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  Dr Syntax Interview
interview
0527 added 25.09.07 words: Louis
Soul technical: QED
Now a familiar name in the UK hip hop
world, Ben Hughes aka Dr Syntax has
cemented his place amongst the country’s premier wordsmiths. Starting
with a few guest spots on the Foreign Beggars first album, he has been
popping up on tracks ever since with the likes of Stig, Flevans, Rup and
Dubbledge.
On a mission to further his reputation, he is an integral part of the
recently founded Beer and Rap crew with Stig of the Dump and DJ Newborn,
responsible for smashing up many an energetic live show up and down the
country.
This summer, he released his debut album Self Taught on Dented Records
and it didn’t disappoint, helping him to carve out his own sound and
vocal style within the scene.
Louis Soul caught up with the Doc at the local GP surgery, for his
opinions on the trials and tribulations of the rap game.
Can you shed some
light on yourself before you entered the rap game and how you started to
get involved?
 I'm from a pretty Royston Vasey-esque part of the country, so my life
prior to rap superstardom was spent drinking cider in barns. It wasn't
the most stimulating environment to spend your teens, but I did spend a
lot of time freestyling and beatboxing with only the local wildlife for
an audience. I was crap at beatboxing, but I was probably the best
rapper in the village.
I moved to Manchester when I was 18, and spent 3 slightly bewildered
years as a student up there. It was quite an eye opener. Back in the day
when people still made demo tapes, I was constantly slipping people
TDK's in an attempt to get heard, so convinced was I that I was 'the
shit'.
I was alright, but I hadn't paid my dues, so I jumped up on every open
mic I could to improve. I learnt a lot from watching Microdisiacs and
Broke N' English, who pretty much were the hip hop scene then, as well
as seeing all the usual suspects playing at a night called C'mon Feet. I
later moved to Brighton, where there were always cyphers going on and
shows where I could improve my craft, and at some point I met Foreign
Beggars, who got me to drop some verses on their debut album and tour
with them in 2004.
"...I've felt pretty reckless at times, going all out to push what
I'm doing without really planning for the future...."
What are your
rapping and musical influences? Do you have a favourite rapper?
Like a lot of people my age, I listened to Westwood when his show was
good in the mid to late nineties and that was always inspiring. I can
remember being nine and listening to Public Enemy, Ice T, NWA, Hijack,
Gunshot etc. I don't have a favourite rapper, but I feel like people I
work with and certain people in the scene in this country are some of
the world's finest - Stig, Foreign Beggars, Jehst etc.
 As far as music outside hip hop… definitely the humour of people like
Fats Waller in particular. I remember seeing Little Richard live when I
was young, which was a massive inspiration. All sorts of random
influences. Nowadays, all I seem to listen to is beat tapes, and odd
Latvian Prog rock records at Evil Sun and Ido's houses (who produced
both produced my album).
Do you find that
your own level of creativity has increased a lot since moving in with
Stig and Newborn?
For those who don't know, myself, Stig Of The Dump and DJ Newborn tour
together as the Beer And Rap Roadshow. We're also housemates. I don't
think my creativity has increased as such, but being around people who
are creative is always going to inspire you and up your game.
Do you think the
saturation of people making hip hop in London has affected your progress
in anyway?
From an outsider's perspective, the sheer amount of people at it is
quite alarming. When I was at school in deepest rural Oxfordshire, the
idea of someone listening to hip hop (let alone rapping) was ridiculous,
so I would get lots of ignorant attitude along the lines of, 'Why are
you trying to be black?'.
"...A lot of people will see me and not really expect me to come
with the level of skills I have..."
Up in London, I've met someone who said they got out of being bullied at
school by dropping a freestyle! So there's a huge amount of people
trying to make hip hop music here, and has been for a long time, but I
don't think that has affected my progress in any negative way. If
anything, because I'm not from here, it's been an advantage – people
have only heard about me in the last few years, rather than seeing me
honing my skills on open mics and growing up in public. A lot of people
will see me and not really expect me to come with the level of skills I
have, so to some extent I've still got the element of surprise here.
Also, as with anywhere, there might be a lot of people into making
music, but that doesn't mean they're any good. Some of the best rappers
in the country are from London, but so are some of the shittest, so
there's no shortage of people around to make you look good.
Self Taught was
brewing a long time before its release, what were your priorities whilst
making it?
 My priorities? Paying my rent, getting home in one piece… There was no
pressure, I just wanted to take my time and put together the best album
I could for the time. There was some expectancy for me to bring
something out off the back of the Foreign Beggars' first album, but I
didn't want to rush something out I wasn't happy with.
I dropped a guest verse on one particular record that came out around
the same time as Asylum Speakers, and I remember I'd been hungover when
I did it. When I heard the test press I just felt like a dick – someone
had bothered to get me involved and invested in a project and I hadn't
even turned up at my best to record. That made me realise I should do
things properly or not at all – it's a great privilege to put music out,
so it should never be done in a half-arsed way.
What was the most
challenging part of making the album? Looking back, is there anything
you would change?
Probably just getting tracks in the right order, making sure it had a
cohesive sound to it. I didn't set out to make an album – first of all I
was just making random tracks, then I was making an EP, then a mini
album, so I never really had the daunting prospect of thinking, 'right,
where do I start?' as it was already underway when I decided to get it
together. If I listen to it, all I hear now are mistakes – a line here
and there I could change, a vocal take I could improve on – but if you
dwell on that sort of thing you'll never get anything done. The album's
out there, some people love it, some people hate it. Now I've got to
make a better one.
"...I had changes in my personal life that caused me to be pretty
highly strung a lot of the time, so I've felt pretty reckless at times..."
What has it been
like on the Beer and Rap roadshow? Are there any particular performances
that stand out for you?
It's been a lot of fun. It's been a strange year for me – I quit my day
job, moved to London, and I’ve had changes in my personal life that
caused me to be pretty highly strung a lot of the time, so I've felt
pretty reckless at times, going all out to push what I'm doing without
really planning for the future. All things considered though, just to do
what I want to do for any amount of time is a blessing, and I've felt
it's been a real learning curve, in terms of performance and just
getting my shit together. We're (Beer and Rap) learning all the time,
which can be frustrating at times, but I genuinely feel it's all been
worthwhile.
 As far as particular performances, there was one particular night in
Brighton when we supported Task Force. It was kind of a homecoming for
Beer and Rap, and the crowd went mental. I think there's some footage of
that on YouTube somewhere. There have been a few good ones though –
Bristol's always wicked, little places like Stroud tend to show you huge
support because they're happy to get something dope to go and see. We
recently did a show in Yorkshire at some under-18's festival. We were
supporting Lil' Chris from TV's Rock School. That was quite bizarre, to
say the least.
After all the hype
that surrounded the UK vs. US rap battles recently, what are your views
on the freestyle scene in the UK and nights like Speaker's Corner?
First of all, Speaker's Corner is one of the best underground hip hop
nights in the country, and increasingly people are coming to it from all
over the country. That can only be a good thing. There's a good standard
of freestyling in this country, which is important for international
exposure. I was speaking to Reain (aka Whatshisface) recently, who was
saying that Americans are still quite taken aback by a British person
with skills, so it's a great time to get over there and show what the
standard is here. The novelty will wear off, so it's our time right now…Stig
went over to New York and won the End Of The Weak international final
which was incredible and just proves what level the UK is on right now.
"...Americans are still quite taken aback by a British person with
skills, so it's a great time to get over there and show what the
standard is here..."
With Beer and Rap
starting to step up to the next level, where do you think it will be in
five years time? What do you hope the future holds for yourself?
Hahaaaaa… we'll have to see. I think Beer and Rap can potentially be
something very special, and we're working hard to push it. We've got a
good brand and good artists, and a lot of people with experience like
Dented Records to help us out with advice etc. We just have to make sure
we don't fuck it up. As for me…more shows in dingy pubs and clubs across
the UK and beyond. More solo releases, more collaborations…world
domination… I don't know, the future is always cloudy.
Any shout outs?
Yeah… shout to the whole Brap fam, Imagineers, Menagerie, G.O.D, The
Evil Sun, Rup, Ido, Team Waste, Rarekind.co.uk, Dented and your God damn
self.
-
Louis
Soul
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