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You would have peeped in our latest issue an interview with RuCL as a part of our Alize Hi Ballin’ series. For those of you who haven’t had a chance to cop the issue yet, it’s your lucky day as we’ve got it below. With warmer weather finally on the way and a new album from RuCL in the works, what better time to sit down for a drink and a chat with RuCL AKA Rueben Campbell,  as this Melbourne Jahstralian (Jamaican/Australian heritage) has been busy. With the first single The Skillz having just dropped from his upcoming sophomore album Brimstone and Fire, we had the artist fill us in on where he’s currently at.

 You’ve worked with producer Katalyst quite heavily again on this record. How exactly did you guys hook up in the first place?

I was at a Rodney P and Skitz concert years ago, and there was an open mic session. He was calling people up on stage and I was a little shy and not really into the idea but three of my friends pushed me up on stage and I did my thing and there was an Invada (Katalyst’s record label) rep in the crowd and a couple of days later he called me up.

Do you think having worked together on an album previously, you found it easier to transfer ideas second time round?

Yeah, definitely. We both had more of an understanding. We knew what we wanted from each other and what we were capable of.

Is it hard with Katalyst being based in Sydney?

Not now with computers. It may have even been easier because sometimes I’d just fly up to Sydney to record, which sounds like a drag but it’s a pretty glamourous drag. This time I really felt I got to embrace the beats, not to take away anything from the last album. But basically I’m really happy to be back. It’s been a while between drinks, but people should know I haven’t just been sitting around. I’ve been performing, making mixtapes and crafting my sound. This album is a hip-hop release but I have other stuff on the way, dancehall and other genres. Just being myself and making music I love.

You mentioned dancehall, how do you think your Jamaican heritage impacts on your music?

I grew up in an interesting culture: Jamaican-Australian or as I call it Jahstralian. My dad was Australian and my mum is Jamaican, so I grew up with a lot of music in the house: reggae, Stevie Wonder, soul. They also took me and my sister to a lot of their parties. They really taught me to embrace my culture, both sides.

Reggae and hip-hop are like cousins to me but Jamaicans would say ‘Yes, but reggae’s da mudda not da cuzin’ (laughs). They’re related, the whole concept came from Jamaica with the dubplates and through time it just became Americanised, through youth growing up there and also the West Indians growing up in the States. It’s a new generation. You look at a lot of the rappers: KRS-One and 50-Cent, a lot of them have Jamaican blood. It’s a melting pot.

Do you think that’s an influence that is lacking in hip-hop here?

Yeah, but I think that will change. We’re getting more multicultural, especially with Sudanese people immigrating here. It will take time but more and more people will get up there. I wish it was more open but it is what it is. Whatever the situation is you can learn from it and it can teach you something about yourself and your art, be it negative or positive. You got to just see it for what it is, work with what it is and do your best with what it is.

And what’s the next project you’re working on?

I’m doing a bit of work with Lotek currently. We’ve started working on some tracks. We’re hopefully working on a joint album.

BOTTOMS UP: ‘My first experience with Alize was my 21^st. Thug Passion was the drink, strong but lovely (laughs). My mate from the States put me onto it. He was working for the Neptunes label, Startrack, he told me about it. I’ve got heaps of family in Brooklyn and they drink it (Alize) too.

Alize is available at all good bars and Dan Murphy’s store nationally.

Photos by Nikita Vaz