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  Mr. Phlo Interview
interview 0495 added 02.02.07 words:
Luv Jones
technical:
Spoon
Hip Hop fans in Reading should already know him
- if you've been to an event in the past three years the chances are that he was the promoter. The lineups read like a whos who in UK hip hop but now Mr Phlo is stepping out of the shadows to get recognised as an MC in his own right. LuvJones spoke to him just after the local release of his first mix cd to talk about promoting in general,what hes looking to achieve and the age old debate of grime vs UKHH...
Easy mate, first off for people who don’t know, let them know who you are, where you’re from and what you’re representing?
Easy, I’m Mr Phlo the Berkshire Bulldog all the way from Reading. Ran the number one promotion in town for three years bringing down basically all the top names in the scene mixing it up with lesser known people but now all that’s on hold whilst I push myself as an artist for a bit.
So what’s the scene like in Reading? When I spoke to Caramac he said there wasn’t much happening.
Yeah I read that and he’s right there isn’t much going on now I’ve stopped! You got Beatfeast on a Tuesday at Purple Turtle, that’s been going for years and props to the boys there but they don’t have the budget to bring any names down. Crystalformz do it at Plug’n’Play but they’re stopping the hip hop room so I heard and concentrating on d’n’b. Thing is you got hip hop fans in Reading who’ll pay a fiver to get in a venue on a Friday night to listen to ‘DJ NoName’ but to get them to pay £8 to see Canibus, Yungun & Mr Thing, Lowkey, Stylah, Snips all on one night was a major mission! That’s half down to pure laziness and half down to a general UKHH problem of getting exposure to these people so they know who the acts are on the flyers.
There’s quite a few ‘acts’ but again they don’t push themselves by going to the events. There are exceptions of course: Nine High did there thing, DSM are regulars on the local scene, the Ejectorseat Records fam etc but there are loads more acts in Reading who don’t do anything and just expect it to fall in there laps. Too many people don’t understand the basic concept of networking.
Tell me a little about your new release?
Well it’s called ‘Write To Remain Silent’ and basically it’s heavily focused on Britains social decline BUT it’s not another boring, woe-is-me uk hip hop release! When I talk about the divorce rate for example I have a track called ‘Internet Porn Ruined My Life’. I have an upbeat track about just legalising everything cos then the problems go away. I have a track with Angel S where we just argue back and forth called ‘Love Is’. I’ve even got Paul Young sampled in there. It’s executively produced by Irn Mnky and features production from Jabba da Kut and Caramac amongst others.
What do you hope to achieve with your latest release and what are you bringing that’s fresh?
I set out with three aims: 1) to put something together that’s professional, creative and unique. Job done. 2) to receive good reviews. So far the response has been positive. 3) to break even financially and I was half way to that within four or five days and that’s without any live shows etc. As long as people hear it and think about the lyrics then I’m happy. There’s stuff on there that I believe everybody’s thinking about but very few are saying on record for whatever reason. The sound itself is fresh. I’m no badman aggy head in real life so don’t expect any ‘brrap brrrrrrrap, man a get murked get me blaaaaaaad’ type tracks. It ain’t me so I’m not gonna get that persona on record. It’s fun, bouncy yet lyrically deep.
What happened with the mix tape you were releasing, I know there were serious delays on it, what was up with that?
It’s hard to get everyone together in the first place to record it. So Caramac mixed it then we had to get Jargon round to host it then finally I had it and began to track it only it exceeded the length that the pressing plant allowed. Obviously being a mix you can’t just remove tracks and the whole project had been delayed so much it just got shelved. I’ve since put it up for download only on my site but it was screwing up the bandwidth so I removed it. Shame really, Excalibah and Shameless were lined up to DJ/Host volume 2. Maybe I’ll go back to it and do a double CD thing. We’ll see.
Which emcee’s do you think inspired you the most? And why?
That’s a hard question because I don’t wanna go the cliché route. Canibus did because he is what he is. He’s never going to do the party vibe because it’s just not him. He might’ve dabbled a bit but he knows where his style lies and he sticks to it. He gets props from most people when he’s just being Bis rather than Bis who wants to blow. So what I take from that is that I am what I am and I’ll stick to it win or lose. Jehst definitely because of the content. I’ll put some Jehst on when I want to listen and think. He was one of the first UK acts I heard and it all snowballed from there. I think as an individual in the world it’s hard not to take something from every person/situation that comes your way, I mean that’s how you improve at anything. Live and learn. I don’t get inspired by an MC per-say, more of how the individual approaches things and their mentality. I’m not the biggest Jay Z fan musically but when I listen to his interviews his viewpoint always makes me take notice.
 Your raves always seemed pretty successful, why did you stop putting them on?
Money! There ain’t no money in promoting in Reading!!! I lost literally thousands doing that – and I’d do it all again in a heartbeat. It’s about love for the music really. I didn’t really feel appreciated either towards the end. When the initial promoter buzz fades and you know how to do it with your eyes shut a little appreciation goes a long way. There were regulars who always represented but when you get people you don’t know hitting up your Myspace for free entry just because they’re an MC from Reading it just gets annoying. That’s why on the last show I gave some regulars free entry as a thank you. I still get requests though to put acts on. If I ever did another then it’ll be Foreign Beggers, Kyza and Systems D. The three most requested acts I get when I’m out so any budding promoters in Reading get at me and we’ll make it happen!
Who was the most enjoyable act you had at your raves?
Yungun Feb 2004 was the biggest surprise. I booked him with Jehst and Cappo not really knowing much about him but he stole the show. Since then I booked him regularly, always professional and always a nice guy. Same thing with Lowkey really, he had his first show outside London at my night and it’s always a pleasure to bring him down. Sway was good, the only act ever to personally seek me out say thank you and tell me he was leaving. A lot of acts miss out the little touches. Oh and Taskforce were heavy on my first show. I mentioned something to Chester beforehand and he put that in a freestyle which made my night haha! Can’t forget Excalibah was very, very supportive in the early days. There’s not many acts who I didn’t enjoy to be honest. I always figured if I’m putting the show on then it’s going to be who I want to see.
My favourite act was Canibus simply because I’m a huge fan so sitting outside drinking Hennessey from plastic cups discussing hip hop was a very surreal moment for me.
What was the reception like for the EP you dropped?
That was more a download, test the water thing. The reception was better than I anticipated and certainly gave me confidence to put something ‘proper’ together. Big difference between offering a free download and getting someone you’ve never met to pay a fiver for a CD though! UKHH heads seem to be wired right in to the download side of things then posting up on the net about how their favourite artist hasn’t blown up yet…
What do you think about this UKHH versus Grime debate that’s still raging?
Makes me laugh, my night used to be called Grhyme just before it blew up. I only changed the name because I had grime artists wanting to perform and I’m hip hop only. Musically it doesn’t do it for me but then again neither does classical – doesn’t make it bad. I guess the debate is just because they’re very closely linked but end of the day it’s just two cheeks of the same arse. I keep hearing about how grime is blowing up but who’s made a million from grime? Sure it may get much more focus but it’s not like – with very few exceptions – you just need to spit grime to start getting paid musically. Maybe it’s a mentality thing? Most grime fans I know are very focused on getting paid whereas most hip hoppers I know are broke and happy to have enough cash for a bag of weed. Good luck to the grime artists, good luck to the hip hoppers. If someone makes a tune I like then I’ll buy it regardless of the t-shirt they’re wearing.
 Do you think hip hops dead?
Nah, to say hip hop is dead is to say the culture is which just blatantly isn’t true. Commercial rap or ‘rap that sells’ at the moment is all about bling but there’s always been an element of bling in hip hop with the fat gold chains – its just been amplified. Artists wouldn’t rhyme about it if record companies didn’t sell it and they wouldn’t sell it if people didn’t buy it. Then you get in to the debate for marketing at kids etc and that’s a whole other interview. I’ve always said as long as somebody is making music I like then who cares about the charts? People ARE making music I like so fuck it.
What keeps you grinding and inspired?
Words keep me inspired. I’m too lazy to be an author so I’ll put my point across in a three minute tune. I love feedback and discussing lyrics, musically I’m an idiot but lyrically I believe my meaning stands with anyone.
What’s the plan for the future?
If all goes to plan then ‘Write To Reply’ will be available mid summer next year. Maybe another promotion. I’ve been asked for the past couple of years to organise the hip hop for the Reading Fringe Festival which is a week of events prior to the Reading Festival itself but I’ve always had too much on my plate or too many financial commitments to get involved. Maybe I’ll do that this year if they ask again. Get out doing live PAs a bit. Nothing revolutionary.
Do you have any thoughts or comments about the murders in Ipswich?
Ain’t this a minefield….no comment except buy my CD and listen to ‘Lose Control’. My views on this kind of thing are all documented there pretty much.
Any shout outs?
We’ll start with the Standard team – Caramac and Jargon. Irn Mnky, Bdee – watch out for him, he has the potential to actually DO something but maybe needs a bit of momentum right now, Systems D – get off them drugs and onto wax boys!, Shedmen – one of my favourite ‘unknown’ groups, Doctor Freud, OJB, Berserk, Dialekt, UKHHFers. Anyone who contributed to Write To Remain Silent, Ejectorseat Records, DSM, anyone whose ever came to or performed at one of my events!
 The Phat or Wack section:
One word answers-is it phat or wack?
-Baileys?
wack
-Kano?
phat
-Lion Bars?
phat
-The Streets?
phat
-CSI?
phat
-Dentists?
Wack
So there we have it, never say never where the returning to promotings concerned but right now Mr Phlo's intent on saying what's on his mind. 'Write To Remain Silent' is still available from his website priced at just a fiver including P+P and in the works is a free download project due March/April time and, fingers crossed, another mixcd later in the year...
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Luv Jones
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