Novelist | Viper Magazine: Spring Summer 2016

SS16

UK £13 US $22 #6

novelist

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Viper Magazine are proud to announce the launch of Viper digital, our new video platform.

Stay tuned for video content displaying all the best Viper has to offer SEARCH Viper Digital ON Youtube

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

PHOTOGRAPHERS

LILY MERCER

BAFIC, BUDGIE, CLIFTON CASTRO, DHAMIRAH COOMBES, JIMMY CORTEZ, SIRIUS FILM, VICKY GROUT, HypeMari, Bryan ALLEN Lamb, Mike Miller, MARK PEACE, STEFY POCKET, BAILEY ROBERTS, Sumeet SHARMA, SAMUEL TROTTER, Ashley Verse, ALEXANDER VIEIRA, Naeemah Waller,

DEPUTY EDITOR

CONTRIBUTORS YEMI ABIADE, Nick Bam, YASSMINE BENALLA, Natalie Dapaah, Celia evans, Bryan Hahn, MOLLIE HAYES, PETRA HUNT, JAKE HUNTE, Luke Jackman, Merced Jackson, aaliyah Mariabee, Chris Mendez, Ben Niespodziany, Beatrice Talamucci, TOM USHER, DEAN van Nguyen, Jess Young

LAURYN TOMLINSON

DESIGN

ILLUSTRATOR

BLACK ANUBIS + SUGAR CAT

MARIAH GREENWOOD

MODELS

FASHION EDITOR IZZY LO STEVEN

Leah Abbott, Khloe Anne, Aqueel, Benjamin @ Established Jeremy Boateng, Yumi Carter, Emily J O’donnell, Gizmo, Dia Manning, Jaylyn Miguel, Savanna Small, Tristan Taylor

THANKS TO

CULTURE EDITOR SHOLA TIMOTHY

VIPER THE MOVIE: our first video issue

VIPERMAG.COM

SEARCH Viper Digital ON Youtube Produced by COMPULSORY

EUROPE ANGELIQUE, KOBI Ansong, BUDGIE, CINEMATIC MUSIC GROUP, COFFIN ON CAKE, REUBEN DANGERMAN, ELLA DROR, SKYLEY GREY, MIKkEY HALSTED, HOLMAN, STEVIE HZ, MIKE MILLER, nICOLE, RADIATOR, KOJEY RADICAL, mc SAATCHI, JONNY SHIPES, SPEAK!, nEIL THAKARIA, VIDAKUSH

Cover Photos by Vicky Grout

A MERCER PUBLICATION

EDITOR’S LETTER I was gone for a minute, now I’m back at the jump off. That’s the only way to announce Viper’s return to the magazine world, after we decadently decided to take a season off.

This issue is themed LDN 2 LA, in celebration of two of the cities with the freshest and most exciting scenes in the world right now. Not only do both cities boast some of the most laid back, yet exciting fashion scenes, I love the juxtaposition of one city being constantly sunny, while the other never stops raining.

This issue is special for many reasons, but one of my favourite things is the appearance of two of Viper’s graphic designers in artist profiles. The first is our current graphic designer Black Anubis, a member of 808INK. The second appears pages later, Jammz, who designed an issue two years ago and is now enjoying a lot of success as one of London’s strongest young crop of grime MCs. Speaking of grime, our cover star Novelist is swiftly becoming one of my favourite humans on the planet as our interview shows. We spent four hours shooting with Vicky Grout on Brockley High Street, ending up on the block he shot the Endz video in. If you’ve never come across Novelist, get ready to love him, everybody does! I’ve been around bigger stars than him and never seen them get as much love as Novelist did from every single passing stranger.

We also have two of my favourite young rappers in the issue, Chicago’s G Herbo and Inglewood’s Natia.

These interviews were fun as G-Herbo laughed at my international phone number, telling his friend, “she has 12 fucking digits” and Natia spent the first half an hour of our interview Internet shopping for puppies.

On the topic of puppies, I was lucky enough to spend some time in Joyce Wrice’s favourite dog adoption centre before our interview on Fairfax. She’s the sweetest girl in the world, as well as possessing one of the finest voices in LA. We showcased some of our favourite music and visual artists and their careers so far. Check out stunning photography by literal legend, Mike Miller, not to mention striking art from SkyLer Grey and Reuben Dangerman. As always we’re giving you an introduction to a selection of our favourite producers around right now, this time with Two Fresh, Faze Miyake and Christian Rich appearing. Other notable appearances come from Speak!, Budgie, ABRA, Da$h, Taz Arnold and strong fashion editorials including VidaKush and Joyrich.

While we were gone, we launched our latest endeavour, a video outlet named Viper Digital. We’ve already dropped a video issue which you can check out on our YouTube page: Viper Digital.

PHOTO BY VICKY GROUT

Lily Mercer @lilymercer For more information oN Viper visit the website www.vipermag.com and @vipermagazine

CONTRIBUTORS

What’s your favourite thing about LA? My favourite thing about LA is the culture, its definitely a place to see all walks of life. The food is great and everywhere you look their is art in some shape of form around you.

MARIAH GREENWOOD

What’s your favourite thing about London?

I love how creative London is. I’m proud to say I’m from London thanks to all the amazing music that’s come out of it, and for having such a unique style too. I am happy to see more people dressing like Skepta nowadays and less like Kanye.

What’s your least favourite thing about London?

I hate how big it is. I live on the outskirts and I usually have to be in about 3 or 4 different parts of London throughout the day, so I tend to spend about 3 hours on public transport a day...

CHRIS MENDEZ

What’s your least favourite thing about LA? I’d have to say my least favourite thing in LA is the traffic, it’s never ending.

VICKY GROUT What’s your favourite thing about London?

The style. Right now many parts of the world have a problem being original. London seems to stray away from that. AND THE INDIAN FOOD! What’s your favourite thing about LA? The overall relaxed vibe. Shit is fire, you could pull to the Opera in some stained sweatpants and some Toms.

What’s your favourite thing about LA? I live in Chicago, its more of a concrete jungle here, so when I travel to LA I really appreciate the plant life. I love all the colors, the smell, and different types of plants that live in Los Angeles. Ever since I can remember my mother has always had a garden no matter where we lived, and filled our home with plants. She definitely passed her love of flowers down to me. “I inherited from my mother a passion for flowers.” ­Raf Simons

DEAN NGUYEN

What’s your least favourite thing about LA? I’m a New Yorker and I hate going to LA and seeing “NY Style Pizza” or “NY Style Bagels” on menus. Leave it alone fam! Leave pizza alone and keep killin’ the cold pressed juice game.

What’s your favourite thing about London?

The creativity and the ability to survive. If you can make it HERE, you can really make it anywhere.

What’s your favourite thing about LA? The three W’s What’s your least favourite thing about LA? That it’s 5,437 miles away from me

SUMEET SHARMA

What’s your favourite thing about LA? The G­funk eraaaa (RIP Nate Dogg).

35mm kung­ fu at the New Beverly.

“Never rains in the sun and everybody got love” What’s your least favourite thing about LA? The hills have eyes. Public transport infrastructure. No more parties.

What’s your favourite thing about London?

THE vast assortment of chicken shops. There’s no greater feeling than having a night out, getting drunk and knowing that Morley’s will be open until 4 or 5 in the morning. Shout out to all the chicken shop workers too – they have to put up with so much madness too early in the morning.

They are the true MVPs.

What’s your least favourite thing about London?

The price of a beer

BRYAN ALLEN LAMB

What’s your favourite thing about LA? Unfortunately I’ve never been to LA....but I watched that season of ‘Made In Chelsea’ when theY Went there. it seemed pretty lit.

YEMI ABIADE

C O N T E N T S

SS16 13

THE GOODS

21

47

MIKE MILLER

RAP PETS

85

KICK IN THE DOOR THE MAKING OF YO! MTV RAPS UNPLUGGED

89

23

20 SHOTS

DA$H

THE DEATHROW CHAIN

SKID ROW

25

95

61

JOYCE WRICE

131 OIIIII

139

JACKPOT

145

VIDA KUSH

101

G HERBO 149

JOYRICH

151 27

THE QUESTIONS: SPEAK!

29

VINSTAGRAM: BUDGIE

65

NATIA THE GOD

68

THE GENTRIFICATION OF HIP HOP

107

PET CEMETERY: SIR MIKEY ROCKS

NOVELIST

73

ABRA

157

SKYLER GREY

35

808INK

37

119

24KT MARIJUANA

39

JAMMZ

41

MEET THE PRODUCERS: TWO FRESH

79

ON THE BLOCK

TAZ ARNOLD

43

161

MEET THE PRODUCERS: FAZE MIYAKE

45

MEET THE PRODUCERS: CHRISTIAN RICH

REUBEN DANGERMAN

167 127

CANDY PAINT

STOCKISTS

169

SUBSCRIBE

C O N T E N T S

THE GOODS

ROXY SS16 POP SURF Nothing signifies summer’s approach more than shopping for bikinis. Designed for athletes and surfers in a range of eye-catching colourways, the Roxy spring/summer range also works perfectly well for lazing around the pool. roxy-uk.co.uk

G STAR RAW Created by G­star RAW head designer Pierre Morisset, the iconic G­Star Elwood 5620 jean is celebrating its 20th anniversary in 2016. Inspiration for this classic style came from motorcyclists, and this can still be

seen today in the knee patches and heel guards. Keep up to date with G­star for the monthly release of a limited edition Elwood. g­star.com

QUAY SUNGLASSES Summer is finally coming, and even in the interim some of us need sunglasses to hide our hungover faces.

We can always trust Australians to provide quality summer ware and Quay sunglasses are no exception. quayaustralia.com

PAUL MCCARTHY SKATEBOARDS

Seeing as the theme of this issue is ‘From Ldn and the Skateroom, are a real must for 2 LA’, it would be rude not to include some every skater. skateboards. These decks, a collaboration between absurdist artist Paul McCarthy theskateroom.com

EVISU SS16 Evisu is back like it never left. Spring/summer sees an incredible range of the Japanese denim BRAND’S staple jeans in a variety of styles to suit everybody, as well as t-­shirts, jackets and branching out into tracksuits. evisu.com

Nike Tuned ‘Love and Hate’ pack exclusive to Foot Locker. out on Air Max Day, March 26th. £125.99 footlocker.co.uk

RAP PETS

KOJEY RADICAL + GIZMO PHOTOS BY LILY MERCER

When did you and Gizmo first meet?

We first met on my balcony around this time last year. He was wrapped in a blanket in the arms of a potential crackhead. My sister was trying to negotiate the price down and my neighbours we’re trying to buy his sister. I went back in the house assuming she would never actually buy him. Lo and behold I get a message hours later from my sister with a picture of my niece holding him saying, “Welcome to the family.” I couldn’t believe it to be honest.

I had always wanted a dog but my mum was scared of them. He was barely a month old when we got him.

When did you guys become friends?

When I had to look after him by myself for eight weeks, my family went on holiday shortly after we got him. Our bonding would make montage heaven - I suddenly got really maternal

while still trying to remain the alpha. We’d sit and watch episodes of It’s Me or the Dog and look at him like, “Don’t even think about it,” whenever we’d see a dog do something bad on the show. He’d often come and sit by me if I was down and always wanted me to teach him something. Dogs really are man’s best friend.

What’s your favourite thing to do together?

Eat. Even though he’s a puppy I’m sure Gizmo has an appetite twice the size of mine.

Describe Gizmo in three words.

Cute Charming Lothario.

How would Gizmo describe you in three words?

Gang. Gang. Gang. @KojeyRadical andtheartist.com

20 SHOTS

ONE CULT FILM 20 ICONIC SCENES

MENACE II SOCIETY, 1993 ALLEN + ALBERT HUGHES

THE

DEATH ROW CHAIN Illustration by MARIAH GREENWOOD WORDS BY CHRIS MENDEZ

When was the last time a piece of jewellery scared you?

Sounds like a weird question right? Well, what if it was sitting on the chest of the now-incarcerated crime lord/rap mogul/overall terrifying human being; Suge Knight?

See, now you can understand why it’s scary…

Here are some facts on how said medallion earned its intimidating reputation: 1) It's the first piece of jewellery in the history of the rap game that practically became gang insignia.

2) It was a medallion that represented the gangsta rap lifestyle so much that certain West Coast public schools began to ban the logo.

3) Death Row Records' classic mark became a modern day skull and crossbones. It was pretty much a swastika to conservative America.

But it's just a label, right? Not exactly. Death Row was far from traditional.

Word around town was that Eazy E's Ruthless Records was being shady with money. When Suge Knight heard about the fuckery that was going on, he began talks with Dr. Dre and The D.O.C on starting a new label. Suge promised to procure the contracts from Ruthless, and needless to say he delivered. Suge allegedly bullied Eazy for Dre and D.O.C's contracts (I'm saying allegedly, but that's obviously what went down).

Anyway, when it was time to fund the newlycreated label, Suge decided to skip the hard work and just rob Vanilla Ice. Seriously - Suge was managing a writer by the name of Mario Jones who

was collaborating with Ice at the time. Suge told Vanilla Ice that he needed to sign the rights over for ‘Ice Ice Baby’ to Death Row, which eventually funded the label. Genius, right?

So now that all of the facts are on the table, think about what that medallion represents; strong-arm tactics, Vanilla Ice getting dangled above a hotel balcony (allegedly), the entire genre of gangsta rap and oh yeah, one more little thing; Tupac.

When Suge bailed ‘Pac out of jail and signed him, the label went from a G-funk, gangsta rap-factory to a musical force to be reckoned with. The Death Row chain went from gold to platinum and the records made that same transition. With 100 million dollars a year in revenue, movie deals and hit records, Suge and Pac were swimming in the fame. But they were also swimming in trouble.

Rap beefs started, legends died and you know the rest of the story… ‘Pac's demise was the start of a long slide to the bottom for Death Row Records.

Why? Because who was ready to sign to a label where you might just die? Who was ready to wear a chain that might as well have been a target?

Maybe the emblem, featuring a man sitting in an electric chair, was symbolic of more than success.

Photo by ALEXANDER VIEIRA

What do you smell like right now?

I smell like an east LA taco truck and 28 years of regret.

How would your last partner sum you up in 3 words?

Latino Sex Machine.

What’s the most troublesome thing you did as a child?

In kindergarten I was always grabbing my genitals. The school made me see a psychologist. She asked me why I did it and I said it felt good, she seemed baffled, ha ha.

THE QUESTIONS SPEAK!

Who’s the weirdest celebrity you ever had a crush on?

Chyna from WWF. She had a gorgeous jaw line. Any woman romantically involved with me needs to be to be muscular and ready to protect me at all times.

Ever punched a stranger?

Sure have. A crackhead tried to rob me in Downtown LA. I unhinged his jaw with a brass knuckle left hook. Then I took HIS bike.

What’s your most embarrassing fear?

Erectile Dysfunction. The day my willy stops working is the day I die.

Women around the globe will mourn my passing.

What sound do you hate?

Children crying on an airplane. They should keep kids in the overhead with the luggage and carry ons.

Which character trait of yours do you hope your child doesn’t inherit?

All of them. I’m actually a horrible person. Is fiscal responsibility a character trait? I’m horrible with money.

What’s your favourite sea creature?

The Little Mermaid, Ariel. She was a redhead and fine as fuck. Actually Narwhals are cool too. They’re like sea rhinos/water unicorns.

The worst thing about drugs is…

They eventually wear off and you have to buy more. @speakz soundcloud.com/momporn

“Any woman romantically involved with me needs to be to be muscular and ready to protect me at all times”

VINSTAGRAM

LONDON PRODUCER BUDGIE SHARES PHOTOS HE’S TAKEN SINCE HIS MOVE TO LA LAST YEAR, FOR VIPER’S VINTAGE TAKE ON INSTAGRAM

santa monica cycling with alcHEMIST and samiyam

my daily inspiration

documentary 2 studio session with alc, feat the game and tyrese samiyam falling asleep at the wheel (of steel)

the homie mark peaced will not be impressed by my photography skills but he’s the man!

the oakland homies - (L-R) Wiz, 1 O.A.K., Trackademicks & L-Deez (behind)

asher roth & quin in action selfie by action featuring action, big body, mey, earl, knx, alc, samiyam & me. too much fire in this room!

cookin’ with jay prince

Photo by VICKY GROUT WORDS BY YASSMINE BENALLA

808INK It’s easy to fall victim to a society set up to dread Mondays, crave bank holidays and slave over a 9-5 job with the illusion that the money makes it all worthwhile. Well, to the 808INK boys, it doesn’t.

Refusing to conform, the three South East London boys linked up in 2013 to create truly authentic music that would be rude to categorise; but with rap, jungle and dub influences they’re steadily crafting their own genre.

There are three layers to 808INK production, which comes courtesy of Charmer, icy vocals are delivered by Mumblez and Anubi$ acts as the creative director of the collective, working on visuals for the musical duo.

Since releasing their debut project, ‘808ink, An Artistic Piece’, back in 2013 and ‘Billy’s Home’ LP in late 2015, the ‘Lundun’ family have established themselves, maintaining appeal for a contemporary audience often drowned in trap music. Tracks like ‘Suede’ and ‘Q’d Up’ are a perfect example.

During Viper’s link up with 808INK, Mumblez handles aux cord curation while we drive through central London over a bridge where Charmer once crashed. He makes reference to this in the single ‘Q’d Up’, “Everything we talk about in our music is real and based on our experiences.”

Stopping at a Chinese restaurant in Greenwich, the boys are instantly

entertained by a James Bond movie on TV in the background. Realising they were already fed up of questions like, “Who do you look up to in the music industry?” it made more sense to scrap the interview questions; let the recorder roll and just ride with it. Meet 808INK… Where did 808INK start?

Mumblez: We met each other in 2012. It all started because we were in University and some guy was like, “Yeah man come over, meet this is my boy Anubi$.” I was like, “Nah, I’m not talking to him.” I thought he was a wasteman.

Anubi$: He was fighting it.

Mumblez: Yeah, then he said Anubi$ could skate. I was like, “Wait, you skate?” Then I still tried to fight it. After that, we left everyone, rolled out to places. I told him I rap and he was like, “Ok.” [He] checked it out and fully rated [me].

Anubi$: From there it kind of speaks for itself, we were at every party you can imagine. Late 2013 we met Charmer.

Mumblez: Yeah, so that’s how the three of us started to build this empire.

Charmer: Incorporation. Ink – orporation.

Anubi$, how do you contribute to 808INK? Anubi$: I’m more on the marketing and visual side. It’s my job to make everything look nice. “Black Anubi$” is the design side of things. I want to own a studio for photography, videos, everything. I feel like a lot of people don’t own their stuff. As black people we don’t own things. Even the advice we got given when we started to buy camera

equipment was, “nah man, just rent it out.”

Charmer: There’s a lack of ownership in society in general. Nobody wants to have the responsibility.

Mumblez: Everybody wants the front man’s position.

Charmer: But they don’t want the back office that comes with it.

Do you have any other creative outlets apart from music?

Charmer: I like making money. Setting up your own business in anything that you love or enjoy and trying to monetise that, monetising anything you’re good at.

Mumblez: I’m working on videos and pushing them to the best possible level they can be.

Anubi$: You know what, this may not be classed as creative but I love writing emails.

It’s actually an artwork that you have to master.

Do you find yourselves measuring your success against your age?

Mumblez: I take age seriously. I judge people on their age and where they’re at in life. I do look at people a lot and say, “Fam, for your age you shouldn’t be doing this.” But that’s just how I was raised.

Do you think it’s risky to use political and social views in your music?

Mumblez: If we don’t then what music are we making? Well, you can make music like this [Signals to Ke$ha – ‘Tik Tok’ playing in background].

Charmer: I think there’s ways you can be

tasteful with it, I don’t like people who are so conscious, it’s like, “lighten up man.”

mean I have to make it how everyone else is [making it].

What’s more important; beat or lyricism?

Charmer and Mumblez: Both Charmer: I know for a fact if I gave ‘Billy’ to another rapper, without taking any credit from me, it would be a shit song.

Mumblez: And if I put those lyrics with another instrumental… it would still be fire.

I’m kidding, it would be a good song but it just wouldn’t have the same vibe.

Anubi$: I feel like these days the beat is more important. I don’t mean specifically in 808INK but people have started to pay more attention to the production of tracks.

Are you scared of where your place lies in the creative industry since it’s so competitive?

Charmer: No. We started at a good time.

Anubi$: In terms of the industry, trying to move into it can be quite risky because there’s a certain level of adaptation you have to have. So at the same time, even though I can adapt there’s a certain level you get to before you snap.

Mumblez: You can’t fear the future; you have to just embrace it as it comes.

Anubi$: It’s the unknowingness of it all.

Charmer: Right now music is just leverage, it’s a platform. I’m not trying to use it as a way of being the only source of income; I want to own washing machines and shit.

I don’t want to just be [a] producer but I feel like it’s a powerful enough tool to get myself out there because it’s such a powerful medium.

Speaking of beats, I feel like you switched it up in your last track ‘Peach’, was that to branch out to a wider audience?

Charmer: You’re in tune. ‘Peach’ was a tactical move, I wont say why.

Anubi$: That’s building to something.

Were you in a position where you felt you needed to adjust musically?

Charmer: No, no. Its just monopolisation: to have everything without being everything.

We’ve got any event [covered]; book us for any festival because you can.

Anubi$: These man are onto something with ‘Peach’. They [are] taking a step into a door that could lead to something interesting.

Mumblez: It’s like proving yourself as the new kid in school.

Anubi$: Exactly, you’ve got to bang them 100 kick ups and say, “I’m the illest now in the school.”

Charmer: Trap is in right now but it doesn’t

Charmer: They end up staying in a job, which takes them nowhere. Then they become those adults that get a mortgage and are depressed. I don’t want a mortgage.

It’s like you’re bound to life. You don’t have anything; you can’t travel because you need to go into work. If you want to go on holiday you need to ask. You only get 25 days holiday in a year, there are 365 days in a year and you get 25. You only get paid 12 times in a whole year, that’s bullshit.

Do you feel like you’ve made your jump?

Or have you got bigger risks to take?

Anubi$: You know what, I feel like my jump is not there yet. It’s like… the preparations are being made, but until university is done, I don’t think the jump has been made. I feel like things around me are still very safe right now. I can’t say I’ve jumped at all.

Charmer: I’d say I’ve jumped. I was saying to my boy the other day I was being paid £25k [a year] and I quit. It sucked all of my time and I needed to enjoy life instead of being in this hamster wheel, being paid a lot of Do you see yourselves working a 9-5 in the money but producing no music. You’re just future? compounding more financial pressure on All: Noooo way. yourself. I was calling myself a producer but PHOTOS BYmaking JAKE any ELWIN Anubi$: Unless it’s MY 9-5 for my own stuff, I wasn’t music, so I had to quit BY 45 hours a week, 10ambut that’s not even [really] working. That’s the WORDS job. Working the only way I would be in that situation. 8pm every day, it didn’t make sense at the From young I clocked that I can’t work for time so I needed to quit. other people. I don’t take to authority very well. If you’re not majorly giving me respect Finally, what are your plans for 2016? then I’m not involved. Everyone who gets Mumblez: Generate a cult following. their dream job after graduating ends up Everyone needs to be talking about 808INK. quitting and doing what we do, the boys are studying at University currently – except @808INKmusic Charmer who’s already graduated. soundcloud.com/808ink

GOLD RUSH

24K MARIJUANA WORDS BY YEMI ABIADE Throughout the ever-developing landscape that we call our planet, we’ve already been blessed (kind of) with the introduction of hoverboards, touchscreen smart phones and even the cloning of our own beloved animals. These days, nothing seems to be out of reach, even for those partial to a little cannabis.

From purple haze to sour diesel and the brilliantly named, death star, marijuana has been meticulously tried and tested. With an assortment

of flavours adding great variety to the industry, shopping for strains can make you feel like a kid in a candy store. But while some stoners prefer their weed to be traditional, others like a little bit more glamour in their spliff.

Recognising the evolution in the herbal stimulant industry, the good people over at Hiero’s Gold Rush have taken the experience to a whole new level, with the introduction of their brand spanking new 24-carat

gold weed, a strain that, literally shines in the joint. This development has the potential to change the game forever. The world’s first 24-carat gold medical marijuana, Hiero’s blows other competitors out of the water with a unique balance of luxury and medicine, good health and leisure, wellbeing and good times.

Now you may wonder just how the creation came about, the recipe displays a great selection of the best highs around. Hand crafted from top shelf cannabis, OG kief, hash and honey oil, cannabidiol (or CBD oil) and edible 24K gold, Hiero blends its ingredients in a manner that outshines fellow competitors in their field, such as Shine Papers and Caviar Gold.

Can we just stop for a second and really take in this entire concept? The fact that there’s a gold strain of weed that aids good health and appeals to recreational users is game-changing. Essentially killing two birds with one stone, while combining the two biggest reasons for indulging in the green (or gold) stuff. One toke of this new creation and you’re

immediately transferred to a gold-tinted haze more decadent than any previous high.

Break open a strain of Hiero’s and you see the fine attention to detail and quality on which the company relies on, with the gooey interior the result of intricate fusion between its contents, much like the milk chocolate which goes into Dairy Milk.

Hiero’s unveiled its new creation back in February in a number of authorised dispensaries in the United States. While a mode of pricing has not yet been placed it is fair to say that it will be a tad higher in price than your typical weed. But Hiero’s is certainly not your typical strain of marijuana and for all its benefits, may be reserved for celebrations.

So whether you’re in serious need of pain relief or just want to kick it with the homies, Hiero’s have definitely got your back in both respects, in a unique and refreshing way. Connoisseurs rejoice!

hierosgoldrush.com

JAMMZ

Photo by ASHLEY VERSE WORDS BY BRYAN HAHN

BACK LIKE HE NEVER LEFT

Jammz is sick. Not like nice on the mic and the boards, which he is. He’s also recovering from a cold and a short tour Stateside. Through the snivels and coughs via Skype, the grime artist calmly steps US through his roundabout journey to the point where Americans are shouting his lyrics along with him at his shows.

Growing up in Hackney Wick, Jammz was surrounded by a rough lifestyle that he chose not to partake in. He watched as cousins and older friends got locked up for what appeared to him to be pointless behaviour and decided instead to start connecting with music and writing rhymes. This eventually caught the attention of one of his cousins who was in the North London crew, Too Deep Squad. He realised Jammz had a natural freestyle talent and recruited him at 11 years old.

Around the same time, Jammz moved to another part of Hackney that was down the street from highly respected pirate station Deja Vu. Via a radio set in his room (sans bed, or anything else for that matter), he would regularly tune into Roll Deep and Nasty Crew on Mondays, then East Connection on Saturdays. Taking the inspiration he’d get from guys like Kannan, at the age of 14 Jammz would head straight to the studio in his school at lunchtime to avoid endless beef in his area.

A couple of years into the nascent rapping hobby that would soon become his career, Jammz started producing his own beats on his father’s MPC. Having played as a session bassist with artists like Incognito and Jools Holland, his dad was teaching music technology at a college in North London. Jammz’ mother was a teacher who would frequent TwiceasNice raves in South London and bring home tape packs and CDs for her son. Despite some influential parents, he attributes his penchant for grime

to his environment growing up, and who he’s become as a person. Despite living through the Shiny Suit Era pioneered by Puff Daddy and Bad Boy Records, it simply wasn’t his cup of tea. With a strong history in the UK, one very dissimilar to radio in the United States, pirate radio stations in London remain a major lifeline for amplifying the voice of hopeful artists to the masses. Jammz is a prime example of an artist who thrived in this environment, both in terms of his musical inspirations and the audience he’s able to influence.

Jammz explains, ”It was 2010 [when] I started to [get] into radio. My friend AG was the first person to bring me to it, at this mad place in West London called Urban FM TV. It was the deepest journey; I used to have to get two trains and go into this industrial place. Then I kind of took a break from music a bit, after I dropped my first proper mixtape [in March 2010] and EP [in October 2010]. Then I fell off the map…” His show on Radar Radio, a station that was described by Passion of the Weiss’ website as “an edgy upstart, the spot anything can happen,” saw Jammz and his friend Jack Dat educate new grime fans while keeping old fans privy to new music. Simultaneously, he was studying the burgeoning talent he was competing with and honing his MC skills by spraying bars over a collection of new beats.

Speaking on his decision to make grime and not hip hop, Jammz explains, ”I pay attention but my main thing has always been, ‘This

sounds sick, but I can’t make this’. The hip hop I saw was more on the glamorous side.

Obviously P Diddy is a glamorous guy, it was more aspirational and I couldn’t relate to it.

The only people I knew with big cars and big chains were the shottas in the ends.”

Instead he dug into his personal experiences and the darker side of life that he saw as a kid growing up. “I’ve seen a lot of things. I used to question, ‘Why does it happen?’ Social things, political things. The songs I’ve written - the personal ones are always the best pieces of work, I never seem to have trouble writing them because it just flows. When I wrote ‘128 Bars’, I woke up at two am and I started writing.

By five am, I had the tune.”

Considering Jammz’s music output, it’s interesting that he says, ”2015 was year 0.” He recalls one moment at a Boiler Room set in January 2015, looking over at his compatriot Mic Tye, shocked that so many people knew their lyrics and were rapping along. The love shown to them that day resonated with them and the fact that people were listening to his music was evident to Jammz. As a result, you can look forward to a couple more quality efforts from the well-rounded artist in 2016, along with a tour with Kano. After all, the man is grime. @Jammz soundcloud.com/iamgrime

MEET THE PRODUCERS TWO FRESH

Firstly, briefly introduce yourselves.

Our names are Sherwyn and Kendrick Nicholls. We grew up in Nashville TN and our style of production is mainly hip hop/rap but we also make some club stuff.

becoming more accessible to just anyone is a good or bad thing for music?

It is a good thing, just like most sports, production should continue to become a more accessible outlet for people.

Were you ever involved in any other musical projects besides what you are doing right now?

My brother and I had a band when we were in ninth grade, but it wasn’t anything serious.

What would you say are the most popular beats you’ve created?

‘Still Got It’ featuring Vic Mensa & Joey Purp.

What influences you as a producer?

Good music (not just the label but they tight).

What, for you, is the perfect beat?

‘Overnight Celebrity’ by Twista, produced by Kanye West.

What is your favourite song you’ve worked on and why?

One of our favourite songs that we worked on is called ‘They Know’ featuring Curtis Williams and Jace from Two-9. That was the first time we put out a track that had Kendo on the hook.

Do you think that production software

How did you begin making music? Was it a particular influence or circumstance?

Shweez got a mac when we were 12 and we just randomly messed with GarageBand the first day he got it. Been hooked since.

What draws you to creating instrumentals?

That’s a hard question because we both value lyrics a lot, but making an instrumental is 100% your work.

Can you tell us about any projects coming in 2016?

We’re currently working on an EP with our friend Falcons, keep watch.

@TwoFreshbeats twofreshbeats.com

Photos by MARK PEACE

MEET THE PRODUCERS FAZE MIYAKE

Photo by VICKY GROUT

Firstly, briefly introduce yourself.

I'm Faze Miyake. I'm a DJ/Producer from London. I like to just call my production style, “electronic.” To me that could be anything, and others can make it out how they want to as well. I have different styles.

What would you say are the most popular beats you've created?

The most popular beat I've created is definitely, 'Take Off ’, which was just big for me as an instrumental. After that I went on to make a lot more big tunes with other artists, but that one has been my biggest and it was my breakthrough track into the music game. It still gets played now which is nice, but there are a lot more if you just have a pree.

What is your favourite song you've worked on and why?

I've got quite a few really. My favourite to date is a track on my album called 'Ice Cold'. It features Inga Copeland, an electronic artist and we had a really cool session. People wouldn't expect me and her to work but I made one of my favourite tracks with her. I think I like the challenge of what different artists bring to me. It's very easy to make tracks with rappers or MCs. I did a remix for CASisDEAD's 'Play' a little while ago too and I enjoyed working on that. I worked pretty hard on getting the production right on both of them.

Do you think that production software becoming more accessible to just anyone is a good or bad thing for music?

I think it's great. I started on a cracked version of Fruity Loops when I was 15. It was a hobby, it was the same as playing a video game to me. It still is kinda! I just gave my best friend some sounds and software to mess around with. I think it's nice to be able to have access to things that help you do productive things without spending loads of money. I started that way too so I support it. Just know when it's not for you though!

What influences you as a producer?

My influences come from life in general. Everything around me. Whatever is happening in my life. Playing out in clubs and catching a vibe off the people I'm playing to. I listen to loads of different music too so that helps. I've always got ideas I'm trying to bring to life. It's not always just music either.

How did you begin making music? Was it a particular influence or circumstance?

I began making music just as a hobby like I said. Growing up in East London around grime when it first began to ring off after garage. I was always locked into it.

There were crews in my school even. Pirate radio, just everything in London made me start I guess. Up until now I think we’re a very creative city. People are always trying to make things happen. I just found I could do that with music and ran with it. I don't know what else I'd be doing, I was always gonna end up somewhere like this.

What draws you to creating instrumentals?

It's actually just when I want to make music for myself to hear or for myself to play out. I have started focusing on DJing and it's something I've always loved. So I try to make stuff for me to play out more than anything. I think that's what really draws me to making beats right now.

Were you ever involved in any other musical projects besides what you are doing right now?

Not too many actually. I really want my stuff to be kind of streamlined by just me and my brand. But I get involved with others if the vibe is right. I just like to do things that way, it's organic and more satisfying for me. I do all kinds of projects of my own. I've started to be a lot more controlling over what I'm doing too. Before I was just banging out as much work as I could and I think that's how it should be at the beginning.

What, for you, is the perfect beat?

Depends on what it's for. I think music is made for different moods, people, places, etc. I just like a good old turn up anthem to be fair. A couple 808s and you're good to go.

Can you tell us about any projects coming in 2016?

I'm already working on my next album. I'm getting more releases out on my own label, 'Woofer Music’, this year too. Just watch out for everything with Faze Miyake on it. Big up! @FazeMiyake fazemiyake.com

MEET THE PRODUCERS CHRISTIAN RICH

Photo by Samuel Trotter

Firstly, briefly introduce yourself.

Taiwo Hassan and Kehinde Hassan.

Where are you from?

Born in Chicago, raised in Lagos, Nigeria and Chicago.

How would you describe your style of production?

Our style of production can vary from mellow to hard-hitting. The one unique thing in every track is hard drums. We like to incorporate really dreamy, bossa nova type chords any chance we get. A lot of artists don’t get that, so it’s challenging sometimes.

What would you say are the most popular beats you’ve created?

Vince Staples - ‘Señorita’ Earl Sweatshirt - ‘Chum’ + ‘Centurion’ Clipse - ‘I’m Serious’ Childish Gambino - ‘Crawl’ + ‘The Palisades’ J Cole - ‘Sparks Will Fly’ What is your favourite song you’ve worked on and why?

That’s tough, we would say Childish Gambino ‘Crawl’ because of the chord structure. The chord idea came from a French movie we were watching, but we made the final product dark instead of happy. There’s a song we just heard on Tame Impala’s new album that took

our chord idea from ‘Crawl’ - to us that shows ‘Crawl’ really penetrated through all types of markets and people. It shows us that people get it.

Do you think that production software becoming more accessible to just anyone is a good or bad thing for music? Why is that?

We think it’s good for music, it makes everyone step their game up and question whether they really want to do music or not. If our 10 year old nephew is able to make a banger just like we can at 33, then we either have to decide to compete with him or elevate our position in the industry to cultivate and enhance the business of music and not just worry about

making dope beats. You’re either gonna be Max Martin or my 10 year old nephew.

What influences you as a producer?

The intangible really influences us. That abstract feeling you get when you hear the right chord at the wrong time and your eyes just pop. That bass or 808 that hits your chest when you’re eating a kale salad.

How did you begin making music?

Music was a hobby first when we came back to the states in 1990. We kept exploring the beats all these rappers were on and were really drawn to that.

Was it a particular influence or circumstance?

The influence of A Tribe Called Quest, Dr. Dre, Pete Rock and many others really played a role. We were expected to be doctors and lawyers, so in the beginning this was just a hobby.

What draws you to creating instrumentals?

It really depends on how you feel. We have to be in a good zen state of mind to make a track.

Making tracks is a form of meditation - our minds have to be clear and we have to channel a certain energy and spirit.

Were you ever involved in any other musical projects besides what you are doing right now?

Nope. It’s always been Christian Rich.

What, for you, is the perfect beat?

Hard 808, menacing chords and some random vocal chops.

Can you tell us about any projects coming in 2016?

Well our album FW14 came out in August so we’re already starting work on our next LP. @christianrich thechristianrich.com

PHOTO RETROSPECTIVE MIKE MILLER WORDS BY LILY MERCER

You might not know his name, but you’ll definitely know Mike Miller’s photography. This LA native has shot album artwork for the biggest name in West Coast rap during the late eighties and early nineties, the pictures on these pages are just the tip of the iceberg. Miller continues to work with rap’s GOATs. We caught up with the man responsible for our SS15 cover to discuss how he got started in the industry, his favourite shots and the artists he aspires to photograph in the future.

How did you get into photography?

I was travelling abroad and I ended up living in Paris painting houses for a year. I met a French boxer, who’s like my big brother now, he gave me my first camera and there was a model apartment close by. I became friends with some of the models and I started shooting. With my images, I started a portfolio and I showed them to agents I met and they started hiring me to shoot their model’s portfolios.

That’s the dream for a photographer because models are hard to find.

You needed to know someone to get your foot in the door. Nowadays it’s like Instagram and social media have broadened the model look, which is really cool. I think it might help the modelling industry in general, just because there’ll be more normal girls, not just these anorexic looking girls. These [models] are not eating; it’s not healthy what they do to them.

You must have been in Paris during the peak era of the Supermodel Yeah, I photographed Linda Evangelista and Karen Mulder - she was in the first Victoria Secret angels group. Linda Evangelista’s probably one

of the all time greats, everybody knows her. Any time I picked up a camera, I was able to get good images so my book grew. Then Cacharel, a perfume company in Paris, liked my portfolio and they gave me my first campaign. That was my first big shoot and I shot it down in Barcelona with horses and bikinis on the beach. It’s my first big campaign and one of my favourite shoots.

It’s crazy you started in fashion because your music shots are your most iconic. Did it give you a different approach to photography?

Music was an important part of my life growing up and fashion photography I learned in Paris. Maybe that’s why I developed a style that transfers between fashion and music.

How did you make the move into shooting musicians?

After the first year I built a portfolio in Europe, then moved back to Cali and I signed with Visage photo agency, which was owned by Herb Ritts. Los Angeles at the time had every record label, but the fashion was very limited.

Who was the first musician you ever photographed?

My first [music] shoot was for Capitol Records for Roger Troutman, he was in a band called Zapp. If you guys don’t know about Zapp you should Google it. Then I shot The Go-Go’s, Stan Getz, Herb Alpert, famous jazz musicians - all of these were album covers.

Who was the rap artist you photographed?

My agent knew I was a fan of rap so she hooked up Ice Cube for Spin Magazine. I remember I was very nervous and I had a line of homies wanting to be my assistant.

Have you ever been starstruck over a subject?

Tupac was definitely one. He was already at the height of his career and I was just trying to be real cool, like ‘wassup ‘Pac?’ but I was definitely sweating. That shoot was kinda crazy. I was with ‘Pac for 12 hours the first day we shot. He rode shotgun in my van and we had altercations in every spot we went to. He was cool and generous and would hand out money to people on the street, then there’d be gangbangers coming

out like, ‘waddup Pac?’ and we’d leave. In a few instances, it got gnarly.

Besides your Viper cover with Earl and Vince, which rappers have you photographed in the last year?

Boosie, YG, Jeezy, ASAP Rocky, Drake, Rich Homie Quan and a bunch of girls for my book and campaigns. I’ve been having a lot of fun this past year.

Who out there would you like to shoot in the music world?

I wanna shoot Kanye or Future for sure. Also, Travi$ Scott.

You released your own book, West Coast Girls. What makes West Coast girls worthy of an entire book dedicated to them?

There are so many songs about West Coast girls and obviously there are a lot of beautiful women here but we - my wife made the book with me - wanted to show a variety of women that live in the West. We connected with cool artists, actresses, musicians, athletes etc.

TUPAC At one point we were in some gang neighbourhood that we didn’t even know, by the wall with the mural on the background. This gangbanger pulls up on a major highway, yelled at us and said, ‘get the fuck away! Get the fuck out of there, it’s a memorial!’. We didn’t know, we’re just shooting photos, my wife picked this location. I’d just shoot a couple rolls of film, there was no digital back then, and we’d be done. There was an altercation, Pac grabbed a couple guns, chased him down the street, he totally flipped out. Then

the gangbanger said he’s coming back with his homies and we just split. A lot of times I’d have to leave early in the morning while people were still sleeping to avoid having major issues. Then downtown LA was empty, there were no people, no photographers. Downtown LA was like a ghost town. When I photograph a lot of the artists, I try and make it look like a movie. In my mind, even though it’s stills, my shots are super choreographed.

Lil Debbie

She’s a west coast girl rapper, promoter and she’s a beauty, really sweet, super supportive and thankful. She’s killing it.

That’s on top of Laurel Canyon, my friend has this house he uses

for big shoots, he let me shoot there and I brought her in the middle of the day. It was easy with her, it was a very quick shoot.

My book has some other nice shots of her at night.

Lil Boosie

He brought out, I guess that’s like $120K, just stacking racks right there. I thought it was super cool ‘cause he’s got a playboy shirt on, I love that shot. It was really

simple, there is some lighting on that one obviously, just to capture the detail of the $100 bill on top and the necklaces.

Again Boosie was super cool and a nice person to shoot,

YG This was just in the studio as well, before the main cover concept and we did a bunch of shoots. This was just a set up for the album package. Actually this is an outtake, this shot was never used. I like it though, the blurred focus. His face is blurred but his hands

Ice Cube are in focus. It’s shot on film, on 35mm, shot with a Nikon. I don’t think there’s any lighting on this, it’s just natural light. It’s printed too, I print my own stuff. I go to the lab and do my own prints.

Cube hired me to do a couple shoots and that was one of his album covers. It’s just inside a studio, I try to keep things on film and when you shoot on film, you wanna move things around, you don’t want things to be stagnant. I had him do that and it was pretty simple and straight forward.

He looks mean though, I try and keep it real moody and dramatic. David LaChapelle bought that studio. I used to drive his cars. I shot Westside Connection for [CUBE] there too, the first album cover.

Vince STAPLES + Earl SWEATSHIRT

Warren G That was the middle of the day, it was bad lighting but I was able to work with it. It was where he grew up, in that block radius. Nate Dogg grew up, Snoop, Warren and all their homies like Lil Half Dead, they all grew up in a few block radius right there on 21st and Lewis. Warren G really wanted to have his cover shot there. I didn’t scope the

location prior to the album cover but I got the signs, I got 21st and Lewis in there. I got a truck driver and the palm trees, straight down the street. I shot it with a Pentax 67, so that’s a large medium format film, there’s a lot of detail in it and there’s no strobes. It’s a good negative.

I love this shot, it’s so cool. That cloud appears from the middle of nowhere, it must be a chem trail. It was the end of the day so it’s lit up pink, that’s not photoshop and I shot them with some colour gels. I like that shot a lot, I didn’t know which one to use for my website but that one is the winner! They’re funny dudes. For that shoot, I was shooting down in the alley for my book and the electrician said, ‘hey,

you wanna go up on the roof?’. So I used the roof for this shoot instead and it’s perfect because it’s over Downtown LA, on top of one of the buildings they’re fixing up on Broadway and sixth street. I was so lucky to have them hanging off the edge. I was hanging off the edge too and it was sick, I loved that shoot. They’re young superstars.

Eazy E

Eazy was really a nice person. He brought me into his studio, played me his album and we hung out waiting for Dr. Dre so he was super cool. All the musicians are cool, they’re there to

make music and work. That’s what I was there for, to capture the lifestyle and the image of what they were up to. The flag was out in the parking lot, it was pretty simple and straight forward.

West Coast Girls Those girls are in a band called The Atomic and Auditions, they’re also models and the pink car belonged to a dude from Venice.My wife saw it and asked him to come to the photo shoot. We became friends, he actually bought it to my last gallery. The car’s a classic car, it’s got the drop top, it’s like a ‘66 oldsmobile, sick car. Look at the windows how they’re cut, the car’s amazing. I’ve got so many good photos of these girls and they’re blowing up right now as musicians and models, they’re huge.

@photomillermike mikemillerphoto.com

JOYCE

WRICE

It’s universally acknowledged by man that the world is full of beautiful girls that can sing their asses off. while it does take a lot to stand out in today’s crowded market, the adorable half-Japanese, half African American vocalist, Joyce Wrice, is hard to miss

Y

ou can always tell a singer that truly studies her craft and Joyce is definitely one of these singers. She first appeared on the scene performing a string of RnB covers via YouTube and SoundCloud.

Proving her love for singing runs deep, she says, “I love the voice as an instrument so much, that’s why I’m so fascinated by artists like Brandi and Anita Baker - people who just do these most amazing runs.”

Viper’s interview with Joyce takes place in her car following an afternoon spent fantasy dog shopping at her favourite location, the dog adoption centre, Bark N’s Bitches. Situated on fashionable Fairfax Avenue, the trendy site of Odd Future, HUF and Supreme’s stores, this is where she comes to be reminded of her dog back home in Chula Vista, CA, a rottweiler called Takiyama. “We call her Taki for short. My dad rescued her in Nevada when she was two, she’s the sweetest big baby ever! She’s very particular about other dogs and isn’t friendly with them, but she’s so loving and affectionate with human beings. I wish I could keep her in LA with me but having a dog is a lot of responsibility.” Luckily thanks to Bark N’ Bitches she has many surrogates in Los Angeles, including her favourite Electra. “She’s the sweetest pit bull ever, so if you go to Bark N’ Bitches make sure you ask for her. She’s a sassy dog.” When Viper asks how often she visits she laughs, “Too often! I do it a lot, well I do it at least once a week, for maybe two hours.” She laughs again, “It’s my therapy and also I go there in my running clothes so I can get my exercise and be with her at the same time, so we’re both having a great exchange! She makes me smile and I can go about my day feeling real awesome.”

J

oyce has been steadily building a name for herself in the Internet community for years, since she was still at high school in San Diego recording YouTube covers with her friend Ariel. “As much as I have a lot of stuff going on in the real world, on the Internet there’s this scene where you meet a lot of people and just make it happen. I was just on the computer, like obsessing over the LA music scene, and what was going on in New York too.” This obsession soon began to pay off, especially when she moved to LA and was able to interact with people in the industry.

The artists that work with and support Joyce are testament to what an immense talent she is. “I was introduced to Polyester, who produced a lot of stuff with Dom Kennedy, then he and I started working together at Truth Studios. From there I was introduced to Dom, then being with Dom I was introduced to THC and Iman Omari was helping me write a song at one point. From there people were like, ‘If you need a vocalist ask Joyce’. Then when I came out here… I just love going to shows and meeting people. It happened to work out to where I met Mndsgn, then Knxwledge and my friend Kay Franklin, then meeting A$AP P.” The meeting with A$AP P [on the Boards] was especially fortuitous as it lead to one of her most well known songs. She agrees, “It was ‘Take It Easy’ that kind of exposed more to people on the East Coast, thanks to A$AP P - love him to death.”

As much as she’s been fortunate with the artists she’s worked with, it’s no coincidence they want her on their tracks. Joyce’s voice is

effortless and ethereal, so much so that she’s had some very favourable comparisons. “I was looking at some comments and I overheard some people at Mndsgn’s birthday party - people thought my ‘Good Morning’ track was Aaliyah, like a lot of people thought he just took Aaliyah’s vocals and did it over. I feel like that’s an honour.” It is something she’s worked on though, “When I did covers I realised that I do a great job of singing other people’s songs, but when I started working with Poly[ester] and doing my own shit I was just like ‘Ugh this doesn’t sound too good.’ So for a while when I first moved to LA, I really had to figure out what complimented production, like what compliments my voice. And I’m finally, slowly, really understanding and getting to that point, so I’m really happy to see and feel that progression.”

Starting off by singing covers can produce it’s own problems though, and we ask if there’s ever been a time she felt it interfered with her unique style. “I don’t think I ended up in that route too much, it was more like, OK, change it up a bit, do different runs, not Brandi runs so much. Or come up with different melodies not the same ones that other people are doing. Now it’s fun, I feel more comfortable freestyling, then from there putting it all together. I feel proud too. It’s nice to be able to do something and then people like it and that’s your original craft.”

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oyce’s nineties RnB influences are apparent though, and the video for her gorgeous slow jam ‘Ain’t No Need’ solidifies this, giving us Saved by the Bell graphics and VHS footage. “When I started to take beats off SoundCloud and BandCamp, I would just do whatever felt right and I noticed this pattern of mostly nineties RnB stuff. So when I did ‘Ain’t No Need’ with Mndsgn, Alima [Jennings, who directed and produced the video] came up with the cool idea to do a VHS video so she brought her eighties VHS camera, like some real shit, we filmed it and it came out really well.”

As much as the nostalgic sound Joyce produces is one of her strengths, it’s not something she wants to rely on. “I think some of the material I come out with will sound like it’s a sort of nineties feel but I don’t want it to sound like I’m just copying, or replicating, you know what I mean? I want to add something new and something refreshing.”

A lot of that comes from the producers Joyce works with, “That’s what’s great about how I found Mndsgn and Jamma Dee, I guess we really work well together to bring a new feel to it.”

A recent release by Joyce, ‘Call Me’, saw her experiment with elements of production, looping the song herself. “Initially I wanted a particular producer to remix my song [so] it sounded like DJ’s back then [who] would loop shit, put a lot of scratches and like change the pitch of the voice and stuff. I really wanted someone to do that, but with everyone being so busy it’s hard to get people to do things when you want it to happen. So I figured, let me play around and see what could come out of it. I just did it on my phone - it was like four in the morning, I’m laying in my bed and just replaying and messing with it - but I really liked how it came out.” Viper asks whether she’d like to do more work on the production side, “As much as I want to play around

PHOTOS BY MARK PEACE WORDS BY LAURYN TOMLINSON

with producing and stuff I don’t make enough time for it as I would like to, I focus more on singing.” She’s also quick to point out she didn’t produce the song, “The beat is a sample produced by Chuk Le Garçon from New York, he produced it and I bought it off his BandCamp. I found it and I fell in love with it. And then SiR and I got together and he was like, ‘Lets change it up’, so we changed it up a lot. ‘Call Me’ will come out with the EP and you’ll hear it’s a lot different.”

Something fans appreciate about Joyce is the fact she puts out demo versions of her songs so they can map the journey each work has taken. We ask why she’s so keen to share her unfinished work.

“I like sharing, honestly. I know there’s like a strategic way of people putting their music out and like having a blog post it or, you know, collaborating with a website and having them help push it out. I think that’s great and I would love to be better at branding my stuff, but I want to keep people updated with what I’m working on and even the process of songwriting. It takes me forever to get a song done sometimes.”

There are times people might not understand this approach, “With ‘Good Morning’ people were like ‘Joyce this is too short what are you doing? Like finish this shit!’ But I like to just do what I feel sometimes, I’m such an impulsive person.”

W

“Jay Prince actually

slid into my DMs!”

hen it comes to her upcoming EP however, Joyce is being more careful about what she releases although she assures us it’s not far off. “It’s currently being mixed and mastered by Jonathan Keller, who’s a part of Blended Babies. I worked on it with SiR, who really helped to write and vocal produce everything,” We ask her how she chose the final tracks for the project. “Mndsgn sent me a batch of beats and Knxwledge and this guy J.LBS. Once I started recording over them with my GarageBand, it all kind of pieced together. I didn’t know exactly what I wanted everything to sound like, I just kind of did what felt right first, then from there laid out what we’ve done and picked out what was the strongest.” What can the fans expect from her new release? “What I’ve put out recently has a nineties feel but the EP it’s a little, I don’t know, you can’t really label it. I mean it’s RnB but I feel like it’s the RnB where it has a little bit of commercial stuff that can be played on the radio and then you have stuff I did with Knxwledge which sounds a little more like gritty and then with Mndsgn, that’s like nineties nostalgia so it has a variety.”

Not content with giving us her first EP, Joyce is also working away at producing some more projects with her favourite producers.

“I’m releasing two projects with Jamma Dee and another project with Kay Franklin and Mndsgn. Both of those will be released on vinyl records through Akashik Records, which is a label that only releases physical copies.” In a time where most everything is a digital copy, we at Viper also appreciate how subversive it can be to have something physical and she agrees. “I’ve always enjoyed having tangible things. I feel like it makes the listening experience so much more fun! I really enjoy album liner notes and just being able to have memorabilia. With digital I guess it is convenient to have everything on a device but I prefer to hold on to the record.”

Before we’re blessed with these projects, Joyce is working on delivering some more videos as memorable as ‘Ain’t No Need’. “I’m working on two visuals for the project and I also plan to incorporate some choreography for a video. I used to do a lot of hip hop choreography in high school with Culture Shock and Future Shock San Diego.” And despite all that’s going on in her present, she still has her eyes on the future. “We have a lot of projects in mind and I want to start working on an album officially too...” When we ask if this is a hint for us to stop pressuring her to release a project, she laughs. “Yesssssss, it’s coming! No it’s fine, I like the pressure because it puts me to work, it keeps me going.”

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n the meantime there are plenty of recent releases for fans to feast their ears on, particularly some tracks released late last year with London’s own Jay Prince. How did they come too work together? “Jay Prince actually slid into my DMs! Totally kidding, well kind of,” she laughs. “He kindly messaged me and expressed how much he enjoyed my voice and music! He asked if we can work on some stuff and after listening to his music, I agreed. So we went back and forth on email with me sending him vocals for stuff and we also met once in LA. He’s such a sweet and very passionate guy. I really admire his drive and focus. I really like our song ‘Promises’, I’m so happy he asked me to be on that.”

2016 looks to be the year Joyce moves from famous-on-the-Internet to outright famous. A girl with an amazing voice, beautiful face and great ear for producers - she’s worked with Ricky Bricks, THC and Thelonious Martin to name a few - you get the feeling that this will be the year the world wakes up to Joyce Wrice. @joycewrice soundcloud.com/joycewrice

THE BEST RAPPER YOU’VE NEVER HEARD NATIA THE GOD PHOTOS BY CLIFTON CASTRO WORDS BY LILY MERCER

Natia the God is the kind of artist that you’re mad no one told you about. Though his social following only just scrapes into the thousands, he possesses bars rawer than some of the finest nineties MCs. The first time I heard him was in August 2015, two weeks after the visuals were released for his sing-songy anthem to living badly, ‘The Wrong Way’. I wasn’t just mad I was two weeks late, I was furious because the song itself was released in 2014.

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n instantly recognisable character, Natia’s attire is likely to be the first thing about him that catches your eye. The 23 year old rapper is always freshly dressed in vintage labels that even the most dedicated collectors struggle to find. His social networks and music videos show him rocking monogram Louis Vuitton jackets, reversible DKNY coats and spray painted Tommy Hilfiger sweatshirts.

Beyond the impressive garms, it’s also his boyish good looks and gently sung melodies that make him stand out from a sea of MCs.

The skateboarding, gang-banging lyricist was raised in Inglewood, California, home to several rappers but none that he cares for, besides best friends and collaborators Love and Crunch, aka Escobar Rich. Both appear on his EP, ‘Newport Diaries’, which features his biggest song so far, ‘The Wrong Way’. The video opens with Escobar Rich dressed in eye-catching Tommy Hilfiger, rapping his verse from another track on the EP, ‘Stop Calling’.

In addition to ‘Newport Diaries’, previous projects include the mixtape, ‘Worthless Treasure’, released when he was 19 and ‘Lost Tapes: Concrete Pillows’, a collection of songs recorded between the ages of 17 and 21. ‘The Lost Tapes’ acts as a musical diary of his experiences falling out with his family and being kicked out of his mother’s house.

Detailing episodes of sleeping rough, he loves the metaphor within the title, “Concrete Pillows, damn that shit is tight.” Though it’s his latest release, the tape contains some of his earliest recordings and the songs on this project in particular are very special to Natia. “They’re all personal and I selectively picked every song to be like, ‘OK this can come out’. I got a bunch of them in my arsenal still, too many songs, but people are gonna have to wait for that.”

He reveals plans to avoid releasing more projects for free, stating, “I don’t think I’m gonna put another mixtape out, I don’t wanna give anything out for free anymore unless it’s gonna be something ridiculously big. But these three projects are cool, I like the second one, ‘Newport Diaries’s.”

Since ‘Newport Diaries’, he’s released a couple of loose tracks including ‘Brain Damagers’ and ‘The Greatest’. On his latest release, ‘Meth’, he spits, “Asking Morpheus for more morphine to morph into some form of fresh,” with the ferocity that is usually followed by a chant of “oooohs” during rap battles.

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atia, christened Natia Happy Maluia, was born to an African American mother and Samoan father. I ask why he chose to rap by his real, incredibly unique, name. “Because that’s the only time I can use my real name [laughs]. In any aspect of life that’s the only time I can use my real name.”

When I joke it’s lucky nobody else had taken the name he replies, “Yeah, what other nigga is gonna be called Natia? A nigga?” as he goes on to explain that Natia is a girl’s name in Samoa.

His middle name, ‘Happy’, one that you’re not likely to see on another rapper’s birth certificate, he shares with his father. “Yeah this shit is funny, that’s my dad’s first name. He’s happy that Happy is my middle name like, ‘Don’t worry, be happy’.

My mum’s black, my dad’s Samoan.” Los Angeles’ Samoan culture runs deep, with rap group Boo Yaa Tribe releasing music decades before Natia. When I mention them, it turns out they’re not that far removed from his life, “Yeah the Boo Yaa Tribe, my dad knows some of them! They’re hard.”

“I NEVER ATE SWORDFISH, I JUST SAID THAT BECAUSE WHEN I GET ON I’M GON’ DEFINITELY EAT SOME SWORDFISH. THERE’S GONNA BE AN EPIC ASS MOTHER FUCKING PICTURE OF ME EATING A BIG ASS SWORDFISH LIKE ‘DAMN THIS NIGGA IS WILD”

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rowing up, a young Natia began writing rhymes after being inspired by Eminem.

The influence can be seen in how intricate his lyrics are. “Yeah, I read this book called Angry Blonde that has all [Eminem’s] written [lyrics] in there and then he talks about them.

I was like, ‘This shit hard’, but you can’t find it in bookstores no more, you can look at it online. I read that shit when it came out in fucking 2003 or something, I was like sixth grade.” When I ask when he started rapping he replies, “Sixth grade [laughs]. That shit inspired me, like ‘Damn this shit easy’! Like he’s basically talking to you but it happen to rhyme. It’s a trip.”

Many of Natia’s early releases sound reminiscent of Marshall Mathers’ impressive run from 1999-2001. By bringing back that classic sound, he embodies the last good years of hip hop before we entered into era of ringtone rap and tweef. Eminem isn’t the only legend that’s inspired him, as he reveals he’s trying to do what Tupac did, not musically but as a public figure. It’s interesting Tupac comes up, as the rapper, poet and actor claimed the West Coast despite his bicoastal, gypsy upbringing. In a similar way, Natia is West Coast raised but at times sounds East Coast in flow.

The East Coast inspiration in his flow comes from the rap artists he listened to growing up, who were predominantly from New York. “I listened to a lot of Wu Tang, Big L and Afu-Ra and all this East Coast shit. So that’s probably why everything came from that shit. Wu Tang period, like Raekwon, Ghostface and Method Man, even Redman, all them niggas. Redman not even in the WuTang but he sound hard though.”

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any rappers skate these days, but Natia’s actually good. His Instagram followers are regularly treated to videos of him skating in Venice and Westchester skate parks alongside his friends in DeliStatus.

He doesn’t call himself a skater though, preferring to be seen as a MC. He also hates what skateboarding has become, “It’s not that serious, how other people be doing it, I just like some tricks and I don’t even like to call myself that good but I know how to look good on a board, I don’t like to look garbage.”

I ask if he’d ever go professional with it, “Hell no. Like if I know three languages, then I’m about to master skating. Rapping too, like if I completed my rap career and like I’m good, then yeah, I’d probably do skateboarding, that would be brazy.”

The use of “brazy,” the Blood’s way of saying crazy without using the letter that signifies their rivals the Crips, is one of the brief reminders that Natia runs with the LA gang. I explain that from a London perspective, it’s uncommon to find a gangbanger that skateboards, but for Natia growing up in LA, it’s always been that way. “Here, it’s like a bunch of niggas skateboarding and gang-banging, a bunch of niggas do graffiti too. It’s like all worlds collide here, that’s why I fuck with LA! NY is also the same but LA is original for this gang-bang shit, always and forever will be, that shit is tight. Everybody else is a copier and just wanna start killing something but LA is real life shit.”

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s a child, he claims he wasn’t skilled at much besides rapping, “I wasn’t good at nothing. I mean, I’d be skating and shit but I wasn’t good at skating round that time.

I’ve always just been good at rapping but low key though. I wouldn’t say I was a good ass fucking rapper but niggas was fucking with me, so I was like, ‘Damn that’s crazy, I can do this shit’.” He admits to being athletic though, “I can play every sport, but I don’t think I’m gonna make it doing that at the end of the day, [it’s] just rapping. I hate that word, that word is fucking stupid.” He laughs without sharing an alternative word for the skill he possesses, then adds, “I feel like I got better at being creative, I dig the way I rhyme.”

He also digs burgers, having previously claimed digital residence at Twitter’s @natiaburger handle. It soon emerges that his love for the fast food runs deep. Our interview takes place down the road from burger joint Tom’s, a place he describes as “horrible”, “I never had Tom’s, I don’t want that shit. Hell no. Fucking McDonalds, Wendy’s, In N Out, Five Guys, every burger.

Every weak ass to fine ass burger, that’s why I named it @Natiaburger because one day I’ll probably have [my own] burger.” Not long after Viper’s interview took place, he changed it to @Natiabooboo, but that’s another story.

His self-anointed nicknames are legendary, with Natia The God being the name he uses for most releases, but he runs off a string of them with ease, starting with his personal favourite; “Nasty Natia! Haha, I got a shit load without my name being involved though, like Boo Boo God, Sporty Luxe, Lieutenant Lunch Bowl, Sir Fuck-A-Lot, Mr Threesome… Weird shit, hard, funny shit.

But Natia the God, Natia the Great, Natia the Prince - I just recently said that shit in a song.

I like Natia is gorgeous though.” I tell him my favourite is Natia eats swordfish. “Natia eats swordfish! Never ate swordfish, I just said that because when I get on I’m gon’ definitely eat some swordfish. There’s gonna be an epic ass motherfucking picture of me eating a big ass swordfish like, ‘Damn this nigga is wild’.”

Natia’s Instagram confirms that he has since eaten swordfish.

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vidently driven when it comes to making it in his field, I ask where he sees himself in five years time. He paints a picture of himself on board a boat. “I see myself on a fucking yacht. I finally get to have a week vacation because I’ve been so fucking busy, to the point where I can’t even jack off or even talk to this shawty. I’m like in the middle of the ocean, it’s hot as fuck and I get to relax to myself.” Having spent thirty minutes prior to the interview Internet shopping for puppies, I remind him that his puppy will be five at this point. Remembering, he adds his future pet into his five year plan, “With a fucking German Shepherd puppy. Yeah, I fuck with that.” Displaying his aspirations in the music industry, he’s eventual visualising the puppy alongside him at the Grammy’s. “Ay that would be hard. Hopefully I’ll make it to the Grammy’s, I’m down to do soundtracks for movies. That would be fucking cool.”

Having not had the easiest start in life, his drive to succeed is strong and he’s willing to work as hard as he needs to in order to make it. He’s planned out his career up until the age of 28, casually stating, “I’ll put out two albums in five years.” Natia’s hunger is what separates him from his peers. While many are focused on the wrong signifiers of success, he’s focused on a fully-fledged, paid, rap career. With a string of projects under his belt, he has plans to release another in 2016, titled ’10,000 Hours’, in reference to Malcolm Gladwell’s theory that ten thousand hours is the required work time to clock in before you become an expert in your field.

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s we wrap up the interview, I ask who his favourite movie villain is, “Jules, Jules Winfield in Pulp Fiction. He’s from Inglewood. Yeah, that motherfucker. He hard.”

@natiabooboo soundcloud.com/natia-the-god

THE GENTRIFICATION OF HIP HOP PhotoS by BAFIC WORDS by TOM USHER

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f you didn’t witness the hullabaloo regarding the ‘Cereal Killer Café’ and the ‘Fuck Parade’ anti-gentrification riots of London in September 2015, then let me break it down for you. A bunch of upper middle class people got together to chuck paint and shout at upper class people because they were angry that their comfortably cheap upper middle class lifestyle that they nicked from working class people in that area was in danger of being in turn stolen from them by upper class people.

Ironic, right? Gentrification is ephemeral. The people protesting against it are upset that the particular brand of transience they were enjoying is slipping through their fingers like grains of sand. But as trite as some of the indignation can appear regarding gentrification, its effects and influences are very real, and can be traced in some way or another to the creative industries.

usic and art; under the umbrella term, “culture,” are the collateral with which developers trade in property and businesses when “renovating” a borough. How many times have you heard terms like “vibrant,” “unique” and the absolute worst; “colourful,” when reading a property blurb about an area? But what makes an area ‘vibrant’? It’s not the fucking Costa Coffee or the block of

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luxury flats. It’s the artists, the musicians, the performers and the poets that make an area exciting. And now, in this FaceBook age of mass cultural commodification, the positive momentum of creative work in a local area is being used as a weapon against itself, in the form of harmful benefit cuts and ballooning rents, pushing out the very same people that helped create the ‘buzz’ of an area. If this homogenisation of inner cities can be seen as a direct attack on any musical genre, then it should be hip hop. From its birth in the most deprived areas of inner city New York to the global cultural mainstay it is today, hip hop has been synonymous with phrases like ‘urban’ and ‘ghetto’.

It was a way for an impoverished African American community to make people listen to the tales of the desperate socio-economic situations they found themselves living in. Areas like Staten Island, The Bronx and Brooklyn gave birth to MCs like Biggie, Big Daddy Kane and Mos Def, each with their own stories of struggle and graft, born from the frustration of inequality.

These areas were often characterised by high levels of poverty, gang violence and drug use. The music that appeared often reflected that and was unapologetic about it; and soon making popular music allowed MCs the

chance to shine a light on inconvenient truths that the US was unwilling to face. But this truth, passion and heart formed a powerful commodity for labels to trade in. Audiences, like residents looking for habitation, respond to ‘authenticity’. Hip hop quickly became a global phenomenon in the nineties and by the mid-noughties, it was regularly topping pop charts without breaking a sweat.

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oday, hip hop has been homogenised to the point of being more of a genre than a movement or a community voice. The sound has spread so thinly across the world that it’s been completely detached from its original purpose. When you have raging boy band dudes like Robbie Williams having a crack at MCing, on the terrible ‘Rock DJ’, then you know that the musical medium of hip hop has itself been gentrified. So what about the future? There is an infamous statistic bandied about on the Internet that between 60-80% of hip hop consumers today are white. If true, it reflects the gentrification of hip hop as an art form and voice of the oppressed.

White, usually middle-class, people have - in much the same way as rock n’ roll and jazz before them - liked the look of a musical area, flooded it with artists and watched the profitability skyrocket.

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he fact is that the previously working class attitudes of hip hop and grime are being fetishised by an ever more powerful white middle class consumer. It happened in New York with hip hop and it is currently happening in the UK grime scene in areas like Hackney and Brixton.

So what will happen to these working class voices when they can no longer afford to live in the ghetto? Is there something fundamental to both hip hop and grime that the music must come from an impoverished urban area to be considered authentic? You only to have to look at Drake’s comfy middle class upbringing to see that at least in terms of popularity, the average consumer doesn’t give a fuck about where you’re from.

But would the visceral styles and lyrics of J-Hus (from Stratford) or Skepta (from Tottenham) have as much impact without the knowledge that the areas they came from are to put it bluntly, pretty fucking rough? I would’ve been scared to walk around the estates of Stratford and Tottenham by myself five years ago. Then the Olympics happened, Stratford was shifted into a more expensively priced Zone 2 for public transport, and now you’re more likely to be in the shadow of the mini-city-cumshopping-mall of Westfield than the shadows of a darkened alleyway. That’s not to say that there aren’t areas in which you’ll find poverty, drugs and violence, but they are being slowly swept away in the wave of gentrification. So how long can MCs in inner-city boroughs like Hackney, Harringay and Islington say they are living as dangerous a life as they claim when the areas are rapidly turning into a regimented consumer paradise, with rising rents and housing benefit cuts driving many

working class people far away from what could ever be considered ‘The Ends’?

lthough London is a front runner in the race to the bottom of a cultural housing crisis, the practice goes on everywhere.

While New York is facing its own troubles in coming to terms with its sudden popularity, across the coast in Los Angeles, similar problems are afoot. There are plans for a new $1.2-billion, 1.66-million-square-foot Mega-development called ‘The Reef ’, which will contain a 19-story, 208-room hotel and two condo high-rises, looming insidiously over the hip hop mecca of South Central LA. Kind of like the Stratford Westfield, but being America they’ve managed to pump it full of steroids. According to reports, there is a “very real risk” that over 4,000 people will face displacement as a result of this project.

Think about how many classic MCs would’ve had to move if they were growing up at the time of this development: ScHoolboy Q, Murs and Ice Cube are just a few. But then again it begs the question, was growing up in South Central LA as integral to their sound as we think it is? I certainly couldn’t imagine Ice Cube without his raw and unflinching lyrics about life in his local neighbourhood. It’s hard to think that his punchy delivery would make as much sense coming from a nice, leafy suburban upbringing.

Maybe hip hop has evolved to a point now where it doesn’t need to represent the extreme living conditions that once typified inner city living. It’s grown so far beyond what the genre started out as that anyone with a laptop and a microphone can record some tracks and put them on SoundCloud or YouTube and maybe - like

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in the case of Rizzle Kicks - they can become media darlings while spitting about trumpets or whatever the fuck they rap about. But it seems like hip hop and grime can’t thrive without the threatening dark comedy that stems from inner city struggles. No matter how catchy the tunes of pop friendly acts are, the fact is that the majority of suburban audiences listen to hip hop for the escapism and danger of a life they will never know, but by listening, they can live vicariously through the music.

Success eventually changes all music, whether we like it or not. From a particular artist “selling out,” to certain genres becoming bastardised in the name of pop, downloads and chart positions; what we once enjoyed about a musical style is bound to change as its success becomes more and more entwined in business and commercial success.

In this way it mirrors the gentrification cycle perfectly. An area will become popular, and the more trendy it becomes the more diluted its unique attractiveness will become, until it’s eventually unrecognisable from its original state, because there’s too much money at stake to let any trouble ruin things.

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n London and in many other cities, gentrification is rapidly affecting many cultural mainstays. Although I believe hip hop and grime are too diverse to fall by the wayside, in the future what we find to be popular in the genre could change beyond recognition. In the time of bands like The Clash, groups like Mumford & Sons would be laughed off stage if presented as a ‘rock’ band. Maybe one day gentrification will do the same to hip hop. Or maybe, in the case of Macklemore, it already has.

ABRA

ABRA PhotoS BY Dhamirah Coombes WORDS BY YEMI ABIADE

You can take the kid out of London but you can’t take London out of the kid; and the first lady of Awful Records, ABRA, is living proof. Even as the Londonborn, Atlanta-repping singer/songwriter/producer poses for the camera, draped in a Billionaire Boys Club jacket, projecting an effortless cool girl swag, you sense that this artist knows she’s back home after a long absence.

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er ultra-confident yet playful and serene persona is immediately apparent on the shoot, as she remarks after seeing one of the pictures – “I’ve got such a bitch face.” She displays a hint of humour that ingratiates her to the sensibilities of London. “I do still feel like a London kid,” she says in contemplation. “I kind of feel like a fraud for saying that because I’m not really. But I kind of feel like I am, with the sensibilities of people here, the music and everything else. When asked how much London has affected her life thus far, she replies, “I feel a lot of London is still in me and my first memories are from London. Atlanta hasn’t stolen my heart at all, but I’d say I’m a very good blend of both.”

ABRA was born and raised in Tooting, South London until the age of eight when her family moved to Atlanta for a new life and, while she identifies with the UK capital, she doesn’t necessarily feel all the way at home. “I was still young when I was here and I didn’t get to embrace what was going on.” She continues, “But I do feel like when I was making music, a lot of people from the UK were fucking with it way more than people from the States.

That was really cool and affirming, and now I feel I’m coming to an audience where I won’t have to sell myself as much as I did in the States.”

It’s a tricky balance to maintain, but the songstress maintains the London connection almost effortlessly, and it shines through her music in a way which highlights the best of both London and rap’s new epicentre, Atlanta. She attributes much of her sound to the city of her birth: “My music is a great mix of the electronic music you hear in the UK and the drum and bass of Atlanta. Sonically, the bass is very Atlanta but the melodies and vocals are very much UK. It wasn’t my intention to mix the two but a lot of people started bringing to my attention that I sounded that way, it was a totally organic evolution.”

rganic it certainly has been, since ABRA has managed to create her own lane from the comfort of her own bedroom, producing ethereal love songs with a side of seduction. This includes her latest project, ‘Rose’, released last year - a delicate tale of love, temptation and vulnerability. All over the most atmospheric and alluring production coming out of Atlanta right now. While sparse and airy, her instrumentals contain a bounciness that is addictive and engaging, and complement her voice perfectly.

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ALL CLOTHING BY AMERICAN APPAREL GLASSES BY O THONGTHAI HAIR CLIP BY PAK COSMETICS

But why did she start producing for herself, rather than working with other people? “I love to sing, but my love for singing isn’t what made me want to make music - it was more how music makes me feel when I listen to it and I really like being the architect of a mood. I like to be able to create a mood, and when I was just singing on other people’s tracks I didn’t really get the feeling that I wanted to. So I decided to take it into my own hands and be more involved in the music I’m trying to create, something I was able to do by myself more than I was with someone producing for me. It’s hard to artistically describe what you’re going for to somebody else - like I would want something dark and moody, but also kind of happy and dance-y. That’s very ambiguous so it’s better to do it yourself, and I hate waiting on other people - I’m really impatient!”

“I’M DEFINITELY GROWING INTO MY OWN SOUND, BUT IT’S STILL A PROCESS. EVEN IF IT SOUNDS LIKE THIS NOW, I’M NOT GOING IN ANY PARTICULAR DIRECTION OR HAVING THE INTENTION TO SOUND A CERTAIN WAY.”

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hough relatively easy on the ear, the amount of work ABRA puts in when creating soundscapes shouldn’t be underestimated – she stays working. She even cites a particular classic eighties movie as a prime factor behind her sound. “When I create projects I like to think in colour palettes, and I was just thinking of a lot of pastels and a lot of the fashion from the eighties. I would watch a lot of movies from the eighties on mute and try to create the soundtrack behind them. “I watched Coming To America eight times back to back, especially that scene when they were presenting the queen and all the girls were dancing and that just seemed like what needed to be in the background; a primitive bassline, some sparse drums, hella high-hats and accented drums.” Knowing how much Eddie Murphy influenced ABRA adds a surreal dimension to her music.

With a robust D.I.Y. attitude

in place when it comes to her artistry, it’s clear ABRA is not one to rest on her laurels. Her influences also give a great clue as to how she cultivates her sound.

“Vocally I would say Mariah Carey influences me the most. I don’t sing like her at all, but I used to listen to her a lot when I was young. She inspired me a lot, and then I started listening to artists from Atlanta, and a lot of rap.

Everyone at Awful [Records] makes rap and they continue to inspire me; Keith Charles, Father and the rest really influence my production style. Also Art of Noise and other bands from the eighties.” A statement which makes perfect sense once you’ve heard ABRA’s music. “I’m definitely growing into my own sound, but it’s still a process. Even if it sounds like this now, I’m not going in any particular direction or having the intention to sound a certain way.

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he growth of her sound has been boosted by her instrumental prowess, which has forced her to think more methodically about the music she wants to create. I ask how much playing an instrument has helped her on her journey so far, “[It] definitely helped the creative process. I play the guitar and I wrote a lot of folk music so those melodies really helped with bridging the aggressive drums and made it more melodic and, I think, pretty. It adds more layers to the music and in my music I use a lot of harmonies and background vocals, which I don’t think I’d be able to do if I didn’t know how to play the guitar and if I didn’t practice singing with it.

Breaking it down further, she adds, “When you play a guitar you’re playing five notes in time that make a chord so I got to learn what notes go into making what sound. That really helped with the production aspect because if I want to sing a really stacked harmony background I now know what notes need to be there, and what can sound good and what other instruments I can afford to lay on it without making it sound claustrophobic.” ABRA’s head is certainly screwed on when it comes to what she wants to cultivate musically, and she is undoubtedly in a great position at Awful Records, where she continues her growth as an artist. While being one of the few on the label’s roster to go against the grain of the sharp and hard-hitting hip hop made by the majority of its artists, ABRA loves every minute of being part of the burgeoning crew, boasting the likes of label head Father, Ethereal, Archibald Slim, Tommy Genesis and Playboi Carti. Speaking of the label, she says, “I was always a fan of the people

Jacket BY Billionaire Boys Club Skirt BY American Apparel Choker BY Jiwinaia Ring BY ambush

YOU CAN TAKE THE KID OUT OF LONDON BUT YOU CAN’T TAKE THE LONDON OUT OF THE KID

Jacket BY schott nyc Skirt BY American apparel Bracelet BY jiwaina who were in Awful Records but I can’t say I really acknowledged it as a movement at the time. I knew that they were always working hard to bring something new to Atlanta. I know Father was on Edgwood before - that’s a street in Atlanta that’s a real cultural hotspot and a lot of things happen there; it’s pretty much the epicentre of Atlanta right now. I know that he was on the street making flyers for other people’s events and he’s been out there for a long time pushing the culture, and I really admire that about him. So when he asked me to join Awful, I was like, ‘hell yeah!’ Awful literally started from the bottom, and I’ve never seen anybody work like that other than Awful, so I’ve always really respected that about them because their hustle is really genuine.”

uch like the Wu Tang Clan and various other movements before them, Awful Records ride with each other always, and ABRA loves the family-oriented and tight-knit nature of the crew. “Yeah, it’s

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really genuine. I know there are a lot of people in collectives and they present themselves as really close and I can’t really say that I know what it’s like to be part of it but they make it seem closer than it is.”

ABRA continues, “A lot of good and bad things happen at Awful and everyone always comes in to help pick up the pieces or celebrate with you. No matter what happens, we’re still a family - I don’t care if you don’t fuck with this person, we’re still a unit, and there is no leaving Awful. Even if I wanted to leave I couldn’t leave - it’s almost like a cult!”

ith her cult behind her, a world tour on the way and new music to come – she mentions an upcoming EP but little else - ABRA is set for a big year in 2016 and on the horizon are destinations far beyond London and Atlanta. @darkwaveduchess soundcloud.com/darkwaveduchess

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Stylist: Izzy Lo Steven Make Up + Hair: Natalie Dapaah Nails: Jess Young Stylist Assistant: Aaliyah Mariabee

TAZ ARNOLD

EVERY NEGUS IS A STAR PhotoS by BAILEY ROBERTS WORDS by NICK BAM

Having caught his break working on Dr Dre’s ‘2001’, producing records for Kendrick’s most recent album, ‘To Pimp A Butterfly’, and making up one third of super-production trio, Sa-Ra, Taz Arnold is the most prolific producer and cultural influencer you’ve probably never heard of.

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iper got the chance to kick knowledge with hip hop’s most elusive cosmic dandy last summer.

Arnold, who’s been putting in work behind the scenes for years, is known for his extensive Polo collection like fellow producers Just Blaze and 88-Keys - not to mention his vibrant, forward-thinking fashion sense.

Arnold could be seen dripping in Fendi, MCM and designer couture with Bowie-esque face paint on, years before Kanye, Travis, or any one else in the today’s rap scene would be so daring.

Arnold and I talked Polo, Kendrick’s latest album, etymology, metaphysics, Coltrane, TI$A and Tesla. But squares and narcs be warned, this is not your average run of the mill, tit for tat rap interview, so wipe the crust out of your third eye, light some Nag Champa and put on some Lonnie Liston Smith as we get intergalactic with Mr. Taz Arnold.

mistake. Arnold explains that Kendrick assembled “an army of people… able to raise the vibration of the project.”

T

he political impact of Kendrick Lamar’s ‘To Pimp A Butterfly’, can sadly be seen more clearly in light of the many recent tragedies that have befallen the African American community in the U.S. ‘Alright’ has since becoming a protest song, a symbol for those who deplore police aggression and racially motivated attacks against America’s black communities. Arnold explains that some of the political content that appears on the album was borne out of discussions in the studio, “We build on math, on our people, what things mean philosophically and historically.”

Arnold produced 'For Free (Interlude)', which sees Kendrick in full jazz poet flow over raw

To be able to bring my AESTHETIC IS A PLEASURE

A

rnold sees himself foremost as both a student of the game and a master-teacher, “I'm a person who looks at myself like I have some sort of knowledge of self and the culture... first, I'm a musician, then I’m a fashion designer. In that order. I’m always studying and building with people in the community to raise the bar creatively, culturally and musically. To be able to bring my aesthetic is a pleasure.”

When it came time to make Kendrick’s, ‘To Pimp A Butterfly’, the West Coast wordsmith assembled a team of producers, musicians and singers to ensure that the project would resonate both sonically and culturally. The team was comprised of such luminaries as George Clinton, the Isley Bros and producers like Terrace Martin, Knxledge and Pharrell.

Arnold’s involvement in this all-star line up was no

piano trumpets and drums, where he declares how he needs “40 acres and a mule, not a 40 and pit bull,” and the accompanying video sees Kendrick dressed as Uncle Sam. The video is an obvious swipe at the roles of race and power in American society.

‘U', also produced by Arnold, sees Kendrick at his most personal, literally crying and pouring his heart out, and ‘Momma’ sees Kendrick on top form eloquent and introspective. Arnold links ‘To Pimp A Butterfly’ to a black cultural tradition of political music: “We all got a straight mainline to James Brown and Jimmy Hendrix, all the shit that came before us, Tribe Called Quest...we look at it like one big conversation.”

The album has further cultural resonance now Obama and Kendrick have met and Obama considers it “one of the most important rap albums

The two things work at one time,

a pyramid is really like a battery for ideas

What’s going on in your subconscious mind is also going on in your conscious mind

What goes on in your imagination is also going on in your reality

These are my ideas

and I’m putting them up

to the universe

of 2015.” Kind of strange considering the album cover depicts a dead President beneath some of Kendrick's Compton buddies. Nevertheless, Taz Arnold has left his stamp on one of the most politically important rap albums of this decade.

When I ask about the use of the Boris Gardiner record, ‘Every Nigga Is A Star’, at the beginning of the Kendrick album, Taz begins to school me on the etymology of the N-word. “Negus is a title in the Afro-Asiatic, Tigrinya, Tigre and Amharic languages. It denotes an Emperor or King, as the Bahri Negasi of the Medri Bahri Kingdom in pre-1890 Eritrea and the Negus in pre-1974 Ethiopia. The title has subsequently been used to translate the word "King" in Biblical and other literature.” Arnold assures me, “That’s not some new black talk shit, that’s 3,000 years old. We’re not always in sync with our language.

English is called the bastard language, it's made up of so many different languages.”

Arnold seems like he's on a constant quest to uplift people's consciousness. “It's a travesty or a misnomer that people are ignorant to it, with a little bit of light shed on our dimension it changes how we look at black people across this world.”

W

hen I ask Arnold about the large, glass energy pyramid installation in his house, we stumble a bit further down the rabbit hole. He explains: “The pyramid is pointing upwards, what goes up must come down. Its like the laws of gravity.” Arnold has used the pyramid as an “art installation in Fairfax. I put MCM, Polo, vintage Gucci, prayer rugs in the pyramid. That’s what represented me at the time creatively. So it goes up and it comes back down in the form of ideas, creativity… good energy.”

Continuing, he adds, “If I put bad energy in the Universe, I’ll probably have a lot of bad shit going on in my existence. If I put good things up to the Universe, maybe I’ll get some good shit going on in my life. You’ve heard the saying, ‘As above so below’. What’s going on in your subconscious mind is also going on in your conscious mind.

What goes on in your imagination is also going on in your reality. The two things work at one time, a pyramid is really like a battery for ideas.

These are my ideas and I’m putting them up to the universe.”

A

rnold explains that this philosophy is nothing new and has been going on since his days of producing within Sa-Ra Creative partners, a group comprised of Arnold, Om'mas Keith and Shafiq Husayn. Sa-Ra put out their first record in 2004 and have since made music with the likes of Erykah Badu, Kanye West, Andre3000 and J Dilla to name a few. Om'mas went on to win a Grammy for his work on Frank Ocean’s ‘Channel Orange’ album.“This is a direction I’ve been taking, it's been going since the Sa-Ra days. Sa-Ra is hermetic, Egyptian, Son of God like Jesus. Sa means of and Ra means everything.”

By this point we’re satisfied Arnold is some kind of metaphysical spirit guide so Viper asks for tools on our quest for knowledge and understanding. He immediately draws for some records: John Coltrane’s ‘A Love Supreme’ and Pharaoh Saunders’ ‘Creator Has A Master Plan’. He also points us in the direction of the books Jungle Fever by Jean-Paul Goude and The Secret Teachings of All Ages by Manly Hall.

Arnold can be heard lending backing vocals on four of the tracks on Kendrick's ‘To Pimp A Butterfly’ and Sa-Ra’s feature on ‘Finale’ from Ty Dolla $ign’s 2015 album ‘FREE TC’. Chris Brown and Big Sean can regularly be seen rocking Arnold’s clothing brand TI$A, which also operates as a rare vintage boutique, offering studio space and a “platform for artists.”

Whether you aware of it or not, Arnold was instrumental in some of the West Coast's greatest modern rap records and you can rest assured Arnold is somewhere looking outrageously fly, making meaningful music and bestowing wisdom on a future classic record, yet to be unleashed on the world. He tells me he’s got a project in the works with a big jazz artist who can’t yet be named.

Like the eloquent black cultural icon that he is, Arnold ends our conversation with a jewel, remixing the classic Tesla quote: "The Past was theirs but the present is ours.” I think Kendrick and all my fellow Negus’ would concur. @tAzArnold shop.tisavision.tv

KICK IN THE DOOR: THE MAKING OF YO! MTV RAPS UNPLUGGED

If hip hop was edging its way into the living room of mainstream America by the early nineties, then Yo! MTV RAPS Unplugged kicked the door wide open. As Video DJ Mark Goodman had once explained to a stupefied David Bowie, the network was a “rock & roll station,” not set up with the intention of featuring a generation of trailblazing black artists. But when golden-age talents like De La Soul, MC Lyte, A Tribe Called Quest and LL Cool J graced MTV Unplugged in 1991 for its first ever acoustic rap show - a decade after radio stars had been declared dead on arrival - the response was like a sledgehammer blow to the station’s conventions.

illustration by mariah greenwood WORDS by dean van nGUYen

Y

ou know the format. First airing in 1989, Unplugged saw musicians ditch their electronic instruments and strip their arrangements down to the bare bones. Eric Clapton’s career got a re-up in 1992 when he took heavy guitar workout ‘Layla’ and flipped it into an rickety acoustic blues number. And one of the most lasting images of MTV’s heyday is the sight of Nirvana, surrounded by candles and flowers, strumming acoustic guitars. Their 1993 cover of Bowie’s ‘The Man Who Sold The World The World’ was like a full-on jack move.

But how could the format accommodate the beats, rhymes and life of early nineties rap music? Two turntables and a microphone were not an option —for rappers to take to the Unplugged stage, they’d have to reimagine their beats on instruments traditionally associated with folk, country and rock. For the suits at MTV, it was too much to comprehend.

But Moses Edinborough was a maverick. Then 26 years old, he had been recently promoted to a producer’s position on Yo! MTV Raps, and the St Thomas native was hungry, with the assurance of youth on his side. Yet the genesis of Yo! MTV Raps Unplugged came from something as simple as a wager, when Edinborough got into a dust-up with an executive from Epic Records who argued that no rapper could perform with a live band. “Rakim and Kool G Rap could,” asserted Edinborough, a statement that would go down in rap history.

“He laughed in my face,” Edinborough remembers almost 25 years later. “So I called him out. I said, ‘Let’s bet pay checks’. And that was it, he had to put up or shut up. But so did I. And at the time I was making about $1,100 a week and the A&R white guy [made] $3,600. It was a nice pay out for me.”

Edinborough turned in a treatment to Unplugged producer Joel Gallen and MTV bigwig Doug Herzog just a few days later.

And then he waited. He waited days, which turned into weeks and, eventually, months. For Moses, the silence coming from the station’s senior guys was deafening. “I would give Joel and Doug ‘the look’ in the halls and they would walk the other way.”

The proposal eventually received an official rejection. It was a soft backhand but a smack-down nonetheless, and work at the station went on. But a lifeline was to come six months later when Gallen burst into Edinborough’s office without warning. The look on his face was of

“MOSES DESCRIBES THE VIBE AT THE STUDIO INSTRUMENT RENTALS’ REHEARSAL SPACE AS “EARLY AFRO-PUNK HIPHOP,” AS THE MCS JAMMED WITH FUNKY FIVE-PIECE POP’S COOL LOVE, AN LA BAND DRAFTED IN TO PROVIDE THE GROOVES.”

pure exasperation. As fate would have it, Aerosmith, who had brought rap to so many new ears with their Run-D.M.C. collaboration ‘Walk This Way’, were unwittingly about to solidify their place in hip hop history. “Aerosmith backed out of doing Unplugged,” said Joel. “We have all this money spent on a stage, we built a set, hired a crew and in four days we’re fucked if we can’t fill the space! And unless you can make your Rapper Unplugged thing happen, we’re going to lose lots of money!”

M

oses’s dream project was on. But Gallen was about to drop a bombshell. “Can you make it happen by Monday?” he asked.

The weekend was already upon them. Edinborough knew the rap community was pretty excited about doing anything at MTV, but four days? “The fuckers,” he thought.

With no time to strategize, Edinborough went straight to work with Sheri Howell from MTV’s talent relations department and together the pair sketched out their artist wish list. Yo! producer Todd 1 suggested Brookylnite MC Lyte, and the crew figured the sampleheavy style of De La Soul and A Tribe Called Quest would easily translate into a live music format and give the New York-filmed show an authentic NYC vibe. But they still wanted someone with star quality to anchor the whole thing. “The lineup was coming together but I knew we didn’t have a star act,” says Moses. “This is how I phrased it: ‘We need the Elvis or Michael [Jackson] of Rap’.”

The crew were surprised that Rakim was unavailable, and MTV didn’t want anyone too “gangster,” meaning Kool G Rap was out.

There was also worries from upstairs that KRS-One, Chuck D or Kool Moe D didn’t have enough star power and The Fresh Prince wasn’t ready for Unplugged either.

But Moses and Sheri were about to get lucky. At the very same time they were sweating on their headline attraction at the MTV offices on Times Square, LL Cool J was making an on-air appearance with host Downtown Julie Brown. When the duo found out, they hopped a cab and raced to Unitel Studios on West 57 Street to meet the rising King of Queens, Todd Smith.

“WE DIDN’T JUST BOOK A ROCK BAND, WE BOOKED A

“SOME OF THE ARTISTS WANTED THE SONGS EXACTLY LIKE THE TRACKS. SOME WERE OK WITH A LITTLE BIT OF FLUCTUATION OR FLOURISH. AND THEN THERE WAS LL WHO CAME ALONG LIKE A KID IN A CANDY STORE WITH LIVE

BAND WHO REALLY

INSTRUMENTATION AND JUST ALTERED EVERYTHING.”

UNDERSTOOD HIP HOP,”

E

dinborough laid out his daring treatment, but the response was a firm, “No.” Twice more he repeated his request and received the same response before Uncle L promptly made his way out the door, escaping onto the busy Midtown streets. In desperation, Moses turned his attention to the rapper’s road manager. “This is historic and prestigious, what we are asking LL to do,” he pleaded.

The manager went after his client and moments later, Mr Smith was back in front of the desperate MTV executives. Sitting in a backstage green room, a nervous and anxious Edinborough talked through the idea and finally received the ‘yes’ he needed. But LL had a caveat. He didn’t want to do Moses’ proposed battle rap segment, which would have seen MCs taking each other on in the New York tradition of tossing lyrical barbs back and forth for sidewalk — or in this case, studio — supremacy. Moses remembers, “At the time I was like, ‘Shit that’s the best part of my idea’. He was right and his decision was important. And it changed my treatment for the better.”

T

he next couple of days saw Lyte, Tribe and De La working out their sets. Moses describes the vibe at the Studio Instrument Rentals’ rehearsal space as “early afro-punk hip-hop,” as the MCs jammed with funky five-piece Pop’s Cool Love, an LA band drafted in to provide the grooves.

“We didn’t just book a rock band, we booked a band who really understood hip hop,” says Sheri Howell. “Some of the artists wanted the songs exactly like the tracks. Some of them were OK with a little bit of fluctuation or flourish that was not the track. And then there was LL who came along like a kid in a candy store with live instrumentation and just altered everything.”

LL Cool J has been distant during practice. He prowled the rehearsal space, just watching his co-stars prepare until they’d worked out how their hits could translate into the Unplugged format. Drunk on the music in the air, finally he walked up to the band, “I’m not doing any of the stuff they did,” he proclaimed. “I want it to go like this.”

“Man, I get goosebumps right now thinking of him with the band,” says Moses. “I remember how he made the band slow down ‘Jingling Baby’ and then build to a sizzling piano riff explosion on ‘Mama Said Knock You Out’. I watched LL arrange and orchestrate his set like a genius artist possessed to find perfection. And in watching him work, I knew what we were about to do would be magic.”

A

s hectic as preparations had been, the shoot at Chelsea Studios — recorded on the same day as the R.E.M. edition of the show — went as smoothly as the opening bass guitar plucks of Tribe’s ‘Can I Kick It’. Pop’s Cool Love’ acoustic licks were funky, the piano tinkled beautifully and the drums thumped hard. Lyte spit ferociously on her anti-drug, narrative-heavy single ‘Cappucino’ while De La Soul kept heads bobbin’ with ‘Ring Ring Ring (Ha Ha Hey)’. MTV’s reservations

that hip hop would work on Unplugged were quickly banished as each song sounded just as good on live instruments as the beat machine and samplers that birthed them.

“The music started and the studio audience lost its mind hell, I did too,” says Moses. “The people were rocking. Guys whipped off their shirts in the middle of the set. Women were swinging their hair, shaking their ass and rocking hard. I couldn’t stay in the control room, I had to be on the set. So I stood behind the camera crane as it swung capturing the hip hop acts do what that record executive said wasn’t possible. I watched as an idea I had in my head shook up the world.”

The show’s centrepiece, though, was LL Cool J’s set. The only artist who performed two songs on the aired 30-minute special, Uncle L worked the stage like he’d been fronting a band for years. The sexy slither of ‘Jingling Baby’ sounded fully realised as a smooth jazz jam, but the crescendo was ‘Mama Said Knock You Out’. The crowd went wild for the energetic, freewheeling re-imagination of the track, which smartly worked in the piano lick from Otis Redding’s ‘Hard To Handle’.

LL, spitting sweaty and shirtless, looked every bit a nineties superstar.

“It was really an electrifying moment for the audience, for the crew and for all the people working on it and the channel,” says Howell. “[MTV] ran it for years, because it was just a really unique and original and awesome rendition of that song.”

O

verwhelmed with emotion as filming ended, Moses made his way back to his office. The hallways of MTV were already buzzing. “I entered my office and on my desk was a note from the president of the channel, Judy McGrath,” Edinborough recalls. “She wrote, ‘I heard it was the best Unplugged ever! Congratulations, Judy’. I still have that note in a frame on a wall.”

Repeats of LL’s performance played on MTV for years. On the rapper’s next tour, he took a full band with him. Later, Jay Z and Lauryn Hill would both appear on their own episodes of Unplugged the recordings reside in a unique corner of both artist’s discography.

F

our years after the show aired, Yo! MTV Raps was taken off the air. It was a sign of the channel’s dedication to making hip hop a cornerstone of their schedule. The bling-bling era was upon them; rap’s place as a pillar of global entertainment was undeniable. The cultural crossover that almost didn’t happen in 1991 was another step in bringing hip hop to a worldwide stage. Still, its architect Moses Edinborough stays humble.

“The rap Unplugged happened because Aerosmith said no, MTV said yes and hip hop was ready to take on the world,” he says. “It had very little to do with me. I was just a lucky bastard from the small island of St Thomas who won a bet because I was able to read the tea leaves and I got a front row seat at a milestone moment in hip hop.”

DA$H PHOTOS BY JIMMY CORTEZ WORDS BY YEMI ABIADE

Hailing from Hackensack, New Jersey, Da$h has played his own part in putting his city on the map, releasing stellar projects and making a number of wellknown friends along the way. This MC’s CV boasts impressive collaborations with Mac Miller, Earl Sweatshirt, A$AP Mob, Action Bronson, Vince Staples and Ab-Soul, among others.

Since slaying ‘Grown Ups’, on Earl Sweatshirt’s 2015 album ‘I Don’t Like Shit, I Don’t Go Outside’, Da$h’s name is quickly gaining further notoriety. Stripped down, his music represents a quest of self discovery in the midst of his hazy, drug-fuelled life. His last few releases - from 2013’s ‘V.I.C.E.S’ to last year’s ’17 More Minutes’ - showcase the 23 year old’s keen ear for atmospherically eerie, boom-bap production and evolving lyrical prowess. The conflict of chasing money and drugs provides an endearing side to his music, but don’t get it twisted, he couldn’t care less about what you think of him.

Viper recently caught up with Da$h in London after performing another sell-out show in the UK’s capital, to discuss the past year, crazy tour stories and trolling his friends…

Welcome back to the UK! This is your third time here, are you a fan?

I really love the UK, I’m even thinking of moving from America and getting my own place here…. I’m just joking. I need a million dollars first before I come over here.

You had a busy 2015, with the release of the ‘Screwface’ EP, followed by your album ‘17 More Minutes’. What, for you, has been the highlight of your career over the past year?

It’s really between releasing ‘Screwface’ and ‘17 More Minutes’. I hadn’t released a body of work for about two years so to drop those two backto-back and kind of give the fans what they were looking for, then going on the road directly after, that was really something that I needed to do. It was really a fresh start for me…. or more of a revamp.

You’ve released a visual from the album already, for ‘Hello’. Have you got plans to release more videos?

Yeah, we’re waiting to do ‘Runnin’ Round’, and we’re shooting

something for ‘Live Nigga Rap’ and ‘RedruM’. There’s a few joints coming but it’s just about timing right now. I feel like if we dropped the visuals along with the audio content and the other shit all at the right time, then all the blogs will take notice and it will all catch wind and blend together. I don’t want to just drop something randomly without it being cohesive.

You’ve had several projects this year, but also H’z Global as a whole have had a lot of projects, with RetcH and $ha Hef releasing as well.

You collaborate with them regularly and you’re good friends with them as well. What are your favourite things about them as artists?

They can really rap, better than most of the people who act like they can. They’re really my friends, I grew up with $ha and I’ve known RetcH since we were 10 years old, it helps because whenever we make music together we all naturally gel. It’s not like we have to ask each other what beat to rap over or what type of song we want to make; it’s more, ‘Oh I hear this’. It’s just easier to work with people who you have a natural chemistry with and those are two people I have the most chemistry with.

Do you guys ever have disagreements or issues over beats or anything?

Most definitely. I can’t even remember the amount of times we’ve argued over a beat we got sent. Everyone constantly saying that they did it first. But, you know, the next day will come and it’s forgotten. Or we’ll just throw a verse on a beat to piss the other one off.

Would you guys ever do an album as a collective?

Hopefully, we’ve been thinking about it and talking about it for a while, but we’re all just at completely different stages in our careers. When the time is right, you’ll see it.

“I‘VE ALWAYS HAD A DEEP APPRECIATION FOR LONDON AND ITS WHOLE SCENE AND EVEN THE RAP SCENE OUT HERE. I WISH I HAD MORE CRAZY TITCH, WILEY AND EVERYTHING IN BETWEEN.”

Okay. Well what about a tour? Or do you think that would end up getting too crazy?

I can’t wait for that! I really can’t, but they don’t trust us enough yet. If they give us a big enough budget and think of us less like liabilities, me, RetcH and $ha Hef are going on that tour.

You’ve been busy on tour this year with Maxo Kream, who you recently released the single ‘Fetti’ with. Did you guys perform that a lot on tour?

I closed every one of my shows with that song during the tour. It’s just one of those songs that sends people’s energy levels up and where nothing else matters, they all get lost in it.

Even when we were making the song we didn’t predict the reception to be like that. We just made it because it sounded cool and catchy and we liked each other’s verses. When we put it out, we weren’t thinking about whose single it was. We just put it out in the streets to see what it would do, and it’s got three million views worldwide! It’s really taking off, but the way it makes people feel is more important to me.

What was the tour like overall? Were there any crazy moments?

There were a few crazy moments but I would say, for my first headlining tour, everybody went home, nobody went to jail, no one got hurt, all the kids went home happy. Everything went smooth, even though it was kind of

rough – we slept in fucking roach motels but we got it done. It was a 16 passenger van with 18 of us. It was rough times but it was worth it, I wouldn’t change anything.

So you’ve done the US tour and you’ve been to London and you’ve performed in New Jersey, New York and LA a lot. Which city is your favourite to perform in?

London right now. I actually can’t believe the love I got the other night, I really can’t. The fact that I came on stage and there were kids acting the way they did – like they’ve been waiting for me for years – I couldn’t believe it.

Especially being a kid from Jersey. I’ve always had a deep appreciation for London and its whole scene and even the rap scene out here.

I wish I had more Crazy Titch, Wiley and everything in between. I promise you when I dropped ‘I Luv U’ by Dizzee Rascal, you would have thought it was the first night the shit came out the way kids were reacting.

Most of the artists you’ve worked with so far in your career seem to be in a really good place and quite successful music wise.

We all found ourselves musically. We’ve all found our lane and we’ve all found the sound we want and know what we want to do with it. Some of us have grown apart and some of us have grown closer, but there’s no malice; it’s just everybody wanting to go their different way. I’m happy for all my friends that I started with. A lot of us were sleeping on couches and

floors in studios together trying to make it and now we’re travelling all over the world. So I’m happy for everybody, we’ve done what we were supposed to do and it’s all due to [A$AP] Yams, God rest his soul. Had it not been for him, a lot of this generation of music and many rappers who kids call their favourite wouldn’t be anything.

That’s very true. It’s nice because if you look at the features on your album, you have Marz Lovejoy who you’ve known for years but you also have Aston Matthews and $ha Hef who are your family.

Exactly, and I don’t like working on music without knowing the person that I’m working with. I don’t usually do music without shaking a person’s hand first, looking at them in the eye and spending time with them. Because I feel like when I share my music, I’m also sharing a piece of myself. So when you’re sharing a piece of yourself with another man who isn’t who he says he is or is trying to conform to whatever hip hop wants him to be - that’s not something that’s going to interest me. It’s not something that I feel, so I can’t do it.

You can tell when it’s not genuine as well.

Every time. It’s so easy to tell when something is forced.

So on the tour with Maxo, were there any wild tour stories?

There were a couple, I can’t lie. We had to

teach a few kids a lesson, but at the same time all our shows were pretty peaceful and I would say all the kids had a good time. We showed love to the fans and took pictures with everybody after the show, signed everything.

It was all of our first times around the country and the fans had previously never been able to see us face to face. So for them to get to meet us, give us handshakes and get Snapchat pictures and shit; it was all for them. It wasn’t the greatest tour – we didn’t make racks or millions off of it - but it was for the kids who helped to get us to that stage. There were a few wild [stories] but I’d say there were way more good ones than anything else.

So it could have been a lot worse.

Yes, you would think that three renowned gang members in America like me, Aston Matthews and Maxo Kream would be a fucking turnout and a lot of the shows would be cancelled, but they didn’t. We kept it organised and positive for the kids and it fucking worked very well.

Have you got plans to make more music with Maxo?

We have a few songs already in the cut, but we’re both working on our projects. So probably the next time I go to Houston or the next time he goes to New York we’ll probably

work on something.

Aston is already featured on your project, and I’d probably say ‘Shark Tank’ is one of the standout tracks on the whole album.

Are you planning to do a video with him and $ha Hef? We tried to do it in LA, but when I get to New York, Aston will be there so we’re going to get back to that.

Out of all the tracks you’ve been featured in, which is your favourite track that you’ve done for someone else?

I can’t lie, ‘Grown Ups’ with Earl [Sweatshirt] was probably one of the funnest songs to date. We did that song three times over three different beats so by the time it came together for the last version I was very happy. Shout out to Thebe and his weirdo ass.

What music stood out to you in 2015?

I loved Jay Rock’s ‘90059’ and I can’t lie, ‘To Pimp a Butterfly’ was great, J. Cole’s album was great. There was just a lot of dope shit that came out but as a project from start to finish, I really really really really liked Jay Rock’s. That was the shit to me and from start to finish, I felt like it was him; at no point did he try to conform or try to follow the times. He just reinvented himself for now, because that’s

a man I always felt could rap his ass off but never got his just due.

So what have you got planned for 2016?

We’re looking to go on the road, I got a couple more projects in the mix. We got a second ‘Skrewface’ coming out called ‘Loose Skrew’ and that will be the first project to drop. Other than that, I’m working on my album, and we’re trying to channel all of our energy into that. No more baby steps, you know? We need to be like a motherfucking strike of lightning or a thunderbolt, not like a fucking rainstorm.

A lot of people think quantity over quality will get them to where they need to be but I feel like if you release an incredible album every two or three years, it’s better than releasing 10 mixtapes every two months.

We look forward to hearing your music in 2016.

Thank you very much, and you guys will be the first to get it. I would love to hear my shit get played in London; it makes me excited every time I’m here.

@HeirDash soundcloud.com/heirdash

“I CAN’T EVEN REMEMBER THE AMOUNT OF TIMES WE’VE ARGUED OVER A BEAT WE GOT SENT. EVERYONE CONSTANTLY SAYING THAT THEY DID IT FIRST. BUT, YOU KNOW, THE NEXT DAY WILL COME AND IT’S FORGOTTEN”

SKID ROW PHOTOS BY HYPEMARI WORDS BY PETRA HUNT In the heart of downtown LA, between the buzz of the arts district and the wealth of one of the world’s richest financial sectors, sits a place called Skid Row. A stretch of about one square mile, this literal dumping ground is home to a staggering 10% of LA’s homeless population – a shanty town for the poor and marginalised concentrated into just four blocks. California is one of the wealthiest states in America Arnold Schwarzenegger was governor for goodness sake. Yet only this year, California’s government declared a state of emergency because of its increasing problems with homelessness. Forget

The Hills, forget the glam of Hollywood Boulevard, this is actual rock-bottom. In the words of Dizzee Rascal, “Bitch, you’re not ready for Skid Row.” I met with London born photographer Kumari to talk about his trip to Los Angeles and the silenced world of Skid Row’s homeless. “People [outside America] don’t really know about Skid Row. People just see the Hollywood walk, the Hills – you know? All the rappers live in Calabasas and it all looks hunky dory.

But I think everyone in America knows that if you’re on Skid Row, you’ve really hit rock bottom.”

He speaks of the weirdness he felt in seeing a literal poverty line formed. “Like you almost see the change in people: the suits, men with their briefcases when five minutes ago you were seeing a crackhead or a crack baby on the street.” Despite this division, the reality of this area is inescapable. “It can happen to anybody, so why should it be ignored? I met a guy on Skid Row, he had won the lottery and was living in the Hills and then he lost everything. Anybody can end up in that place. Homelessness is like cancer, no one ever understands what it can do and how it can impact you, your family and friends, until it actually happens to you.”

“I MET A GUY ON SKID ROW, WAS LIVING IN THE HILLS ANYBODY CAN END

HE HAD WON THE LOTTERY AND AND THEN HE LOST EVERYTHING. UP IN THAT PLACE.”

G HERBO

CHICAGO’S NEW KING Disclaimer: G HerbO doesn’t fit the themE of this issue at all. He made the cut because Viper’s editor is a super fan. But just in case you haven’t jumped on the Chicago rapper’s wave yet, here’s her pitch for why he’s the next rapper to change the game.

PHOTOS BY BRYAN ALLEN LAMB WORDS BY LILY MERCER

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t’s true, I’m a G Herbo Stan.

But I’m not alone. The Chi Town native has been consistent year after year, bringing him equal to peers like Chief Keef and Lil Durk who exploded onto the scene in the early 2010’s. We connect on FaceTime for an interview while he’s deep into his ‘Ballin Like I’m Kobe’ tour. Once the call connects, he expresses shock at my international phone number, telling a member of his entourage in the background, “She has 12 fucking digits.”

In between hype club tunes, G Herbo’s songs detail the sadness and pressure that comes with growing up in Chicago. An effortless storyteller, G Herbo’s way with words belies his twenty years on the planet. Listening to him, you question how someone so young has gone through so much without losing his sanity, yet you understand the voice behind the stories is significantly older than his years. Speaking on his hometown, he says, “Certain situations are important. You might be in a situation where your life or freedom is on the line, that’s really just growing up in Chicago.

Despite being part of Chicago’s drill scene G Herbo’s songs have incredibly conscious lyrics. He slides fast paced bars over a heavy baseline to subliminally sling wisdom to listeners drawn to the energy, neglecting to notice the knowledge shining through his words. Like many great Midwestern rappers that have come before him, G Herbo has a tendency to slip into a doubletime speed when rapping. He enjoys changing flow mid-song, or even mid-verse, just to keep listeners guessing. “I might turn the fans up, then go slow for a

whole verse then switch it up, they be like, ‘Damn’. Or I might go slow for the first verse then go fast for the next eight bars or the next four bars to tease ‘em.”

G Herbo started rapping at a young age, “I was probably 10 writing my own shit,” thanks to his uncle who was already a part of Chicago’s music scene. This led to an early influence on the style he still raps with today, “My uncle K Tone who passed away, that’s how I fell in love with music. He had a relationship with Twista and Do Or Die so I would look up to [them] so that’s why I rap [double-time].” He details impromptu studio sessions in his early teenage years, “My uncle had a MOTIF and it would be me, him, his sons and my other cousin and we’d be fucking around. We was young, like 13, making beats on the MOTIF, just rapping, making shit.”

Later, his friendship with fellow Chicago rapper, Lil Bibby, saw him experiment further with the double-time flow, although he reveals an interesting reason why. “When I first started rapping I was double-time ‘cause I never knew how to make hooks, Bibby was always the person that would make the hooks and I would just rap for two or three minutes so I would like to change my flow up. I don’t even try to do it, sometimes when I listen to a beat, that’s just how it come out, the style just depends on how I’m feeling.”

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Herbo has a great ear for soulful beats, with many of the tracks on his mixtapes full of high-emotion samples. Speaking on this he says, “That’s why I don’t label my music as drill

music ‘cause it’s soulful and I like to rap about the shit I’ve seen in my life. When I hear those beats with the struggle and pain on it it reminds me of what I’ve really been through, so I don’t have to think of too many punchlines ‘cause I’m really writing about my life and making it rhyme.

I’m really writing about my life so I don’t have to think too hard.

It compliments me, the soulful shit. When I hear it, I can relate to it. I get the soulful shit in my body and it comes to me, I instantly know what I’m about to start rapping about. As soon as I hear it, I know what the song’s gon’ be about.”

A great example of this is the stunning ‘100 Days 100’ on ‘Ballin Like I’m Kobe’, a song that he admits is one of his favourites on the project. He continues, “a lot of shit on my tape will put chills through my body ‘cause it’s really me telling the truth about my life and how I’ve grown since I first began rapping.”

His approach to documenting life in Terror Town, Chicago, is reminiscent of Nas’ writing style on ‘Illmatic’ but there’s another iconic NYC rapper that G Herbo is even more reminiscent of; DMX. Their husky tones are similar, but it’s the way the pair display their emotions with no shame that connects them.

‘100 Days 100 Nights’ sees him speaks directly to his best friend Kobe, who G Herbo was with hours before he was shot and killed, “Say Kobe, without you in these streets feel like I’m lost, my nigga / Shed so many tears, make me feel weak, but nah, I ain’t soft my nigga.” The emotion shared on G Herbo’s tracks is what stands out. Regardless of whether you can relate to the situations he’s survived, it speaks

“We’re working right now on a collab album” G HERBO ON LIL BIBBY G

“That’s how I know I love music,

I can feel it going through my body” to you. It seems like what hip hop has been lacking since the days DMX was baring his soul on wax.

Even before ‘Ballin Like I’m Kobe’, I saw similarities between him and DMX, so I ask if it’s something G Herbo gets a lot. He smiles, expressing gratitude that anyone would compare him to one of the greatest MCs, “If someone was to compare me to DMX then I’d take that as a big compliment because DMX was a real hard lyricist who changed the game.” We discuss the Yonkers legend’s role in changing the landscape of rap and how he made it more acceptable for men in rap to express their emotions, “Exactly, and being yourself, he wasn’t afraid to be himself.”

Neither is G Herbo. On ‘Mamma I’m Sorry’ on ‘Welcome To Fazoland’, he details coming home to his mother one night after his friend’s been killed, “I remember, comin’ in / Middle of the

night, my eyes red / You asked me why and I ain’t wanna tell you / Cause my guy’s dead.” That lyric alone is heartbreaking, but it’s one of many as he recounts many tales of losing friends throughout childhood. It’s refreshing to hear a rapper speak honestly on the pain and emotion that comes with the violent life many artists would rather glorify. I ask if G Herbo’s ever seen music as a form of therapy and he agrees it can be, “Really my music is a form of therapy ‘cause people come to me all the time like, ‘I relate to your shit, your shit gets me by’. I do this shit for people who [are] in the struggle and who [have] been though what I’ve been through.

It’s motivational music, I’m really just talking about my life and it really just lets people know and paints a picture that anything is possible. I didn’t start rapping to become a big superstar, I was just having fun.”

Herbo remains very emotionally connected to his music and reports on the negative experiences in his East Side Chicago community with intelligence. He never glorifies the violence in his community, likewise he never preaches as if he wasn’t out in the streets too. What’s impressive is how he can share his personal experiences with his peers and even those older than him without ever judging or criticising. “Everything I’ve been through made me who I am so I’m not afraid of life changes, because everything I’ve been through made me stronger and I always learn from my mistakes. I know that you go through things in your life that’s gon’ make you, that’s why I move the way I move and speak on the stuff that I speak on in my music.” Part of his ability to speak to people of all ages comes from the life he’s lived and the experiences usually reserved for a man much older than 20. “I know I’ve lived the life of a grown man and that’s why I tell the stories I tell. When you talk to [someone] who’s 30 and you tell them you’re 20, they think you have the mind of a 20 year old but I don’t. I’ve been through things already that 30 year olds go through and I live my life and act mature really by force, not even a choice. I really had to mature on my own.”

Despite the glamour and glory of Chicago, much of the media’s attention on the city in recent years relates to the high rates of violence that eventually led to the nickname, “Chiraq.” As G Herbo explains “In Chicago and being from the streets, the youth only wanna be three things, a drug dealer, a rapper or a basketball player. Even growing up, my father always told me, you’re going to college. He always drilled that into me and I wanted to play basketball so I never had a problem with going to college. But when my basketball dreams didn’t really work out, I never wanted to get a job, a nine to five or work for anybody. I don’t know if it was me seeing what was going on around me or if it was never in me to go and work a job or nothing like that. I feel like where you come from, the people look at those things to help them get out, they don’t really look at the honest route.”

G Herbo grew up on 79th and Essex, an area he calls Roc Block, in the East Side Chicago community that even the police call “Terror Town.” I point out that is doesn’t sound like a place with many local prospects for someone growing up there. G Herbo agrees, “it’s a place like if you ain’t from there, you shouldn’t really come there. That whole Terror Town thing that’s way before my time, we didn’t name it that. I’m only 20 and that shit been Terror Town for 30, 40 years probably. We’ve seen a lot growing up over there and we’ve been through a lot. We had to learn to survive and adapt to our environment growing up. You gotta be smart if you gon’ be in the streets, it’s not what you do but how you do it.

In the streets there’s only one or two maybe three outcomes; you make it out, you go to jail or you end up being killed. So you gotta make those right decisions cus you gotta know what you getting yourself into. Even at a young age, I knew what I was getting myself into. I knew the game I was playing was not a kid game, it was a grown man game. I could lose my life so I just had to be smart and make the right decisions. I wouldn’t say I know everything, but I know the ins and outs of the streets and what’s going on. I wouldn’t encourage anybody to be in the streets or go through what I went through. But if you going to go through that, just do it right. That’s the message I try [to] deliver.”

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ith the mature music he’s delivering, it made sense for G Herbo to drop the Lil’ Herb title he’s been known by since starting his career around 2010. In Autumn 2015, shortly before the release of ‘Ballin Like I’m Kobe’, he changed his name to G Herbo.

He explains the change, stating, “My homies gave me the name, just the way we move, like leaders, young generals so that’s what the G stands for and a lot of other stuff. But really it’s just a matter of me growing up and maturing and not wanting to run with the Lil no more because I am a grown man.” Everything he releases is slicker now, with a string of music videos from ‘Ballin’ Like I’m Kobe’ looking real cinematic. It’s a far cry from his early videos for ‘Kill Shit’ and ‘Gangway’ that were shot on his block. He explains, “As far as my visuals, everything’s been coming along good, I haven’t been shooting the same [style of] videos, everything that I been doing been with treatments like movies, that next level shit so my fans will be able to really tell the difference.” The difference is already evident with the opening scene to ‘Don’t Worry’ featuring Lil Bibby boasting a panorama shot of an expensive looking Miami waterfront.

G Herbo and Lil Bibby share countless collaborations, with ‘Don’t Worry’ being one of the most notable. On the song G Herbo spits, “I got it from the mud / Lil Bibby that’s my blood.”

Despite being unrelated, at this point, they definitely see each other as family members. “That’s my brother, like the first crib that my mother let me spend the night at that wasn’t a family member’s was his. That’s my man, we been knowing each other since young, we was probably like 13. I know his mom, he knows my mom, I can be at his house if he’s not there. That’s just the type of relationship we got.”

He credits Bibby as the friend that led him to becoming a rapper, “Bibby started rapping first. I knew how to rhyme all my life almost, so I never took it serious. I was playing basketball, I never cared about rap. When Bibby started to do it, I was like, ‘Alright I can do this shit too’. I started rapping, just fucking around with my homie and it took off from there, I wasn’t really rapping to make a career out of it. We’re not really caught into the hype and the fame ‘cause we’re really doing it to better ourselves and people around us, we not doing it for attention.”

In addition to a strong friendship, the pair clearly work well together. G Herbo explains their collaborative process, revealing there aren’t many unreleased tracks of theirs in the world.

“We don’t have to choose between five, six songs - we can get in the studio and do one song and it’s gon’ come out the right way. Then we just put it out, we don’t really choose from a bunch of songs.

Every song that we ever did, was just that one song, we fucked with it, threw it out. That’s why our bond’s so special.” G Herbo also admits that their fans will finally be getting what they’ve been waiting for, a full length project from the duo. “We’re working right now on a collab album, not even a mixtape ‘cause I know it’s gonna be big and we might as well have it for sale. So we’re working on an album for 2016. That’s my brother so the matter of working together, it’s nothing, we can just lock in in the crib in Atlanta or LA and knock out 30 songs and we got two albums, you feel me?”

G Herbo also mentions he has a solo album on the way, but considering that his mixtapes are album quality, I ask him what fans can expect. He promises to deliver more, “I’m gonna give ‘em a bigger story as far as my old life, my life right now, what I’m doing

and just different collabs and different sounds. I’m a big music head so I listen to Mariah Carey’s and Mary J. Blige’s [albums], I wanna give them that different sound and give my fans what I know they might expect from me. I don’t know if I might stay true to my core or switch up the commercialness but I know my album’s gonna be crazy.”

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aving been in the industry for a few years now, he recognises the importance of planning a roll out for maximum impact and it’s evident he’s aligning himself within the rapper/businessmen lane. “I always think about the long-term goal so I didn’t wanna just drop my tape without no promotional videos or a tour behind it. The way I have been moving previously has been cool because I have a fan base and my core fans gon’ always stay true to me but I could have been doing an awful lot more than I’ve been doing. So it’s about my team being on the same page and executing things right so I can take my team to the next level.”

When speaking to G Herbo, it becomes clear that he’s a deeply loving, family-focused man. Even his frequently repeated, NLMB slogan displays this; an abbreviation of “Never Leave My Brothers’. He grew up in a big family, with his parents, grandmother and cousins living in one apartment. This tight-knit family dynamic has clearly influenced him to this day and his desire to make sure they’re taken care of is what drives him to succeed in his career long-term. “A lot of the shit I do now is for my mother. I got my

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or new fans of G Herbo, there’s an entire back catalogue of music to discover but he admits that he doesn’t listen back to his old material much, “I’m on to the next one, that’s what type of artist I am.” He displays a great deal of range in his music, swerving through drill and soul releases, collaborations with Nicki Minaj, Common, Joey Bada$$ and Chance the Rapper but also Lil Bibby, Lil Durk and King Louie, without ever compromising his sound.

“I do those type of things just to show my fanbase that I’m wellrounded and I can do that type of shit. I can work with Chance and work with Common, I can get on a song with Nicki Minaj or get on a song with Bibby. I have common sense so I can rap about shit that doesn’t really pertain to the streets, I have a lot of shit that going on on a day to day that’s serious and soulful but it does’t have nothing to do with being violent.” What’s really impressive about the Nicki Minaj collaboration is that she approached him for the song. The result was Chiraq. “That’s why I fuck with Nicki so hard, she said she reached out ‘cause the beat that Boi-1da produced and the flow she was using reminded her of me, so she ain’t wanna do that. She ain’t know how I’d feel about it but I’m the kinda artist that don’t feed into that shit, even if she did that and used my flow on it and not threw me on it, I wouldn’t have been mad by that or offended.

I don’t let shit going on around me make or break me. I’m glad I think like that ‘cause a lot of people don’t have that mind set that’s why they build bad relationships. I show everybody love and I’m not focused on who’s fucking with my shit, who genuine, who fake

“that’s why I don’t label my music as drill music, ‘cause it’s soulful” grandmother depending on me and my aunts, uncles and cousins, everybody. My whole family depend on me and I’m only 20.”

His father’s wisdom, which he admits to being reluctant to hear at first, eventually became some of the most significant lessons he was taught, “I give credit to my father because he always told me be a leader and be myself. I never really knew why he drilled that into my head so much, like, ‘Why do you always tell me be a leader and be myself?’ I was always the kid that was ahead anyway, even before I jumped in the streets, I was ahead of my time ‘cause I had older [siblings] and cousins that I hung around. So growing up, my dad always told me be a leader ‘cause he knew I could fall under the wave of what’s going on ‘cause I saw so much and I was around so much. I never really understood why he told me that ‘cause I’m like, ‘shit everybody else is doing it’. Thinking about the long term goal, you should really be focused on the things that can be here today and gone tomorrow. That’s why my dad really drilled that in my head as a child and I never really understood it but it got me a long, long way.” His father also passed down his moniker, Herbert, a nostalgic name usually reserved for a man that’s lived at least five decades. I can’t help but wonder if this traditonal name has played a part in G Herbo’s wise, old head role in rap. Herb laughs as he replies, “Right! I’m [Herbert] the third, named after my father and grandfather - that’s an old man’s name. I wouldn’t even curse my son and name him Herbert. If I have a son, I’m sorry but I gotta break the chain.”

‘cause it don’t benefit me at all. I’m focused, I’m super focused.”

G Herbo is super focused, but still enjoying the perks that come with a successful rap career, as he briefly interrupts our interview to select something off the room service menu. “With lobster on the top of it, [to me] sorry I was ordering some food.”

Then quickly says to someone in the background, “Pay for it off my card too.” Before we wind up the interview, I ask about the statement he makes on many songs; what happens if someone steps on your all white G Fazo’s? His response shows his funny side, “That brings me back to the club the other night, we were at Red Diamond. I wanna show you my shoes ‘cause I did get into a minor scuffle, but not really [Herb goes off camera to get his shoes]. You know this made me mad, there was a thousand people inside of Red Diamond - that’s a strip club that Future was at. I actually pushed someone, like shoved them by the neck. Look at my shoes, you can tell they was brand new besides the dirt scuffles on them, but when people step on my shoes, I actually do get mad, I won’t take offence, like if me and you was talking and you step on my shoes, it’s just a pair of shoes, I’m not tripping. But if it’s a group of guys rushing to the stage to see another guy and y’all not even paying attention, and stepping on my toes, I got shot in the foot so I’ll push you.”

You heard the man, don’t step on his all white G Fazo’s. @gherbo soundcloud.com/gherbo

NOVELIST HAILING FROM BROCKLEY, SOUTH LONDON, NOVELIST IS ONLY 19 YEARS OLD, AFTER ENTERING INTO HIS LAST YEAR AS A TEENAGER IN EARLY FEBRUARY. HE MAY JUST BE SCRAPING INTO ADULTHOOD, BUT HE’S ALREADY ONE OF THE HOTTEST GRIME MCS IN LONDON TOWN. PHOTOS BY VICKY GROUT WORDS BY LILY MERCER

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ovelist pulls up to our shoot on his moped shouting, having just got into a minor crash en route. He’s quick to show off the impressive set of rings he’s wearing which he bought that morning, including a white gold tiger ring with diamond eyes.

Novelist is a star in the making, and an instantly recognisable face these days. He’s used to being recognised, in fact the second time I met him in early 2015, I spotted him in McDonalds on Oxford Street. After I called his name, he greeted me warmly though he didn’t seem to remember me, and it was only after I said, “You were on my radio show last week” that recognition set in and I realised he’d initially taken me for a fan. Even in his ends in 2016, passing cars beep their horns, his peers standing at bus stops look on in awe and reach out to spud him, unable to resist showing love to their local superstar.

Considering how much he’s achieved at such a young age, Novelist is sure to be one of the biggest musicians in the UK by the time he reaches 25. He’s modest

when I make this observation, saying, “People praise me but I ain’t done shit yet. I’m here to stay so yes, I am a problem for anyone who don’t like what I’m doing. A big problem.”

When asked where he hopes to be at the age of 30, his answer is admirable, “When I’m 30, happiness is what I want to have achieved, total happiness. This will mean my life is stress free in every way you can think of.”

Novelist has no plans to put out a project yet, preferring an untraditional release format. He tends to throw a SoundCloud link to his 20-something thousand followers every couple of months. The result is a steady, hungry fanbase eager to hear his self-produced tracks, which soon rack up close to 50K plays. “The music I’ve made in the UK is minimal, in the sense that there aren’t many songs of mine out there. People will see that I don’t just do grime, I produce my own sound. I’m a grime MC at base, but when it comes to creating songs, I’m just Novelist.

Over time, people will see that my music hits you in that way too.”

“I STARTED TO MC AND PRODUCE WHEN I WAS AROUND SIX YEARS OLD. I HEARD THE OLDER GENERATION WHEN THEY STARTED DOING THEIR THING AND IT INSPIRED ME TO MAKE THE SAME MUSIC”

“IT’S VERY IMPORTANT THAT I HAVE 99.9% CREATIVE CONTROL OVER THE WAY PEOPLE PERCEIVE ME AND WHAT I’M DOING THROUGH MUSIC. I WANT PEOPLE TO KNOW WHO I REALLY AM WITHOUT SOMEONE ELSE’S INPUT, IT WILL DETER PEOPLE FROM WHO I TRULY AM. MUSIC, VIDEOGRAPHY, IT’S ALL THE SAME TO ME. IT SHOWS WHO YOU ARE”

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ovelist’s hits - if that concept is still relevant - are ‘Endz’ and ‘WAR’, though many of his older tracks are modern-day grime classics, including ‘Lewisham McDeez’ and ‘Pengaleng’. While he’s appeared on a few songs produced by Mumdance, ‘Take Time’, ’Shook’ and ‘One Sec’, it’s rare to hear Novelist rhyming on production that isn’t his own.

Having established his sound on a solo tip, he reveals plans to reduce the amount of music he makes with other producers, “I’m cutting that out for a while, I’ve showcased I can do that.”

Frequent trips to the US have seen him build up relationships with fellow MCs and producers crafting a sound far removed from grime. His observation of the sudden interest that the American music scene has paid to grime is interesting, “I feel if US heads were to try doing our cult street music they’d have to really be interested in the meaning and history of some slang and styles we use, and grasp what it means to represent [the] grime lifestyle over a sound or else it’s a finesse.” But he maintains friendships with many of the artists he’s met on his travels overseas, “Big up DonMonique, Slayter, the A$AP Mob, RatKing and the real people repping. I got much love for my New York brothers and sisters that have shown me love when I’ve gone over. I’ve got a friend named MADEINTYO (pronounced Made In Tokyo), he’s popping right now but I love that dude for his humility.”

Novelist also shows love to the musicians he hasn’t met but respects their craft, “I check for that brudda G Herbo too, he’s been popping. But [the reason] I like him, it ain’t a fame thing, it’s a real recognise real thing. He don’t say much, he just got the world feeling what he’s gone through. I like that people can expose their emotions through the music without a prideful stance. Real nigga

shit.” Collaborating across genre seems like a difficult way to create music, but after working with a variety of artists from the US, Novelist is unfazed by it, saying, “It isn’t weird making music with anyone in the world if their energy is right and they respect you as a man. It will work out somehow.” Speaking on two predominantly EDM and hip hop experimentalists, he explains, “When I check for people like Baauer and Nick Hook in the US, we create a vibe that’s like the core sound but we experiment with it to give it that real Novelist feel. More than just a grime song or hip hop or trap song, it’s about innovating a new style or styles, you feel me?”

is production is as distinctive as his gruff vocals, and displays an obvious technical skill that separates Novelist from many artists that rhyme and produce their own tracks. He’s a natural at both and neither are new skills, he explains, citing his uncle as the person that set him on this path to success. “I started to MC and produce when I was around six years old because of the music my uncle exposed me to as a young boy. I saw and heard the older generation from when they started doing their thing and it inspired me to make the same music, not knowing one day it would be my career. I gotta love my uncle for ever and pay homage because of that too. People will never know what it means to me to be able to be myself at all times and still earn money and love my life.”

His uncle also introduced him to another passion, skateboarding, something he displayed his ability in for his ‘Endz’ video. “I’ve skated since I was young, my uncle gave me my first nineties style board. I like the feeling, that’s all, I respect the culture

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EL ST .

I T OV L VE IS T L NO VE IS L NO VE IS L NO VE NO

“THE GAME’S CHANGED, MAN CAN MAKE MILLIONS DOING MY OWN THING ANYWAY. BEFORE, THEM MAN COULDN’T REALLY DO IT. SOME PEOPLE WANNA MAKE MAD FIGURES, I WANNA MAINTAIN AND EXPAND.”

and I won’t fake that I’m into it more than I am. You can’t be a part of every cult movement to the fullest and be genuine, you feel me.” He says, making one of the most genuine cultural observations I’ve heard in a while.

Novelist’s sound is distinct enough to separate him from every other MC in the grime scene,“I’ve almost got my own genre that I do, I created my own sound, ‘cause people made grime kinda shit. Turning it into some pop culture shit.” He’s brought a new style to grime, forcing the evolution of the genre to expand beyond the sound that it began with. If grime is the UK’s answer to hip hop, then why has it failed to adapt and expand from it’s original sound in the fifteen plus years since it’s inception? Novelist is the artist set to push the genre to new boundaries.

His confidence comes from knowing that no one in the UK is offering up the same quality produce as him. “No one that’s supposedly up and coming in the UK is on this level yet, when it comes to production and making songs a certain way. I’m not taking it for granted but I do feel like there’s a massive door for me to come and blow things out of proportion.” He laments the copy cat culture in the UK music scene, with a whole crop of artists attempting to mimic the sound that Novelist’s peers are doing so well. ”Man are gonna hit a brick wall, if everyone keeps copying each other. People are using their eyes and not their ears enough and I refuse to do that.”

he new music he’s created has a faster BPM than grime but is slower in sound. He plays me a couple of songs, which sound distinctly more polished than the tracks he’s uploaded to SoundCloud.

Speaking on the latest recordings he’s been working on, he admits, “The only person that’s ever touched on a sound like this is probably Dizzee Rascal. And he only did it once, he didn’t make a thing out of it.” Of the two songs he plays me, one is a love song dedicated to his girlfriend, while the other that harks back to a sound that hasn’t been heard since ‘Boy In Da Corner’.

Recognising that a cohesive body of work is more than having a collection of sick songs, he senses that the atmosphere he’s creating with his current recordings will eventually be the landscape of his future releases. “A whole set of that style would sound sick, so that’s what I’m tryna produce now, a set of riddims like that.” Agreeing that the songs doesn’t sound stereotypically grimy, he comments that an album doesn’t have to be one genre provided the production is of a similar mood.

When we connect on FaceTime, he shows me his brand new camera, bought as an investment allowing him to shoot his own visuals. He’s currently exploring a new sonic landscape and plotting out his next music video, a self-produced song he’s listening to on a loop to figure out what the song’s visual representation should be.

Though he doesn’t have a great deal of music videos under his belt, the ones he does have are impressive. Most notable is the ‘Endz’ video,

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released in October 2015, showing Novelist in a South London estate, surrounded by friends. The video is nostalgic, with a mobile phone number scrolling across the screen, and for those viewers old enough to remember the days of Channel U it was easy to feel transported back to the mid-2000s. Until you see a Segway and find yourself back in 2016. Friends told me they knew people who text the number and got a reply from Nov, or at least they thought it was Nov. This is where his skill truly lies, understanding his audience - both older and younger than him. Speaking on his releases so far, Novelist admits, ‘I’ve never put out a shit video. But I’m not going to though!”

he quality control he has over his music is impressive, there are no ‘yes men’ in Novelist’s camp and you can tell that while it isn’t contrived, there’s a great deal of thought that goes into his releases.

He’s reluctant to sign to a label, especially as he’s aware of his own power without one. “The label shit’s not me man, I can make my own label and sign myself.” He’s not immune from label partnership however, having released an EP with XL Records on his 18th birthday in February 2015. Even now, Novelist knows how to further his career with the right association and isn’t opposed to collaborating with a label when the time is right. He explains, “Even when I dropped shit with XL, I dropped it with XL, I’m not signed by them and I could drop more shit with them if I want to.”

Even today, with the popularity of the 360 deal, it’s rare for an artist to retain this much control of their sound and image. But for Novelist, you couldn’t pay him to take the control from him, “It’s very important that I have 99.9% creative control over the way people perceive me and what I’m doing through music. I want people to know who I really am without someone else’s input, it will deter people from who I truly am. Music, videography, it’s all the same to me. It shows who you are.”

Of all the artists that have risen to prominence in the last decade, the only one that you can compare Novelist to naturally is an artist that possesses an entirely different sound; Tyler, the Creator.

Though it took me a while to see the similarities, their effortless embodiment of their music, combined with their overall creative control, not to mention their young rise to prominence, are on a par.

Novelist is surprised at the comparison, but naturally flattered. “People have never really said I’m like Tyler, the Creator through behaviour and shit like that, but definitely in work ethic and care towards what I’m doing. I respect bro for it too, I take it as a compliment.”

It’s rare that a 19 year old is this self-aware but Novelist’s confidence essentially comes down to the fact that he’s already planned out his path to success and knows which steps to take in order to make it. “The game’s changed, man can make millions doing my own thing anyway. Before, them man couldn’t really do it.” Despite this, he admits that money’s not the end goal for him, explaining, “Some people wanna make mad figures, I wanna maintain and expand.”

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ot only is he incredibly confident, Novelist remains a student of the music scene and it’s ever-changing landscape. Growing up a decade after grime exploded onto the UK music scene in the early noughties, Novelist witnessed Wiley, Dizzee Rascal, Kano and Skepta gracing the charts. He continued observing as the genre dipped back into obscurity and the pop chart pendulum swung back to rock bands.

“You can not get big in music over here unless people want you to.” He explains the British attitude to music perfectly adding, “We respect exclusivity and a cult brand. You can’t be a one hit wonder in London. You have to actually put in work, people won’t respect you. You can’t get big unless you’ve got stripes.”

Despite being a grime musician, the genre’s attention from a US audience, in addition to various collaborations with American artists, have Novelist actively studying the music industry both at home and abroad. The differences between the two scenes is obvious to him, and explains why our own British music scene is so fractured.

“I’m trying to understand why we don’t really wanna big up each other. I’m tryna figure out a way where I can eradicate that and bring star status to everyone.”

He really intends to change the game, not just for himself but for the entire scene he represents. Days before our interview took place, Novelist came up to me in the middle of a party and said simply, “I need to figure out a way to make everyone in the UK scene rich.” The statement blew my mind, I mean it was nearly 2am and most people around me were drunk. But these aren’t the thoughts the average 19 year old has in a club. But as I said, Novelist isn’t the average 19 year old.

His presence is regal, and despite his friendliness and habit of showing love to everyone, there’s something noble about him. When you discover that Novelist’s great grandmother was the last Arawak in Antigua, Novelist’s demeanor makes perfect sense. He commands attention without the slightest display of ego or attitude, “My brand is very credible because of how I am as a man. People can see my aura and hear what I’m about in my music so I would never be broke ‘cause I know how to capitalise on that.”

ovelist is set to lead the next generation of grime MCs, following in the footsteps of the pioneers of the genre. Even the OGs in his scene like Skepta treat him more like a peer than a younger. The admiration that the scene’s pioneers have for him extends all the way to Novelist’s management, headed up by Rinse FM’s founder, Geeneus. He says of his manager,“I respect Geeneus as an innovator

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of the genre I fell in love with as a child. I get along with the don too so it’s all bless me working with him. I met him a couple times, got to talking and it was love. In life everyone’s got their stories but I’m a man of truth and energies, I get a good energy from G.” He continues, “All of the pioneers that respect me are clued up and switched on and I will always respect them for what they’ve done by laying foundations for kids like me to move forward.

I’m glad I can represent truthfully.”

Testament to his future success, many of his early inspirations are now more like peers to him, especially in the case of Skepta and JME. But he explains that though there is a friendship, it’s a friendship that came about

once it morphed into a big middle finger to a ceremony that show little to no recognition of our grime and hip hop scene. He explains how it felt to be on stage in that moment saying, “At the Brits I was glad that we could say ‘Fuck you’ to the industry like, ‘We still got on to your shit stage anyway’. I don’t care about all the hype man. Yeah safe, dun know Kanye, but other than that, it’s nothing long. I just wish Lukey was here to see where everything has gone since that day,” he says, paying tribute to Lukey Maxwell, a friend of many MCs in the industry who passed away shortly before the event.

I ask if there’s anyone whose career he’d like to mimic in some way and he says no one. Then remembering the benchmark one of the icons of the scene has set, he replies, “The only person I could probably say that about is Jamie, JME.” The younger Adenuga brother is the perfect role model for Novelist, having established himself as a grime MC and producer that’s remained independent throughout his career. With his music entirely self-funded, JME has built a cult following by anyone’s standards.

The recognition goes way deeper into the scene, with iconic grime cameraman, Risky Roadz - in semi retirement after capturing the early days of grime in a pre-Internet age DVD series - came out to capture Nov’s birthday set on Radar Radio. That’s how special the young MC is. Though he was in primary school at grime’s peak, he embodies the same grittiness and energy brought the genre to prominence in at the dawn of the millennium.

ovelist’s fanbase has built naturally so it’s no surprise when he compares the release of music to the steps that parents take to wean their baby. He explains, “You can’t give a baby loads of food, you gotta start with tiny teaspoons. It’s the same thing with fans, you feed them then hit them with a project.” Looking critically at the ways some artists choose to bombard their fans with a constant stream of releases, he emphasises the importance of giving fans the full package.

“This whole culture of dropping albums, that’s through the roof ‘cause if they see you and they like who you are, that’s what’s gonna make them come to your show where you get the bulk of your pay.”

Novelist’s latest music expresses an interest in politics via his disdain for Prime Minister David Cameron. He even sampled the Conservative leader on his recent track, ’Street Politician’. I jokingly ask if Novelist has received a response track from Cameron yet.

He replies, “I enjoy being who I am, I have no fears, David Cameron and his fleet of blue tie

N through their careers. “Skepta, Stormzy and all the other MCs you may see me around aren’t my day-to-day boys that I kick it with, but our relationships [go beyond] artist to artist. We’d like to build a big team and all win, it’s not a game with one spot, it doesn’t work like that.

I’m not fighting for a UK top spot or to be big in the charts, I’m going to do what I can to take this worldwide. So it’s love when I see my brothers elevating. Pure good energy to them, we’re all the same at the end of the day.”

Novelist was one of numerous grime MCs that were invited on stage during Kanye West’s performance at the 2015 Brit Awards.

What was arguably a great moment for the grime scene was marred by confused white people, scared by what they saw as aggressive posturing. The event became one of the most iconic moments in recent Brit history, more so

“AT THE BRITS I WAS GLAD THAT WE COULD SAY ‘FUCK YOU’ TO THE INDUSTRY LIKE, ‘WE STILL GOT ON TO YOUR SHIT STAGE ANYWAY’

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ST LI T VE IS L NO E IS OV L dons can’t really put fear in a man like me.” It’s hard not to admire the young MC’s stance on voting, especially the fact he’s using his voice to encourage young voters. It’s frustrating when musicians let their lacklustre attitude towards politics influence young fans so I’m glad to hear that Novelist is not one to use his political leaning simply for attention. Though he’s only been eligible to vote for a few years, Novelist is using his voice legitimately, “I believe in voting, Labour is my team.” He realises the power he possesses and chooses to use it as positively as he can, explaining, “When I speak I use projection so I am heard because what I have to say is valuable, people listen to me. I don’t want to use my voice for ignorance so I speak on matters of the world sometimes in my music, just to make people start to lean towards getting control of their own life situations.”

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nce of the most unexpected statements to come out of our interview was when Novelist told me he was relieved when he didn’t win a MOBO award for Best Grime Act in 2014. “I came second and I was so happy.

People didn’t understand, it sounds like such a weird thing to say.” He explained, “I was at a place in my life where I was like, I don’t wanna win a MOBO, that’s just gas, that’s all it amounts to, it won’t be beneficial.” The result hasn’t affected his career either, with the biggest benefit being that he still retains an under the radar edge that is essential for any grime MC. Though he doesn’t promote violence or drugs any more than the average rapper, he’s genuine enough to be trusted by road men and hipsters alike. Novelist’s fanbase straddles many levels of society, with them representing a rainbow cast of the British population. And with these elements combined, it’s easy to see why he has the future of grime in the palm of his hand. As Novelist says every time he touches a stage… flavour, he’s got the flavour.

ON THE BLOCK

Photographer: Sumeet Sharma Models: Savanna Small and Aqeel

CANDY PAINT

Photographer: HypeMari Stylist: Merced Jackson Model: Dia Manning ALL CLOTHING VINTAGE OR BY Merced Jackson

OIIII!

Jeremy wears CP Company

TrisTan wears Shirt by CP Company Jeans by Wood Wood shoes by Kickers

UKG

JAKE HUNTE

Jeremy wears Liam Hodges

Jeremy wears Jacket by Paul and Shark T-Shirt by Stone Island Jeans by CP Company Trainers by Nike at Foot Locker

Tristan wears Nike

Jeremy wears Stone Island

Photographer: Stefy Pocket Stylist: Jake Hunte Photographer assistant: Beatrice Talamucci Stylist Assistant: Mollie Hayes Models: Jeremy @ Nevs, Tristan @ Bookings and Benjamin @ Established

Jeremy wears CP company

All CLOTHING BY cheek LDN SHOES STYLIST’S OWN

JACKPOT

jacket AND trousers BY Nika Tang Bra BY this is a love song

Yumi jacket BY Cheek LDN Trousers by Nika Tang

JAYLYN Top by Cheek LDN Skirt by Obscure Rebellion Bra by this is a love song Bag by jump from paper Earrings by Ryan Lo x othongthai

Photographer: Sirius FILM Stylist: Izzy Lo Steven Make Up: Natalie Dapaah Hair: Luke Jackman Models: Yumi carter & Jaylyn Miguel

jacket BY Cheek LDN Trousers BY Nika Tang Bra BY this is a love song Bag BY jump from paper EaRrings BY Ryan Lo x othongthai

VIDA

With so many jewellery brands out there, it takes a lot to stand out. Luckily VidaKush definitely isn’t for wallflowers. Fusing an ethnic hippy aesthetic with hints of brash, hip hop style gold items, the LA based company has infinite numbers of lust-worthy pieces in every collection they release.

KUSH

Having admired their designs for years, we talk to the creative director and designer, Rhianna Cooper, to discuss her influences, inspirations and VidaKush’s upcoming collaboration with Viper. You heard it here first!

Jewellery by vidakush clothing by CollardGreen$ WORDS by MOLLIE HAYES

Tell us a little about yourself, My name’s Rhianna Cooper. I’m 25, from Los Angeles, California. I’m the designer for VidaKush, I also take photos and do freelance styling on the side.

How did you learn how to make jewellery, is it an easy trade to get into?

I would say you definitely need to have an artistic inclination. It’s something that you can learn pretty easy, if you like doing tedious things and working with your hands. As long as you have the concept for it, I would say it’s definitely an easy trade to get into.

What steps did you take from designing jewellery to making pieces to establishing VidaKush as a brand?

We started selling at this flea market in Hollywood, called the Melrose Trading Post. When we were there we noticed a really positive response from the jewellery that we were selling. Then, it just kind of grew on its own. I went to a trade show and got some wholesale accounts, it was kind of like the right place at the right time with Instagram becoming really popular and being able to be in LA, meeting models, meeting photographers, I learned how to start a website. I would definitely say it was all the right place at the right time.

Do you have a favourite piece you have designed?

Actually I have it on, it’s a rosary I made called La Noche Buena. It has pearls and is antique sliver looking. It’s like a basic rosary but I really love it, I wear it almost everyday. The other necklace I’m wearing is a thin choker called Baby Cholita Choker, it’s a really dainty choker.

Where do you design your pieces?

We make and design everything right here in Culver City, where our studio is. The speed at which we can stay on top of trends is really fast, it’s cool because it goes along with how much marketing we do on Instagram. We could come out with something new every single week, instead of releasing large collections. Traditionally fashion has always been about Spring/Summer, Fall/Winter [collections] but we don’t really operate on that system and jewellery in general doesn’t usually operate like that because one, LA don’t have no seasons and two, we could have a new collection every week if we wanted to.

Where did the name Vida Kush come from?

Vida means life in Spanish and then Kush is in reference to the Kush Kingdom, which is what ancient Egypt used to call their golden era. So it means “live gold.” That’s how I would describe my style, laid back and then you put on a piece of jewellery and you feel special and pretty. I feel like everyone should feel like that everyday.

What makes Vida Kush different fro other jewellery brands?

We hand-make everything in LA and I think that the speed with which we’re able to design, market and produce makes us different. We don’t have to wait six months like your typical company that makes their pieces in China, in order to get our pieces out. If we hear a song or notice that something is trendy we can make it right away and release it to the public right away.

Your main source of distribution is pop-up stores and markets around LA. Do you choose your location based on what vibes that area will have?

Our main pop up location in LA is the flea market, so I’d say that’s probably the highest concentration location in LA, where you’d see the most stylish people or the most off-duty models in one area. So I think its probably the best location to be able to do a weekly pop-up.

We’ve done pop-ups in Tokyo and Miami, places where we’ve had an opportunity come our way, but I wouldn’t say it’s as strategic.

Do you think the LA lifestyle and what it stands for is demonstrated within your brand?

Definitely. I think it’s hard, because people in LA don’t have a specific style, everyone mixes it up a lot. That’s reflected in the brand. You can drive 15 minutes and get a completely different view of the city, you can be in a wealthy part like Hollywood or Beverly Hills, then go Downtown and see something completely different, so that’s reflected in the jewellery.

Who would you most like to see wear your jewellery?

That’s a hard question at the moment, we had Zoë Kravitz wearing our jewellery and I really love her and her style. I mean I think ultimately it would have to be Rihanna, when she wore that gold crown…

You have many Asian references on your Instagram page. Is this a big source of inspiration for you?

Yes definitely. My mom is Indian so Indian jewellery, Bollywood, that whole style has always been inspirational, just because they literally [decorate] every single part of their body. There’s a hand chain, foot chain, a nose chain, leg chain - wherever jewellery can go, they put it there. As far as clothing, I’ve always been super obsessed with kimonos and Chinese silk outfits, so anything that looks like that, I’m always really drawn to. Spending a month in Tokyo last year brought that inspiration too.

Tell us about the creative inspiration for the latest collection?

Well right now we’ve been doing a lot of leather stuff. Last year I had a whole inspiration with Damas y Caballeros, which is Mexicanrevolutionary inspiration, but still mixed with Western style. I was really into that, I’ve been into it for about a year and it still continues to evolve.

I really love working with leather, it’s different to anything I’ve done, so it’s like a whole new grouping of ideas with different material. I’m really into roses and mixing soft with hard - the leather’s bold and edgy but still dainty with a golden rose, or some chains.

What type of of woman do you have in mind when creating your pieces?

It’s interesting because the brand has [been going] for almost five years, since I was 20. Now I’m 25 and I want to see the brand grow with me.

I started making jewellery for girls that were younger [and now] it’s evolving for a woman my age. But I really feel there’s something for everyone, we have so many different price points and we have simple necklaces anyone could buy for their mom or their teenage cousin. It could be anybody, but I like to think it’s me because I always design what I like and want.

Who is your style icon - dead or alive?

My number one style icon will always be Jackie Kennedy. Even though I’m not dressed like her everyday, I eventually hope to dress like that when I’m grown up. I love her matching outfits, her attention to detail, the hats, the shoes, the suits, everything. She was so classy.

What was your last great bargain piece that you have most recently purchased?

I recently bought a really great pair of Guess mom jeans from a vintage shop for $30 that are just like the perfect jean, you know it’s rare to find the perfect vintage jeans. I’m an avid eBay and thrift shopper so I’m always on the hunt.

Where do you hope the brand will be at the of your career?

That’s a hard question, I think I live my life on a day to day basis, so I like to have fun, come up with something new and cool as much as possible.

I hope the brand just stays consistent, I always want it to grow slowly and consistently, not too fast. I hope it keeps evolving and can reflect what’s going on currently with fashion, or whatever it might be.

VidaKush recently collaborated with Viper on a jewellery collection.

Can you give our readers some insight into what they should expect to see?

It’s going really good, I’m excited! We’re working on making a Barbie shoe into a necklace so at the moment I’m trying to make the Ice-skate into a really cute choker; then we’re going to do all the ice cream names from the Wu-Tang song, ‘Ice Cream’, so like French Vanilla, Butter Pecan, Caramel Sundae.,, Also we are going to do a gold uzi necklace.

So I’m excited, I can’t wait for Viper to come to LA to shoot it all and wreck it.

Is this the first time you’ve collaborated with a magazine?

Yes, specifically with a magazine! We don’t do that many collaborations, so this is probably our fourth or fifth collaboration that we have ever done. This will be our first collaboration with anyone in the UK also. I’ve always really loved UK style and London fashion, it was really interesting to hear her [Lily Mercer’s] whole perspective of how influenced she is

by LA and it’s exciting because the magazine is really cool! [Viper] was actually one of the first magazines to print a beautiful picture of our jewellery. Kali [Uchis] was on the front cover and I was like, “This is so cool!” @vidakush vidakush.com

JOYRICH Photos by Naeemah Waller words by yassmine benalla

The cult LA clothing brand that’s good enough for you to beg, borrow and steal to get.

The legendary Bob Marley was once asked in an interview, “Are you a rich man? Do you have a lot of possessions?” He replied, “I don’t have that kind of richness, my richness is life.”

Stylist: Izzy Lo Steven Make Up: Celia Evans Models: Leah Abbott + Khloe Anne ALL CLOTHING BY JOYRICH

With a similar attitude to Marley, LA clothing brand, Joyrich has brought the fun back to fashion since its launch in 2007. Father of the brand Tim Hirota juxtaposes a smart-casual vibe with bold colours, playful textures and nostalgic style, celebrating the happiness that stems from our surroundings.

From nostalgic flared joggers to playful Toy Story sweatshirts, every season Joyrich shocks the fashion industry with a bucket of ice-cold water. The brand masters the art of collaboration, merging their casual care-free style with world renowned brands such as Disney, Coca-Cola and their most recent collaboration for SS16; Playboy. Every summer, denim comes into its own and the Joyrich x Playboy collection serves up many of the upcoming seasons must-haves. The minimalistic

denim jacket, doubled up with the Playboy denim pants are a personal favourite of Viper’s. Influenced by Japanese streetwear, Joyrich’s bold colours and textures - like the bright red Coca-Cola rucksack - embody decadence without coming across as pretentious.

The SS16 range follows their impressive AW15 ‘YOUTHQUAKE’ collection which promoted eternal youth. The brand described it as “inspired by the bold styles of 1960’s Mod fashion, the Joyrich AW15 collection combined luxury with the brand’s signature urban flair. Consistently taking a unique approach to design in the apparel industry, Joyrich’s AW15 collection depicted an original interpretation of a staple moment in fashion, music and culture.” The two-piece sets of clashing colours and styles gave the collection a unique and refreshing vibe.

Like all good brands, Joyrich always ensure there’s something for everyone. From two-piece denim tracksuits to the fluffy rucksacks in their Coca-Cola collab, it’s easy to fall in love with their diverse styles.

Joyrich is a fun and quirky brand for overgrown kids, keen to promote self-expression through playful styles and fabrics.

MY CLOSET’S PET CEMETERY: TALKING FASHION WITH SIR MIKEY ROCKS Photos by BRYAN ALLEN LAMB words by BEN NIESPODZIANY

“WE WANTED IT TO BE A STORE WHERE YOU CAN GO AND COP EXOTIC RARE SHIT THAT DOESN’T REALLY EXIST AND IT’S ALSO CURATED BY MYSELF. I LIKE TO THINK OF MYSELF AS AN AFICIONADO WHEN IT COMES TO COOL STUFF. CLOTHES, TOYS, WHATEVER, FASHION, GAMES, ALL

Sir Michael Rocks is a name that’s been active in music for almost a decade.

Since forming The Cool Kids back in 2007 with fellow artist Chuck Inglish, then taking flight with the massive single ‘Black Mags’, Rocks (then known as Mikey Rocks) has gone everywhere and back again. From multiple projects with The Cool Kids to a prolific outpouring of solo material, the talented 28-year-old continues to push the envelope in regards to creativity and innovation. Last year he released his EP ‘Populair’ and went on to release visuals for six of the eight songs; while outside of music, Rocks is well known for his fashion sense and clothing designs. Even when he was starting out with The Cool Kids, a large part of their appeal was their taste-making abilities and their vibrant and unique wardrobes.

THAT SHIT. IN A NUTSHELL, THAT’S EXOTIC GOURMET.”

F “I’M ALREADY HAPPY IF I GET A CEASE AND DESIST, BECAUSE IT MEANS I GOT POPULAR ENOUGH TO GET NOTICED”

ast forward to early 2016 and Sir Michael Rocks has his own clothing brand Exotic Gourmet, which stemmed from early/ bootleg creations under the name Mariani. With Pokemon hockey jerseys, Reptar (from Rugrats) hats, Newport soccer shirts, Sub Zero creations and more, the clothing line continues to set Rocks apart from standard rappers. Exotic Gourmet works alongside artists like Fat Nick, Pouya, Robb Bank$ and others to finely blend Internet creativity with playful hip hop, a formula that shines in Rocks’ music releases and visuals.

It’s a cold night in Chicago when Viper speaks with the new age rap legend in his home. Rocks and his crew of filmmakers, collectively known as Fuck Everyone Else, are wrapping up the short film ‘Alone’, the final track on Rocks’ ‘Populair’ EP. Throughout the interview, we cover everything from his wardrobe to his own creations, his recent trip out to Japan to what the future holds.

He begins by retracing his history with fashion, “I’ve been dabbling for the past four years in clothing. It really came from making my own merchandise for tours. First, I would come up with my own designs and kind of put together the aesthetic that I wanted. From there, it led to making Mariani sweatsuits, a [previous] brand that I had which was mainly just loungewear with a nice name brand and funny twist. We just jacked a bunch of fucking clothing lines’ names and put ‘em on our stuff. It was kind of the first company in that wave of knockoff bootleg stuff, high-end bootleg shit that came around 2011 or 2012. That was my first real hand into making my own. From there, we got into Exotic Gourmet, which is me and my boy Peanut. We come up with basically all the ideas, all the designs and all the sketches for the clothing. We opened up the store online and began to manufacture everything ourselves, [then] hired a couple graphic designers that we trust to help us with designing and putting things together. We wanted it to be a store where you can go and cop exotic rare shit that doesn’t really exist and it’s also curated by myself. I like to think of myself as an aficionado when it comes to cool stuff. Clothes, toys, whatever, fashion, games, all that shit. In a nutshell, that’s Exotic Gourmet.”

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hile talking about his bootleg endeavors, I ask if he worries about getting sued. He shakes his head. “Back in 2011 with Mariani, I consulted my attorney about a couple of things as far as copyrights. To be frank, he basically said you can’t get sued without first receiving a cease and desist, which means that you have to stop whatever it is you’re doing. Stop it immediately or you got X amount of days before they start trying to investigate your finances and try to sue you.” He adds, “I’m already happy anyway if I get a cease and desist, because it means I got popular enough to get noticed. With the way I run my company, it’s all about being cutting edge and starting trends.

Curating trends for everybody who’s involved in the culture.”

Rocks has been into fashion for the entirety of this decade, have his sartorial tastes changed in that time? “Over the years,” he begins, “my sense of fashion has definitely grown because I’ve gotten a larger base of knowledge for it. I’ve known more about it just by being open and traveling and studying and investigating on my own. My fashion sense has definitely grown to be a bit more organised, a bit more themed and contained and less erratic. Nowadays, I really try to just direct whatever look I’m going for [that] day, depending on what my occasion is.”

“What’s the occasion?” he asks. “If I’m chillin’, I’ll put on some chill shit that’s cool in my own way. If I’m going somewhere that’s a little more upscale, if I’m going to a cool dinner or something like that, I’ll dress the part for that, in my own way of course. I try to stick to themes a little bit more than I used to when I was first starting to dabble in clothing and fashion. Of course your tastes are gonna grow and expand as well.”

From our conversation about gaining knowledge from travel we end up speaking about his recent experience out in Japan, where he filmed the videos ‘Quality Time Lapse’ and ‘In My Mode’. “They put their own original spin on it so it makes it a whole new aesthetic, everybody out there is striving for

“I’M A CREATIVE PERSON MAN, AND IF YOU DON’T PUT WALLS OR BOXES AROUND CREATIVITY, IT’S JUST GONNA BLOW EVERY-DAMN-WHERE” individuality, to look like their own person and dress like their own person. You can definitely tell with the items they choose to wear and how they choose to wear it. That inspired me to continue to innovate and put original spins on existing things and existing trends. I’m a creative person and if you don’t put walls or boxes around creativity, it’s just gonna blow every-damn-where, so what I like to do now is contain it and set perimeters for where I wanna make a mark, where I wanna make some change, where I wanna make some impact and some buzz. [I] pick and choose my battles a little more wisely now. Japan’s definitely a huge inspiration.

From the environment to the women to the food, the architecture, everything is a lot more different than [America]. Everything is a lot more detailed and efficient. I would like to incorporate that into clothing as well.

Efficiency. Detail.”

e talks about printing different patterns on a hockey jersey, a “performance based” item. “If I wanna stitch it or screenprint it, whatever the process may be, I just wanna pay attention to detail and make sure whatever I’m doing is original. Make sure it’s cool and classic at the same time.” With all of these clothing lines, ideas and continual interests in fashion, we ask if he’s a hoarder or if he’s constantly getting rid of old clothes. “I’m a weird mix of hoarder and always starting over and throwing stuff away. For a while, I’ll have like a certain wardrobe. Then when I start different seasons and start a new year or something and kinda redo my wardrobe and press the refresh button. I go and pick a couple items that I like and get multiple versions and

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colours and whatever of that I like. Let’s say I like these shoes right here, these Huaraches, I’ll get those Huaraches in whatever colours they have. So I got that part, I got that staple.”

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iper points over to the corner of his bedroom, where we notice moon shoes, of which he has half a dozen in varying colours. “Prime example,” we say. “If I got a staple,” he adds, “I like to have it in multiple options. With that, you end up having a lot of shit at the end of the day. As my tastes change and as the times go further and further on, you end up not having use for a lot of shit. I end up giving a lot of stuff away, at least once a year. I got a lot of cousins and little homies that really appreciate rockin’ that shit so I just give it to em. Purge myself of all the old shit.

It keeps me on my toes. It keeps me fresh. It keeps me having to continue to rethink things, continue to update my wardrobe, update my own tastes and clothes.”

Although the interview has a focus on clothing, Sir Michael Rocks remains a formative hip hop artist. We ask him what we can expect from him moving forward through 2016. “In regards to clothes, I’m coming with a whole new slew of designs for Exotic Gourmet. I wanna get into more cut and sew, more attention to detail and performance.

[I] wanna get into more inspired themes and concepts. We have a lot of these Pokemon jerseys, hockey with different teams. That’s an inspired line to me, we plan on doing a lot more inspired lines. Higher quality, upping the quality on the clothing and continuing to push the envelope when it comes to design.”“As far as music,” he adds, “[I] definitely plan on a new album early ‘16, unnamed as of yet.

New tracks for SoundCloud, yadda yadda.

I love shooting videos - as you can see - I’m shooting a video right now. We got tons of videos, so definitely expect more videos and the quality of those to continue to grow. We’re getting into our groove, our own space now.

With that, we’ve grown a lot more experience, we’re just learning more and more about working together.”

“It’s getting a little bit easier for us to create from scratch,” he continues. “I think we’ll only continue to improve. We’re bringing more and more trustworthy people into the scenario, into our picture. We’re just starting to build our own network of film. We plan on doing a lot of shit. We plan on shooting movies, funny sketch comedy shows.” He mentions The Eric Andre Show, he mentions Tim & Eric, he mentions Loiter Squad. “We’re really influenced by comedy and I think that’s a reason why we all get along so well.

With that, we’ll be able to transition into TV, movies and funny ass shows. I get a kick out of all that.”

A

s we wrap up the interview before stepping back out into the cold of the Windy City and with Rocks redirecting his attention to finishing the video shoot, Viper asks if he has any final words to close. “It’s 2016 and I want everybody to brush your fucking teeth this year. Let’s try that. You know those ghetto ass memes? [Laughs] New year, new me. Put one of those in there, too.

I’m leavin’ all the drama behind in 2015. End it with a nice ghetto ass meme and we’re out.”

Which five pieces that you own are your favourites?

My top five pieces are my Neiman Marcus custom collection jacket, my Saks Fifth Avenue custom collection jacket, Pepe Le Pew Iceberg History sweater, green/ plaid kimono Hanten jacket and my suede/forest green Barbour vest.

Why are they your favourites?

These are all pieces that are hard to acquire or custom made. All made by brands that are hyper focused on quality, craftsmanship and style. Some of these items are things I was always interested in, since childhood.

Do you have any items that you never wear but are way too nostalgic to throw away?

I can never seem to throw away Coogi sweaters. They take me back to fifth-seventh grade, which were some of the best years for me.

Which labels are your favourites to collect?

I only like to buy into brands that are passionate about craftsmanship and quality. I wouldn’t call myself a label junkie though, a lot of my clothes don’t even have logos.

@SirMichaelRocks soundcloud.com/sirmichaelrocks

SKYLER

GREY

As well as producing some of the greatest hip hop, LA is famous for its thriving street art scene. In a crowded market, nobody is more exciting than the game’s youngest talent, Skyler Grey.

WORDS BY SHOLA TIMOTHY With all the mediocrity the 21st century offers, the arts seem to regularly look to the youth for new ideas. Where ten years ago, you could’ve gotten away with giving a great answer to the question, “What do you do…?,” today the more interesting answer comes from the follow-up question "... and how old are you?" We once admired Kriss Kross because they were talented 'for children’. Fast forward two or three Bow Wow bangers later and we have the five year old son of Swizz Beats and Alicia Keys credited as a producer on Kendrick Lamar’s latest project. Though this phenomenon is not limited to hip hop, it's no surprise we found one of contemporary art's own prodigies emerging from one of rap's most celebrated residencies, the city of Compton. Viper Magazine sat down with Skyler Grey, who answers those two aforementioned questions with, “painter” and “15.”

While waiting for Skyler to finish school, we spoke with his father and manager Holman Arthurs, a determined young man in his own right. Sticking with the theme, he's only 35. We speak about the tragic circumstances behind Grey's artistic prowess; art therapy classes. In 2002, when Skyler was just two, his mother passed away in tragic circumstances. At that point, Holman was gaining local notoriety as a rapper while attending a prestigious college, but he decided then and there to relinquish his own dreams to bring the best out of their child. He enrolled Skyler in art therapy class, trusting an idea bigger than himself to transform trauma to triumph. Skyler's therapy sessions were strictly confidential, but the work he was bringing home was too technically intuitive to ignore. Skyler would constantly ask for sketchpads and crayons, even in the cinema, where he would sketch characters on the spot.

In 2011, when Skyler was 11 years old, father and son took road trips out of Compton and into Melrose, Santa Monica, where street art was breathing fire into a community ready for new ideas. Perhaps best exemplified by Banksy's 'Exit From The Gift Shop', this was truly a golden era. Skyler began to see what his future could be because it was painted on walls and pavements. He would take that inspiration home and create work, while his father eventually found galleries like Lab Art where he would take his son. Skyler sold his first work at 12 years old for $350, though he will tell you it "felt like a million dollars.” We speak to this art

My favourite human being, other than my father, Mr. Holman Arthurs, is probably James Brown

prodigy about his inspirations and aspirations and try to find out what it feels like to be feted in the art community while still in high school.

Hey Skyler, could you introduce yourself?

My name is Skyler Grey, I'm 15 years old, and grew up in Baldwin Hills.

Your dad mentioned that you would go with him to Lab Art Gallery when you were only 11 years old. Do you feel comfortable in the art world?

When I joined the art world I wasn't comfortable, because I [hadn't been] exposed to it and didn't know much about the world. But now I feel very comfortable and I feel blessed. I've accomplished a lot at a young age and I'm inspiring people in the process. That's big!

Do you see graffiti and pop art as styles you’ll stay dedicated to, or do you see yourself eventually adapting to different styles?

I'm young and I'm evolving, which means the work will only get better and more mature. I want to learn how to use oil paints so I can incorporate that. I want to mix everything I know and will learn together to create a new medium.

Do you listen to your dad's music?

Music is like my favourite thing and as an artist I'm pretty open with my music selection. Let me put this out there, my favourite artist is Kanye West. Old Kanye, new Kanye, all of it. But I love eighties and nineties hip hop and RnB; ‘Pac, Big, Jodeci, Outkast and Missy Elliott to name a few. I also enjoy Future, French Montana. A-Trak is pretty dope too.

I LOVE JAMES BROWN. But my dad and I tend to share music. He tells me his selections and I tell him my selections.

No comment on my pop's music.

Who inspires you most? We want the favourite baller, painter, businessman and overall human being.

When it comes to [art] inspirations, Kehinde Wiley inspires me. My favourite basketball players are Kobe Bryant, Deron Williams and Andrew Wiggins. Favourite businessman - never Forget About Dre I guess! He started up three record companies and made a fashion out of headphones; he deserves to be a billion dollar man. My favourite human

I want to learn how to use oil paints I want to mix everything I know and will

learn together to create a new medium

being, other than my father Mr. Holman Arthurs, is probably James Brown. His style of music, his fashion style and his open spirit.

Tell me about Melrose and the kids around there, do you feel like an anomaly in terms of your artistic side? Or is there a healthy community of ambitious kids just like you?

Melrose really doesn't have kids. It's more a place where you put work in the streets and enjoy the shops and weather of Los Angeles. But it is where I got my start as an artist. I met amazing artists such as Gregory Siff, Lydia Emily, Desire Obtain Cherish and many more amazing

artists and people.

Are you vandalising when you use popular icons in your work or paying homage?

I'm paying homage because I grew up and am growing up with these characters. What relates to a person more than their own childhood?

What represents success for you in one sentence?

Inspiring people around the world, from young to old. @skylergreyart

REUBEN

DANGERMAN WORDS BY SHOLA TIMOTHY

Ghetto and CAS as wildcards. There's no place for him here, but Terminator T is the funniest.

Reuben Dangerman recently caught Viper’s eye with his sumptuous, renaissance style oil paintings of grime superstars. He talks to us about clashes and high grade sleep.

Grime's unstoppable rise from the pre-YouTube doldrums of discriminatory A&R and Channel U has created a multi-disciplinary platform for its fans. Through social media, MC's now benefit from the skills of their fanbase and can communicate directly for collaboration.

2015 saw a surge in creatives associated with 140bpm sound release their own interpretations of grime’s unique energy. Viper Magazine sit down with the first creative to transcend into paint, Mr Reuben Dangoor.

How do you sleep at night?

I don't get loads of sleep at the moment, I'll come in from work and jump straight into my projects. So I’m normally in bed by three or four am. But when I do sleep, I’m out for the count. Small amounts of high grade sleep.

Apart from Kanye doing a Lil Mama on Taylor Swift, and John McCain moving to Snooki on Twitter, the viral video 'Being a Dickhead's Cool' was arguably the best cultural statement of 2010.

As the co-creator and producer of the video, tell us a bit about what happened after it broke.

It was a weird one! I'd moved down to Brighton from London the day after the tune came out and was staying in a shabby basement flat with no Internet or phone signal. So when it actually blew up, I had no idea and totally missed it kick off. But it was cool. Lots of

advertising agencies wanting 'the same thing’, but for online gambling companies and things like that. That’s cool you think it's stood the test of time, when it was made there were no expectations at all. It was just something that made us laugh.

One of the lyrics stuck out to me..."New Age Fun With A Vintage Feel". Is this something you've been applying to your grime paintings?

[Laughs] I didn't even think about that! But it is essentially new age fun with a vintage feel.

What are your go-to grime sets?

This is hard, lots of favourite sets and MC's. But off the top of the head and in no order ones that stick out have been: 1. Maximum and Wiley on Rinse (the one going at God’s Gift).

2. Slimzee with Dizzee, Wiley and God’s Gift on Rinse.

3. Logan Sama and Trim on Kiss FM. 4. Jammer’s Birthday on Deja Vu (Esco / Titch / Dizzee).

5. Mac 10 set alongside N.A.S.T.Y. crew - the one with Kano and Ghetts on Deja Vu. Who would be your top five MC's?

D Double E is the most gifted MC of all time. I have to follow with the obvious; Skepta, Dizzee, Kano and Wiley. But I'm throwing in

There are now many people working in arts that support grime music, but at its prime there were limited amounts of photographers and part-time event promoters, no painters, illustrators or web developers. Do you feel like this genre finally offers a career path to the youngers?

Yeah very much so. I think it comes from the artists down. Kids are able to see guys from the UK doing really well both here and abroad, with music charting, selling out shows, getting the exposure and the respect that has been missing in previous years. That success is being passed down to all the professions surrounding the music. I'd still like to see more widespread and mainstream recognition within the UK itself. The Brits were a good example of this, these artists have had levels of success on par with most of the people there [on stage], but still didn't get a look in. Overall, the thing that's exciting is grime doesn't feel like it's having to water itself down or change its message in order to be 'successful'. Younger generations can see now that you can be yourself and still smash it, which is great. @reubendangoor reubendangoor.com

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