|
  Akala Interview
interview 0405 added
11.05.06 words: Anna Nathanson
technical:
QED
23-year old London MC Akala releases “It’s Not a Rumour” today.
Anna Nathanson caught up with Ms. Dynamite’s little bro in a Camden bar
recently to find out about his unique musical fusion, his troubled
school days, and why he counts Shakespeare as one of his influences…
“...The whole album, not one word was written down on paper. I never write
anything down on paper, I memorise it. That’s something I took from Jay
Z, and I’d recommend it to everybody...”
You’re album has
quite a rocky feel to it, what made you decide to mix hip hop with rock?
 I
think the two genres have a history, right from the first big hip hop
track ‘Walk This Way‘. They were born from a similar attitude;
rebellion, and they both have a youthful energy about them. In many
ways, that element has been lost in modern day hip hop and I think this
album is a showcase of the relationship between the two genres and how
they can be fused.
You have a track on
there called ‘Shakespeare’. Is he someone you look up to?
When I read Shakespeare at school, I thought “wow, this guy’s talented,
he’s like a rapper!“ There’s a rhythm to all of his work, and if he was
alive today he’d be a rapper. Guy’s been dead 500 years and people are
still studying him. Society’s changed so much and he’s transcended all
of that. I don’t think rappers get enough credit for how intellectual a
profession it is.
Your lyrics are
often very political. Where does this influence come from?
Probably my mum. She is very very politically aware. She made me watch
the Nelson Mandela film at about four years old. That shapes you for the
rest of your life. I saw and took in so many serious images at such a
young age, and that had a big affect on me.
“...When I read Shakespeare at school, I thought ‘wow, this guy’s
talented, he’s like a rapper!’ There’s a rhythm to all of his work, and
if he was alive today he’d be a rapper...”
You did your Maths
GCSE a year early and went on to be chosen to attend the Royal
Institution of Mathematics. Did you find school easy?
No, I had a hard time at school, I didn’t enjoy it at all. I found that
a lot of teachers had a certain perception of me, which influenced how I
was treated. At the age of eight I had a reading age of a 16 year old,
but none of them actually knew that as they hadn’t bothered to read with
me. In general I found that teachers found me a very difficult pupil to
stomach. Rather than try and nurture me and help me do well, their
instinct was to put me down and stop me doing well, which as a teacher
is pretty stupid.
How did you cope
with that?
 Well it actually helped me stay in school cos I knew so many people were
betting against me and hoping that I’d fail. And that made me think,
“Well, fuck you, I’m not gonna fail, I’m gonna do well”.
You’re a very
talented writer, how do you go about writing lyrics?
The
whole album, not one word was written down on paper. I never write
anything down on paper, I memorise it. That’s something I took from Jay
Z, and I’d recommend it to everybody.
How do you see the
UK scene compared to America?
Right now I’d say England is just like New York in the early Nineties
when it comes to rap. Everyone was hungry, and there was a style of the
rapping that was so high, that the kid on the corner might be a better
rapper than you, if you’re not on your guard, you get what I mean? And
that’s kinda how it is in England right now, where you got the little
kid who doesn’t even take rap seriously, but he’s out there and he’s
seeing certain things every day. And he’s writing his thoughts and what
he sees in such an articulate interesting and analytical way, that even
he can spit. And I don’t even know what his name is, see what I mean?
There’s that kind of vibe in London now.
Can you see it
crossing over to an American market though?
The same things that are happening in New York or Los Angeles, are
happening in London. That’s fascinating to them. I’ve been out there and
I’ve battled with people, and they can’t believe the things I’m saying.
So I feel there’s definitely the potential for a UK artist to do really
well in the States, yeah.
Akala’s album “It’s Not a Rumour” is out now on Illastate Records.
For more info, check out
www.akalamusic.com
“...In general I found that teachers found me a very difficult pupil to
stomach. Rather than try and nurture me and help me do well, their
instinct was to put me down and stop me doing well...”
-
Anna
Nathanson
Related Links:
 
|
