I was the first person to interview Hilltop Hoods when they arrived in the UK for the first stop of their world tour, a sold out show at Cargo. Although knackered from a long flight they were very friendly and informative, and gave a good insight into the Aussie scene, their position in the game and life down under. After the interview they absolutely tore down the live show, with me and the Bej the only non-Aussies in the venue.

Who’s big in the Aussie hip-hop scene?

Suffa: Australian hip-hop’s probably a good place to start, we’re with Obese which is a Melbourne label. They’ve got Downsyde, Muphin & Plutonic Lab, Reason, Bliss N Eso, Funkoars…

Pressure: Layla.

Suffa: They also distribute. There’s a lot of really really talented artists working on Obese. It came to the forefront as an actual record label about 2 years ago, maybe 3 years ago and is just basically owning the Australian hip-hop scene at the moment.

Similar to Low-Life over here…

Suffa: They’re heaps similar in loads of ways, just in the way they do things, you know, hard working dudes.

What was it like when you first started?

Suffa: It was the graf scene in Australia. The graf & skate scene.

Pressure: A bit of breaking as well.

Suffa: We started in the early 90s in Adelaide, a city of about 1.5 million people. There was only really 2 crews doing stuff at the time when we started, we we’re real young, 14 or 15 when we first snuck into clubs and started rapping on open mics and shit like that. There was a few (people) around like Aka Brothers, Finger Lickin Good and Def Wish Cast. In Adelaide only Finger Lickin Good and another group called HBK and it was just all open mics and real small gigs, 100 people or 200 if it was a real big one. Yeah we just started off that way, freestyling on open mics and it’s grown fucking massively just in the last 2 to 3 years. Ever since Obese launched their record label, it all sort of united a lot of shit and got things happening.

To the DJ (who hasn’t been saying anything)…

What was the radio scene like for DJs back in the day?

DJ Debris: There’s wasn’t really radio spots in Adelaide.

Suffa: Only community radio.

Debris: Yeah only community radio, it’s still going pretty strong, exactly the same as it was back then actually. Not much has evolved on the radio. There’s a few more shows, the listener base has grown in chunks, pretty dynamic…

Suffa: Its not like UK and American scenes where it seems so reliant on radio and radio shows.

Pressure: We don’t have pirate radio at all, so a big difference there, so it probably is a bit harder to get our shit across to people.

What’s your opinion on world politics & the US administration?

Suffa: Obviously it goes without saying that if you’re hip-hop, you were anti-Bush (laughter all round). I don’t think there’s much far right hip-hop out there and if there is I’m not interested. We have same problem as England where we’ve got a government supporting administrations that people in the country don’t support. It’s only our government supporting it. You saw that in London with the people marching here, it’s so obvious the people weren’t supporting Blair, the Blair administration supporting Bush and the same thing in Australia.

Pressure: Yeah, we had massive marches in every major city as well.

Suffa: We we’re marching.

Pressure: Even Debris’ dog marched.

And they still went to war….

Suffa: That’s the thing it’s not really a representation of a democratic society if you’re doing that shit is it?

Does Australia still have troops in Iraq?

Suffa: We got scattered troops.

Pressure: We got less, but they are still there.

Suffa: We sort of send them there under the guise of protecting an embassy or escorting someone or something, but it’s always to keep the US happy. Peacekeepers that are SAS, the most highly trained fighting squads keeping peace. We have friends that have been over there and are over there…

What about immigration in Australia?

Suffa: The immigration policies in Australia under the liberal government have taken us years backwards, I mean we’ve just shut off all the doors and you know sadly enough we’ve got enough rednecks in our country where common ground on immigration was a policy that won the election for the liberal government in some states. Especially in regional areas. But yeah man, we’re treating our refugees like shit at the moment, there’s afghans and mainly middle eastern tribes who travel from the middle east, through Indonesia to us who can spend anything from between 2 and 4 years in a detention centre which is more or less a jail, and then find out at the end of that that they’re being deported still and have to go back and face persecution from the country they were trying to escape.

Pressure: And its not like Australia’s an overpopulated or poor country, you know there’s plenty of room and opportunity for those people, it’s just bullshit.

What’s you view on Grime music?

Pressure: I hear a lot about grime from people here but it hasn’t come to Australia yet.

Suffa: We just kind of discovered it this week, a lot of heads seem to talk about it a bit. We don’t really get it. I don’t really think we can comment on it.

What’s the secret to rocking a show?

Suffa: A lot of energy, crowd participation. We just get out there and have you know man, try and make sure everyone gets into it. We don’t take ourselves too seriously, make it a bit of a party but at the same time, we try to treat shows professionally. We don’t drink before shows. In a lot of underground culture, a lot of people figure they can get away with getting drunk and going on stage and whatever, but people don’t wanna pay money to see drunk people. You gotta have a tight show and we jack some classic instrumentals and we do call and response. We have worked for a lot of years now on a way to  make it more interesting with just 2 emcees and a DJ stage. You gotta push it harder, without the instruments of a band.

You never had a live band?

Suffa: Nope, that’s the problem in Australia because everyone thinks that to make it in Australia, because all the successful hip-hop groups over there have bands. Australia’s a very rock dominated music industry, hardcore. So it’s been hard for us as 2 emcees and a DJ, so we’ve had to get it right. In Australia, it’s sort of, not the easy way out, but it’s a lot easier for crews to use a live band. But we’ve tried to keep it traditional and straight up hip-hip and its been hard for us.

You’ve not bended to commercial pressures.

Suffa: We’ve kept the same formula from day one. 93 we officially made it onto the books.



That was your first release?

Suffa: Nah, we did a demo in 95, 97 we did an EP. That was our first official release.

My friend’s got that…

Pressure: We might have to intercept that and destroy it (everyone laughs).

Where do see hip-hop in 10 years from now?

DJ Debris: Probably just more commercial. The majority of commercial hip-hop’s getting worse and worse and I can just it keep going down that path and just eventually gonna cave in on itself and revolutionise back to the…I don’t know, I cant see commercial hip-hop getting any better but the underground scene’s growing constantly all around the world. Heaps of countries are getting dominant large scenes around the world that are starting to break through and have as big a following as US cities and stuff, so it’s good in that respect.

Pressure: Its not all gloom though you know what I mean. If people stick to their guns and make the type of hip-hop that people wanna hear, gradually you are gonna get bands that are massively large and commercial but still make dope music like your J-5s and crews like that. I don’t know about UK, but Australia heavily follows any sort of American trend and hip-hop in America now is the biggest form of music by a fair bit. It starting to follow on in Australia.

Do you have commercial rappers with videos on TV over there?

Suffa: They’re starting to appear, yeah in the last couple of years.

Like who?

Jay West, Big Kid. We shouldn’t mention them because they are more R&B and just shit. The real cheesy blend of R&B. Not worth talking about. They’re cunts mate.

DJ Debris: There shit isn’t lasting long, there coming on the charts for a week, their film clip plays 5 times then they disappear into nowhere again…

Pressure: Fortunately, one thing about the Australian music industry is they really don’t like the fucking American imitators, which I suppose is a good thing for the Aussie hip-hop heads.

What personal aspects are you trying to reflect in your music?

DJ Debris: Travel fatigue! That was a 28 hour long ass flight. It’s almost exactly the other side of the globe.

Pressure: Its about as opposite as its gonna get. Long ass fucking flight
Apart from that things are going well for us man there’s not much angst on the next album.

You last LP was gold right? How many do you have to sell for that in Australia?

Suffa: 35,000. Australia’s only got slightly over 20 million people in it.

(there’s a brief discussion about how many you need to sell to get gold in the UK. Nobody’s sure).

Pressure: Skinnyman should have gone gold man. He’s big in the underground in Australia, people are loving that album man.

Suffa: He’s probably the first UK hip-hop head to get national airplay in Australia. Australia has 8 states. There’s only one actual broadcasting radio station called Triple J and that’s had him on medium to heavy rotation for a while.

Other types of music?

Pressure: I listen to a lot of Tom Waits, shit like that. I listen to a lot of weird shit man. A lot of what I sample gets me into music as well.

What’s the sample from ‘Nosebleed Section’?

Pressure: Haha… can we leave that one out?

(A lot of laughing at this point, they told me what it was but I agreed not to mention it).

What’s your process for writing rhymes?

Pressure: It usually happens that Suffa or Debris will make a beat and will come up either with an idea for a hook or a chorus and just sort of write from there. We usually meet three or four times a week at Crossbred Production Studios which is attached to Debris’ house, a separate building.

Suffa: All sorts of ways. Sometimes he’ll write something on the back of a beer coaster or write at home at 3 in the morning or sit down and say we gotta write this track or do it back and forth.

Pressure: I used to write while I was working. Did a fair bit of my raps while it was quiet or on my lunch break. Just bored out my fucking mind and have nothing better to do…

Suffa: Sometimes I take a long time to write raps. Months sometimes.

We’ll have a chorus and a verse, and they’ll be like ‘hurry up and finish your fucking verse dude’. And other times I’ll write three verses and a chorus in a few hours.

DJ Debris: For scratching I get inspiration off these guys. I try to find cuts and stuff relevant to the subject of the track and try to keep the whole cohesiveness of their verses to the chorus.

You are a digger?

Debris: Yeah, not as much as Suffa, but we’ve been digging hard while we’ve been here. I had to buy a few new suitcases! We’ve been down to Beanos. I picked up a lot of records we don’t see in Australia. I got some breaks…

I don’t buy a lot of jazz and funk, because we at the stage with hip-hop now where everything has been sampled and you gotta start looking somewhere else. Suffa: You cant sample a Barry White or a James Brown break anymore, put a vocal sample from Warriors over the top.

You’d have to pay for it…

Debris: That’s the other thing, we try to make our shit as obscure as possible.

Who’s your favourite producer(s)?

Suffa: My top producer would be Easy Mo Bee. He’s a bit of a king. DITC, Prince Paul, Premier… RZA.

What else is happening?

Pressure: When Braintax, Mystro and Disorda were in Australia a few months back they stopped by Crossbred Production labs and recorded a track with us which we are probably dropping on our album which will come our either probably early next year.

Shouts?

Shout out to any of the UK heads who are game to check out some Aussie hip-hop. Shout out to the Lowlife boys. Keep an eye out for Funkoars, Pegz and Layla…

By: Esh | For international hip-hop: http://www.myspace.com/ibmcs

http://www.myspace.com/hilltophoods
http://www.hilltophoods.com

When we talk about ground breaking DJs / producers, DJ Mehdi is right up there with the likes of DJ Krush and Shadow for pushing the boundaries of hip-hop from early on. A Parisian of Tunisian descent you only have to look at his production and remix credits to see the impact he has had on the French and international music scene.

From Kery James, Manu K, MC Solaar, Rohff, 113 and Assassin to Daft Punk, Asian Dub Foundation, Etienne de Crecy, Cassius and CSS, Mehdi is without doubt an innovator with the rare ability to cross confidently into other genres and styles.

With his new remix album ‘Red, Black & Blue’ out now on Ed Banger Records, I had the privilege of catching up with him. Here is a little insight into the producer of one of my favorite hip-hop albums of all time, 113's “Princes De La Ville” (a French hip-hop classic).

Firstly, just introduce yourself for anyone who somehow hasn’t heard of you yet?

DJ Mehdi: My name is DJ Mehdi, I'm a DJ and musician from Paris, France. I've been producing beats for French and international hip-hop acts since 1995 as well as releasing solo instrumental work, remixing songs for wide scope bands and composing movie soundtracks. I am 32 years old.



How did you first get into music and what were your first experiences of making it?

DJ Mehdi: I've been playing with records and turntables since 1989 because my father had a huge record collection and turntables at home. Then I started a band with my cousins. I was rapping and beat-making. In 1992 I met Kery James and we founded the band Ideal J, with whom I recorded two albums. First experiences were just about having fun and staying out of trouble I guess. We were quite young.

How did you first hook up with Ideal J (Manu K and Kery James), Different Teep, and then Mafia K'1Fry?

DJ Mehdi: Legendary French DJ Dee Nasty introduced us. Because we were the same age he thought we could do something together. Manu (K) and Kery (James) had a huge posse of friends around them and they all wanted to get down. Some were dancing, some were beat-boxing and a lot of them were rapping, so when I started to make beats with Ideal J, I almost instantly started to make some for the whole crew. In this crew were a young Rohff, Different Teep, and 113, if you're familiar with French Hip-hop. Long after they joined forces and became Mafia K'1 Fry.

Are you still affiliated with Mafia K'1 Fry?

DJ Mehdi: No, not 'affiliated'. I've completely stopped making beats for them about six years ago, but we're still good friends and respect each other’s musical paths. We've been together for such a long time it was only natural that we split at one point, but it's all love.

Do you still check the French (hip-hop) scene, and who would you recommend to people outside of France to check for?

DJ Mehdi: Of course, I still check French Hip-hop. I'm a B-Boy at heart and a fan. I'd recommend Kery James, Booba, Diams, Oxmo Puccino and TTC.



How would you describe the 'DJ Mehdi sound'?

DJ Mehdi: Ha! It's a tricky thing to try to apply those kind of comments to myself. I wouldn't really be objective. Let's say “If Kraftwerk were African” or “Beats and Blues”.

Tell us about the new remix album, Red Black & Blue and what you hope it will achieve?

DJ Mehdi: Well, it's a compilation of remixes that I've done from 1999 to now; ten years of beat-making and having fun. It goes quite wide. From French hip-hop like Manu Key to American artists like Santogold or electronic music like Cassius and Etienne de Crecy. It's also a mix in the sense of a DJ set. It's really a lot of craftsmanship and fun.

How did you hook up with Ed Banger?

DJ Mehdi: I met Busy P in 1998 with the Daft Punk crew and we became good friends instantly. We shared a lot of common ground, especially tastes in music. He became my manager around 2001 and when he founded Ed Banger I jumped in. It's been a lot of fun so far and great inspiration musically. All the artists on the label bring something different to the table.

When can we expect a brand new Mehdi solo project and what can we expect?

DJ Mehdi: I wish I knew! Hopefully second half of 2010. I've been working on a lot of collaborations recently but I always save the best beats for myself...



Which artists worldwide do you listen to and draw inspiration from?

DJ Mehdi: My favorite artist at the moment is Canadian rapper Drake and his producer Noah '40'. They're an amazing team. Beats are super abstract and lyrics on point. They will rule 2010.

What is your opinion of (hip-hop) producers around the globe?

DJ Mehdi: My favorites are the ones that sound like where they're from. Like if you're from London, sound London, like Wiley or Switch. If you're from Paris don't try to sound Los Angeles or New-York. If you're from South-Africa, or Brazil, or Japan, I love to hear the sound of your reality in your beats.

Can you tell us a bit about some of the equipment you like to use?

DJ Mehdi: I've been using every single AKAI piece of equipment since 1992 but I recently switched to Logic Audio. It's just more convenient for me especially travelling and being able to make beats, mix, or edit in the plane or in my hotel room.

What's your opinion of downloading's effect on the industry, is vinyl still important?

DJ Mehdi: I think that downloading is a chance and a big opportunity for the industry AND the artists to adapt, change or even re-invent themselves. Like when sampling appeared or when the CD revolution started. I am not nostalgic. I still have my records and I will always love my 8000 vinyls but I do prefer to DJ on CD's now. The possibilities are almost endless and yes, it is lighter to travel with.



Does music (hip-hop) culture need saving? In what ways do you feel it needs to be saved?

DJ Mehdi: I don't think that Hip-Hop needs to be "saved", because I think hip-hop is just fine if I am fine. To quote Mos Def, “hip-hop is not some giant hidden in the mountain, hip-hop is me, you, whoever feels connected to the culture and doing something about it”. I am hip-hop and I am fine. The radio doesn't have authority on this movement. MTV doesn't have any authority on this movement. If anything, MTV should be saved. Hip-hop is alright.

Do you feel that the music has lost a lot of its consciousness?

DJ Mehdi: No, I've never felt that way because A) I listen to a lot of old classic joints and they still kick ass, and B) I also love stupid music and silly love songs.

How are you different from the norm?

DJ Mehdi: By being who I am, doing what I do and trust me, it ain't easy all the time...

IBMCs is all about bringing the international community together and promoting music from all over the globe. Can you tell us about some of the international collaborations you have done or are going to do?

DJ Mehdi: I've been meeting and collaborating with artists worldwide from my first steps in this business. Coming from a relatively small hip-hop country and non-English speaking I always had to reach out to peeps in Belgium, Switzerland, England and Germany to evolve and broaden my possibilities. Doing shows, producing beats or just plain spending good times. Now I feel like the best thing about my music life is travelling the world being able to play my music, the music of my city, of my neighborhood. Going to Japan or South-East Asia, Australia or South America, not to mention New-York or California of course, and do what I always wanted to do, spreading the music that I love.

Do you like listening to rapping in other languages?

DJ Mehdi: French is my first language and I can easily say that I learned how to speak English listening to rap music.

What are your other interests besides music?

DJ Mehdi: Sex, food, and art.

What is your message to the world?

DJ Mehdi: Music.

Thanks,
Mehdi

By: The Bej | For international hip-hop: http://www.myspace.com/ibmcs

For more check out:

http://www.myspace.com/djmehdi
http://www.myspace.com/edbangerrecords
http://www.edbangerrecords.com

http://www.illflavarecords.com
http://www.myspace.com/karlhinds

I caught up with Vice of Street Soul Productions to talk about his diverse talents from emceeing, production, event promotion and the world of hip-hop in general. He’s a humble cat who deserves some exposure for the work he’s been putting in, so make sure you check him out on myspace and grab his CD 'Con-x-ions' when it drops…

Introduce yourself...

Vice: My name's James Kennaby aka Vice. I'm an emcee, producer, workshop leader and podcast host based in Birmingham.

What's the scene like up there?

Vice: Birmingham's kinda strange hip-hop wise. There's tonnes of dudes into the scene, but hardly any outlet. Birmingham's big into its cheesy student nights. There's a couple of real heavy nights that are worth checking out. Firstly there's Louis Den, which is a continuation of the online beat battles created by Kosyne. It's a dope night. It runs every two months and nuf big names pass through. Also check out The Unseen, run by the what supreme, and Soweto Kinch's Live Box and Battle In The Box nights at the Drum.

How did you get into hip-hop originally?

Vice: Ah man! It's hard to put a timeframe on it, it feels like forever!

My friends used to have tapes that they'd been given by their older brothers. It would be all sorts of music from Nirvana to Run DMC. Then in ‘96 I first heard Fugees’ The Score. At the time I didn't really get it, but I made a copy and sat in my room for hours listening to it on loop. More than anything I loved the lyricism and wordplay, I’ve always been into poetry so I guess it's a natural evolution. Around that time Biggie died and I got really into Ready To Die. It followed on from there really.

Tell us about your workshops?

Vice: I've been doing music workshops for just under two years now. I've always wanted to share my skills with other people, I find it's a great way to keep on your toes and stay fresh. I started off teaching lyric writing and it built from there. I'd done the thing of working in dead end jobs and getting ridiculously bored, wanting more, and writing lyrics all day. Then when I started working as a waiter making less money than a 16 year old I decided it was time to make a change. At first I didn't really know what I was doing, and because I couldn't afford a laptop I'd haul my entire desktop unit around with me! I built up my equipment, got better at what I was doing and spanned out into schools and working with young offenders and allsorts. At times it gets mad frustrating when the kids don't want to learn, but I wouldn't change my job for the world. I want to make a difference in my community.

How do you go about setting up a clothing label?

Vice: You tell me! Well Sketch Clothing was something that both my girlfriend and I wanted to do for ages. Then eventually we found a 100% organic printer / supplier. Next we recruited some amazing artists, including Street Soul's very own d. C., illustrator Gemma Lewis, designer Stilts, Secret Wars Heavyweight and then me!

Each designer has a limited edition range of six designs which will run for a year (1 design every 2 months). Each designer will take a cut of the profits and the rest will be pumped back into Sketch.

A lot of the restrains lie in finding square funds. We just print what's needed to avoid a stock build up and lost revenue, and instead we are currently looking into setting up a shop in Birmingham. For the time being we have a temporary and very rough site - Sketchclothing.bigcartel.com

We've got tonnes of stuff in the pipeline so stay tuned.

Who are your major influences in life / music?

Vice: In life my mum is a big one. I know it sounds stupid but she has to be one of the most genuine and living people I have ever met. Everyone I meet inspires me to either follow in a few if their footsteps or remember to avoid the routes they are taking.

Musically I guess it would have to include, Blade, Black Thought, Akrobatik, J-Live and production wise the usual I guess; J Rawls, Nicolay, Kosyne, Dilla, Premo, Exile, Damu, D.C. And many many more!

What are the plans with the Basement Sessions podcast?

Vice: Lots to be honest. I've been running round like a headless chicken the last couple of months getting interviews and guest mixes sorted, but it's starting to come together.

So far the guests have included, Asaviour and DJ IQ, Kyza, Kosyne, M9 and more, and Lucy Pink. Planned features include Sonny Jim, Sir Smurf Lil, Disorda, DJ Cro, Panacea (Rawkus), Spin Doctor and loads more.

Were planning to move the show into a live event involving various guests from the previous shows and also create an exclusive mixtape which we'll drop around for promo and more importantly to make people aware of the talent that's all around them.

We've been getting around 1000 hits a month which is a great start so I guess our plans are to keep building. Check out the show at:

http://basementsessions.podomatic.com

How did you know about artists like Dan-e-o, and how did you get the featurings?

Vice: Myspace bruv! I first linked with Wio-K about 2005 and we set to work on a track. Dan-e-o liked what we were doing and jumped on. We still keep in touch and help each other out on the promo tip. I just figure that if I want to work with someone, what's the harm in asking! That's how I managed to work with my now friend K.Murdock and Raw Poetic - the Panacea duo who rep Rawkus records and got number one hip-hop album of 2008 in hip-hop connection!

Tell us about your album and your hopes for it…

Vice: I've been working on Con-x-ions for nearly three years. I wanted to make a worldwide hip-hop album, connecting emcees, singers, producers, poets and anyone else with passion.

It's nearly (finally!) at mastering stages so I'm just getting some sax, keys and additional bass put in the mix then it's ready to roll!

I'm proud of the project, it has taken a really long time, but that has given it more time to evolve and grow, and now it's finally ready.

We are going to be launching the project on iTunes, Napster, eMusic, HMV, and more online stores including shops dotted round the country. Additionally each of the artists involved in Con-x-ions will receive a bunch of copies as a thank you, so the project truly will be distributed internationally.

What other projects does Street Soul productions have coming?

Vice: I've got an LP coming out at the end of this year with our producer d. C., who is working with artists including NY Oil, Supastition, Wu Tang int., Masta Killah and more! Were going down the classic one MC one DJ route. We've already got ten tracks so the project I'd building nicely.

Halo is releasing his debut album entitled for the live of the music. He is a serious spitter, known on the live scene in Ipswich.

Venom is releasing a concept album entitled northern soul to follow up from his yours sincerely mixtape earlier this year. He's a DJ and emcee, and consequently has a great ear for creating great music!

Rep is finishing off a nice lowkey album entitled the distant traveller expected late 09 early 10. He's on that UK chilled vibe offering up tongue twisters with a political message.

And d. C. Is working on his first production album with features from some of the artists I already mentioned and many more.

Where do you see hip-hop in five years?

Vice: Evolved! This art form goes with the times. Like Bruce Lee we adapt, it's in our nature. The underground will stay underground, mp3 sales will build I guess, vinyls will still be pressed, heavy emcees will still rock venues and we will always have love for the greatest musical movement the world has and ever will see!

What equipment do you use to make beats?

Vice: I run Logic 8 on my Mac alongside an Alesis drum machine, Oxygen midi keyboard, SE condenser mic, two turntables a mixer and CDJ, a 4-string jazz bass, acoustic guitar, and percussion! I tend to make jazzy / funky beats so the live sound is important to achieve. In addition I run Cubase and Ableton for my workshops.



Who's the best emcee you've heard?

Vice: Um! Live would have to be Doc Brown for his energy alone. On wax I'd say Akrobatik, Insight, Black Thought or Roots Manuva.

Who (in rap) should keep their mouth shut? (Westwood?? haha)

Vice: Fiddy cent! Yeh man, Westwood for sure! Lil Jon, man I ain't a hater. I can't think of anymore! Just think of any annoying obnoxious rappers and get back to me!

How would your life change if you won a million pounds?

Vice: I'd buy a beautiful house for my family. Grab a Dodge Viper and then a Hummer as a family car! LOL. I'd help build my friend Nathan’s business along with Street Soul, Sketch and help my girlfriend set up an office. I'd take a month off and go to New York and pay to record an album with Talib Kweli... And then I'd be broke again... So I guess it wouldn't make much difference! LOL.

Do you value the vinyl sound over CD / Mp3?

Vice: Dude I'm old skool! My studio is cluttered dusty 7"s and 12"s! It's tricky, because I love my iPod, and the idea that music is so easily accessible is brilliant but it has its flaws. The hip hop junkie in me loves nothing more than to dig for hours in a dark and dingy record shop waiting to find that rare joint you've been searching for for years, but with the move into the digital age, and DJ's ever more rapidly moving to traktor and the myriad of new digital DJ tools, I think it's only a matter of time until the crackle of vinyl won't be an option for music buyers.

What's your opinion of (hip-hop) producers who don’t dig for samples?

Vice: Each to their own man. Peeps like Nicolay are big into their synths, and 9th Wonder was slated for using Fruity Loops’ bass loops, but I don't care about that. If I like the sound they are creating then that's enough for me. People don't over analyse the lyricists so why do the same to the producers / beat makers. We all know that it's one thing to have a dope sample, but it's another all together to make a dope beat from it! Dilla sampled anything from anywhere, that's the way I look at it. If you like the sound then roll with it.

What other artists would you recommend?

Vice: Too many bruv! At the minute on the UK side I'm feelin Asaviour and DJ IQ. Their album the A Loop Theory is amazing! Also Jack Flash, CLG, Akrobatik, Blu, Sonny Jim, LG & Biscuit, Sir Smurf lil. Ah man there's too many!!!

What you think about downloading?

Vice: Honestly? Great! I agree with Sway. Underground hip-hop has never sold well in shops, it's always been street selling, shows and stuff like that. If people like your music enough to want to download that's brilliant! What greater promotion can you get than your fans building the buzz for you! Hip-hop is a sampling entity, so we don't really have right to moan when technically we are bootlegging other artists every time we chop up a sample.

What are your political views or views on religion?

Vice: Politics wise, I listen. I think a lot of people are quick to shout about political views that they don't fully understand. I'm still trying to understand the difference between the various parties and also the monarchy’s involvement. We are blessed not to have a repressive society like so many other countries. It's something I'm eager to learn more about so I can formulate my own opinion.

As far as religion I guess I'm more on the spiritual tip. I never really believed in anything like that until my friend died a few years back and I felt like he was still there. I guess from that point I've liked the idea that as opposed to following a religion I just like the idea that people live on inside us through our memories and our love.

Shouts?

Vice: The Street Soul family first off. My bois Venom, Rep, Halo and d. C. And our extended fam Carvalho, Remedy, DJ Ascend, JD Sykex, Geographic and everyone else who has, and continues to, support us along the way.

I have to give a massive shout to my girlfriend Kerry. Our baby is due late December! Big things are happening! A big shout also to Cro for supporting us and offering incredibly useful nuggets of advice. Shout to Punch Records for believing in me and of course shout out to life!

If there’s one person making beats over here that you need to know about it’s Beat Butcha.
This man is on fire, cranking out a seemingly endless series of ill
beats with styles varying between jazzy R&B joints with D.ablo to electronic grimyness with artists like Ghetto (check ‘So Damn Dedicated’). His repertoire reads like a who’s who of UK hip-hop and it doesn’t stop
there. He’s getting worldwide attention and with good cause. I tried to
get some sense out of the hip-hop Al Murray.

Introduce yourself…

Beat Butcha:
Mein name ist Beat von Butchousen aka Beat Butcha, reppin the Halal
Beats green flamingo, brukkup, Caravan Gang and Saturday Night in
Frankfurt, I am a true legend in the game. If you haven’t heard of me,
you better check your favorite limited edition 10"s by Phil Collins,
Wham & Gary Glitter…

What was your first experience of hip-hop?

Beat Butcha:
I was in the car with my mutti on our way to school and we used to
listen to hip hop classics like 'pass the dutchie pan dee left hand
side', which was a huge hit in Holland due to its reference to the
dutch pot…

How long you been making beats?

Beat Butcha: Almost 10 years...

What is your process for making beats?

Beat Butcha:
Usually I bash a weasel ‘til it squeaks, that’s pretty much the
process... Naw usually I’ll hear sumthing that inspires me, it could be
a hip-hop record or an old record I wanna sample and that’ll set me
off. I don’t really have one process, it gets boring if you keep the
same formulas and ways of doing things.

What equipment do you use?

Beat Butcha: I have an MPC 2500, various synths, stack of wax, a SPL12 and COOL EDIT...

Who are your (beat making) influences?

Beat Butcha:
Damn, that’s a hard one... I'm influenced by a lot of people, my
original inspirations were Preem, Havoc, Pete Rock, Large Pro etc...
But nowadays I’m a big fan of Chemo and Stock Aitken & Waterman...

…as well as the obvious ones like Black Milk, Madlib, DJ Khalil, Focus and of course the late great Jay Dee...

What projects you got coming? (features etc.)

Beat Butcha:
Tons, be on the lookout for ish with my fam out in the Netherlands
(Ciph Barker & MOD), as well as ish on forthcoming albums by Jehst,
Smurf, Kyza & Skriblah.... also be on the lookout for US work of
mine with Lil E (Cold Summers Ent.), Regiment (from Detroit),
Wordsworth (EMC / Lyricist Lounge) and many more...



What is your opinion of UK hip-hop?

Beat Butcha:
I love a lot of UK hip hop music and there’s a lot of talent, but the
scene has a hard time moving forward because the scene is too bitchy,
people are unorganized and way too small minded... and obviously the UK
music industry doesn’t understand it...

Who in hip-hop shouldn't release records?

Beat Butcha: I'm not gunna say anyone shouldn’t release records because at the end of the day every shit release makes me look better lol...

If you had more money would you have a bigger profile?

Beat Butcha:
Strange question but yeah I would love to get a bigger profile coz at
the end of the day your name is your CV, I’d love to work with people
like T.I., Busta & Ludacris...

What's your opinion of downloading's effect on the industry?

Beat Butcha:
Its killing artists, I mean where do you draw the line. Ain’t gunna
front like I ain’t downloading ish but 9/10 its stuff I just wanna hear
whether its good and if it is I’ll buy it but when I see things like
the Redmaster album and Triple Darkness on people’s blogspots available
for download when I know we ain’t even sold enough copies to recoup it
makes me feel sick coz people are bootlegging shit by new artists that
don’t even have a chance to build any profits from building a name...

Obama for Prezident?

Beat Butcha: Just coz dude is black doesn’t mean he's gunna make America any better, they need a free healthcare system... that’s my view...

What's your favourite kind of biscuit?

Beat Butcha: The flute playin kind lol... pause.

Conspiracy theories?

Beat Butcha: Timmy Mallet is Adolf Hitler re-incarnated...

What is your political world view?

Beat Butcha: The world is damned politically, make your money and help people you love...

Did you enjoy the Olympics?

Beat Butcha: Nope I hate any sports that don’t involve hummus...

Shouts to...

Beat Butcha: Esh...

http://www.myspace.com/beatbutcha

---

With the release of their 6th album, Atmosphere have come a long way since 'Overcast'. Now recording with live instruments and touring with a band, they have upgraded their sound for 'When Life Gives You Lemons You Paint That Shit Gold', and even got Tom Waits to do some beatboxing on there.

I phoned up Slug and asked him a bunch of random questions…

What equipment does Atmosphere use?

Slug: We use an ASR10. First we record it on a four track though. Ant does the production, I just look over his shoulder.

Are you in the top 10 white rappers?

Slug: I'm not in that - I'm not white.

Who did 911?

Slug: Good question, um, I think money did 911.

Is your son into hip-hop?

Slug: Yeah, he's 14 right now, he likes it.

Who do you rate in the US hip-hop scene right now?

Slug: The Roots. I'm looking forward to the new Nas album. I like a lot of different stuff really.

Producers?

Slug: My favourite producer is Dre.

Opinion of UK hip-hop?

Slug: I heard one bloke recently, I forget his name though. Oh yeah, Sway.

Top sellers in your record store?

Slug: I don't know really, my little brother manages the store, I just bankroll it.

Kanye sampling Daft Punk?

Slug: I don't care what people sample. Like in the beginning people would just sample the hits then rap over it. So I don't care about any of that.

What will hip-hop be like in 10 years?

Slug: That's a good question. I think a lot of US artists will start being influenced by non-US artists. The scene will become more international.

You did some international collabs right?

Slug: I don't get too many opportunities to record with people outside my area. When I'm touring, there isn't that much time to do that. I've recorded with the Planets (UK), and DJ Static from Denmark. I don't like to do the mail-order type collaboration. I prefer to meet the people.

Downloading?

Slug: I don't care if people download my music. People need to adapt to the industry.

You're touring in Europe now right?

Slug: Yeah I just got off touring in the states so I'm not sure what the other cities we're playing in the UK are. We are going all over though, Germany, France, you know.

What is your message to the people?

Slug: Grow up. A lot of adults need to stop acting like kids. Stop doing coke. Do ecstasy instead.

Weed?

Slug: Sure. Weed is fine. Coke is the devil.

Look out for Atmosphere when they come to the UK in June and don't forget to cop the new LP (or download it, he doesn't mind).

By: ESH | For worldwide hip-hop: http://www.myspace.com/ibmcs

• http://www.myspace.com/atmosphere
• http://www.rhymesayers.com

---

I met up with emcee / producer Breis (pronounced Breeze) in Brixton to discuss all things hip-hop and more. Finding a table in the sun, the interview turned into a chilled out conversation as Breis is a more mature kind of artist making a change from some of the negative attitudes currently pervasive in UK hip-hop.

His music is a refreshing return to the organic, jazzy sound that has been absent from the scene for a while. A friendlier chap couldn't be found and I was interested to hear where he'd been since his first 12" 'sounds so fresh' in 2001.

Introduce yourself…

Breis: My name is Breis which stands for Brother Reaching Each Inner Soul. I've been into rapping, emceeing, hip-hop for, boy, about 12, 13 years. I took it really seriously from around '97 when I started a night with some friends called Urban Griots in Brixton at the Bug Bar. I went to get all my emcee friends, I called Ty, he came down. '97, that was kinda like my year stepping out, before that I was more of a bedroom emcee. I started hosting that event and just getting more into the hip-hop community.

The new EP…

Breis: It's called the Identity EP, 4 tracks out on an independent label, King Solomon Records. It was actually almost accidental (how it came about) 'cause really it was a case of I just restarted doing a few more gigs and people really wanted material so I just pressed up 1000 CDs. Initially we were just gonna sell it at gigs, but what we realised was that a lot of people were really asking about it and we didn't really want to put it out properly, so we thought we'd do the digital download thing because that's what seems to be the best route. It's on iTunes and Amazon as well. So now, doing a bit of marketing its kinda snowballed into a proper release. We're looking at maybe getting more distribution and maybe on vinyl and get it into the major shops as well.

The beats…

Breis: I do most of the beats, but I work with other people as well. I got Drew playing a few things on one of the tracks. For the track 'Strictly', I originally did it then I took it to Leroy (Leroy Brown) and we kinda redid it together, and I called Eska (Eska Mtungwazi) to come in on that track as well. (I use) MC2000XL. Bangin' away, I feel like an oldtimer man, 'cause everyone's just on Logic, Reason. What was interesting, the track 'Wordpower' for example, I just knocked that up really quickly and that was me kinda getting back into producing again because I hadn't done it for a little while.



First experience of hip-hop…

Breis: Probably back in Nigeria listening to Roxanne Shante and loving her, and breakdancing, that was my thing so I used to get into battles in school. I lived in Nigeria for 6 years.

The Elements of hip-hop…

Breis: The elements are all important. I think now they aren't as unified as maybe they used to be. Its kinda like a 'Wu Tang effect' where everyone's splintered off doing their own thing and they're doing well in their own elements. B-boying is big, turntablism is doing well. I think graffiti in a way is doing alright, but there's not enough unison probably between the other elements and graffiti, and the emceeing thing is… I don't even know. That's a whole other thing. I guess it's flourishing, but I don't think all the elements are unified. I don't think you get a show where all the elements are present.

American accents in UK hip-hop…

Breis: Funky DL is one of my favourite rappers and producers and mainly because I got his first album 'Classic Was The Day' and I loved it so I've always been a fan, his work output is brilliant so I really respect him. With the accent thing, there might be some who actually force it or put it on, but I don't think that really the case anymore. I don't think for the most part that people were intentionally doing it, I think it was more of a subconscious thing.

There was actually a time, around 95, 96 I remember rapping, battling with one of my friends and he was giving me props, he was like "those bars were tight!" and he said the flow was incredible, I sounded like an American. I was like "what?" and right there and then I actually contemplated giving up rap. Because I had no idea that my accent had an American twang to it. I don't know where it came from so I actually wanted to stop rapping back then. But obviously when you are aware of it, then you consciously make sure that you start rapping in your own accent.



Keyboard production versus digging and samples…

Breis: If it's good it's good. If it's wack and it done using synths or keyboards then it's wack, but if it's good it's good, cause some of them tracks is really good.

Musical icons…

Breis: Over the last few years I've kinda not been as big a fan as I used to be when I was growing up. Mainly of rap, but I'm still a big fan of Roots Manuva. I'm a big Biggie fan. He's like someone who inspired me to be even better. I remember growing up rapping thinking I was the best that no one could challenge me. I had that arrogant confidence that an emcee has, and when I heard Biggie I was like yeah, you know what, he might be able to test me still, so I thought I need to step up a bit. I wanted to collaborate with Big Pun, that was always a dream of mine. I really do like a lot of rappers like Roots Manuva, Sway, Lupe Fiasco, there's loads man, Talib, Common, K'naan.

I just started getting back into rap last year. Again. I was anti-rap for a little while, even though I'm a rapper. I couldn't listen to most of what was out there. It was either too vulgar or was just rubbish. The thing with music is that it's not really censored so people just throw stuff out, it's not like you need to a license to be a good emcee or to bring out quality music.

Internet and downloading…

Breis: I don't worry about it necessarily. Maybe that's because it hasn't affected me personally, maybe that's why I can say that. Myspace has done really well, that's really helped. You get a wider reach as well, people in different countries.

Next US President…

Breis: Anything's possible. But one thing I've realised is that nothing is always the way it seems. He could win it (Obama) but then whose to say we wasn't put in there to win it just to show that America can be fair. At the same time it could be a disaster or it could be great so who knows man.



If there was no music…

Breis: Maybe acting. I was thinking about that the other day, how some people are like, yeah 'music is my life', and music for me isn't my life, it's part of my life. My life is bigger than just the music so I do other things, a lot of educational work in schools, but then even that is tied into my music. I do rap and hip-hop poetry workshops in schools. Probably I'd be working with kids or a big business man travelling the world.

Advice for new artists…

Breis: Go to school! It's a hard one because sometimes I can contradict myself in that what I'm doing isn't necessarily what I want others to do. I think there are too many young people becoming artists and there needs to be more people doing entertainment law or management. We need better managers, we need better lawyers. We need marketing people. The thing that's killed or has been messing up hip-hop in this country is that there's no great marketing for the scene because the scene over here is a lot smaller than in the states but there are other ways of marketing what we do to the whole country and no-ones cracked that so. So don't just think about being an artist, think about getting into the other side of it where you can make even more money. If you want to be an artist, then be a fantastic one, study your artform , be the best that you can possibly be and add to the richness of the scene basically.

Political worldview…

Breis: I don't really concern myself with that. I'm more about spiritual upliftment so I don't really focus on that. Not that it's not important, but like I said, things aren't always what they seem. A lot of the things that we're fed and we're receiving from the media isn't necessarily what it really is so sometimes we're all ranting and raving about a whole pack of lies. We don't actually really know what's really going on, so for me its more important that I just keep walking the righteous path, make sure my people are cool. I keep doing the best that I can do and be the change that I want to see in society.

Make sure you hit up Breis on myspace and check for his forthcoming album 'student of life' due for release in June.

• http://www.myspace.com/breisuk
• http://www.bambreis.net
  

---

DJ Krush is one of the most successful hip-hop producers outside of the US and has evolved his sound over a series of flawless albums since his eponymous debut in 1994. His second album Strictly Turntablised (Mowax) was entirely instrumental and the music press began to use the term 'trip-hop' to describe his trademark sound, sparse mid tempo breakbeats with a smoked-out atmosphere.

However, Krush continued to release albums with new and different sounds, collaborating with US and Japanese emcees from CL Smooth, Black Thought, Mos Def, Company Flow, and Inden to name a few. His most recent proper album (not including remix projects etc.), Jaku, featured traditional Japanese musicians to create yet another variation in the Krush sound.

Long time fans can look forward to the first completely new DJ Krush album in 3 years, while for newcomers, I strongly urge you to investigate his whole discography because so far all his records have been winners.

While he was in London for his show at Koko I asked DJ Krush these questions:

Music press often credits you for inventing the genre 'trip-hop'. How do you feel about this?

DJ Krush: I don't really mind as to how my music is categorised. If I should categorise my own music, I'd file it under "DJ Krush".

What are your other interests besides music?

DJ Krush: I've been into fishing for the past few years. I go out fishing with my family whenever I have time, although I haven't had the time at all recently.

What are your views on the situations in Iraq and Afghanistan?

DJ Krush: I wonder how long they should bear the current situation… Very sad.

What new projects do you have coming up?

DJ Krush: I'm working on a couple of projects now. Please wait a little more for details!

What is your opinion of (hip-hop) producers in the UK?

DJ Krush: I think there are many interesting producers in the UK. Plus, every time I visit UK, the country gives me a lot of inspirations.

Which other artists worldwide do you listen to and draw inspiration from?

DJ Krush: I have too many to list, but I am interested in artists who could express their originalities with their own sounds. It really resonates with me when an artist has a sound of his / her own.

What is your reaction to Nas's statement that 'hip-hop is dead?'

DJ Krush: To be honest, I don't know what to say, as I think the meaning of the statement depends on the ranges of hip-hop he is referring to.

Do you pay attention to the Japanese (hip-hop) scene, and who do you recommend people outside Japan should be checking for?

DJ Krush: There are many unique artists in the Japanese underground hip-hop scene. Tha Blue Herb, Inden, Msc, Sibito… They're all MCs with distinctive and interesting styles. I don't listen to so-called Japanese mainstream hip-hop groups; they're boring…

How would you describe the 'DJ Krush sound'?

DJ Krush: A Samurai sword whose blade mirrors various scenes of life.

Do you think drugs should be legalised, for example cannabis?

DJ Krush: I don't know. But as long as human beings are using it, it'll cause various problems.

Recently you have released albums of mixes and 'best-ofs'. When can we look forward to hearing a completely new DJ Krush album?

DJ Krush: I'm working on it. Gimme a bit more time!

• DJ Krush official website: http://www.sus81.com/djkrush/

For many of us, Freddie Foxxx is the people's champion who is still heavily slept on. When I first got through he was midway through an interview and I heard him say "…they're not experimenting enough, they need to be more diverse…". I assume he was talking about the current state of emcees, a topic he is always glad to discuss in interviews and on his records.

His latest targets are Kanye West, Ying Yang Twins, Rick Ross, Ludacris, and 50 Cent amongst others. I tried to think of questions that other people might not ask…

Introduce yourself:

Bumpy Knuckles: Bumpy Knuckles AKA Freddie Foxxx.

What new projects you got coming?

Bumpy Knuckles: I got a couple of new projects. I got a mix CD out now called the OG which is available as a free download (myspace). I re-released Crazy like a Foxxx.

What about the new LP?

Bumpy Knuckles: I'm still working on Amerikkkan Black Man. I had to make some changes, get back in the studio change it around. I just did a new album with KRS-1. KRS asked me to help out with the Stop the Violence project, so I got a couple of tracks on there.

Violence in hip-hop?

Bumpy Knuckles: The funny thing is there's necessary violence and unnecessary violence. People speaking about violence on records… what resignates (sic) in the streets is what resignates in this country and countries abroad years before we was even here, so you know, I still don't believe that if every rapper talked about peace and love in their music there wouldn't still be violence in the streets. I don't think people can charge hip-hop with the reason there's so much violence in the world. Hip-hop wasn't the reason that the United States attacked Iraq you know what I mean? There's way more reasons for violence than hip-hop music. As far as I'm concerned, the people you should wanna hear say stop the violence are the violent people. My thing is, nobody cares if someone who only talks about peace, love and unity says stop the violence, it doesn't matter cuz you ain't violent anyway. You gotta rob banks to be a bank robber you know what I mean?

Do you enjoy violence?

Bumpy Knuckles: Ha ha ha. Ok, I'll answer the question. I don't enjoy violence. Violence is something that, if I have to be violent with someone it's because I have to. I don't wake up every morning thinking I'm gonna be violent this time round. Violence is something that no-one should enjoy. I'm a person that's protective of my family, protective of my space and my close friends and stuff. If I can talk my way through a situation where I don't have to hurt somebody I'd much rather do that. But if someone touches my square and they seem to be intolerable….

Women in hip-hop / female rappers?

Bumpy Knuckles: You need to listen to the beginning of industry shakedown. Never let somebody tell you that you can't do it. At the end of the day, if they strong and they real enough and they go after it…

You married?

Bumpy Knuckles: Nah. …in hip-hop if you a writer then you a writer.

Who do you rate?

Bumpy Knuckles: I like Jean Grae. There's a couple of people who I like. I used to like Foxy Brown and Lil' Kim.

Obama for president?

Bumpy Knuckles: I think that would be a great look to show people how far America has come. For someone black to be that close to that position in the United States is an incredible accomplishment. People should vote for him based on his abilities. These politicians they do a lot of promising. They tell you what they gonna do, if they get there they gonna do this, you know, then when they get there, a lot of that stuff doesn't come to pass. George Bush senior did it. But at the same token, it's a special thing when you see an African American standing in the position that Hilary or Barack Obama is in. I'm proud to be a black man and always have been, and for me to see that is a good thing.

Religion and god?

Bumpy Knuckles: If I didn't believe in god I wouldn't be as strong as I am.

So who is god?

Bumpy Knuckles: No-one can say who god is. I don't know who god is, I never met him. A lot of people have a tendency to follow what they've been taught. God is just something that you haven't seen yet while living on this earth.

You go to church?

Bumpy Knuckles: No I don't go to church. I used to go to church when I was a kid.

War on Iraq?

Bumpy Knuckles: What do you wanna know?

Do you have friends in the army out there?

Bumpy Knuckles: I have a few friends who are over there. The thing about that is, um, I believe that there are a lot of things that are gonna come out of this that the American people and the people abroad… I don't know if I can say that we are always told the truth. A lot of people are gonna be exposing inside secrets when they leave their office. There's no real loyalty there where you can do dirt and then the people you do dirt with separate and write books and all this kind of stuff. It's like, things are gonna come out about that that are gonna be very unsettling and not just American people, but Europeans and all around the world. They gonna think wow I can't believe how much money has been stolen because of this war. It's all about money; it all boils down to that. I mean you paying the kind of money for gas that you're paying as a result of these types of action. It's about the little man, the little man is the one who always gets stepped on.

Do you still believe 9-11 was a business deal?

Bumpy Knuckles: Of course. It's a very bold move to make a run over to Iraq to send out these soldiers to find a man who had nothing to do with 9-11. The man who has something to do with it is supposed to be hiding out somewhere and you can't even catch him when he's number one on the FBI's most wanted list. And you can't catch him, but you can find another guy. They killed this man's children and put it on the front page of the papers in America. And he had nothing to do with 9-11. As a taxpaying American, I don't understand that, so I'm not judgemental on it, I just think they spent a lot of time on catching someone who had nothing to do with, but how much time did they spend on someone who had something to do with it? Our lives have changed over the years because of that. People are living a whole different life now.

Olympic Games?

Bumpy Knuckles: My opinion is, the athletes have always been a part of our lifestyle. If people wanna be an athlete then what's wrong with that?

At this point I lost the Konexion, which was disappointing as I was just starting to get deep. However, later on he did get back to me with these answers…

What do know about hip-hop outside the USA?

Bumpy Knuckles: I've seen from touring. Ain't much to know about it. It's all over the world. I've been to Germany and Japan and all over Europe in my days of performing, and the effects of it have reached outside the U.S.

What is your message to the world?

Bumpy Knuckles: Be yourself.

Now go to Bumpy's myspace and download his free mixtape – it's the sickness.

This article was published by flight808 and can be read here:

www.flight808.com/?p=275

it was also on put up on hiphopdx.