Here, he speaks on his time in music from starting out in 90s London to his pioneering 2003 album 'Blackmarket Boy' and what he's up to these days...
What was your "Day One" as far as Hip Hop goes? Was there one particular track or event that made you start writing?
I saw Beat Street when I was a child in the early Eighties, about 6 years old or maybe a bit younger. The first time I saw anyone rap I was mesmerised and I took every opportunity to live for words that rhyme from that moment on.
Which rappers were you checking for back then?
At that time it was people like Doug E Fresh, Slick Rick, Kool Moe Dee, then just before the golden 90s era: Eric B & Rakim, X Clan, BDP, Positive K, then further along Keith Murray, Masta Ace, Onyx, Wu Tang, Redman, Biggie, Smif n Wessun and Mobb Deep. At the same time there were loads of UK artists that I was rating like Ty, BlakTwang, London Posse of course. And then people that don't get enough shine for the UK golden era too like Caveman, MC D, Delirious, PLZ, so many to mention. I'm blessed to have come across and worked with a lot of these guys over the years. The late Eighties and Nineties wasn't just about hip hop, there was Ragga, Jungle and House music happening too so people like Ragga Twins, General Levy, and Merlin were also key.
At that time it was people like Doug E Fresh, Slick Rick, Kool Moe Dee, then just before the golden 90s era: Eric B & Rakim, X Clan, BDP, Positive K, then further along Keith Murray, Masta Ace, Onyx, Wu Tang, Redman, Biggie, Smif n Wessun and Mobb Deep. At the same time there were loads of UK artists that I was rating like Ty, BlakTwang, London Posse of course. And then people that don't get enough shine for the UK golden era too like Caveman, MC D, Delirious, PLZ, so many to mention. I'm blessed to have come across and worked with a lot of these guys over the years. The late Eighties and Nineties wasn't just about hip hop, there was Ragga, Jungle and House music happening too so people like Ragga Twins, General Levy, and Merlin were also key.
What
was the Hip Hop scene like in London in the late 90s? Were you a
regular at nights like Kung Fu, Mudlumz and Westwood's events?
The 90s was wild, it was a hotbed for talent and there were hundreds of artists who were fresh, had a direction, wanted to be finitely British and make a mark. I was only young too, a lot of people don't realise that I'm around 10 years younger than most of the other MCs that were on the scene in London at the time, so at 14/15 years old it was a magic time for me.
The 90s was wild, it was a hotbed for talent and there were hundreds of artists who were fresh, had a direction, wanted to be finitely British and make a mark. I was only young too, a lot of people don't realise that I'm around 10 years younger than most of the other MCs that were on the scene in London at the time, so at 14/15 years old it was a magic time for me.
