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On Thursday 10th April, I travelled half an hour north out of London via our ever reliable rail link to the small city of Cambridge. Once there I hooked up with the UK's finest, something that is undisputable. Terra Firma the collective of some of the UK's most talented individuals of the last year, grouped together at the humble abode known as
The Junction the host of the monthly Hip Hop night Rawganics. Terra Firma was to announce a catastrophic, colossal declaration that will surely rock the foundations of the UK scene.
- Orsini
© ukhh.com - 2003
interview 0143 added
06.05.03 words: Orsini technical:
QED
On arrival kicking it back-stage, we discussed all areas of our beloved genre. I was wary of the situation as the guy
Caramac who I set the interview up with was no where to be seen. I was led to believe he was the crews
DJ. On questioning this they kept their cards close to their chests without giving anything away. All ways to be revealed once on stage proclaimed
Ricochet the definitive spokesman of Terra Firma, he refers to the group as a monster grown slightly out of his control, but its seen more like his beloved baby.
DJ Skully kicked off with an incredible set for Terra Firma to follow on from. As
Ricochet blessed the mic, he proclaimed the statement of the year. The UK DMC champ is now the official Terra Firma
DJ. This all happened after my interview, as before they went on stage my inter view took place; unfortunately this prevented me from elaborating on the announcement that was proclaimed as a
Rawganics exclusive!
Orsini: Introduce yourselves, who makes up Terra Firma?
Ricochet Klashnekoff: Mr K-Lash-Nekoff, Ricochet Klashnekoff, the Black Russian, the International Lover, the Son of Nya, The Fucking Killer, The Fucking Invisible Roadman, Ricky the Butcher. The Carhartt Darghartt. Terra Firma.
Scriblah: Yeh Terra Firma Style. Scriblah Dango, Dangoff, Mr. Midnight, The Grim Soldier, The Dungeon Knight, all sorts, The Fireman. Terra Firma.
Kyza Smirnoff: This is Kyza Smirnoff, innit Mr. Say-So, Jack Jones. Oh my god, whatever you wanna say, Johnny Book (all laugh).
Orsini: So how did Terra Firma get started out and that?
RK: Terra Firma started out in my head, in all our hearts, eeerm, dunno, it started off from me, I suppose,
Kyza: A Vision.
RK: Yeh a vision that I shared with
Kyza, ya'kna'wha'I'mean. We didn't know
Scriblah at the time. We always just wanted to create this mighty force of energy and rappers ya'get'me. And eeerm, musicians and the whole fuckin' dynamics of everything. Ya'kna'wha'I'mean. And eerm came up with
Kyza. Yeh so it was just me and
Kyza for about a year, 'cos we couldn't find anyone else that was like nang enough. Ya'kna'wha'mean? To join the crew, it took us another fuckin' year or whatever to find
Scriblah. Who I met through a cousin of mine, Sparrow. Ya' understan'?? And through
Scriblah we met
Diamond Ruff and
Diablo and
Ladbroke.
Orsini: So like the whole Russian thing and alternative persona's that you hold, like Klashnekoff and Smirnoff where did all that come
from?
RK: Its are personalities innit. (Group acknowledge in agreement)
The Son of Nya, that's more, more deep, the deeper, mystical side of me. That's more my heart, it represents some 'Tandora Bop' shit. Stuff about my past, or whateva,
Ricky da Butcher that's more of an aggie side of me,
The International lover, that's like. .
Kyza: Sweet Boy. . .
RK: Yeh my fetish 'n shit, (all laugh)
Black Russian,
Blaknekoff, yah dee yah dee yah. Ya'kna'wha'I mean??
Orsini: So like, the big tunes that have been out like, Zero, Dago…
(Orsini Interrupted for his poor pronunciation of DAGGO! As highlighted by the Terra Firma boys.)
Scriblah: D - A - G - G - O.
Daggo!
Orsini: You got like Parowdise and Its Murdah, that have come out with like Harry Love, Lewis Parker, both very big producers, I mean you've all done individual stuff, is their like any creative conflict when you all come
together?
Scriblah: Nahh Not really its family.
RK: Creative conflict??? How d'ya mean??
Orsini: well like different ideas, you've done your own shit n stuff like that, when you come together…
RK: What like hard for us to gel??
Orsini: Yeh.
RK: Fuck that No! No way, No way. We're fuckin like, what we like lads??
Kyza: Humble Soldiers.
RK: What do I call it? Like Tetris innit. We just slot neatly. Like when I met Scriblah it was like id known him all my life, I know that sounds corny, ya'kna'wha I mean?? But it's true.
Scriblah: Its weird yeh.
Kyza: We've only known him for the last two, three years. It feels like I've known him all my life, ya'get'me??
Scriblah: Same, it's like every man that's come along, its been raw and strong. Ya know??
Orsini: So like, you've got yourself (aimed at RK) on Kemet, and you've got links with like YNR-Productions, Where do you see the whole label side coming into play with the whole of Terra
Firma?
RK: I do believe that, Terra Firma is a thing that can't be brought, can't be bargained with, and can't be sold out. You understand?? And by who you know, so never say never, but the bottom line is, right about now Terra Firma represents the foundations. That's what it's about. Its about homing in our own talent, building our own talent, our own infrastructure, ya'kna'wha I mean?? Like I was saying to you earlier, there is more money in shottin it out the back of your car to the average man on road. You can do 50'000 sales and that's all in you pocket!! Yeh you pay your producer a little one, blah blah blah, a little whatever. Your fucking sorted, in the ghetto, you've made it!! Now if a record label puts fuckin' I dunno, a hundred thousand into you, they want maybe four-hundred thousand back. You understand?? So for right about now, I think were just gonna keep it to ourselves.
Orsini: So like on the back of your own personal success (aimed at RK), Where do you see Terra Firma
going?
Scriblah: Its funny, Terra Firma, to me anyway, is.. These man, we all met in weird circumstances, you feel me?? It was meant to happen in that way.
Ricochet's the man who's gone out first and done his thing.
Kyza's nothing like
Klashnekoff, and I'm nothing like
Kyza, and I'm nothing like
Ricochet. But were all doing are music to equal standards, ya'get'me?? So it's not like, he's gonna come out with something and I'm gonna come out with something like, "yeh I'm down with
Klashnekoff", on a whack tune. 'Cos that's bollocks, I might as well not do it. Same for
Kyza, ya'get'me?? The more you hear about us, you can feel where the rest of us are coming from.
Orsini: Is that why you haven't made a tune together as of such?? I mean you got the tune with Harry Love and like you got like Kyza, and Scriblah on the flip side with Its Murdah, Is that why you haven't come together as of yet, because you don't feel like need to play on the back of the success of Zero and Daggo
Mentality?
RK: Well (pauses and laughs at the suggestion of it being a tough question), Its more on the level of like at the end of the day, number one basically, we've got our own strategy, and also its more limited to money. Which I keep forgettin' is the key factor. With money you have options, with options you can do shit. We don't really have that much money at disposal we don't have studio at disposal, you only get studio when were working wit certain producers that have their own studio, or if a label is putting money in. So right about now it's not like were sittin' back sayin', "were not gonna do, this and were not gonna do that", I've still got a few things to do with
Kemet, still got some more singles to come out, it's a mad thing, basically we aint sat down and thought about this, and planned this for years, like "were gonna come out and. Bam album." I've come together with these boys, ya'get'me?? It's something I've always wanted to do, but its grown abit bigger, the monster has grown out of our control. We've done one or two things, and the tune on
Skully's mix CD,
Before You Die. That's the fuckin next anthem and shit.
Scriblah: There's a thing where we've got stuff coming out till the end of the year.
RK: There's a whole batch of tracks that haven't even come out yet.
Scriblah: We're all doing summin'.
RK: There is no deep plan; there is no
Wu-Tang Plan, some seven year idea. We were all doing shit, and we've begun to get more serious about it,
Kyza's got some singles coming out on
Kemet. Straight after my stuff.
Scriblah's got stuff coming out n shit.
Orsini: Who are they with? Kemet?
Scriblah:
LG and Lopez, I'm planning to do some stuff with
LG and Lopez's label, and a new label called
Cryogenic. Its abit risky, putting stuff out on a new label, but I've sat down and spoken wit dem, and they know what their doing and they got contacts wit distributors n shit, and hopefully by the end of this year, people will understand where the three of us are coming from.
RK: We're all gonna have singles out this year, all three of us.
Orsini: You've referred to Wu-Tang; do you feel that Terra Firma is similar to the Wu, in respect of your ideology, in that you've brought up your boys' wit you from a long time
ago?
RK: The only reason why I use
Wu-Tang is that there is hardly anyone else for us to compare us to and use as a reference point. I aint gonna use
So-Solid, I could use so solid, but
Wu-Tang for me at the end of the day, is rap with meaning it's deeper.
Kyza: If weren't all spitting we would still all be together jammin' and shit.
RK: The
Wu-Tang thing, don't get it twisted, we aint got no posters on our walls,
Wu-Tang for me though, ya'get'me? Their obvious, they fucking changed the whole game, and that's what were coming to do. Were visionaries, keeping it real here and now, keeping it stuck, in whas'gwanin now and keeping you trapped, were on some visionary shit. Were like quantum leapers.
Kyza: Humble Soldiers man.
Orsini: You talk about So-Solid, do you ever see yourself crossing over into the mainstream?? I mean like they smashed up on the garage side, and their bringing out tunes at the moment, like reggae influenced and
Hip Hop influenced, so do you see yourself following your peers, such as Blak Twang and Fallacy?
RK: Never say never. If the track is hot, and like people like it, and it blows, I can't do nothing. Ya'get'me?? I believe we've got the talent to do it. And the hooks, but I don't think it will happen unless we sit down and make a little more
Wyclef style tune. We could do it. I mean we got singers, beat boxers, man
Kyza can act. I can act; I was in '
Young Americans'.
Kyza: I'm doing a thing at Stratford Royal, Theatre Royal,
The Boys, wit like
Mystro and that.
DJ Excalibah.
Orsini: You were saying you didn't want to talk about beef, and that its not something you would wanna talk about in public, do you think beef is a good thing for UK
Hip Hop, in a positive sense, not that people are battling one another but that it can only make people better and that's then surely a good thing for the scene?
Kyza: No Fuck That!
Scriblah: It ain't the scene man!
Kyza: When it comes to beef there is no respect.
Scriblah: It alienates certain types of people, certain people don't wanna battle, some people are on a happy flex, and rappin' is versatile like that. Ya'get'me??
Orsini: Do you think that people will only call out other rappers to gain personal exposure like, for an example, that Mongo track. Is that out their to just gain personal
exposure?
Kyza: I ain't even herd it bruv. (all laugh).
Scriblah: Exactly what is it??
RK: No comment!! There is no game, like
Scriblah said there is no game, people will get hurt, and we don't need that within the scene, so no it ain't good for the scene. Its not like fuckin'
Jay-Z and
Nas n' shit, where there's money to be made, and whatever, ya'kna'wha'I'mean?? People are gonna take it personal, and get fucked up. Simple! Man try to make controversy out of
Murdah, sayin' I was dissin' certain people, but obviously their were big men involved in that and saw the bigger picture. Beef n' all that shit is long, we don't want that shit!
Scriblah: Nah, Beef is just makin' a good tune. Makin' a tune that is soo good yeh, that it gets played more than next mans tune. Beef ain't sayin' I'm gonna do this n that. It's just makin' a decent good quality tune. That gets played on the radio and gains you exposure.
Orsini: that's why I was askin' whether you feel that its good for the seen, as certain rappers wouldn't come back so strong, such as Nas who had a blatant point to prove due to beef, and this resulted in the good quality records he released following the battle.
RK: I dunno
Jay-Z, I dunno
Nas. I wish them both the luck and good health.
Orsini: You've got a lot of Ragga and Reggae influences is that something that influences you personally from where your
from?
Kyza: Standard. We're from Hackney West London. Are parents are all from Jamaica. 'On A Bumpa'Clot'. Standard. Ya'get'me? Just Sound Bouy Business. In are blood our veins.
Scriblah: Grew up listenin to it, standard Sunday morning.
Orsini: What influences you guys personally??
RK: Things we've seen, and listen too, just life, basically life in general.
Orsini: You were talking earlier on before this interview about coming out at the right time, I mean you've come out with big producers, if you could work with anyone who would it
be?
RK: Anyone that's super nang and heavy. Quality control. I'm down for whatever, as long as it's good. I'm working with some man no one would have ever fucking herd of. I met some man the other day in Northampton who is working off some little PC with a Reason package, he has no studio or anything at a stones throw away, but I'm feeling his beats. It just happened you herd me on Lewis's beats. Its fate and a good thing.
Orsini: Will there be a Terra Firma Album?
RK: Keep your eyes peeled. And your lips sealed.
Kyza: True.
Orsini: With the solo projects, you've got your stuff out are their albums in the pipe line,
individually?
RK: Put it this way we still got singles to come out.
Orsini; Are these singles off the albums, or just your own personal stuff you wanted out der?
Kyza: Wait and see man.
Orsini: Do you see Terra Firma as a crew or would you see it as a collective of individual
artists?
Kyza: Terra Firma is family, everything is Terra Firma.
RK: I see these Brares more than I see my mum.
(Laughter)
RK: It's not a joke; I see these Brares more than I see my mum.
Terra Firma is a close knit family, with an abundance of talent. With a lot of things to come for the coming year.. Their show featured all the classics that have been blessing the scene from the last year,
Zero,
Daggo,
Its Murdah etc. With
Skully on board current DMC champ and hottest talent from the UK combined with the newest strong suit of mic dogma from within London, I can see nothing but big things for the latest collective of Supreme Beings that make up Terra Firma.
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