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A few months ago, I was sent a link to a free mixtape by a bloke totally unknown to myself, and after procrastinating for longer than I care to remember, I finally got around to downloading the “Run of the Mill / One in a Mill” mixtape. Since that day (now known as pre-Smife) I’ve been listening to more of this artist than any other around at the moment. If you’ve never heard of this man before then you should read the words below and then go find some of his product, ‘cos Smife is seriously about to set the scene on fire. Ladies and gentleman, I give you…
So then, please introduce yourself
Hello world. I’m the artist informally known as Smife or Smifey. Pleased to meet you.
Yeah, compared to all my mates I was late when it came to Hiphop. My big sister is only a little older than me so we were tight when I was a kid. I was her shadow so I listened to whatever she listened to, you dig? I think the “Take That” era was the toughest to live through! She played it all as we grew up; Tevin Campbell, SWV, R Kelly, Ace of Base, 2 Unlimited, Shabba Ranx, Cleopatra, M-beat and General Levy…I don’t think a genre went unexplored. When we got a little older she started bumping Biggie, Mobb, Jay-z etc. All that wholesome east coast ish!
I honestly don’t regard my past listening habits as a reason for my creative material. I’ve always been imaginative, especially when it comes to the English language. I used to write poetry and songs when I was a lot younger. I was always the kid to sit next to in English lessons…I was the kinda yout’ that was cool ‘til I got to the playground! I think I get my creative side from my mumsy. If anything though, peeps brought up on old skool should be more accustomed to taking their imaginations further anyway, because back then hip-hop was cool in every sense of the word…it was fun…you spat about some entertaining shit. Somewhere along the line everything just got gangstified, for want of a better word.
I’ll be honest and say not really. That isn’t because I negate it – I honestly think the Grime scene is something to be proud of, because its owners are from my very own environment. I’ve got a Grime tune on the mixtape but there’s no arguing with the kids when it comes to grime and they champion the likes of Jammer, Skepta, JME, Roll Deep…cats that are talented in their own right but are a world away from me. I don’t really think I fit in the grime bracket at all, there’s no room in the inn.
To clear a couple of things up I wouldn’t say I’m a Garage emcee turned Hiphop. I was into Garage/Grime a few years ago – hard. Everybody and their nan was an emcee and I just thought I could do it so I started penning lyrics. I went on radio a couple of times with my boy J.I.M. but I wouldn’t say I made a name for myself or anything, I wasn’t involved for long enough. I’m just an everyday dude that can rhyme words so I thought I’d try to rap! The Garage scene made listeners of my generation a lot more used to hearing cockney accents over beats so that paved the way for UK Hiphop to then be a lot more widely accepted than previously. There are cats in the Garage scene that have just as much content as I do. Skepta for instance – he’s one of my favourite Grime mcs. He’s ill. Big up Ghetto as well, he’s a f**king wizard.
I’m one of them lazy emcees that doesn’t write just for the sake of it. I treat songs like essays…I bang ‘em out at the very last minute. Beats that I feel enough to choose all have a character and when I hear ‘em they conjure up images in my head. A tribute to pornographic material was the first thing I thought of when I heard that beat. The beat is jacked and I’ve never even heard the original but I thought f**k it, you may as well make your version more memorable than the original so run with the paper princess notion. I never force a concept out though – it must be congruous with the beat in order for me to record it.
Definitely, music is entertainment man. Hearing emcees talking shit and making idle threats 100% of the time just makes me jaded. I like a good diss track, don’t get me wrong, but when your whole opus is about this strap and that beef and bullshit like that…I can’t stress enough how pointless that is. You may as well just get a copy of your criminal record and read it out. There are so many things that road men go through that makes them share a common bond with ordinary boys like me… anything can be put into rhyming form…did you get a parking ticket today? Don’t you love the ‘summer’ (all three days of it)? Are you having a kid? Do you think the kid belongs to that dude that does your girl’s hair that you thought was gay all this time? Even if you don’t go through it you can always exercise your imagination and put yourself in someone else’s shoes…play a f**king role if your life is mundane! The funny thing is, most of these man spitting that ish aren’t even hardcore road men – they just fantasise and that’s even more pathetic. I’m nobody on the roads but I know who’s who and a lot of these men ain’t who they purport to be.
I’m sure you don’t need me to tell you that it’s spiralled damn near out of control, but then again you asked me my view and that’s exactly it. These dudes want money – that’s the bottom line. The small print reads: by any means necessary. These dudes ain’t killing for no reason. As long as there’s something to kill for – peeps will be killed. Get the f**king crack off our streets…it f**ks lives up in too many ways man.
Of course. Do you remember when you learned the alphabet? Didn’t they sing it to you? It’s easiest to learn stuff in musical form so the message one puts across in their material is the message most likely to be taken away about that individual ‘cos it becomes embedded in the listener’s brain.
Top of my list is Annie Lennox – that is no joke. Won’t name other names because as long as the artist’s credentials are right and what they stand for is suitable, I’m open to offers and I ain’t scared to approach.
Absolutely no one apart from yours truly.
Iconic status… nuff said.
Shout out to the most high. With him all things are possible. Big up Xtra and my manager Louise for putting up with me thus far! Shout out to the beautiful Char Char for playing the leading lady in the ‘Mary Jane’ video (catch that on all your regular urban TV stations from now!). Love to my De Beauvoir goons and my deejay Danny Fresh (www.84fresh.com). Shout out to the London Urban Collective – album out next February in all major record shops! Go download my mixtape, hosted by the SK Vibemakers (big up!) right now! It’s free like a bendy bus maaaaaaaaan! Peace to all, see more.
Smife's 'Run Of The Mill? One In A Mill!' mixtape is available now on a FREE download, check the skvibemakers link below and check out his websites.
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© ukhh.com 2006
Smife Interview
Do you think that helps you to spread your creative wings more than someone brought up on the typical rigid old skool background?
Right then, your concept tracks on your mixtape are something totally fresh, such as “paper princess”. How do you write these, let them come to you or force them out?
Do you think music has a part to play in not only entertaining, but also educating?
Any final shout outs, plugs or profound messages?
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