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Riz MC Is the most relevant artist In the country at this very moment. Okay, hyperbole mode off… What could you possibly mean? Well, here is an actor who has been in one of the most contentious and shocking films about the 'War on Terror' in recent history ('The Road to Guantanamo'). He's also quite a vicious battle rapper, holding his own at Jump Off and Battlescars events. Not only that but he's written a rap song that's gotten more mainstream column inches than most of your favourite UK rappers. The Observer, Time Out, The Guardian, Channel 4, the BBC, Radio 1- they've all been covering this young man (dubbed the next big thing to blow In many acting circles) and his journey getting the "Post 911 Blues" out there.
"Post 911 Blues" Is a brilliant song… It doesn't preach to the converted. It's political but funny, dangerous but sweet, cutting and edgy but twee, vicious but playful. Riz's hilarious lines are delivered with urgency panache and honesty. The track itself is brilliant, truly current and relevant. And hell, it's only the first thing we've heard from him. Here's an exclusive Interview with the man. Erstwhile ukhh.com reporter Nikesh caught up with him between rehearsals for the Asian Dub Foundation hip-hopera Gaddafi to chat about everything, from battling to rice to that war on terror thingamijig
Introduce yourself to the ukhh.com audience and tell us your favourite way to eat riz (or rice to the English).
I want to establish myself in music alongside acting. Obviously one will take priority over the other at different times, because I’m trying to juggle between the two, and trying to do them both at the same time means sometimes I’m rushed (which is why I’m leaving a full length album till I’m not as manic) but it’s important that people know now that music isn’t something on the side. That’s why I wanted to put something out early on In my acting career, not turn around five years into it and drop a tune out of nowhere so people go ‘what’s that guy playing at?”.
For the time being my writing has been more people asking me to write things, like articles I’ve written in New Statesman, or helping with film scripts – I wrote the battle lyrics to the forthcoming Asher D film Life & Lyrics, for instance. In the future I wanna develop my own ideas more than writing to briefs.
I don’t apply for VISA’s man; I know I’ll get turned down.
I had the idea in my head for a while, something absurd, dark, comical, cutting about the ridiculous world-view we’ve built up in the six years since 9/11. The way terms like “fundamentalist” and “post 9/11” have been high jacked and thrown about for cynical purposes – they’ve become like hollow brand names in some ridiculous advert campaign for this stupidly branded WAR ON TERROR. I had the idea but it hadn’t taken a form. Then one day I messed up an audition, came home pissed off and wrote it one go. I’m pleased with the response – most people seem to get it, it’s a satire on the security climate, and takes the branding exercise of the 9/11 fear industry to it’s illogical conclusion.
Video is tearing up the internet check it out on youtube (link below)
But unfortunately MTV won’t play it. They took it into a playlist meeting cos of all the hype but felt that they couldn’t play it cos they’re an American company, and it’s politically sensitive.
Radio1 played it after a drawn out saga with the press pressuring them – Bobby Friction and Nihal were really pushing for it too – so after the head of music at Radio1 cleared it, they played it.
Commercial radio hasn’t touched it. Big DJ’s at Xfm etc said they wanted to play it but were told they couldn’t. I’ve seen the hypocrisy of music programming first hand – the misogyny or extreme materialism of bling culture isn’t political, but talking everyday reality is out of bounds. Shake your booty, buy your ice, consume and slap hoes – that’s cool, get high till you die, all good. But say 9/11 and it’s curtains. Programmers won’t risk it, no matter how relevant, funny, intelligent, or popular the track is seen to be, they won’t even try to understand.
It’s been stressful. DIY approach is a good feeling, when you secure distribution, get positive backing etc, but I have no PR, no management, no pluggers – it’s 110% DIY, and maybe that’s made it even harder. I’ve just worked through a network of well-placed well wishers. But that was the idea. I want to test this Internet viral myth, see if this can really be done all alone. Arctic Monkeys and Sandy Thom – that’s all PR companies pushing it online. This is the real deal in terms of organic Internet hype, so let’s see where it gets us….
I’d say I’m using comedy to bring out the absurd situation we’re living in, that satire is the best way to bring out the points I want to without resorting to boring and unsophisticated polemical ranting, and that most of all, the tone of the song IS part of the point I’m making, the song sounds like a ridiculous 9/11 jingle for a reason – the tone of the song reflects the simplification of debate on these POST 9/11 issues. People are too busy peddling their prejudices like some cheap product and so common sense suffers. What you end up with is the absurd.
I’m not going to go into it here. The full account is on my blog on www.myspace.com/rizmc - illegally held by abusive intelligence officers, deliberately misled about my detention and rights, verbally and physically assaulted, bullied, more Islamaphobic comments, then released. No reasons whatsoever, except that I made a “political film”. It made the film seem all the more relevant and important. Thing is, that happens every single day. My case only got out cos I was doing this film.
To THE WAR ON TERROR? It’s obvious.
Stop the talk of global wars of good and evil, Islam vs. the West – the discourse is self-fulfilling. Sort out Western foreign policy, and take steps towards solve socio economic problems in ghettos around Europe.
Haha. I don’t. It’s a different side. But I do feel that cussing people’s willies and their mums isn’t what draws me to battle, it’s the craft itself, the skill of improvisation, flow, punch lines. It’s intense. But it’s too intense, I don’t want to do it half assed, and with limited time I know where my priority lies – in saying something to those who will listen, not cussing people to say I’m better than you. I hope I can stand out from the crowd with my tracks, I don’t need to start cussing your mum. Even if she is a ho. Haha.
EP / mix tapes coming end of this year and early next year, going to be doing some stuff with Nitin Sawhney on a live show, and with Asian Dub Foundation on their next album, and got some TV/film stuff lined up. Just every angle, trying to establish myself, my voice, my fan base, and improve.
That opera is mad. It’s on in September – 7,8,9th, 14,15,16th September to be precise. I’m not saying anything more, Come check it out. It’s very bold, very daring, and very ambitious. With a whole lot of bass line.
In a world where I don’t need to make songs like the Post 9/11 Blues. In 5 years I want a label deal, and want to start getting things moving in the scriptwriting side of things, develop other kinds of writing, and still be doing work I love.
I’m loving David J, he’s like the UK Saul Williams meets Killa Kella. Also Sharon Duncan Brewster, she’s going to win the Mercury Prize some day, look out for her next year. My heroes are Mos Def, Gill Scott Heron, Nitin Sawhney, Bjork….too many to mention man
POST 9/11 BLUES is out now on download and CD, please support independent artists and fuck censorship.
Oooooh, The D'Archetypes… they sound Interesting. I might check them out too. Cheers! So, yeah, download It… buy It… watch the video and REQUEST IT because in this current climate… who would you prefer for relevancy Riz's Post 911 polemic or Shakira's hips…. oh wait, hold on a second… let me think that through…
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© ukhh.com 2006
Riz MC Interview
I’m Riz MC. I’m not like every next rapper you hear. I’m trying to bring a fresh voice to the scene. And my favorite way to eat rice is with crap MC’s.
I feel it’s been successful in bringing these issues up a way to make them accessible as possible. In my view, if you preach and rant, you end up preaching and ranting to people who already agree with you. So I thought that a more aloof and observational tone, with a comedy angle, means more people have listened, and I more people can relate to what I’m saying.
Yea. It’s released 13th August on download and 20th August on CD. I didn’t like the fact that a powerful minority could sweep it under the carpet or try and ghetto-ise it as some "Muslim protest song", which it isn’t, so I’m releasing it under my own label, Battered Records. The idea is that people power at the tills, and at iTunes, can push it into the mainstream where any other song this popular would be allowed to be.
Firstly, those guys aren’t “terrorists”, they have never been charged of any crime. The reference was to an American TV thing I did which is going to be on TV this September. But the experience of making RTG was unforgettable. Small, intimate crew, travelling to Afghanistan, Iran, Pakistan, and having a tiny fraction of a fraction of the experience of being treated like a sub-human terror detainee. Most devastating was getting to know the Tipton boys, who we lived with before and during some filming – because they’re just like you and me – I know that sounds ridiculously patronising, but there’s this idea of terror detainee bogeymen as some breed apart, that no “normal person” would find themselves in that situation. The truth is harder to stomach man, they’re JUST like you and me, in every single way. And really allowing that to register is what fucks with you.
We need government policy that is responsive to the problems, not government policy designed to sweep them under the carpet and try and pitch all these different, specific problems and local grievances around the world into one big nebulous back cloud of terror and evil. People with genuine grievances are susceptible to going down a dark path of mass murder because of a sense of helplessness and real frustration. We need to tackle the root causes.
Yea, I mean Stig was just coming out with racist shit, and in the end I flipped it on him, Check out the video on my homepage www.myspace.com/rizmc ....but then my comeback to Whatsisface’s racism lines, was to say “you’re so ignorant, calling me an immigrant, you obviously haven’t realised your own skin pigment”, cos he’s black – the point was about being self aware – like how can he be calling me an immigrant when his parents obviously were as well – he’s black. Next thing you know, the crowd are booing. Some people don’t get it. I don’t mind, I’m trying to please the lowest common denominator. Same with POST 9/11 BLUES. I’ve played at grime raves and cleared the whole place. But thinking people are feeling my stuff. And that’s fine by me.
Shout to DJ Reason my label partner, running tings in Manchester, all HIT&RUN lot, ADF, and the D’Archetypes.
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