Razor - Reinventing

Razor is a musician from North West London who has been pursuing a career in music since he was in school. Artists such as Wretch 32, Chipmunk and Tinie Tempah have shown him that working hard and preserving with what he believes will one day gain him success in the music industry. He’s performed at I Luv Live and Camden Unplugged, has current single Sci Fi, is listed on rotation on the Channel AKA playlist and has his début mixtape Reinventing out on all mixtape outlets including Mixtape Madness and UK Rap City.

I thought I’d catch up with Razor himself to find out more about his journey, sacrifices and aspirations for the future.

‘I've been writing lyrics since high-school, but only since the start of last year I decided to make mixtapes and do shows to promote myself. I would say my career started last April after doing a show in Camden called 'Camden Unplugged'. I’ve done a few open mics and shows before, but this event had artists such as Gfrsh, Dotstar, Jazzie and many more. Although I was nervous, the event gave me the confidence and enthusiasm to believe in myself a lot more. To perform at a show with these people was a good experience.

‘The best place music has taken me is on TV, because it's the best exposure where loads of people around the country can see me. My song 'Sci Fi' is currently on Channel AKA, its playlisted to 'hoodtube' which comes on everyday from 12-1am, its actually a regular song on that playlist. When it first came out I promoted it with my life, I originally filmed the video for rap city so for it to get onto Channel AKA was very good for me. It’s been up for about 3 months now, and I have had a few people text or come up to me and say 'I saw your video on TV’, I couldn't believe it! To request the video text 5421 to 71000 it's only £1 pound, thanks!’

‘I’ve worked on quite a lot of projects, I release a mixtape last year called 'Venting’, which was just about me being away from music and coming back with a lot to say. That mixtape had on 7 times jump off champion Sam Khan on it who is also my childhood friend. This year I made a mixtape called 'Reinventing' which was the follow up to 'venting'. The mixtape just shows that I've grown up a lot, and I am more focused. I had a lot of people in my past who hated on me for the wrong reasons.’ Reinventing' just shows that I am over that nonsense and I’ve moved on and it has made me a better and stronger person’.

‘The only sacrifices I’ve made have been in my social life, and to be honest that's not really a sacrifice. I do a lot of shows so it can mess up my sleeping pattern at times but that's part of the cycle. Obviously, going up and down London to perform can be tiring but that's my only sacrifice at the moment. Hopefully it will all pay of because I am not getting paid from shows yet, right now its just for the love I have for the music. I know if I keep pushing I will get to where I want to be. When I'm not writing lyrics or tunes, I’m watching my favourite programmes such as Family Guy, Simpson’s, Two and a Half Men and Everybody Hates Chris. I also play football every Saturday, when I’m not at a show or in the studio recording’.

He thinks ‘the industry is doing very well', he continues'. 'It's shown me to believe in myself and I work hard so I can get to where I want. The fact that Tinie, Chippy, Wretch and a lot of artist are putting out music that they actually like, shows that the scene is getting better and they are opening doors for other artists to go through it.

‘My inspirations are J Cole, Drake, Skepta, Wiley, Wretch 32, the list could go on, I would be here all day telling you who it is and why. The one that sticks in my mind the most is Wretch 32, I've been listening to wretch ever since his mixtape 'Learn From My Mixtape', since then I’ve followed and bought all his music. The reason why he inspires me is because I actually had the chance to meet him before he got signed. We met him on New Years Eve 2009 in a club in Tottenham called 'The Black Grape', my sister’s husband and comedian Eddie Kadi ran it. Richard Blackwood was there as well, that night I was thinking about taking music seriously’,

‘It was New Years Eve so I was kind of drunk, when I walked in I saw Wretch just on the dance floor with his friend Calibar. I remember kind of being star struck even though he was still an underground artist at the time, we had both been drinking. If I was sober I probably would have been too scared to approach him, but I just went up to him and said 'You’re wretch init?’ he smiled and said 'Yea'. We had a chat and I said to him 'if you clashed Jay Z you would win', he just laughed but he didn't deny it’.

‘I was amazed at how down to earth he was, I told him to not stop music because he will blow. When I said that it’s like he froze as if he couldn't believe what I just said. It’s like he was trying to take it in but he couldn’t. I could tell it meant a lot to him. It made me think 'wow, this guy is one of the most talented rappers in the UK and he's so cool'. A lot of people would have been big headed, but he just took it on the chin’.

‘After that night I saw him a few more times and he'd be the one to say hi to me before I did. Even when his track 'Traktor' made it to number 5, that same week he performed at 'I Luv Live'. I jumped on the open mic but didn't win; when he saw me come up the stairs he had a big smile on his face and said 'Wa gwan blood?' in a jokey way. He was standing with Eurogang and all them big artist, I just said 'I'm cool' smiled and walked away. I kind of felt out of place an awkward but its shows that he respects me and because he is so talented and down to earth I respect him a lot more because of this he inspires me the most, almost as much as Wiley’.

Although Razor uses online mediums such as Twitter, Youtube, Facebook and his Blackberry, but he would say that Facebook is the most successful, he explains ‘I have a lot more people on there and when I post one of my new videos up, Facebook usually gets the views up for me.

In the future you can expect to see a lot more videos and mixtapes from him. He continues. Hopefully I will be performing at the next Bigga Fish event which is on the 27th of October but I will find out by this weekend. I am just working really, if I not at studio, I'm doing videos, if not videos then ill be doing shows. If you want to check out any of my videos go on Youtube and type in 'Razor Rap City' or 'Razor Link Up Tv'.

Mixtape Madenss, UK Rap Music and Free Mixtape are some of the places you can get his mixtapes. Look out for his official website coming soon, until then; keep your eyes and ears peeled.

Shadez The Misfit - Misfit Maximus

His performances at I Luv Live propelled him to the centre stage of the Channel 4 EVO Music Rooms where he was described as ‘one of the best unsigned acts’. Since then, he has rubbed shoulders with the likes of Drake, Cee Lo Green, Kelly Rowland, and B.O.B, so his dreams of featuring with Andre 3000 or The Noisettes may soon become reality. Shadez The Misfit is a musician from South London who has just released his début mixtape Misfit Maximus.

I thought I’d catch up with Shadez himself to find out more about where it all started, who his influences are and what he has planned for the future.

'Everyone has music in them. Only the gifted have the ability to share it with the rest of the world. I always saw music as a way of venting my thoughts and feelings and story telling or creating scenarios with melody’, he explained when asked what music meant to him and how he initially got involved. ‘I found it hard to keep a diary so I saw music as a way to illustrating my journey but also adding emotion with beats. It was purely me knowing that I can bring something different to the table so I decided to pursue it' in which hie means his career in music

He decided to take his music professionally in comparison to just being a hobby because of the ‘response from the crowds and people in general, he explained ‘I started out doing open mics events, performing at I Luv Live. I wanted to see how the crowd would respond. From there people started asking me for more material so that for me confirmed it all'.

He would say that one of his greatest achievements was wining Channel 4's EVO music rooms where he was described as 'one of the best unsigned acts'.  He explains 'this was a huge milestone which really impacted my career. It gave me a chance to perform alongside Plan B and the fun loving Criminals, music has taken me to a lot of places. I've been able to meet and be in the same room as people I consider to be great. I feel the best place is yet to come. I am still growing as an artist but  I’ve been fortunate to meet Jamiroquai, Drake, Cee Lo Green, Kelly Rowland, B.O.B and Tyler the creator.’

'I'm grateful to have worked with a lot of talented artists in music. Most recently I've worked with Ski Beatz who has produced for many US stars such as Jay Z , Curren$y and Jim Jones. I've also worked with Toddla T on the Redbull Mixtape.'

So would you say you've made a lot of sacrifices and if so there are any regrets? 'Yeah I have. I've made many sacrifices in life and in pursuing my music career. I feel my biggest sacrifice is sleep. It can be hard balancing music with your studies and living your life on a low battery. What's worse I'm a workaholic so I don't know when to stop or rest. I don't really have regrets or don’t see it as regrets, I call it learning life's lessons really. I strongly feel that if I didn’t go through those lessons, then I wouldn't be where I am now, knowing I have the opportunity to become something bigger than myself.'

He would say that is main inspiration is 'God', he explains 'I feel I owe my all to God after coming from a place where people doubt you and don't believe in you, to doors now being opened and being seen as a new influence in UK music scene. I feel that my prayers are being answered one by one'. He feels that another inspiration is 'life itself' although he has faced struggles, hurdles and negative experiences; they've each contributed to him as an artist giving him something to write and say. Also, he can't forget the' support from friends and family who always have his best interest at heart and inspire him to be better, especially his Mum!

Some words of advice he would give to up and coming musicians would be 'to understand yourself, there's no rush. In such a competitive market, knowing what you stand for and your niches are key for people to understand you as a character and as an artist. Always aim to do what has not been done, there's no point living your career being compared to others. Most importantly be yourself, don't try to be something your not, there's no need to live a lie   People like sincerity and knowing that the music is coming from you.

In the future he would love to work with Andre 3000, The Noisettes, J*davey, Muhsinah and Everything Everything. He says 'their sound and what they bring to music is very unique and I would love to see what we could make in the studio. This year has been great so far and there's still a lot more to come from the misfit in 2011. Expect more music and more visuals. I'm just trying to represent something which is not heard in the UK, good experimental music. 

You can now download Misfit Maximus via his Official Site, add him on Facebook and follow him on Twitter.