From 1997 to 2002 I spent a lot of time frequenting London's hip hop hot spots. In those years Mr. Bongo's, Deal Real and Dark n Cold were all located within a few blocks in the northern part of Soho. Now Deal Real has departed for the trendier climes of Carnaby St., Bongo has perished and Dark n Cold is the last remaining soldier on D'arbly Street. But for me, that trio of shops were important in establishing my identity as a hip hop fan and introducing me to a range of fresh and obscure talents the world over.
One of the voices that surfaced from the
throng in those years was Eastborn. On mixtapes ably selected by DJ Disorda and
on Dark n Cold's early UK Hip Hop Untapped videos, Eastborn's Scottish stylings
were a refreshing take on the usually backpack/head nod sounds of the era. For
whatever reason, I have never known much about Eastborn. So, given as www.nakashon.com is huge, I thought I might
give it a try and catch him. He graciously answered some questions, and now we
can all learn about this interesting and giving man together.
I am
always interested in how hip hop's grown and how the culture has spread across the globe. What were your early experiences like, what was the scene like in Glasgow (I know you were born in Edinburgh
,
but wasn't sure where you came in contact with hip hop)?
I got into Hip Hop when I was about 12 or
so … that's a while back now lol. What people have to take into account when
they think of Scotland is that it isn't the place that the tourist board would like to
make out to be. For example, Scotland is
the most violent place in Western Europe, it has a murder rate twenty times higher, per head of population,
than New York, and its top of the table for knife crime, rape, drugs offences,
you name it, we in Scotland are up there! And all that, not to mention Scotland
also has some of the poorest education systems and children living below the
bread line, this is only scratching the surface mate! Therefore it's only
natural that Hip Hop finds us more than we find Hip Hop. It lives in all of us
and Hip Hop has been all over Scotland
for years now, from Aberdeen to Arbroath, Edinburgh to Elgin. There is a massive Graff scene, breakdancers, not to mention some
of the best DJ's in the world! DJ Krash Slaughta, DJ Plus One (former DMC World
Champion) just to name a few … I could go on forever talking about Hip Hop in Scotland
and Glasgow.
Who were some of the early Scottish
pioneers?
Two Tone Committee are really the people
who started it all off for me, the first people I heard rapping in Scottish
accents and talking about things that concerned us all. Then there was One
People, Zulu Syndicate, I guess I come in around about then too, well just
after.
How would you describe your growth as an
MC?
From man to boy I suppose, corny I know but
it's the truth, as you get older you learn more and want to express more while
at the same time I think you can be less aggressive as you get older, some call
it experience, some say you just get wiser, I don't know to be honest. I feel
like the older I am the more things just straight piss me off, but I've managed
to channel them in a more positive way …
How did Drop Zone Records form?
I was signed to a label called UK Rap
Records for a while and I learned the trade basically from inside out. I always
wanted to be more actively involved in the music business, more than just being
a signed artist, so I just took it from there… now I truly believe I have some
of the best artists in Scotland and the North of England signed to Drop Zone
Records, we are a tight nit team and we all work like hell to make it work. My
girlfriend is very supportive which Is great as I have many late night up on
the PC and she could be really bad about it all but she understands what it all
means to me.
The community aspect of hip hop culture
seems to resonate strongly
with you. Could you describe some of the things that you and drop zone
records do not just in your local community, but for people around the
world too?
To be honest mate, I thank you from the bottom of my heart for noticing that, it mean a lot that someone on the other side of the world not only knows what I do musically but also what I do for the community as a whole. I've gotta say I try not to go on about things like that too much, but it's hard not to when you are advertising things to the people to get them involved. I actually do a lot of charity work all set up and run by myself for people around the globe. Its quite simple … ALOT of people are too pre-occupied with themselves, you know Christ has turned to Chrysler, God to Gold, Palestinian People to Profit and so on. At the end of the day, we as humans are only here for a short while and while we are here we need to make as much a difference to all that is around us, seen and unseen for the good of everyone. Now I am no millionaire, far, far, far from it (buy my CD's lol), so I do what I can do. And a lot of times it doesn't take a lot of money it just takes care and time.
I work with children's orphanages in Africa, Eastern Europe and other and I also collect toiletries and toys etc around Christmas times for them, I also collect books etc so if anyone has anything they wanna get out to the kids please do get in touch. I also give a percentage of my downloads to charity, so get on iTunes and download me lol, on top of that I also run Workshops for kids from the inner cities around the globe, I set up football tournaments for the kids, I've done work for Children n Need Oxfam and more, erm, I also help raise money to put kids in Palestine through college … I'm open to helping anyone I can really. I don't do it to shout about it and make me out to be a great guy, I do it cos I believe everyone should be doing it, and of course when I'm gone and it's all said and done, what did I do!? It's on vinyl for people to hear what I said, but what did I do, what did I leave behind, you know? I want to be something a little bit more than a few CD releases.
Why is it important for you to reach out
to people beyond just the local?
Truthfully and honestly, cos Scotland and
the UK as a whole is too small and Scottish people themselves seem to have this
mentality of self defeat, we have brought so much to the world for such a small
country yet we cant wait to break our own down while at the same time being all
to happy to embrace anything that doesn't come from Scotland. I didn't really
purposely set out to be bigger outside of Scotland,
I would say I was more forced too, plus why live in a goldfish bowl when you
wanna swim in the sea, know what I'm saying?
Do you think that hip hop, as a culture
not a mass marketed entity, does enough to support and nurture community
values? Why is there such a disconnect between grassroots organizations and the
big rap stars?
Because big rap stars are for the most part
ignorant and in it for a minute, they don't seem to appreciate what they have
when they have it, nor do they seem to remember where they came from. Hip Hop
in its purest form is one of the most beautiful things on this green earth BUT
when mass corporate businesses start to get their demonic hands on what is the
peoples then they will ruin it, not only that they will take it and mould it
into the evil phantom that it is today. There is not enough good Hip Hop left
in the world and the big businesses are doing there dam hardest to strangle us
out of the last remaining pockets of resistance. They wanna wear fur and sport
this "bling" bullshit, then preach that they love their "brother man" but
ignorantly don't realise that the bling that they are so proud to sport was
stolen from Sierra Leone, one of the poorest countries in the world….now tell
me what's really "keeping it real"?
Where do you see hip hop activism
progressing in this era where at the main stream level people seem obsessed
with this odd notion that hip hop is dead?
Yeh I know what your saying, Hip Hop is
dead? Nah I don't think so. Hip Hop is alive and well in the underground, back
where it's from and where it truly lives. Now I'm not saying you can't make
money from Hip Hop or indeed it shouldn't be on TV etc, but Hip Hop is by the
people for the people, not for EMI or Sony BMG or any other bullshit major that
wants to bastardise Hip Hop anymore than they already have! So the end of is
that those that are too lazy to know that real Hip Hop is alive and well then
it may be to them, but it dam sure aint to the millions of Emcees that put pen
to paper everyday, for every graff artist that presses down a fat cap, for
every DJ putting the needle in the grove and every breaker who touches the
cardboard matt.
Who has the best boobs in the world?
Well that's a first, Peter Griffin lol, erm
my girlfriend … and erm …. Wait is there actually such a thing as nasty boobs?
Lol out with OAP titees! lol
You have hit the stage in locations all around the globe, where do the best
ladies reside?
Lol that's a hard one, gotta say Easter
Europeans are up there, the former Russian states, Ukraine etc. But everywhere
has nice girls and bad girl's lol, Italy's
got some beautiful women too, it just depends on your preference though to be
honest. I gotta show love for my Scottish Princesses though
On a serious note, what have been some
of your best experiences as a performer?
Too many to mention and I hope there will
be many in the future, I've played with Gza, Public Enemy, Grand Wizard
Theodore and many more, walked on stage in Sydney (Australia) to a crowd that
where mouthing the words, bowled over by my popularity there, always happy to
perform in Germany, I just love the people there, I've also opened for George
Galloway and Tommy Sheridan at a political conference, really just too many to
mention.
You were involved in some of the great
underground UK mixtapes (with Disorda's UK Hustlerz series), what do
you think of the roll of mixtapes as a conduit for the spread of hip hop and as
a way to build a reputation?
Truthfully its not something I know a lot
about, Disorda always gets all my love, the guy is a true inspiration to many
due to how hard he works. Sure he is in London and it's the bit easier to do
thing there, but many guys have failed where he excelled and its also easy for
me to say "oh well Id do better if I was in London" that's just an opinion and
that's just words, he actually left his home town and he went to London, true
Dick Whittington type shit and he did and is doing his thing. Another guy like
him is Tricksta, you need to check a lot of his Mix CD's too, he also runs a PR
company and a Magazine called Rago, plus he has the Label "Wolftown Recordings"
all this and he has a family, the guys also an inspiration so when it come to
mix tapes/CD's I cant talk much about them but I can big up the guys here who
pioneer that stuff.
We have to ask you some questions about Scotland:
Rab C Nesbit: National treasure or a blight on Scottish Heritage?
Lol, I didn't even know you knew about him,
lol, its actually set REALLY close to me, we are both in the same area, and yeh
I grew up watching him, I still love it and I still find it funny. I don't know
if you would really understand it if you were from outside Scotland,
lol, maybe you can answer me that? Irn Bru in one back pocket and a rolled up
newspaper in the other, dirty clothes, unwashed hair and a cigarette hanging
out his mouth, yeh that's us alright! lol
Are you a whiskey man? If so, what do
you recommend for our readers?
Yeh I kinda have to like whiskey as a Scot
lol, I do prefer Jack Daniels or Jim Bean though, which I think is terrible as
a Scot lol
Have you ever seen the Lock Ness Monster?
No, unfortunately, would love to though,
years ago we had a cartoon here called The Family Ness, now that was class!
What is haggis?
Lol, firstly I love it and its best to eat
it first then find out what's in it, but lets just say there's herbs and spices
and oats and all manner of "loveliness" in there lol, oh and cooked in a
bladder lol.
Rangers or Celtic? Or neither?
Grrrrrr, neither and I hate them both, they
are an example of how Capitalism ruins community spirit, I support Hibernian
FC, the most forward thinking football team in Europe, or at least they used to
be, first team in Europe and many more first, Celtic are like our ungrateful
stepchildren. I guess you know all about football here in Scotland
is also sadly based around Religion for the most part, which is a shame. As
time goes on though and as I get older I go more and more off football, or
soccer as you call it. It used to be a working mans game, not anymore.
In the back of my mind, I recall a
mention of you as the Busta Rhymes of the UK. By that I mean, people
recognize you as a spark plug that blazes features and adds energy to remixes.
What do you think of that roll? When you are brought into that type of session
does it change the way you structure your bars or attack the track?
Yeh that's been a while ago, I cant
remember really who said that, I think that was in a German magazine, I'm not
too sure, its funny how you heard that too though lol, erm to be honest I just
do what I do and I always like to stand out on a track, I like to bring
something to the track, same when I'm on stage, you know? I mean people pay to
see me so the least I can do is put in the effort and perform for the people,
same on a track, so I need to put in the effort and give it my all, and I
suppose that's what the result is.
One of my favourite tracks of your Word
Perfect album is "Way of Life," do you have a particular favourite
from that set?
I have a different track for a different mood, kinda like different clothes for different weather. Big Div from Major Threat did that track and he always comes out with amazing tracks.
How do you think UK hip hop has developed
over your career?
It really goes up and down, but I have to
say that the media here is intrigicly racist, they love to label and pigeon
hole things and what's more most people let them, I mean I remember going to
buy vinyl and cassette years ago in Virgin or HMV, the "Rap" section was hidden
at the back of the shop. Now it's called Urban and it's the biggest section and
often at the front, but now it's watered down candy floss music. Why "Urban"
are they scared to say "Black" and if you don't come from an Urban environment
does that mean that you cant be into Hip Hop? It's all too stupid. The
newspapers and the radio etc love to support the American acts while cheapening
their own acts, and we basically get next to no respect and if you are outside London then God
help you. Let's get this clear, when people say UK Hip Hop they usually mean
London Hip Hop, even US artists done even know any UK acts.
I spoke to Grand Wizard Theodore about this and he said, "Oh yeh, UK Hip Hop, I
like it", I said "Like who?" so he answer "Chemical Brothers" I mean what the
hell, is this what we are up against, even Hip Hop artists don't know of other
Hip Hop artists in other countries or is that just American attitudes? I listen
French, German, Welsh, Irish Hip Hop and I love Australian Hip Hop, there is so
much to listen to, its all out there, just don't wait for the media to tell you
about it though! They only promote what they are paid to promote…ps Fuck the
BBC
Do you think that the term UK hip hop
has put you and others in an unnecessarily binding niche?
Yeh I totally do, but we have a part to
play in that too, we climb into our own pigeon holes and make up our own genres
too…none more so than Scottish Hip Hop, I mean to me Hip Hop is universal and
therefore its for everyone, Her Infinite Power Helps Oppressed People, so why
have to add the sub genre "Scottish Hip Hop"?
What do you think about Tim Westwood?
Is that a trick question? Lol Personally he
is a pioneer for what he did back in the day and that can never be taken away
from him, he is also a real nice guy every time we have spoken to each other,
however, the music he plays is terrible and he could do ALOT more for the
artists here but he doesn't, I dare say the BBC has a grubby hand in that too though.
Who are some of your favourite artists
to work with?
I aint worked with everyone yet lol so I
don't know, there are people like Immortal Technique and Cilvarings and others
Id like to work with. I truly do love working with my own people also though,
it's not all about the money really or fame, course it would be nice but so
would eating steak every night in a Jacuzzi while getting sucked off lol, so
you know. I have a few interesting stuff coming up with some interesting collabo's
but I aint going to say much about that now.
How did you become associated with the
Mud Family, who are north London based?
Well Skinnyman has done a lot of Charity
work and he too works a lot in Hip Hop workshops and with kids in Young Offenders
institutes, so we always seemed to bang into each other at these places, so we
obviously shared a lot of the same values and him and I can always sit and talk
for hours when others seem to sit in silence and listen, so we shared so many
things in common and then Skinny just came out one day with the expression,
"but yeh your MUD Family and…." I was
more "am I?, I never knew" and it went on from there. Of course I was more than
happy to be part of something like that in the UK. I
have to be honest and say I love Skinny to bits, (congrats on your new kid
bruv!) but I do feel totally cut off up in Glasgow, especially when I see
fliers for MUD Family gigs down south and I know I aint on the bill, but I
suppose that's all part of making a man wanna work harder and keep moving.
What's the future of Drop zone and what
can we expect from Eastborn in the future?
Well a lot more trouble for sure, I am
playing the Edinburgh Festival on the Tommy Sheridan show along with other
guest who include politicians, ex-gangsters, Lawyers, sport personalities, TV
celebs, so I'm sure I aint going to be able to bit my tongue. I'm also going to
get back into radio presenting after I move house, I have a trip coming up to
Liberia to work with the children and I want to set up my own registered
charity, start a clothes company plus I have my new album "Global Warning and
the 13 Bloodlines of the Illuminati" and watch out for the special guests on
there! Plus I have other releases from the label from Project Mayhem, Mantis
Chapter, Loki, Scotland Yard, Bright Sparks and more… I really wanna just keep keeping on…
and keep exposing people and frauds, exposing politicians and corporation for
their lies and deceit, all this and try stay away from a police cell for simply
saying the truth!
Any last words?
This is always the hardest bit because people are always expected to big up your peoples and then you miss people out …. So all I will say is this… a man shouldn't be judged on his words during a time of peace, he should be judged more on his actions during a time of war. Peace and love people and thanks to everyone out there that read this and thanks to everyone supporting me, Drop Zone Records and all real Hip Hop, keep the faith, peace and love. EASTBORN
http://www.myspace.com/eastborn
http://www.dropzonerecords.com
