Whats Good?
The all too familiar opening from some Yank spamming your Myspace inbox. You don’t even bother to look at how bad they are, probibly some RnB turd singing seriously about guns and hoes. Next time this scurge of self promotion passes you, take a minute to let them know exactly whats good. In fact start with these boys Verbal Contact. If your not already familiar with Matter, Prys or Sonar Cousin, allow me to introduce to you the governor himself, Matter.
How did Verbal Contact come about?
Prys, myself and Sonar Cousin all
play a big part in Leeds crew of crews Northern Hostility and thats
where everyone really got to know each others style. When NH started
losing momentum a bit, a few side projects sprung from it, Verbal
Contact being one. Matter chose to link Prys and Sonar C as he knew all
three parts would complement each other perfectly and plus we’re on
equal footing when it comes to alcohol and marijuana intake.
How and why did you sign with 30 Tone Slug and did you actually sign
anything?
We signed with 30TS partly cos we already had a music
relationship with Alphabetix, who run the label, and partly for their
work ethic and potential. it’s not enough to just sign with your boys
so fortunately they have been well on it sorting gigs, promotion, all
the stuff its hard to do if you don’t have your fingers in the right
pies. Their alcohol and marijuana intake isn’t quite up to par but we
let that slide.
Where is hip Hop at right now in Leeds?
Well it’s a hard one as it
seems every hiphop night that goes on in Leeds is geared strictly to
students and these nights put on their fake rudeboy emcee mates and
theres not a massive platform for local MCs, no real open mic
nights…. a lot of leeds hiphip fans have got disheartened with this
and don’t go to local nights when they do happen… there’s still mad
amounts of talent though so musically we’re killing it, it’s just the
money goes into the wrong places, your average leeds promoter can’t
really match a bunch of posh kids with student loans when it comes to
cash… HOWEVER there’s nights coming up that hopefully will become
regular things The Line Up at The Vault has Sonnyjim, Jack Flash and
DS Fam playing their first night and the Alphabetix ep launch at Elbow
Rooms on Oct 11 which we’re playing will be a big one. In short, the
scene’s been corrupted but we’re taking that shit back.
Name an artist you would like to work with and why?
Chima
Anya’s a sick upandcoming Mc who uses some dope-arse producers, real
intellgent rhymes
How important do you
feel live performance is to getting your name out and reasing your
profile?
You can’t really overstate the importance of a live show.
Everybody downloads your shit these days so the way to seperate
yourself from the flock youve got to kill it live. especially in a
scene this small thats how youve gotta put yourself out there.
Your debut E.P Literary Vices is dropping near the end of the year.
What if any is the concept behind the E.P?
It’s mainly a statement about where we live, what
we get up to, stories that surround us in Leeds. it’s real down to
earth and paints a picture of a certain place at a certain time… for
future releases we’re gonna tackle some bigger topics trusssssssst.
What other projects are you involved in?
Prys has been in
Defenders of Style, a Leeds hiphop crew since he started spitting more
or less. Sonar C aka Mike D is a freelance operatist who works with
BARE man in BARE different music scenes, too many to mention but you’ll
see his name about no doubt. Matter is in live funk/hiphop band the
Loose Wires, tearing up dancefloors round the country.
The
Northern Hostility mixtape has been eagerly anticipated for a while
now, and a little birdy tells me it’s all but done. When Can we expect
it in stores?
We’re deciding the best way to approach it. It probably
will be out as a free release, with a limited amount pressed to CD and
also as a free download, end of 09. I see Northern hostility as a
showcase of the sickest artists in Leeds at that time and it was a nice
starting point for a lot of people involved in it.
Where do you see the Leeds Scene heading in the next Decade and who are
you feeling?
If the Leeds scene starts asserting itself again and also
adapts and moves with the times, i can see it flourishing, the same
could be said for the whole UK scene. Just get them bangers made. Right
now Chief Wigz and Optic are big in the game, J Bravo still smacks it,
everyone in Northern Hostility was there for a reason. And standard you
best keep em peeled for Verbal Contact or we’ll peel em for you
hahahahaha.
Related posts:
