Post by Paula on Apr 18, 2005 8:09:11 GMT -5
SAY, ‘AAARRGGHHH!’
BY Davina Morris
So solo crew: producer JD goes it alone
After helping other acts make hits, So Solid Crew’s JD is finally hoping to make some of his own
JD’s come a long way since he left Birmingham and moved to London back in 2001. Having been welcomed into the So Solid fold, the UK producer and MC contributed to the solo projects of Lisa Maffia, Romeo and Asher D and went on to remix tracks for the likes of Ms Dynamite, Jamelia and Beverley Knight. Now it’s his time to really shine as he gears up to release his long-awaited debut album Da Album: Aaarrgghhh!!! But he remains cool as he reflects upon the past few years and his rise to prominence.
“It’s been a bit drastic, but I kind of expected it,” he explains. “This has always been my dream, so it was just a matter of not giving up. The first time I realised things were really
happening was when my manager called me and said, ‘Congratulations, your first single has gone to Number 2’ [Lisa Maffia’s All Over, which he produced]. I was like, ‘Cool’. But I came off the phone and sat there for half an hour in shock.”
With both his parents being reggae musicians, 28-year-old JD was familiar with music from his earliest years. He went on to set up a ragga label with his friends before stepping out on his own and setting up his own label. No surprise then that when opportunity came knocking for him when he got to London, he was already pretty clued-up on the highs and lows of the music industry.
“It just seems like the record companies don’t know what to do with us urban acts when it comes to promo. But there’s no rocket science about it! It’s about shoving it in people’s faces, just like with pop music.”
With his own album to promote, JD describes it as “an hour of madness”, with a variety of styles from ragga to hip-hop to classical. He’s teamed up with Est’elle, Tubby T, The Den and Killa Kella for collaborations, but the only So Solid members featured are Megaman and Face. Why not more?
“So Solid were packing out raves long before I even got to London. So, for me to come down and try to just jump on the bandwagon, I kinda felt like I was cheating. I wanted to make my own mark with this album. By the next album, I’ll have so many collaborations you might not hear me on it at all!”
Looking to the future, JD says he’d like to set up his own “empire” that will enable him to help young people get into the industry. Having already championed new UK MC Naila Boss (he appeared in the video of her debut single La La La), he clearly has no problem supporting new talent. But what does he say to those who have criticised Naila for that cardinal sin of spitting in an American accent?
“Until people can come up with a good answer as to why British singers sing with an American accent, I don’t think that they should attack UK rappers and MCs for doing the same. As long as you don’t take it too far – like talking about Hummers and Two-Ways when you know you’ve got a London bus pass – that’s cool! For me, it’s not about the accent, ’cos if I wanted to do a whole album in Pakistani, no-one could tell me nutt’n!”
Da Album: Aaarrgghhh!!! is out now on Independiente
BY Davina Morris
So solo crew: producer JD goes it alone
After helping other acts make hits, So Solid Crew’s JD is finally hoping to make some of his own
JD’s come a long way since he left Birmingham and moved to London back in 2001. Having been welcomed into the So Solid fold, the UK producer and MC contributed to the solo projects of Lisa Maffia, Romeo and Asher D and went on to remix tracks for the likes of Ms Dynamite, Jamelia and Beverley Knight. Now it’s his time to really shine as he gears up to release his long-awaited debut album Da Album: Aaarrgghhh!!! But he remains cool as he reflects upon the past few years and his rise to prominence.
“It’s been a bit drastic, but I kind of expected it,” he explains. “This has always been my dream, so it was just a matter of not giving up. The first time I realised things were really
happening was when my manager called me and said, ‘Congratulations, your first single has gone to Number 2’ [Lisa Maffia’s All Over, which he produced]. I was like, ‘Cool’. But I came off the phone and sat there for half an hour in shock.”
With both his parents being reggae musicians, 28-year-old JD was familiar with music from his earliest years. He went on to set up a ragga label with his friends before stepping out on his own and setting up his own label. No surprise then that when opportunity came knocking for him when he got to London, he was already pretty clued-up on the highs and lows of the music industry.
“It just seems like the record companies don’t know what to do with us urban acts when it comes to promo. But there’s no rocket science about it! It’s about shoving it in people’s faces, just like with pop music.”
With his own album to promote, JD describes it as “an hour of madness”, with a variety of styles from ragga to hip-hop to classical. He’s teamed up with Est’elle, Tubby T, The Den and Killa Kella for collaborations, but the only So Solid members featured are Megaman and Face. Why not more?
“So Solid were packing out raves long before I even got to London. So, for me to come down and try to just jump on the bandwagon, I kinda felt like I was cheating. I wanted to make my own mark with this album. By the next album, I’ll have so many collaborations you might not hear me on it at all!”
Looking to the future, JD says he’d like to set up his own “empire” that will enable him to help young people get into the industry. Having already championed new UK MC Naila Boss (he appeared in the video of her debut single La La La), he clearly has no problem supporting new talent. But what does he say to those who have criticised Naila for that cardinal sin of spitting in an American accent?
“Until people can come up with a good answer as to why British singers sing with an American accent, I don’t think that they should attack UK rappers and MCs for doing the same. As long as you don’t take it too far – like talking about Hummers and Two-Ways when you know you’ve got a London bus pass – that’s cool! For me, it’s not about the accent, ’cos if I wanted to do a whole album in Pakistani, no-one could tell me nutt’n!”
Da Album: Aaarrgghhh!!! is out now on Independiente
