Thanks for taking the time to do this interview. First off can you tell us what part of the UK you from and how you started out as an artist?
Bless fam…Reds in da place… Im from Norwich, in the EA (East Anglia!) It started for me by rollin with sound system crews and going to loadsa free parties, warehouse raves and festivals and getting known for blessing the mic in sound sessions.This then led to gettin into the recording side of things cos some of the crew i was rolling with were squatting big buildings turnin them into living space and people started bringin in bits of recording gear and studio kit and people would be jammin. those days were live- o, real crazy vibes but a lot less proffessional than the studio environments we’re used to nowadays haha
What have you released to date and what would you say was your biggest acheivement in Hip-Hop was?
First we dropped ‘The All Or Nothing Days’ album then the ‘Knowledge Is King’ album and now Ive just been sorting out a new mixtape series Ruffneck Intellect. I guess Id count my biggest achievements as doing tracks with artists like Hell Razah, Timbo King and Bronze Nazareth and supporting acts like Souls Of Mischief and some of the most respected in the UK like Task Force, Phi Life Cypher and Skinnyman. I count everyday just bein here as a big achievement tho haha
Okay, let’s talk about your new project. Who produced it and what guests are involved?
The new project is Chronic Redeye Music presents Ruffneck Intellect Vol.1 with a collection of exclusives, big hits and freestyles featuring artists like Dezert Eez, Hell Razah, Timbo King, Deadly Hunta, DPF, Yaeo, Manny Moscow, Late, Conman, Rook Da Rukus, Franko Fraize, Lyrical T, Mancini & The Creepers..the list goes on lol its like a family tree of the realest motherf**kers in the game
When did you start making this new project?
Its been in the works for over a year now cos things can get mad hectic up at Chronic Redeye Music HQ and it can mean real life gets in the way of the master plans lol
When is it released and where is the best place to buy it from?
Its out now best places to cop it are www.hoodlem.bigcartel.com or www.suspect-packages.com
What formats will it be released on?
CD
Do you think CD’s will become extinct soon because of the MP3? How do you feel about this as an artist?
I dunno about exctinct but definitely decreasing in value as everything becomes more throwaway. Its a shame for me as someone whos still in love with vinyl let alone CD, but ya gotta move with the times and it is what it is!
For those that don’t know what record label are you currently on and who are your label-mates?
We run our own imprint Chronic Redeye Music which is solely for our output but we’ve got close links with Hoodlem recordings which is home to Franko Fraize and Lyrical T
Can you give us all your relevant website links please?
Before you go is there anything you would like to add or say?
yeah cop Ruffneck Intellect Vol.1 CD its too ill to sleep on! and get to know the name SOLDJASOULZ thats the new team of me and DPF we been destroying mics left right and centre. (no) peace!
The very beautiful Barbadian singer/ songwriter, RIHANNA, was recently interviewed by TALK ASIA which aired on CNN where she spoke about her abusive relationship with ex-boyfriend CHRIS BROWN, winning her third grammy, her growth over the years personally and muscially. She also talks about what her single “UMBRELLA” means to her and how she feels about her new album “RATED R“.
RIRI speaks about her childhood memories and finding her father doing crack and drugs in the kitchen, the break down in her parent’s marriage, the financial struggles, and how her mother really played a big part in being a parenting role and allowing her to be a child when she was growing up. She also stated that her relationship with her father is now “almost non-existent”.
ROBYN RIHANNA FENTY talks about first meeting JAY-Z and working with JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE.
She also talks about “COLD CASE LOVE” being a direct reference to her relationship with CHRIS BROWN and the difficulty of that particular event her in her life.
The star stated that she would love to work with KINGS OF LEON and hopes that her next album is not so dark mainly because her albums reflect how she is feeling at the time and this time around she would like to be in a much better place in her life!
Laura ‘Hyperfrank’ Brosnan recently caught up with one of the grime scenes most talked about MCs at the moment, 17 year old Maxsta from east London, exclusively for The Wrap Up!
The Wrap Up: How did you get into music and what’s your journey been like to get to this point?
Maxsta: It’s been a rollercoaster to say the least, a lot of good times, some bad times, but overall it’s been a good journey. I started off with a five pound microphone from Argos and a computer with some of my boys in my bedroom after school, so it’s great to be here right now…
TWU: What were you listening to growing up? Who inspired you to actually make music?
M: Dizzee Rascal, Kano and Ghetts were my three favourite artists, but I listened to a lot of music when I was younger. I was into grime right from the start, the first grime CDs I bought were JME’s ‘Shut Yuh Mut’ and Ghetto’s ‘2000 And Life’. I feel like I fell in love with the sound right from the start, at the moment I can’t go a day without listening to some sort of grime, even if it’s just my own music.
TWU: You were in grime collective, Mucky Wolf Pack. What was the situation around you joining that crew instead of say, Nasty Crew?
M: The Wolf Pack thing was just to do with me hanging around Bow E3. I got introduced to the whole Wolf Pack team by having my music heard by the older lot like Gods Gift. I had to clash another MC on Roman Road which decided whether I was in or not. Thankfully I won because it was one of the moves that shaped my career. I’m from Newham so a lot of people ask me the ‘why not Nasty Crew’ question, but it’s just a thing of not really having any affiliation with any of Nasty Crew, so even if there was a chance of it happening, which would have been real cool, it just didn’t.
TWU: So what actually happened to the Pack?
M: It got to a point where there were a lot of members, including Snoopy and Maniac, who had different ideas of what they wanted to do. I never actually wanted to leave, but at the time there was some confusion going on with Wiley and Wolf pack. By that time I had affiliations myself with both sides and didn’t want to have to cancel either partnership so I had to go solo.
TWU: A lot of people including myself first heard of you when you called out Double S/Marvell in one of your lyrics. Why did that all happen?
M: I got a call from Jammer talking about ‘Lord Of The Mics 3’ and he asked me who I might want to clash. I decided Double S. Many people don’t know this one, but Double S and I were meant to clash in 2007, when there was a little war season going on. Wiley rang me saying “Max, you want to clash Double S?” and I never back down from a good challenge, so I obviously said yes. The clash never happened, but I thought in 2009 I was ready to actually clash him and win. It kind of got out of hand because I weren’t really feeling the way they dealt with the situation, trying to treat me like some little kid you know? But I came out of the situation with my ratings up, so thanks.
TWU: Is it all squashed now?
M: Yes, with Double S and Shocka anyway, those are the only two I’ve spoken to, not sure about the others.
TWU: Would you ever work with Double S/Marvell?
M: Why not? Hopefully there’s no feelings caught on their side, because a lot of people would like to hear a Maxsta and Double S tune. At the minute though, the situation is like I’m saying Double, let’s do a tune and he’s trying to ignore it. That’s the kind of stuff that gets me in one of my sending moods. Thankfully though, we’re past all of that now.
No one ever really talks about charity. Events are duly attended and gestures made in times of crisis but as a whole, we don’t tend to bring up Oxfam or Amnesty unless it’s a gripe at the gauntlet of chuggers on College Green. There is no crushing social pressure to show a good face, as religions weaken and experiences broaden, the moral obligation that once marked us out as givers has disappeared. There’s simply no obligation when giving is this much fun.
The Save Children Out Of Poverty Foundation we know as SCOOP plays an important role in local fundraising. This Friday 19 March sees the Academy host the launch of www.thescoopfoundation.com, a step up for the brave little charity that could.
Our website will be the centre of the SCOOP universe. Not only will it be the place to get in touch to get involved, to express an idea or opinion or to challenge us in any way you see fit, not only will it have all our latest news on events, fundraisers and other such developments and news, but it will also be where you, our patron, can see exactly where the funds we raise go, and how they are spent. We will have constant updates, photos and videos showing the progression of all our projects.
Great DJs and a vivacious billing of brilliant local musicians including Adrian Crowley, Valerie Francis, The Ambience Affair, Le Galaxie and Robotnik all bring sonority to the tremendous goodwill buzz. You will find no better reason to be out dancing this weekend.
Ireland rates consistently highly in the world’s quality of life rankings and recognising this, Andy Sweeney realised that combining the love of leisure with a good cause was a way to make a difference on both sides of the world. Using art, fun, music and sports, he built up a charity with a personality that would account for itself. There are no paid members of the organisation and every penny raised is allocated to a deserving source. Over the last couple of years now we’ve come to know the SCOOP name means authentic tenderhearted efforts to expand the horizons of hope for young people left behind by their societies.
It was the story of a Cambodian farmer and his wife that first inspired Andy to do more and reading the same tale on MySpace urged my own conscientious curiosity. I got in touch to ask about his work and the latest fundraising bonanza organised by SCOOP. Read on for more and remember, if you’d like to get involved, SCOOP would love to hear from you.
How did you get into charity work?
I had been travelling through Asia, in a place in my own life where I had no direction nor drive. I came across the orphanage in Cambodia we support now and the power of the place had a profound effect on me and would dictate the life I would lead. When I returned home to Ireland, I vowed that I would try and have the same impact on their lives as they did mine.
What’s unique about the Scoop Foundation in Ireland?
I guess what makes us different is that we offer as much inclusion as possible, after finding that other charities in this country were rather exclusive. We want to encourage as many different people from as many different walks of life to get involved with the schools, orphanages and workshops we work with and to play an active role in changing the lives of these children for the better. We have also found that the experience can be life changing for those who get involved.
What made you choose to work with this mix of music and charity?
We see the strength in the arts and music to change lives and the way people think. We are all passionate about music and the arts so it came quite natural to host gigs or art auctions as fundraisers. We basically organise fundraisers that we ourselves would respond to. Most of us are musicians, DJs or promoters to begin with, or at least we’re all fans of the acts, so we basically have a great reason to try and host our ideal gig!
What’s the general atmosphere around this kind of event in Ireland? We pride ourselves on being a nation of givers, is there a strong support for Scoop?
We’ve had a great response from bands, gig goers, artists, art buyers etc and then we have found that people who have gone to our previous events will come along to see us throw our hands at something new, and have faith that they will at least have a laugh. The fact of the matter is that money is tight these days, yet we all still want to have a good time if only to forget how miserable things can get! At the SCOOP shows we try to fuse the two and it seems to be working.
How do you distribute the money raised? Which areas are most in need?
We take on grass-root projects that are dear to our own hearts and have four at the moment. The first is the orphanage I visited in Cambodia, the second is a school for street children that two of our good friends here in Dublin worked in for six months, the third is a football academy in Uganda which Calvin visited and the forth is a DJ studio and workshop for under-privileged teenagers here in Dublin. Each project has education in some capacity at its core or they help children try and fulfill their potential.
What do you think are the biggest problems in the developing world?
In my opinion, the biggest problem in the developing world is also the biggest problem here in Ireland: there is no cohesion between the NGOs and charities. They all seem to be competing with each other instead of working together, since they all seem to preach the same cause and goals. Don’t get me wrong, there are serious political, financial, environmental and literacy problems in the developing world but a lot of funds, ideas and manpower seem to get lost along the way due to the inability to work together.
Do you work with other charity organisations?
We have worked with AZ Children’s Charity in Uganda and wholly support the amazing and necessary work they do over there but in general we have found that most charities in Ireland have closed their doors to us. One of our main goals in the SCOOP is to create an inclusive charity where funds aren’t lost or wasted on manipulative advertising or excessive wages. A charity that people can really trust and become involved with.
How would you like to see SCOOP develop in the future?
We’d like to take on more schools and encourage people from walks of life that don’t usually get the chance to volunteer and pass on a skill. We’d love to have mechanics, carpenters, artists, seamstresses etc. come to us and go to one of the schools we support to teach the children a skill they can use to make a living. Events-wise, the sky’s the limit!
Tickets for this Friday’s SCOOP Foundation gig are priced €20 and available from Tickets.ie now.
Over on Elliott’s “real” blog, Geek to Me, he had the pleasure of interviewing “People VS George Lucas” Director/Writer Alexandre Philippe. If you haven’t had a chance to read it yet just hit the link below to check it out. Also, it does seem that the clip from CCW*TV has indeed made the final cut. Exciting, huh?
Movie Director makes his case for Star Wars Fans in “The People vs George Lucas”/Geek to Me
“I reached out to him a couple of days ago with some real serious ideas,” Lupe said. ” ‘Let’s put a program together. Something that works out and makes sense for the both of us.’ He’s a very talented MC. One of the few MCs that I actually listen to what they’re saying. I don’t listen to 98 percent of the rappers out there. But he’s one of the MCs I listen to and I’m inspired to do so. A collaboration is in the works.”
