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  Dubbledge Interview
interview
0543 added 30.10.07 words:
Ryan Proctor technical: QED
Ever got the feeling that an individual was
born to rap? Perhaps you felt it the
first time you heard Eminem spit one of his jaw-dropping ‘no he didn’t
just say that’ punchlines? Or maybe it was when you experienced Nas
weaving intricate inner-city poetry on his classic ‘Illmatic’ debut? For
you old-school heads out there, it could’ve been after cracking the seal
on any early album from LL Cool J, Rakim or Big Daddy Kane? Yet
irrespective of who inspired such sentiments or when it happened, no
doubt almost everyone reading this right now knows exactly what I’m
talking about. It’s that undeniable
mixture of personality, flow, content and swagger that turns a good
emcee into a great emcee; the kind of lyricist whose verses still
provoke a smile of satisfaction and frantic head-nodding years after
they first burst through your headphones and collided with your brain
cells. Dubbledge, ladies and gentlemen, is destined to become one of
those emcees.
Raised in Watford and rhyming since the ’90s, the self-proclaimed
“oldest newcomer in the game” has spent the last few years building a
formidable reputation for himself as a skilled wordsmith. Consistently
shining on collaborations with homegrown heavyweights such as Foreign
Beggars, Braintax and Micall Parknsun, Edge’s potent verses have
converted many listeners to his unpredictable brand of lyrical
fireworks. With a mind that’s as sharp as his tongue, DE is anything but
one-dimensional, having already given fans everything from daily
struggle anthems (‘9-5’), side-splitting humour (‘Lips 2 Da Floor’) and
serious political insight (on Braintax’s ‘Anti-Grey’).
Now finally releasing his long-awaited debut album ‘The Richest Man In
Babylon’ on the well-respected Low Life imprint, Dubbledge is set to let
the world know exactly what he’s all about. The question is, are you
ready?
"...you’ve
got so many people walking around today angry and frustrated and they
don’t even know what they’re angry and frustrated about..."
You’ve been around
for a minute but your debut album is only just dropping now - did you
expect to have to wait so long to release ‘The Richest Man In Babylon’?
 Nah,
not at all. I thought I would’ve probably dropped a debut album about
four years ago, but it just never manifested. I don’t know what you’d
put it down to, man. Bad luck? Obstacles? It just never came about.
But it seemed like
you were consistently working whether doing guest appearances or your
own tracks, so from the outside looking in there appeared to be some
sort of career plan at work…
I think the Most High must be my manager (laughs). It’s not like mans
sat down and plotted and planned, things just happened. I’ve just been
lucky that most of the verses I’ve done for other people have ended-up
on a single or an album that’s got the proper promotion, so my name’s
got about because of that.
If you had
released an album a few years back do you think it would’ve been much
different to the current project?
Yeah, definitely. I think I woulda been talking a lot more doo-doo if
I’d have put an album out however many years ago. I’ve grown-up and I’ve
got more to say now. I know myself more as a person and I know what I’m
about, so I’m not afraid to experiment now and think outside the box a
bit. Sometimes you hear younger artists and they’re trying to be
something they’re not to appeal to others, but I’m not really caring
about that. I’m just doing what feels good to me.
What’s the idea
behind the album title?
I know people will see the title and think it’s on a get-rich-quick
thing, and it is, but it ain’t. There’s a lot of ways you can be rich,
I’m not just talking about money. There are so many different subjects
on the album and I feel that when people listen to it there could be a
tune on there that might help them find wifey or focus on working hard.
There are a lot of different riches out there and I’m just highlighting
a few of them on the album. It’s not just a get money thing, it’s also
about people getting some wisdom, knowledge and understanding in the
society we’re living in today.
"...I
can boast better than a lot of people (laughs). But with concept tracks
you really have to sit down and think about what you’re going to say..."
Even since your
early material you’ve always seemed big on writing concept tracks and
that continues on ‘The Richest Man In Babylon’. What is it about that
aspect of lyricism that you enjoy so much?
I was one of those youts that used to like puzzles and stuff. I like to
be challenged, so sitting down to write a concept track is like a test
for me. I can write bars about how I’m this or I’m that pretty easily
and I can boast better than a lot of people (laughs). But with concept
tracks you really have to sit down and think about what you’re going to
say. You have to stay on that one topic, it has to make sense, and it’s
gotta be entertaining as well. It can be a hard thing to do, man. But I
get more satisfaction out of writing those kinda tracks, even though
they can sometimes take a long time. I might be flicking through my
rhyme book, see something I’ve already started and finish it months
later. But I’m patient when it comes to my writing, so I’ll revisit
certain rhymes and just let them build up until I think they’re ready. I
mean, I think everyone could do it if they wanted to, I think it’s just
that a lot of emcees can’t be bothered to do it. It’s like cooking. Not
everyone wants to take the time to season the chicken properly; they
just go and get that frozen food or a takeaway. When it comes to my
rhymes, I like to make sure they’re a real meal.
The album track
‘The Message’ talks about the lack of support UK artists receive from
British radio deejays - why do you think that’s still such a problem?
 I don’t see many people making successful careers out of hip-hop in the
UK the same way the Americans do, where an artist can take care of their
family and they’ve got a nice house etc. But we do have people with the
talent over here who deserve to have that kind of that success. But I
think one of the main reasons our artists aren’t reaching that level
comes down to support from the media, which includes radio. It’s like
the England football team, if the media backed them instead of slating
them all the time they’d be going out on the pitch full of confidence
and making more moves. It’s the same thing with UK artists, if the media
was properly supporting the UK stuff then who knows where we’d get? So
with ‘The Message’ I’m telling deejays that if they’re not playing my
stuff then the record is about them.
But do you think
it’s due to radio deejays having to play the big industry records in
order to keep their jobs or do you think it’s because some deejays
aren’t even aware of a lot of the underground UK artists who’re making
noise?
I’d
say that it’s partly both. It’s a hard one because there are people out
there who are doing their job. But there also some people out there
who’ve gotten lazy and complacent and maybe they’re not paying attention
to everything out there because they don’t think they have to anymore.
So with ‘The Message’ I’m trying to wake those complacent deejays up,
not just to benefit me but also everybody else in the game. It’s not
just radio though because the club deejays need to start supporting more
as well. Unless you go to a specialist night, you’re not going to hear
any UK tunes in a club, it’s all big US stuff even though there are
plenty of UK tunes that have got that energetic vibe. We need a change
across the board, man.
You gained a huge
buzz with your ‘Lips 2 Da Floor’ track. How did that come about?
That tune was nuts, man. It started making some waves in the online
chatrooms and on MySpace, but when the video hit, that was it. It all
started when I was in Switzerland with London Zoo and we were in the car
just vibing and chatting shit. We got to the rave to perform, mans
decided to put that Roni Size beat on, and we just freestyled it and the
people went mad. The hook was made up on the spot and we were just doing
verses about random shit. Then when we got home we went to the studio to
lay it down and just freestyled it again.
Most people viewed
that tune as a parody of the apparent lack of lyrical skill in the UK
grime scene - true or false?
It was. But it was really the grime scene from a couple of years ago
because a lot of those guys had progressed by the time ‘Lips 2 Da Floor’
came out. But we were just catching some jokes, man. Ninety-nine percent
of the people got the joke but there might’ve been a couple of internet
thugs who didn’t. I didn’t ever really get any negativity off of it
though. I doubt that there was anyone from the grime scene that really
gave a shit about that tune to be honest with you.
"...I
don’t see many people making successful careers out of hip-hop in the UK
the same way the Americans do..."
From listening to
tracks of yours such as ‘9-5’ and ‘Tel-a-lie-vision’ it seems like you
have quite a jaded view of modern day life. Would you say that’s a fair
comment to make?
I think you’ve pretty much hit the nail on the head. It just comes from
actually being in that 9-5 struggle and sitting in front of the idiot
box watching the nonsense. Then part of the frustration also comes from
the fact that I’m not really getting up and doing anything about it. I’m
so used to doing it over and over again that I just get up every morning
and do it over and over again. We’re conditioned and I’m trying to break
free of that conditioning but it ain’t easy.
Define what you
mean by “conditioning”?
 I’ll
be real with you, man. In my opinion schools just teach poor people to
work for the rich. There are two different education systems. There’s
what the rich get taught and there’s what the poor get taught. We’re
taught to comply, do what we’re told, go to college and study so that we
can work for somebody else. We’re not taught how to make our money work
for us or how to set up our own businesses; we’re taught how to make
somebody else rich and to be happy that we’ve even been given that
opportunity. That’s why you’ve got so many people walking around today
angry and frustrated and they don’t even know what they’re angry and
frustrated about. They’ve got a roof over their head, food in their
belly, but they’re vexed and don’t even know why. The reason why is
because they’re not living their life, they’re living the life that’s
dictated to them and people don’t even realise that. I mean, none of us
are going to be able to save the world, but I’m just trying to bring
some awareness in my music so that people know they do have options. I’m
just giving you an everyday man’s opinion.
So what’s next for
Dubbledge?
I dunno, man. I’m just gonna ride it out and enjoy the moment and when
the next project comes out it comes out. I write when I get the urge so
I don’t exactly rush anything. But people have got short memories, so if
you don’t stay on top of things on some level it’s easy to just fade
away. So it’s about moving forward for me right now, both in music and
life in general.
"...Ninety-nine
percent of the people got the joke but there might’ve been a couple of
internet thugs who didn’t..."
-
Ryan
Proctor
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