Interview Time: Akira

Akira

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Not many hip-hop artists come as original as Akira the Don. This one rocks a Salvador Dali-esque moustache, long bleached blonde hair and a wardrobe seemingly more befitting of a glam rocker from the late seventies than someone who claims he wants to be the "Rap Morrissey". Musicrooms.net got up close and personal with Akira.

1.How long have you been in the Hip Hop game?

Actively listening since '84, when I heard Sugarhill and Special AKA on Now That's What I Call Music 3 or something - it had a grotesquely detailed pig on the sleeve - when I was four years old and tiny... Actively rapping since January 1st 2000, although the first rap I learned in full was Run DMC's parts on Walk This Way, tellingly enough.

2.Regarding your new single Clones,in 2 sentences describe your thoughts or message behind the lyrics?

I'm all alone - so are we all. We're all Clones. All are one, and one are all. Basically. Sorry, that was three sentences. But they were short.

3.Your websites really interactive, do think its important to communicate with your fans on a more intimate level?

Well, for me it is. There is an awful lot to communicate, and all the usual channels seem to be bunged up with fear and cronyism and cash, so it is, sadly, pretty important for gobshites like myself to shout from the rooftops, electronically. I have a sneaking suspicion they might shut this particular channel down at any given moment, so I'm making as much noise as I can in this weird little timeslot, this odd blip in the history of humanity.

4.The tsunami and the recent earth quakes in Asia ,have been supposedly attributed to weather weapons, how true do you think this is ,and if true do you think they will use then on the British population to bring the people into line?

All I know is that we have, nowadays, the capability to influence the weather, and to crate tsunamis and earthquakes and the like, and have since the late forties. HAARP is real. Whether or not our friends in the military are using these powers is open to debate, but they do exist. Sadly, very little that our so-called guardians do surprises me anymore. We have thousands of years of history backing up the sad truth that those in power act only in the interests of themselves.

5. The Clones video looks like it was filmed in New York , do you think the single will do well over there , especially in a presumed police state?

It was filmed in New York, and I suspect it will, unless it gets cockblocked on big level, do amazingly. Lots of folks are waking up these days, due to the increasingly desperate actions of those funny Powers That Be. Anyway, the beat is hot. Everybody loves a hot beat.

6. Do you think theres a place for anti establishment Hip Hop, alongside the current Bling,Bling culture/Hip Hop ?

Of course! Viacom may not like it, but kids do. Kids like smashing shit, especially crappy "systems".

7. You have said on your website that your rapping is strange , pls elaborate on strange?

Well, its not typical. I don't really think about it too much to be honest. I open my mouth and words come out, in vague sequence, and arrangement. It is fun to do, anyway.

8.For those who want to educate themselves on some of the political topics you mention in Clones ,were would you suggest people look?

History. Newspapers. Tabloids. Interweb. Telly advertisements. The curs-ed Magazine Rack. Amidst all of this, is a very ugly pattern, and The Truth.

9.Your political ,educating style of Hip Hop is resonant of the original culture,the likes of Public Enemy and others? (its all so true of the Punk band , Sex Pistols) have these artists influenced you?

Certainly. I was more influenced by Ice Cube and Billy Bragg and Carter USM and Leonard Cohen and The Clash and The Wu though. NWA were the most political band ever, as far as I'm concerned. Politics isn't just what governments are doing. Its community, and finance, and family. Billy Bragg wrote awesome love songs. Ice Cube informed me of the existence and the situation of the American poor. Leonard Cohen spoke of the darkness and light of the human soul. That was more important when I was little than what the President was doing. I'm only just starting to realise the full truth of what a lot of those dudes were on about, but the little I gleamed as a small person set me on the right path.