Guestlist

Issue 111

Monthly newspaper and online publication targeting 18 to 35 year olds. The ultimate guide to the hottest parties, going out and having fun. Music, fashion, film, travel, festivals, technology, comedy, and parties! London, Barcelona, Miami and Ibiza.

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I've known her for quite a while now and I've been a fan of her music for so long. This opportunity came up and I was like, you know what, I feel like I need a female MC on the track. I told her the idea behind it and she was up for it. She literally recorded her verse and emailed it over. I recorded the song back in March or April and I had my other single out at the time, so I was wait- ing for the right time to drop it, it was all organic. The video was like a bit of a throwback to the Risky Roadz DVDs – one of the early Grime DVDs that I used to showcase before there was social media, so I wanted to do a little nostalgic throwback to that which is why it kind of looks old skool. It's a one- take video, there's not many chops and it just looks very raw. It's shot outside of a car and I'm just saying my lyrics, and that's kind of like the foundation of how we used to promote our music back in the day. No one's really doing that anymore, this takes it back a bit. What was she like to work with? Yeah, she's sick! Regardless if she's a female or not, she's one of the best MCs in the country. She's really, really good. Her style's so unique and it's refreshing to see that she's not from London as well because a lot of the artists breaking out, especially from the streets, are from London so it's good for her to rep her city up in Birmingham. She's really nailed it and I think it's even harder to break through as a female artist. She's just really, really good, man! She's going to keep going places like she already is. Does this new single mean we can hear a new album from you sometime soon? Yeah, the goal is to get to the album but I'm looking to drop an EP sometime in Sep- tember. It's like a bit of a taster of what the album is going to be like, and then hopefully towards early next year I'm going to try and drop an album. That's the long-term goal, to build momentum to try and get that album out. You and Judy Dench came together last year through your coining of the phrase 'Dench', will she be on any future albums? You know what, that's actually a good idea! I think she definitely would be up for doing something because she's really cool and when we met up and did that little rap together she was so up for it, and I think I could probably get her involved in some capacity, in what capacity, I don't know yet, but I might have to pick my brain a bit. In the past, your single 'Pow' got banned from having airtime in relation to you talk- ing about guns. What do you think about music like Drill music and do you think that music does have an influence on the way that people use violence, or do you think that it's just the media looking for a scapegoat? Well, firstly, I didn't get banned because it talks about guns, that's just what the media portrayed it was about. It got banned because it used to cause a crazy reaction. It used to cause mosh pits and back in those days mosh pits in an urban environment was quite a new thing. Because of the mad reaction, club owners didn't understand it and they didn't really want that kind of envi- ronment in their venues, so they put banned signs up because they didn't get it. It looked a bit aggressive and intimidating towards them, so they just didn't want this type of stuff happening. This just spiralled towards it being banned and then people started saying that it was to do with the lyrics. I feel like music is very influential in all causes, but I think with the Drill thing, their situation is a little different because they're talking about events that they are actually going through and I feel like regardless if the music's there or not, these events are going to happen and they're going to con- tinue to happen. It's almost like the music is a release for them to explain their story. From my example, if you listen to 'Pow Pow', it's very aggressive, talking a lot of violent stuff because I was in the streets at the time, frustrated, and I just felt angry, like a lot of other people in there. Everyone just wanted to release their pain through their music and what's happened now is that music took me away from that environment, and that's exactly what would happen with Drill if they gave them time. Obviously, they have to take responsibility for their actions because the stabbings need to stop, but, it's a deeper solution. I think taking the music away from them is just going to make it even worse. So, what do you think can be done to help people? I think it starts from home, it starts from parenting. I definitely think the govern- ment need to get involved, they need to give these kids something to do. I think a lot of what's going on is partly because they haven't got much to do, and they've found music as an outlet, whereas before there were community centres, the government was investing in activities for kids to come away from any kind of option that could get them in trouble. What advice would you give to young art- ists starting out? In this day and age, I think social media is a good start for really getting your music out there and seeing how it connects because it has a big part to play in the music indus- try all over the world now and it's good to speak to your audience. You can see what's connecting and what's not connecting, whereas before you left it to your record label, and if you didn't have one it'd be hard to be heard or be seen. Now it's a totally different ball game, a lot of the power is in the artists' hands, so I'd just say if you're making music just put it out there, man. Let the people decide because they're the people who are buying the music, they're the people who are going to get you where you want to go. You have also appeared on Anuvahood and Bad Education, have you ever thought about going into acting as a career? You know what, I've actually got the ap- petite for acting again. I did a Sky show re- cently, a car show called Carnage with Fred- die Flintoff and Vick Hope, it was kind of like a real movie set up with the show, it was long days and I think what put me off the acting was the long hours. Like that scene in Annuvahood, I must have been in it for a minute, that after scene took the whole day, and I was like, mate, this type of thing is not for me. But, after the TV show I did, it was quite intense, but I really enjoyed it and when you see the outcome of it, your like "Y'know what, this is actually really cool." So, yeah, I'm definitely up for doing more TV acting, TV presenting, but again, I think it just needs to be the right thing for me. What was it like being on Mastermind? To be honest with you, that was terrible because I wasn't prepared at all! I kind of wanted to pull out of it because I was just so unprepared [but] I had to just take one for the team. The subject I chose, (Wu Tang Clan) I am passionate about, but for some reason, it didn't go as well as I wanted it to. The experience was great though! I just wish I had prepared myself more. It has recently been announced that you will be touring with G-Unit and 50 Cent. How did you get involved with working with these guys? Me and 50 have a mutual friend and he was like, "Yo, 50's coming back to Europe and he wants to do a tour and he wants you on it". At first, I thought he was joking because he was naming some other big USA rappers and he was like, "nah, nah, nah we need a UK guy, let's get Lethal Bizzle on it". And I was proper 1000% down, so it was just one phone call and the next minute I was announced on the tour. 50's a big, big influ- ence and I'm a big fan of him so I can't wait for that, man. Are you excited? 100%. And it's the original Die Tryin' tour which was a big influence on my career, so I'm chuffed that I'm going to see him per- form. I'm going to be in the crowd watching the show as well. Performing is one of the favourite parts of my job so, I'm really going to go hard and put on a good show. If you could play a gig anywhere in the world, where would it be? It would probably be somewhere hot, firstly. I'd probably want to do it somewhere like Barbados because I love Barbados and it would just be like an outdoor festival vibe. What is the worst job you have ever done? I used to work in a factory and put graphic folders together. I was just banging nails in each of the corners and it was the most boring job. What is your best moment in life? I've had so many sick moments. Building my mum a house, actually. When I started mak- ing my own money that was the dream and I finally managed to do it. What do you have a reputation for? Banter. I love a bit of banter. I'm always the joker. If you come around me, be prepared for a bit of banter because I'm always up for a laugh. I'm not too rude, but some people can't take it. If you are around Bizzle, just make sure you are sharp with your tongue. Where do you get your news from? Social media. That's where I find out every- thing. I don't even watch TV, I don't know why I have it. I find out everything on Twit- ter or Instagram. 2018 / ISSUE 111 39 HIP HOP & RNB " I DON'T EVEN WATCH TV, I DON'T KNOW WHY I HAVE IT. I FIND OUT EVERYTHING ON TWITTER OR INSTAGRAM. " follow @LethalBizzle

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