If you’ve been listening to grime at any point over the last three years you have undoubtedly heard Rude Kid’s beats. He’s everywhere, currently being vocalled by every MC in the scene and spun by every DJ going, causing a stir with tracks like ‘Sing 4 Me’ which featured Ghetts on mic duties, and ‘Electric’ which is receiving a raucous reception wherever it gets dropped. After 3 vinyl releases to date, the Are You Ready EP, Electric and the Jack Daniels EP, on the No Hats No Hoods label, Rude Kid dropped his debut long player - also called Are You Ready? a title taken no doubt from his recognisable production watermak- a collection of instrumentals showcasing his energetic productions style for the label.
We caught up with him to shoot him some questions and get the low down on his projects…
Sonic Router: Can you provide those who may not know you with a bit of background info?
Rude Kid: My music name is Rude kid some heads call me Rudes. I’m 22 years old, come from London, and am a music producer/DJ. Ive been doing music for about 3 years properly but ive always loved listening to music from when I was very young.
Outside of music who are you? What do you do on the daily?
I don’t think I do much else beside music, but outside of music I’m just a normal guy I watch a lot of films and spend time with my family and friends. Im very close to them and I love having a laugh. On a normal day if im not doing music I will just relax play abit of ps3.
How did you first get into making music? What was it that infected you to do produce?
I used to listen to a lot of pirate radio before I started making music and got influenced by the energy the music had. I always wanted to hear my songs getting played on radio or raves it was like a dream I had to make reality, which I think I’ve achieved now. I was introduced a programme called FruityLoops by a friend in school and every since then ive made music. Nobody taught me how to use the programme I had to learn everyting myself which took long but now I can use it with my eyes closed.
What’s your production set up like?
I’ve got a very basic setup: only Fruityloops, a midi keyboard and some good speakers, that’s all I need. Right now im making good music with just the basic setup and it sounds good on big speakers in the clubs or on radio. But one day when I get my own studio I will have to get more equipment.
Where do you take inspiration from when making music?
I think just everyday life, for example a lot of my songs are named after what I’ve done that day, for example I made a instrumental called ‘Dentist’ which is on my album. That was made after I came back from the dentist and how I was feeling. It all depends on my mood and how I’m feeling on the day aswell. I also get inspired by a lot of hardworking musicians and when I see them succeeding that just makes me want to work extra harder. I feel I still have a lot to prove to show what I’m capable of.
How would you describe your sound?
Very unique and alien... I feel I have my own sound and that is one of the reasons people paid attention to my music in the first place, because it was something different to the norm. A lot of producers make beats that sound the same as their previous beats but I don’t do that. If you listen to my instrumental album you will see how many different styles and sounds I use. I got tunes like ‘Jack Daniels’ which is more dance music, ‘Electric’ which is like a dubstep sound; ‘Leave me alone’ which is a calm mellow tune. Basically the list goes on. This instrumental album I’ve got out now shows of all my styles.
How did the ‘Are you ready?’ sonic signature come about?
I sampled that of one CD I had long time ago I forgot what it was, but I used to put it in a few instrumentals I was making. Then when I started to leave it out people were like “where’s the ‘Are You Ready?’”. So that’s been my signature ever since… I’ve had that since I started making music. I also think its important for a producer to have their own signature because with me if I didn’t have ‘Are You Ready?’ before the drop of the beat hardly anybody will know I made it. So it helps having a signauture sound.
Your beats are used by some of the biggest names in grime, but what is your personal favorite vocal an emcee has laced you with?
I’ve had so many good vocals on my beats it’s hard to say; my most successful song has to be ‘Sing 4 me,’ but my favorite is Skepta ft Wiley – ‘Are you Ready?’. That song has a lot of energy and it’s a song everyone can sing along to as well. Everytime im DJing at a club and I drop that tune it always gets a good reaction.
I did a remix for ‘Man Like Me’ with their single ‘London Town’ and JME was on the remix aswell. I like that vocal aswell because its different reminds me of old skool Garage. Also the remix is going to be on the next edition of DJ HERO the game. When I got told it was gonna be on there it didn’t sink in, I was shocked to be honest, but it’s a very good look for me, JME & Man Like Me.
What MCs are you working with right now and who would you like to work with that you haven’t yet?
I think ive worked with nearly every big MC, there’s a few I haven’t worked with yet though, but I’m more looking forward to working with singers right now and experimenting with different styles. The only MC I would wanna work with is Dizzee Rascal right now. Hopefully in the future you might hear something from Dizzee and me.
You hooked up with Terror Danjah for ‘Best Crawler’ and killed it, are you working on more bits together?
Yeah definitely Terror is a good friend so its not hard to work on another beat together. The ‘Best Crawler’ was made very randomly. I was in his studio and he had the same instrument VST I used for ‘Sing 4 Me’, so I came up with the idea for me to use the ‘the best’ sounds and for him to use the ‘Creepy Crawler’ sounds. I made my melody then he had a perfect beat already which he had made before and it fit perfectly to what I made. ‘Best Crawler’ is out now on my 12”, Jack Daniels EP, out in all good record stores. It was good working with Terror Danjah because he is one producer I used to look up to when I was younger and for him to be telling me my beats are mad means a lot. He also talks a lot of sense and I know he’s seen a lot in the music scene, so he always gives me tips or advice when I need it.
Tell us about the new album on No Hoods No Hats: ‘Are You Ready?’ How did it come about and what had to be on it?
Ive had releases with No Hats No Hoods before and that’s my management so it makes sense for my stuff to come out with their label. It was my plan to have the ‘Are You Ready?’ CD come out in 2009, but a lot of planning went into the CD and in the end we all decided to make it more of an album rather than just a instrumental CD, so a lot of tunes got taken off and a lot got put back in. I’m very happy with the instrumentals that have been put on the album. Over all the CD describes how many different styles of music I have, none of them sound the same.
I think my favourite instrumental on the CD has to be ‘Electric’ I remember the day I made that beat; it made me get up from my seat and think about what I’d just done haha. That beat is very powerful and I know a lot of music listeners and DJ’s have been waiting for it. But to be honest every beat on the album is my favorite they all have their own styles and I’m very proud of myself for making them.
How are you feeling about the state of grime today?
Grime right now is still growing. It feels like people aren’t giving it a chance, but there is so much good music and songs being made in the grime scene. Hopefully people will see that and give it the break it deserves. I know a lot of people are making mainstream music which doesn’t matter at all along as they stick to making grime even if they do other genres of music. Like I make a lot of other genres of music but I will always be making grime at the same time.
The grime vinyl releases from labels like No Hoods No Hats, Hyperdub, Planet Mu, Butterz, Rwina, etc have been picking up of late, do you think that this more DJ based material is bringing more dance influences back into grime? And vice versa?
Definitely having vinyl out is good because I know there are still a lot of people who buy them. I do agree with some people who say it should come digitally as well. Right now the instrumentals being released on vinyl are all tunes that can get played in a dance and make people go crazy which is what is needed .
What other projects have you got in the pipeline?
I’ve got a lot of projects coming I want to make another instrumental music video I’m going to be working on some music with singers, Another EP and I defiantly want to make a Vocal Album.
Any words of wisdom for our readers?
Stay positive and belive in yourself.
Words: James Balf
Rude Kid’s ‘Are You Ready’ CD is out now on No Hats No Hoods.
Links:
www.myspace.com/rudekidproductions
www.myspace.com/nohatsnohoods
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