Features

Seeing how much both the direction that hip-hop and the music industry itself have evolved and changed  during the last nine years since your first long player do you look over your own work and see a sense of those changing times or do you internalise it and see the more personal development irrespective of outside influence.

Over the last 9 years because I’ve been more inside ‘the machine’ as before becoming an ‘international recording artiste’ and paying taxes, I was outside the machine so I had a sort of rose tinted look at the whole mechanism, going thru I think I’ve always prided myself on being a fully fledged consistent member of both sides because I’m a fan first of all

So you’ve taken the red pill?

(Laughs) Trodden over to the other side. I mean my tussle has been trying to get a balance, to maintain some sort of equilibrium between being a fan and then being a tax paying musician, its been the bane of my life you know.

It’s interesting to think about the time that has passed between your first album and this upcoming release and to put it into the context of some other artists because it can often be hard I find, especially in hip-hop to maintain a relevance as ones catalogue progresses, it seems to be the silent killer of many an MC's career. Do you think the issue of relevance exists for you because it seems like your work has been much harder for critics to pigeon hole and it seems to strive for a greater sonic scope than most other hip-hop artists. Do you think the challenge of relevance has been something you needed to face with this new album?

Yeah I think the challenge of relevance is always at the forefront but it’s not something we must make take over our whole artistic purpose, its got to be something more subtle you know. I’ve still got to be banging those pots and pans regardless, I’ve got to be bangin’ the windows and shoutin’ at the walls regardless of what the world thinks but I’ve still got to stay hip to what’s going on.

I guess the challenge of and one of the main reasons people try and maintain their relevance is that that way they maintain their audience. People quite often will believe the hype that’s told to them through critics or the hype machine and if they’re told someone is no longer relevant then they’ll tend to switch off...

And that’s the cold truth. But it’s so much weirder today tho innit? How do you with the mechanisms that are around today, with the successes of, regardless of whether you like him from a creative aspect or not, with how someone like Soulja Boy got to where he got and using the internet to do his thing.

Well he was a one man marketing machine at the very beginning, I remember hearing ‘that’ song on the net I think it must have been a year before it actually got into the hands of the execs...

Yeah yeah exactly, he was saying he was getting paid $10 thousand dollars before he even got a record deal. And it was if like people made their own hit as it were.

It’s interesting you bring up Soulja Boy, because there was that whole reaction from Ice-T about Soulja Boy and there were a whole lot of artists that came in from all different sides, either for or against Soulja Boy. What did you make of all of that?

I’ve always kind of had a soft spot for Non-Eastern or Non-East Coast hip-hop and I’ve always marvelled and found it cool to have, to see how hip-hop has travelled and come from East Coast dominance to the West Coast and now the South. It’s funny cause I ain’t got a, I don’t have that place. A lot of people in England, in London are really, you know, they’re really East Coast biased you know and they’re really, they’re quite angry at what’s goin’ on. The whole chart thing and the lack of lyricism and it’s like so simple and so easy, nobody has to dig for breaks, all you need is a keyboard, or you don’t even need a keyboard anymore all you need is a computer with a little program and use two notes and you can have a number one hit!

I feel you. I think Australia is very similar in a lot of ways, it tends to be very East Coast biased in terms of its choices. Would you say Europe as a whole is more East Coast biased?

I think it used to be. Everyone is into everything at the moment, because those that are into more things are surviving really.

You mention in the press release the influence of both Studio One and Channel One and how they’ve influenced your new work. From my understanding they were both production studios in Jamaica is that correct?

Yeah, it was more like an inspiration more than an influence, more of a want to tap into an innocence.

Right, well how did you go about translating that inspiration into the actual album?

I think just being open to making mistakes, being open to enjoy the mistakes, being open to being excessive to physicality, turning off the air conditioning and sweating in the studio and tryin’ to smoke less hydroponic and smoke a little bit more organic.

(Laughs) So more natural?

Yeah, yeah.

So the last album by all accounts had very introspective moments. Just on the basis of the Slime and Reason cover is it fair to say that we’re getting more of that kind of introspective look or are you on a different tip?

I haven’t got a clue about introspective, outrospective, whatever that word is. I don’t have a clue, I just make music, it’s not…

You leave it to the critics?

Yeah, you tell me what it’s all about I don’t know, I just went into the studio, recorded and just tried to have a laugh and a giggle.

Now with this album I notice that you’ve got two producers that you give mention to, both Toddla T and Metronomey. They seem to be garnering a bit of buzz over in Europe at the moment, we haven’t heard much about them here in Australia

Oh no?

Not from what I understand. Now they were involved in a couple of different tracks, Toddla T was involved in three, one of them being the first single Buff Nuff, how was it working with those guys? They’re a bit younger than you yeah?

Yeah they’re younger than me, its good, its good for me, to be around the youth, to be heralding a new brand of producitator or producer or whatever you want to call them. Yeah it's fun, it's funny, it's at times awkward and messy but you know.

So it would be fair to say you ain’t on no Ice-T level and barring the youth from your studio? (Laughs)

(Laughs) I welcome the youth, and you know I’m prepared to try and, if I can you know do my job and do something that they find relevant, then I feel like I’m still keeping it relevant, even though I’m not sitting down saying ‘how can I keep it relevant to today’. I’m just keeping an open mind because you know, I gotta say a lot of new music today doesn’t really tickle me that much at all you know. I don’t understand, I don’t understand a lot of it. So working with young producers kinda just gives me an edge and being willing to work with them and not being snobbish and not wanting to go phone Premier and get that flippin’ old beat that he made 15 years ago. (Laughs) (They are) helping to keep me alive you know I’m open to whatever they’re , the youth, are throwin’ out and that’s it. I’m tellin’ you man from a Londoners perspective it’s bizarre what they’re doing today I tell you.

In relation to your film clip for Again and Again what do consider 'not cricket'?

(Laughs) What’s not cricket?... I think what’s not cricket is listening to the music your kids like and going ‘that’s rubbish’. I take my son to the record shop and whatever he likes. I’m buying it! (Laughs) Sure enough in a week or so I’m like dead into it, I’m like wow, I thought this was shit when I first heard it, but this is alright! (Laughs)

Also how long did you stay rockin’ the jheri curl after the filming of Buff Nuff?

(Laughs) I took it off as soon as we stopped.

Didn’t take it on tour? (Laughs)

(Laughs) It was too hot!

Man that thing that thing looked thick!..

(Laughs) and real slimy!

So I’ve heard for your touring that once again you’ve sort of been inspired by Studio One and have gone for that sound system vibe and sort of moved away from the live band sound which you had for that last tour which supported your last major release.

I think we still got elements in there cause we, you know, we’re taking a keyboard player that doubles up as a saxophone player that doubles up as someone that triggers off an MPC from time to time. So it’s not totally beyond that.

So streamlining it a little better to suit…

Yeah, yeah, we’re not going straight out, we’re not trying to cut a piece of the guitar market this time.

Sure, it seems like its been a pretty dominant and popular aspect, you know a lot of touring hip-hop acts have used that band element. Was it sort of a move to get away from that and try something different?

Yeah, I spose, it’s economics as well as just keeping things simple really and yeah, it’s not that easy to be travelin’ with a crew of 14 people that you don’t really know that well, but when it worked it worked but when it didn’t, when there were hard times there were real hard times. I mean it’s not like travelling with a real band is it.

Of course, a band that you’ve come up with...

That you’ve grown up with yeah. It’s a whole lot more political, it’s a whole lot more about money and I just sort of thought, okay, I’ve done that now! (Laughs)

I read somewhere you wanted to learn guitar has that happened?

I get a few lessons now and again, yeah and I’m getting better, I’m using a lot more fingers than I used to! (Laughs)

Your last two releases have had a bits and pieces album, for a lack of a better word, which contained remixes, b sides etc. and each one played on the previous albums title. Can we expect something similar to follow this new release Slime and Reason? And if so what can we expect the title to be?

Hand on heart I really don’t want to do that this time.

You really don’t? Cause I was gonna put my money on Grime and Reason man.

Oh what? Grime and Reason? (Laughs) You know what I’d rather do if anything, a little live compilation album or something

So it’s not so much that there weren’t things lying around after this last studio album…

There is, there is.

It’s more just that you don’t want to, I mean its almost becomes expected…

I think it’s more important to just get on with making another record. There are other bits and pieces lying around, but you know I think it would be nicer to give that stuff away for free. I know the record company wouldn’t want to hear me say that. But I’m almost like ‘yeah put it up, put it up on a blog somewhere that you key into.

I get you, it makes it a little bit more exciting for those fans out there, that make that little discovery and find some little gem on a website somewhere.

Yeah. Well we don’t know where we stand at all as far as like physical releases are concerned.

It’s a crazy time for the industry. I mean how do you think Big Dadda are positioned to make that transition. I mean do you think they’re keeping flexible?

Oh yeah definitely, definitely they’ve always kept flexible, we’ve always, I think just being linked with Ninja Tunes we’ve always kind of had that, that kind of access, that kind of knowledge what with the new technologies and the new ideas of presenting music and consuming music we’ve kinda always been around that.

Your right, because Ninja Tunes seem to have been about being ahead of the 8 ball in terms of distribution, or new methods of distribution.

Yeah.

So what’s happening with your label Banana Klan?

That thing is just going along, doing its crazy little thing. Out of control.

Out of control?

Yeah people turn up at shows that I’ve never even seen before. (Laughs)

(Laughs) Well isn’t that the point?

Well that’s the idea, exactly, it’s not supposed to be a pretentious record label as a big commercial venture or... Music snobs putting out music for the sake of earning more money. It’s more like a collective, a kind of studio concern, it’s more about that kind of incessant, that overwhelming desire to, it’s more about the studio time and the creative aspects, you know I listen to stuff, I hear some of the artists that I connect with, and I’m like yeah put that out now! (Laughs) You know it might only sell 50 or 70 copies but it needs to be heard you know.

So it’s about you using what you feel as maybe your position to be able to give a leg up to those artists out there that you think are creating something a little unique but probably in this world of ring tone rap aren't going to have as much of a commercial viability…

But we still love it, you know what I’m sayin’? I’m a relic I still love the whole goin’ to the pressing plant and giving them a DAT tape or a CD and then coming back in two weeks and you’ve got 300 hundred copies. I’m terrible with the copies, cause I always flippin’, I end up giving away at least 200. My distributor can’t stand it, but you know at least they’re out there. (Laughs)

So what's your favourite album of all time?

(Laughs) That would be Smif ‘N’ Wessun, The Shining.

Yeah? Boot Camp Click. What did you think of their more recent albums?

I’m an old school album fan… I think it was cool, it was cool, but that The Shining was just…

A banger...

It lit up my world, and it wasn’t just because of the music it was the type of… I know gays that listen to this album! It’s got so many lurid flippin’ homophobic references on it but they don’t care! They smoke they weed and their listening as we drive through South London. Listening to The Shining. It was just a whole, I dunno man, I can’t put it into words man, it was like... I think the weed at the time was really good man! (Laughs)

Those guys seem to be putting out a fair amount of product these days, I mean for example Buckshot released those collabo albums with 9th Wonder, I thought it was a good move for those guys. I mean it’s kinda like I said before this question of relevance, in the back of their minds, they, like you said, have to be aware of the nature of being relevant but it’s also about just being involved and getting music out…

Yeah, you know its really significant that Buckshot found a new wave producer or a producer 10 years younger than him that kinda still, kinda makes the beats he’s used to.

Yeah.

I find that quaint. I find for me, where I find I’m working with producers and because I’m kinda more open to the so called, I don’t know if your aware of the phrase in Melbourne, it’s like a whole new scene that’s suddenly appeared of ‘hipsters’.

Oh yeah, you’ve got your Cool Kids, your Kidz In The Hall…  What are your thoughts on it? Not a fan?

I’m cool with it. I hear Cool Kids is hipster rap and I’m really confused… I thought that was just rap? I don’t get it. (Laughs)

I know what you mean, it seems to me that it comes from a certain area. It seems like it really comes down to the way that they dress in a lot of ways.

Oh is it?

Yeah you know, ‘skinny’ jeans and tighter tees and it’s almost… I think American hip-hop in particular can be very insular, it’s gone from something that was based around innovation and doing your own thing to now where it seems like more formulaic than you know country music in so many ways.

Yeah.

You know what I mean?

Yeah, yeah man! I hear you.   

So yeah I think it’s a knee jerk reaction from a lot of heads that don’t kind of understand the direction they’ve taken the music. Yeah I think it's… yeah I don’t mind it. I think it’s fun and you know that’s what hip-hop, that’s one of the many things hip-hop music should be...

I just find it so mad that half of the time the hipster MC's are kinda bringin’ back some old elements that was always around in hip-hop anyway, you think of someone like Dr. Dre who was like part of World Wrecking Cru, who used to wear tight fucking leather pants (Laughs). They’re just bringin’ back some element that was a part of hip-hop anyway.

Any Shoutouts?

Big up my homeboy Infa, I know he’s busy, he’s on his new album, he hasn’t called me with his new beats. Infa's from, he’s from Melbourne. Big up 1200 Techniques! Big up Infa! Big up everyone! Big up my homeboy over there Lowtek. Lowtek lives in Melbourne.

I know of Lowtek...

Tell Lowtek to call me! He hasn’t called me, he hasn’t emailed me! Nothing!


Roots Manuva's fourth studio album is out now and is available in Australia via Inertia for more info on the man himself and for international distro check his own website rootsmanuva.co.uk.


Back