Hey, I hope you all had a good weekend – I did! Therefore, I am going to kick off with some good news this week. Hackney hip-hop artist Mikill Pane, who has worked with Ed Sheeran and Example, signed to Mercury Records last week. He announced the news via his Twitter and Instagram accounts, saying: “I moved to a new planet today. Proud to announce that I am now signed & I’m on Mercury Records…”
Mikill is said to be finishing his debut album ‘Blame Miss Barclay’,which we should be hearing before the end of this year. Congratulations!
Plan B has been nominated for the Mercury Music Prize shortlist for his third album, which was also the Ill Manors soundtrack – making history as the first ever soundtrack to get a nomination. The judges have praised the soundtrack to his film of the same name, calling it “a brilliantly visceral soundtrack to an angry, troubling and harsh picture of life on the underside of London in 2012.”
Fekky,who previously teamed up with DJ Whoo Kid to release his ‘Come On Den’ mixtape, recently released his video to ‘Bang’ featuring Young Spray and Frisco. He also announced that he will also be working on a joint EP with Slic Vic and has a track with Wretch 32 in the pipeline. Meanwhile, Young Spray took to GRM Daily to release a net video to ‘Away’ – a heartfelt track from the ‘Hard To Kill Vol.2’ mixtape.
Jaja Soze recently released his album ‘The Last Message’. He also dropped the video to his track ‘Street Paradise’, an inspirational jam; which hears him say: “The urban scene just gets nervous every time I speak and when they see me it gets worse they try and kiss my feet.” Jaja also joined Geko for his latest track ‘Slideshow’.
Play Dirty’s Yungen gave us the hard new track ‘Rapstars’, which hears him talks about the life he lives – “independent life no label.” The track is produced by Steel Banglez; sounding like an interesting fusion of rap, rock and electro.
Clixx brought us a beautiful live acoustic version of his second single ‘Only If You Want’, which features singer Jermaine Riley and is from the ‘XX’ mixtape. We should be hearing some new material from Clixx soon; he is definitely one to watch.
Last week K. Koke shot the video to his first official single featuring Maverick Sabre from his ‘I Ain’t Perfect Album’. Speaking on K. Koke’s online TV series, Maverick Sabre said: “I love universal music, music that can connect with everybody no matter what genre. I think there have only been a few rappers over time that can do that well.
“I think the best way through hip-hop you can do that is through pain and struggle. Everybody can connect with that to a certain level. People speak to the people.”
Dru Blu formally known as Don Strapzy is the rapper hailing from Lewisham, South London, who has steadily over years been making a name for himself in the UK rap game. The want to turn his life around is what made him get into music and take it seriously, becoming an inspiration to others. His debut album ‘Fingers Crossed’, is set to be released later this year with features from Young Mad B, King Zion, Professor Green, Davinche and The Thundacatz to name a few. Shireen Fenner talks to Dru Blu about his name, being from South London the message behind certain songs, the UK rap game and more.
Where did the name Dru Blue come from?
My names Andrew and I’m from Lewisham, which is also blue borough. It’s quite simple, that’s it.
Why did you change the name from Don Strapzy to Dru Blu?
I changed my name because it was holding me back, there were to many political problems with that name. I couldn’t get certain shows, and DJ’s weren’t supporting. I just changed it before I got bigger and it became more of a hurdle.
What was it like growing up in South London?
It’s my home, it was good, it was all right, I’m not going to lie. Of course it was a bit rough at times but that’s what makes me who I am.
Do you think its influenced you music, life and beliefs today?
Yes of course. Things I’ve seen and things I’ve been through influences me and what I write about. Most of my memories are within South London.
Tell us about your involvement in MC contests around South London.
When I was growing up when I was in school, I used to clash certain people, and go to youth clubs and that all over South London. It was quite competitive, but it was good.
You write some thought provoking songs such as ‘Survive’ and ‘She’s Gone’ so what is the motivation behind them, and are they based on real events?
‘She’s Gone’ was because I lost my niece, my sister’s daughter, which was a very emotional time and I used that to write about it. The verse was about a girlfriend, which was just so more people could relate to it. The tune was dedicated to my sister and daughter. ‘Survive’, was because it was a cold winter and you always see homeless people on the streets, and it made me realise how lucky we are. A lot of us complain about how hard life is sometimes, but were very lucky really. There’s people out there that are struggling much harder than us, so that’s what it really was, ‘Survive’ was for the homeless people and we did it for the charity Broadway, and just gave everything to them.
Thematically what does your music talk about normally?
I’m quite versatile, I talk about a lot of stuff, sometimes banter or it might be more emotional deep stuff, also football people know me for my football I love football. There’s a new dream team coming out soon as well. I prefer to write about more emotional stuff
What was the first hip hop song you ever listened to?
Ohh flip. Probably Eminem to be honest, Jay Z I can’t really pinpoint it.
Music means something different to everyone, but what does it mean to you?
It means hopefully the opportunity to get rich. Other than that music is life, everyone listens to music, whether your rich and your famous or your poor and your struggling, you still listen to music. It’s a worldwide language, it doesn’t matter how you’re living your life. Music is very important to me; I would listen to it even if I wasn’t a rapper. It’s a way for me to vent my stresses and express myself.
If you weren’t doing music, what would you be doing?
I’d be out here, probably have to go and get a job somewhere. I used to do football which I still like, I got my coaching badges so I’m qualified as a football coach, so I’d probably be doing that. I used to do it before music.
What was your dream as child growing up?
To be a professional footballer
You’re using your music to try and turn your life around, but why?
I’ll be honest, I was going down bit of a bad road at one stage in my life, when I was in school and just come out of school. A lot of my friends are in jail and some of them are dead, and it’s like music was my chance to change my life around. At one point I couldn’t go to certain areas, there was people that I had issues with over stupid things, and now through music I’ve managed to link up with a lot of people from a lot of different areas. It’s given me a career path, I’m serious about my music, it’s realistic to me. If my music wasn’t going anywhere I’d be the first person to say it’s not working and go and get a job. It gives me something to focus on and concentrate on, and get away from the roads. Instead of sitting on the block and doing nothing, I’m here doing a video shoot.
Do you class yourself as a role model?
It would be nice to be looked upon as a role model, but that’s a lot of responsibility, I wouldn’t describe myself as a role model, everyone is human and can make mistakes. It would be nice to influence young children and other people for positive reasons. I want to be rich, I don’t know if I want to be a role model. It’s a lot of responsibility, when your out there you have a responsibility to your listeners to act in a certain way.
If you could work with anyone, who would it be?
Jennifer Lopez or Alicia Keys, nah I’m joking. Musically Adele or Jay Z as a rapper or Eminem, other than that Coldplay. I’ve worked with the majority of UK rappers. I rate Exo from USG I like the way he moves and his music.
How do you see the UK rap scene progressing?
It seems very healthy at the moment and it’s progressing well. It’s in a good state, and its important to artists like myself to cross over soon. It’s very congested at the same time, you have to look at yourself and separate yourself. People from overseas are watching us.
Who would you predict as the artists that will crossover?
K Koke is signed to Roc Nation and has got a big buzz. Benny Banks is doing well; his last single did really well. Cashtastic. There is a handful of artists who I think are on the fence, and this is a very important year and will show who’s ready.
What can we expect from you next?
This is an exclusive for you lot. I got one single “Living The Dream’, which is releasing in Australia. Warner Australia wanted it. I got my ‘Let Me Loose’, single dropping in June, I shot the video the other day so that will be out on TV in a couple of weeks. My next single is featuring Professor Green, I don’t know when that will be, but there’s loads of stuff coming. Just keeping busy, my name will be popping off anyone who wants to know about my name change just YouTube Dru Blue vs Don Strapzy to find out why.
In last week’s column I gave you some info on Professor Green’s Twitter rants. This week, he and Akala went head-to-head with one another on the social networking site. Pro Green hit out at Akala after he used him as an example of white rappers depicting black culture in music, referencing Pro Green’s ‘Jungle’ negatively. Akala threw Maverick Sabre’s name in, who featured on the track, during the heated twitter discussion which led him to release a statement – read more here…
Clement Marfo also went on Twitter to show his frustration at his record label recently, explaining that him and his band The Frontline’s album should have been released last autumn; yet there is still no release date. He then leaked five of his album tracks for free to his fans.
Last Monday I headed down to the Jump Off Finals at Scala, London. The MC battle was a very close one, but in the end Tenchoo was the winner of the 5K prize. The producer battle wasn’t quite as close and most people had decided on the winner Loko (Black Ice) from the first round. Dance crew Prototype won the 10K prize, the biggest of the night. Congratulations to all of the contestants for getting so far.
Squeeks has been releasing a lot of visuals this month; this week alone he has put out two. The first one is ‘Meet K’ where he talks us through a story of a female. The second one ‘I Got You’ was released yesterday and is a refix of The Weeknd’s ‘Rolling Stone’ – it’s definitely one for the ladies!
Wretch 32 released his freestyle ‘Drinking In The Sky’ featuring Chip, giving us a teaser of what to expect from his mixtape ‘Wretchercise’ the next day. This was his first full-length project in a year since his album ‘Black & White’. I have to say every one of the 17 tracks on it is strong and makes me excited for his next album.
SN1’s Gunna Dee also tells us why he likes ‘Bad Girls’ on the first video from his ‘Happy Hustler’s Day’ mixtape. The track features Angel who gives us a catchy hook.
There was said to be an interesting mixture of people in the studio last week as Shystie, Scorcher, Exo and Red Skull Beats joined Vince Kidd for what I believe will be a remix of one of his tracks – as usual, keep your ears and eyes peeled ‘til next time!
To kick this week’s Rap Rundown off, lets talk gossip. Professor Green went on a bit of a Twitter rant last week, lashing out at his label, writing: “Why would your own record label hinder you? Answers on a postcard.” He then went on to say “Dignified silence is pointless. A rushed second single, the ‘Remedy’ video a month late and now similar problems with the ‘Avalon’ video unfold…”
Answering some people’s tweets, he added: “Just to reiterate something for the stupid, my problem isn’t that they take that money, it’s that there are people not working for it.” Obviously he was frustrated, but he did point out that “there are a lot of people who are amazing at their jobs @ EMI.” I think Pro G was just about to quit smoking and was rather stressed at the time, so maybe his label won’t take it to heart!
London has been buzzing with energy and major events since the Olympics began. On Saturday I went down to Puma Yard in Brick Lane to catch one of my favourite bands, Clement Marfo + The Frontline. They wowed the crowd yet again, bursting with energy and getting us all moshing. Professor Green headlined the gig; but we got a surprise as Usain Bolt turned up to DJ with Manny Norte. I also attended the RWD x Adidas party, which was at a secret location in Shoreditch. Performances there came from Wretch 32, Scorcher, Bashy and more…
The USG team have kept the tracks coming strong, with Squingy releasing a track featuring Preecha entitled ‘Everyday’. Their youngest member Geko also released a net video for the track ‘Life Ain’t Easy’. It’s safe to say that the team are definitely putting in the work.
With the Olympics closing ceremony taking place and the Paralympics due to start, Calibar showed some love for his hometown, giving us ‘It’s A London Thing’ featuring Splurgeboys. We also saw an SB.TV Warm Up Session from him over the ‘Stay Schemin’ beat, where he spat: “Excuse me for being late on this beat, I’ve been away for half a year, meeting after meeting just planning my career.”Squeeks talked about the developments in his music career when he dropped the visuals to ‘Changes’. Political Peak had a similar theme in mind as he talked progress and perseverance on his new track ‘Tables Turned’, which is the first track from his forthcoming mixtape ‘Dreams 2 Reality’ which will be available on September 1.The rapper everyone has been talking about, J Spades, has been in the studio with Tinchy Stryder and they have already shot the video to their new track titled ‘Lead Role’ – make sure you watch out for that one coming soon!
Last week I informed you that Tim Westwood had put in a complaint to YouTube to have the Mic Righteous ‘Sack City’ audio track removed. Mic didn’t let this bother him, because on July 31, he released the music video he had filmed whilst out in Ayia Napa for Fire On The Beach. The ‘Sack City’ video was filmed by SB.TV and included cameos from Wiley, Mz Bratt, Sneakbo and more. The video has now been made private; now the question is – is this due to another complaint from Westwood…
Now it’s time to look at the standout tracks and videos from last week. The first thing to catch my eye was Haze’s ‘Freedom Writers’ featuring Renee Soul, Mike GLC, Logic, and Cerose. The track is a powerful one and comes from the ‘Loyalty. Honor. Respect’ mixtape from Haze.
Ard Adz and Sho Shallow really are putting in the work, as I’m seeing a lot of new tracks and visuals from them. Their recent one ‘Love Live Life’ is a reflective and thoughtful track from the South London rappers.
London Ivy worked with respected producer Nutty P for his brand new track ‘Do You Wanna Ride’, which will be on the rapper’s forthcoming free project ‘C.A.R.C.D’ (The Conquer and Rule CD).
UK rap maestro Sneakbo joined Vybz Kartel to provide the first remix of Orange Hill’s new single ‘Pon Time’, giving the track a homegrown flavour.
North London rapper Squeeks is the second person on the GRM Daily website to release a Daily Duppy. He uses the numbers 1 to 10 in some of his first bars, showing off his lyrical skills. Meanwhile, Young Spray talks us through how he has become the man he is today on the new track ‘Came Up’ which is the first release from his forthcoming album‘Hard 2 Kill part 2’, set to come out on August 27.
Influential artists Akala and English Frank have joined together for ‘Educated Tug S**t’. The message behind the track? If you’re not educated and have no principles, street reputation and living a gangster life means nothing. The video shows clips of the ‘Spartan Fam’ exercise group in the background, with the rest kept simple.
Lastly this collaboration is the one that’s been on many peoples lips for the last couple of months. Was it going to happen? It seems the answer is yes as a 17-second teaser was released on the Benny Banks official channel. ‘Who’s The Daddy’ featuring Dappy should be released in full in the next few weeks – keep your eyes and ears peeled!
I’m back to give you what’s hot in the world of UK rap for the week. I went down to the premiere of Ice-T’s docufilm Something to Nothing: The Art of Rap and also to K. Koke’s video shoot for his track, ‘The Only One’. There have been some hot releases out this week too…
Tracks that caught my eye this week went to USG’s boss man Squingy, who released the visuals to his track ‘Find A Way‘. The production of the mini movie showed that Squingy is an artist in more ways than one.
Lady Leshurr and Paigey Cakey released a net video ‘Dam City’. As always with Leshurr, her energy was on point – you can always see her passion for what she does in every video. PDC’s Jaja Soze was joined by Diamond to rework the classic Warren G and Nate Dogg track ‘Regulate’, for ‘What If’, stimulating and empowering minds.
The official theme song to the Offenders film was also released courtesy of English Frank and featured Anamate. The film will be released in the cinema on August 8and stars English Frank, G FrSH and Scorcher – it is definitely worth a watch.
Thursday saw the European premiere of Something From Nothing: The Art of Rap at the Hammersmith Apollo. I spotted many UK rappers there such as Sway, Wretch 32 and Jehst. The film itself took us back to the roots of how elements like battling started and talked business and the technicalities of rap. It was light-hearted throughout and very entertaining, with cheers erupting everytime a hip-hop legend graced the screen.
I went down to K. Koke’s warm up video shoot for ‘The Only One’ on Saturday in Hackney. Turning up at 3pm there were so many people there, showcasing the respect and love there is for Koke – artists such as Margs and J Spades were also present. The video itself included some very nice cars, motorbikes and of course lots of women!
I spoke to K. Koke briefly about the shoot and he said: “today is my video, it was in the hood, out of the hood, we brought the hood to another hood. This is going to come out before my first single.” Keep your eyes peeled for that one! Until next time…
Speech Debelle is back with new album Freedom Of Speech, an engaging journey through her life, full of energy and attitude, following her debut album Speech Therapy, which won her the acclaimed Mercury Music Prize 2009.
Her soulful, raw and organic music speaks on personal, social and spiritual issues.The 28-year-old from south London is wise and this shines through. She wants her voice to be heard, not only as an artist but as a representative for her peers, and has visited Number 10 and Parliament to promote opportunity and equality. Flavour gets the lowdown on Speech Debelle, her voice and speaking out…
For the people who may have forgotten about you, tell us who Speech Debelle is?
I am a rapper, that’s who I am. I’m a Piscean, I’m 28 and I’m a chef. I make music with organic sounds, with bass and trumpets and strings.
You won your Mercury Prize in 2009. What’s been going on since?
I’ve been touring and making the second album. I took a little bit of a break, went on holiday, chilled a bit and ate some seafood on the beach. I basically went from my day job to TV, then TV to touring.
You have been involved with some social and political issues over the past years. Why is it important for you to become involved and speak out on certain issues?
It’s important for exactly the same reason that people go to the hairdressers or barber shop. It’s exactly the same, except I’m doing it mainstream, as opposed to doing it in the hairdressers on a Saturday afternoon. I think it’s part of my culture to talk about the society in which I live and to voice my opinion, and to expect to be heard.
Some of your work has been quite personal and political, who do you think listens to your songs?
People that like emotive music. There are young people, there are older people that just like organic music.
You write your music in hindsight rather than at the time of an event. Why do you feel it’s important to write afterwards and not while a situation is happening, when your emotions can be at their rawest?
It’s not that I feel it’s important to write afterwards, it’s just the way it happens for me. In terms of emotional or emotive songs, I’m not able to write about them in the moment – it’s probably because I can’t make sense of it in the moment. I think you need to have time to analyse. If I’d just broken up with someone I wouldn’t go to the studio and be like, let’s go do a song.
Why the title Freedom Of Speech, what is the message behind it?
I wanted to carry on having ‘Speech’ in the titles. I want to do a trilogy of ‘Speech’ titles. Freedom of Speech is after vulnerability comes freedom.
The stories on your first album were so personal, so what will you be talking about on the new one?
There’s always going to be personal songs, always. I always write about things that affect me.
How do you feel about letting the world into your life through music, which you describe as your diary?
It’s not something I question; it’s just something I do. Sometimes there is a reason without explanation, you just go with it.
The track ‘Blaze Up a Fire’ talks about spiritual revolution, which you leaked after the riots. Why?
It’s metaphorically speaking, in the same way you have a fire inside and you have the same belief to do things inside yourself. That’s what the song is about, spiritual awakening.
Favourite track on the album?
‘Sun Dog’ is my favourite because it speaks to everyone, and it’s the footstep into the next one.
Have you matured as an artist?
I’ve got into this album knowing how to form songs more constructively. I thought about choruses more. The first time I didn’t really know about how songs were structured.
After the album release, what can we expect from Speech Debelle?
After the album, we’re going to be touring again. There’s definitely going to be more music, I’m not going to stop doing that.
This is my first UK Rap Rundown column; here I will be bringing you the week’s highlights in the UK urban scene – I hope you enjoy it! I haven’t even been back from the BET Awards in L.A a week yet and have already attended a festival – Hyde Park’s Wireless. I was pleased to see underground rappers Political Peak, Sho Shallow and Ard Adz get a packed out tent and an amazing crowd reaction – it proved how well UK rap is doing…
Of course, Sneakbo smashed his set too. Sway did an old school hip-hop style set, with verses from Wu Tang, Tupac and Mobb Deep. Roc Nation signee USG member K Koke also performed on the Sunday supported by his fellow crew members.
In other news, Scorcher has replied to Dappy’s ‘Tarzan 2’ diss which hears him say: “I still roll for my hood and I wear my chain, f**k a Top Boy Scorcher he can’t do the same. Real recognise real, how many albums have you sold to date?”
Scorcher wasn’t too happy with Dappy and replied via an SB.TV video called ‘Rockstar’. The MC dropped punchline after punchline, saying that he is an “underground king, you could never be my equal” and “you could have a mill still look like a tramp.” He also mentions Tulisa and the now infamous tape that her ex-boyfriend leaked to the world.
Personally I liked Dappy’s ‘Tarzan 2’ video; unfortunately he had to re-shoot and re-release the video due to the heavy controversy it received. Props to Scorcher; he went in on the diss track and I feel he is the better man in this situation.
The video that caught my attention last week came from Donae’o. I was at the video shoot for the track ‘YDKAM’ and know there’s going to be a lot more to come from the ‘Party Hard’ singer on his album. He told me: “It’s going to have a lot more hip-hop and R&B, there’s a want for it, so I can put it out.”
The song ‘You Don’t Know About Me’ features some of UK rap’s hardest lyricists, such as Joe Black, Squeeks, Dru Blu, Ratlin and Lethal B.
Another interesting one was the Labrinth produced ‘Watchtower’ by Devlin featuring Ed Sheeran. It isthe first single from his forthcoming album ‘A Moving Picture’.
Leicester based R&B singer Luke Bingham was also recently joined by Play Dirty’s Krept & Konan for the track ‘Shut It Down’. I really like the beat to this track and Krept & Konan really give the song that hip-hop edge it needed. I predict big things for Mr Bingham; he has the voice, the style and looks to match.
T.Mills is the 22 year old, Riverside California native, who became an Internet sensation after producing his own songs, rapping and singing over them then posting them on MySpace and YouTube. His ability to cross over genres and make ‘hip pop’, makes his music appeal to a wide and diverse audience, and his f*** you attitude means that he makes music that he loves, not what he’s being told to make.
Now signed to Sony Music, he has released a free album since being with them called Leaving Home, and his recently released 6-track EP also titled Leaving Home. Now he is working on a full-length album that is due to be released on Colombia Records this year. Shireen Fenner talks to him ahead of his first live shows in the UK.
You’ve been making music since you were 13. Now that you’re an established signed artist, how much involvement do you still have in the production of the beats?
I still have a lot of involvement. When the producer and me are sitting in a room, we will craft the song together. I’ll tell them what sounds I like and how I want it arranged, and its just very hands on. Other times if I’m on tour or something and a producer sends me a beat, then I’ll take it and run with it. It’s very unique to the moment.
Your early exposure was generated through your music being on MySpace and YouTube. To what extent do you feel that the Internet contributed to you being where you are now?
100%, I feel like before any labels or anything like that that was my job. I would put a song out and then stay online for like 8-9 hours a day talking to kids. I did everything myself. MySpace and YouTube just gave me that platform to expose myself. Without that no one would have seen the music videos that I dropped which led to me getting signed. I would drop a song that I recorded in my bedroom and it would get 140,000 downloads.
Who are you trying to reach with your music primarily?
I feel like I’m really blessed because my demographic is so wide. At my shows you’ll see a 12-year-old girl with her mum and they’re both singing along. Then you’ll see an 18-year-old girl with her boyfriend. Then you’ll see a 22-year-old girl with 4 of her girlfriends and you’ll see a couple of 17-year-old dudes. I mean it really appeals to everyone; my fans are so diverse and so eclectic. I’d say anywhere between 11 to 28 years old. Facebook gave me a really good insight, 15% of my fans are over the age of 50.
You’ve got an established fanbase in America, so how do you think the UK will embrace your music?
Starting back when I was doing my Internet stuff in my room, I had a lot of fans from the UK. I feel like their really going to like it. My live shows are going to be something new which my fans over there haven’t had the chance to experience yet. I feel like it brings a whole other element to me being an artist, I have a chance to connect with kids. Back when I was sitting in my bedroom I had fans all over the UK doing fan photos, I had fans in Germany getting my name tattooed on them, it was just insane.
What does hip-pop mean to you?
Originally I just started throwing it around. I really feel like I just came into it and I can identify a lot with it. It’s the attitude and the energy, the rawness of hip-hop, which is what attracted me to the music when I was a little kid. Pop is a little polished its kind of dressed up a bit because I’m a singer as well. I wanted to make music that could just say f*** you, but just do it in a beautiful singing voice so it doesn’t sound as harsh, like a beautiful way of saying f*** you.
What was the one defining moment in your career where everything changed for you?
Getting a record deal was pretty heavy; it didn’t change my work ethic or anything, because I feel like I’ve always worked really hard. I definitely got more opportunities being with a major label. That was a dream, I never thought that a people from Riverside would go to LA and get signed to a major label, or even record in studios and stuff. I didn’t think that that happened.
Your style is very unique and memorable with all your piercings and tattoos. Which of your tattoos is your favourite and is there a story behind it?
The one on my knuckles would have to be my favourite tattoo and it says patience. I got them tattooed when I was 18 kind of on a whim. I had really bad ADHD really bad. I just have zero patience, I’m the most all over the place person, and is just go go go. I thought getting patience tattooed on my hand is kind of a reminder, and kind of a joke because its something I don’t have. At the same time its very positive and a virtue that I need to invest in and to be mindful at all times.
How are the girls feeling the boy now, or have you always been a hit with the ladies?
I’ve always had a personality so I’ve always been able to talk to girls. My fans now its just craziness, like jealous girls who don’t even no me that will get mad if I’m talking to other girl fans. I don’t get it sometimes, I try not to pay attention to it, it’s just weird to me. Even on twitter if I talk to a girl they’ll jump on and be like, ‘f*** that b****,’ it’s a bit overwhelming at times. I’m just amazed that people have that much passion for me and the love for me.
Why have you called your new EP Leaving Home and talk us through what it’s about?
Leaving Home, is the title track off the EP. I made that song with a dude called Colin Munroe who is from Canada, he’s an artist that I’ve admired. We were just talking and I had written down these lyrics that said, ‘you can stay in that small town/but imma break out/I’d rather lose your love then have to stay and live in doubt,’ that was about me moving away from home to purse what I wanted to do, and a love interest that didn’t want me to go. Its just a story about how I’m out there and I’m pursuing my dreams and what I wanted to do in a non cliché kind of Hollywood movie way. It’s like the start of everything to come.
How much creative control did you have over the new EP? Are all the tracks on it your first choices?
We put out a free album which had ten tracks on it, which kids were able to go and download on my website. We wanted to put 5 songs on the EP and a brand new song. It was both of our decisions; we kind of brainstormed and worked out the 5 best tracks off the album. Looking back on it I would have put my song, Scandalous, on the EP, we shot a video for it and the song just started getting a really good reaction live. It’s picked up and become a lot of people favourite, I wasn’t aware of that until I started playing it at shows.
Do you have any interesting collaborations’ in the pipeline, and do you intend to work artists from very different and diverse genres to yourself?
Definitely. I really want Travis Barker on my full-length album that were working on now. I have a song in mind for him to play drums on. I’ve been a fan of McKenzie Eddy for a long time, and been saying I wanted to work with her, then she reached out to me on twitter, so were about to work on something when scheduling is right. I’ve never really been a huge collaborator with other artists. I did a song with Juicy J and we put it out virally, which was amazing because I’ve been the biggest 36 Mafia fan since I was a teenager, to have him on my song was crazy. Once I have a body of work to go through it will be easier for me to see where I can see certain artists.
What’s the message from you to your UK fans?
I’m over here! I’m doing a few shows, one in XOYO, Koko and Yoyo’s. I just want to say thank you to all the support, because without my fans I wouldn’t be able to travel the world and plays shows and put out music. Thank you for listening and I’m grateful for all of it.
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