Scroobius Pip interview
HUCK speaks to the unconventional emcee about his crossover of punk and hip hop.
More like this...
Scroobius Pip has always been on the leftfield of hip hop. Over the last few years, the Essex-born emcee has become known for his unique mix of spoken word and rap that accompanies the eclectic beats of long-time collaborator Dan Le Sac on such tracks as Thou Shalt Always Kill, The Beat that My Heart Skipped and Sick Tonight. With insightful lyrics, clever wordplay and a down-to-earth mentality, he offers thoughtful critiques of the many facets of everyday life – and has gathered quite a following for it.
He's now branched off from this successful pairing for a new solo album, Distraction Pieces, that explores a new guitar-heavy sound with help from the likes of Travis Barker, Renholder and Zane Lowe.
HUCK catches up with him to talk about the craft of rhyming, Twitter and the cross pollination of punk and hip hop.
Can you tell us a bit about your new album?
I wanted to do a solo record because when I was growing up, I was in to punk, metal and hardcore, and played in loads of little punk bands. It's the one area that Dan [Le Sac] isn't really in so I wanted to get those influences across. It's still hip hop and has the spoken word influence, but taking inspiration from Glassjaw, At The Drive In, Minor Threat and The Clash.
There seems to be regular crossover between hip hop and punk with people like P.O.S and Hyro Da Hero, and punk label Epitaph putting out records from Atmosphere and Sage Francis. Where do you see the connection forming?
I think it all started with hip hop acts getting on the Vans Warped Tour in America, it opened things up for Atmosphere, P.O.S. and Sage Francis. It makes sense as the reason I got into hip hop are the similarities I saw with punk. I got into it because it was the voice of the voiceless, an underground thing, a cultural movement. […] It's that outsider music but it's weird now because there are almost as many punks and emos in schools now as there aren't. But when I was growing up, it was much more of an outsider thing.
What got you into rhyming?
I was in loads of punk bands but it got annoying having to rely on a drummer, a guitarist and all that. I started doing spoken word because I listened to Sage Francis, Saul Williams, Gil Scott Heron and KRS One who were all hip hop but that little bit outside of hip hop that was poetry. It could stand on its own and wasn't just riding a beat so that inspired me. At the end of the day, I was always a music fan before I was a spoken word fan. It allowed me to let off a bit of steam so it was the natural direction. Even seeing the Beastie Boys live or the Bloodhound Gang, whilst it was amazing, I'd look up and think I could do that. You also don't have to be able to afford an electric guitar and an amp. For me, sitting at home in Essex with not much money, I could start rhyming with nothing. It was instantly accessible.
And how old were you at the time?
I started writing rhymes when I was about 17. Then I worked in HMV for years and we'd sit on the tills, writing rhymes on the back of till receipts and passing them to each other. It would be generally taking the piss out of each other and dissing everyone with battle rhymes. It was the monotony of this life that lead me into writing more seriously.
How do you see spoken word differing from rap?
There can be a difference but I don't think there has to be. One of the things I love about spoken word is that it's so broad. There's such a variation. Some stuff is very highbrow and does your head in at times, and there's stuff that's far more light-hearted and comedic. Some works in hip hop, but some doesn't in the same way that some hip hop would work as spoken word but some wouldn't. I love Lil' Wayne but I don't love it for its content. He's an amazing rapper but if he did it as spoken word, it would be boring. I was doing a gig once and I decided that I had never seen anyone do a spoken word cover so I did 'Microphone Fiend' by Eric B and Rakim as a spoken word piece. It went down brilliantly.
What is it you love about it?
Getting it out there is the key finishing point. I liken it to stencil art. When I was making them, I'd draw them and always fill in the eyes last. It's a weird thing that you really can't tell if it's good until you've done the eyes. It's like that with writing: until it gets in someone's ears, you don't know if its worked or know that its good. It's the joy of crafting it all. People who aren't into hip hop dismiss it as just making words rhyme but when you realise that when you tell a specific story and have it all rhyme, it puts a huge restriction on it so it's exciting finding a way to tell that story with the rhymes in that structure – weaving a beautiful story with rhymes and patterns. That's the part that is misunderstood by non-hip hop fans. They wouldn't question it in literature or poetry but because it's done by kids with caps on, it's treated like nothing.
You are quite active on Twitter? Is that sort of thing necessary to get by as an artist nowadays?
Some of it is for promotion but one of the reasons I started it was to get a more clear perception of who I am for anyone who wanted to know. Just 'cos the stuff that we've done is quite serious and dark, and I think a lot of people see me as more intellectual as I am. When I write, it's more exciting to write about something big. But in real life, I'm also a Millwall fan and I love MMA. So it's importnant to me to get that across so people don't have this delusion that I'm some poet, prophet type of character.
Distraction Pieces is out now on Speech Development.
Subscribe to HUCK for six issues
Only £21 (UK) / £44 (EU) / £59 (Rest of the World).
Scroobius Pip interview (text) by Ed Andrews is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.
Add Your Comment...
Please note: Your comment may be held in moderation for approval by an administrator to prevent spamming. This usually doesn't take long, please be patient.