25 year old Belgium/Rwandan rapper Stroame, real name Paul Van Havers, has been driving the dancefloors and airwaves crazy with his infectious dance track Alors On Danse, despite it only just being release here in the UK Alors On Dance has already shot to number one in eleven countries across Europe, his Mike Skinner inspired  video has had over eleven million views on youtube and Kanye West has only gone and jumped on the remix so Nardene Scott decided to find out a little more about this French speaking rapper who’s taken over the European charts this summer.

Hey, How you doing?

Yeah I’m good you know, okay.

Your new single Alors On Danse has been a viral success with 11+ million views and counting. Did you ever think when you made the record at home it would be as big as it’s turned out?

No, not ever at all! Of course I never imagined this type of success and if someone would have come to me over a year ago and told me that I would have this type of success, I would never have done the same music. I think I had this success because it has been a natural progression.

Last year you released youtube videos on how to make a hit so you’re into this whole social networking/platforms. How did you come up with the idea of uploading those videos?

It was my manager’s idea he thought it was a good way to promote my music so I was like okay, I didn’t want to do  a reality TV show. So, as you know, I’m not like a big star and I said I prefer to be more human and closer to the people. You know something less obvious,  I prefer to be more modest, that’s why I did this kind of video, where people can understand how I make my music. The objective was to bring people into the music that didn’t necessarily work in the industry but thought the process was interesting.

The video for Alors On Danse is pretty crazy but it fits the track perfectly, I know you went to film school. How important do you think it is for artists to have a say in the videos?

Of course, I think it’s tiring to do that because you have to be everywhere and to control everything but I think that when you write your own music,  you can’t be just a singer or rapper without thinking about your outfit, your image, you know what I mean. Today, if you are an artist you have to be involved in your work and your work is not only your music today so you have to involve yourself in all of the work

Lyrically you’ve been compared to English producer/MC Mike Skinner, have you heard of him?

Of course, I was really influenced by him and in particular for the video it was Blinded By The Lights if you compare both my video and his video it’s similar, not too similar. What I liked in the video was the reality, you know, no fake dreams, no fake American dreams, just the reality and just what people actually live. I wanted it to be like the documentaries you get on electronic music and that’s what I like in his work.

What other artists influence you?

Like Kanye West, Technotronic too you know Pump Up The Jam that was a big classic in Belgium and New Beat, really eclectic, you know. You can’t say, I’m influenced by just one type of music, like only by hip hop, for example like Lil Wayne and those kind of people cannot be influenced by only one type of music, it would be weird if one day you said you were only influenced by hip hop music and that’s all, I would never believe it.

Since the success of the single, what can people expect from the upcoming album Cheese and why did you choose to call it that?

The name of Cheese is from when you say cheese when you take a picture and you put a big smile on your face and that’s why I put this kind of title on my album. For me its just because if you’re sad or you’re happy, you just have to take your position you have to accurate and say cheese you know,  its not reality and I don’t think that life is really happy, life is not really sad but life is life, and you need problems to live and without problems life is not life so you have to just put a big smile on your face. I don’t know if it’s a weapon, I don’t know if its therapy, the both you need I think. For the album the musical influence are like 90’s pop stuff and French folk music.

I want you to keep the meaning of the music, the lyrics and the influences all together. I do not have any collaborations on the album because I don’t want people to say, oh yeah you had this kind of support or you were successful because of this name and I prefer to present my own identity, my own personality and after that, I would be interested in doing a collaboration to create something else with another artist.

What lyrically is the album going to be based on?

Just talking about real life, real life has some problems of course and I think its possible to dance to electronic music of course but to end up with lyrics with meaning. Also to always not be fake and thinking about the life you’ll never have, so the life with money, you know like a life without problems. I prefer it to be like your medicine, you know so you can feel it and try to escape the problems.

What’s the hip hop scene like in Belgium and France and do you think the success of your single will change things for hip hop music there?

I’m not pretentious so I cannot say that but it helps me to grow up only for me I don’t know if other people need that. If I can help some other people then of course I would be really proud of it and it would be really good but I think people like Kanye West or The Streets all influence, you know. I’m not the first to do this kind of mix and I cannot be the last. I think the hip hop scene is just nothing in Belgium, it’s realy really difficult because the Belgian market is really small so its difficult to earn money live thanks to your music. So you have to go to France and the problem is that in France you need some credibility if you’re a rapper or a hip hop singer you have to have credibilty to come from the streets. That’s the problem, they think you need to be a gangsta to be a musician and I think it’s just bullsh*t. I think that people understand that music is just music it’s not life, it’s not real.  

What can we expect from you next obviously you will be busy promoting the single and album but are you going to be gigging over here soon?

Of course, it will be an honour to be in your country because it represents a big scene, a really open minded scene who are really involved in the music. I’ve always had a respect for the English because you are so crazy to put music which we cannot play in Belgium on the radio and that’s really good because people are not afraid to listen to like instrumentals and even on very mainstream radios and we dont have that in France or Belgium.

Any last words?

Thank you and it’s an honour to be on your pages, I never imagined this happening so quickly and yes thank you very much.

Stromae’s hit singleAlors On Danse is out now as well as his album Cheese.

You can check out his blog here www.stromae.net/blog/ and also follow Stromae on Twitter @Stromae

Judging by the decadent surroundings Skeppy and Preeya find themselves here, we’re wondering if they’ve been influenced by Kanye’s baroque-inspired tweetings recently…

We had to put up the clean version of this tune because there’s too much *BLEEPING* swearing and we don’t your *BLEEPING* parents to have a go at us cause you can’t keep a lid on that *BLEEPING* potty mouth of yours. Look out for Stig’s new album Mood Swings dropping 11 October this year and look for an RWD’s Online interview with him coming soon.

We’d like to dedicate this video to all the girls who have done us wrong in our lives, thank you Cee Lo for speaking out for us.

After notching up another number one with their latest single Green Light, we speak to Roll Deep’s DJ Target about new album Winner Stays On, what he’d do if they don’t top the charts again, and what we can expect from their set at this year’s Turning Point Festival alongside the likes of Professor Green, Ms Dynamite, JME, Donae’o, Devlin, P. Money and many many more… Interview by Rajveer Kathwadia… Also enter our exclusive competition to win one of two pairs of tickets to this year’s Turning Point festival!

How are you doing?

Yeah I‘m good man.

Firstly congratulations on another number one single with <Green Light>.

Ahhh thanks bruv, it’s mad. I just can’t believe it [laughs]. When you see other people doing it, it looks kind of big from the outside, but when it’s us it just doesn’t feel real.

Does it feel strange cos with The Avenue and Shake A Leg, Roll Deep have released catchy, commercial singles before, but they never got the same love that Good Times and Green Light have got?

I think they were just before their time. I think the country and the mainstream weren’t as ready for it as they are now. We were the first ones from the grime scene that tried to do anything like that and people were still trying to get their heads round these guys rapping over commercial beats. So I think those singles probably got the ball rolling for what’s going now, which is that our scene is the main scene at the moment.

Yeah it’s mad cos now when a song from the scene doesn’t get to number one, it’s like ‘Oh that’s weird, what happened there then?’

Yeah the expectations have changed for the whole scene and everyone expects more and is trying and striving to get top 10s and hits now cos other people you used to be on pirate radio with are doing it. Everyone wants a piece of the action don’t they?

Which number one did you celebrate harder after?

Definitely after Good Times. We haven’t even celebrated Green Light yet. This week we’re literally putting some finishing touches on our album Winner Stays On cos it has to be finished this week, so we were advised by our label to not have a party and miss the whole next day in the studio, cos that’s what would have happened. Cos with Good Times we had a big party and everyone definitely partied very very hard that night.

We always get a bit confused… are you even aware of everyone who is in the entourage?

Yeah I think I can manage it. J2K was the last member to officially join and that was a few years ago and there hasn’t been any departures since then either. But on the album you can expect to hear everyone you’d associate with the Roll Deep name. From Flow Dan, to Breeze, to Wiley, and I’ve produced on it, Danny [Weed]’s produced on there, Wiley’s produced on there, we’ve got some tracks from other producers and some guest spots to mix things up, there’s some grime on there, some commercial stuff, a mixture – it’s like a 2010 In At The Deep End and it shows the progression.

With In At The Deep End, you also put underground singles like When I’m ‘Ere and Heat Up out as well, but you haven’t really done that this time.

We shot a video for Swagger for people to soak up and enjoy on an underground vibe, but there’s gonna be plenty of stuff on the album for the underground. In fact listen to this track in the background… [plays us a hard grimy number down the phone – we hear hard spitting!].  Don’t put that up the net! That tune’s called Team and that’s one of the harder ones and the concept is just about teamwork and it’s a word we’ve been using a lot lately. Scratchy produced that one as well and everyone’s going in on that one. And then we’ve got tracks like this… [plays another song down the phone for us – this time a bit more slower and soulful]. That one’s called Over The Rainbow featuring Cherri V, so yeah that’s like a ballad so we’ve got bits from all of the stuff we’re known for doing, but it’s just better basically.

Who are some of the other features you’ve got on there?

We’ve done a track with Eliza Doolittle, Toddla T is producing on there and so is DaVinChe. We’ve got a few others on there as well, but we’re not necessarily getting big names. The third single’s got a feature on it, but I don’t think I’m allowed to say who it is yet.

What’s it called?

<Take Control>.

We know you’re playing The Turning Point festival at The Roundhouse this month. What can people expect from the Roll Deep set?

We’re gonna take the band down there, perform some of the new stuff, some of the classics, and some things that haven’t been heard before including the third single. It’s interesting cos we’re not known for performing with a band so it’s new and it’s exciting for us as well. We’re looking forward to it. And it’s a good warm up for the national tour we’ve got planned for early next year.

Tickets for The Turning Point Festival are on sale now on 0844 482 8008 or from MySpace.com/turningpointfestival

Taking place at London’s famous Roundhouse, the Turning Point festival will see Roll Deep joined by the likes of Professor Green, Ms Dynamite, JME, Donae’o, Devlin, P. Money and many more at the only music festival to be completely created and controlled by young people aged 25 and under.

Taking place from 17-19 September, the three day festival will kick off it’s opening night with a headline set from Professor Green who shares a bill with dubstep and dance supremos Toddla T, Redlight, Breakage and Jakwob.

The second night takes a grimier turn with Roll Deep, Ms. Dynamite, JME, Donae’o, Devlin and P. Money topping Saturday’s bill.

The weekend comes to a close with an eclectic mix of music, poetry, comedy and artistic interventions throughout the Roundhouse’s more intimate spaces and pioneering independent promoters Eat Your Own Ears head up Room 2 with the best up-and-coming new music talent from London and beyond.

For your chance to win one of two pairs of tickets up for grabs, simply send your details (Name, age, address, contact number) to (subject: Turning Point) by 12pm on Monday 13 September and we’ll pick two winners at random. Good luck!

MySpace.com/turningpointfestival

Roundhouse.org.uk

We’ve just been sent an exclusive vid of John Legend and The Roots performing a track from their forthcoming collab LP, Wake Up…

Jeye Severe sounds like he’s a very angry person just based on his namesake, if you listen to his mixtape The Hierarchy he raps like an angry guy who’s about to overdose on pent up rage. But lo and behold he’s, according to the man himself, “a very composed character”. RWD sent resident hip hop head (there’s still loads of them about apparently) Jerry Gadiano to talk about being one of Peterborough’s finest, record shopping with his old man and using his brother’s battered headphones as his first microphone…

Let’s go a bit into the Jeye Severe history first, when did you first pick up the mic and start rapping?

I was into poetry and soul from a very young age, so hip hop for me seemed a natural progression. My first mic was my big brother’s broken headphones. I was seven at the time and I adapted the words to Run D.M.C’s  It’s Tricky.

How would you describe the Jeye Severe sound and flow to new listeners?

I would say ‘Original’, but I haven’t got a set sound, although my style is predominantly hip hop I have a rather eclectic taste and listen to many different genres. My flow is as varied as my sound; fast, slow, raw or melodic, whatever the music or my mood dictates, most of the time I’ll switch it up every four-to-eight bars.

There’s a lot of hardcore and rawness in your lyrics where does that come from?

My music is for the most part is a page in my diary, a day in the life of me and reflection of my thoughts. So with that in mind some songs will be direct or raw or on the flip side some will be uplifting with a feel good factor. My lyrics come from experiences, observations and emotion.

Growing up in Hull and Peterborough was there a lot of musical inspiration for you there?

With my Pop’s being a top soul and rock collector and DJ I was immersed in music early on, I used to follow him around car boot sales and record fares then learn to sing what he’d bought back. My four brothers all play instruments and sing so I’m from a musical family, maybe it’s in the genes. Contrary to popular opinion Peterborough is a very musical city with an array of talent bubbling under the surface so I’ve never been starved of inspiration living here.

What did you take in from the environment you were brought up in and how did you incorporate it into your music?

I try to take lessons and stories from my life and other areas where ever possible because people relate to realness, but like they say we are all products of our environment. It’s a subconscious thing I guess.

Growing up who were you listening to? What artists influenced your style, your music and your flow?

Everyone from Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, Michael Jackson, Sam Cooke, Bob Marley, The Beatles, Phil Collins, Slick Rick, Tupac Shakur, Biggie, Pharoahe Monch, The Fugees, Nas, Big L, Big Pun.. etc. The list does go on and on.

Was it hard for an emcee such as yourself to break out and be noticed as a lot of UK hip hop’s premier rappers came from London?

London has always played a major role in getting UK music to the world so to me it’s just a channel I’ll have to go through obviously. By not having something on your doorstep it does leave you at a slight disadvantage but I’m only an hour away and I’d struggle to get from Brixton to Kentish Town in that time.

How do you view the UK hip hop scene in Peterbrough and Hull – and outside London for the matter – is it stronger, more vibrant, or is hip hop culture in ‘The Big Smoke’ still dominant?

London is the capital of the UK with the most diverse cultural mix, so I doubt whether many cities could compete with London whatever the genre. Maybe Manchester with Indie or Brighton and Big Beat. That said my mantra is “It ain’t where you’re from, but where you’re at”. Hip Hop is a genre of music, the music I have chosen to make so London, Compton, Brooklyn – it’s all hip hop… even Peterborough & Hull.

Your mixtape The Hierarchy has got you going pretty hard in the booth. Is there some sort of pent up rage when you’re spitting?

Rage? Nah [laughs], I’m a very composed character, I think I just wanted to show my music like me has passion, conviction, and substance.

What does The Hierarchy mean/represent to you?

Everything has a hierarchy, a structure or a chain. I’m constantly trying to work my way to the top of them.

Do you feel there’s some sort of ‘Hierarchy’ in the industry and in the rap game?

Yes mainly due to the fact that a lot of independent labels and artists struggle to compete with the financial push the major labels can provide. It’s nothing new and ‘EVERYTHING’ has a Hierarchy.

Because you’re part of the UK hip hop movement do you feel that your music along with so many other UK rappers can only be relegated to the underground?

Underground is used as almost a derogatory term, but most underground artists are making the music they want to with no restrictions. I was a singer before a rapper so you‘ll never really know what’s coming next from me. Maybe crooning to a Sinatra cover, you heard it here first.

Can UK hip hop ever do mainstream music for charts? What do you reckon?

A few U.K hip hop artists have managed to expand their target audience, given a chance. There is definitely more than enough talent within the UK hip hop scene. Whether or not being given the chance means watering down the hip hop element is a different question.

Do you see yourself making music to get yourself in the charts?

Definitely, Ideally I want my music to reach as far out as possible, but as a hip hop head from day one I needed to make the Hierarchy mixtape and Perseverance album before I continue with my own journey.

How’s the recording for your debut album Perseverance going?

Good thanks, Perseverance is coming along nicely I’ve nearly finished my next mixtape, Black Noise. But I’m not rushing anything I’m trying to produce a real hip hop classic with this one.

What can we expect from it? Any guest features and producers?

What has been recorded so far is heat, the album is predominantly produced by my long term producer Chat-One, off the back of the mixtape I had the honour of recording a track with the mighty Jean Grae which is bananas considering she is one of my favourite MC’s. There’s more but I don’t want to give away too much.

When can we expect a release date?

I’ll be looking to release the album at the beginning of next year, around January or February but the Black Noise mixtape will be out there before then.

What can we expect to see from Jeye Severe in the future?

More good music, I’m currently recording a string of features and involved in a very exciting project with an American producer.  I also produce music as well so I’m trying to get my beats out there to other artists. Also I really have always wanted to get into acting.  I’m currently taking lessons which I’m really enjoying. You never know what’s round the corner right.

You can get Jeye Severe’s current mixtape The Hierarchy by clicking here and you can check out more of his stuff by going to MySpace.com/jeyesevere and by following on twitter @JEYESEVERE .

If you were to get a dictionary and look up the term anti-establishment don’t surprised if you find the faces of Dead Prez next to it. Described as “somewhere between N.W.A and P.E (Public Enemy)” M1 and stic.man have been fighting ‘The Powers That Be’ for years with their social, political and militant lyrics. Taking a ‘no retreat, no surrender’ stance to those who are in power and who abuse it has made them one of the most celebrated hip hop groups in the world today. Jerry Gadiano has quick chat with the revolutionaries who headlined last Monday’s Summer 2010 Rhyme And Reasoning Showcase.

This year Is the tenth anniversary of Let’s Get Free. Ten years on how do you think it compares to classics like Ready To Die, Illmatic, Enter The Wu-Tang (36 Chambers), 3 Feet High And Rising and Me Against The World.

stic.man: Ah man, you can’t do the music and judge the music ya know what I mean, the people gotta say that. I’ll say I assume Ready To Die and those other albums were life long goals of Biggie, Nas and whatever and Let’s Get Free was a life long goal for us. If Ready To Die told Biggie’s story up to that point Let’s Get Free definitely told our story up to that point.

Why do you think the album done so critically well?

stic.man: Cause it was hard man, lyrics was real.

M1: I would say it happened reluctantly. I don’t think that The Source[Magazine] jumped on board and said “That’s great”. It came at a time when that type of music was not the most popular music out there. I think there some people committed to new ideas because at that point there was no crunk music but definitely bling bling was invented, you had Versace and there was a whole bunch of war going on and the time of ‘Black Power’ was not in. So when we came in with the knotty roots looking hair and wearing the camouflage suits  we were influence by the hardness of the world but with something that we wanted to march to. I guess it done well critically because… well you gotta tell me like stic said because we where the makers of it.

stic.man: See  I think what made our music cut through in certain kinda way – and I say that humbly – we try to be a bridge, where a lot things either try to be on one side or this side, but in our life that’s not reality. You know I can relate to the streets in everyway, that’s everything I learned about music, economics, history and culture I learned from the streets, I didn’t learn from no University or any other place. So the way that we speak on philosophy and life come from the streets and I think people in the streets relate to that because they always say you gotta go to college to have some kinda of education or whatever but we see things, have ideas and visions just like anybody else. So I think that’s partly what our music represents it’s a bridge to the intellectual and the streets.

On the subject of education “They” Schools was one of the stand out tracks for me on that album but I’m interested to know do you still harbour the same feelings to the education system in America?

M1: Like stic said, we were able to add onto that idea, we were giving you our experiences whether it was good or bad and we wanted to communicate with reality. Making Let’s Get Free and writing “They” Schools we wanted to communicate our angst and frustration at the American school system for being a brainwash and slavery system and it still is today. From that we’ve gone on to be a part of helping and developing curriculums in regular public schools, some teachers will be in there knowing that they’re participating in a school environment that’s brainwashing  kids and there’s certain teachers that don’t want to do it and they’ll play that song to their students today. I’m proud that moment can happen cause that also gives us a chance to add on to the song where we didn’t and to some solutions we weren’t able to have from before, cause “They” Schools wasn’t about solutions but we’re now able to talk about solutions to education today.

Do You feel that some of you listeners don’t understand the true meaning of the song Hip Hop?

stic.man: Well I don’t assume that, I don’t assume what people think at all. I feel like people who like Hip Hop like different things, some people like the beat, some people like the flow, some people agree with the sentiment, ya know what I mean and that’s life. I would say our message is the whole thing, it’s the beat, the lyrics, it’s the point of view and that’s the message and I think people get that. It’s hard to play that song and think we’re talking about booty shaking or something like that…

M1: And even when you do here the song and people are paying homage to it like Drake did I think that deep down in his psyche, even though he twisted them lyrics around  and made ‘em kinda on some BS, you can’t escape the fact that that song hit him. No matter what, the lyrics are what they are and it’s still Bigger Than Hip Hop and that reverberates so I love just the strength in that and I give thanks to that, it’s been a fantastic journey with that song.

Have you guys got any new material or an album coming out soon?

stic.man: We got a new album dropping this November called Information Age, so you know it’s a lot more progressive so look out for it.

Look out for Information Age to drop this year in November. In the meantime you can download Dead Prez’s latest mixtape Revolutionary But Gangsta Grillz hosted DJ Drama by clicking here.

You can check out there website DeadPrez.com for the latest Dead Prez news.

For more infro on Rhyme & Reasoning go to their website RhymeAndReasonLive.com.

RWD get exclusive access to the Sony Ericsson B-Boy Championships World Finals photoshoot…

Last year we moved the creative on as we noticed a lot of people were biting our style, so we’re keeping it fresh. We’re working again with the photographer, Gary Salter, (who does these amazing images) and we did something really great. Today we’re hopefully going to create something memorable. What will happen at the 15th anniversary Sony Ericsson B-Boy Championships World Finals?

With the sound of camera bulbs popping off around the arena and the latest ASICS on everyone’s feet, we spoke to some of the main players…

Organiser, Hooch

Congrats on your 15th anniversary, have you had any nervewracking moments along the way?

When we moved to the Brixton Academy in year three, it was a leap of faith because it was more than twice the size of where we were before. I was very confident that we could fill it and we did.

What is it like on the day of the Finals?

I try and get there as early as I can and there are people there waiting. They’re ready to go. When you take a snapshot of all the people in the queue, they are from all over the world. It’s no longer just a London or a UK thing.

Tell us about today’s photoshoot?

Last year we moved the creative on as we noticed a lot of people were biting our style, so we’re keeping it fresh. We’re working again with the photographer, Gary Salter, (who does these amazing images) and we did something really great.

Today we’re hopefully going to create something memorable.

What will happen at the 15th anniversary Sony Ericsson B-Boy Championships World Finals?

[Smiles] Obviously the crews are gonna be crazy this year and the solos are gonna be insane. We’re gonna be setting some world records and there is a lot more planned. You can expect the same energy, friendliness and exclusive prizes as last year and if you want to see how hip hop should be, come to the Sony Ericsson B-Boy Championships World Finals!!!

B-Boy Mouse

Been breaking for: 14 years

How did last year’s Sony Ericsson B-Boy Championships World Finals go for you as one of the judges?

For me it was hard to sit down and see the dancers as I wanted to compete [smiles]. But sometimes you have to take yourself out of that and branch out on something you can do after.

Last time you spoke to RWD you mentioned you’ve travelled all across the world to dance, would you consider yourself one of the stars of modern B-Boy culture?

I don’t call myself a star but people recognise my skills. They tell you that you’re the best, you don’t have to think like that though because I’m not the best; but I can make the best look stupid!!!

Roxy

Been breaking for: 4 years

How has the shoot gone today?

It’s been fun; I was upside down most of the time.

Will Soul Mavericks get further in this year’s Championships?

Well, it was hard last year being drawn against Russia’s Top 9 in the first round. They were really good.

What will happen at the 15th anniversary Sony Ericsson B-Boy

Championships World Finals?

I think the battles will be great. Anything can happen. For us, personally, we’re just training hard. We’ve got to train for our lives to get through.

Have you got anything planned (move-wise)?

Maybe. I’ve definitely been working on my speed, I think that is my weakness.

Anything to say to girls who also want to get involved?

Give it a go. Get involved. It’s hard but there is no excuse, don’t compare yourself with the top girls… aim for the top guys.

B-Boy Spin

Been breaking for: 7 years

How is the shoot going today?

It’s a bit early but everything has been fun so far.

What has been the peak of your career?

This. I love the fact that I’m representing the UK in the campaign.

What will happen at the 15th anniversary?

They’re gonna go ALL OUT this year. I heard there is gonna be customised kits for all of the b-boys, they’re gonna go ALL OUT.

Have you got anything planned (move-wise)?

I’m working on a few moves [laughs]. There are a few new things that I’m looking to bring out for the world stage but for now [smiles] it’s work in progress. I know it will represent what I’m about and it will represent what I stand for.

ASICS is again the official footwear partner for this year’s event, check ASICS.co.uk/sportstyle for more from them. Stay locked to RWDmag.com for our exclusive video of the photoshoot and for ticket and event information visit bboychampionships.com

Wrestling maybe dead-out (I’m hoping Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson doesn’t read this) but the tune and this video certainly isn’t.