Mr C'mon - Alpha

Previously, he used music to embrace and glamorise inner-city gang culture and violence under the alias Lox. But, he soon saw sense and reformed his entire, character, attitude and beliefs system and now uses his music to uplift and inspire those around him, in addition to working with youths in his local community to combat gang culture. Mr Cmon is a musician from South London who has been pursuing a career in music since the age of 16. Now 22, he is in the process of releasing his debut mixtape Alpha which can be purchased via iTunes on the 24^th September.

I thought I’d catch up with Mr Cmon himself, to find out more,

'I’m an artist, I prefer to be called an artist rather than a rapper because rapper sounds proper cliché and what I intend to put out there - music wise – will be everything but cliché! I started of rhyming during the early days of the garage era. I wrote lyrics with friends in school and around my estate'.

'My first actual proper bars were 70% written by my older brother’ he laughs, ‘but with a few tweaks and enthusiasm, I was able to run with it’. He begins to describe the music scene during the mid 90’s ‘the garage influence soon faded and rap became much more popular on my side of the bridge - South London – which is when I began to embrace rap a lot more, at that time my music would have been classed as gangster rap, it gave me a chance to have more of a passionate platform to express my views and values'.  

'I did this sort of music for about 4 years and due to my talents and influences of my circle of friends, it generated quite a large buzz. I originally went by the name Lox, both in the streets and on the beats; I referred to myself more as Loxamillion. I changed my name from Lox to Mr Cmon many because I changed as a person'.

'Lox represented the dark side of the streets, glamorising the gangster life and its effects. It soon became a ghost, haunting me, one that I just wanted to stay dead! Lox influenced thousands of youth the wrong way and I wanted nothing to do with that anymore. I also wanted to prove a point that I wouldn’t have to succeed off the back of my former alias Lox but with faith and hard work I could become much more than Lox could ever have and impact the world in a much greater way and most importantly a positive light!'

‘People should listen to me because I’ve been blessed with a real gift when it comes to rapping, I see myself as a motivator, an entertainer, basically an all round positive pass time. I don’t need to rap about girls thongs to entertain a male audience, neither do I need to rap vulgarly about sex to engage a female audience, you can play me on the radio without the radio edit’ he laughs ‘ I don’t swear, I don’t believe its necessary, I’m getting my point across to you right now without f-ing n blinding. My music represents the struggle, represents the youth, most of all I aim for my music to represent hope'.

'As Lox, I only made songs with people in my circle such as Serious Sykes, Political Peak, Drowsy, K.B, Komoshen and many others, I did a one off collaboration with Krept, some tracks with an artist called Chase, he was talented and I used his studio to record and occasionally he was one of my suppliers that was also be an aspiring artist. Back then, I didn’t collab so much mainly because of a sense of patriotism to my former gang'.

'As Mr C’mon I haven’t collaborated with anyone yet, simply because, I’m still in the process of finding myself as an artist. I’ve got songs in the pipeline with Ja Ja Soze, Asteroid boys, Young Teflon, Youngsta, Boost, Guvnor B, A Money, Lola Godheld, A-star and others. In the future I would like to make songs with Bob Marley and yes I know he’s dead, but he’s still a legend, Wretch 32, Dappy, Adele, Sway, Coldplay and Mali music'.

'I love music but I hate it’s industry. I think it’s all politics! A lot of artists are being fabricated and there’s no real essence in a lot of stuff being put out there. But on a brighter note I believe the next to blow other than myself is Young Teflon because he’s consistent, talented, and can make actual music'.

'I’m inspired by Nelson Mandela and after reading his book I see a lot of similarities with young Mandela and myself, both very adornment and courageous. Tinnie Tempah is an inspiration as he’s successfully crossover to the mainstream U.K and crossed over to the U.S. Also my pastor is a big inspiration; she reached out to stiff necked gang members and helped reform them through determination and love'.

'I intend on expanding my fan-base by consistent work rate, songs, collabs, performances and securing airplay. Basically, just working hard, real hard and real passionately. You can expect to see me on your T.V screens in the future’ he laughs but restates ‘even though I ain’t joking!' 

In the very near future he’ll be realising his mixtape ‘Alpha’ on the 24th September, followed by the EP entitled Limitlesss which will debut in late December or early January.

You can now follow him via Twitter and Facebook .  

Clarence Jackson - The Poetic Preacher

Clarence Jackson formally known as Poetic Preacher is a self taught spoken word artist from Jamaica. Clarence came to London over nine years ago to pursue his career in youth work, where he hopes to inspire and motivate young people to achieve to the highest degree. In 2010 he was nominated for the Spirit of London Awards for his contribution to music and although his main vice is reaching out to people via socializing he is an avid reader and footballer.  

I thought I catch up with Clarence himself to find out why he entered the realm of spoken word and what motivates him to write.

‘I’m a poet giving hope to my generation through marrying the spoken word with rhythm, music and personal experience’ which he hopes will make the entire art ‘more appealing to the younger generation. The roots of spoken word are gathered from his religious experiences, he explains ‘in 1999 spoken word came to me in the form of an impromptu presentation during a religious gathering’.

He says his biggest difficulty is probably being misunderstood. He explains, ‘as soon as a lot of people hear the name Poetic Preacher, some instantly turn off, before listening to what I have to say, as it’s associated with church’. Other difficulties include a lack of financial support and finding the right medium to present his work. 

‘I have overcome these obstacles by first being true to myself and people and learning to appreciate differences and preferences in life. If it wasn’t for my relationship with the Creator, I would not have overcome the most difficult times in my life. I have also learnt to use innovative methods of promoting my project for example street canvassing, live events, religious events and many other ways which have helped me raise funds to record music and videos that I’ve broadcasted on YouTube and other social network. It has taught me to be patient whilst developing the art of contentment’.

People should listen to me because ‘what I’m saying is real, current and relatable and will impact society in a positive way. My message has triumphed the scrutiny of many critics. Many youths - including myself - have benefited positively from abiding by wholesome principles, some of which are embed in the message.

‘Without doubt, I’m motivated by the Most High. I am also motivated by my own personal experiences, the experience of others, social issues affecting society and my passion for working with young people. My greatest achievement to was the nomination and benefits that came with the Spirit of London Awards 2010 for contribution to music’.

‘My inspirations include Martin Luther King Jnr for his commitment to peaceful demonstration and equal rights, Nelson Mandela with his spirit of reconciliation, Harriet Tubman for her selflessness, my mother in her devotion for my development and a whole host of others who mentored me. I have learnt from them that life must be lived with others in mind. There are quite a few artists I would like to collaborate with, but as time goes by, we will see’.

When asked what we can expect from him in the future he says ‘GREAT THINGS! You can now contact him via Facebook