| Innuendo from Liverpool, UK |
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| Written by tricksta |
| Wednesday, 18 April 2012 21:52 |
 Innuendo is the 25 year old rapper from Liverpool who has is a two times winner of the Jump Off TV Battle Champion as well as supporting rap legends such as The Sugar Hill Gang, Jungle Brothers, Ugly Duckling Klashnekoff, Durty Goodz and many more. Tricksta asks the questions in this exclusive interview… When did you start making music and was there a person or artist that inspired you to start writing songs and hit the studio? I started writing lyrics when I was about 14 after being influenced by American Hip-Hop legends such as Tupac, Notorious BIG, Dr Dre, Snoop Dogg, Nas, Jay-Z, Big Pun, Wu Tang Clan, Big L etc. I first hit the studio when l was 17, which only came about, thanks to my arrest referrals officer Caroline Moorhead who got me on a government funded scheme for young offenders called the Noise project located in The Door, Liverpool. There I spent time with a sound engineer/youth worker called Phil Kearns who helped develop me as a young aspiring artist. Let’s talk about your latest project, it’s sounding really tight. Who features on it, who dealt with the production and how long did it take to make? The ‘Off The Cuff EP’ features local North-West rappers Ro Jista (Punning Clan), Nicky Talent (Staff Only, FBTS), Baileyz (Blocthree) and Mr2G (Red Eye Crew, Highrise). The EP also features a singer from Liverpool called Clarity who has a really unique sound that IO look forward to working with in the future. Production came mainly from Urban Nomadic who also recorded, mixed and mastered the whole project. Other producers include Furbalistic, DJ Litek, Caligari Cuts and Ro Jista. From start to finish it took me about 4 months of hard work to complete in time for release on my 25th Birthday. How would you describe the music that you make? I know it’s hard to compare yourself to other artists and styles, but what kind of vibe is your music on? I’d say my music is just open and honest expression of self, very personal to me and at times, conscious statements about society in general. I’m not overly political and most of my songs are quite selfish in a way, people with either relate to what I’m saying or switch off, that’s all I ask for. Stylistically I’d like to compare myself to other UKHH artists such as Lowkey or Jehst but content wise and given the in depth personal references and how my music reflects my life I’d say it’s more similar to an early Eminem. What do you enjoy the most about the whole process of recording and writing music? Is there something that you absolutely love and is there anything that maybe you don’t like doing as much? I love every bit of it but especially the writing, it’s my meditation and how I get shit off my chest, without it I’d probably have snapped and done something stupid or been locked up in a loony bin. As soon as I hear the beat I get a vibe of wheat I’m gonna say then the song writes itself, sometime I feel like a bystander just watching raw emotion pour out of myself. Are you releasing your music on your own label or do you have a team that is aiming to help you get signed to a major? Right now it’s just me and my fans… At present I’m part of a big nationwide rap super crew (Highrise), which I think will help push my name out further in other cities around the UK but as regards labels I just haven’t had the right offer yet, fingers crossed I will get a deal this year because the main aim is to get signed by a major. How are you getting your project out there? Do you have a distributor involved or maybe some shops/websites stocking & supporting your music? At the minute I’m just grinding away with the internet promotion, Bandcamp has been a great way for me to sell my music independently. Distribution deals seem hard to come by at the minute especially for unsigned artists. Getting radio play can be hard for unsigned Hip-Hop artists, but have you had any radio play and if so what DJ’s and stations have supported you? I’ve had play on local stations such as KCC and BBC Merseyside but other than that nobody is really helping to push me. I’m hoping that can change this year after receiving praise from Charlie Sloth and Cameo for my recent performances at The Jump Off. Do you enjoy playing live? Have you done many gigs and what kind of artists have you supported or played alongside? It’s what I live for, I feel alive. I’ve done literally hundreds of gigs up and down the country from Liverpool to Brighton, London, Cardiff, Sheffield, Birmingham, Dublin, Cork, Leeds, Newcastle etc. Literally everywhere! In the past I’ve supported legends such as Sugar Hill Gang, Brother Ali, Ugly Duckling, Jungle Brothers and lots of well-known UK artists such as Klashnekoff, Durrty Goodz, Antiheroes, COTD etc. Let’s talk image and branding for a minute. Some artists spend lots of money on artwork and other acts aren’t that interested. How important is image, artwork and branding to you? Of course it’s important, it’s the first thing people see, if it don’t look right people won’t pick it up and listen, I think the artwork for my last two projects has looked great so shout out to MR2G and Eye Squared for that. What was the last album you brought and apart from Hip-Hop what other genres of music do you listen too? I don’t even like most rap music these days, there’s lost of underground artists I rate but there’s so much shit about it’s hard to find any truly good Hip-Hop now. The last album I bought was by Benny Diction from the Punning Clan, it’s called “Hard Graft, Art’s and Crafts and Hearty Laughs”. I listen to a lot of other music genres including acoustic, RnB, dance and dubstep. Have you got any videos on You Tube and have any ever got played on TV Stations? I’ve featured on a BBC3 TV show once but that’s. I’ve got literally hundreds of videos on YouTube, at present I’ve got 3 official music videos with another on the way in May, numerous freestyles, interviews, vlogs etc. and I’ve done well over 50 rap battles for various leagues that are all online, just search “Innuendo Vs” on YouTube to check them out. So what does the future hold for you as an artist? Have you got any big plans that you can tell us about before you go? On May 6th I’m battling Deffinition in the O2 Academy, Liverpool. The event is being filmed for a TV show so I can’t wait for that. Also, I’m working on a Dubstep EP with DJ Litek, an acoustic EP with Urban Nomadic, a project with Johnny North, a project with Ro Jista and various other collaborations. I have a single due to drop this summer called “That’s UK” with a London based artist called Major Flava, look out for that one it’s about the British weather and a really catchy song so I’m hoping it’s gonna go down well with my fans once the video is released. I’ve been approached by several labels, management companies recently as well so fingers crossed this could be a really good year for me, I’m excited… Follow @InnuendoMusicUK Download all his music from http://InnuendoMusicUK.bandcamp.com Interview by Tricksta |
| Last Updated on Wednesday, 18 April 2012 22:02 |
