, UK. A-past-it’s-best market town where a lot can take place in efforts to stem boredom. Back in the 90's there was a Pirate radio scene but it the DTI squashed it, most of the town now is beer and poppy dance music but there are a few heads that keep a music scene alive. We try to keep our music non-stereotypical and original; we always try and experiment, push the boundaries and find new angles, aiming to give the listener a new viewpoint of reality, and not a load of bollocks about flash cars and jewellery. We have always been very self-critical which can create obstacles but does create a quality end product we are all happy with.

CB: How seriously do you take Hip Hop?

JVF: Most of it not at all, a lot is pure bulls**t, there are many quality acts out there but the average listener has to search them out. We mostly try to tackle serious subjects not serious bulls**t, but you do need something to make you smile occasionally.

CB: How do things work creatively when you’re working as a group? Is it difficult and do you ever fall out?!

JVF: We used to fall out, but we've known each other since we were at school and been working on music together for 14 years so we just about know what each other like. We all have our own interests/preferences but also know we can get results by allowing each other room to be creative.

CB: Name 5 essential things needed for a rap group to survive and succeed:

JVF: Originality, self Belief, dedication, an open mind, a healthy sense of paranoia.

CB: You’ve got an album coming soon. What’s it called and what are going to be the best things about it?

JVF: Yeah, the album’s dropping this March, It’s called ‘Alternative Income’. We’ve been working on it a while now. T he best things about it?Probably it’s diversity. There are a lot of different beats, rhymes and subjects from new angles. It's a breath of fresh air; it's the arrival of the mothership on the music scene. Hopefully there’s something on there for everyone.

CB: How will you follow the album up? More work, releases, shows…?

JVF: We're already putting together our next project entitled ‘ Founders Of The Feast’ EP. So watch out for that! We’ve also got a couple of collabos up our sleeve, including the soundtrack project entitled ‘Fulci Lives’, an UK/Italian/Russian production, but all in good time. ‘Alternative Income’’s release is the priority at the moment but we’ll keep heads fully up to date at our website : www.jvfradio.com

CB: What do you all do outside of Hip Hop? Can you give us a glimpse into your lives so that people don’t get the wrong impression about UK Hip Hop?!

JVF: We're just 4 buds trying to make an average living; you'll hear more details on the album.

CB: How do you see Hip Hop coping with the regression and the ‘credit crunch’? Will there be any effects – positive or negative?

JVF: Hip Hop breeds off bad times, as unemployment rises so will the listening to real Hip Hop, sales will undoubtedly be pushed to new lows but this should affect the majors far more than Independent labels, good music will prevail... and it'll be cheap.

CB: When and where will the album be available?

JVF: The album drops in March 2009. It will be available at our website, you can pre-order it now, and all good digi download sites – I-Tunes, CD Baby, Napster, etc,etc,etc. It will also be available on your local high street, as long as it’s still there! Big shout to all who have supported us!

CB: Any last words?!

JVF: And to everyone who hasn’t heard us, hear what we're all about at www.jvfradio.com