Rizzle Kicks: Dream collaborations, Brighton’s music scene and The OC
Brighton Hip Hop duo Rizzle Kicks have been tearing up the airwaves of late, with hit single Down With The Trumpets. With the release of their debut album Stereo Typical on the horizon, Ryan Bassil sat down with Jordan from Rizzle Kicks to chat about The OC, dream collaborations and the Brighton music scene.
You guys started out rapping and Harley jumped on the tracks, when did you feel that Rizzle Kicks would be something special?
I was doing solo rapping and it was alright, I think. I heard a track by the FloBots called Same Thing and there’s a woman who sings the end of the rappers lines and I thought that’s really cool.
Like that whole Mike Skinner and Leo the Lion vibe?
Exactly. I thought that kinda vibe was pretty cool, and obviously when that singing thing is brought into effect with rapping it’s more continuous and I thought it’d be cool to get someone else on board. So, we kinda joined forces and then our friends paid more attention, cos’ I reckon Harley was a bit more popular than me!
You’ve already collaborated with Ed Sheeran, which artists are on the collaboration ‘dream list’?
We’d love to do something with Damon Albarn, or Kanye West or Prince. I’d love to go into the studio with Beck in his prime. Or Q Tip.
Q Tip has got the best beats!
Ahh, he’s wicked man. I’d love to work with people like that, it’d be dope. We actually told Nick Hugget, the A&R who ended up signing us, that we’d love to work with Norman Cook. We told him that we’d love to do a tune with Fatboy Slim, and the next thing we knew the dude was bowling into the next meeting and asked us if we wanted to work with him. It was the most surreal thing – the second cassette tape I bought was Right Here, Right Now.
He’s pretty much the forerunner of the Brighton scene. How did you guys break through?
When we got into music, it was the peak of hip hop in Brighton. I was kinda into grime for a bit, but I didn’t really fit in. A dude called Heinzy Heinz took me under his wing and introduced me to Dr Syntax who introduced me to Foreign Beggars. Through them I met Dagnabbit, and paid him for a beat which became Down With The Trumpets.
What can fans expect from Stereo Typical?
I think Down With The Trumpets and When I Was A Youngster are a good reflection of the album. But, the album is hip-hop. When we say we’ve been influenced by the golden age of hip hop, you know, like Tribe Called Quest, De La Soul, Pharcyde, that’s a major love of ours and I think you can hear that. So, if anyone has already felt like they’ve had a good idea of what we’re all about, Stereo Typical will be a complete clarification of that. Our personal favourites are Homewrecker, Demolition Man and Evening on a Rainy Day.
Why those tracks?
Demolition Man is done on a different time signature, so that rapping style is a bit different. I think it’s the most left field that we go on the album, and then Homewrecker is just a fun concept and a head banger. A standout track would probably be Travellers Chant which is the one slow moment of the album, it’s got a chilled vibe about it. I like the whole thing really.
So, what’s a standard day like for you guys?
Now it’d be just promoting our album. It’s been real busy recently. Otherwise, an ideal day would be… I don’t know. I love to wake up early, cos’ the day feels so much better. Wake up, get a cup of tea, have a rollie and a bowl of cereal. By this time Harley should have woken up. Then we’d have a couple of games of Fifa, go to the studio for a good few hours, then go for a nightcap and head home!
Quickfire questions! You chat about Summer from The O.C in Down With The Trumpets, so who’s your favourite character?
Harley wouldn’t even be able to answer this, he hasn’t seen it! Firstly, Seth, obviously, as he’s a loveable character. Second season, Marissa. Third, Ryan, and then the fourth would probably be Summer, as she holds it all down.
Favourite movie?
My favourite movie by far is Space Jam, I know the first half an hour off by heart, it’s a joke. City of God and La Heine are up there, Memento, Crash, Snatch. I did Media at Brit School, so I’ve studied a lot of films. I’m a big fan of French cinema, Tell No One is absolutely brilliant.
Late night snack?
[Long Pause] Oh, Cereal! I think meals can be wherever in the day really.
Club or chill?
Last year it would of been club, but this year probably just a chilled night in.
Haha, any last messages for the fans?
I’d just like everyone to listen to our album please, it’s our first record, it means a lot and we’re very happy with it. It’s so cliche to big up everyone, but big up anyone whose been involved. I mean, people have made blogs and fan accounts on Twitter, which is so surreal for us, but it just means so much. The fact that we’re even being interviewed by you for The Independent, is just…. my life’s better than it’s ever been, and I think I owe that to a lot of people.
Check out Rizzle Kicks latest single When I Was A Youngster below
Stereo Typical is released on 31 October
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