Realest - Online Brochures

Summer 2011
The
Do It
Like A
Mandem
Do It
Like A
Revolutionary
Issue
The King Blues
Daddy Skitz
The
Realest
RoxXxan
Buggsy
Kuccia
Plus much,
much more .....
editor’s letter & Ethos
Hey MissFit famalam,
Contributors
In no particular order and
whether it be photography,
font/graphic design,
modelling, hair, art or
garms you contributed,
we’re eternally grateful!
This was a collaborative
success so thank you and
RESPECT to all of you!
RoxXxan;
Buggsy;
Skitz;
Itch & The King Blues;
Bellatrix; Vic Lentaigne;
Hannah Buck; Jack Wells;
Dave
Dorai-Raj; Irtus;
Weapon of Choice; Cheba;
Ioanna Alexia Kruiz; Donuts;
Harmony
Rehcuob;
Kalvyn
Celic; Ali Omar; Azita
Firoozyar; Ibby MBA; Seven7;
Jean-Luc Brouard; Soraya
Grooginheim; Tom Barnes;
Jasmine
Furelid;
Polly
Spencer; Agata Wycichowska! ♥
And lastly a MASSIVE
special thanks to Fah
Singtong, Victor Henry &
Saifon Singtong at IPE
Group, whom without your
support this project
would’ve been a fraction
of what it’s become!
MissFit famalam! 1Love X
We’re baaaacccckkk!!! And this time
it’s our ‘Do It Like A Mandem - Do it
Like A Revolutionary’ Issue! Initially
it was
just the former part of the
title ‘cos speaking frankly, we’re not
particularly enamoured with many of the
current female artists in the mainstream
music industry
at present and Jessie
J’s preachin to the muthafuckin choir!
We been on this vibe for years! But
before we get accused of hatin’ we think
the gyal dem look good & has a c-rackin’
set of pipes on her - we just ain’t on
the hype and her music don’t float our
boats! We got thinking back to female
artists and bands from our adolescence
who lived by Miss J’s lyric such as
TLC, Neneh Cherry, Queen Latifah, Monie
Love, MC Lyte - the list goes awwn we’ve even had an ILL illustration done
for you by the fine hand of Han2theB
Hannah Buck - pp 14-15 - and this is
the angle we’ve taken with our EH-MAYZEN cover girl, Grime artist RoxXxan
in our shoot & interview - pp 19-26.
Then comes the next part of the title when interviewing one of our biggest icons
in UK Hip Hop, Daddy Skitz, he said that
revolutionary music was the backbone of
his sound and it got us thinking that
everybody featured from our interviewees
to our fashion shoots and beyond, are
in some way revolutionary! Plus we got
so much good shit for you this issue,
our faces our smugger than Simon Cowell,
who’s revolutionary in the dumbing down of
music and being a greedy cunt! Just sayin!
Anyyyway, without much further a do,
we’re still on the same flex for you real fashion, real music, real art,
REAL FUCKING TALK!
This issue is straight from our hearts &
souls & we hope you’re feeling it!
Our ethos remains the same:
ALWAYS LEAD, NEVER FOLLOW!
FRESH2DEATH YO! SOLID. GOLD. SOUL.
Bless up peeps! Teddy Girl OUT! X
Sneakerweather/Portage Chicago......................7
kuccia Klothing’s head honcho Soraya..... .........................9
Bloke Spot - Ali Omar gives us the mandem’s opinion.........11
Blog Spot - jasmine furelid.............13
‘Laydeez First’ Ilustration by Hannah Buck.........14-15
Interview with beatboxer Bellatrix..........................16-17
Interview & shoot with Grime artist RoxXxan...................19-26
‘Mi Vida Loca’ Latino Street-Style Shoot
............28-31
Interview with The King Blues’ Itch ...................32-35
‘skin - Gimme some’ skinhead shoot .............36-39
Emerging Musical Talent - Interview with Buggsy.....40-41
musical icon - interview with daddy skitz.....42-43
Street Art & Illustration Gallery........................44-47
Get Your Hair DID! The T-Boz do 2011........................49
solid gold soul streetstyle................50-53
Stockist’s Page......................................................55
if ya don’t know,
get to know!
Clockwise from top right:
Triple logo vintage Chanel
necklace; Vintage LA Lakers
varsity jackets; Vintage Chanel
01455 ‘short chain’ sunglasses;
Cazal 856 glasses. BOO YAH!
Portage Chicago
As garmz fanatics here at MissFit, it’s safe
to say that we LOVE finding out about dope new
sites, with the freshest threads to make us
part with yet more of our money - allow the last
bit, we don’t enjoy that! BUT when our homebwoy Sam @ Weapon of Choice Gallery in Bristol
showed us Portage Chicago we were like, ‘Say
whaaaat?!’ With more swag than Pharell’s walkin wardrobe (and probz at the same cost - you’ve
been warned!) we started getting pulpitations
and if we were the owners of an actual penis,
we would’ve had a boner to rival that of Ron
Jeremy’s infamous wang! DANG SON! From Cazal
to Chanel and waaaay beyond this site is going
to make you want to cry like a proper bitch.
Whatevs. At least you’ll look fly doing so!
portagechicago.bigcartel.com
As self confessed sneaker geeks who practically have
an anxiety attack at the first sign of rain, when
MissFit first heard about this piece of sheer ingenuity we were all, OHHH HELLZ FUCKIN YEEEEAAAAH!!! A
website which not only gives you a weather forecast
for your area but which also TELLS you which creps
to wear accordingly? WELL.SHIT.THE.BED. We just
HAD to give a BIG UP to co-founder Agata and pick
her brain to see how sneakerweather.com was born!
Hey Agata! First of all
THANKS! How did you and cofounder Shawn meet?
Whilst studying graphic design
at uni in London.
When did you come up with
the concept and how?
We’ve been working on the website development for a long
time. We were tired of always
getting our kix ruined by
sudden changes in the weather,
so we thought to ourselves why
is there no weather forecast
service tailored towards
sneakers?
What are your dream pair of
kicks?
The Jeremy Scott Adidas Originals
Wings Clear – they are clear
plastic, perfect for a rainy day.
What do you find best when
cleaning your sneakers to
keep them boxfresh?
The classic toothbrush approach.
It’s advisable to give them a
quick once over everytime you
wear them. Always wear weather
appropriate material, suede in
the rain is not a good idea.
Never put your sneakers in the
washing machine! And remember
to check your Sneaker Weather
daily @ www.sneakerweather.com
and follow us on Twitter!
kuccia klothing
This year it’s fair to say that
Kuccia has fast become one of our
favourite brands to bruk out and
rep to the fullest. It’s also fair
to say that it’s inventor and all
round instigator Soraya has fast
become one of our favourite people
to party with, being that she’s got
more swag and more blag than the
average rudebwoy on road AND she’s
crazier than Mariah when she went
through her lipstick eating phase.
In the best possible way naturally.
She’s our gyal! In between jetting off to manufacturers in China
and having it at St Pauls Carnival
in Bristol, she managed to find the
time to chat to us about her brand,
never selling out and never compromising her vision for Kuccia.....
How did Kuccia start and how has it progressed?
Kuccia started by me turning my gypsy lifestyle into dollar and has
progressed MASSIVLEY! I started making/selling my designs about 8
1/2 years ago, proper pikey style, living in a van, selling a few
garms here and there and making sure that I could eat! Now we are
stocked in over 60 independent stores across the UK and the world,
do 4 collections a year and produce a high quantity of garments in
asia every month!
Your strapline is Life Without Limits - what is your idea of LWL?
Life without limits for me, is a life without restrictions. I hate
feeling trapped and limited by anything, in Hindi they say “subcooch melega” (yes i am a hiiippppyy!!)- which means anything is
possible and this is my philosophy on life and I guess I created an
ideology of a kuccia girl to follow on the same lines of thinking.
Describe your Kuccia customer a a character....
We split the collections into 3 categories. We have the Rave racers - which is more how I would describe a MissFit reader. We use
alot of geometric, nu-rave and neon prints and alot of body-con,
tailored dresses and leggings. The second categorynis our kitch
cuties, which is a little bit more retro, for a girl who would appreciate more vintage designs and our third category is our beach
bohemians. This is more for girls who love to hang on the beach,
want to slip on a dress and then run straight to the beach bar,
flowing items maxi dresses etc. Where do you hope to see Kuccia going in the future?
I want kuccia to grow as big as it possibly can. We’ve already
started selling outside the UK and are looking closely at expanding into Australia as we really believe that we have huge potential
over there. I’ve declined many opportunities from some huge retailers who want to expand the brand but I want to grow something which
I’m proud of and I have a strong vision of where I want it to go.
I’ve worked unbelievably hard to get my brand to where it is today
and I don’t want to sell out to a huge retailer that lacks integrity where my brand would be subsequently lost.
Maybe I’m stupid but I’m doing what I want to do! Hahaha!
Well word on that sistah! Keep doin’ your ting!
R
For your chance to win bare Kuccia goodies send
a pic of yourself reppin’ your Kuccia garms to
[email protected] and put SUMMER STYLE in the subject box. Along with the photo, we would like
you to include one sentence to say something
about the photo. You will also need to include,
your name, email address and a contact number.
Top to bottom:
Malibu Bodycon Dress
Aztek Maxi Dress
Mayan Zipper Dress
Chain Gang Leggings
bloke-spot
ali omar
What’s good MissFit family! My name is Ali Omar and
I have very little interest in fashion whatsoever,
I’m just a nigga with an opinion! And many of them!
I ain’t gonna lie, when I kicked back and thought about
what clothes I would most like to see the gyal dem wearing
in the summer time, I knew exactly what that was - nothing.
Nada. The only fabric I want to see girls in is skin. I
don’t have a barometer to gauge whether or not a chick has
made good fashion choices. My dick makes those decisions
but I definitely want them to dress with a lot more attitude.
Every time I’m in the east end, I see the same types of girls
wearing the same types of clothes; leopard print trousers,
bland grey blouses and sandals. Yawn. It’s like they all
got released from the same factory. One word: FLACID. Take
a risk girls, defy convention and wear whatever the fuck
you want! Champion black this summer! Fellas wear whatever
they damn well please but as soon as it comes to women,
there are always a lot more rules. MissFit and I say FUCK IT!
Replace your generic tramp stamp and tattoo THAT on your
lower backs. Put the sugar back in the gyal dem! SWAG IT OUT!
Ladies garms clockwise from top right:
Bustier by Jeremy Scott X Adidas @
caliroots.com; Studded trainers by
Medievel X Vans X Hellz ‘Fvckboutins’;
Bag - hellzbellz.com; Tee by Supreme @
Married To The Mob mttmnyc.com
Do it like the mandem applies more to the fellas
than the ladies. I’m sick of seeing meek-looking man
everywhere I go. They wear skinny jeans so tight
that it just looks like painted skin; shorts so high
that you have to look twice to make sure they weren’t
Speedos; and v-necks so low that you can properly
see their belly buttons. Bunch of pussies. I see
them all over the high street, thinking they look
cool as they carry their satchels that they’re
probably keeping their vagina in. I don’t mind
folks trying to get their swag correct, but
what the fuck happened to masculinity? What
happened to rugged beards, timberland boots
and the urge to rape and pillage? Just the urge
mind but still. Advice I’d give to fellas? Dress
like you still retain ownership of your balls.
PLEASE. MAN THE FUCK UP!
Men’s garms clockwise from top: Biggie
tee by Uno One @ Donuts; ‘Gain’ fedora
hat @ brixton.com; Vintage ‘Blazers’ by
Nike; Drop crutch jeans @ Topman
BLOG-spot
Jasmine Furelid
stylish-stylissimo-styling.
blogspot.com
We first stumbled across Swedish BEAUT
Jasmine in a very East London way;
in a bar, clocked each other’s hair/
kicks and general steez and were
all, ‘Oh heyyy gurrrl....what d’you
do? You’re a stylist?’ So often one
of those standard network roll-youreyes-this-is-so-wanky-why-the-fuckdo-we-work-in-fashion-etc type of
occurence - you know, THEM ONES - but
this was pure VIBE. But Jasmine
certainly isn’t standard. Having lived
in London for the past 4 years, we
chat to her about her blog, styling
work, British style, her aspirations
and influences and more...
Hey rudegyal! What do you most love about
London and British style?
What I love about London is the variety,
nobody cares! In this city I can be 100%
myself and I dont care what people think
- or sometimes I do...people here STARE,
NO shame! But I mean, I’ve got pink and
green hair, so they probably think I’m
just crazy haha!
What made you want to be a stylist and
what do you love most about it?
I’ve always been interested in fashion and have been customising my clothes
since I was 14. I’d toyed with the idea of
beeing a stylist for a while but remained
ambivalent. Then one day I just sat down
and asked myself: ‘What do I like? What
are my passions?’ and just went for it!.
I love customising but never wanted to be
a designer. I just like dressing people
up. The thing I love most about styling
is seeing the end results and happy clients
- that makes me smile!
Who would you most like to
work with? Model/musician/
photographer/designer etc?
Whoah, hard question! For a
model I guess Adriana Lima.
I usually prefer to work
with non-models though. I
like meat! Big thighs, big
ass...women shaped like a
Coke bottle! The musicians I
would most like to work with
are Beyonce, Nicki Minaj and
Prince. Photographers I’m
not sure about but
for designers Jean Paul Gaultier, Vivienne
Westwood, Versace and Chanel plus jewellery
designers Melody Ehsani (featured in Issue
1 of MissFit) and Mark Fast both do amazing
things. I also love to work with new graduates
graduates, they can have some interesting stuff.
But mostly I just love to work with nice, humble
and funny people and then it don’t really matter
who they are!
Whose steez are you most feelng, both past and
present?
I love Beyonce when she’s edgy, Amber Rose ‘cause
she always looks hot and Nikki Minaj ‘cause she
dont give a fuck! I also love Neneh Cherry old
school 90s stuff, mixed up with current fashion.
Fave jobs you’ve done?
I absolutely love working with girl band VIDA.
They are amazing girls that always joke around,
it’s like working with my friends. It was also
nice when to style Preeya Kalidas for the red
carpet at the Brits. Tell us about yur blog. What most inspires you? I started my blog in 2010 when I started styling
seriously. Everything in the world inspires me travelling and people-watching, thats the best!
Sometimes I see something on someone that looks
totally wrong but I manage to see it in a different way to make it work for me!I love outrageous
people and I basically see everything as an
inspiration. The blog been starting to get loads
of viewers now which puts a smile on my face!
Well we love your
shit - keep
doin’ your thing
b! MissFit’s everywhere - CHECK
IT THE FUCK OUT!
Twitter: @MissStylissimo
Facebook fan page:
$tylish$tylissimo
$tyling
Bellatrix
TheBeatGoes
On...
After being encouraged by a family friend
beatboxer
named
‘Jukebox’
to
start
beatboxing herself and a period of “geeking
out in my room and being fairly shit”
just 7 years later, she is the Female
Beatboxing Champion of THE WORLD, as well
as being a professional double bassist
AND the lead beatboxer in the astonishing
girl band The Boxettes....ladies & gents,
we give you Bellatrix! Our editor Teddy
Girl caught up with her backstage at the
Men’s UK Beatboxing Championships where
she was a judge to chat about her journey
as both a musician and beatboxer, the new
line up of The Boxettes, being a girl in
a male-dominated arena and how Questlove
would be her ultimate dream collaboration
plus more....one thing’s for sure, if
you haven’t heard of her yet, expect
that shit to change imminently...big
ting fi gwan for this girl and her band!
Hey Girl! Both mediums you practice are
obviously highly technical, disciplined
and complex – basically HARD AS FUCK! Do
you think your experience in jazz gave you
transferable skills or are the two noncomparable?
Completely, they both work alongside each
other. I mean, obviously bass playing and
drum playing – beatboxing is kind of similar
to drumming – are part of the rhythm section
family so the things I work on a bass player
– groove, time and feel – directly
cross over with beatboxing. In
terms of rhythm, they interlink
perfectly. I always feel like
if I go through a period of
really shedding on one of
them, the other one does
benefit, which is great.
You’re the World champion
other
female beatboxer just 6
years after taking it up,
sometimes performing with
live loops whilst playing
bass. Are there limitations
to beatboxing skills which
lead you to diversify, or
is it a case of there always
being new techniques to learn
and a desire to experiment?
Both I guess. As a trained musician,
my desire to play with and bounce off other
people musically is quite pressing for me.
I don’t get that much pleasure playing as a
solo beatboxer in the same way that a solo
drummer taking a massive solo for 15 minutes
isn’t always massively musically inspiring
– I mean it might be – but it sort of feels
like standing there and having a big wank!
Beatboxing is cool and impressive and cos
not a lot of people have seen it before
and it’s still quite an underground thing,
My
to
people do like it. I did mess around with
loop stations for a while playing my bass,
singing and beatboxing but I don’t want to
invest the time in working out how to use the
technology, I’d rather do other things, which
is why I started The Boxettes. I just love
playing with other people.
And you so clearly vibe off of each other
when performing. Exactly. There are musical
ideas that wouldn’t have on your own as
you’ve got other people’s brains adding in to
the mix.
There isn’t a great deal written
on female beatboxers. Are the
other ladies open and friendly
or is it more insular and
competitive than that? I
haven’t experienced any
bad vibes from anybody.
The beatboxing community
people
is amazing and generally,
everybody are really good
is quite friends. It’s just so nice
as a female beatboxer to
come across others because
you’re like, yes! You’re in
the same boat as me! There’s
hardly any cattiness, it’s
nice!
In graffiti and street art circles,
some female artists complain of being
judged on their sex when it should be about
their skill and capability. Is it the same
in the world of beatboxing or are your male
peers more supportive and encouraging?
I mean, the fact is, there aren’t that many
female beatboxers so I will probably always
be judged on my sex before anything else.
It is the way it is. Sometimes it works in
my favour, sometimes it doesn’t, its fine.
I don’t have any major hang ups about it.
Generally people are really supportive and
desire
bounce off
musically
pressing
for
me
We’re not prepared to
compromise our
music....
or our
tits!
they DO notice I’m female but are more
like, “Wow that’s really unusual” as
opposed to, “Errm, what are you doing?!”
Your all-girl beatbox crew The Boxettes
are possibly the first ‘girlband’ since
TLC that didn’t make me want to rip my
own fucking throat out! (THANKYOU!)
You’ve been together since 2007; how have
the Boxettes evolved as a group and where
do you see yourselves going?
I guess everything moved really organically
with us. When we started, I had this vision
you know, like there aren’t many female
groups of this kind about, let’s give it a
go, it’ll be interesting. We started off as
a really mediocre acapella group with four
singers and a beatboxer. I don’t know when and
what happened but we just suddenly started
writing these tunes and became a band. It
wasn’t anything to do with the fact we were
all vocal, we just had a lot of chemistry
musically and began to experiment.
Did the other members all beatbox before as
well? No none of them had. It’s interesting
talking to them about it because we were
all at jazz college together and they were
like, beatboxing – what’s this? Who is this
girl? Then it all just started to happen.
It’s interesting looking back at the stages
up until now. We’ve been really lucky just
stumbling across this concept that’s really
worked and is continuing to work. We just
wanna keep going, getting better, keep pushing
boundaries and be as good as we can be. I mean
the fact that we are quite unique and original
is both the best thing and the worst thing
about us in terms of marketability.
In terms of knowing where to position you? I
think you are commercially viable - it’s more
the matter of how it’s gone about really.
Yeah. We’re just gonna roll with it but we’re
not prepared to compromise our music. Or our
tits!
The Boxettes’ perfect harmonies combined with
such a massive presence in both your shows
and videos, create a very real and almost
visceral experience that blows your audience
away and stays with them long after your
performance. Do you ladies have a specific
concept to follow when performing or is it
more organic than that?
Any concepts that we work to have been kind
of unspoken I suppose, up until now and what
we’ve done so far has happened naturally
and I feel certain things can be pushed
further. Like, if that’s how far we can
go organically, let’s start working with
choreographers. We’re not gonna over do it
but just want to get some outside input to
push things further, which can only be a good
thing and just take what we need from it.
The original line-up of the Boxettes - Bellatrix far left
Earlier in the year, former member Harriet
left The Boxettes to concentrate on other
projects and you’ve held live auditions to find
her replacement. In a group with such tight
vocals with such blatant sisterly solidarity,
how hard was it to replace a friend and
such an integrated band member to find the
appropriate alternative lady?
We were all really sad when Harriet said
she was leaving, I mean we all love each
other so much and have this really strong
sisterhood BUT I also had massive respect
for her, as it was a difficult thing for
her to do. She basically realised that she
would start holding the band back because of
the other things she wanted to do and was
actually like, it’s best for you guys if
I leave which is such an amazing, selfless
thing to do. She has our blessing of course
in everything she does and the same would go
for anyone else! We were all shitting our
pants a little bit about the audition though
because Harriet is so good! It was like how
the hell are we going to replace her?! We had
over 200 applicants, we saw 70 girls – SO
much talent! We got it down to 5 girls that
we worked with, gigged with and took away to
tours in different countries to get to know
them. It was a difficult process, obviously
for them as well because you’re making a bond
that might be broken but it had to be done
because it needed to be done. Eventually
we ended up going with a girl called Kate,
who’s the perfect replacement, in a way she’s
vocally in a way, quite similar to Harriet
– obviously she has her own thing going on –
but she just fit in to the band so easily with
virtually no integration time. She just came
straight in, we started moving forward and
I’m excited to see where it’s going to go!
So are we! You’ve collaborated with
Beardyman, Spitf’ya and Shlomo to name a few.
Who is your dream collaboration?
I would love to work with Questlove from
The Roots – he’s my groove idol and is just
absolutely insanely good with everything he does!
Word on that! That’s a collab we’d like to see!
Follow Bellatrix & The Boxettes on
Facebook & Twitter
Raw Like
W
Sushi
ith her mixtape ‘Prepare 4When I Land’
droppin’ on road, her new video ‘Tear’
featuring L & Benny Banks recently unleashed
online and already getting thousands of views as
well as her face being splashed across various
magazines all feeling that ROtripleX ting, things
are looking pretty fucking good for one of our
favourite female Grime artists. Now, for our second
issue with her as our cover girl, we bring you.....
RoxXxan
Fitting in perfectly with the interview, this
issue and our shared love of 80s/90s Hip Hop
steez and Neneh Cherry’s buffalo stance - hence
the title - we decided to shoot with this vibe
in mind. First of all we were gonna go with a
Brooklyn kinda chillin on the Ave, hangin’ on
the stoop type of flex then we thought, fuck that!
Let’s keep it distinctly British and be all,
jammin’ in the endz, cotchin’ round the manor!
Cue bunnin’ mad endo, eating bare Nandos and
Carribean food, climbing and hanging off things
you’ve been expressly told not to, tellin the
local yoots you’re not gonna “pass that spliff”
because they’re approximately 9 years old and
roping some passing random scooter gang in to the
shoot, all on a housing estate in South London.
We hope you have just as much fucking fun
viewing it as we all did shooting it! BOOM!
Interview & Styling: Teddy Girl
Photography: Jean-Luc Brouard
You’ve recently been signed by major
record label Polydor! Congratulations!
You must be pretty hyped! What’s your
first move at your new home?
Yeah, thank you. So far I’ve been in the
studio making music, the goal is to make
some singles, leading up to an album but
at the moment I’m just doing my own thing.
I’m gonna release a mixed tape independently,
Polydor are gonna help with the videos and
visuals, so I’m just having fun at the moment and just being myself.
You’re best known for your hard lyrics
and flow over some seriously raw and heavy
beats. Some purist fans are concerned that
by signing to a major label your sound may
be diluted for a more commercial, consumer
friendly product. What are your thoughts
on this - any trepidation about reaching a
more mainstream audience?
I understand that I kind of have tone
down certain things ie I’m not
gonna be running out on TV
chattin about everyone smoke
a spliff and chill and I’m
not gonna swear as much –
You can save that for the
B-sides right?
Exactly. I’m always
gonna make hard music no
matter what, even if I
get a number 1 I’m always gonna have that EP
or mixtape comin out,
droppin on road for all
the hard heads, for the
bass - it’s in my heart.
That’s good to hear.
Yeah man, fuck it! I’m
lookin forward to making
songs and being an artist.
As Grime is widely perceived as a
tough and aggressive sounding genre,
was this something you in any way felt
pressured to conform to or has hard and
dark always been your thing? Hey – either
way we AIN’T complaining!
Growin up I was a very hard and dark, angry
person. I used to box, I grew up on estate,
there was just me and my best mate Tia and
nine boys. I grew up playin 45 and out,
football etc, so I’ve always hard and aggressive. As soon as Grime came round and
Miss Dynamite started spittin hard bars, I
was like YEAH –
So you saw it as an appropriate arena where
you could vent some of your aggression and
frustration?
Definitely, where I could hold my voice,
where I could be part of the team.
Your spitting, flow and delivery are, in
MissFit’s humble opinion, one of the most
technically tight of your female contemporaries
and packed with a satisfyingly vicious
bite! Explain your creative process that
led you to your style?
Thanks. D’you know what? For me, I would
say it was probably just being in Brum and
when the Grime scene first came out, all we
had was the [pirate] radio which would be
There are
playin Dizzee or Wiley and it was like an
hour every Saturday or Sunday, it wasn’t
everyday like it is down here. I started
out doing all kinds of music, not just
Grime but Hip Hop etc too, so I’d try different flows. Ultimately though, I was like
yeah, Grime’s for me, I just love the bass
and so I bring some of that element and I
grew up listening to Reggae and Irish music
so I just incorporated it all.
Reading viewers comments on yours and other
female artist’s Youtube videos, there seem
to be constant comparisons drawn with male
peers, for instance, “She’s like the girl
version of Wiley...she’s like Skepta bla
bla bla...” instead of being judged on your
own merits. Whilst such comments are perhaps
inevitable, how do they make you feel?
I like them because Wiley’s an inspiration,
he doesn’t just do grime, he does everything and is kind of like the Godfather!
But at the same time I’m trying to
get my own spot!
Does the male/female aspect
piss you off?
It pisses me off so much
because at the end of the
day, to me, everybody is
fighting for the same spot.
Everybody wants that number 1. Music shouldn’t be
about the boy/girl thing,
it’s everyone battling!
I think you just have to
work hard and get to a
certain point to be judged
on your own merits. Soon,
one day, people are gonna be
like, ‘Oh yeah, that’s that
ROtripleX ting!
Do you feel gender is an issue in
Grime? What have you got to say to
detractors that say girls can’t go in as
hard as the boys?
D’you know what? I think it was an issue
but now, there are so many hard girls
coming out, everyone’s waiting - there’s
been a spurt and there’s so much girls that
are hungry, we’re ready!
Who were your major musical influences growing up, from what musical genres and who
inspires you most now?
Well my Mum was young when she had me so
she was in to Garage and House and I used
to love that - and Jungle. You know that
General Levy tune, when I was little I used
to go, “Icky, icky, Junglist massive!” I
think that’s probably how I learnt to spit!
But I grew up listening to Reggae and Irish
music because of My Mum and Nan, like The
Pogues etc but my biggest influences were
people like Lefteye - she was a G - Missy
Elliot, Eve....
You’ve worked with artists such as Jakwob
and performed with Goldie, Skream and Benga
to name a few. What would be your dream
collaboration?
Ultimate dream collab would be on stage with
Lauryn Hill, Missy Elliot, Miss Dynamite
and Neneh Cherry. All of us.
so many
hard girls
coming out that are
hungry -
we’re
ready
‘‘
I’m always
gonna have that EP
or mixtape comin out
‘‘
RoxXxan: Adidas jacket
her own, ‘Malibu’ body
con dress worn as vest by
Kuccia, acid wash jeans
@ Donuts, Nike Air Max
Lite’s @ Cooshti.
Kids: Caps by New Era,
Jacket by
droppin on road
for all the hard heads
for the bass
it’s in my
heart
Jacket & leggings both by
‘Stylist’s Own’ @ Seven7,
Sade tee by Too Much Posse
@ Donuts, Nike Air Max 1’s @
Cooshti & all moody gold from
various Indian wholesalers in
Soho, London - do your own
pilgrimage!
‘‘
I’m just
trying
to tell
my story
‘‘
let people
know
what
I’m
about
‘‘
I bring
Irish
tricks
Jamaican
kicks
that create
my Gemini
power
I was made to
devour
‘‘
and
fuck21seconds
I’ll
spit
for an
hour
‘Boxing Ting’
RoxXxan
This page: ‘Rockers NYC A.T.L.T’ Tee by Rockers @ Donuts, acid-wash shorts @ Beyond Retro, Nike
varsity jacket @ 5 Pointz, knee length socks @ American Apparel, Nike Air Jordan 7 Retro ‘Orion’
@ Cooshti, gold as before,Opposite page: Dress by Kuccia, thigh length socks @ American Apparel,
kicks as before
What about Jean Grae?
OMG yeah! Then Jean comes out of nowhere,
from a helicopter and lands in my backpack
and just starts spittin!
MissFit are not particularly enamoured
with many current female artists in the
mainstream which has led us to look back
to artists and groups such as Neneh
Cherry, TLC and Salt N Pepa etc who
had swagger, skill, integrity AND
substance. It’s your lyrics such
as....
You’re not ready, you really
can’t hack this,
Boys step back you cannot
mack this, You’ll get banged so please
don’t jack this, This is hot you really
should stack this....
ADD IT TO YOUR PLAYLIST!
went in hard, so for me to even spit a bar it
HAD to be hard. [Laughing] I’m not gonna lie,
now you’ve said that, I’m a bit nervous! But
you know, I’m just having fun making music
and riding my own wave. I’m not trying to
jump on any bandwagon, I’m not trying to be
the hardest, I’m just trying to tell my story
and let people know what I’m about.
Have you got any concerns about image
and being marketed a certain way?
When I first got signed, I was
all yeah, they’ve signed me for
me but now after many meetings and realising now I’m
signed, it’s not just making
music, it’s not just your
love or a job but your career and you have to sell!
I know I’m gonna have to,
as they say, “Get more feminine” but for MissFit, you
heard it here first, you will
never, repeat NEVER see me
go all ‘sexy’ in batty riders
and a bra! But yeah, I do worry
a little bit but I’m never gonna sell out like that, I’m always
gonna be me. I represent girls that
don’t give a fuck and I will be that girl at
the MOBOs or whatever , wearing Vans! Maybe
diamante Vans - spice it up a bit!
As hardcore old school Hip Hop heads here
at MissFit, we want to know whether you draw
any parallels between Hip Hop and Grime? How
influential do you think the former was to
and I think it’s elevated so much but in my
opinion, nobody can rap like the Americans.
I’m
nevergonna
sell out
I’m always
gonna be
...that make us love your shit
so much, as you share that same
GENUINE independent no bullshit
woman aesthetic, that seems to
be lacking from so many contemporary
artists.
How difficult do you think it is to encompass all these attributes whilst delivering
quality music that sells?
Yeah I’m that cool, I just do me! Nah I’m
joking! I think again, it goes back to being from Brum and everyone I knew spat and
me
the inception/progression of Grime?
Oh yeah, definitely. I love UK Hip Hop and I think it’s elevated so much but in my opinion, nobody can rap like the Americans. It might be their tone, twang or accent but they do the
job! I think one day, there was a producer over here smoking
weed, accidently upped the tempo, someone started spittin and
then Grime came! Haha...nah even the way we talk is faster.
Americans are all like, ‘Yeeeeah man, heyyyy ma!’ whereas we
say, ‘Whagwan? What you sayin?’ like quicktime. But there is
a lot of talent here from people like Giggs to Mud Fam but US
and UK - it’s all been influential.
You share your name with Roxanne Shante, a legendary female
MC from NY in the 80s, famous for her freestyle abilities to
win battles and smash her male counterparts. How aware of her
and other old school artists are you and how much, if anything, do you think female artists such as yourself owe to
the legacy of such Hip Hop originators?
Yeah man she was sick! She killed it on that track Big
Mama! You know there was another one called the Real
Roxanne, then there was the Real Real Roxanne so I like
like to call myself the Real Real Real RoxXxan!
You could be the Realest RoxXxan?
Yeah you know! Them ones! It’s all about the ROtripleX!
You rock some fresh garms gyal! What are your main influences and how would you describe your steez?
I love bright colours. I’ve always been that girl from
the hood but hated the way people from the hood are
seen - all dark colours, you know black hoodies, black
Air Max - growing up I used to wear all this, I’m not
gonna gonna lie! As I got older I looked up to people like
Pharell rockin Ice Cream and Billionaire’s Boys Club, he
has got serious swagger and Andre 3000 too. Even Gwen
Stefani and where am I going? Kelis man! But yeah I love
Vans and bright colours, streetwear.
MissFit are always on the lookout for emerging musical talent. What underground acts do you personally most
rate?
Up and coming, I have to say Scrufizza, he’s an MC coming
out who’s sick. Youngs Teflon, Nolay is going hard right
now, Lioness, Pariz1...and The Boxettes!
Finally, what’s on RoxXxan’s agenda for 2011?
I’m going to Denmark and Amsterdam in July and August
and Croatia to Outlook with Punch Records - gotta give
a shout out to them, they’re doing a lot for artists in
Birmingham!
Well that’s it. Thanks for taking the time to talk to
us. Looking forward to seeing where it all goes for
you.
Thanks. I wanna give a shout out to Teddy Girl &
MissFit Magazine, Backpack Gang and all the girls who
don’t give a fuck! ROtripleX!
RoxXxan’s mixtape ‘Prepare 4When I Land’ is out August 22nd on
ROTRIPLEX Records
http://www.roxxxan.com
http://twitter.com/ROtripleX.com
http://www.myspace.com/roxxxanmusic
Nike jacket, Nike vest & Nike Air Max 1’s
@ Cooshti, leggings & trousers by Kuccia
Here at MissFit, we
think the cholo look
is HARD & since our
editor Teddy Girl
likes to dress like
a Latino gangbanger
approximately 26% of
the time at the very
least, is fairly loco
AND has the appropriate
inkage, we were all
‘Get in the magazine
ese!!!’Conjuring up
that West Coast flava
we went on a Rosie
Perez meets Cypress
Hill meets El Mara
Salvatrucha - MS13 meets a Latin Queens
OG type of chola
sending pictures to
her papi in the pen,
straight out of
muthafuckin Compton
kinda vibe. S’enough
to make you wanna
say ‘Ay papi!’ and
‘Fuck you puta!’ all
at once! Mi vida loca
putitaaaaa!
Photography by
Vic Lentaigne
Hair by Ioanna
Alexia Kruiz
Graphic design
by Jack Wells
Styling by
Teddy Girl
Eazy E Tee @ Seven7, Denim shirt @ All Saints,
Vest, bandana & all gold - model’s own, Khaki
shorts by Carharrt @ Mash, LA Lakers cap by
New Era, Thigh high socks & knee high socks
both @ American Apparel
The King Blues’ Itch
After years of gigging, political activism, hard graft and line-up changes, The King Blues are brukkin’ out
& brukkin’ through with their third
release Punk & Poetry entering in
to the album chart at number 31. No
easy fucking feat for an acoustic
political
punk
band
but
wholly
deserved - as the band themselves like
to say, it’s all “swedish!” In between an interview & shoot for another
magazine, we managed to get some time
for a zoot and a beer on Camden Lock
with this band’s frontman. He’s an
Itch many girls would like to scratch
and here we talk to him about the new
album, the band’s new line-up, the
current state of the UK, fatherhood,
Biggie vs Tupac and what punk means
to him, plus a whole lot more......
So firstly, you and the King Blues are back
with your third offering, ‘Punk & Poetry.’
New album, new line-up, new band?
Kind of yeah. We’ve been through a lot of
changes since the last album. It’s difficult,
I guess this lifestye ain’t for everyone and
we’ve lost some people along the way. We’ve
got some new musicians who are fantastic and
genuinely hungry. That has spilled out on to
me and Jamie, it’s like having a new lease
of life, we’re hungrier than ever and we
feel like we’ve got something to prove now.
We went in and rehearsed harder than we
ever have and the band are the best
we’ve ever been, by a long way.
With what’s going on in the world
at the moment, I feel we’re
relevant. Initially I was
writing about life, death,
births, marriages, divorces kind of quite deep stuff and
then this new Government got
in and I saw my mates losing their jobs and my son’s
future being taken away
from him and it angered me
again. I wanted to make an
album that made people angry
again, made them think I wanted them to be able to
believe in something. , real
and raw. I feel we’ve achieved
that and made a 21st century punk
rock record.
Your debut album had a raw ska punk
feel to it and you’ve previously said that
it’s follow up, ‘Save The World, Get The
Girl’ was about you trying to speak to people, conveying a political message. What is
Punk & Poetry’s main aim and what does this
record mean to you?
For me our records have always had a different purpose. Our first album, we had a feeling that if we got enough kids out on to
the street, we could stop a war and that’s
what that entire album was about, mobilising
people. I think when we got a million people
out on the street and we still weren’t listened to, we went back a little more cynical
and I think that showed on STWGTG. With this
album, we’re saying there’s no point now in
trying to beg the Government to throw us a
bone! I think what we really need to do is
Interview & Styling by Teddy Girl
Photography by Tom Barnes
start taking control of our own lives and
build our own society within this society,
our own movement within this movement - we
need to take back control!
I feel that some political bands and some
followers adopt such an air of moral superiority and militancy in their Neo-Liberalist
beliefs that they alienate potential audiences. You always mange to write politically
charged and socially aware songs without
being too preachy or pious. How do you maintain that balance?
To be honest, I think it’s a craft
we’ve learnt over time. It’s really difficult to write political
songs that are also personal,
fun and listenable but I guess
once you get a strong concept, it makes it easier and
I think the concept is the
hardest part for me. But
once I do, the songs kind
of write themselves fairly
easily really. I think with
our first record there was a
lot of sloganeering and it
was a bit preachy in a way
but we’ve always tried to blur
the personal and the political
because where one ends and the
other begins I don’t know. At what
point does being a single mum on an
estate struggling to raise her family become
political rather than just personal? I don’t
know but I think if you can go in to those
blurred lines you can create a song that has
something to say, has a political message
without being ‘worthy’ because who the fuck
wants to listen to my art if it’s a lecture?
When I put on a record I wanna have fun so
that’s the basis where we set out writing.
Yeah, I feel you, take listening to Crass.
On a political, innovative level - AMAZING.
That shit’s powerful! But on a listenable
level, not always the easiest, enjoyable
thing to hear! Obviously they’re a band to
be respected for their beliefs and ingenuity
but it’s not exactly the most accessible,
I wanted to
make analbum
that made
people
angry
again
“struggling
At what point does being a single Mum on an estate
to raise her family
“
become
political rather than personal?
inclusive or enjoyable music to listen to is
it?
Exactly.I personally think Marvin Gaye
changed more with ‘What’s Goin On’ than
Crass did with ‘Feeding The 5000’ because it
spoke directly to people, they could get on
board with it, they didn’t feel isolated by
it and that’s what we’re about. We are the
people and we’re here for the people, that’s
our mentality.
What have you got to say to those detractors
and critics who say The King Blues are selling out?
Well you know, initially, it’d be nice if
they could just say something to my face
because I only ever hear it third hand or
whatever. At the end of the day, we’ve always stayed true to ourselves, so to people
who say we’re only making songs to go on the
radio, listen to ‘We’re Fucking Angry’ and
then listen to JLS! They’re clearly two different fucking things and if you can name me
another band on the radio who sound like us,
then I’d love to know who it is, know
what I mean!
As a political musician and activist, what do you think are
the biggest issues that we
currently face in the UK?
In the UK right now, I
guess it’s the whole divisions thing. With these
new cuts coming in we’re
gonna look for scapegoats and it’s going to
be very easy to point
our fingers at each other
and they’re gonna try and
make sure we do this so
we don’t point our fingers
above. I think we need to
see unity - to see workers/
students/homeless/unemployed
unite because these cuts are gonna
effect us all and we’re only strong
through unity! The biggest issue that I can
see, is the scum and the filth like the BNP
and the EDL - who the Tories will quite happily see come and divide up our communities
so we don’t realise it’s actually the Tories
fucking us - coming in and saying we can’t
afford this, we can’t afford that when you
know, we can afford to go to war in Libya
but we can’t afford to keep our libraries open, I think our priorities are completely fucked up. When Thatcher had been in
for this long in the 80s, she hadn’t done
half as much as the Government have now and
so it’s a really scary time! This is not a
Government that sits on it’s hands, it’s one
getting in there and making serious changes
for the worse. I’m just waiting to see what
happens man cos it’s gonna get a whole lot
worse before it gets any better.
What does punk mean to you and can it ever
really die?
To me, Punk means doing what YOU want to do
rather than following another’s set of rules
or dogma and I believe that was it’s original intention. For working class kids to
realise they can be more than they’ve been
told they can be and that they can rise up
and take the world back, that they don’t
have to rely on other people and their methods, that they can be methods themselves.
I think that’s what Punk is, it’s reclaiming your life, dreaming big and making those
dreams a reality. As for whether it can
die, I definitely think it can but as long
as there are pissed off angry kids who feel
marginalised and ostracised, they’ll always
be a place for Punk rock.
How do you think becoming a father has
changed you both artistically and personally?
Personally, I just think it’s made me man
up! I’m up at the crack of dawn now, on it!
I just didn’t wanna be my father and the
kind of man he was and that was my biggest
fear, I was terrified - the first 6 months of
pregnancy, I didn’t know if I could do it
and I’ve kind of surprised myself. It’s both
a pleasure and an honour to be around him.
Artistically, I think I have more rage than
ever. I don’t just see my future being taken
away but his too but I don’t think it’s
changed me artistically, it’s reaffirmed what I thought before.
What and who have been your biggest musical influences throughout your life?
Initially, Johnny Rotten and
later on Joe Strummer. I
guess my peers too really and
just growing up in the Punk
scene and seeing your mates
bands. You knew everyone
playing and doing the sound
and that influenced me more
than any stars did as in,
shit, this is something I can
do so more my friends and the
scene than any individual artists really. The first punk bands
I got into that really changed
things for me were Last Resort and
The Exploited. I was living on the street
at the time and this group of Spanish punks
took me in, let me stay at their squat, took
me to the Big Issue office and genuinely
saved my life - they became my family. I
was a 13 year old kid who was bullied at my
school and on my estate, I was a confused
fucked up kid, living on the street hand to
mouth thinking this is it, this is my future
to the end. These guys spoke broken English
but they took me in, gave me a room and they
started playing me these punk rock tapes,
music I’d never heard in my life and it
spoke to me hard!
How has the addition of two female members
Josie and Kat changed the band?
I don’t think it’s really anything to do
with them being female as such, I think
it’s that every individual brings their own
energy to the table and with those girls,
they’re genuinely hungry and enthusiastic.
We still walk around in our pants in the hotel room, farting in each other faces The girls join in? Albeit with prettier
arses to look at whilst they’re farting in
your face?
[Laughing] Yeah they’re cool! It’s not like
Punk is
reclaiming
your life
dreaming
big
and making those
dreams a
reality
New line-up l-r: Kat; Josie; Jamie; Dean; Itch; Jack
they’re girly girls, they
just do their ting! They
both bring different energies. I think Kat is bubbly
and lively, she brings this
kind of mellow conscious
spirit to it whereas Josie,
she’s a bit more hardcore,
a bit more a hardass! It’s
their energy, their different vibe and swagger that
have changed things, not the
fact they’re female.
Earlier in the year you went
out to LA, co-presented Radio 1’s Punk Show with Mike
Davis and wrote some songs
with cult punk band Rancid’s
frontman Tim Armstrong, how
surreal was that?
Mental! I’d never been to
America before, I was alone
and everything is so big, so
kinda scary as well! Writing
with Tim was incredible. We
did some shows with Rancid last year so I’d
met him and it was cool but to actually be
writing with him - you know I’ve got an Operation Ivy tattoo on my hand that I had on
my 16th birthday and that band means so much
to me - and he’s had all his success but he
comes in with ripped jeans and scuffed up
shoes, you think this motherfucker is real!
MissFit are always keen to discover fresh
new talent. Who do you currently most rate?
The Skints are smackin it big time! There’s
a band called Mouthwash who I think are absolutely incredible. On a Hip Hop level I
like Mack Miller, his last three mixtapes
have been fucking tight. And there are some
sick poets out there too, Derek Brown and
Kate Tempest.
What are your 5 favourite albums of all
time?
Aaarrrgggh that’s hard! But I’d say:
Operation Ivy - Energy
The Clash - London Calling
Last Resort - A Way Of Life
Rancid - Out Come The Wolves
Chris Murray - Raw
Favourite rapper or Hip Hop artist?
I think when it comes to writing personal
stuff, Eminem is a genius. I mean, “Afternoon boys and girls, tonight we’re gonna
learn how to poison squirrels,” that kind of
writing is incredible and can’t be touched,
it’s about more than just pure swagger.
I think Tupac was the same like that.
Yeah I mean, you know I’m Biggie all the
way - East coast ma’fuckers! But if you had
to say Tupac or Biggie, what would would you
say?
Aaarrrggghhh....I can’t....
You have to! Don’t pussy out!
I’d probably say Pac. It’s such a tough one.
Really? A big debate breaks out....
I can’t choose actually, I can’t!!! I like
Immortal Technique in terms of chattin about
what’s going on in a hardcore sense, he does
it. And when it comes to battling he does
that too.
Yeah Tech is tight! I think Big L was wicked
at documenting the hardcore shit. I love him
off HARD!
Yeah I don’t know too much about him.
What? Fuck! I’m burning you a copy of Lifestyles Ov The Poor And The Dangerous man!
You’ll be feeling that shit! Do it!
What British acts do you rate?
I love Skinnyman, Joey Brains and Blak
Twang. All of Mud Fam really.
What music does your son does Maverick like?
He only really responds to gangster rap! He
likes booty songs! I thought it might be
just Hip Hop beats he was in to but I tried
to play him some Will Smith but he weren’t
having any of it!
Maybe you should get him a Big L tip! Maybe
he can settle the Tupac/Biggie ting! If it’s
the beats and cuts he’s in to, he’ll be Biggie all the way, throwin’ them East Coast
signs!
Yeah maybe that’s the way to settle it!
Finally, as MissFit is primarily a fashion
magazine, descrive your steez please!
Rah! I mean, I’m not a very stylish person.
Well you’re not unstylish and that’s from a
harsh critic AND your new stylist!
Well thank you! I guess I love New Era hats
and Nike kicks.
[Laughing] How does that sit with your punk
sensibilities?
Not well! At the end of the day, I do disagree with the principles of sweatshops but
sometimes there are just some things in life
that you can’t be so militant about, well
not about every thing anyway and if it’s
something you love...
It’s a drop in the ocean type thing?
Yeah it really is.
Anyway, that’s it! Thanks for your time!
You’re welcome, thank you!
Punk & Poetry is available online & in stores
across the UK & single ‘I Want You’ is currently
out. Follow The King Blues on Twitter & Facebook
Ok, so when it comes to doin’ it like a mandem,
there is no style or subculture as fitting as the
Skinhead. More than standing the test of time this
quintessentially British look & movement is ever
enduring, classic and uniquely finite. Summoning
up that spirit of ‘69 to the present day we wanted to
embody the strict, slick and above all hard flex that the
skins do so well - so sharp it’s like, ‘Steppin’ razor’ rudie!
Models: Harmony Rehcoub & Polly Spencer
Photography by Vic Lentaigne
Graphic design by Jack Wells
Styling by Teddy Girl
Hair by Kalvyn Celic
Clockwise from left: Denim shirt, braces & skinny jeans all @
American Apparel, Shirt & cardigan @ Rokit, Jeans @ Beyond
Retro, DM boots - model’s own, Loafers @ Russell & Bromley,
Short-sleeved shirt by Fred Perry, Leather skirt @ H&M,
Long-sleeved shirt & red braces @ Dirty Harry’s
Buggsy
Real
Recognise
Photography by Vic
Lentaigne
Real
Undisputedly one of the most exciting
things to happen to the UK urban
scene in quite some time, our editor
Teddy Girl cruised down to Bristol
to talk to 23 year old Buggsy about
the recent release of his eagerly
anticipated,
highly
acclaimed
debut album The Great Escape,
his lyrical content and why so
many people seem to chat so much
shit. All over a beer, pizza and
a zoot. S’that South West flex!
Yo! How long has TGE been in the making
and can you explain the process?
The Great Escape was in the making for
about a year and a half. Some of the
beats I had from before but I had a
different title for the album - I was
just looking to put out some sort of EP
really. I got a different collection
of beats from producers all over
the UK, who basically hollered
at me and said yeah let’s do
some work, I took some of
their beats, worked on them
and put it together.
What do you think
distinguishes your sound
from other artists?
Facts. I used to be a
liar, I used to be a
conman, I used to try
that - not even try, I
was good at it. On the
rebound of not doing that,
I just tell the truth and
beyond truth is fact init,
something that a lot of people
like to fight in life, I don’t know
why but....
One of your lines is “Real recognise
real....your lyrics have a lot depth and
feature a fair bit of social commentary
for one so young - perhaps comparatively
to other artists. On your MASSIVE track
‘Pure Gas’ you comment on everyone’s need
to chat gangsta and basically chat shit.
Why do you think that so many artists
choose to shy away from actually saying
something?
Saying something real you mean? It’s the
bandwagon init. And that bandwagons been
going for years and years and years...I
call it the ‘urban emulation’. Gangs are
portrayed a certain way and it’s all
a spin off of what really was. Certain
things are supposed to come to an end for
a reason and obviously there’s a lot of
confusion going on now, that’s all I can
see you get me.
Years ago, you were part of ‘St
Paul’s Crew’ and you changed
your name to ESPEA (Educating
Street People Everywhere
Anywhere)....
Yeah that was my older
cousins who were also my
next door neighbours. It
was mad init. That’s when
I really first started
spittin lyrics, on their
set.
Do you think that set you
on a path of more conscious
content?
Not really because I was
spittin negative content you
get me! Then one of the mandem
come to me after and said - not
even come to me just spoke out loud and
everybody just laughed in the room, I
actually got a lyric about it as well
- and that’s when I started switching
it, like alright, cool! I’m gonna start
spittin so real, mandem aren’t even
gonna like it! I’m just gonna be spittin
straight facts, like, “You can end up
being rich or end up in a box, making
hooch for a hand date.” People was like,
what are you on about? But like, if you
know actual road slang, like if you
know you KNOW init and if you don’t, you
don’t. I’m not trying to even teach you
but if you learn, then you LEARN, it’s
like that.
I also asked Skitz why he thought that
Grime had seen more commercial success
I just tell
the truth
and beyond
truth is
fact init
Music - emerging talent
than UK Hip Hop and he said that he
basically thought it was because more
Grime MC’s were willing to compromise and
go on Pop and whilst he understood it, he
could never do it. Is that something you
agree with?
I agree with everybody doing what they’re
doing. If they’re doing it and gwanen
like they ain’t doing it, then I don’t
agree. You know if you’re saying ‘this
is what I want b, I’m coming out of the
hood, we got troubles here’ - if that’s
what man’s doing and doing for him
straight, then I agree. Me, I wouldn’t do
that, it’s not what I want. I do what I’m
doing, I’m not trying to get famous. When
I make tracks I’m just laying down what’s
in my brain.
One of your lines is, “Raised in the
gully, you ain’t taking it from me,” and
you’ve released your album independently.
Is that because of your roots and
beliefs? Why is that?
Because I ain’t waiting on nobody and I
ain’t asking nobody.
Is it so you can have more creative
freedom as well?
Not really. Basically people were just
saying ‘Buggsy, you need to put suttin
out!’ So I did!
For the people? Yeah, just that. Simple.
Obviously Bass and Rastafari culture are
deeply rooted in Bristol, which really
shines through with both you and your
music. How do you think growing up in
this city has shaped you as an artist?
As an artist, I dunno man, I just grew up
in the endz init!
Do you think you’re musically aware,
maybe more culturally enrichened then,
realer?
I think I can say yeah there. I went to
school with rich people and middle class
people init. I went and I was just me
I call it the
‘urban
emulation’
obviously
there’s a lot
of
confusion
going on now,
that’s all
I can see
you
get
me
all the way through. I come out, people
recognise me still and they say you were
just you! Even then!
You’ve definitely got some standout tracks
on TGE such as ‘Connect The SPDIF’ with
Jehst and Farma G, a tune to blaze to
which I know I’m gonna be listening to
for years! You could have a new ‘Cosmic
Gypsies’ on your hands there - timeless!
What was it like working with them?
I didn’t meet them - I mean I know them
anyway but The Purist sent me the beat,
it already had Jehst and Farma bars on
it and I said yeah, this is sick! I just
came up with the lyrics straight away and
went down to Brighton to record it. He
said I could have it so I put it on the
album as an extra track for people, it
wasn’t even planned to be on there.
You’re quite introspective and
autobiographical in your lyrics. On TGE
you say, “It’s so sad to see so many
people gone astray, it’s bogus at times
it feels hopeless.” Clearly we’re not in
the best political/economical situation
right now, is this a reflection of that?
How do you feel about things in the UK
right now?
I’m not even in the country right now. My
brain is elsewhere. I’m on Mars.
[Laughing] What, you reside on Planet
Buggsy? Yeah man!
Right, well as you know, we got some
people on FB to put their questions to
you forward and we’ve selected a couple.
Firstly, which Grime artist would you
most like to collaborate with?
Wiley. I know him still, I always tell
him, yeah let’s do suttin!
And who would your dream collaboration be
with? Probably Busta Rhymes.
You’re probably one of the only people
who could match his flow! Bless.
Follow Buggsy on Facebook & Twitter
Music - icon
Daddy Skitz
Photography by Azita Firoozyah
Interview by Teddy Girl
Undisputedly the fucking Don of UK Hip
Hop, Daddy Skitz has more than earnt
his stripes in this sometimes inconsistent scene, keepin it real and always
making QUALITY music from the soul. So
legendary is he and so bigger a fan am
I, that I submitted to the suggested
swig of Jack Daniels despite fucking
HATING it and suffered the consequent
indignity of having to explain to Rodney P why I had just texted the words,
“It tastes ragga in my mouth right now”
without complaint. Whatevs. All in the
line of duty to bring you this interview where we talk about past, present and a whole lot of other good shit.
Your debut album Countryman, has stood
the test of time, sounding just as raw
and fresh as it did when it first dropped
in 2001. You kept us waiting nearly a
decade for the follow up, ‘Sticksman’
and as anticipated, it didn’t fucking
disappoint! Clearly, an artist concerned
with quality over quantity, explain your
creative process and what you consider
the fundamentals of your sound to be.
Thank you. Wow. I can break down the
fundamentals - my sound is basically all
my inspirations put in to one big melting pot. I mean, I was raised as a little
hippy kid on a commune in the middle of
Exmoor, so I grew up on and folk and rock
and music with a message. So I grew up
around that going to festivals, running
around naked with my face painted, steal-
ing stuff from stalls and just being a
rowdy little hippy kid really. That was
my proper roots and then I got in to punk
rock – I was always in to kind of revolutionary music.
So like, always kind of on the fringes?
Yeah, I liked Ska too - The Specials and
The Clash were my favourite artists and
when they linked up with Fab5 Freddy and
Blondie, I got into Rap through them and
Big Audio Dynamite, then I went to America
and totally fell in love with Hip Hop so
really my style fuses all those influences
and puts them into one big tapestry and
weaves a nice rug out of it! But the backbone is revolutionary music to be honest,
music with a message and music that you
can feel from the heart.
It’s nearly a year ago since Sticksman was
released. At the time, you said that you
thought that UK Hip Hop was in a dark age
- with the exception perhaps of the progression of Grime. Following the impact
Sticksman had and with artists such as
Buggsy breathing new life in to the scene,
has your opinion changed? What are your
thoughts on the UK sound right now?
D’you know what, as far as Hip Hop, I’m
kind of thinking that there’s a whole new
generation coming through and I always say
that but it feels like there really is
now, like a lot of MC’s and a few producers I’m listening to have been tucked away
The
of
backbone
my
is
sound
revolutionary
musicwith a
message
that you can
from the
feel
heart
honing their skills and coming through
with a lot of weight and a lot of uniqueness....which is great man. I’ve watched
the cycles and seen how the scene comes
back around with new sounds, techniques
and flows. Saying that you will never have
again those times where Hip Hop exploded
in the UK, where everyone was involved.
Covent Garden, Record shops, writers, sell
out massive gigs etc.. That was the golden
age and can’t happen again.
Although still a predominantly underground
scene with a dark and heavy sound, Grime
has seen more commercial success than UK
Hip Hop, with more artists crossing over
into the mainstream. Why do you think this
is?
Well cos they’ll rap on Pop records.
They’ve sold out really! I mean, to be
honest I’m fed up of hearing fucking
MC’s on shit beats and there are so many
of them – SO many of them – many people
I know have gone that route but I could
never do that because I’m not into selling
my soul to the devil. I’ve always skirted
the peripherals of the industry and have
no love for them at all.
Explain what you think the basic principles
of the UK Hip Hop scene and sound are collectively, if you could do a sound-bite
type thing?
I feel like the UK scene NOW, has totally
embraced its environment, its culture and
talks about what it knows and what it
feels. Everyone’s true to themselves now
rather than trying to copy the styles of
the Americans and now everyone’s firmer
footed, standing stronger and feeling more
comfortable in themselves and I think its
head is raised and it’s feeling proud!
You’ve worked with such a diverse range of
artists such as Rodney P, Pharoahe Monch,
Roots Manuva, Estelle, Harry Shotta,
Buggsy, Wildflower, the list goes on...if
at all possible to choose, what have been
your standout collaborations?
I mean to be honest, Rodney P is still
like, he is my MC - we’re like the Ying
and Yang of UK Hip Hop! I’m excited, every time I make a beat and I get Rodney
in the booth, I know he’s gonna spit some
fire, He’s always a pleasure to work
with! Of all the other people
I’ve worked with, if I could
get them back in the studio,
Kardinal Offishall was amazing just cos of his voice.
Harry Shotta, Hunta oh
yeah and Buggsy!
Yeah man, Buggsy is undisputedly one of the most
exciting things to happen
to UK in a long time!
Yeah, Buggsy’s heavy,
talented and I love his
consciousness, where he’s
coming from and the fact
that he’s just him – just
represents himself.
Who would your dream collaboration be with?
Ah man there’s so many people! I
guess Capleton! He’s the one that I’d just
fucking love to do a tune with! Reggae’s
my backbone and to me is the genre I go
back to when everything else frustrates me.
I think that Reggae is the backbone of UK
Hip Hop and the fundamental difference is
that it’s more Funk and Soul samples in
America and more Dub and Roots here.
The thing is in England we know our heritage, history and foundations. We’re more
racially integrated, here you hang out with
a crew and there’s like, two Asian kids, a
couple of Black kids and White....that’s
what I love about England, it’s so complex,
even the music is diverse, it’s a cultural
gumbo!
Follow Daddy Skitz on Twitter
In the past year we’ve seen you support
some big names from across the pond including KRS One and EPMD. Clearly both
innovators and important names in US Hip
Hop, how does it feel to be playing alongside such legends? What’s their take on
the UK sound?
EPMD embraced our sound. KRS has gone right
down in my estimation, my girl organised that tour so I got a real
insight in to what went on
behind the scenes – I don’t
really wanna talk about it
but let’s just say he let
me down in a big way. The
thing is he was my hero. I
love KRS One, I wouldn’t
be who I am without him
and Criminal Minded. By
the end of the tour I
didn’t even want to meet
him properly. As far as
supporting the Americans?
To be honest, it’s always
slightly frustrating cos
you never get the levels they
get, the lights they get, they
always turn it up a few db’s after you come off and the Americans
are about to go on but I gotta tell you
something – at the KRS thing we smashed it!
[Laughing] And a lot of people said our set
was better than his so I don’t care!
Which female artists have inspired you most?
MC Lyte and Roxanne Shante they were my
girls! MC Lyte had the voice, so did Roxanne
Shante and they both had the flow – I love
both of them! I mean MC Lyte’s ‘Cha Cha Cha’
and ‘Lyte as a rock’ are two of my favourite
tunes ever! And Shante used to come with –
she just had that griminess to her voice, it
was just so dirty and raw!
Sick! Well thanks for taking the time to
talk to MissFit!
My pleasure little Devon one – SHIRE!
Rodney P is
my
mc, we’re
like the
and
ying yang
of
UK Hip Hop
You don’t need us to tell you what this is - like that Ronson sealing
shit or whatever the fuck it is - this section does exactly what it
says on the tin! Well, page actually but ya catch our drift! We aim to
deliver you some of the freshest graffiti, street art and illustration
around show-casing both recognised and emerging talent - and you can even
buy it! Just check all the deets listed then make that enquiry! We ain’t
doin’ it ALL for you bitches! But we hope you enjoy getting your perv
well and truly AWWN over some seriously dope art as much as we did!
To rip off Puffy this time, (yeah that’s right, we’re going on his
90s flex this issue, we aint even on the ‘Daddy’ and fuck P Diddy! AND
WHAT?!) we be, “Boom-bangin in yo’ area, causin mass hysteria!”
‘RAISING HELL’ by Hannah Buck
www.missbuck.com
When we first came across illustrator Han2theB, we took one look at her
fresh2death Air Max 1s in perfect summer colour ways and her expertly pinchrolled jeans and knew she was our kinda gyal. Then we saw her work and fired off
a ‘Sheeeeeeeeeiiiiiiiiiit partner!’ so long, that Clay Davis himself would’ve
raised a corrupt eyebrow. Basically, we knew we had to get her ILL illys in
this here magazine! Specialising in portraiture, with a passion for all things
Hip Hop, Hannah captures the essence of Run DMC perfectly here, as well as the
sicker-than-Josef-Fritzl compilation of female Hip Hop icons ‘Laydeez First’ she
did especially for this issue of MissFit (p14-15). Before you go thinking you
could do this yourself on illustrator, know that Miss Buck hand draws these to
perfection before giving the final touches digitally. This might be the first you’ve
heard of her but it sure as shit won’t be the fucking last! MARK OUR WORDS DEM.
‘Maneki Neko’ by Cheba
www.cheba.bigcartel.com
www.weaponofchoicegallery.co.uk
Last issue he gave us a Pop Art treat and this time, our hombre
Cheba at Weapon of Choice Gallery has delivered yet again by
going all oriental on our ass! Just looking at this visual
delight makes US feel like the cat that got the C.R.E.A.M and
surrounded by all that BUFF gold, no wonder the kitty looks so
zen. And yeah, OK so the wall ain’t for sale but the prints are!
BOOMSHAKALAKA!
‘Wiz 2’
by
Irtus
www.theirtus.com
Whilst it’s got to be said that MissFit ain’t quite
on the current Khalifa hype like so many others, we
will concede that a) we would like to endulge on a mad
bunnin’ sesh with him b) we concur whole-heartedly
with his sentiments, “Ink My Whole Body, I Don’t Give
A Muthafuck!” and c) the man DO possess a whole loada
charisma WHICH our man Irtus has managed to capture here
perfectly, with this tidy little BEAUT of a stencil. PROPS.
Gallery
Page 46
‘We All Fall Down’ by Jack Wells
www.jackwells.co.uk
We love drips off HARD
here at MissFit, as you
can see from our layouts
so you can imagine, when
we saw this here piece
from our bredren Jack
Wells, we nearly did
what it’s title told us
to do! Jack’s a bit of
typography master amongst
other
things,
always
designing
and
making
things we really want to
have on our own walls and
this BUFF ting here is
no exception. The colour
ways, precision and of
course the drips make us
swoon a bit actually. PHit.
get your hair
did!
Photography: Vic Lentaigne
Hair: Ioanna Alexia Kruiz
Graphic design: Jack Wells
Model: Fah Singtong
This is normally our ‘how
to do a vintage style’
section but for this
issue, going off our 90s
vibe, we’d been pumpin’
TLC at MissFit HQ, which
brought us to the T-Boz
do and so we said “Fuck
it!” and the pin up do’s
got sidelined! Revised
for 2011 with a slicker
more contemporary feel,
our gyal Fah is rockin’ the absolute shit
out of the T-Boz steez
looking nuttin’ short
of CRAZY. SEXY. COOL.
As the late, great Lefteye
said with Busta Rhymes,
“Can I get a witness?!”
Think we just done did.
Photography by Hannah Domagala
Words by Teddy Girl
MissFit
Here at
we appreciate the individual’s take on style
and salute the bold! However, you may be looking co-rrect and
wearing the freshest garms but are you wearing them with soul?
In this street style section we’ll be hitting the mean streets
and club nights of various cities - for our second issue, as
we have ourselves relocated to London, we hit up Brick Lane
to find the manz and gyal dem reppin a steez that just screamed
solid gold soul yo!
Just like one our favourite fictional style icons Alabama
Worley, you gotta have a lot of heart kid! ♥
We must confess we are sans names this issue as we kiiiind of
deleted the audio file with all the details on. OUR BAD. It was a
fucking Sunday okaaaay and we were tired! Meh. Anyway, the garms
dem should speak for themselves!
OK, so tassled leather jackets
are tricky. So often reminiscent
of one of your mate’s Mums stuck
in that 80s cock rock era - you
know the ones, who actually think
emulating Cher’s look is a good
idea and that cowboy boots are
sexy - our girl here transcends
and avoids that stigma entirely.
We kinda felt like this was a
Billy Idol meets The Ramones
meets Roman Holiday style mash up
with just a little bit of ghetto
thrown in for good measure with
the earrings. Not something many
ladies could pull off so we salute
this
effort
whole-heartedly.
STEEZ!
There’s nothing
particularly
ground-breaking
going on here
but the way in which this gorgeous
gyal has put this outfit together
with the subtle little details
is totally on point. Kinda giving
off a Kelis vibe with the 2-tone
hair and glasses, this look also
gives a
sort of nod to Neneh
Cherry with the very 90s print
tee and the cotton cycling short
type thangs with the lace trim
worn UNDER the shorts. Which
brings us on to the fact that
she’s also reppin’ double denim
to effect which we all know or you fucking should and if
you didn’t, you do now is
precarious territory, leading
to many fashion faux pas.Topped
off with the suede peep-toe
shoe boot wedges and some gold,
this look is being held down!
Well we know this guy’s name
- Mikey - but if we didn’t he
would be known as ‘The-brotheralways-reppin’-the-freshestCazals-EVER’ which is as good a
reason as any to put manz in this
section! We literally never know
whether to congratulate him on
this or whether to jack him and
run like fuck with said specs
but that would be a bit too gully
and karma’s a bitch n all that
so we’ll go with the first idea.
Added to his eye wear, Mikey
manages to pull off a sleeveless
Levi’s jacket, lilac jeans AND
gold kicks wihtout lookin’ like
a) a hipster try-hard or b)
a complete and utter fucking
gaylord. Props where props are
due, mandem came co-rrect!
We nearly shat ourselves in sheer
excitement when we spotted our
fave busker EVER - none other
than the Youtube phenomenon
that is Lewis Floyd Henry out
and about in Brick Lane. This
dude is one cool cat, being the
closest living embodiment to
Jimi Hendrix with a bit of that
insane Ol’ Dirty Bastard flex
thrown in there - mindset NOT the
garms, OBVS - for good measure
that doesn’t make us want to
say, “Fuck off you Lenny Kravitz
wannabe cunt!” He pulls off the
look from Jimi’s era with much
applomb and we’re sure the fact
that he plays hardcore versions
of the Wu screeching “WU TANG
CLAN AIN’T NUTTIN TO FUCK WITH!”
helps his case but whatevs.
Dude’s a fucking LEGEND. Seeing
and hearing him made our day it
did.
Right bitches. Here’s how preppy
eclectic chic is done properly.
Allow your ya ya ya Jack Wills
hellish ways please! We gotta
say that usually, the sight of
the now ubiquitous 90s grunge
style top knot makes us want to
swing girls round by it whilst
screaming, “Kurt’s a corpse
you shitting twat bag and your
undercut needs a fucking going
over!” or something to that effect
and we actually like Nirvana.
And were there when Cobain had
a pulse but that’s not the case
here. With her more polished
take on her hair and the combo
of the nude blouse buttoned to
the top, a Mum style Birkin bag
affair, acid wash jeans paired
with shoes that look like they
once belonged to Little Richard
this pretty lady’s style is right
up our fucking street! BOOM!
Finally we have this guy here
- again we can’t remember his
name but we do recall he was a
fashion designer and a thoroughly
nice and charismatic dude. Also
bringing some of that ODB flex we can’t explain it, you either
have it or you don’t - mandem
had serious swagger! Not just
his garms and kicks but in his
stance too. That’s not to say we
weren’t looking at said threads
and crepz because we were. Khaki
chinos are just soooo ‘on-trend’
right now urrrggggh but he was
pullin’ them off a treat and we
liked how the might behind his
steez was in his accessories kind of like Wonder Woman breaking up the black and neutral
tones with bright high tops, his
watch and some stush glasses. We
also appreciated his break-themold pose too. Just sayin....
stockists
Cooshti, 57 Park Street, Bristol, Tel: 0117 929 0850
Death Before Dishonour, www.dbdstore.co.uk
Donuts Store www.donutsthestore.co.uk 8 Perry Road, Bristol, Tel: 0117 929 2625
Fifty Fifty Store, www.5050store.com 8 Park Street, Bristol, Tel: 0117 930 4990
Kuccia Klothing, www.kuccia.com
& https://marketplace.asos.com/boutique/kuccia
Long Clothing @ www.longclothing.com
Rudo @ www.studiorudo.com
Seven7 Store www.sevenstorebristol.co.uk 60 Park Row, Bristol, Tel: 0117 929 8898
Weapon of Choice Gallery, www.weaponofchoicegallery.co.uk 14 8b Park Street, Bristol
Tel: 0117 9291 865
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