Since Tinchy Stryder graced our Best Of British cover he’s signed a joint venture deal with Roc Nation to form Takeover Roc Nation, been blowing up the airwaves with undeniable anthem, In My System and released yet another collection from his hugely popular and successful clothing brand Star In The Hood. Nardene Scott speaks to the talented MC about what his upcoming album is all about, making it up with La Roux and looking back to his early days on pirate radio.

Hey Tinchy! How you doing?

What’s going on, yeah I’m good, you know.

Looking back at what you’ve achieved so far, how impressed are you?

You know what, crazy enough when I look at what I’ve done, I’m proud of what I’ve achieved but I still feel like I’ve got a lot more to do musically. In the UK alone there are a lot of people who do crazy numbers on their albums. There are a lot of things that I would still like to achieve, I could be here for the whole day, its endless the list.

Do you still think about the old days when you were doing the pirate radio sets like Temptation, any fun memories and do you miss it?

Pirate radio was always one of those things that was big back then …. When I was younger we used to skip school and that just to get a set on pirate radio but at the same time I think things only felt that good because it was at that time, if it was still running it wouldn’t feel special.

Where are you musically right now, obviously you’ve got In My System out next month sounding like an Ibiza anthem?

I would just say I’m always trying to be creative and do something different and something new. I hope with this new album it grabs more people and you get a true sign of the people who fully support you. I’ll always be hearing my music but at the same time I don’t want to get bored of my own stuff because if you get bored of your own stuff then you’re likely to give up; so everytime I’m in the studio, I try to make something new and at the same time be creative, just keep it yourself man.

What do you have to say about those who have criticised you for not making grime/street music?

Erm, I don’t know… I don’t blame some people for not being musical, it’s the way they came up. If that’s all they know then it’s not their fault. It’s sad but it’s not their fault. I understand where people might think oh yeah they don’t do grime anymore but the last thing that I actually put out was a free EP which was full of grime tempo’s. Ruff Squad never really just made grime it’s never really been us… if you’re a Ruff Squad fan you’re going  be hearing a lot more soon it’s all to come. We understand people trying to make grime songs as their single and all that but it’s all about the music and music that people can relate to and I’ve never put out anything that I ain’t happy with.

What do you think about La Roux’s comments about you a while back?

Oh yeah La Roux, I heard she said something like, what did she say, something like…?

I think she tried to compare you to George Michael?

Oh yeah, yeah. Then I met her in person and she told me it must have got misquoted and she didn’t really mean it but she’s a cool person man. I like La Roux’s songs as well so when I heard the comments I was like that was a bit of a random thing to say. But she’s cool man she came up to me and said sorry.

So is there a chance in the future of both of you getting in the studio now the situation is all sorted?

Yeah maybe one day she could be someone that I can actually work with because she’s unique; you never know what the future holds.

How did the Takeover Roc Nation deal come about and how does it feel to be in business with a rapper you’ve been listening to your whole life?

That alone is crazy, from like the pirate radio days I didn’t once think that I would have been in business with Jay Z; that’s someone who I listen to till this day now, you know the business side and musically I’ve got mad respect for him. Music always grabs people attention first they must have heard a few songs and then it was more like his people and my people got along and I’d been over there to see them like in LA a few times. And it’s just a good vibe man, it feels like we just all really got along so it only made sense to do something together and the best way we worked it out was by doing a joint venture.

Cool, so how does it work, will both sides be finding artists for the label and are you looking at any artists at the moment you can tell us about?

Yeah that’s the aim, find some new talent, or some people that just need an opportunity there’s always people out there that have the talent and have been doing their thing for ages but sometimes there’s talent out there but just not something that you can work with, like you don’t know how you can develop it and I think that’s what we can bring all together with the joint venture. Everyone has got their own opinion and everyone has their own approach. I would say the music is as important as the business because thinking back to when I got signed and everything, the A&R’s have to be interested in you and like what you’re doing so anyone who you hear we’re bringing out has to be something that has got my full attention.

Are you looking at anyone at the moment?

I’m still listening and looking out but obviously right now I’m taking the time with my own single and album and everything else, but there are always eyes out there and people are listening.

Can you tell us a little bit more about the album and what we can expect from it?

The new album compared to the previous album Catch 22 is different I could say it’s a bit darker musically, more like a live album with all the production and the things I’m talking about on there, it’s a bit deeper. Like saying how…I don’t even like saying this but the darker side to the limelight and the things that come with it, a few things you have to cut off and the things that you go through. Yeah you get to know me more and there’s a lot of pressure…well there’s meant to pressure, I’ve not really felt that much pressure recording it because people are thinking of what the album did last year but that’s the old one this is the here and now, everyone wondering what is he going to do now, like it’s all or nothing, that’s why it’s called 3^rd Strike.

After you and Tinie hooked up for the Hello, Good Morning remix which was another good look for UK acts! What do you think about some US artists jumping on some UK beats or is there anyone in particular you’d want to work with?

Definitely, I like listening to Young Jeezy, Jay Z obviously, Rick Ross, Drake, I think someone I would like to hear on some dark UK beats would be Lil Wayne, and I’d loved to see what he had to say.

Lastly your Star In The Hood brand is going well have you got any plans to expand the brand yet?

Yeah that’s the plan and I would say never rush anything because I’d rather people be like we need more of this and can you make some more of these, you know when people want more of it. But yeah that’s the plan but it’s still early days and it’s doing quite well so we’re staying strong with that.

In My System is out 8th August      

Tags: Grime, Hip Hop, Jay-Z, Tinchy Stryder