Sincere: It was the hard grind that got me here

London’s Sincere has laboured and grafted his way to a deal with major label, Mercury. We caught up to talk first musical purchases, new music and future releases.

How did you get into music and what made you want do it?

First thing that got me into making music was probably watching a Kris Kross or a House of Pain or Michael Jackson video. You know ‘The Box’ when it first started, all of that stuff.

What was the first CD you ever bought?

The first CD I bought wasn’t the first record that I bought, but it was Busta Rhymes’ E.L.E. (Extinction Level Event) and I think that was when I made the transition from tapes and records to CDs.

You came from grime, but how did you originally get into that scene?

I got into grime because I started making UK rap at a very young age – probably around 12 or 13 – with Skinnyman and a couple of people from around my area. Grime just seemed to come out of nowhere and I remember hearing Dizzee Rascal and all those guys. It just came from me making the transition and embracing what I then began to see as UK hip hop. So I began collaborating with grime artists such as Scorcher and Wretch 32. I came onto the scene in around 2005 or 2006, yeah. Grime wasn’t around and I started listening to American rap like Biggie and Tupac and had grown up around that music. So, the first thing that I did was hip hop because that was what I’d grown up listening to.

What was the inspiration behind ‘Aint Nobody Like You’?

The vibe and the idea behind that track was that I was trying to make an alarm clock record. You know those tunes that you listen to in the morning and they get you worked up? I wanted to make a record that reacted live with people in a club or in a festival and I also wanted to make an inspirational record as well. Those are the main inspirations behind that. It’s like an empowerment tune, if that makes sense.

And congratulations on your record deal.

Yeah man, my hard work has resulted in me getting a record deal, so all my stuff up until now and with ‘Aint Nobody Like You’ has ended up with me getting a deal with Mercury. I would say that it was the hard grind with all the mixtapes and other things that got me here. My album is already half way done, so the first two singles were there before I even went to the label so I’ve got quite a bit of control over it too. I’m aiming for #1! Nothing less than that will satisfy me, so pray for me.

What are your plans for the future?

I’m on tour with DJ Fresh and Rita Ora from the beginning of May. My new single ‘Ready For This’ will be getting premiered on radio by the end of May for an August release. So just look out for me to put out some amazing new music and just stay on my Twitter (@SincereArtist) for more updates. In terms of the album, I don’t want to rush it, so as soon as it sounds good, it’ll be ready.

http://www.sinceremusic.net

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