Sam Khan - So Many Dreams

‘I was never encouraged to pursue my dreams I had to grab them myself’ says the North West London musician, Sam Khan who has had the pleasure of performing at some of the UK biggest urban platforms including JumpOff, The Sunday Show and ILuvLive when he’s not watching stand up comedy or watching contestants get fired The Apprentice. Not only has he received over 2 million Youtube hits, but he has also immense support from BBC Radio 1, Kiss 100 and BBC 1xtra for his latest EP 'So Many Dreams'. 

I thought I’d catch up Sam Khan himself to find out, where it started his sacrifices and ambitions.  

Like many musician, he recognised his talent for music from a young age, in his case, 8 years old. Sam loved writing poems, so he began working on verses and creating structures which allowed him to develop songs. ‘I enjoyed doing, it was how I dealt with a lot of things growing up.  Writing was always therapeutic for me, which is why called my first CD 'Me, My Pen and I'. I bought music equipment, built a home studio and the rest as they say is history!’

‘My ambitions motivate me as an artist. I want the world to hear my music and my story, I want to make other young people believe they can  strive for success regardless of their circumstances and that’s one of  the ideals of our brand 'B Somebody'. I've been through rough times but always maintain a positive attitude towards life. I  believe I've overcome problems, so I always aim to bring that message through in my music. When people tell me they can relate to my words and feel they are not alone, that gives me a great motivational feeling too.’

Although he;s performed at big industry events like ILuvLive, The Sunday Show, Astoria, JumpOff and other big festivals, he would say the the best place he's performed at would be 'at a high school for teenagers' aged 12 – 16 during their assemblies.' He explains 'I got a massive reaction, I told the kids to strive for whatever they believed in and because this is an issue close to my heart. As a kid I was never encouraged to pursue my dreams I had to grab them myself.  ‘

‘I feel like I have a chance to help others who are in the same position I was. B Somebody is not just about music,  its about inspiring people to positively believe they can do or be  anything, and so being able to make a difference to young peoples  outlook on life is the best feeling for me.’

                               

His influences include the likes of 2pac, who he refers to as an ‘early inspiration’. Kanye West he says’ I loved The College Dropout’. J Cole as he’s ‘feeling a lot of his tracks’ as well as other singers and songwriters and Lowkey, he says ‘I rate highly out the UK coz he has strong morals and is mad lyrical at the same time’ Overall his biggest inspiration is ‘life itself’ and the things he experiences.   

He would say that is biggest sacrifice has been ‘spending time on things other than  music’ such as more time socialising, reading, or just relaxing but he’s continued to work on prioritizing the different aspects of his life. ‘Because I’m an independent artist I can’t rely on other people to get me airplay and gigs, making tracks isn’t enough. I have to spend time making sure the music is heard, and this means I have to sacrifice other fun things I could be doing, but its all to achieve the end goal so its all  good! Making a sacrifice to make sure the music pushes forward will only serve to benefit my career in the long run’.

He believes that in the current UK industry ‘there's a space for everyone and everything, and depending on your goals, you can be successful as long as you persevere. The UK Urban scene has really risen and more rap is being heard in the mainstream which is great. There's always going to be different tastes and preferences but if someone is in the charts, or selling records, then there must be a demand for that so u can’t hate on it! The one thing I don’t think is correct from a moral perspective is when the industry exploits certain topics that aren't positive, just to sell records. I think people should remember their principles and if the message in the music isn’t something you would agree with yourself, avoid supporting it.’

In the future we can expect ‘a lot more tracks, music videos and performances, so watch out for all the new material’

You can now check out his Official Site, add him on Facebook and follow him on Twitter.

Xploder - Line OF Fire

From being the centre of attention at family function to taking his music abroad to The Czech Republic and Italy as well as receiving major support from radio stations such as BBC 1Xtra, BBC Radio 1, Kiss 100 and Choice FM after the released of his EP ‘Line Of Fire' as well as being described as ‘an artists to look out for in 2011’ by BBC Radio 1 DJ Ras Kwame you could say this musician is destined to succeed this year.  Xploder is an up and coming musician from East London who has been pursuing a music career for just over 4 years.

I thought I’d catch up with Xploder himself to find out more.

Similar to many artists, Xpolder started, rapping and producing his own material underground. He then joined the infamous ‘Highly Rated Camp’ alongside Beckz Winter and his brother DDark as they shared the same ambitions to further their music careers, individually as well as a collective. The camp was a huge success and became recognised as an underground company, which then gave them the chance to appear and perform on UK pirate and internet radio stations such as Mystic FM, Deja Vu, Rinse FM, Heat FM and Axe FM.

Since then he has released two singles ‘Don’t Trust You’ and ‘So True’ which have both accumulated mass support and following in addition to being selected as an ambassador for the “I Am Awards” which aims to offer unsigned and self-releasing artists a platform to share their music. His name alone may come across as intimidating to most, but it’s simply an expression, that represents his unexpected talent.  He describes himself as ‘quite a reserved individual’ yet he is ‘known to astound music lovers with his explosive lyrical energy and musical abilities’.

’I'm a grime musician from East London, so I write and perform songs’ says Xploder  ‘From a young age I always used to be the centre of attention when it came to family gatherings whenever music was played. I remember singing and dancing around with a small toy cassette player that had a microphone attached to it. So music has always been part of my life.'

He would say that the best place his music has taken him has to be ‘abroad to Italy and the Czech Republic. He explains ‘seeing hundreds of people being able to connect to my music even with the language barrier, it's amazing trust me! He would say that he’s more interested in that fortune rather than the fame as ‘as it gives you the power to invest and build.’

‘My inspiration is my mum as she is such a hard worker, and has always made me believe that anything is achievable with working hard’. He is also inspired by a range of artists include Dizzee Rascal, Coldplay, Jay-Z, Ludacris, Michael Jackson, Nas, Outkast, Stevie Wonder and UB40. 

Four qualities he feels a good musician should have are ‘Consistency, organisation, focus and versatility. He says 'all these go hand in hand. Once you leave one of these elements out, you end up falling short. In the UK I think we’re all finding ourselves within the industry and understanding the infrastructure behind it. This is helping to boost the music we love and make to the forefront of the UK.  This definitely helps me as an artist, as it creates many avenues for me to get my music heard.’

’I promote myself in many different ways. For example, I have a good team consisting of a plugger, PR and booking agent. I also make sure my social networks are always buzzing with something. He says 'The most effective way to promote yourself as an artists is the internet.  You allows you to have unlimited access to a wide range of people instantly'.

Although his Line of Fire EP is out now via iTunes, in the future we can expect him to be ‘pushing a few single from the EP with visuals’ as well as a ‘single release and video for HYPE SHOW’

You can now contact Xpolder via his Official Site, Facebook and even follow him on Twitter.