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 Lowkey
Interview
interview 0360 added
29.12.05 words: Nikesh technical:
QED
Lowkey’s back. He’s just released “Key to the Game volume 3”
and it’s a corker. Using all brand new beats from excellent producers such as Snips, Nutty P and Shears, he has bettered himself from volume 2. This release (an album not a mixtape) brings us up to date with his life and the trials and tribulations of being Lowkey. Boasting quite an autobiographical lyrical approach, he goes from the touching and sombre “Bars for my Brother” to the humorous “Check-Up”, about a potentially embarrassing visit to the STD clinic.
As he develops as an artist and a rapper in this country, and his popularity increases, this is all reflected in his delivery and content. This makes him one of the country’s more gifted and honest performers. Having missed this on his first release, and picked up on it on volume 2, I felt volume 3 was a vastly superior set to both of those releases, strong passionate and full of emotion. I caught up with Lowkey to chat about this rap game, living with his mum and his approach to lyric writing…
Introduce yourself and tell us the best thing that has happened to you this year.
 Hi, my name is Lowkey and the best thing that happened to me this year was being alive.
You’ve just put out KTTG volume 3. Tell us about it. Lyrically, where is your head at and what beats you went for on it?
Basically, I felt the past releases I did weren’t as focussed as I would have liked them to have been. They weren’t as honest as I would have liked them to have been. They weren’t as much me as I wanted. This time, every track has a concept. I felt there’s no point making music if it’s not for a reason. Basically, each track says something. This last CD… I thought to myself… if this was the last thing I got to make, if it was the last thing people would hear from me, would I be saying everything I wanted to say? Am I giving an adequate impression of myself on it? That’s what I tried to do. Got quite a lot of soulful beats on there. I think there’s something for everyone regardless. If you hear one or two tracks off it, don’t judge on them. There are quite a few tracks on there.
When you say you were thinking about it being the last thing people hear from you… did the political situation at the moment, like in Iraq and with the bombings, did that have any effect on you lyrically or is it more of a hunger to represent yourself fully as an MC?
It was a bit of both really. None of us are promised tomorrow regardless of what is going on in the world. We’re not given a warning for when we die. Tomorrow is not a promise so there’s things I wanted to get off my chest. It is a very important time at the moment. When people look back at my music and look at what is going on now, I hope they can say I was speaking for the people. There’s certain things I’m talking about, there are a lot of people I know who feel the same way about what’s going on.
"...if this was the last thing I got to make, if it was the last thing people would hear from me, would I be saying everything I wanted to say?..."
How do you think you have progressed as a vocalist and lyricist from volume 2?
I’m still growing up and getting to know myself as a person regardless of this rap thing. I think my voice is deeper, I think it’s broken a bit more. I think I’m more honest. I think I’m more focussed and aware of what I’m trying to do and say and what music I’m trying to make and what I want to do with it, and concepts… with this last CD, I planned out each song and I then I planned out each verse. I know exactly what I wanted to write when I got around to writing it. This volume (3), some of the tracks were written before volume 2 came out. Like “Bars for my Brother” and “Where Do You Go?” A lot of tracks ended up being kept off volume 3 because I didn’t wanted it to be too long. Sometimes in the past, things I’ve done have been too long… less is more. You know? People consider “Illmatic” to be one of the best albums ever. Now that’s 9 tracks and an intro. It’s not a long album. It’s
short and sweet. A lot of people consider that to be the best album of all time. So that’s what I’m trying to do, limit the amount of tracks I’m putting on these CD’s.
I felt, listening to the album, there was a lot more playfulness to your vocals and delivery on this album compared to other stuff you’ve done, like in songs like “The Check Up”…
 To be honest, bruv, when I was going through the motions of what I was talking about on the song, there was no other way of putting that into a song without making it humorous. It’s hard to make a serious track about going to the STD clinic. Well, I guess you could but I feel like I couldn’t be too serious with it…I’ve been serious in the past with some of the things I’ve been talking about. I don’t want to be seen as a joker. I want people to take me serious. I’m not like these UK guys who think it’s okay to be funny all the time. We need to be taken serious so people realise in the US, that we’re not jokers. Anyway, I’m getting off the point. Yeah, that track there was like a slightly comical take on a real experience and a real event, which I’m sure everyone can relate to cos we all have sex and there are STD’s out there. So make sure you strap up.
Listening to the album, there’s a strong sense of family on there… with your poignant songs about your brother and a track for your mother… How important is family to you?
I think family is important to everyone you know. You can choose your friends but you can’t choose your family. When it comes to the nitty gritty, the people who are going to be there for you are your family. Whether you like them or not, if something happens to them, you’re still going to be upset because they are your family. Even if you think you hate them, if something were to happen to them, you would still feel it because they are your family, your blood. You can’t deny it. I felt like I had to let certain members of my family know how I felt. I can’t always express how I feel, so when I write it down and spit it, I feel it comes out much better.
"...We need to show these Americans we’re not fucking about and we can actually
rap..."
How cathartic was it for you to write songs for and about your brother’s death on this album?
Until I wrote that track, I couldn’t function properly. Writing that track brought me back to reality. It brought me back into everything. Everyone is touched by death as some point in their life. Up until that point, I was very innocent and naïve and I didn’t know what was real. That is why I get angry when I hear rappers talking about murking this and murking that. People always want to know what’s real… I felt it for myself. When you’re saying murk this and murk that, people will assume that that’s what you are on. There are people out there who are on it. I lose so much respect for people when they say, I don’t want arms and then you hear their tunes and it’s like… murk, murk, kill, kill. It’s like you’re glamorising suffering. If you do that, you’re fucked up. You’re even more fucked up if you’re going to rap about it and then say you’re not on it and saying you’re just talking
about what goes on. You’re not talking about what goes on. People die all the time. If these people were really touched by death, if they really had someone they really love die, or if they truly did it to someone, they’re not going to rap the way they rap about it. Every verse isn’t going to be tech 9 and desert eagle… They’re gonna know there’s more to life.
Especially when you’re writing as heartfelt as you are. I definitely get a sense listening to your lyrics that you are writing from personal experience and everything you write about has happened in your life… is that what makes a good rapper to you? Someone who lives their lyrics?
 Yeah, definitely. It’s like with this whole ‘political’ thing, what pisses me off is when I hear people say ‘bandwagon’ bullshit. Bandwagon, my arse. I got family in Iraq right now. I got members of my extended family who have lost members of their immediate family in Palestine. The road I’m living on right now is where those ‘so called’ terrorists got taken out of their flat in their boxer shorts. It’s not a joke. These are things that affect me every single day. It’s not a bandwagon thing for me. Like you say, you can never know how much someone lives their lyrics. For me personally, I always am trying to rap about things that I’ve been through. I don’t want to rap about things that someone else has been through. I’m not saying that what I’m saying is fact, or the most informed… it’s pure opinion. I’m not saying you should feel the way I feel. When you take away the rap thing and
Lowkey, this is me as a person. These are things I hold, these are things I argue with my family about. They might not agree with me. Also, opinions change. I don’t still feel the same way about things I spoke about on volume 3, let alone tracks I made on volume 1. My outlook is not the same. People change. People should be aware of that. But, to answer your question, yes, I think it is important people live their lyrics.
"...When you take away the rap thing and Lowkey, this is me as a person. These are things I hold, these are things I argue with my family about..."
You been honoured this year with awards from the Lyric Pad hip-hop awards. How did that validate for you what you do?
It’s a privilege man. It’s all a blessing. I’m lucky to be in the position I am now. I know there’s a million starving sick rappers who aren’t getting the recognition and aren’t getting their music listened to. I’m just happy people can listen to my music, whether they hate it or love it. At least it’s being listened to… All that other stuff, like the awards, is just a bonus. It’s only the start. People need to know that.
This year, you were added to the line-up of Poisonous Poets. How does it feel to be respected rappers that you came on to scene seeing around you to ask you to jump on board? And when will we hear stuff?
We’re making tracks every week. We’ve got about three albums worth of tunes that people haven’t heard. 50% of those people will probably never hear because we’re picky. Yeah, it’s great to be involved with a collective of individuals that I have such confidence in as rappers, first and foremost. On a skills basis, I feel they are the five best rappers in the country… and I’m another one in my view. We all need to fulfil our potential. Being the best rappers in your own view, and having other rappers know that is big, but it’s about letting the general public know about it. It’s about getting some product out there. People know but we gotta show them properly. The next mixtape should be in a couple of months cos it’s there. Regardless of the group thing, everyone is doing their solo stuff. We haven’t even started yet.
"...I can’t always express how I feel, so when I write it down and spit it, I feel it comes out much
better..."
Okay, on to your new solo stuff… when is your album proper going to come out and how do you plan to differentiate it from the KTTG series?
I want people to treat volume 3 like an album. When people refer to this one as a
mix CD, I feel slightly disrespected because I treated it like an album. Man are putting out mix CD’s all the time with jacked beats. Them man are putting out mix CD’s. I want people to see this as an album. It’s an album minus the promotion my album will get. I’ve actually just started work on my official album, when that drops it’ll hopefully be massive.
Musically, where will you be taking it?
 You’re gonna have to wait and see for that but expect the unexpected.
What do you add to UK hip-hop as a genre? Where are you hoping to take this?
I think we should consider what we do UK hip-hop, I think that we should just be known for doing hip-hop. I think that tag “UK” is harming us. We need Americans and the rest of the world to realise that we are just as hip-hop as them. I couldn’t say what I add, that’s for other people to decide. Where am I hoping to take it? I’m hoping to take it world-wide. There’s no reason we can’t live off this, make proper money off this. It’s not like we don’t the talent. We need everybody to be getting recognition they deserve. We need to show these Americans we’re not fucking about and we can actually rap. I feel like they haven’t really be shown yet. There are artists out there who are opening doors for us which is great. We need to go through those doors. We can’t be too proud. We can’t say we’re too comfortable. I’m not comfortable. I wanna be living the life. If they can live the life, why can’t we?
Shameless plugs/shout-outs:
I wanna big up everyone who took the time to read this. I want people to know that my CD “Key to the Game volume 3” is out now on SORECS.com. Buy it don’t download it you penny-pinching cunts! I want people to look out for Reveal, Therapist, Stylah – he’s got “Treading Water” coming soon – look out for Tony D, Doc Brown. I got a couple of videos that should be hitting the TV in the next few months. Big up Spellz, Nutty P, Tyma and look out for everyone I’m affiliated
with.
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Nikesh Shukla
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