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Atthe end of '99/early 2000 seemingly out of nowhere Y'N'R records burst onto the scene with three absolute quailty EP's. Tommy Evans 'Time Capsule' EP certainly raised a few eyebrows with its' definately British twang and style and top notch production from Evil Ed and Jehst. Our good Yorkshire doctor tracked down Tommy to find out more.
So first question, who are you, where are you from, and what do you do? I'm from Leeds but am now living in london. To some up what i do briefly is try to live positive.
Okay then, so how did YNR come about as a collective and as a record label, and how did you get involved?
Basically i was the last to join cause all them mans are Huddersfield and Halifax bods who went to college together. I got to know them all through Jehst who i'd always seen at jams in Leeds and got to know him properly in 97 when we did some gigs together and it went from there basically.
So what do you think about the hip-hop scene in Leeds at the moment?
It's quite healthy I think..You had to ask me that when I moved to london! Erm, yeah good, the crowds are usually up for a good time but are generally less discriminating regarding the quality of performance and cheer anyone who happens to get on stage. Basically in London the crowds seem more knowledgable yet more reserved in their appreciation. I suppose you want somewhere inbetween. To be honest I try and avoid clubs unless me or my mates are performing so I'm probably the wrong person to ask that question!
Do you think there's enough nights being put on in Leeds and up here generally? What are the best nights you've been to up here?
When i got involved in the leeds "scene" (I dislike the term) a hip hop night consisted of thirty lads (no women) stood round the walls of a club basement bobbing their heads then slamming when Onyx came on then that was it. So things have definitely improved in that sense. In my opinion the main problem seems to be that most of the hip hop promoters are students/former students (not that there's anything wrong with being a student, i was one for three years and shall always STUDY anyway!) whose target audience are students and hence flyer only in student dominated areas; which is cool because students are a reliable source for club nights having a disposable income from their loans and a large amount of free time. Because of this (and other reasons I suspect) promoters tend to avoid traditionally "black areas" like Chapletown meaning that whatever talent that exists there is known within that community but rarely has the chance to be seen outside of it. Another problem is that students are only in a city for so many months a year so summertime can be quite dead for jams.I suspect that Leeds is not the only place where these things go on. On a more positive note the Pharcyde/Supernatural/Saian Supa Crew gig this year was probably the best thing i've been to in Leeds.
What are your earliest memories of hip-hopish stuff then? How did you get into it all?
My earliest memory of hip hop is seeing a road safety ad when I was 5 or 6 that used the "don't push me cause i'm close to the edge" line from "The Message." The first rap record I had was Roland Rat and Kevin the Gerbil's "Rat Rapping" but when my mum bought a copy of Run DMC's "Walk this Way" for me and my brother I kept that and he got "Rat Rapping!" I used to break and graf a little bit but was more an enthusiastic fan of hip hop until I started rhyming which was autumn 95.
So are you pleased with how your Time Capsule EP has been received? I know enough people from these parts who are feeling it, but is it spreading, like down in London maybe?
Definitely! It's mad now that I'm in London and meeting people who bought it. In fact I walked into Mr. Bongos the other day and it was getting played which was a mad experience but also a pleasant one!
How is promotion and distribution handled on a small label like YNR?
With great difficulty! Only joking. Through a lot of hard work basically. Off our own backs we got Nmonic and my records in about 10 cities even before we'd even sorted out distribution with Cargo. I don't think i'll be doing that again though! I'd rather leave all that it to the distributors and exporters so i can concentrate on making music but as a UK artist you've got to be a business man as well.
I know Nmonic has 2001 reasons not to trust technology, but what do you think about the Internet as a promotional platform?
Yeah, safe. The technology's not good or bad, it's how you use it that is.
Would you like to release your stuff on CD?
Most definitely!
There was a website offering full tracks off your EP in mp3 format to download at one point. What did you think about that and how did you handle it?
Heh heh heh! I pulled out my nine milli on him son, ya narmean! Nah, just kidding. No the situation is cool, the geezer involved is cool, a safe guy who genuinely loves his hip hop and had no ill intentions when he put up my ep on the net. I don't mind a couple of my tunes being posted but a whole ep could damage record sales which means less cash returns to invest in putting out my next stuff. As long as people ask permission it's cool.
Okay then, so what projects are you working on at the moment? I understand you're doing a track with Task Force? Is there going to be a Therapy crew project or something? With that Monkee guy who does the Funky Mule nights and that? Come on we all wanna know these things..
I've just completed a 3 track ep which features Task Force and Usman on the first track, "4 Elements". I'm going to try and get it out by November but if not then January at the latest next year. As regards a Therapy project the only person who is going to be putting stuff out for the time being is BTI and that should be next year. I'm also working on a tune with Dupa Styles and Ricochet from Universal Soldiers which has been produced by Harry Love.
So what can we expect from your next EP then? Lyrically and beatwise and all that?
I'm very happy with it - I'm not going to say it's wicked cause that's for you the listener to judge, but i have faith in it and consider it an improvement on my first ep. That's not to say that Time Capsule is wack but I feel a good musician should "speak his piece, keep it brief and improve with each release!" In terms of beats - one was done by Evil Ed and Jehst, the other 2 by BTI. Lyrically I've strived for balance so each tune is different, from a conceptual battle track, to a story to a commentary on the state of the world.
And what about the rest of the YNR lot then? What and who should we be looking out for?
First up is Evil Ed's 3-track tournament ep featuring Jehst, Task Force, plus Usman and myself on a track. Jehst has a new ep which is amazing. I know i'm biased cause he's my bredrin but i really do feel he's one of the best mcs in the country. Also look out for some raw hip hop from Usman who I'm also feeling loads at the moment and Nmonic who has some conceptual high art for all the thinkers out there! Jehst and me are gonna be doing a 12" as well with a new track and a remake of a YNR classic but which one I won't say!
Alright then wicked. So are you any good on the turntables?
No! When I scratch it's done unintentionally!
Right then moving swiftly along, what or who influences the rhymes you write, be it other emcees or anything else in this whole wide world?
That's a very good question. On a musical and technical level then definitely, I am influenced by other mcs cause i study the best ones to see what it is they do and why it works. The danger of that is you can end up imitating others whether intentionally or unintentionally so it's best not to listen to too much hip hop, ya get me! In terms of mcs my favourites are Common and Mos Def and it's from that positive direction that I try to come from. I'd say another big influence on me is literature because I spend a lot of my free time reading; for instance, the last track on my new ep is based on a T.S.Eliot poem. However, the biggest influence on my music is life itself. My rhymes reflect who I am, how I think and the life I've lived.
So what made you call your EP Time Capsule and what does it mean?
It's preserving the moment in time when I made it.
Do you drink alcohol or smoke?
Heh heh heh, no, and I imagine you want to know why! I don't like the taste, the cost, or the effect.
Alright then, do you buy a lot of uk hip-hop? What stuff are you into at the moment from these parts and from elsewhere (ie. America I suppose)..?
I buy music that's good wherever it's from so i don't really think too much about geographic boundaries! To be honest there's been so little good stuff out this year I've been taking a break from hip hop and listening to Bob Marley, Roy Ayers, Otis Redding etc. I would say for me the only hip hop lps that have smashed it for me in 2K have been Task Force, Blakalicious, Common, Slum Village and De La Soul and that's it! Having said that I'm really looking forward to the new Lewis Parker and Reflection Eternal lp's. If we're looking specifically at Uk hip hop, aside from my boys, I rate Blak Twang, Braintax, MSI Asylum, Mystro, Dupa Styles, Universal Soldiers, Estelle, Wyldflower, Mud Fam, Supa T and Profound amongst numerous others.
How does London compare with Leeds? In terms of all stuff comparable? And the hip-hop..
London's ten times bigger than Leeds so there's just more of everything - more good hip hop and more bad, it's just about being able to sift through the wackness to find the good stuff, which happens to world class in my opinion. London is an amazing place just in general.
Alright then thanks for answering my questions. Now you can big-up as many people as possible in less than 50 words..webspace is money you know..
True friends and family who know who they are, but do please support Bandit and Chilly's letter to Tony Blair campaign to promote British urban music!
Evil Ed's 'Tournament EP' featuring Tommy Evans is out now.
© ukhh.com 2001
Tommy Evans Interview
interview 0048 added 23.01.01 words Dr Crobe
Visit Y'N'R for more information on the whole Y'N'R stable and to buy all four EP's if you don't own them already!
