Okay, if you read Part I, this continues where I left off. I’m gonna do ten parts, so anyone with comments about ‘I missed out him or whatever’, stop doing that.

Nowadays the UK hip-hop scene can be broken down into different factions – the ‘backpacker’ mid 90s style (which is more about lyricism and digging for samples) and the ‘mans-on-road’ music (which includes grime and wearing custom new-era caps). However, taking this view is problematic for a number of reasons. By bracketing music into different genres you ignore the fact that it’s all just music, which can only ever really be good or bad (or average).
The question of whether these divisions could be race related is tackled in detail by Karl Kinds (ill flava) on his track ‘psycho analysis’, on which he talks about how the industry is run and controlled by middle class white people, who’s idea of hip-hop is radically different from that of black people from housing estates. Although I don’t necessarily agree with his reasoning, he does make some important points about who’s in control of what we get to hear and see on commercial radio and TV. Mr Hinds is better known for his track ‘don gramma’, London’s answer to Big L’s ‘ebonics’.

My experiences of UK hip-hop have rarely ventured into grime territory, but are concerned with a broad range of musical styles and genres, from jazz to R&B to Hungarian folk. In my opinion, in order to stay relavent in this rapidly evolving music scene, you have to be open and appreciative of new artists and sounds, and one such person is a former employer of mine, Disorda. This man has been putting in unbelievable work for ages, running the No.1 mail order company for UK hip-hop Suspect Packages, the distributor/label Boombox and compiling the Suspect Files series (now up to volume 4), as well as reissuing classic records like Demon Boyz’s ‘recognition’ and Hardnoise’s ‘untitled’. As if that wasn’t enough, he also records the Suspect Packages Radio Show and supports Aussie hip-hop (more on that later).

On this promo he is speaking with rising star Sonny Jim:

watch?v=E1puJdSycTA

Last time I mentioned a certain producer by the name of Beat Butcha. Although his artistry is serious, he’s a humourous fellow, fond of a few japes. He is without doubt making the killer beats, not only your traditional sample based joints, but also grime. The best example (of grime) I’ve heard so far is Ghetto’s ‘so damn dedicated’ from his ghetto gospel album.
In this interview I tried to get some serious answers from the man.

Ghetto – “So Damn Dedicated” can be heard here:

Esh: Introduce yourself

BB: 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 favourite limited edition 10″s by Phil Collins, Wham &
Gary Glitter….

Esh: What was your first experience of hip-hop?

BB: 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?
BB: almost 10 years…

Esh: What is your process for making beats?

BB: 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 borin if you keep the same formulas and
ways of doing things.

> What equipment do you use?
BB: I have an MPC 2500, various synths, stack of wax, a sp12 & COOL EDIT…

Esh: Who are your (beat making) influences?

BB: 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 & Stock Aitken & Waterman…
…as well as the obvious ones like Black Milk, Madlib, DJ Khalil, Focus
and of course the late great Jay Dee…



Esh: What projects you got coming? (features etc.)

BB: 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…

Esh: What is your opinion of UK hip-hop?

BB: 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 & way too small minded… and obviously the UK
music industry doesn’t understand it….

Esh: Who in hip-hop shouldn’t release records?

BB: 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…

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

BB: 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…

Esh: What’s your opinion of downloading’s effect on the industry?

BB: Its killing artists, I mean where do you draw the line. I aint gunna
front like I aint downloading ish but 9/10 its stuff  I just wanna hear
 whether its good and if it is ill buy it but when I see things like
the Redmaster album and triple darkness on peoples blogspots available
for download when I know we aint 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….

Esh: Obama as Prezident?

BB: 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…

Esh: What’s your favourite kind of biscuit?

BB: the flute playin kind lol….pause

Esh: Conspiracy theories?

BB: Timmy Mallet is Adolf Hitler re-incarnated…

Esh: What is your political world view?

BB: the world is damned politically, make your money and help people you love….

Esh: Did you enjoy the Olympics?

BB: nope I hate any sports that don’t involve hummus…

Esh: Shouts to…

BB: Esh…

Wurdz by Esh

For international hip-hop: www.myspace.com/ibmcs

Other links:
www.illflavarecords.com
www.myspace.com/beatbutcha
www.suspect-packages.com

K-Loc

Today’s featured track comes from London emcee K-Loc.

mp3: “What You Won’t Do For Love”

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Where to start? Well, I could start at the beginning, but I got into hip-hop in 1990 so the Old School of UK hip-hop is something I had to learn about retrospectively. There are already a lot of articles (on-line) about the history of the scene which is fairly well documented so instead of going into that, I’ll give an overview of my personal experience, and introduce the readers to a few things they are less likely to know about.

The first UK hip-hop artists (rap that is) I became aware of were London Posse and Blak Twang, who are still considered some of the most important after doing this for more than 20 years. In my opinion, they were never given the props they deserved, and there’s a good reason why; the UK has always had a cutting edge music scene which has innovated new genres and styles and this has meant hip-hop has had to share its evolution with the junglists, the ravers, the garage artists and so on. In terms of musical creativity this has been a positive thing, allowing artists like Massive Attack and Roni Size to gain mainstream success, while for the traditionalist hip-hoppers it has made it more difficult to gain that kind of exposure. That is why an artist who comes from the garage scene like Dizzy Rascal is well known, while the people representing ‘the real hip-hop,’ for example Taskforce, are still relatively unknown to the average person in the UK.

UK hip-hoppers are famously critical of their own scene, always comparing themselves to the yanks, (especially in terms of production quality) and rightfully so. The reality is that there are a lot of substandard producers and emcees out there putting out wack product. I’ve witnessed a succession of unfit records that were released to a disinterested public. Having said that, it’s not all bad, there’s a few legends out there, and hopefully it’s getting better.

One of the producers getting serious accolades right now is Beat Butcha (interview coming soon). In the few years that he has been making beats while living in London, he has already managed to work with almost every emcee worth mentioning in the UK scene (Terra Firma, Kashmere, Jehst, Braintax,Verb T, Rodney P, Roots Manuva, Manage, Mikall Parknsun… the list goes on). Butcha’s music should not necessarily be considered as just “UK hip-hop” because he has a much more international outlook and is also makes sick beats for artists from the Netherlands, Australia and the States. Look out for his forthcoming album on Lowlife records which is set to smash it with the same production standards you would expect from people like DITC in Amerca. If you’re a newcomer to the UK scene, he’s probably the best place to start.

Check out some of his stuff here:

Another producer to look out for is Kwakes. This is another young guy with heavy skills. He is better known as a superb drummer and one quarter of The Speaker’s Corner Quartet (drums, double bass, cello and flute), all talented musicians in their own right. The flautist Biscuit has been in the hip-hop game for a minute and did an album with producer LG called Smoke Rings which is dopeness.

The Kraftsmen are from Brixton and represent a different, younger approach to hip-hop which uses less sample-based production and is more about lyrical skills and delivery. The group comprises emcees Frantic Frank, Manic, Prodigal and newest recruit Mic Righteous who is only 18. They have been through some serious trials and tribulations, which I wont go into here, but if you listen to the lyrics you’ll get a get a glimpse into their lives.
Kraftsmen are part of a larger collective called The Peoples Army. This is surely the largest and most significant group in UK hip-hop at the moment and is led by Logic and Lowkey, both serious emcees. This pair is also a group in themselves called New World Order. The Peoples Army is an organization with a message of unity that reaches out to the UK hip-hop (and beyond) underground to try and bring the scene together.

10 minute Peoples Army freestyle session here:

Watch Mic Righteous kill it ridiculously for 43 seconds:

Wurdz by Esh

If you didn’t know, the UK seems to be teaming with world class producers, least of which is Corin Douieb, a.k.a. The Last Skeptik.

TLS has been working for a number of years behind the scenes in the UK hip hop industry. Besides a producer, he’s a radio show host (DustyCratesRadio show) and a journalist for UK mags like Hip Hop Connection and Undercover. He’s done label work for the legendary Low Life Records, all the while perfecting his production skills.

He’s worked with many of the top UK artists like Sway, Jehst, Dubbledge, Conspicuous, Stig of the Dump, Diversion Tactics, Kashmere, Manage and American MF Grimm. In 2007, he teamed with emcee Verb T for one of my favorite international hip hop albums of the year, Broken Window. Skeptik’s groovy and moody soundscapes blended perfectly with message-driven lyricist Verb T.

Skeptik gave me some information on his background, process and upcoming projects.

mp3: “Evil Life Part 3″

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Old School G: Tell me about how you got into hip hop. What people inspired you?

The Last Skeptik: I must have started listening to hip hop music when I was around 11 or so, but I had always heard it from my brothers room. He was older than me, so I use to hear Pharcyde, 2pac and Tribe from him. I got hooked and started building my collection and checking for every single West Coast rapper that existed. I mean I repped for the West to the point where I was never a massive Biggie fan, and still aren’t to this day. But inspiration wise, there were so many people in my life that personally guided me musically, from Sway to Jehst to Jazz T to Verb T, but listening wise, definitely Premier, Pete Rock, and 88 Keys.

OSG: Give us a bit of biography/background of your music.

TLS: I first started producing in the school music rooms with Sway, piecing together crappy beats in Logic. I built on it until I picked up an MPC2000XL with all my savings, and literally hibernated ‘til I made half decent beats, which took a hell of a long time. I had a few mixtape things out, but it all culminated when Kam from Mr. Bongo asked to put my first record out, which had a dude called Squared on the A, and Sway on the B. I that – my first 12″ – when I was 18, had the second one out a year later with emcee Conflix. All the while, built with Verb T ‘til the point where we had an album worth of thoughtful, grown man music and Silent Soundz put it out and 3 years after we did it. In between I’ve worked with MF Grimm, Edo G, and the cream of the UK scene.

OSG: How did you decide to be a producer?

TLS: My love for music grew, and knowing I was creative it seemed natural that I would make beats and channel it through that. Plus i hated the kids that played instruments at my school. They were all pretentious wankers, so I wanted to do my own thing.

OSG: What music outside of hip hop do you draw on for producing?

TLS: Everything. Literally there is no music genre that I can listen to and not take something from. Artists like Emiliana Torrini, Damon Albarn, Chopin and Mark Mothersburgh inspire me.

OSG: You had a brilliant album last year with Verb T, Broken Window. Tell us how you two met and what it was like working together on that album.

TLS: We met when I was working at Low Life records, helping Brains [Braintax] out with the label around the time of Skinny’s album (Skinnyman Council Estate of Mind, 2004) . I handed him some beats, and he called me that week to say that he hadn’t had beats from a producer for a long time that not only did he like every one, but he felt the vibe, and saw my creative vision. Working with him was great, he is a good friend of mine now and hopefully there’s gonna be talk of a follow up at some point soon.

OSG: Describe your process for producing a track.

TLS: There use to be one: dig for a record, find a sample, make a drum pattern, chop the sample, done. But now I’m moving away from samples, so I’ll start with the drums, make it an ill pattern then fuck with a bassline and try a million different synths ’til I get the nastiest sound that makes me want to throw up in my shoes, then i know its ready.

mp3: “Round By Round”

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OSG: Hip hop in the UK seems to be remaining underground for the most part, it other music styles siphon off of it like Grime and Garage. Do you think UK hip hop is at a healthy stage now and where do you see it going?

TLS: I honestly don’t know where its going. Music in general is struggling to find direction, but hip hop in the UK is, to me, incredible, blossoming, adapting and is building on an already solid art form in this country. Because it is the most hated on, dissed genre here, everyone keeps stepping their game up. I’m positive that the quality of the music is going through the roof, but whether that will result in sales, who knows!

OSG: What projects do you have coming up soon?

TLS: I have an all instrumental album called “Escape From Badger Mountain” coming soon, that I am building as part of something a bit bigger that I’m keeping quiet at the moment. It’s pretty weird, and probably will make people frown and spit their porridge in to their mum’s faces. But I don’t care anymore, it’s just about making beautiful music, whatever genre it goes under. I’m also working on a project with Australian emcee Brad Strut, and working on some tracks with Sir Smurf Lil, Eslam Jawaad, Verb T, SonnyJim Skandal, Jehst, Stiggy and a bunch of people. Tons to watch out for!

For even more information about The Last Skeptik catch him on his web site and MySpace.