新生代說唱歌手 Skepta 談及 Dancehall 和 Grime 的共性以及與 Virgil Abloh 的合作

來自英格蘭托特納姆的新生代說唱歌手 Skepta，憑借其迷人的嗓音和出衆的才華而備受關注，他不僅在今年倫敦時裝周期間爲設計師 Nasir Mazhar 的發布會打造了一首背景音樂，更在 Virgil Abloh, Diddy 和 A$AP Bari 等圈內好友的幫助下，進一步擴大了自己在美國市場的影響力。爲了准備本月末在 Red Bull Culture Clash 上與 A$AP Mob, Rebel Sound, David Rodigan 和 Stone Love 等人的 Batte， Skepta 還特別與 Boy Better Know 一道前往牙買加，從那裏的民俗音樂中汲取新鮮元素。

最近 HYPETRAK 也有幸遇見了這位冉冉升起的新星，並對他進行了深入的專訪。不僅談及了他在這次牙買加之行的收貨，還聊到了他對于 Dancehall 和 Grime 音樂風格的看法，英美兩國的 Hip-Hop 文化差異，以及與 Virgil Abloh 在巴黎時裝周上的會面等等。下面便帶來本次訪談的節選內容，也請期待 10 月 30 日舉行的 Red Bull Culture Clash 演唱會。

What were your initial thoughts on Jamaica upon touch down?

You have to understand, with grime music, how we emcee, how we approach the music, how we rewind the track, the whole style comes from Jamaican dance culture. So we’ve grown up listening to all those kind of artists anyway. This trip was extra special for us because we were like “wow, we’re going to meet people that we’ve watched on YouTube for years.” Also, much of British youth culture, our slang and demeanor is inspired by Jamaican culture. It was an incredible experience going with Boy Better Know.

For a lot of British artists, “success” is determined by their popularity with the U.S. market? What do you think of this connotation?

“That’s Not Me” really blew up, it’s getting rewinds without me even being at raves. I’m getting drunk in London and my song is getting played in New York. So I’m wondering, what do these people see in grime? After catching some buzz in the U.K., a lot of rappers will move to the U.S. and embody the so-called “rapper lifestyle,” but the money they make is never that much so they end up looking stupid. The move to the U.S. is initiated because we grew up on Biggie, Tupac and so on. This is where we get lost training our fantasies. I fully know who I am in this world. When I’m in the States, I’m fully kitted in Air Maxs, tracksuits and a curved peak. I come through with my Sports Direct and JD Sports swag. I’m looking like some ASBO kid and shocking people.

I want to spread my culture and have people accept grime as just another form of hip-hop. In the U.S., people who live in the West Coast might not be into the same music as those in the Midwest as they’re from two different places with different accents. The commonality is the hardship they’re both facing, and they have both found ways to express that. London is another place with a similar story. I used to think we’re a defect in hip-hop with our different accents, but now people try and figure out what I’m saying, it intrigues them.

How did you meet Virgil Abloh?

A while back, someone tweeted saying “Oh Virgil’s biggin’ you up. He’s trying to jump on the grime hype” then Virgil retweeted with a blog link saying “been supporting since 2003/2005” or something like that, so grime isn’t a new thing to him. I looked at the link and was like “Rah! This guys actually knew about grime from back in the day.”

I met Virgil in Paris during Fashion Week. It took me ages to get into the party and I thought this is bullsh*t. Then when I finally got in, I saw A$AP Rocky, the DONDA crew wildin’ out on stage, and that’s not my style. I just stood in the corner of the club for three hours with one drink just observing. I only had one drink because it took me half an hour to get a drink from the bar! Then Virgil started DJing and played “German Whip.” I couldn’t believe it! I could see all these fashion heads losing their shit over my friend Meridian Dan’s song. Me and Virgil got chatting, and he was telling me about how I can bridge the gap between America and England, since our music is both at the same tempo. At the level he’s on, it was so positive and refreshing to talk music with him. He really powered me up and I walked away inspired by his words. I have a lot of respect for Virgil, he cares about the culture and enjoys discovering new sounds.