Mr ShaoDow - Get Stronger

At the age of 18 he travelled alone to China to learn Shaolin Kung Fu and soon realised it was much more that defence mechanism, instead a way of life that has taught him to work hard in order to achieve his dreams. His recent single Get Stronger ft Ghetts is living proof of his tenacity and determination to succeed as the animated music video managed to achieve over 30,000 views in the first five days of its release and was the 3rd most watched music video in the UK charts.


Mr ShaoDow is a musician from London who made a conscious decision to make music his fulltime career two years ago.  I thought I’d catch up with him to find out more.

‘I’m ShaoDow, a multi-genre rapper, aside from making good music I also travel around the UK, from Bournemouth to Scotland promoting and selling my music directly to the people. I started taking my music seriously when I was studying at university. But after I graduated 2 years ago I decided to take the leap and become a full time musician.’

  

‘First and foremost my music represents me. There are still too many people out there that believe you have to talk and act in a certain way to be a rapper. I want to show an alternative to the status quo and make music appealing to more than just rap lovers.’

‘I listen to a wide range of music genres including heavy metal and that is represented in my music. I’d quickly get bored if I just stuck to one style so I’m constantly challenging myself to improve lyrically, not just for the listener, but for myself as well.’

  

‘My full alias is Mr ShaoDow. ShaoDow is essentially a name that I made up and incorporates the word Shaolin as in Shaolin Kung Fu.' 

'When I was 18 I travelled alone to China and studied Shaolin Kung Fu with the monks, it was a very important part of my life and it proved to me that you can achieve nearly anything if you’re willing to leave your house and go get it. Since then I travel the country, mainly alone and have managed to sell over 6,000 copies of my CD’s to date.’

‘Kung Fu is about more than just weird noises and death grips, there’s a mentality and tenacity of spirit that you can apply to nearly any life situation. If it hadn’t been for my training and travelling experience I don’t think I’d be doing what I do now. Besides, Kung Fu directly translates to ‘Hard Work’ and that’s definitely something I do day in, day out.’

  

‘I appeal to people who enjoy variety in their music I’ve also managed to gain support from listeners who dislike rap and hip hop. I’m trying to bring something a bit different to the table; I’m not attempting to be the next Jay Z so it’s difficult to say how well this will work out without an already established reference point.’

‘However, if you’re looking to listen to some good music with honest, well thought-out and skilful lyricism then I’m your rapper. Follow my journey and see how I’ve managed to build my career out of nothing through sheer determination and ambition. You won’t be disappointed.’

‘If all else fails, if you aren’t listening now, chances are I’ll approach you in your hometown and ask you to buy one of my CDs. One way or another, my music will find you’ he laughs.

He describes his journey so far as ‘proof of what you can achieve, if you believe’ and ‘epic’. 

When asked if he wasn’t a musician what would he be he says ‘I’d probably be a lawyer, need to do something with that law degree!’

  

He feels the industry has changed and recognises that it has become ‘a lot more internet based’, he continues ‘people want music now and are able to get it for free. 

I’d guarantee that a lot of record label execs are pulling their hair out trying to work out how to stay relevant. 

All I know is that I bring my music directly to the people, that is something nobody can take away from me. I bypass the industry, so it can change as much as I want, I’ll keep moving forward’

When asked what we can expect from in the future he says ‘good music and progress’, he continues ‘as my fans know, I released my newest single ‘Get Stronger ft. Ghetts’ to iTunes and it’s doing very well so far. The animated music video managed to achieve over 30,000 views in the first five days and was the 3rd most watched music video in the UK.

'Currently I’m working on my next official single, but in the mean time I will be releasing more tracks and music videos for people to listen, watch, share and enjoy, as my main focus has always been to consistently provide good music.

'On the live front I recently supported Giggs in Nottingham and I am planning a number of performances in venues across the country, so keep an eye on My Shows to keep updated. Thanks very much for the interview and the opportunity to speak to the people, nuff respect to all my fans, supporters and anyone that enjoys my music.'

For more of Mr ShaoDow visit his Official Site, Facebook, Youtube, follow him on Twitter and join his Mailing List.

Abe Lincoln - All Black Everything

‘I don't just want to be another passer-by on this planet, I think it's important to leave something behind to be remembered’, says the co-founder of the clothing label All Black Everything. Abe Lincoln is a designer from Cork City, Ireland who has been developing his clothing label for just over 2 years. He specialises in printed t-shirts, hoodies and sweatshirts but is continuously developing his brand to include other garments. He is currently working on a collaboration T-shirt for Dj Kryder and his affiliates who will be supporting the world biggest DJ and Producer Tiesto later this year on tour.

Abe has also recently released his debut mix-tape entitled ‘Liquor Spillages & Dillinger’s’, which is now available via Download. I thought I’d catch up with Abe himself to find out his inspirations, sacrifices and his plans for the future.  

‘I'm from Cork City in Ireland, a place where not many people choose to do what they want and instead, end up following the same route as other people such as college, apprenticeships. They end up waiting everyday for work to be over, rather than love every minute of it, by doing something they like, which is what I do’ says Abe, who decided not follow the traditional education route and instead embark on a road to success with the development of his clothing label All Black Everything.

‘Around the end of 2009 I started to play around a little with Microsoft paint, just messing around and creating images, sketches and stuff. I always had an eye for designing and creating and decided to keep up this new hobby I had found’. In order to further his creativity he decide to teach himself a bit of graphic manipulation on Adobe Illustrator which he is still continuing to learn. He continues ‘this opened a lot of doors for me. I decided that the designs I was making weren’t much good on a blank canvas, so my friend suggested printing them to T-Shirts and other garments.  

‘After our market research we found out it wasn’t a cheap business to get into, but we persevere. At this stage my friend DJ Ja Ja and I were already operating a YouTube channel. Ja Ja would do remixes and send them to me, I would then put together a video for it using recycled clips from the internet and post it on YouTube, at first we weren’t getting many hits, so it was just a hobby and not a business, but then our views began to grow to a couple of thousand which made us realised it was the perfect way to help get the brand out there. At this stage, the brand was named Pennies & a Dollar, or P&D for short‘.

‘I then came up with one T-Shirt design that changed everything, this was when I came up with ABE aka ‘All Black Everything’ and decided it was the perfect name for a brand, so Abe Brand was born. I started to sort out all my designs and images and focused on making them crispy clear in order to represent us well. We then started a Facebook page where we would upload our designs and our newest remixes on YouTube, this is where the hard work started, but we’re still working hard, its a never ending cycle’.

Abe tries to keep his personal life separate from his business life as he concentrate on building a brand that is almost a 24/7 job, but according to him that’s just the way he likes to have it. Before he began his business he made a promise to himself self to focus more on being happy with what he does, than to focus on making more money than he can count. He explains ‘I value legacy's and hope to leave my own some day, I don't just want to be another passer-by on this planet, I think it's important to leave something behind to be remembered for.

‘I have a lot of hobbies, most of them have sadly been put on hold and pretty much forgotten about at this stage, as I really don’t have much time for them, he identifies this as part of the sacrifices he’s mad, he says ‘I've turned into somewhat of a hermit, a line by Wretch 32 I think describes me right now, "I'm the type of guy that will have no life, just so I can shine like disco lights", what this line means to me is that all the times I've refused to go on nights out with friends, family, I’ve sacrificed them for working on the brand to ensure it become exactly what I want it to be.’

His hobbies include playing sports, musical instruments and his love for cars and motor sports, which, he still has even today. He recalls ‘I've played pretty much every sport you can think of, I played a lot of basketball during my schooldays and also rugby and soccer. There was also a stage in my life where I would spend literally hours playing the guitar, from the time I came home from school until it was time to be quiet and let the neighbours sleep, no doubt my fingers didn’t enjoy that stage of my life.

As I got older, I developed a big interest in cars and motor sport. I'm a massive fan of drifting and try to attend as many ProDrift events as possible over here in Ireland, it's a fast growing sport over here, I hope once the brand gets off the ground that it can help me get involved in the drifting scene also through sponsorship of cars and drivers. All these hobbies have been put on the back burner to allow me to build a brand and image to hopefully capture the eyes of people globally someday, it's safe to say I'm both mentally and physically worn out from it but in the words of Cee-Lo Green "why close my eyes, I'd rather sleep when I'm gone"

At the moment they’re are operating a YouTube channel which has accumulated close to 100,000 views in addition to their Facebook, Twitter and Tagged accounts which they use to promote their Online Shop where they sell clothing such as T Shirts, hoodies, sweatshirts. They have also use their social networks to promote their debut mix-tape entitled Liquor Spillages & Dillinger’s, which they both agree have been ‘rather successful’ and ‘without these websites it's safe to say we would be nothing, this has allowed people from all over to globe to view our designs, clothing, stock and mostly importantly make a purchase’.

‘Our YouTube channel has been blowing up over the past year or so, with our most successful remix out of all being our Written in the Stars remix feat. Tupac & Eminem, its received over 33,000 views alone and been download thousands of times and it's received nothing but good comments’ They agree that this has really set the mark for their brand and helped people notice them, yet their  work doesn’t stop.

‘There have been many remixes after that which have gone well into the thousands of views mark and many more to come. If you look at music videos lately the "all black" theme is being used a lot in the clothing worn, what our brand does is blends in with this trend and helps promote it even further. You don’t need to be wearing luminous clothing in order to shine, let your talent speak for you. The name Abe to us actually stands for All Black Everything, we also incorporate Abraham Lincoln into the brand a lot to give it more character and basically give it a figurehead.’

If Abe wasn’t a designer he’d ‘probably be working at something to do with cars, possibly a mechanic or car salesman. He says ‘It might sound like a monotonous job and at times it would be, but it's probably the only thing I would enjoy doing. I'd love to have unlimited spending power and be able to buy what I want, when I want, but I think the fame is more important, not for me myself but for the Abe Brand. I want this brand to still be here when I'm gone and show that I came and left my mark on the earth and that I created something big using just my own mind from such humble beginnings.’

He continues ‘A legacy is something much more valuable than money. I'm very particular when it comes to brands, If I don’t like a brand then I don’t like it, its simple as that, two brands I admire much more than others though are Rogue Status and Crooks & Castles, both LA based brands. I don’t know if it's the fact I have some fetish for gun imagery than I don’t know about yet or what but those two brands appeal to me on another level completely, especially Crooks, as once said there the Louis Vuitton, the Gucci of the street, and it's true, their gear might have gone up in price and got more expensive but the quality and originality is sublime and something we aim to have with our brand’.

‘The brand is built up from inspiration. I don’t just sit down and decide I’m going to design something, I design once I get an idea. I must say music is the biggest inspiration, I'll sit down and listen to some rap or even some metal for a while and let my mind just run free and get illustrator up and start creating, it's a really enjoyably process once it goes right’

‘At the moment we are only beginning to work with people, we have only reached that level now and it's a good place to be at. We are going to be working with many UK grime artists, DJ's and more to help promote our clothing and also our own remixes. We have been in touch with a DJ by the name of Kryder recently one designing a collaboration t-shirt for him and his crew for their upcoming tour with the man himself Tiesto, where they will be performing in places like Ibiza, Las Vegas and many more.

‘This has been the biggest opportunity for us yet and one we’re taking it on headfirst, it's an exciting idea and I can’t wait to see the outcome so keep your eyes peeled.’ He’d still like to work with a lot more mainstream artists as he is a fan of musicians such as Devlin, Pro Green and Giggs, he says ‘it would be awesome to see them performing while wearing our clothing.’

‘As far as other brands go we are open to work with anyone, the more the merrier as long as it isn’t some neon clothing brand’ In the future they hope to branch in both the clothing and music sides of the brand. They hope to see their stuff on sale on many online stores across the globe as well as see some celebs spotted in our clothing, but until then ‘the work rate isn’t slowing down and were going to keep on going, so keep supporting us’.

You can now have a look at their Online Shop as well as contact them via Facebook and Twitter.

Sir Spikes - Cast the First Stone

‘I’ve always been into music from a young age, I used to turn all the pots upside down and beat them with sticks' says 21 year old Samuel Jimmah formally known as Sir Spikes from East London, who is a musician, poet and aspiring actor. After migrating to the UK, just over 10 years ago he found his love for music. Samuel is currently working on his forthcoming mixtape 'Cast the First Stone' which débuts July 2011.

I thought I'd catch up with him to find out where it all started. 

'I'm a poet, rapper and an aspiring actor' I have always been into music from a young age. When I moved to the UK ,I fell in love with Grime’. This is where it all started for Sir Spikes, who originally claimed the alias 'Spikes' due to his love of knives. ‘I used to listen to and record sets on my mums old tapes, which she wasn't too happy about.' What he loved about Grime, was the rawness of the scene, the ability to say anything. Sir Spikes found himself writing lyrics which he then recited over the beats recorded making him feel as though he was really there on the radio himself, but it wasn't until year 8 where he decided to write more. 

'I was way too shy to let anyone hear, but as I got older my confidence grew. I was a very angry and violent growing up which influenced a lot of my early material. I felt like an outcast the only tune I felt that people listened to was when I rhymed so to me that was my voice.' As he got older 
he started to realise that he could do more with his gifts, but it only really hit him after loosing two of his close friends and coming close to loosing his own life. From his experience he started writing poetry, as he found it easy to put his words on paper. For him 'poetry quickly became a release rather than waiting for a beat' to record music. 'My music has grown and matured a lot and have finally found my self through music. '

'No other musician is like me', he says when I ask how he differs from other artists. 'I'm far from big headed, but I feel that the scene hasn't experienced a mind like mine. I bring soul to a track which enables the listener to fall in a trance and be taken on a journey. I appeal to a lot of people from males to females and to a general age simply because I am very versatile. I don't tie my self down to one thing, like to explore to create new things'.

It's obvious to see that the UK music industry has opened up and allowed a variety of artists to take the mainstream by storm, but for Samuel all he can see in the current industry 'is people who really don't have a passion for music'. He says 'most people go into the industry simply for the money so the messages they reveal are shallow. I would like to bring back heart and soul to music. I am inspired by singers such as Adele because she is real. Nowadays when you switch on the TV all you see are recycled versions on a few people. No one is original any more.'

Michael Jackson, Alicia keys, Jessie J, Adele, Eva Cassidy and Tracy Chapman are just a few of his many inspirations he feels 'they are true to themselves and they truly care about the influence of their music.' In the same vein he admires artists from the rap scene such as ‘Kanye West, Dizzie Rascal, Wretch 32, Tu-pac, and Gigs’. He feels inspired by them as they prove that it is possible to make it in the music industry, despite all the negativity around. He says 'if you work hard and push for it then nothing is impossible’. He is also inspired by a lot of Nigerian artists such as Debanj, 2face Idibia and Ice Prince, he says ‘I am a proud Nigerian so I support the music’.

'Open your eyes and go for it' is the advice he gives to up and coming musicians 'you only loose when you stop trying. Hard work plus determination gives birth to success. Clear your minds and vision how your life will be when you make it'. In the future, Sir Spikes hopes to have a successful career in music and give back to others by 'helping the less fortunate'.

His mixtape ‘Cast the First Stone’ is due to be released July 2011 so be sure to support him. For more of his music check out his Soundcloud, Youtube and follow him via Twitter.

Dirty Danger - The 'I Ainte Rich Yet' EP

He began making a name for himself at the tender age of 13, taking his music from local youth clubs to pirate radio stations. Now at the age of 24 he has released his début album entitled 'I Ainte Dead Yet'. Dirty Danger is a musician from East London who has worked with some of the industries bests musicians including Wiley, Sway, Chipmunk and Lethal B. Similar to many artists, he has made a number of sacrifices throughout his career, yet he has stood by his words of wisdom, contending, 'if you don't believe in yourself who will? I thought I'd catch up with him to find out his views on the current music industry as well as what his future music plans are.


What do you do and how did it start?

I’m a grime producer and mc from Bow - East London. An area notorious for UK grime music and its stars who include, Dizzee Rascal, Wiley, Tinchy Stryder and many more. Since the age of 13 I've been making music with a group called Ruff Squad the same group as Tinchy Stryder. We started MC’ing at each others houses and youth clubs which quickly escalated into pirate radio and local raves. As our name grew bigger in the streets my passion for music became stronger and years later at the age of 24 music is my profession.

What difficulties have you faced and how have you overcome them?

Within the music industry, from the start of going on pirate radios to making music videos I faced so many difficulties and still face them this very day. I would say communication, finance and exposure have been the hardest things to overcome and the only way I have learnt to deal with these difficulties have been my belief. I always say to myself if you don't believe in yourself who will? So with that thought in mind I managed to stay determined to make people believe in me no matter how many knock downs I come across.

Who are your current competition and what makes you different?

Every act in the UK is my competition. I’m different because I’m not trying do what the majority of the UK music scene are doing. My music is a new fresh sound, I’m trying to bring back the dance in Grime with tracks like 'Hardbody' but at the same time hit them with my knowledge and my experiences of life, which you can hear in my album.


What motivates you as a musician?

Just the simple case of loving music motivates me. I’m always up for hearing something new and different so I can feed off of the energy.

Which artists have you worked with and who would you like to work with?

I've worked with most of the grime scene from Wiley to Lethal B to Sway and Scorcher, Ghetto, Chipmunk etc. In the UK I would like to work with Giggs and a guy called 'BADNESS' I love the rasta style he’s got going on.

In your opinion. how has music industry changed in the last 5 years and how have you adapted to this change?

Well the scene has exploded for UK grime/hiphop within the mainstream; I don't think anyone believed that the music would have got this big that even the likes of P Diddy and Jay Z are showing an interest. I give props to Tinchy, Wiley, Skepta, Tinie Tempah, Chipmunk, Giggs and N Dubz for taking it there.


What's the concept behind your album 'I Aint Rich Yet'?

I would say that this album is not your typical Grime CD. Its my own take on grime, which is filled with a mixture of party anthems, emotions, hard life, street life, and love. I think it’s a good introduction for the world to hear who Dirty Danger is and what he’s about

What can we expect from you in 2011?

I dropped my album on April 4th nationwide so that's currently my main focus. Soon I'll be touring from the 14th of March with Skepta all over the UK and you’ll be hearing a bag full of music videos for TV and the Internet.

To listen to more of Dirty Danger, you can buy his debut album I Ainte Rich Yet via UK Record Shop or Digital-tunes, follow him via Twitter, or you can personally contact him via his Facebook.