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Corrupt
Village Interview
interview
0119 added 02.10.02 words
Eddie Venom
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The evolution of Hip-Hop in this country has been a long and winding road
and we've suffered from many false starts along the way. A lot of veterans want to play down the developments of the last few years and many artists have suffered from a combination of too much pressure to break the charts and the unnecessary media hype that has occurred because of the mainstream's vampiric need to try and jump on the next big thing, without fully understanding the culture and history of the art-form.
Far from suffering because of this, the music has flourished because it is too powerful to be restricted by the conventions of popular culture. If you needed proof of this, then look to the achievements of Roots
Manuva. After riding the success and ridiculous hype that surrounded Run Come Save Me and the potent Dreamy Days, we have been blessed with one of the nicest albums to come out since Hip-Hop infiltrated these shores two decades ago. Dub Come Save Me is a testament to the spirit that drives us, and the perfect example of how musical talent across any genre cannot be suppressed by the indifference of the majors. During the years between those two albums, the output from our homegrown artists has developed at an incredible pace. We now have artists that can compete and in some cases outshine any product from across the globe. The
likes of Ronin, 12 Stone and Titan have perfected a Hip-Hop-Reggae fusion that has come to symbolise what the capital has to offer. The styles coming out of the rest of the country have been equally interesting. Brighton and the South West have now developed easily identifiable scenes, incorporating their own dialect and concepts, showing that we no longer have to ape American culture; a testament to the new found confidence and maturity of Hip-Hop's voice in this country.
It's an evolutionary process that is by no means exclusive to the South. Crews like Out Da Ville have gained a healthy reputation because of a steady stream of quality releases, an ability to flip a whole bunch of different flows and a work ethic that is second to none, showing a professionalism that has extended to high quality videos and a desire to get their products to the widest possible audience without compromising their sound.
Following in the trail of some quality tracks from Moorish Delta and MSI Asylum are Corrupt Village Records. Their debut compilation, The Collective, is a celebration of the diversity of artists that the
label has to offer. It's a tight set and as such I wanted to catch up with
Capriciouz, the man who established the label in 2001, to find out what he has in mind for the label, its artists, and how it's been trying to build a name from the ground up.
So let's start with giving everyone a rundown of what Corrupt Village is all about.
Corrupt Village Records (CVR) is a tight Birmingham based squad looking to set new standards within UK hip hop, the label has been set up to run within the music business as a professional company and a foundation for its members to deliver hot material to the people. The label is run by ONC
(Opocalypse & Capriciouz) and is set to be heard amongst the ever growin' music scene throughout the UK.
Did a lot of thought go into the concept and direction of The Collective compilation?
Simple answer is yes. We wanted to set up a foundation for CVR so in the future when people on the label begin releasing there solos, it gives it a stepping stone towards an already familiar audience. As for the concept it was more based towards a freedom factor where it gave everybody a
chance to bring a track which represented them individually, then as for the collaborations it was worked on in a way to show people how we can deliver a range of individualities as a collective, hence the album title.
Who's responsible for the production? There are a lot of styles on the album but the beats are consistent throughout the set?
The production is spread between in house producers on our label, to small independent producers around the way who are just happy to hear something good done with their
beats.
How have you gone about getting promotion without any real support from radio or mainstream music press?
Promotion has been completely independent so far, I mean from driving
round block to block sticking up posters to pushing CD's on the
streets, it's been hard work but worth it so far. We get frequent
radio play though from local pirate stations and some like Choice
FM's D.J. 279 played a track off the album (Cold World- Capriciouz)
and that was received well, we also got
New Style Radio playing the joints now which is a new legal black
music
station in Birmingham. We're hoping to get more support from bigger
stations but I guess all in good time.
"...
I think Birmingham has been slept on for quite a while now and if it
wasn't
for people like Moorish Delta it would have probably stayed that way...."
What's the scene saying in Birmingham? If any hip-hoppers are in the
city where can they check for?
There's couple spots you can hit for Hip Hop jams, the latest one is
at the
Academy every Saturday where you got resident DJ's doing their thing
and at the end of month feature acts like Moorish Delta, 57th
Dynasty will be performing. We will be performing there sometime in
November.
People can get all caught up in the London thing, has there always
been a strong local circuit; and has the success of crews like
Moorish Delta and MSI helped the scene grow in confidence?
I think Birmingham has been slept on for quite a while now and if it
wasn't
for people like Moorish Delta it would have probably stayed that way
for a
while. Moorish & MSI have definitely opened up a lot more doors and
shown the UK that the moody city ain't a city to be slept on. We got
mad respect for other crews whether they from London here or
wherever, we ain't trying to get caught up in no politic bullshit,
just make good music and let the streets tell it how it really is.
O.K., So how difficult has it been setting up the label, organizing
studios, graphic design, artists and getting the album pressed?
As you know studio time works out a lot when working on bigger
projects like an album for example so we've had to invest in setting
up our own studio (Viciouz Studios) which has worked out well and so
the album was able to be recorded, mixed and mastered in house by
Capriciouz and Opocalypse. The graphics, art and design work was done
by myself, Capriciouz, and the final product was also pressed in
house.
What lessons do you think you've learnt from the process that will
help with the forthcoming ONC release?
That if you want anything done then you gotta do it yourself, and to
not get distracted or involved by the negative talks from others
trying to pull you
down. I mean there has been a million lessons to be learnt from, but
those
were the main ones which really will have an affect on what you
finally
come out with.
With the CD out and doing the rounds, what has the early response
been like?
Response has been much better than we imagined, I guess all those
late
nights of poster sticking and stuff paid off cus we got the streets
talking
and response to the album has mainly been positive. We've even had a
few
tracks played in some clubs down here (Upside Down) and the response
for
that was what an artist wants to see. Basically its early days yet
but it's
been all good so far.
"...
It's become clearer to everyone that
it's not a matter of just UK Hip-Hop, it's a matter of good music...."
I've got to ask it, what do you think of the recent crop of UK talent
releasing vinyl in the last couple years? I think the new diversity
and hunger is reflected in the tracks on your CD. Do you think US
acts have got sloppy or do you think we've raised our game?
Nah I don't think US acts of got sloppy, I mean yeh, there will be
acts that
ain't really saying much but it would be a bit drastic to put such a
big
label on the whole scene over there, I think UK is definitely coming
with
stronger material. I mean like Out Da Ville for instance, they really
doing
some good music and only getting better as they go along. Yeh the
media
does tend to jump on with its every so often hype but I think the way
we're
going on at the moment it will come to a point where the music will
speak
for itself and demand people to wake up and take notice.
Can you ever see a time when Hip-Hop is accepted by the mainstream
music press in this country?
DEFINITELY! I've seen Hip Hop music come such a long way over the
stretch and I know its just a matter of time until it gets the
attention it deserves because it's become clearer to everyone that
it's not a matter of just UK Hip-Hop, it's a matter of good music
that deserves a lot more exposure than it currently has and the
audience is growing daily.
Indeed. So, any final thoughts or shout-outs?
Just want to say respect to all those that have supported us through
the
album and stayed true and especially to those that have been helping
us with
the promotion like Ice maiden, Kasper, shantie, Deadline and the
whole CVR team. And to my down for life fam Royalists who will be
hitting the streets with their album soon and my Dark Side Mafia fam
and Moorish Delta 7, no doubt, who got their album out in October
which is blazing so be sure to check for that.
So, just one last thing, 10 quick-fire Either/Or sureshots, on some
current affairs shit-
Nas or Jay Z?
Nas, but respect Jay Z
Eastenders or Family Affairs?
Eastenders
Champions League or Premiership?
Champions league
Vieira or Keane?
Keane
Ms. Dynamite or Holly Valance?
Dynamite
Rizla or Blunts?
Philly Blunts no doubt
Johnny Vaughn or Frank Skinner?
Johnny
Bounce or Backpack?
Bounce
Lyrics or Beats?
Lyrics, cus the music is all around us!!!
HHC or Big Smoke?
HHC
And on that bombshell, there's just time to tell you to check the
website for some downloads, ordering and general information on the
Corrupt Village artists, so go peep that and the review of the CD
right
here.
- Eddie Venom
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