Dog On Acid
THE FUTURE HAS ARRIVED... WITNESS IT
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When I was doing the research for this article, I called up an MC friend of mine and said, ‘what can you tell me about MC GQ?’ In a sentence he said, ‘MC GQ, he’s the voice of drum&bass.’ That’s quite a title I thought, and no doubt there must be quite a story behind it.
But as this article will show, MC-ing isn’t all GQ is doing these days, my man is on a mission! He’s taken his experience and love for the music and started his own label, Emcee Recordings. The MC who made his name in the oldskool is now enjoying the nu skool and bringing through the best of the talent the nu skool has to offer…
JHO: When and why did you start MC-ing?
GQ: The MC-ing thing started from listening to hip-hop back in the early 80’s. Back in those school days everyone was well into the whole hip-hop thing, some people would be trying to rap, some people would be trying to pull off mad break dance moves, and everyone else would just be banging out beats on the tables. As it happens MC DET was in my class at school for about five years…
JHO: So you were a rapper before you were an MC then?
GQ: Kind of, I just used to like to mix it all up, rapping, hosting, MC-ing, as long as I was complimenting the sound it was all good.
JHO: What would you say was your first big break in the UK drum&bass scene?
GQ: My big break was probably my first residency at Silver City which must have been around 88/89. I was there with Grooverider, Frankie Valentine and Fabio amongst others.
JHO: Has your style changed at all over the years?
GQ: I wouldn’t say its changed I’d say its evolved over the years hand in hand with the music. Most noticeably when I saw the music turn from jungle into drum&bass. I decided that if this was going to be the new sound, then my flow was going to have change if I was going to continue to compliment the music.
JHO: What’s your best memory of being a drum&bass MC?
GQ: I really don’t know that’s almost impossible to answer. I’ve been in this game for almost twelve years now and met a lot of good people and had a lot of good times. I don’t think I could pick one rave out if that’s what you’re asking for. A lot of people say that the old days were the best and they probably were, but to be honest it’s all good right now as well. I mean last week I was in Australia with Andy C, I think it was Perth, and I would say that was a wicked moment for me. The people were really excited to see us and the place was a roadblock, the capacity was 750 and there were more like 1200 in there, it was going off! Being there on the other side of the world doing what I love doing, that felt really good…
JHO: Have you ever been totally amazed by another country’s drum&bass scene?
GQ: Yeah, a few places actually. Canada particularly Toronto, brilliant crowd of people over there, and as I said before Australia was wicked, I really wasn’t expecting much but the whole Aussie drum&bass experience smashed it. Oh, and Puerto Rico is just nuts!
JHO: Is there any where in the world that you haven’t played yet, that you really want to?
GQ: Not really, when I was younger about eight years ago I couldn’t wait to go and play out abroad, particularly Japan and America, but thankfully now I can say that I’ve been there and done that, and it was wicked! Not trying to sound big but I have played most places…
JHO: Many said that 2002 was a massive year for drum&bass, are you happy with the direction the scene seems to be going in?
GQ: Yeah I think I am, yeah. I thought that the music that came out during 2002 was brilliant. I liked a lot of the vocal stuff that was about as it seemed to break up the sets a bit, and to be honest I’m glad that groovy side of the scene is finally getting the appreciation it deserves. I particularly liked d.kay’s ‘Barcelona’ thing and Stamina’s vocal thing, but don’t forget that people like Fabio have been playing that funky shit for years!
JHO: Are you one of these people who want to keep the music underground, or are you happy to see drum&bass go mainstream?
GQ: The way I see it is if you are making underground music and it blows up and the mainstream want it, it’s all good. How can there be something wrong with making music that people want to hear? At the end of the day by letting the music go to the mainstream you’re just letting people hear drum&bass who haven’t had a chance to listen to it before. As long as the music you’re making is true to the underground and not purposefully ‘poppy’ I really don’t see what the problem is.
JHO: Sitting here in Emcee Recordings’ HQ, can you tell us why and when you decided to start your own record label?
GQ: I decided to start Emcee about three years ago now, I’m one of those people who always likes to have a few things running, I like to keep my eggs in different baskets. I wanted to start a label because I thought I knew enough about tunes and knew enough people who knew about promotions and marketing to make it happen. However, it was when I met my business partner Mark that things really started rolling, we were just totally on the same wave length from the first time we met, and between us we felt confident that we had what it takes to run a label properly.
JHO: Did you have a particular sound in mind for the label?
GQ: At that time, I knew the only sound that could really run would be something hard and something heavy. That’s just what the people were after then, people were after big bass lines and snapping breaks, and we ran with it and it worked.
JHO: What do you think has been the key to Emcee’s success?
GQ: Well I’ll take that as a compliment but to be honest we’ve still got a long way to go, but we have got some wicked people on board nowadays. But I think without a doubt the most important ingredient for a record label is straight up honesty, no bullshit. You need to say when you’re not feeling something or if something needs to be changed, and the producers have just got to take it as constructive criticism and come with something else, only then will you end up with something that is going to sell. In the beginning it was hard to keep knocking people’s shit until it was running because you know it would dishearten them a bit, but nowadays it’s a lot easier because everyone we work with knows that all we are trying to do is get the best out of them. But even in the beginning that no bullshit attitude did reap rewards, the label’s first ever tune titled ‘roller’ sold five and half thousand copies.
JHO: Now that you’re an established record label boss are you looking for talent at home or from abroad?
GQ: It’s not just about London anymore, there’s top quality producers from all over the country and all over the world coming up with wicked beats. Although a lot of the sounds coming in from abroad are strongly influenced by UK drum&bass, I think it’s wicked when producers incorporate their own native influences into their sound, I think it keeps the scene really healthy, that’s something that I think Marky and Patife do really well. Basically it’s like their giving something back to the scene that they’ve taken from. All in all it’s brilliant really, wherever I go, doesn’t matter how remote, there’s always someone giving me a cd. Yeah, some of it is whack and some of it has a long way to go, but some of it is positively rolling.
JHO: What artists do you feel our readers should be looking out for in the coming months?
GQ: All of my artists, all of them! Everybody needs to be looking out for them because we’re coming from every angle, Emcee is looking to cover the whole spectrum.
JHO: We’ve talked about producers, but what is you look for in an MC?
GQ: I look for someone that has something different, something fresh to offer, something that stands out from what I’m used to hearing. Like SP, I tell you he has got what it takes to be a very good MC. Primarily he’s got the voice, secondly he’s confident and most importantly of all he busts his own individual style with pride.
JHO: Finally, what would be your advice to those MC’s who feel they are destined only to perform in their bedrooms?
GQ: Don’t ever give up hope and just keep plugging away. If you really think you’ve got what it takes don’t let anyone tell you otherwise, and even if they do don’t listen, because if you’re talented then you’re talented, and you will get what you deserve. But it is important to function talent in the right channels, you’ve got to get out there and meet people, you’ll never be an MC if you don’t get out your bedroom. But most importantly of all take the knock backs and never give up… knock backs only make a real MC stronger.
JHO: Enough respect GQ, you’re a legend mate. Hope you keep it all rolling for another decade…
GQ: I will!
Don’t forget to attend Emcee Recordings Monthly Sessions at Dingwalls, CAMDEN on the first Sunday of every month.
Words By: JHO
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Dogs On Acid > Comments > The Voice Of Drum N Bass
06-01-2003 07:47 AM
