Daily Archives: December 5, 2010

Firstly thanks for taking time to do this exclusive interview for www.HipHop4Days.com. Let’s start at the beginning.

How did you get into making music and when would you say your career started?

Teej – We all loved Hip Hop from an early age and probably started putting pen to pad about 10 years ago. Not taking things to serious at first, we used to get together and jam over instrumental Hip Hop beats from the likes of Nas to Louis Slipperz. We really started getting going in 2004 when we blessed the Slip Jam B open mic session at Brighton’s very first Brighton Hip Hop Festival, which is now known as Rising Styles. After we performed at Brighton Hip Hop Festival things really started to get interesting for us as Marz, Kendal, and Abi D started to learn music production and create some killer tunes, 5 years later “G-Strings & Socks” emerged.

From when you started to now, what you consider being your biggest tracks or releases?

Kendal – It would have to be the release of “G-Strings & Socks” on ZramRecords. This is our debut album and even though all the tracks are very different, I would have to say Nasty Boy, Coffee, & Steam stand out the most.

How would you describe the music that you make?

Abi D – As we are a 4-man outfit we give you something different with every tune. Marz, Kendal, & me produce so there is a good mix of styles in the album. From the Classic, Boom Bap Hip Hop to the more Abstract and experimental sound of Hip Hop, we will always try to be as unique and original a possible. Although we all grew up together and are raised in Brighton, we are all influenced from different artists and all have are own distinctive style and flows to our bars and production.

Have you done many collaborations, if so who have you worked with and what was your most memorable experience?

Marz- We haven’t done any collabos outside of Scribe Tribe but we had some special features on the album from Romy Adams, Jack Hooper, & Emma Shayan. When we start work on our solo projects we will look to involve some other big hitters in the rap scene.

Hip-Hop is changing all the time. How do you feel about Hip-Hop in 2010, who are you feeling and how is the game treating you?

Kendal – I think the Hip Hop scene is always changing with new and exciting music such as Dub Step or Grime. You got ‘Skepta’, who is killing it in the Grime scene, remixing Hello Good Morning tune with P.Diddy,, and he even refers to it as the “Grime Mix”. But you’ve got to look at the vastness of the game and there are so many different vibes and styles from state to state, city to city. Just look at some of the stuff that’s come out of the US and some of the variations. You can’t deny the fact that styles have jumped with artists traveling around the globe spreading their wisdom, that’s what makes music what it is, there are no rules and no regulations when it comes to music, its simply about expressing yourself.

Tell me about the label you’re with, even if it’s your own label. Tell us who is involved and how many people behind the scenes are helping you?

Marz – We are running things off my label ZramRecords, which I started in 2010 to support and push UK Hip Hop artists and other musicians. We will have the release of “G-Strings & Socks“ on 10th Dec 2010 and I will be looking to release mine, Teej’s, Kendal, and Abi D solo projects later in 2011.

The music industry is changing from CD’s & Vinyl over to MP3, stores are getting closed and on-line shops are starting up. Do you think CD’s are dead or do you think it depends on the genre & artist?

Abi D – Everyone knows that CD sales have died dramatically over the years but they will never die. You will l always have the old school heads that like to own a physical copy of what there listening to, instead of just owning a downloaded mp3. Digital sales are killing it by a long way as the Internet is like the bible to most people, and instead of trekking around stores to find what you want, you can usually find it online with no hassle.

So where are you from exactly and have you ever done any local gigs?

Marz – We first blessed the mic at the very first Brighton Hip Hop Festival, now known as Rising Styles. We have also had gigs at Slip Jam B, Latest Music Venue, Club New York, Latest Music Bar, Funky Buddah Lounge, and Sidewinder, which are all venues based in Brighton.

Have you done any big gigs or played live with any big artists? If so tell us what it was like and what playing live means to you.

Teej – Playing and performing live is what Hip Hop is all about. We managed to play to over 2,000 people at the Brighton Hip Hop Festival that was BIG! Plenty of big names performed such as Dr Syntax, Koaste, Enlish, Tom Hines, Digitek, and many more. We will look to be playing a lot more live gigs in the future and bring you some high-energy performances.

Hip-Hop is sometime viewed as negative music and in the media often gets a raw deal. Do you think that Hip-Hop should be more positive and that artists have a responsibility to the youth?

Abi D – Generally these incidents are not influenced by the music and the individuals would do it any way. From the early days of Swinging 60’s, Rock and roll and Heavy Metal the Media have always looked at musicians to blame. This relates to all Musicians, Actors, Sports Pro’s having their faces plastered in the papers, saying they’re an embarrassment to the nation.  They should be looking into the community and neighborhoods where these incidents have happened, rather than a person’s favourite genre of music.

Can I get all the You Tube URL Links to all your music videos please?

Teej – We should be getting some videos up in 2011……….

Can I get all your website links, facebook, myspace, reverb nation, twitter, etc.

www.myspace.com/scribetribe
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Scribe-Tribe/157070364311209

Grab the album now…
http://www.play.com/Music/MP3-Download-Album/4-/17431660/G-strings-Socks/Product.html

Interview by Stuart Patterson
www.HipHop4Days.com