Chester P – P.A.S.T
The first video from the forthcoming Chester P solo album ‘The Post Apocalyptic Storyteller‘
The first video from the forthcoming Chester P solo album ‘The Post Apocalyptic Storyteller‘
UKHH Legend Chester P has put together a 26 track compilation LP on his label ‘Real Talk Records’. Featuring heavyweights in the scene such as Blak Twang, Scorzayzee, Fallacy, Micall Parknsun, Cappo and many more, all proceeds from the album will go to supplying essentials for the homeless.
So far, within the two days of release the LP has raised over £1600, the album is available for digital download from the Real Talk Records bandcamp and embedded below. The 26 track album is available for a minimum donation of £7 and as mentioned with all money going directly to helping the homeless this is a cause well worth getting behind.
Chester P also has a documentary ‘Hip Hop, Homelessness and the Housing Crisis’ that will be released online on 21st December – there is a preview screening on the 20th at Passing Clouds in East London
So the Real Talk L.P has made £1676 and counting in 48 hours, let’s keep on promoting it and… https://t.co/GgfMHhSnP5
— Real Talk Records (@ChesterP_TF) December 16, 2015
Tracklist
01 – In the Streets – Blak Twang ft.Dutty Goodz (Produced by Silvastone)
02 – Brand New Crepps – Scorzayzee ft.Ty Healy (Produced by Pete 1st Blood)
03 – Gave my All – Micall Parknsun (Produced by Oozhe)
04 – Dead mans shoes – 3 Headed Beast (Produced by Charlie Mac)
05 – Signal – Children of Zeus ft. Fallacy & Shotty Horroh (Prod by Konny Kon & Children of Zeus)
06 – Hard Boiled – Cappo (Produced by Congi)
07 – Elevated – Dirt Dike ((Produced by Illinformed with Cuts by Jazz T)
08 – Still Here – Res One (Produced by Dub Logic)
09 – Hallucinogenic Liquid – The Four Owls (Produced by Leaf Dog)
10 – 2 Gutter for Dem – Dj Die ft. Inja
11 – Family Man – Novar Flip ft.Big Ben (Produced by Tony Mahoney)
12 – Way of the World – Wordz (Produced by Phocus G)
13 – Kendo Nagasaki – Lee Scott ft. Bill Shakes (Produced by Drae da Skimask)
14 – Porkswing – Skuff (Produced by Dirty Dike)
15 – The Unseen – Genesis Elijah ft Greg Blackman (Produced by Pastor Dutchie)
16 – Falling Stars – Amy True (Produced by Faulty Clicks)
17 – Voiceless – Rhymeskeemz (Produced by Urban Monk)
18 – Charged Up – Logic (Produced by Logic)
19 – Appreciate – Ramson Badbonez (Produced by Harry Love)
20 – Space Ghost – Foreign Beggars ft. Onoe Caponoe (Produced by Raf Riley)
21 – Talk About – Inja (Produced by Inja)
22 – Physiks – If We Meet Again (Produced by Physiks)
23 – Get to know the Name – Phili N Dotz (Produced by Richie Spitz)
24 – Leggo – Jam Baxter (Produced by Chemo)
25 – Headbanger – Life Mc & DJ Nappa (Produced by Nappa)
26 – The Nobodies Inn – Chester.P (Produced by Django Mankub, Chester.P with Flute by Sylva Faye)
Lok’s back with his fortnightly Free podcast – part 18 of 2015 now in association with 4649 Worldwide Clothing. Check out the tracklist below, and don’t forget you can grab all of these from 2013, 2014 & 2015 Free here
Track List:
1. Mystro – Da Milkman
2. Dirty Dike – Paper Tigers ft Chester P Task Force & Verb T
3. Jack Diggs – Run
4. Sherlock Bones – webdemic ft Tenchoo & Gi3mo
5. 2SHY MC – Mugboat Freestyle (Diss track)
6. S.A.M – Pick Your Wisdom
7. Ill Move Sporadic & Joey Menza – Outside The Box
8. Manage & Emcee Killa – On Top
9. Ghost Writerz – For The Love
10. Final Boss – Low & Behold
New single from Chester P!
‘Legends’ is dedicated to the graffiti writers…A brilliant description of the underground labyrinth of tunnels and eerie world that only graffiti writers experience. Brilliantly told by one of the most instantly recognisable voices in Hip Hop.
Following the sad passing of one of London’s all out Kings, ROBBO, all funds raised from this track will be used to help support those closest to him in such hard times.
Robbo 484 started writing in the late 70’s early 80’s, and started painting trains in 1984 going on to paint steel all over Europe as well as the New York Subway. His main cru’s WRH, PFB and WD carry wait across the world. He inspired an entire generation of London’s most prolific graffiti writers and will be sorely missed by all. Rest In Peace King Robbo…..
Released 04 August 2014
Produced by Musty Volkoff. Pang Productions. Australia.
All vocals written by Chester P. Real Talk Records
Words from Theme’s Bandcamp!
“This is music from the corner… that same corner” announces Chester P on the introduction to the fifth and final episode of the ‘Music From the Corner’ series. Though it might be the “same” corner that Task Force represent, figuratively speaking, the musical terrain is more adventurous than ever before. It might have come seven years since the last one, but the two Coombes brothers have again created some of the most colourful and diverse hip hop you’re ever likely to hear.
We must offer credit where credit’s due of course; Task Force have evolved. This cannot be understated when breaking down a crew that seemed to have, on the surface, written five records on the same themes of isolating and depravity. Volume One is generally considered a masterpiece of UK noir, as respected and revered as Jehst’s ‘Return of the Drifter’. Over a decade later and the landscape of hip hop has changed, and so have people’s tastes. Task Force’s recognition of this is reflected in the beats here: ‘ESP’ is reminiscent of spaced out progressive rock from the seventies, particularly Pink Floyd; ‘Soft Giants’ is aggressive and industrial; meanwhile ‘Shark Fin Soup’ bizarrely recalls a kind of demented European fairytale with its stuttered rhythm and creepy backing vocals.
Task Force certainly know how to make hip hop memorable, and this creativity suits the dramatic storytelling styles that Chester P and Farma G employ. The tales of the London estates that they inhabit are brought to life in more elaborate and peculiar ways than ever before. This can admittedly be disorientating, with lyrical concepts running off in several different directions and the schizophrenic production reflecting this. After several listens, for example, listeners may still be confused at how each skit fits into the narrative. Others, like the sampled ‘Rocky’s Speech’, are so unsubtle that they disturb the unsettled mood. In other words, they have been more evocative on previous efforts.
With that said, Volume Five works because it is fun and tongue-in-cheek. ‘Stanley Doppleganger’ is nothing short of hilarious in the way it parodies their own fanbase – when you’re spotting yourself in the dialogue you know they’ve succeeded. Both emcees are masters at making social observations in a comical way but maintaining a technical standard in their rhymes. Despite their contrasting styles, Chester and Farma both frequently switch up their flows and fit their voices to the tone of a track.
Where does it rank alongside the other volumes? Looking back, Task Force have written five unique and timeless accounts that all appeal in different ways. Though it may present its social commentaries in a more offbeat manner than previous outings, Volume Five is still packed with lyrical and well produced hip hop tracks that will make your head nod. At this point it seems superfluous to make a sweeping statement on this crew’s legacy; you all know Task Force’s pedigree. Time may well prove that every chapter has been essential.
Review by Jonathan Rimmer
Get MFTC 5 and other Taskforce merch here.
Video by Dfacer
Sketchy: What music do you represent?
Farma G: I represent music of self, expression from within for others to consume and have fun with.
Sketchy: What first got you into hip-hop?
Farma G: Watching things like Beatstreet, breakdance, and listening to battles with Roxanne Shante, and some Planet Rock and Africa Bambaataa and stuff from the old school. It captured our imagination and our imagination is still caught in that.
Sketchy: And how did you get involved in the UK scene?
Chester P: Boy, firstly I probably got involved through graffiti and my brother getting involved through whatever means he got involved. I dunno, things like Slick Rick & La Di Da Di, tunes like that kept me proper into it. They broke me through into rapping cos I used to copy his lyrics and just rap them. I kinda used to freestyle, never really used to write rhymes. We were very young, he was around 10, I was about 8. It’s like 17 years later, we been through all phases of it and now it’s kinda like our profession and it’s what we do to survive. We’re not trying to represent UK hip-hop, we’re not trying to represent hip-hop, we’re just trying to represent us as a couple of brothers who have always tried to get on in the world.
Sketchy: So your first release… that was New Mic Order right?
Farma G: Nah, it was actually something on a compilation album released on OM Records from San Fransisco called “Deeper Concentration Part 2”. That was a track with Mark B. Then we did a track with Vadim called “Raps Don’t Grow on Trees,” the b-side to a track called “Friction” by one of the Dilated Peoples. Then we did New Mic Order which people have classed as our first release.
Sketchy: Cheers for clearing that up! Going back to New Mic Order then, what do you think about the phenomenon of the record on E-Bay?
Farma G: It’s sort of really nice, but then at the same time it’s really insulting…
Sketchy: Why insulting?
Farma G: Well, because I’m a musician, and I’m a fan of music and I’ve always loved music. I like pedigree music and I like music that is at a calibre where you can class it sentimentally valuable. You don’t have to put a monetary value on everything. Our music’s not older than 3 years. You can go out and look at Beatle’s records that are originals and they’re not getting sold for as much as our record that’s 3 years old, and I don’t think that’s fair. So that’s why I say insulted.
Sketchy: But at the same time it also suggests that people consider your record as a modern classic for it to be sold in the same price range as real classics. Do you find that a compliment or do you just find that odd?!
Farma G: Like I said, in one half of me I feel like it’s good because people are respecting mine and my brother’s art – and Mark B’s art – to an extreme. But that also raises doubts in my mind what people are spending their money on and what they class as classic music, cos I wouldn’t like to teach or encourage my child to aspire so greatly to modern music as I don’t think there’s as much sentimental substance in it. So to put that much monetary value on it – if it’s sentimentally great for people and they love it that much, then just burn it off the Internet or get a bootleg copy of it but don’t pay £90 for it.
Sketchy: That’s an interesting point. You got no problems with bootlegs and burning off the Internet etc?
Farma G: Nah, there’s a bootleg available of New Mic Order at the moment…
Sketchy: I heard actually that you lot put that out! Are you gonna comment on that?
Farma G: Nah, we would never do anything as criminal as that. That’s totally illegal and we’d never do anything like that! But we know a dodgy guy on the side or a corner somewhere on a dark street that might have a few copies for sale.
Sketchy: And that’s all good with you?
Farma G: Yeah, I don’t mind. It’s all enterprise isn’t it.
Sketchy: So do you want to tell us about the “Chester P for Mayor” campaign?
Chester P: Yeah, I’m gonna make a healthy run for mayor…
Sketchy: So it’s true then? There’s a lot of talk, but most people believe it’s just a publicity stunt. Are you actually officially running?
Chester P: Yeah I am officially gonna run for Mayor, either this time or the time after. It depends basically on the financing behind me and whether I’m too late to actually enter the election run. My people are just talking to the election party right now, but I am seriously gonna run for it. In the next few months after this “Chester P for Mayor” thing on Tuesday night (referring to the Kung Fu “Chester P for Mayor” special) I’m gonna start producing certain things and I’m trying to get hold of an assembly hall to have a forum in with some people and try and set up a committee and what not. The way forward is gonna be shown, and it’s as serious as people take themselves.
Sketchy: Well if you’re serious, what are your reasons for running, as it’s obviously quite a unique thing for a hip-hop artist, or for any musical artist to do?
Chester P: I think anyone could do it. I think it’s not something that I’m particularly suited for over anyone else. I just think that given the opportunity and given the control over the finances put into things like homelessness by the government, and put into things like crime and development of underdeveloped neighbourhoods, I could do a sight lot better than what’s actually being done if I had that facility given to me. I know it’s a long shot, but at the end of the day, throughout our generation, the people I’ve known and the people around me have never rebelled or revolted against the system. And no other generation has been like that. My parents revolted, they had their little marches and little riots and the poll tax riots. Our generation hadn’t done anything yet, we ain’t actually stood up and made a stand for something we believe in – generally because we’ve never had nothing to believe in. So cos I already have a certain popularity, I’m trying to carry it onto the forum of politicians and like, I’ve got a serious mind on my head. It’s not about hip-hop to me when I deal with it, and my music’s not gonna turn into politics, and my politics ain’t based on music. I opt for freedom above all else and I opt to get homes for the homeless which are available for them, and so on and so on…
Sketchy: So you talk about your anger for the system. Would you say that this anger comes through in your music? Basically, would you say that your music is angry?
Chester P: Our music is inspired from all things that life is made up of. Some tunes are angry, some tunes are sad, some tunes are thoughtful, philosophical, what have you. It depends on the actual mood that inspired me to write. Cos generally if I have a mood I carry it our creatively rather than aggressively cos there’s no other way for me to take out the things I feel inside. That’s how I’ve always dealt with it – by writing. And if I didn’t write, I would probably draw… but I don’t.
Sketchy: In that case, what do you fell about the prejudices against hip-hop? The way people associate it with anger and call it gangster rap etc? Do you feel that sometimes you’re against a losing battle?
Chester P: Yeah, I think it’s just an obvious one for the ignorant people to tarnish. If it was 20 or 30 years ago, they’d have been saying black people instead of hip-hop. It’s still just an assault on black culture at the end of the day, because it is black culture. What they’re trying to say is it’s Jamaicans and black people who listen to that sort of music who are doing this sort of thing. And you know, at the end of the day, who invented guns? Who sells guns? And how do people unlicensed manage to get them? They’re the questions we should raise about guns, it ain’t nothing to do with hip-hop. Ignorant minds do what they can with their ignorant bit of mind. If they wanna put me in a pigeon-hole, so be it. But if I will be in a pigeon-hole, I will end up being free and flying away.
Sketchy: One last question about your music. Do you want to break through into the mainstream? Do you want to make popular music that’s in the charts, or do you just wanna carry on doing what you’re doing?
Chester P: I wanna just make music. I’m always gonna make music like I make. I listen to many types of music, and in my mind it’s very ready to expand, but if my music becomes popular, it’s because it becomes popular, but not because it was pop music. Me, personally, I can’t write something I don’t believe in, and if I do I won’t be able to carry out it’s performance. So in that sense I can’t do it.
All photos by Lika Maliks
Interview by DJ Sketchy
This week Rodney P tracked down the elusive Chester P for some bars. The founding member of the infamous UK Hip Hip crew Task Force met up with SBTV in London this summer to educate us with his lyrics.
Get your pennies out. TASKFORCE are releasing new stuff soon – MFTC 4 is on it’s way!! Molly Malone bumped into the brothers McBain in a club in Brighton and although they were a bit unprepared she asked them lots of questions whilst under the influence of alcohol. Check out what they had to say…
MALONE: Which release from Taskforce was personally your favourite release?
FARMA G: MUSIC FROM THE CORNER part 2, that’s very descriptive, and it did exactly what we intended it to do.
CHESTER P: All the MUSIC FROM THE CORNERS, I think they are all good.
MM: What does the term MUSIC FROM THE CORNER mean to you?
FG: We are like surviving and MUSIC FROM THE CORNER is the way we survive.
MM: What is the drug of preference for taskforce? Do u take cocaine?
FG: Nah nah nah, we are all about the green substances ones that grow out the ground.
MM: Do u think your creativity is enhanced by the green?
FG: Nah we used to think that but now it’s just more of such a necessity…
MM: This club is full of like 18 year olds, do you think about your responsibility to your the audience that listens to your music, and would you even think about that when you write or on stage?
CP: I think everything has a responsibility and everybody has a responsibility to something and we should think about that all the time…
“… we don’t work, well how a 9-5 works…”
FG: I always write to please myself, and both of us have got a high standard of responsibility of our own actions therefore I don’t think you will find us on stage talking shit unless we are really pissed off or having a real bad time.
MM: We all grow up with different upbringings, I lived in London, in a big city with nutty hippy parents, how does our upbringing affect the music we make as artists?
FG: We all get very different upbringings, you just got to express you own life and ideas, I’m sure I’ve been inspired by my parents and Chester as well but at the end of the day you only put out YOURSELF.
MM: Having children is a big responsibility what things are important to tell them as they grow up?
FG: Well my boy is 13 this week and I’d tell him he must be himself and to always come from the heart, and if he don’t like something – let someone know!
MM: Err would you ever run for parliament?
FG: No it’s just a novelty idea but really its about opening doors to different ways of thinking, we couldn’t but maybe someone else who has a little bit more *taps head thoughts, could speak a little bit better than we could.
MM: If you could change anything about the UK hip hop industry what would it be?
FG: I would get rid of all the rappers…nah ( *laughing), nah I wouldn’t change any of it, it’s a small little thing and people take it too seriously, it’s only a tiny little thing.
“… we are proud, cos we started from scratch and we never had any help…”
MM: What crews/producers/emcees in UK hip-hop are you into at the moment?
CP: Everyone who everyone has heard of and then a there’s a few people everyone ain’t heard of…
CP and FG: INGENUITY, RANSOM BADBONES , TURTLE STONE, UNIVERSAL SOLIDERS, REMUS, MAD GLC.
CP: Producers you got NAPPA, CHRIS FADER, and MR THING.
*(and a whole load of other people but due to several loud people coming down the stairs of the club corridor I cant make out what the hell the names are… so apologies if you got a big up and your name aint down…)
MM: How long does is take you to produce a tune, -a day a week or different for each song?
CP: It depends, we are never more than a few hours creating, writing, recording a song, but then it’s however long it takes to get it sounding nice.
MM: What kind of equipment do you use?
FG: We use MPC’s, Court Trinity, Court 2000, Mac G5 – yeah we’re moving up in the world it’s nice.
MM: Do you mix it all yourself?
FG: Yeah we just do everything ourselves, we like it like that.
MM: Do you make any money out of it?
FG: Oh yeah, we don’t work, well how a 9-5 works, so everything we do is made through money, I mean everything we are doing we generate through ourselves. So we pay our own wages through making music, so we do alright, I reckon we do alright.
“… I’ve never lost a battle once, not in my opinion and not in most people’s opinions…”
MM: What music have you got coming up?
CP: There’s lots of stuff going on, there’s MFTC 4, there’s YOUR NOT US- it’s an EP recorded with a live band, RAW DOG live band all live instruments, no samples.
CP: Then there’s a thing we are doing with a like 10 or 11 rappers, a singer and a lot of different producers which will be out sometime next year and then there’s gonna be MFTC 5 at some point. Also FARMS has got a couple of solo things coming out, and maybe a video for a song called ‘3 minute movie’. Slippers has got a thing called BARE BACK INSTRUMENT which has just come out – which is instrumentals he’s made with RAWDOG band, we got an endless amount of stuff coming out most of which is available on www.boomkat.com.
MM: Everyone seems to have a live hip hop band these days…
FG: There’s only one live hip hop band in the UK and that’s our band its RAW DOG, there ain’t another hip hop band, others use sequencers and samples and stuff, but our stuff is RAW!
MM: I don’t always like live hip hop bands as you can rarely hear the rapper, what’s it’s like rapping over a live band?
CP: Its different, its lot harder, your voice is a lot quieter you know, it’s a great experience, you get to do what real musicians do and what real singers do, its a different feeling, we always enjoy performing with a live band.
MM: What’s one of your fave gigs you have ever played?
CP: It’s hard to say, but maybe Glastonbury.
MM: If you find yourself one day an old man sitting in your armchair what will you be proud of in your life?
FG: All of it! All of what we done, we are proud, cos we started from scratch and we never had any help.
CP: If I’m old sitting in my armchair I’d be proud that I’d got that far! I’d be proud of everything I’d done to make it that far.
MM: Interviewing Skinny this year he said there was this battle where you two got obliterated by …
FG: I remember reading this! Skinny might have made that up!
CP: I never got obliterated never. I’ve never lost a battle once, not in my opinion and not in most people’s opinions, I mean there was this time with REVEAL, but I was free styling and he weren’t -so there’s a little thing there, but he did win that – but THAT is the ONLY time that I lost.
MM: Some freestyle emcees sometime lose their fire would you still be up for battling?
CP: I think about it sometimes but its probably just a fantasy, some of the young-ins are good at it but none of them are freestyling, and that’s where I would win. If we took it back to where we have 5 subjects and you have to incorporate them in your rhyme, I’d beat people. I don’t know the future-maybe if I practise my skill maybe one day I’ll step back in the arena.
Check out www.musicfromthecorner.com make some purchases – support your UK Hip Hop!