Interview Time: Rodney P
Rodney P More importantly however, respect for UK hip hop is growing rapidly, with the help of new outlets in the media such as free magazines, new internet sites concentrating on UK music and a wider acceptance of black music within the mainstream media. One of the names on the forefront of British hip hop is Rodney P. To many, he is the face of hip hop alongside Skitz on BBC Radio 1Xtra. To others, he’s a well respected figure in UK rap, having emerged on the scene as part of the London Posse in the late 1980s and early ’90s.
Rodney P first emerged into the hip hop world as part of the legendry London Posse. “We were just a group of friends, Sipho knew Mick Jones and they said they wanted us to go on tour with them” explained Rodney, as he told how they came together to tour the US supporting Big Audio Dynamite, Mick Jones’s group post The Clash. The group had some initial success with their first single ‘London Posse’ in 1988, a track produced by Radio 1’s Tim Westwood, which told the story of their trip to New York. The Classic tracks from the London Posse include ‘Money Mad’ and ‘How's Life In London’, tracks considered to be UK hip hop anthems, which broke through a new underground sound for the ’80s.
In his early days Rodney was more than just the MC we know today. “I used to body-pop, I used to break dance and I used to rap – it was hip hop man, we did all of it. Nowadays it seems like it’s all about the rapping, but there’s a lot more to it than that.” His hip hop awakening came courtesy of one of the first acts to bring hip hop to the mainstream. “I heard the Sugarhill Gang on Top of The Pops in the early ’80s. The Sugarhill Gang came out back in the day… Everyone I know knows the words to that record [Rapper’s Delight]. We knew it word for word and then we were all rapping. We started changing the words here and there, it was a fun ting.”
The South London native has a distinctive MC style which he describes as “Hip hop–reggae.” He said, “I’m an English Black kid with West Indian parents, and this is how we live and how we talk. I grew up listening to reggae before I listened to hip hop…In the early days it was trial and error, I found my style and stuck with it; now rappers sound like me!”
Since his early solo success, Rodney has gone on to work with some of the biggest names in British rap, including Roots Manuva and Mark B & Blade. These days Rodney P is best known as the voice of hip hop on Radio 1Xtra, available across the world on the Internet and digital radio. His partner in crime is one of the biggest UK producers, Skitz. “We met through a mutual friend. He was looking for me actually, and he gave someone I know his phone number and I called him. I heard the tracks he had done with Roots Manuva, ‘Blessed Be The Manor’ and ‘Where My Mind Is At’. I liked the beats, man those beats were heavy! When we linked we just got on.”
It’s undeniable that 1Xtra has had a huge impact on the urban music scene. Being at the centre of the music revolution, Rodney has his own view on the effect it’s had. “I don’t think it’s changed the face of the music; it’s changed the number of people that get a chance to hear the music, which is important. There was so much good music being made that never got an outlet, but 1Xtra came along and everyone else has to open up the door a little bit because this is what the youths wanna hear.”
Hip hop has never had such healthy surroundings for its cultivation and the underground is starting to get love from the mainstream. The future is quite uncertain, but as Rodney explained, he sees a new sound coming through. “I think the hybrid music is gonna take over. When I say hybrid, I mean the kinda music that Fusion’s making, which is the bridge between garage, drum and bass and hip hop – that place in the middle. That kind of music is more accessible to the wider masses than the straight hip hop sound… There’s always an underground. There are always people who are die-hard hip hop folks. It’s just the people don’t want it as much. The audience want more of the bling stuff - the industry is all about selling records.”
His long awaited album, ‘The Future’, has plenty to keep his fans happy. “It’s an honest album because I’m an honest person. It’s good vibes music; hip hop-reggae music. I’ve got various people on there. I produced on there, I got a new guy called Deceive on there, Skitz has done a beat on there, Joe Buddah’s on there, Adrian Stone, Maestro, Karisma from Nottingham’s on there. I gave up space to mostly new guys on the album because I didn’t think Black Twang and Roots Manuva need space on my album. They’re big enough without me!”
Released on Rodney’s own label, Riddim Killer, ‘The Future’ has brought Rodney back to the forefront as an artist. From the Bob Marley inspired first single to the latest joint ‘I Don’t Care (Time to Party)’ Rodney P has proven he has what it takes to stand out in a scene filled with uninspired music. With the mainstream press claiming ‘Rodney P is like UK hiphop’s answer to Chuck D except that he’s still making vibrant, confrontational music’ he’s destined for success.
Since finishing ‘The Future’ Rodney has been in the studio with The Dub Pistols and is currently working on a project called Area 52 with Steve Mason of the Beta Band and Jamelia producer C Swing. There seems to be no stopping this man - proof that if you work hard enough anything is possible!