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.

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.