KRAZY x WHISKE XMP x EURGH – TWISTS OF FATE
Music video for the track ‘twists of fate’ from the warpath ep by krazy (wordlife) and the ep entirely produced by bristol hip hop legend kali-mist.
Music video for the track ‘twists of fate’ from the warpath ep by krazy (wordlife) and the ep entirely produced by bristol hip hop legend kali-mist.
UK battle rap is a weird and wonderful world of extremes. It has produced characters so outrageous that they are worthy of Louis Theroux’s attention, but also some of the most complex lyricism anywhere in hip hop. Consisting of equal parts performance, competitive sport and (of course) rap, battling exists in a space of its own yet has consistently sent ripples across the mainstream. Rap battles are most associated with the American style of big stages and violent aggression, catapulted to fame by the likes of Eminem and a slew of viral videos; but, throw in English humour and drinking culture, and you get the comedic brilliance that is the UK scene, which feels more comfortable against the backdrop of parks, pubs and underpasses.
Despite the inescapable association with ‘8 Mile’, the most notorious battles within UK hip hop today are almost entirely acapella and, therefore, place an intense focus on lyrical content. An array of techniques set battle rappers apart from their musical counterparts, from ‘angles’ and ‘personals’ to slogans and rebuttals- battler Illmac may have been half joking when he coined the term “non-rhyming conversational rebuttal”, but the technique is very real and only further draws attention to the depth to which battling has become a craft in itself. Even traditional poetic and rap devices are taken to the extreme here, with talk of ‘multis’ (multisyllabic rhymes), ‘punches’ and ‘schemes’ (commonly referring to associative wordplay) all being commonplace in the wild west of battle forums.
The niche and almost intimate nature of UK battle rap lends an electric atmosphere to its events; with its dedicated and diverse fanbase willingly travelling across the country for the right card, events often feel like hip hop’s response to Comic Con. Having been driven forward over the years by insatiable competitivity and a growing fanbase, UK battle rap has progressed through various eras that have all produced memorable moments in their own right- here’s everything you need to get up to scratch with where the scene is at today.
Stretching back as far as the roots of hip hop itself in the Bronx in the late 70s, with documented duels occurring as early as the seminal showdown between Kool Moe Dee and Busy Bee in Harlem in 1981, battling is an undeniable part of MC culture. Thus, the early UK hip hop scene was characterised by these impromptu, mostly freestyle and on-beat clashes as well. Though rarely filmed or documented, echoes from this era still remain, with urban legends such as Chester P getting on stage and serving Chicago rapper Common at his own show in London being enshrined in the whisperings of early UK hip hop forums.
A significant turning point in the UK battle rap scene came with the emergence of Jumpoff’s Spin the Mic tournaments in 2005, which pitted MCs against eachother in round-based, freestyle acapella battles, with a cash-prize winner decided by a set of judges. Established in 2003, Jumpoff were not only one of the first companies to publicly organise and film rap battles in the UK, but they also uploaded these battles online, paving the way for the cult following that battle rap enjoys today. These events were a far cry from the spontaneous street battles that most MCs were used to – the raucous Jumpoff audience were just as quick to boo rappers as cheer them on, often in the space of seconds. The stakes were high, forcing MCs to leave an impression on the crowd or leave empty-handed, and with a dent in their pride to boot.
The Jumpoff arena brought a proving grounds on which MCs could test their skill and, with such a wealth of footage still surviving on Youtube, many consider these events to be the starting point for organised battle rap in the UK. A slew of names passed through the Jumpoff ring in its day, including actor Riz Ahmed (of Rogue One/Venom fame) and UK rap heavyweights Asher D and Stig of the Dump. In fact, MOBO award-winner Professor Green practically made his name here, being the first rapper to string together 7 consecutive wins in the Jumpoff arena and then returning in 2008 to do so again, this time receiving £50,000. Pro Green supposedly channelled these winnings into funding his then-upcoming debut album Alive Till I’m Dead and, well, the rest is history.
Only a year after their first Spin the Mic tournament, Jumpoff embarked on something bigger with their World Rap Championships. This time bringing together battlers from the UK, US and Canada, the WRCs promised the tantalising title of ‘World Rap Champion’ and a cash prize of $50,000 that really ramped up competition. Most importantly, the WRCs connected key and disparate members from the early rap battle scene, inadvertently shaping the future of battle rap as a whole. Contestants such as Eurgh from the UK, Organik from Canada and Lush One from the US all went on to organise some of the biggest leagues in battle rap history while names like Dizaster, Illmac & Thesaurus, Arkaic and Respek BA are all still dominating to this day.
Battlers in the WRCs were under a lot of pressure to come up with as many punchlines as they could within their short 60 second rounds, leading to both high-energy moments and, shall we say, erratic quality. The focus on the punchlines was such that battlers would typically come up with a line they wanted to say and work backwards to think of ‘setup’ lines that would rhyme, producing a lot of “yo I’m spitting it darker”-type throwaways. Whashisface probably spits it the darkest here though with the wonderfully ridiculous “Yo I’m spittin’ it, the man is the deacon!” to set up the punch “Talkin’ about Hannibal [you] look like something Hannibal’s eaten!”. (For those that may not be aware a deacon is basically a low-ranking priest- complete nonsense.)
Stig/Respek BA vs. Arkaic/Kulez – (2006) – “Yeah that’s true you know we flow better, I feel like I’m battling Mr. Hanky the Christmas Poo and Cock Nose from Bo Selecta!”
Following the descent of Jumpoff into controversy and poor money management (as will become a theme), former WRC alumni Eurgh forms Don’t Flop as the first UK league to fully embrace the modern pre-written battle format, giving battlers more freedom to construct punchlines and personalise their approaches. In contrast to the nascent scene in the US, a distinct UK style of battling begins to emerge on Don’t Flop, focusing on outrageous content and filmed in suitably dingy locations. Mum and fart jokes had never been shouted by a grown adult so intensely before but, looking back, there is clearly evidence of something more special at play in moments like Respek BA’s knowledge-dropping 3rd Round against Portland rapper Illmaculate, which took to the history books to knock Illmac’s American pride down a peg or two. Respek BA may have been preaching to a choir here but the meticulously crafted round stands out nonetheless in 2011 and really highlights the creative peaks that rap battles can achieve- “So don’t think your country won independence from the Brits, July 4th only gave you the impression that it did!”.
Surviving a long gestation period in the belly of the UK underground, Don’t Flop’s quality and event turnout steadily grows over the years and soon comes to define UK battle rap as a whole. This reaches a critical point in late 2011/ early 2012 when a handful of viral moments catches the attention of the UK mainstream. The battle between English teacher Mark Grist and 17-year old Blizzard was a recipe for success with the ‘teacher versus student’ angle being picked up by everyone from the Telegraph to BBC news. More unexpected was the arrival of Eddy P & Frisko as ambassadors to the mainstream, whose incredibly vulgar content both perfectly represented the early Don’t Flop era but is also entirely un-broadcastable. Unsurprisingly, they were being featured in a Channel 4 documentary about extreme British drinking culture and, of course, the film crew were far more interested in catching shots of Eddy P pouring vodka into his retina than their actual performances.
Lunar C/ Matter vs. Eddy P/ Frisko – (2012) – “I’ll climb stark-bollock naked up your family tree and drag my balls across the face of every slag that I meet!”
Propelled to fame by their viral-prone roster, Don’t Flop’s 4th Birthday Weekday event in October 2012 was their biggest yet, packing out the room and featuring the likes of Rizzle Kicks and Ghetts in attendance. Where the legendary clash between Sony Music signee Shotty Horroh and American battle veteran Arsonal was the highest-viewed in all of battle rap up until 2017, Jefferson Price vs. Caustic will be forever engraved in the annals battle rap for different reasons. With trademark ruthlessness, Caustic exposes Jefferson Price’s infidelity to his then-fiancé in one of the most painful yet morbidly captivating viewing experiences Don’t Flop has ever produced. Jefferson Price was never seen in the battle world again but, rest assured, this clash is unforgettable.
More significant, however, was Tony D’s victory over much-loved comedic battler Oshea in the 4BW title match, indicating that UK battle rap was moving away from barstool humour and towards more serious ‘barz’. Though many saw this as a capitulation to the more aggressive American style of battling, it is undeniable that the shift facilitated an ever-increasing complexity of the craft. Moreover, the UK hardly lost its distinctive edginess, with unorthodox battlers like Big J, Calcium Kid and Shuffle T & Marlo, and leagues like King of the Ronalds bringing a captivating chaos that continues to fly the flag for park, pub and underpass-era battle rap.
Nonetheless, Don’t Flop really comes into its own from 2012 onwards, garnering a huge online following, strong talent base and a steady release schedule. However…
…this golden age of UK battle rap couldn’t last forever and, from around 2016, viewership and new interest begins to decline heavily. The ever-increasing complexity of battle rap as a sport rendered it harder for new fans to get into while the dissolution of Don’t Flop (into- you guessed it- controversy and poor money management) cut battlers off from the league’s 500,000 strong subscriber-base. Having formed the backbone of UK battle rap culture, the demise of Don’t Flop brought the scene to a complete standstill and almost no battles were organised in the UK between April and October 2017.
This did little to dampen battlers’ competitiveness though, with the final Don’t Flop title match between Soul and Shox the Rebel being widely considered their best yet. Even in the absence of Don’t Flop, battle rap’s fire is still alive- with a slew of leagues emerging in 2017 to fill the vacuum and a recent turn towards battling in the mainstream, from James Cordon’s Mic Drop to the release of battle rap feature films Vs. and Bodied last year.
In 2019, it is hard to say if battle rap is still recovering from the fall of Don’t Flop or is just at a low point altogether but, on many levels, these questions are irrelevant. Despite a fraction of the members, UK battle forums and groups are just as active as ever and fans are more than willing to take up a stake to support the community. There are a whole host of battle rap personalities and commentators; from the pleasantly erudite Cambridgeshire podcaster Tom Kwei and his channel Battle Rap Resume to cameraman Liam Bagnall’s hilarious but brief series Bad Bars, UK battle rap is practically an industry of its own. More recently, Premier Battles introduced their own flagship podcast Sarcasm City while notorious characters Chuckie P, Blunt Ted and Magic Mic combine to form the fittingly named Trolls Under the Bridge Youtube Channel, despite King of the Ronalds holding their final event earlier this year. Clearly, all those involved in the culture are not about to let UK battle rap die just yet.
Case in point… UK Battle Rap and Premier Battles specifically, looked set to take another massive blow earlier this month when after months of promotion a number of headline acts pulled out with only a few weeks notice. With one of the biggest venues in Manchester locked in, the battle community came together and put on a completely revamped card within a couple of days. The resulting line up amounted to one of the most memorable events in recent UK Battle rap history.
UK battle rap has come a long way from the endless mum jokes and awful setups, developing to the point that battles often contain a whole mixtape’s worth of bars and many battle rappers don’t even make music, their skills are devoted solely to battling. Enlisting Pay-per views and headline venues like Concrete and Ministry of Sound, the modern experience of watching battle rap feels almost like an MMA event or, in Premier Battles’ case, a football match. Nonetheless, the UK battle scene has an electricity that is hard to find elsewhere- from its extreme characters to clashes that push lyricism itself to its extremities, UK battle rappers are genuinely the stuff of legend. Despite all the highs and lows, it has been and always will remain an obscure but flourishing pillar of UK hip hop. TIME.
For more on UK battle rap check out the documentary ‘War of Words – Battle Rap in the UK’ or the feature film VS., both heavily featuring contributions from active battlers in the scene. To catch up with some of the latest from the scene’s resident characters check out the footage from the “Battling Demons for Pete’s Sake” event that recently dropped on Premier Battles’ YouTube channel. With its wacky battle concepts and all proceeds going towards mental health charities (in the name of late journalist, battler and all-round legend Pete Cashmore), nothing sums up the weird & wonderful world of UK battle rap better.
[A/N: All this is not to mention the Grime scene, which has a rich history of its own. Clashes between Wiley and Kano or Devilman and Skepta on Lord of the Mics are genuine milestones in UK music history and have been survived more recently by the on-beat battles on Words and Weapons, Don’t Flop and Who’s Da Boss. Nonetheless, focusing intensely on releasing energy and securing a wheel-up, grime’s rap battles appear to be more rooted in Jamaica’s soundclashes than the UK hip hop scene and, honestly, deserves a chronology of its own.]
Header Photo credit Patrick Currier
Admittedly, what had first enticed me to give the Norwich bred MC Natrill’s début EP a listen is the knowledge that the production had been skilfully mastered by some unquestionably undisputed talents. These would include NYC’s experienced beat maker Elbe Kim, the world-renowned Anno Domini, the widely recognised High Focus veteran Leaf Dog as well as the steadily reputable UK based sound engineer Dan Griffiths. Sam Ridgway’s intricate imagery on the album cover only enhanced the feeling that I’d stumbled across something special.
(Oh, and did I forget to mention that it’s been made available for free?)
Familiar to most as a hard-hitting battle rapper, featuring most creditably on the Don’t Flop forums, he has somewhat admirably succeeded in making a strong beginners impression and will certainly leave more of a mark then maybe even he had intended. Although it’s the originality in the overall production that will set And Your Back In The Room apart from the rival MC’s releases, it’s Natrill’s potent lyrical diversity that will ultimately keep you captivated throughout the EP’s entirety. Portraying many anthem-like qualities with a commendably classical UK hip-hop flow, it offers listeners insight into Natrill’s own personal perspectives as well as an understanding into his definitively poignant persona.
In a confidently composed bout of straight-up volatile spitting, Preach is the strong introductory track that any rap artist should aspire to produce and sets high expectations for what’s to follow. Natrill’s experience stemming from battle rapping shines brightly, as his soulfully expressive bars are only complimented by the mystical instrumentation on the beat. In fact, the only thing that would make the track sound better would be a copious amount of c******s. Things take an equally sweet tact in Still, with a bit more correlation with his sometimes forcefully spoken wordplay. It exemplifies his ability to enforce mental imagery upon well-thought and mystic bars. Dreams is up with the harder tracks on the record, accounting for a demeaning chapter of his biographically described character. It offers a vivid self-portrayal of the unnerving voice that’s pulsating through your ear drums.
In all honesty, I wasn’t expecting a track entitled Money to be 4 minutes spent listening to undying praise for the notes and coins, and it turns out I was right:
Money doesn’t turn the earth it makes the earth work / And if you ain’t prepared to work / Well you’re worth dirt / Fuck living in a world where your work’s curved / Where the balance of your banks what’s your word’s worth
Just some of the many bars Natrill spits, furiously denouncing the corporations and the wealthy minority greedily taking a grip on the population. As well as this, he generally voices his negative perspectives regarding the effects of finance. It certainly offers some more potential connotations into his background, and the influences which underlie his words. Making Music is the EP’s end, and Natrill obliges his modesties…
I ain’t here to make a name I’m just making music / I ain’t aiming for a claim I’m just making music / I ain’t here to make a change I ain’t steering for the fame I ain’t here to pave the way / (Nah) I’m just making music
… Over an instrumental which truly rounds up the excellent production that was thoroughly bettered from the cuts done by DJ Sol before the real finale that is the bonus track Drops. As the soft beat slowly trickled out I was left relishing the dreamy state that it had induced.
An exciting taster into the higher standards of UK hip-hop that is yet to be produced over the course of the year, it is also an undeniably impressive EP that seems almost mad to be available on a name your price basis. Gratefully, it validates Natrill’s words and proves that there is truth in his spoken perspectives. And Your Back In The Room see’s Natrill bare his soul, and I’m certain in saying that it will ultimately pay off for him.
The album is available (free) from Natrill’s bandcamp page below – and be sure to also check out his battle rapping that’s featured on Don’t Flop:
Review By Ethan Everton
‘Land Of The Lost’ Is Taken from The Forthcoming Mixtape ‘I Should’ve Done This A Long Time Ago..
Download At http://micallparknsun.bandcamp.com/
Filmed By @BodyBagnall @Cruger7
Edited By @BamalamDR
{editors introduction}
I know a lot of UK Hip Hop fans might look at this interview and think, why the fuck did you get an interview with Rizzle Kicks for? For me it was a no brainer, they came from UK Hip Hop and they’re a massive success. Frankly, the UK Hip Hop scene could do with the good publicity and we should be proud that one of our own is in the process of making a career out of music. Not many UK Hip Hop artists can say that they’ve lived off of making music, count them and get back to me with your answers on a postcard. And let’s be honest here, they ain’t that bad, they aren’t making cheesy euro dance tunes, or overly watered down ‘RnB’ that countless other rappers have had short lived success from. It’s like a UK De la Soul but more like able and a marketing man’s dream.
So put away your preconceived ideas about what you thought of Rizzle Kicks and read on. I think this is a great read and shout out to Rizzle for taking time out to speak with us, I’m sure he could of been doing many more exciting things with new found fame, speaks volumes. We’re lucky we have lots of friends in all manner of places and can make interviews like this happen. Big shout out to Tom on the hook up.
Intro by Tom Hines
I’m on my way to link up with Jordan from Rizzle Kicks. As I approach the rather swanky hotel I’m meeting him in, I get the strangest feeling, for a second I swear I feel a flash of almost being star struck. Bearing in mind this is a kid I’ve known since he was 14, this is turning into a surreal experience indeed…
I meet Jordan ‘Rizzle’ Stephens speaking to Adam Joolia, who runs the youth music charity Audio Active I work for. He has just agreed to become the patron of the project he and Harley once attended as kids. I last saw Rizzle at his album launch and things could not have gone much more astronomical since. Just a few years ago he performed to a crowd of no more than 50 at the Brighton’s Concorde2. He’s back there tonight playing two sell out gigs in a row. As we chat, the local South Coast TV news does a piece on Rizzle Kicks’ homecoming in the background. There’s live footage of hoards of fans outside the venue we’re heading towards later. It’s fair to say the boys have become massive chart successes and achieved national fame in an incredibly short space of time.
Hines: This is all too weird. I last saw you at your album launch last year and now you’re this celebrity doing a double-night homecoming gig. Your success has been so rapid. It must be pretty weird for you too.
Rizzle: So weird. I walked through the Lanes earlier, the last time I did that I walked around comfortably. Last year I was dipping into shops to see if people I knew were working. Now, most heads are turning and, even if they don’t want to know about us, they do. It’s our hometown though and it’s a weird feeling having that. It’s still strange to see people’s reactions. We get groups of kids shouting “Rizzle Cunts” but usually one of them is like, ‘Yeah, but can I get a photo?’.
Hines: Well you’re famous now man. How you dealing with that?
Rizzle: I think I’m going a little bit insane, but not too insane. I remember what I thought before this. It’s not too long since my mentality pre all this bullshit. I’d look at artists in the public eye and be like ‘what a bunch of dickheads’ and I’m kind of in that now. I can completely see how and why these things happen.
Hines: I remember advising you that working with Olly Murs was ‘urban scene suicide’ and you seemed excited by that prospect. It obviously proved to be a good move in the long run.
Rizzle: Yeah, the second you start thinking about how people perceive you is the moment you go wrong. Be original. There are so many rules in the urban music genres, you can just set up shop now. You could almost have a rapper start up book: ‘this what you do in a photo shoot’, ‘this is how to rap on a track’, ‘this is a good instrumental to go over’ – now you’re a rapper.
I could release a hardcore banger now and try to impress those people who think I’m not a real rapper, it just wouldn’t be me though. If I make a cool underground song but it doesn’t make movements, I’ve only got myself to blame. Without that tune with Olly, we wouldn’t be in the position we are in making this second album.
Hines: What have you got to say about your detractors? I recently saw some Rizzle Kicks doppelgangers getting ‘body bagged’ in a video. You’ve sure got your haters out there.
Rizzle: You’ve got to take it on the chin. You know me; I’m attention seeking and try and please everyone. That video’s fucking amazing, the whole clapping and that, I think it’s funny. If he’d have gone on more with the whole ‘bubbly’ thing, fair enough, our enthusiasm is something that pisses quite a few people off, but that diss (track) shows me he hasn’t listened to much of our stuff. It isn’t an educated response. This dude’s got the whole track to go for us and that beat is fucking sick. All he comes out with is we’re ‘gay’ and we’re ‘average crooks’. That wouldn’t even get a cheer in a Don’t Flop.
Hines: Speaking of which, would you battle in Don’t Flop again? Your clash with TC was pretty epic and you have judged some big battles.
Rizzle: Nah. Essentially people use Don’t Flop as way of getting their music seen. You can always do it for fun and as a reason to exercise your mind but I don’t know. Ultimately, you can find us in gossip magazines and I’m a walking target these days. A battler would have a million times more ammunition than I would for them. Secondly, I’d only battle someone if I really don’t like them and, to be frank, I don’t want to give them the exposure. For that reason I’d only battle people I respect in the league, the likes Lunar C or Matter but then I’d get beaten, not that I’d mind loosing. As it stands, I got called out and teased for not doing it, I did it, I won, that’s it.
Hines: Speaking about battlers, how was it touring with Professor Green?
Rizzle: Pro Green is someone I’ve respected for a while and it was cool to tour with him. There was quite a lot of banter and incidents on tour. He’s a sick rapper. He’s like…I don’t think he’ll mind me saying this, but he’s a kind of a snob. When we see him we go out to meals at upper-class restaurants and they order shit like bone marrow.
Hines: So this interview’s for ukhh.com, what you got to say on the subject of UK hip hop?
Rizzle: I love UK hip hop. It’s what got me into music initially. Back when there were Brighton Hip hop festivals and that whole vibe around 04/05, for me that’s what influenced me the most. All the rappers around inspired me at that time. It felt like it was a reflection of a golden age in hip hop. At a point it slipped into a state of depression and people started rapping really down tempo, everyone just sounded a bit pissed off. However, I think it’s in a good state at the moment. I recently bought Jehst’s latest album, I’ve got to admit it’s been out for ages, but I only got round to checking it properly. That reinstated my faith that there is some real shit going on still. Dirty Dike is a fucking G, that album’s funny as hell. I’d love for the UK hip hop heads to know that I will always be the inspired by the artists I was listening to growing up: Jehst, Chester, Farma G. Dr Syntax really got me into UK hip hop,
Hines: What about US artists?
Rizzle: Number 1: Pharoahe Monch, and I am talking all-time too, then the obvious ones: Biggie & Jay-Z. I’m a big fan of Del the Funky Homosapian, Big Pun, Nas, Charli 2na, Andre 3000, Mos Def, Method man.
Actually, it’s all about Pharoahe Monch, I’m going to pitch it: The dude can sing, his flow cannot be matched and he switches his shit up regularly. Other rappers have their flow on lock but he comes in with something no one else does.
Nowadays there are some really bad lyricists around, the ‘money, cars, women’. It almost had a Hollywood glamour when Biggie did it but it’s become a bit throwaway, a bit oily, just a girl with a big arse in the video. Rappers are not saying anything, it’s robotic like: ‘I am the sickest guy’. I suppose that’s nothing new though.
One thing I’ll say that is controversial: I think it’s stupid to dislike Drake. Hip hop heads hate Drake, I see it everywhere. From my personal point of view, I think the way he came up is sick: dropped the mix tape then toured the world. He’s got a lot more punch lines than most around him and he’s smart; he writes ‘singing’ songs for other people and makes millions off of it. That’s talented. You can’t be that successful if you’re actually bad, perhaps for a couple of hits but you can’t be at his level without talent. I think he’s a good rapper, people hate me saying it but I like him.
Hines: Is the stuff you’re working on hip hop?
Rizzle: If I’m going to be real, we made this first album and there are some great songs on it, it’s the reason why I’m here, but I’m starting to feel we’re making more hip hop on the second album. I’ve got older. I used to be bubblier and now I naturally want to go a bit darker. The beats are getting a bit slower. People have already seen the light side of me and we’re going through a progression. The people that I’m talking to and the things I’m getting inspired by have rejuvenated my faith in people seeing us as Hip Hop.
I used to just want a break and a sample, now I rather make something weird, something that makes people skank for a couple months. Maybe even revisit it in 10 years if we’re fortunate.
Hines: How much creative control do you have now? How much do the label push you?
Rizzle: Everything, well, near enough. Some things we don’t get a say in, like the advert on telly, I think that pissed people off. Anything like videos or photos, they have to run it past me because I’m a control freak. I’m directing a lot of stuff myself.
I see talk from heads who are like “how did this happen? they came out of nowhere”. People are like “it’s just label, money, deals and shit”. I tell you what, fact; Fearne Cotton just happened to come across our music and wanted to push us on national radio, we were just sitting on ‘Down with the trumpets’ then it snowballed. We didn’t get money put into us until our name had built up. We were by no means pushed into the public eye we just started to get played loads. The more we got noticed the more the label put in. I can see why it might appear we were manufactured to some.
Hines: It’s not out of the question to say that you could get to do some ridiculous collaborations now.
Rizzle: There’s stuff I can’t say at this time, but It’s definitely true that we are in that situation. It’s crazy to know I’ve got this team of people to back me up. As far as collaborations, I personally think that shit has to happen naturally, someone says this, you cross paths and conversations take place. I’m still completely buzzing my tits off to think Ali Shaheed rang me last year. I immediately thought ‘oh my god. Can we get Q-tip to do a tune with us?’ as if that’s just a casual thought. I want to ring him but haven’t built the courage to call yet. Saying that, I’d love to be in a situation where he sees us again and remembers us without forcing it. We’ve worked with the maddest people: Jamie Cullen, some mad jazzy hip hop tune, but this dude jammed with Quest Love, so I was like ‘if I nicked his phone…’
Hines: It feels like it’s all come full circle; the trumpet dealer has finally caught up with you, that tune was obviously huge. Some people miss the fact Dag Nabbit from Foreign Beggars produced it. You still working with them?
Rizzle: That tune set us off, I guess ‘Dag Nabbit’ is a phrase, people think we’re just saying it. I really want to do something with Pav and Ebo. They kicked it up a notch with Badman Riddum last year and I’m hoping they carry it through. I live round the corner from Dag, he’s the most elusive guy in the fucking world though. I recently got some beats off him and I’m pretty sure he’ll be involved in the next album.
Hines: What you saying before we shut this down and head to the venue?
Please listen to our entire album, especially the first and last tracks. Shouts out to Hines, Syntax, Enlish, Rum Com, Barcode, Scribe Tribe, Dirty Dike, Slip Jam, Rarekind…all the Brighton lot and ukhh.com.
Hines: Needless to say the gig was absolutely rammed. The band, which includes Jordan’s dad on bass, is incredibly tight after the all the recent touring. I watched most of the show with Jordan’s mum who features lip-synching in their ‘Mama do the hump’ track before we both got on stage to enact our respective video cameos. The front rows were crazed teenage girls and the crowd got older as it went back with one or two well known hip hop heads in attendance looking sheepish. I even spotted Dizzee Rascal in the crowd. A very surreal evening and I’m still spinning-out over the off-the-record news I heard.