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  Vee-Kay Interview
interview 0283 added 24.02.05 words: Elmo Thudd
technical:
QED
Vee-Kay is a proud beat and wordsmith.
One of the growing number of rapper-producers who are releasing material at the moment. Hailing from Canterbury in Kent, his rhymes take in a lush backdrop of countryside fresh air versus small town angst and finding optimism when life tries to throw you curve balls. As a beatsmith, his incredible beats are jazzy, funky, soulful, and cutting. All with incredible cutting from DJ Disscuss. His new EP, on up-and-coming label, Sin Nombre, is the “Myster-Vee Tour” and it features collaborations with DJ Disscuss, Bone and Cariz from Dirtburg, Yam Boy and Deprogrammed. It heralds a worthy welcome to the world of Vee-Kay, a name to surely look out for in the months to come.
Introduce yourself and tell us your hopes for the year.
 Yes, yes, it’s Vee-Kay. My hopes and dreams for the year are to release my EP that’s out in February and then a couple of other projects that are currently underway and get them all out there.
Tell us about the Myster-Vee Tour EP, all the different collaborations on it and how long it took to make.
Basically, “Myster-Vee Tour” is a six track EP. The main collaborator on it is DJ Disscuss, who’s done all the hooks and all the cuts. I let him just go with it and left him to his own devices and he’s done me proud. It sounds absolutely tight. The DJ is an amazing scratch DJ. The other collaborations I got are Daddy Jaes, who produced “Mic Speak” on it, another top guy who makes amazing beats. It was nice to not have to rap over something I’ve made and have to see it all the way from the beginning. You got “Club Reps”, which is a collaboration with Bone and Cariz from Dirtburg and AMMO. It’s a funny crazy pisstake. I think there should be more laughter in UK hip-hop. Everyone takes themselves too seriously. Not enough people can have a laugh at themselves, which is what we’ve done. it’s a club track. Then you got “Rise and Shine,” the beat is very mellow, an old funky beat. It’s straight rhyming, not really a concept on it. Then you got “Colours,” which is the longest track. It’s taken me about a year to do. It’s got about eight or nine different beats on it, intros and verses and bridges, it’s just too much. On that there’s Deprogrammed, which is Blood and Jonez. They’ve done justice to that track. Also got Yam Boy on there doing his thing. No real concept on it. Blood and I do straight up rhymes on it and Yam Boy and Jonez get all political on it, which is all good. It’s got some tight cuts on it at the end. “Life’s Perceptions” is just jazzy. It’s the fourth version I’ve done on that track. It’s just jazzy, the bassline just walks and it’s got a lovely little piano on it. It rounds up the whole EP really nicely, with its horny cuts. The horn cuts are very nice. The whole EP, I’ve tried to go over as many different beats as I can, make it versatile. You have a club track on there, a track you can sit down and chill to, the beat that changes up all the time, that you have to keep rewinding. It’s very nice.
How long did it take you from start to finish?
Not counting the “Colours” track the whole thing took me six months to do. Only because I have to go and get verses off other people. I spend ages mixing the record. I must have mixed it four times. It just took a long time, longer than it should have done.
Are you happy with the finished product?
Yeah I am. I would go out and buy it, but I’m biased. To be honest though, the only reason I’d buy it would be to sample but I can’t really sample my own stuff.
How different is this EP to your previous EP, “Mindless”?
It’s really different. Beats-wise, the samples aren’t well known on this one. You’re going to have to dig for these samples. Hopefully. If anyone else is using the same samples, I’m not going to be happy. It’s a whole lot cleaner, a lot crisper. It’s done for a wider scale. The first one was just a demo to get my name out there. A few people took notice. This one is actually… I want people to buy it. And when they hear it, I want them to think, “That’s an EP I want to hear all over, the clubs, the radios”.
"...I don’t like to go buy records that cost 15 quid for funk breaks and everyone else is using them...."
On the CD you can tell you like beat-heavy, sample-based hip-hop. How much of a digger are you?
I do dig but not so much. I’m a bit of a tight-arse cos I don’t like to go buy records that cost 15 quid for funk breaks and everyone else is using them. Everyone is using the same generic funk records. I want to go and get the stuff for 10p or 25p that has the weirdest most abstract sounds on them. French harmonicas under the bridge. I like weird covers too. If it’s eye-catching I’ll get it in case I can get a stab from it or a loop or some nice drum samples. I don’t want to use the same stuff everyone else is using. I do dig but I don’t like to spend a lot of money on it.
How do you find your samples?
Just going around, going to charity shops. Shops no one will go to or if they do, they’ll go past the records I want. I buy the most obscure stuff, from really late 80’s indie rock, made in someone’s garage to B-sides of stuff out in the 40s and 50s. Stuff people will bypass and won’t really resurface again until someone does something decent with it, which hopefully I’ve done.
The EP is very musical, like “Colours.” Are you musically trained at all?
 No, I can barely tap the pads on the MPC. I didn’t want to just use loops. I hear a lot of stuff out there and it’s just loops with a synth added to it. I wanted to chop and change every now and then. Especially with “Colours”. It has intervals and bridges. The drums change throughout the verse. The sample will change. That’s the most musical as you’ll get me going. It changes up every 16 bars into a whole other beat.
You’ve never sat down and learned the piano though? What equipment do you use?
I use the MPC2000 and the Akai S950 and I’ve got a multi-tracker. I only use the computer to sequence, the old grey and white version of Cubase. I can play chords really basically. I can’t play really in depth melodies like Jools Holland. I do love piano samples and chopping them about, rearranging the notes and play them myself. Also bass-lines cos basses are hard to sample. It’s hard to find just a bass on its own. They usually have drums over them or are quite recognisable. So I either completely rearrange them or play my own one, which is probably about as far as I go. I don’t play guitar. I’d like to. But I’m too lazy.
How did you learn to rap?
I used to learn other peoples’ records. I used to learn songs like Junior MAFIA’s “Get Money” and stuff like that. I’d go to school and in lunchtimes we’d have these little events where people would pay 50p to come and see this fat bastard do the lyrics to “Get Money” and not being allowed to swear. A few of us, me and Sam Sure (Canteen Records), we used to sit and rap and try to freestyle. I’d be rubbish and rap about chickens and how they should be cooked. And I met up with this producer, Simon. At the time, I was just a rapper. I didn’t know anything about making beats yet. I used to use other people’s instrumentals off the vinyl. I started to produce when I stopped working with Simon and did my own stuff.
Who are your main rapping influences?
That’s a difficult one. I like Nas’ flow, his kind of stuff. Really old Biggie and Junior MAFIA. Even though I don’t rap like them, I love Das EFX stuff. Straight-up party vibes that you can stick up loud and dance to, and piss off your neighbours. Beats-wise, obviously Premo, Pete Rock, Jazzy Jeff, DITC. DITC and Beatnuts I used to listen to all the time. When I’m making beats though, I don’t really listen to anything else. I hardly ever listen to hip-hop. Only stuff that my friends make.
"...There’s a few really good people who produce and rap. Quality-wise it’s a dying breed though...."
Does that mean that you manage to stay out of trends?
Pretty much. I do find that about 80% of hip-hop I hear is absolutely dire. It all sounds too synthy. I don’t knock people who use synths because it can make it good but I like the older stuff. I don’t go with trends. If it sounds good and it’s working and it’s got a groove to it, I use it. If not, I start again. I don’t listen to how people lay their stuff out, if it’s the same or what kind of scratches they use or where they get their drum patterns from. That’s why I don’t listen to it because I’m always picking up on that stuff. Unintentionally. I just do my stuff and how I want my stuff to sound is a natural progression.
As a musician, do you find it hard listening to other peoples’ tracks and not dissecting them? Can you just listen to them as songs on their own merit?
 Definitely. Unintentionally I’ll sit there and listen to tracks and I won’t be listening to how good they are as tracks, really. I’ll be listening to whether the sample’s used nicely or how they’ve flipped it or what kind of effects they used. Very difficult for me to do that. Sad really. I have to get drunk listening to music or I’ll dissect it too much. It’s a bit one-minded.
In terms of lyrical themes, there’s a lot of imagery about poverty and depression but there seems to be an underlying hope there. Are you a positive person?
I am definitely a positive person. I grew up in Kent and then moved to London so I see what a shithole London is and it’s depressing. I am a positive person but… I dunno, maybe my raps are a bit sad. Maybe I should try a party vibe and get all bling. Maybe I’d sell more.
What lyrical themes do you touch upon?
It’s very scenic. I won’t go straight for the point. I can be very positive. I don’t want to be disheartening and depressing. I don’t want people to put on me on on a Sunday afternoon and feel all depressed.
There was talk of signing to a major label a few years ago. What happened there?
That’s a whole can of worms. I was working with a producer and it was back in 98/99. We were doing this project together. He had a lot of contacts. He used to work for Abbey Road and Sony. He wanted to do a hip-hop project. I was 17 when I was doing that. We did 8 songs for the demo and took it round to a load of labels. Island and Beggars Banquet and we went there. Island said do a commercial track and put out a load of 12”s to build the fanbase and we’ll see what happens. I was young and I wasn’t really listening. It wasn’t what we were looking for. We took the demo round, it didn’t work out and we went our separate ways. We didn’t fall out. He carried on making the music he was making and I bought an MPC. That was an interesting time, very exciting.
Any similar industry shenanigans when putting out “Mindless”?
No, I kept that one completely to myself. It went within me thinking I wanted to put out an EP myself to 2/3 months later, putting it out. It was all done and out there and people were buying it. I didn’t really think about sending it to labels, well except to a few but it always got sent back.
"...Producing comes so easily to me. I really enjoy getting tracks done...."
HHC talked up a release called “Wildlife” on 12”. What ever happened to that?
(Laughing): I did a 12” and it was all done and sounding good. I sent off all the promos. The artwork was done. I sorted out distribution. And basically the guy who was my management, Jamie – the fucking cock, quote me on that – ran off. We got fronted some money to do it and he ran off with it. Last seen in Liverpool somewhere, probably working in Pizza Express as a fat chef. He was the master of the mannequin scratch. He did one and the only thing paid for was the artwork, and I couldn’t even put it out. It was a bit annoying cos people like Mike Lewis in HHC said they really liked it, which was cool but it never came out. Disappointing.
Now, 2005 finds you signed to Notts-based Sin Nombre… How did that come
about?
Well, I was already making the EP, cos I’m always working, always recording and met with Ben from the label at this Swish Hop event. He didn’t even know I was a rapper, he thought I was just some basketball player. We had a track and I sent him a really rough version of the EP and he said he was interested. I sent him a better copy of it later and he said he’d put it out. And now, it’s all looking good from where I am. The guy does his work, he’s very business minded. He knows how to get stuff done and he does it. It’s a good situation to be in. I’m feeling their roster and the releases are consistent. He doesn’t want substandard stuff and it’s all looking rosy from where I’m sitting. There’s a lot of people starting up their own label but this one has actually picked up. They’ve signed Dead Residents, Hard Livin’, the Elementz. There’s a lot of people on there with a lot of talent. There’s going to be a few more releases this year and it’ll be consistent. It’s not all talk. I’m quite looking forward to it.
What sort of reaction are you hoping for?
 I’m hoping for a good reaction. People are saying they’re feeling it and it’s been played on the radio and Excalibah’s plugged it on his show. It’s been on Itch. I hope I’m going to shift a few units of it. I just wanted to get the record out there cos I have a few more projects in the pipeline and I want this to set me up for future releases.
What projects have you got coming up?
Well I got a 12” I’m hoping to release after this one. There’s another EP that’s gonna hopefully come along in the middle of the year. Then I’m going to start work on an album but that’ll take time. It’s me producing the beats and having people guest on it. I want to take a backseat on the rapping and concentrate on producing. There’s a few more things in the pipeline but nothing I can really talk about till it’s in cement.
As a producer/rapper, where does your strength lie?
I see myself as a bit of an all-rounder. Producing comes so easily to me. I really enjoy getting tracks done. I’m always writing and getting raps together but it’s more a verse here and there. I used to be able to write whole songs in a day and get them to the standard they should be at. Now I’m so busy producing for other people and getting projects lined up that I think I’d like to be known as more of a producer who raps every now and then. I’m like Puff Daddy mate. I’m up on everyone else’s shit.
Dr Dre…?
Nah, Vee-Diddy.
Who else do you think is a good rapper/producer?
That’s a good question… Braintax definitely. He can do it all. Jehst is really good although I’ve gone off his production a little bit on the LP he did. Lewis Parker, there’s nothing you can really say about Lewis. He’s a bit of a superstar really. I love his old stuff, the Dusty Crates stuff. There’s a few really good people who produce and rap. Quality-wise it’s a dying breed though, cos more and more people are doing both and it might saturate it a bit. I don’t see it as a bad thing but it’ll leave no room for myself!!
"...maybe my raps are a bit sad. Maybe I should try a party vibe and get all bling. Maybe I’d sell more...."
Who else you feeling on the UK scene?
I’m really Foreign Beggars. I think their stuff is amazing. Lowkey is coming up right now, he’s doing wonderful things. I love the track he did with Caramac, “Happy Endings.” It’s amazing. I’ve been playing it constantly. Beefeaterz. Angry Man is an amazing rapper and the “Here to Hereafter” EP is brilliant. Junior Disprol and his Dead Residents stuff is really good. Yam Boy, he’s weird and Asian but I like his stuff. Thee Absent on Café Recordings, they’ve been around for ages but no one ever seems to give them as much props as they deserve. I know they got a 12 coming out soon that is amazing.
Any final words of wisdom / shout-outs?
Yep, big up to you, Elmo Thudd for doing this interview. All at Sin Nombre, Angry Man and James Squire from the Beefeaterz, Dead Residents, Mr Lingo, Yam Boy, Dr Karl Groover, 563, all the people who play my records, all the people who are going to buy my records, hopefully that’s quite a few of you. DJ Disscuss, Hard Livin’, Café Records… I don’t know a lot of people do I? I love you mum, I love you dad. Dirtburg, A.M.M.O., Deprogrammed… that’s it…
There you go. The EP “Myster-Vee Tour” is out on Sin Nombre records on the 28th February and is available from www.subtonix.org and www.suspect-packages.com Vee-Kay will be performing at ukhh.com’s very own Ya Don’t Stop night on 3rd March at Catch (see main page for more details) and the following night will be doing a Deal Real instore appearance (4th March.)
- Elmo
Thudd
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