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 P.A.C. Interview
interview 0356 added 06.12.05 words: Lingo
technical: Spoon
PAC is a man that a lot of you will be like "Who?", but as one of the Cafe Recordings Crew is a guy a lot of you will be hearing about. His solo EP has just landed to a bag load of critical acclaim, so Lingo caught up with the man to see just how Powerful & Calm he really is.......
Right P, thanks for making it over, introduce yourself and tell us a bit about the PAC?
Appreciate the invite Lingo, well me myself and I was born in the heart of South West London and was brought up on FuFu and Jollof rice for those who know them delicacies won’t have to question my ethnicity. Anyway being nurtured within a strict household wasn’t easy but I finally broke out of the parental oppression when I was about 15, getting up to all sorts. I got into Hip Hop firstly as a dancer and was influenced by Kid n Play, Scoob n’ Scrap and Schoolly D’s dancers, I was in a duo dance act for a group back in the early 90’s called the King’s Of Intellect (now known as Thee Absent) and performed with them in shows at Dingwalls (Camden) and various talent spots. I eventually gave up the polka dot shirts and the high top fades and started freestyling with various friends in the park who are now prominent on the Hip Hop circuit but firstly joined a local Junglis sound called the ‘Hit Squad’ which is when I really started to put lyric to paper… After doing small tours with the Hit Squad in South London venues I got my first appearance on a track by Thee Absent in 98’ called ‘Edible Treats’ and didn’t look back after that…
So how did you hook up with the Café boyos?
Well Valu’s my older sibling, Genie an Antidote grew up with us as we all lived virtually on the same road from the start of our teens so were like all brothers, Dandy I met within the Junglis sound ‘Hit Squad’ (as mentioned above) and we all met Jaes at a later point in life through a mutual friend and have gone forth to build one of the most eclectic Hip Hop record labels within the UK.
Any reason for the name?
P.A.C stands for Power And Calm which is a bloody long name init… but seriously it describes me to a T… when anybody meets me for the first time they never believe I rap or perform due to my calm nature and temperament however if they ever get to see me on stage, which some have had the pleasure to see, they’re immediately astonished by the transformation in me once I grab the mic and let the powerful energy do the rest…
Do you feel like a solo artist or part of the label collective?
A bit of both really, I mean we always hook up at sporadic times and work collectively on projects but then there are lots of periods where all our heads are down, working on solo material so it’s kind of living in the best of both worlds.
How long have you been involved with the scene and in what ways?
Well I would say over a decade now I’ve been involved within Hip Hop in the UK but indiscreetly and indirectly, the reason why I say this is because I have never really been part of the clicky scene, you know like rubbing shoulders at Hip hop events and networking etc… I’ve really and truly stood my own ground which has it’s pro’s but also lot’s of cons…
Your EP is about to drop, did you get involved in production, or is it all down to Jaes?
It’s 100 percent Jaes production, his signature is written all over those tracks…
How much of a Complex Theory was the EP?
(Laughs) Yeah It did get a little complex at the start but eventually once I got the conceptual bug going it straightened out quite nicely…
“...anybody meets me for the first time they never believe I rap or perform due to my calm nature and temperament...”
Does it help having other artists on Cafe to work with so closely?
Of course… It’s a extra boost as they all give support and when needed a good kick up the backside when they feel your not pulling your weight. I tell you Genie’s the best at doing that, we call him the General as he goes on too regimental sometimes… check out the track ‘The Gym’ by Thee Absent to get an insight into what I mean…
What’s the worst thing about it?
I would say the same thing really as sometimes you just want to be left alone, have a bit of a break but if someone’s constantly on your case, belling you and sending emails in block capitals at some point it can get a bit bugaboo and start to piss you off, but then you have to think about why their doing it and realise it’s only because they want you to churn out more music…
What is your favourite tune so far you’ve been involved with, either on the EP or not?
I think for me, it has to be ‘Driver’ featuring Dandy and was released under Mister Jaes in May 05. The energy of that track is just intense, I love the beat and the concept as well as the way me and Dandy combinate on the track, I always looked forward to performing it within our shows. It also got a lot of love on the airwaves (BBC 1xtra, Choice and XFM)
What else have you got coming up in the future?
I’m going to be working on my new album early in the year, I will be featuring on a good few mix tapes so watch out for those as well as working on something futuristic with Broadcite Records a nu-jazz/broken beat UK based label.
It’s been about 2 years since you last had any big exposure on the radar, so what you been up to in that hiatus?
To be honest I got caught up in the matrix… pardon the pun but life kind of caught up with me within that period and I had to deal with some personal issues which took up a lot of mental consumption at the time, so my mind wasn’t even on writing, I had to deal with those issues first before I could move on and start getting myself back into the right frame of mind.
“...once I got the conceptual bug going it straightened out quite nicely...”
In terms of development how long did the EP take, and what experiences helped with its conception ?
The E.P took a good few months to do as I actually did around 9 tracks in total but had to pick the strongest ones of the lot. I think if you listen to the tracks you will probably realise the influence and experience that made the tracks for example ‘Opportunity knocks’ is about positivity and not looking back once you get yourself on the train, ‘Blaaah!’ is about the listeners deciding who should blow considering they show enough love but it’s not down to them “as the elimination process doesn’t really deal with that so listen to this music don’t; make me have to Blaaah!” the Blaaah in the track is the missing piece , it’s like a riddle which you have to fill the blank… what do you think it is… all entries to be sent to info@caferecordings.co.uk... (laughs) The E.P. is called ‘Matter Of Opinion’ which conceptually is what it spells out, it’s me putting across my views! But on the flip side it’s also about getting the listeners to think…
You guys (Café) have been bubbling under for a while now, have the recent releases made an impact yet?
That’s one of those complex theories right there, Café have had a few hits to date, tunes like ‘The Gym’, ‘Magic Mondays’ and ‘Driver’ blew up the circuit when they dropped, but so far we’ve only had a minor impact on the scene, this I believe is down to number of things outside of our control , but I really feel as a label we could have worked a lot harder in the early stages to place ourselves on the list of pioneers within UK Hip Hop by working more on performances and rubbing shoulders with the Hip Hop nightlife (Breakin’ Bread, Kung Fu etc…) which we indirectly fell out of touch with.
You got any live dates planned for the launch, or are you guys taking a break from that? I’m sure I heard a lot of the EP material out last time you did a gig right?
I have no live dates but keep peeping the news section on www.caferecordings.co.uk for upcoming events as I am working towards getting some dates planned which will feature the Cafe crew as usual. ‘Complex Theory’ was the only track performed on stage from the E.P, so most of it will be fresh to the ears…
What is the end goal for this year?
To have promoted the E.P ‘Matter Of Opinion’ as much as I can and work towards getting Café Recordings back on the map by performing everywhere possible and shouting the name from the rooftops like I was Quasimodo. The bigger picture for me though is taking 2006 into a new dimension of Hip Hop… so watch this space
Who should we have to look out for, people you rate etc?
Look out for Creamo, who featured on Thee Absents ‘The Gym’, he’s going to flood the scene with some cold metaphoric classics also making positive movements GeeBag from the trio 35above, which includes Unique Hastings and Bless. Gee’s on a solo expedition and already has got interest from certain individuals within the media.
Any shameless plugs, or shit to get off ya chest?
To all those who love organic Hip Hip and need to hear something different, open your minds and check out ‘Matter Of Opinion’ E.P. you can hear and buy it from www.caferecordimgs.co.uk. Nuff respect UKHH and Mr Lingo for this interview. All have I left to say is to big up all the Café Crew, and all those who I’ve come into positive contact with in my short years and for all those who support our music from now to infinity…
Like the man says, check the web-sites for all updates on the Cafe crew, and see what else is on the menu. Oh, and go grab the EP while you can.
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Mr Lingo
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