First questions I would like to ask are about your new upcoming album
Born Inna Babylon. Which labels are involved in production of it? What kind of
riddims can listeners expect? Are there any featuring artists?
The new album is finished after basically
3 years of perfecting it. it will be on my label Sativa records. It has a
variety of riddims .Curtis Lynch Jr (necessarymayhem.com), who is the premiere
reggae dancehall producer in Uk at the moment ,produced quite a few plus there
are riddims from Poland, Sweden,Germany,Switzerland and another banger from
Dready who is now based in US.i have collaborated with Daddy Freddy whose
guidance has been a major factor in my career,Million Stylez, Mr Williamz,
Blackout JA, Michie One and Shola Ama Plus UK Hip Hop Icon Skinnyman.
How should you compare Born inna Babylon album with Straight Outta
Britain??? It is a continuation from Straight outta britain as it has a UK feel to it
but it is definitely a reggae based album. i think it is more serious and
lyrics orientated maybe a sign of the times or just where my head has been over
the last 3 years.
Are you planning any promotion tour for your new
album?
To be honest the release date has been moved forward so many times many of my shows over the last year have been supposed album promo shows but yes if possible i would like to orchestrate a proper tour with a live band.
To be honest the release date has been moved forward so many times many of my shows over the last year have been supposed album promo shows but yes if possible i would like to orchestrate a proper tour with a live band.
Now let me ask you about your early beginning. Who influenced you
musically and philosophically in those times? Why did you choose
reggae/dancehall music? What do you think about punks inna England, do you
cooperate with them?
First got into reggae listening to my friends older brothers music there
are so many artists to remember but obviously Bob Marley, Aswad ,Steel
Pulse,Papa San, Stitchie , Professor Nuts all the big Uk Mc`s like Papa Levi ,
Tippa Ire Etc. Too many to mention LOLits difficult to explain why reggae
attracted me so strongly i think it was the expression of social injustice and
a form of expression that i just completely related to as a young kid who had
quite a n unsettling early life and was growing up in`Thatcherite `Britain . my
stepdad was the main provider for our family and he was unemployed for a time
so we could not afford the things my friends had materially so i guess i had
resentment about this.i feel the rebelliousness in Punk music and the whole
Anarchistic movement but have never been a fan of guitar music.the closest
thing was the 2 tone ska music of `the specials` & `The Beat` , Selector
Etc. this was heavily influenced by Punk Rock but had the Ska Rhythm which i
liked more.
In the beginning did you use to rehearsal toasting before bashments, or you used to do strictly Freestyle? From your point of you, was it difficult to become respected MC???
I started off imitating other peoples lyrics , when me and my friends were getting high i would start chatting them and my friends were totally amaxzed how accurate they sounded . this encouraged me to start writing my own lyrics and i was always more inclined to write concious stuff . i wanted to touch people the way i had been touched by powerful stirring lyrics .i always used to practice Daily and i had a decent set LOL but i was too shy to take it to the public until one of my friends who had heard me convinced me to chat on Ashanti Sound one night in 1987 .i chatted a lyric called `Mi nuh like whe ah gwan inna South Africa` Talking about apartheid and how i planned to go and mash up `Botha` (the president at the time)the place exploded when they saw this white kid chatting stuff like this and from that moment on i was addicted to the `Forward`.i would say no it was not difficult for me i think i was supposed to do this even though it took me a long time to get recognised.
In the beginning did you use to rehearsal toasting before bashments, or you used to do strictly Freestyle? From your point of you, was it difficult to become respected MC???
I started off imitating other peoples lyrics , when me and my friends were getting high i would start chatting them and my friends were totally amaxzed how accurate they sounded . this encouraged me to start writing my own lyrics and i was always more inclined to write concious stuff . i wanted to touch people the way i had been touched by powerful stirring lyrics .i always used to practice Daily and i had a decent set LOL but i was too shy to take it to the public until one of my friends who had heard me convinced me to chat on Ashanti Sound one night in 1987 .i chatted a lyric called `Mi nuh like whe ah gwan inna South Africa` Talking about apartheid and how i planned to go and mash up `Botha` (the president at the time)the place exploded when they saw this white kid chatting stuff like this and from that moment on i was addicted to the `Forward`.i would say no it was not difficult for me i think i was supposed to do this even though it took me a long time to get recognised.
How did reggae dancehall scene in England changed from your point of view?
Around
1989 /90 there was a recession in Uk similar to now and th`rave` scene was born
. this gave a lot of reggae mc`s a chance to get very well paid for their work
so many of our top chatters moved over to acid house which later became jungle
techno then drum and bass .many found mainstream success this way so it seemed
to be the start of a mass exodus of reggae artists from uk to this scene.then
the actual way reggae was played on sound systems changed from the traditional
one deck to technics and the crew of Chatters and singers became one MC just
talking , introducing tunes in the style we now accept as the normal way.so a
combination of these things spelled the end of an era for UK reggae.Right now
the dances in Uk are mostly patronised by Jamaicans and the music is almost
completely JA stuff so the homegrown UK scene has suffered as far as young
talent.for example back in the day a black english youth with a talent for
rhyming would have started rolling with a sound system but nowadays the
majority are more drawn to the Dance influenced styles like Garage, Grime and
more recently what they call `bassline` and `funky house`.However we still have
some amazing artists in the Uk on the reggae dancehall scene its just a harder
platform for them . many get more coverage in europe and abroad.
What do you think about clashes, which are becoming really more violent and
aggressive not just inna Jamaica, but also here inna Europe? I grew up with clashes and love a good clash. it was my ability in clashes
that helped me make my reputation .i do think they have lost their way though.
it has become far too aggressive and also become imp[ossible for smaller sounds
to compete because of the amount and the prices of dubplates nowadays.I like
intelligent clashes preferably 2 or 3 sounds it gets confusing when there are
too many sounds in one arena.
Last year your released big tune called Write Some Lyrics, which deals about importance of conscious lyrics, am I right? Do you agree with opinion that most of lyrics and messages promoted by many MCs,soundsystems nowadays, aren..t very consciouss and they think that promote violence and slackness is fun.
Thats a huge question to answer because there are different perspectives. if youare living in a ghetto situation where this is reality for you its obviously different to a guy from in the suburbs glorifying it because he finds it cool .i dont have a great problem with slack lyrics or even some gangster lyrics if they are done intelligently and with a little subtlety .but the problem is this seems to now be rthe majority of dancehall music and the artists have a lot of power which could be used to educate and inspire the youth.
YT & KAYAMAN in the studio (June 2010)
Do you think people like more gangsta lyrics and music nowadays? If yes,
why it is so in your opinion.
its obviously a sign of the times we are living in.its the fashion to be a
thug right now its cool to be gangster . like i said before if thats a reality
for you due to your circumstances its a different thing than pretending for
image .some gangster lyrics are positive . look at Bounty Killer `Look into my
eye` its a real gangster tune but in a way thats showing you the reality of the
situation and not just wantonly glorifying or trivialising violence.
Another your song called Wicked Act, which was probably written as reaction on terrorist attacks in London? How did life after attacks in England changed from your point of view?
I think the world changed from 9/11 maybe i shouldnt say too much of what i think about that in print but clearly security has been stepped up to an invasive level.the whole of england is under surveillance cameras at all times we live in the age of cctv , they are looking to bring in ID cards in UK lets just say i am deeply suspicious about it all.
Back to positive topic. After years you became respected artist, who performed in many parts of the world. But is still country, where would you like to go to perform one day? I am truly thankful for the amount of amazing places i have been able to visit because of music i want to perform everywhere and globalise my music.to be honest for me the greatest buzz is performing in Jamaica i want to have a hit tune in JA thats my ambition.
In November 2008 you performed in Bratislava, capital of Slovakia? Did you like it, either there weren´t many people? What is the ideal massive for you as a MC?
Slovakia was a nice energy even though the show was not very full the
massive were responding so i enjoyed myself. my massive is people who want to
hear lyrics.
Which sound systems, Djs and artists from England would you like to
advice for Slovak promoters, and why these?wow! there are many.LOL for artists
i would say Mr Williamz is mashing up the place , Gappy Ranx has
some BIIIGG! tune on road right now, Blackout JA, Bongo Chilli or if you want
the place really get crazy ( In a nice way!)call mi uncle Daddy Freddy Haha.
The last question is about your plans in the future with your Sativa
records label and if you plan to release any live DVD from any of your shows?
And you have free hands to write some message for readers of this interview! I
really thank you for your time and beautiful music!
I just want to establish the label as one that promotes only good music .i
definitely want to do some DVD`s in the future and also build a good player
into my website with all my clips .just want to big up the readers .keep
supporting the music and remember its about the vibes and the energy of the
music its not a trainspotting ting having every tune on every riddim and all
that.listen to it and be selective . more strength to all who are
working hard and genuinely trying to contribute to the music.i think thats what
we can aim for as europeans in reggae music to make a positive contribution
to this mighty , powerful music that we love and not trying to act like we
own it!we don`t !
MORE LIFE & MORE LOVE
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