18-year old Newham MC, Maxsta has been hailed as the next rising star set to emerge from the UK grime scene. Following the official release of his new mixtape and single, East London is Back, Nonny ‘MisssN’ Orakwue caught up with the east London native at the studio to talk about everything from performing at Urban Development’s Re:Definition, his plans to take grime to a new level, lyrical beef with Double S and how he won the support of the grime godfather himself, Wiley.

You recently brought out your mixtape which you cleverly named The Maxstape, what kind of response have you had from your fans and do you have a favourite track?

It’s been pretty big. I haven’t heard anyone whose said they don’t like it and neither has my manager. Everything has been pretty positive so far. I don’t really have a favourite track but if I had to choose one it would be I Promise because it’s a personal moment and it’s more about me being myself.

For those who don’t know, you’re from Newham in east London and your new single is called East London is Back. How has your area influenced your music and what made you put out the track?

Basically, with East London is Back I feel that I hold some of the new energy in the grime scene and obviously I’ve only got that with the support of people like Ghetts, Wiley and Tinchy and everyone and so this just my way of saying thank you to my area for setting the pace.

As an emerging artist you’ve already worked with many big names in the grime scene such as Wiley, Ghetts and Tinie Tempah and recently recorded the East London is Back remix with Lethal Bizzle. How have you been able to get so much support?

I don’t know. I just think what’s more important than the music is your attitude and how you interact with people. For example, Ghetts knows how much I’m grateful for everything he’s done for me. I’m not going to hide it. I’m not going to pretend. I just want to let everyone know that I’m grateful for their support and that’s actually how I think more support comes. Because when you feel like what you’re doing is being appreciated you just want to do more.

You were recently made an ambassador for Urban Development. Why were you so keen to get involved?

I wanted to get behind it not just because it’s something positive but it also supports east London talent and I feel that a lot people that might try to reach to Urban Development would be from east London and it’s all about putting people on the right path. Also it’s really good because they also promote artists from all over London too, so I really wanted to raise awareness about Urban Development.

What tips would you give to other aspiring artists trying to be successful?

If you want to do music don’t force it. Let it happen naturally and just do you, don’t listen anything that anyone else does and be influenced by them. Just be 100% real in your music, only talk about things you know about and enjoy yourself. Like I’m not here because of money, if I make money it’s a bonus. I’m here enjoying myself, that’s it and I feel like I always will so it’s not a job.

It’s been reported that you had some beef with Double S from Marvell. What’s the situation and has it been squashed?

It’s squashed at the moment, we haven’t seen each other and we didn’t see each other through the whole thing. It was last year. It’s not like it’s going to be a big thing when we meet. We used to be cool, but now it’s obviously going to be awkward because I won’t probably want to talk to him and he probably won’t want to talk to me. The whole situation was really just lyrics but it started taking a negative route and we just had to be grown men about it and just forget about it. I actually like what Marvell are doing but I don’t know whether they like what I’m doing, but I don’t care anyway.

There’s been a lot of criticism about mainstream grime artists, particularly about changing genres and putting out a more ‘diluted’ sound. Why do you think this is and would you change your style?

I feel that the whole idea of selling out is silly. I don’t want to hear anyone say that Wiley or Tinchy or Dizzee are sell-outs because they have been doing this whole thing for years. They’ve been on pirate radio they’ve done the whole thing. They’ve done what I’m doing, gone further and conquered the underground. What underground radio show have they not been to? What underground artist have they not worked with? What stage have they not performed on? People like that; you can’t watch them. Doing the same thing all the time would get boring and obviously music is a journey – when you do one thing you have to go and conquer something else. Anyways someone like Wiley still does grime. If they want to do that, that’s them. In regards to me, I’m just trying to be Maxsta. I’m not trying to make party tunes, but if it happens it happens my way. I’m not trying to go into the studio and make a P. Diddy pop banger. No matter what I do, whether I choose to spit on a pop or grime tune I don’t want to feel like I have a genre. I just have Maxsta. Maxsta is the genre.

What established artists would you say have redefined UK music and are there any emerging artists coming up, who could possibly do the same?

Dizzee Rascal because when he was doing grime and when he put out his first album the sound wasn’t accepted. He made it mainstream. He made it possible for all us. He opened such a massive door and people often forget that. He’s had four consecutive number ones and even though he’s doing pop, he’s doing Dizzee Rascal. He definitely redefined music. In terms of up and coming artists, people need to watch out for Hydro from north London. He’s like my brother. He’s doing a lot right now. I don’t even want to talk much about it but when he comes through there will definitely be a lot of questions to ask. He’s an MC/rapper and trust me he’s got it going on. You’re going to hear him on my next CD, but he’s also got his own path. He’s doing his own thing and I appreciate what he’s doing. I just hope everyone likes it the same way I do.

Finally, what’s the next thing we can expect to see from Maxsta?

My next mixtape basically, which you heard when you came down to the studio. We’re working on that right now. I feel like the process of making this CD is going to be so intense. I’m going in like that. I’m trying to get it spot on. We’re just working really hard on redefining my sound and redefining grime and bringing it back to where I feel it should be. I feel that’s the next big thing for me and what you need to look out for. I’m doing the Urban Development show, Re:Definition on 22 & 23 July alongside artists like Ghetts, Shola Ama, Lioness and Maverick Sabre, so that’s going to be a madness. Obviously I’m going to put out a couple of videos but I’m just concentrating on the music. The video for East London is Back just dropped on Channel AKA and it’s already got a lot of love, so everyone should make sure they go and watch it.

The Maxstape is out now and available to download on iTunes.

Maxsta will be performing at Urban Development presents Re:Defintion, 22 & 23 July, Theatre Royal Stratford East.

MySpace.com/TheMaxsta

urbandevelopment.co.uk/redefinition2010

Tags: Dizzee Rascal, Ghetts, Grime, Maxsta, Re:Definition, Urban Development, Wiley