Delivery Room - A Consultation
Right lads. Let's kick things off for people that don't know ya story. What’s your names, chosen crafts and where are you based?
MC Sexion AKA Kryptik AKA Lloyd: Chosen craft? Been about the houses to be fair. Started beatboxing and doing gigs with Boyce like, 16 years ago. Started production and DJing soon after, then started writing lyrics in 2011. Was also in a band together for a while playing bass and Delivery Room is kind of a gathering of all these crafts. I get involved with production, mixing and mastering, writing and recording.
Epidural AKA Beatmaster Boyce AKA Matthew: My name’s Matthew, also known as Epidural. My craft is making beats first and writing bars second. I'm based in Paisley - a wee toon in Scotland! (Paisley is Scotland’s biggest toon)
DJ Riseone: DJ for Delivery Room. I've been actively involved in Hip-Hop culture since I was 14 - graffiti writer, B-boy and then I took the plunge and bought some cheap decks on finance - from that day forth I was set on the path of damnation.
I'm based in Runcorn, a large industrial town in North Western England, which is a bit of a twat because my boys live in Paisley, a couple of hundred miles North, but we hook up as often as possible.
How would you describe your sound, what influences it and where does your inspiration stem from?
MC Sexion: For me personally, influences to begin with were; Non-Phixion, The Beatnuts, Jurassic 5 and Busta Rhymes - but since I started writing, my influences have been closer to home - UK Hip-Hop! I’m a fiend for punch lines and bangin' beats, so Rhyme Asylum’s probably my most notable UKHH act, they’re solid.
As for our sound, I don’t know how to explain it other than Hip-Hop or Boom bap. Not trying to stay current or follow trends. Rather pay homage to the music that influenced me and focus on bangin' beats. So aye, to describe our sound, the aim is for it to be bangin’! Hopefully that comes across? Hahahah.
Epidural: I would describe our sound as hard hitting and relentless Boom bap! My main influence growing up was Cypress Hill (thanks to my father for blasting the tapes in his car when I was younger!) As I grew up, I found myself leaning more towards Kool Keith and MF DOOM etc. The weirder the better!
DJ Riseone: With regards to my style, I'm not influenced as such by anyone. I'm completely self taught from day one, mainly because there were no other Hip-Hop DJ's around when I was learning. When I got to a reasonable standard, I felt I wasn't good enough when I got invited to Jams in Manchester and Liverpool, so I was almost a musical recluse for years.
What's life been like growing up and living in Paisley/Runcorn?
MC Sexion: Paisley was pretty grim in my Younger years to be honest. Stayed in a lovely part called Linwood then moved to Barrhead. School was in Paisley, so that was always the epicentre of life at that time. Skateboarding, graffiti, club 69. Generally getting in trouble. It was fun back then - pretty lively but it’s more of a ghost town now to be honest.
Epidural: Growing up and living in Paisley has been an experience. It's shaped me to be the person I am today!!
"Born in Paisley reppin' my ain town,
despite the fact it's only harbouring rain clouds."
DJ Riseone: As for growing up in Runcorn it was the usual - massive gangs of us running round tagging everywhere, occasionally fighting, painting the railways and just generally being little pricks.
So how did I hook up with the boys? Well, I'd been speaking to Kryptik for a while, toying with cuts for some tunes. I fucked him about a bit because I had a shitload of work to get through cuts wise and without going into too much detail, because I can't be arsed, it progressed from there to what we are today you bastards!
What's the current state of the Hip-Hop scene and culture in Paisley and what's it like for the rest of Scotland? Have there been any struggles and highlights you can share with us?
MC Sexion: In my opinion, Paisley’s probably got the highest concentration of talented artists; Physiks, Konchis, Big Div, Major Threat, STS…obviously you had Shogun’s Vulcan which went viral as well. Empress - holding it down for the ladies, so defo a lot of talent in there. The Scottish scene, if I’m honest, I feel like not enough people are supporting and pushing one another and it has the potential to be stronger than what it currently is. Although right now, it’s probably the strongest I’ve seen it and things seem to be going in the right direction.
Struggles - social media. So easy for things to get taken out of context but it’s a necessary evil to promote and market your product. So that’s always a double edged sword.
Highlight - Skinnyman rewinding our track FTP mid track back in November, then dragging us back on stage for an encore in February. From listening to Council Estate of Mind when I was younger, to go to that, was some buzz. We’re supporting Sugarhill Gang soon as well which just makes me laugh. Surreal. Just seems mad!
Epidural: Paisleys Hip-Hop scene is virtually non existent sadly! A few cats still fly the flag and put nights on but they are few and far between.
Scotland's scene as a whole is a bustling pool of talent! The struggles in the scene are the same everywhere. Too many rappers not enough fans. Rappers rapping to rappers about rappers at events full of rappers. Gets old quick.
Highlights would have to be Scotland being taken seriously and getting the deserved respect in the Hip-Hop community!
What do you think should be done to help promote the talent that's in Scotland? What's missing?
MC Sexion: In a word, money! If more money was invested in the local talent, it would encourage them to grow and give them a real sense of worth and purpose. From my experience, most promoters pay as little as possible, which is very discouraging and 'the scene' could be a much more positive, charismatic place and attract a wider audience if the artists themselves felt valued.
Also, if bigger artists were booked more regularly, it would grow and strengthen the scene. There needs to be a bigger audience of fans. Agreeing with what Matthew said earlier, a lot of nights are populated with rappers, rapping to rappers, about rapping. There’s little outside appeal, which again, ties back into lack of investment into the scene.
Epidural: Promotions wise, what Scotland is missing is a platform dedicated to showcasing what is current and what is new! Too many rappers/beat makers etc rely on Facebook alone to promote and put tunes out!!
"If you do what you've always done?
You'll get what you've always got! "
Try something new.
DJ Riseone: I'm no expert regarding the Scottish Hip-Hop scene, so I'll just agree with what the other boys said – it's pretty much standard across the UK to be fair.
Lets get into the new self titled album you've just dropped then. Is there an underlying theme throughout the album? What can people expect to hear?
MC Sexion: Nah, not really. I wouldn’t say there’s an underlying theme as such. Just vocalising our opinions over big beats. Everything is pretty in your face. I’d say, expect to be surprised. We’re more diverse than what’s been seen/heard so far.
Epidural: The new album - not sure if it has a theme! (Maybe a labour of love.) 3 years of hard work/gigging/writing/recording and stressing brought us to where we are today! People can expect to hear fierce cuts straight from the gulag. Brain engaging bars with head bopping beats!!
DJ Riseone: Underlying themes? Not that I'm aware of. Maybe try playing the entire album backwards, pretty sure it'll be littered with subliminal messages!
Seriously though, it's just the boys vocally flexing over a carefully selected collection of dope beats, with a few choice scratches here and there - simple as that.
How does the creative process and the dynamic work between 3 people?
MC Sexion: Very well I’d say. We’ve got a good working chemistry and pass ideas about like a skuddie in HMP Barlinnie.
Epidural AKA Beatmaster Boyce makes the majority of the beats and sample digging. My OCD is good for the intricate details, effects, basses, mixing and mastering. Riseone’s a crazy bastard. He’s always got the funniest ideas, not to mention an absolute animal when it comes to the scratching. We always try and get as much humour in there as possible. Escapism innit? Gotta have fun doing what you’re doing.
Epidural: The dynamic between the 3 of us works very well, except for the distance between us and Riseone (though that hasn't hindered us.) Having 3 beat makers bouncing ideas off each other has made my creativity advance in leaps and bounds!
Although I churn out beats like my life depended on it - the processes for final tracks is a lot more delicate and precise. As Lloyd said. If any track has a slightly inconsistency or blemish, it doesn't leave the studio. Simple.
DJ Riseone: Creatively we just click, we throw ideas about but we're already on the same wavelength, almost telepathically linked, Boyce cranks out beats like a fucking madman, we all dabble with beats, but he just keeps you on your toes creatively. As Lloyd says, he's a perfectionist. If he notices the tiniest inconsistency in a track, something my finely tuned cyborg ears can't, shits not getting released until he's ironed it out.
You've got a selection of features on the album, mostly producers surprisingly - how did these link ups come about?
MC Sexion: Reason for having more producers featuring? For me? To be self sufficient I suppose? If an album is feature heavy on emcees, it doesn’t give you much material for live performance. So we actively work with more producers than emcees for that very reason. It’s mad because a lot of producers send us beats saying, “this sounds like a Delivery Room track”. It all just kinda falls into place. It’s brilliant.
Epidural: The features were selected very carefully! Lloyd hooked us up with illinformed and Lord Lhus! Since I first heard Don Pong I wanted to work with Stinkin Slumrock, so that one was a no brainer! Staying true to our roots we hooked up with old school beat maker hailing from paisley, STS - absolute killer on the pads. The walking encyclopaedia of breaks! Another paisley cat Physiks graced us with a verse and a beat - Mr Magoo came correct! The mighty Crink set the tone as per with his unique beats! Making me up my pen game every track. Andy Martin’s production on Strike. It was like the beat was made especially for us. Suited our dark basement style at the time! Last but not least! The bastard himself, the geezer shrouded in so much craziness - The bold Baltik. He absolutely killed his verse for On Guard. Regardless what you may think of him for his totally misunderstood track about such a sensitive subject, his work rate and work ethic can't be rivalled!
DJ Riseone: Features wise, I think the album should be about Delivery room, especially a debut album, I think albums bogged down with features tend to end with the features overshadowing the actual artist/artists.
Plus all of us being big fans of beats and beatmaking, it made sense to get our favourite beat makers on, STS, Andy Martin, Crink, Physiks, Engineer and illinformed.
You've got a few music videos lifted from the album out. Is it a joint creative venture when it comes to creating the videos? Do you do it yourselves? What’s the process?
MC Sexion: There’s actually 5 out! AND... another 3 already undergoing the editing stages. We’re not often not on the same page, so it’s always a joint venture.
Working with Overlord X has helped us with any uncertainties or conflicts of interest as well. If we can’t agree on one idea, we do both and see which works best for the overall finished product. We did Dumbstruck and FTP by ourselves. Again to be self sufficient but also to keep costs down. I’ve got a half decent camera and we edit the footage using Sony Vegas.
Epidural: We handle most of the workload for the videos. Although we do hook up with Mysterex (Overlord X) from time to time and he handles the directing and editing. It's quite liberating to be directed rather than be worrying about the details.
What's your own personal favourite track off the new album and why?
MC Sexion: I honestly don’t have one. It changes from day to day. Remedy for being the most honest. FTP for the fun factor. Guff for the bass. Sounds mega cheesy but they all stand out to me in their own way.
Epidural: My personal favourite track at the moment changes everyday!
I've been listening to these songs for a long time. I have a love/hate relationship with the album! Stand out track for me would be Demented Thoughts. As an opener, it sets the scene perfectly. Video for Demented Thoughts coming soon!!
DJ RiseOne: Favourite track on the album? I definitely don't have one, that would be favouritism.
Any final shout outs?
MC Sexion: ...final shout outs..... QUBIK! If it wasn’t for his help with in the last hurdles with the graphic design, the album might still not be out. He also helped us smash out the graphic design for the tees which are about to hit the deck! Although VUES ONER done the artwork, QUBIK played an equally as vital role in making the product we have today. Shout out The Dispensary CBD as well! Unfortunately we were unable to get the logo on the back cover in time. Literally missed it by a day if memory serves. Next time!
That aside.....Everyone supporting us and everyone who got involved to help make this idea become a reality. It’s been a real eye opener and humbling experience. Too many to mention but they all know exactly who they are and exactly what role they played!
Epidural: Final shout outs to...Hatchet McEgg. My wee doffin. Gulag 88. The wee guy that came over when we were filming in Paisley!
Peace
DJ RiseOne: Final shout outs - Vladimir Putin, Gumball Watterson, Sebastian Dombek, and everyone who supports us and our musical endeavours.
ENTER THE DELIVERY ROOM!
Interview by: Eldraw
