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PM: That's a good question…I think for us as artists -
EE: So who is your dad? Have you decided? TonyPrince or Darth Vader?
- Sumo Kaplunk | profile
© 2003, CD Goldie for ukhh.com
interview 0142 added 05.05.03 words Sumo KaPlUnK
technical:
QED
PM: I understand that. I can completely appreciate that.
S: I Listen to fuck all rap really.
PM: That's right man. I buy less and less myself - I wish I had bought more way back then y'know? Do you remember years ago man? The problem was I'd been skint for so long, but I'd be able to go into a store and see five classic albums every time but only be able to afford one. If I knew the sound was going to dry out like it has, if I knew how crap it was going to get, I would have tried to have got as many of them records as possible from back then.
EE: I'm a bit more of a rap bitch. I still listen to like Jig and Backpacker music heheheh. My record collection is still sorted into "Jiggy" and "Backpacker" but I work in a record shop so I steal my records.
PM: But the thing is, the point I want to make clear is, we've said a lot of derogatory shit toward what we've been describing as "The UK
Hip Hop scene" but that's not THE real UK Hip Hop scene. It's just that what has become "The UK
Hip Hop scene" isn't for Hip Hop kids no more. It's a very fickle, trendy thing that doesn't really resemble
Hip Hop.
EE: I've got respect for those kids who used to wait for Disorda's new tape - I'm that kid! I'm that kid who bought all of Disorda's shit. Disorda is one of the only people who's like completely open to
Hip Hop regionally and everything.
PM: The problem with the new scene, the way Hip Hop's gone global and bigger, it's penetrated every fucking home - and that's wicked! But it's become a very fickle thing now. But it's a very fickle thing going on now with people having a very fickle allegiance to
Hip Hop right now. What's hot's hot, what's not is not but it onlylast for five minutes either way.
[specify leaves to check the parking meter]
OK, the second part of that question is, what subject matter do you reckon artists should cover now that they haven't covered before in order to make it more interesting or relevant again?
EE: For us, it's become less about relying on fantasy. I think when we first started it was about trying to find new things to talk about which was really easy but now we kinda just talk about our lives which is harder because people are going to judge you on your lives. I wish people in UK
Hip Hop would be more truthful. Everyone is fake - even us to an extent but lesser than most other people - A lot of people will chat in a character but pretend it isn't a character.
PM: Are tell you our problem yeah? For us now it's more relaxed because we can just talk about ourselves and our lives and all that and that is
Hip Hop material because the shit that we're saying, the shit that we're getting off our chests and speaking from our hearts is very relevant to
Hip Hop. And we will reflect on the shit that's going on today because we're very in touch with life and people. But- but the scene the scene has gone too far when there's kids who really were never from a
Hip Hop background but who are making the Hip Hop music now and it's kinda soulless - I'm not saying this about all those people because you might hear something that's really fucking interesting - and you are! Just look stateside yeah? You're hearing these middleclass kids from the middle of nowhere man but they're making really interesting music saying relevant shit man! I'm not hearing that in the UK at the moment but they might come up to speed one day. At the moment in the UK, everybody's rapping, everybody's trying to make beats but are they all
Hip Hop material? Should they be doing that yet? I don't know… maybe not.
EE: It's ironic now yeah? 'cus now it's easy to be into UK Hip Hop. It's easy to rap in your own accent now. A lot of these kids who are judging you and telling you what you're doing and all this business, they aren't really
Hip Hop material. They would have been eaten up back in the day.
PM: What's the shame is with back in the day, you'd have kids that would come out and now be themselves. They'd be rapping like Americans and all the nonsense that was discredited -
[Specify returns, soaking wet]
PM: So yeah, in the old days you'd have all these kids coming out, not credible, Chatting American style and all this crap. They got taken out so that all that was left was the raw kids being themselves. But the problem is now that everyone's being themselves so much, that's helping to expose the frauds as well. A lot of these kids are exposing themselves. It's all very well being themselves but if they're kinda dry, not got much soul and ain't got much to say or they don't have much intelligence, or if they're really just not able to connect with people, if they're not saying anything, that's now being exposed.
EE: And then it's funny what you find out about other artists when you chat to like promoters and people you'll learn about how "yeah, they were an asshole. " Whereas we're really approachable people. And that's not because we want to be but just because we are. I don't carry this monkey on my back about who I am. I am who I am, I've done what I've done and I'm completely comfortable with myself. It seems harder for people to be comfortable with yourself these dayS: it's easier to adopt some other persona.
"...If you want to be blinging, go and learn how to plumb. Don't go an "hustle" your CDs in my face..."
But is there any subject matter you'd particularly like to hear?
EE: I'd like to hear kids just chatting about their lives in a real way.
PM: What bothers me is that we'll hear a CD from a place where I've never been to or heard
Hip Hop from and I'll be like "Wow! I wonder what's life up there like?" And then you hear them doing just exactly what you'd expect to hear on any rap record. I don't want that. If I hear something from somewhere new, I want to hear a slice of their life; not the typical Rap life.
EE: - There's so many stories to be told out there. Rap is about communicating and people aren't using
Hip Hop to communicate any more. People are just using Hip Hop to make money now - and you should be able to make money off of it (that's a good thing) - but for me first and foremost, it's about communicating aspects of my life to other people. Man I grew up in like a tiny little town - it's a horrible place where I come from and I learnt a lot off Public Enemy - I know it sounds cheesy but because of people like Public Enemy, I studied things…I learnt about and read about history through them. It got me into history.
Hip Hop never got me into acting tuff: Hip Hop got me into history and the history of other peoples.
PM: People Reading this will know if they're Hip Hop or not. If you are not from a
Hip Hop background and don't know much about Hip Hop but are interested in the culture and want to participate in the culture and want to do something to elevate it, then do something different and reflect where you are from. Don't try and do what kids in the city are already doing or don't try and do something if that something isn't you. It's the same for kids here man. I know you've got your "real Urban" sound and your "street" sounds, that's cool…But there's so much out there.
S: But at the same time, it's also about using your imagination. We use our imagination to come up with concepts - it ain't necessarily exactly how we live or what we do but it's still us.
EE: It's hard to pin it down to specific subject matter. I'll just say that I'd like to hear some new subject matter. Something new, that's all. I'd like to hear something that I wouldn't expect to hear. I used to try and write songs like
Witchcraft and stuff where kids would listen to it and bug out thinking "What the fuck is he talking about?" I used to take words and names of people I heard on rap records and then find out what they were about. So that's what we were trying to do with it; trying to get people open to new things. I'd like people to still be able to get me open to new things.
Have you got any guests lined up for the new album?
PM: We've got Alkaline from Gunshot.
EE: He's going to do a Ragga tune with us.
PM: I'm really looking forward to doing that track man because I give Gunshot so much respect. Them three - four if you include Barry Blue were the dopest! They did something new from day one.
EE: Just because their music was never trendy or part of some trendy thing, people erase them from the past. People don't like to remember them. People like to remember London Posse but don't like to remember Gunshot and I think that's bullshit.
PM: They reflected the youth and the sound - they had such a powerful and credible sound! We're going to work with The Bees -
EE: Yeah The Bees. We got Rola and Retina on that to do a kinda Bristol Posse cut on that track. We've definitely got to, one day - and this is the longest planned thing - we've got to do something with Def Tex! Thing is, we'll do that when it's right. Because we've known them for so long, we've got so much respect for them as a group, we'll do it properly when the time is right. It's so easy to jump in and do a collab with someone but I wouldn't want to just jump in and do a collab with them. Oh! Nearly forgot, Format! Format's doing a remix with us -
PM: That's it man! Check out the new Format album 'cus it's out. And it's a really very good album. We did a track with Format on there.
EE: So Format - and Quantik - Will Quantik. He's funk band thing is coming out, that's crazy!
PM: Yeah Check out the Quantik Soul Orchestra.
EE: And Little Barry as well, They're like a Rhythm & Blues group - I would say R&B but everybody's gonna think I'm chatting about Usher. We're talking about original Rhythm and Blues.
PM: We're going to do some remix work for those Little Barry guys and make some tracks with them also. We're definitely going to work with Quantik again. I want to work with Evil Ed again. I would like to rhyme with this guy called Gibberish because he's from my home town plus he's dope!
EE: There's millions of kids - we've missed loads of kids - I would like to work with All Creatures yeah - there's a lot of kids out there that I'd like to work with.
PM: I Done some stuff with Undivided attention recently who were Parlour Talk. and There's a track out there with me and Scoutleader Deed. And yeah, I can see us working with them guys some more because we see eye to eye on a lot of things. So this is the thing. With our last LP we worked hard on it, put it out and then afterward we did a lot of collabs, it's going to be the same this time around. We've gone underground for a while and have been tapping away at this LP but when it comes out we're going to work elsewhere a lot more.
On the flipside of that, are you planning any more cameos on other peoples' records?
S: It doesn't work like that.
PM: Possibly…possibly…
S: Not really - but it's not really a planned thing. Sometimes we just get a phonecall asking if we want to do this or that.
PM: Yeah I often get offers but I don't want to just do stuff if it's going to peter away to nothing. I don't want to give music away anymore. I want to make sure that my music gets heard and that it's a valid and worthwhile exercise working with people. But yeah, we will man, absolutely. But yeah, we have done stuff with people last time around and…well not again…heheheheh.
S: With collaborations from our perspective it's more like the way it works with this album anyway, we've done a track say and it's not quite there so someone says "let's get so-and-so on it!" and that'll be the missing little link. And sometimes it doesn't thump - we had this reggae tune and we thought "ah! Let's get The Bees on this!" But it wasn't right. In our heads it wasn't right - it was too Whiteboy Reggae for us.
EE: Like a rap UB40 We needed somebody Ragga on it you know what I mean? If you're toying with Black Music, you've got to have respect for it.
PM: But it turned out like Two-Tone vibes for 2003.
S: Nah man…it's more like…it's more fucking Dub -
EE: It's weird; when you hear it you'll hear it -
PM: It's not dub… it's something else -
S: OK, it's not Dub - it's more Rootsy.
EE: It's like Roots Reggae but with more of a Dancehall edge. It will work and it will sound fresh! It wont sound like anything you've ever heard before - it's hard for us to explain what we're doing because we don't always know what we're doing until we've done it and then people try to explain it in a million different ways and none of them are right.
S: It's a very slow track and it's very authentic.
EE: I'd like people to review our music on its own merits rather than on what they think it is.
PM: Next to tracks like that we've got tracks at 190bpm -
S: That's quite fast!?
EE: 190!? Are you on crack!? 130 mate -
PM: 130 I meant. But it's fucking up tempo man, fully!
"...A crew arranges these Hip Hop awards and then gives themselves all the
awards!?..."
OK, let's widen this back out to bring it closer to conclusion. Are you worried about what's going on at the moment with Mr Blair and his bossman George?
PM: I am. I'm just glued to the news -
EE: To be honest with you, it's easy for English people to get worried about it but it's a lot fucking harder for an Iraqi mother and child who can't even fucking feed themselves to worry about where and when the next fucking bomb is going to drop.
PM: They haven't got cable TV and all these Satellites to let them know what's going on. And to be honest, we don't know what's going on really. We're kept in the dark and it's very hard to watch the TV and soak up all the propaganda and then piece an informed opinion together and have a decent angle on it.
EE: Saddam Hussein's a fucking cunt isn't he? There's no doubt about it - he's a fucking piece of shit.
Yeah but he's been a piece of shit ever since America helped him to power -
EE: Yeah exactly. But look at America. Which is the only country in the world that's used the nuclear bomb?
Wackistan? The Undemocratic Republic of Wackistan -
EE: Exactly. America is the only people to do mass genocide. And it's a country won by mass genocide. And everybody knows this - it's funny how aware people are. I mean, if the war happens, and it might not kick off with this war but with the next money-related war they start, they're going to get their comeuppance.
PM: By the time this goes on line there's probably going to already be some nasty stuff kicked off already. I think Bush is adamant.
But do you think Bush's prison bitch Mr Blair - well he keeps saying he's pushing for more resolutions but do you think he's still got the power to allow Britain to pull out at this point?
EE: If he does stop it the only reason he will do it will be to try and win some favour with the people because basically nobody in England wants to go to war just so that George Bush's spurs can jangle once again.
PM: It's certainly the end of Blair for the voters. He was put in a good position and he started off doing alright man but now it's a shame -
EE: He's fucked himself. Basically, have you ever seen those pornos where dudes put their willies through a hole and like they think a bird's sucking them off but it's not; it's a lizard licking their dick?
No…ummm…
PM: That's an interesting political analogy…
EE: And well imagine if it's not even a lizard but actually a piranha fish in a tank yeah? I'll show you some videos later when we get back and it will all make sense to you.
As long as I'm not in them this time then that's cool.
EE: I thought you looked familiar Dinos - Yeah, I recognise you now!
PM: I think they've got Saddam in a corner. They know what they want to do and they're dictating to him what they want. They actually gave him a chance to back out - they said "if you literally disappear, to avoid war, we'll let you we'll let you do that and not prosecute." They were going to let him walk but he's not going to do that -
EE: War's bad whatever man.
PM: He don't give a shit about his people and I can just see him blowing up the whole world just on a whim. He's a lunatic!
EE: War's bad and that's how it is - not good - and I don't mean "bad" as in "That Public Enemy record's bad!" I mean bad meaning bad.
PM: It's worrying, very worrying.
OK, for my last question I better try and lighten it up a bit because we've got pretty dark and angry for most of this interview. Well apparently James Earl Jones has been commissioned to do a further seven minutes' worth of dialogue for the final, third Starwars film yeh and they're collecting stock dialogue just in case he snuffs it before the script is ready yeah? Well I always thought that if they insist on mucking about with the myth with prequels and special editions, they should restore the original voice track of David Prowse.
EE: But what would that be like? "alright mi' luvlees? Yous is ma son ya bugga - listin empra, dunt be such a prick! WANKURZ! WANKUUUURZ! You have greatly disserppointed me Admiral Bolokov! Err! I'm gunna strangil you you cont so wot yuz gonna doos about it?!"
PM: "Ware iz daih tapes yee cunt?"
EE: "Wurz the tapez you prick!?"
S: I'll tell you what, my mum - and this was when I was a little kiddie yeh? - she went out with him once.
EE: Yeah fuck! That's right! He was a bouncer down town -
PM: Yeah that's right - didn't he own a gym too?
EE: And his mum went out with him once… Specify's mum is like a tiny smidget and he was like this great giant twat!
PM: Yeah she went out with both Darth Vader and the Green Cross Code Man!
Hmmmm, "Ryan, I am your son….NOOOOOO!"
EE: You know what? If you talked with Ryan for like ten minutes and you didn't know him, you could easily think he is the son of
Vader…Didn't your mum go out with that DMC guy as well?
S: No she nearly did but she didn't - Prince, Tony Prince, she went out with him though
PM: He's a West Country man isn't he? But yeah, Prowse is dope!
S: It's weird 'cus we was watching this DMC video once and I thought "Hold on! I know him!"
Daddy….daddy…
S: Darth Vader I think -
EE: Yeah Darth Vader would be better; Tony Prince is a dick.
S: He's got a head like a fucking asshole hasn't he?
EE: It's alright; we're not into turntablism so we don't need to suck his cock to get anywhere.
PM: Thing is, you woldn't think there was any similarities between Specify and Vader
until Vader takes his helmet off in
Return of the Jedi. And then the resemblance is as clear as day!
S: Yeah we're both mingers!
EE: Yeah they both look fucked up on booze.
PM: So yeah basically, if they reissue Starwars again on DVD, let Prowse do the whole fucking script over.
What for all the parts or just Vader?
PM: For the extra features there should definitely be a running commentary by David Prowse.
EE: There needs to be an option where you can click it on so that Prowse does Vader
but I don't think it should be stuck like that because obviously -
PM: He should have an entire commentary on a DVD. Surely that's acceptable?
EE: Man that's like the ultimate White man's burden isn't it? David Prowse -
What!? That's hardly "The white man's burden" having to do a commentary track on a DVD!?
EE: Yeah but that would be saying that Darth Vader is White - think about what you'd be taking away! Don't take away the most powerful Black figure in modern cinema! Darth
Vader could kick anyone's arse!
And according to reports, even though Prowse has now got one leg shorter than the other due to hip operations, he's still interested in playing
Vader in the third film and he's also coming back as The Green Cross Code man -
EE: That would be dope
But would the kids listen?
EE: The kids didn't listen before; I heard of 'nuff kids that got run over that time. I know a kid that got hit by a milk float and got like nearly killed.
PM: I've got a feeling he came to my school man! As the green Cross Code man!
EE: He came to your town nine months before you were born. We're all the sons of
Vader!!! I've got a feeling he fucked all our mums!
S: Yes but only one of us looks like Vader with his mask off!
"...If you want an average night with a mediocre performance then fine, but you shouldn't have called us..."
OK, I better draw it to a close now 'cus I'm dying for a piss. Any final words of wisdom or anybody you want to biggup on this worldwide basis?
S: Just wait for the album. Hold tight. It's coming together and it wont come out until it's right.
PM: If you don't know how it works when you're trying to do this professionally and make an album, you'd think we had disappeared. We haven't disappeared, we're coming back stronger than ever -
S: Like Obiwon Kenobi muthafuckaz!!!
EE: You've just got to wait, we'll be gone for another minute at least but when we come back it will all make sense. There's going to be American things happening over the next year, we're doing shit in America over the next year -
What like appearing on Sex in the city?
S: Nah, 'cus I haven't had any sex appeal in this city for ten years.
PM: Yeah I'll be dating Kim Catrell on it -
EE: Kim Catrell would be dope -
PM: She'd eat me for breakfast…and I'd be happy with that.
EE: Not much of a meal; a little sausage and two beans…
Anyone you wanna biggup?
EE: I wanna biggup Blokey. Biggup Big Dog Turo!
PM: Yeah lemme biggup Blokey, Turo - I want to do some work with Junior Disprol any time soon - whether he knows it or not man! So big him up! Biggup those
Low Life guys man because they're doing good work! Biggup Delegates! They're the dons! Check out their new record, it's called
Dragon Beef.
EE: And next time you go into a record shop, try and pick a record that ain't Hip Hop.
PM: Yeah start branching out man, don't be narrow minded. 'cus we don't get inspired by
Hip Hop shit, we get inspired by other shit and that's what makes good Hip Hop.
EE: Hip Hop came from other music and it should always come from other music.
PM: Biggup anybody reading this in Kurno Cornwall because I'm from Redruth.
EE: Biggup my girlfriend - yeah, all our wives because they've kept us alive!
Wanna name names?
EE: Emily, Pam and fi…ummm, Tresa and Monkey Moo ain't got a bird hahahah! -
S: That's cus he's gay -
EE: He's Beatbox curious.
OK, and that's where we had to draw it to a close because parking meters were running dry, Specify had a hot date, El-Eye wanted to show me that lizard movie, and of course!
Buck65 would be on stage within the following hour. The classic
Correct English is, I believe, still out there so if you haven't got it, get it - good? Also be on the lookout for the second volume in the
Refried Percussion series of compilations because the way Onecut and Specify mix and blend those luscious breaks, it's as if they've discovered how to synthesise, through sound, the human form of cat-nip. I spoke with El-Eye yesterday and he told me that the guys are hoping to get back in the studio to get the album finished within the coming weeks. He also told me some exciting news about the prospect of a promising transatlantic collaboaration but until he says otherwise, that'll have to remain all hush-hush - but watch this space. Oh! Nearly forgot, the characters were all created using http://www.planearium.de/flash/sp-studio.swf so props to them.
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