We caught up with Preditah ahead of the release of his highly anticipated Circles EP to talk plans for 2012 and how the instrumental came about in the first place.

Firstly the promo video is a good look, how do you feel about it seeing all of those MC’s on your beat?

Everyones loving that man because it’s something different. Its what I’m all about really, just something a little bit different.

How did Circles come about?

I went to a club and I thought to myself, well, the whole night there was no grime tunes getting played well and I thought I’ve gotta get together a tune that can get played in a club whether its a club or a party or whatever. I went home and I made that in one go really. It took me about two to three hours.

When you was making it who did you want to vocal it?

Basically it was all one tune at first like when it drops in the first 8 bars it was bit too serious so then I added a little happy part to it that everyone can remember like a ringtone and I just kind of thought this blends together nicely. So you’ve got the dark side and the kind of middle side thats why its an 8 bar tune.

What’s up next then soundwise because we hear you’ve been in the studio with everyone?

Something more like Circles where it’s a grime tune but its got played as Radio 1/1Xtra’s big track. I hear kids playing it in college, females like it which isn’t often because they don’t like all the dark stuff, adults like it, like somebody’s single.

For the rest of the year what can we expect from Preditah?

I’ve got quite a few plans but I’d rather keep it natural and leave my manager to make the plans and I’ll do all the beats and continue to push myself  but mainly work on people’s albums a lot this year and female singers.

Which artists are you feeling and hoping to work with at the moment?

Ruby Lee Ryder as far as females, she’s fresh. MC wise, I’m feeling Scrufizzer the most.

Lastly by the end of 2012 where do you want to see yourself?

I just wanna be a household name in the UK like Labrinth. I look up to him a lot he basically broke the rules of pop music because pop was usually just a bit dance and that and he’s just brought the D&B influence into it and I want to push grime further than what it’s ever been because grime has never been that far and I want to be the guy to do it.

You can buy Circles EP on limited edition orange vinyl here or the digital version on iTunes

Donald Glover aka Childish Gambino has garnered the affection of the music critics on both sides of the pond which as an established known comedian, actor and writer is pretty difficult. After selling out both London tour dates almost straight away Nardene Scott met up with the multi talented man to talk UK music, being compared to Drake, juggling the music and comedy worlds and what to expect at the Camp show.

So what have you been up to since you landed in London?

Yeah this is my first time in London. Josh Osho and I recorded some stuff for then I woke up Monday and was here all day yesterday from nine on doing interviews. I love it!

You sold out both your shows here already, like straight away. How do you feel about that? Where you surprised?

I had a feeling as I always get tweets from people from here (laughs) so when the first show sold out in a couple minutes, we made another and that sold out quickly too. I guessed from the tweets, people were like ‘do a show in Manchester’.

The support is across the board too, you’ve got The Times and NME Magazine and us talking about it… Do you make your music to crossover?

Nah I think it just happens intrinsically because I grew up with all that stuff and liking all that stuff. And that’s the thing most kids do now – It wouldn’t be crazy for a kid to say ‘I listen to Adele AND Dizzee Rascal’. No one is going to be like ‘WHAAAT!?’. Everybody listens to everything. So its not that crazy growing up listening to a bunch of stuff but its really fun to come over here because in America, they see me as a comedian first.

That’s what I was gonna say, how do you juggle all your worlds? Which comes first?

I see them all as the same thing because they all come from the same place. All my music, the premise of it, its usually the same as my jokes. They’re all about race and girls. It’s not like I have to shut them off and do this.

What do you enjoy the most?

Right not, the music, right now. That’s because it move a lot faster than the jokes world.

Do you feel you have had to prove yourself more in music where as if you went from TV to film it would have been a lot easier?

Yeah, with music its something like acting – everyone has an opinion. I think I’ve done pretty well with music as its super easy for someone doing comedy or acting to do music and have people be like ‘this is total sh*t’. I don’t know who is big over here but if I a comedian started doing music, I know they’d have a bad time with it but because my music is very much like me, it’s been a little easier with the transition. That’s the thing – people think I’ve just started doing music… I’ve been doing it for 10 years! People think I’m doing it because I like myself a lot (laughs). A lot of actors do do that though. I don’t look at music that way. I think it’s a privilege I get to do music and do shows.

What can people expect from a Childish Gambino show?

It’s pretty hardcore. We’ve had fights (laughs). When I was younger, I didn’t like Hip Hop shows because I felt they were boring but I was probably going to the wrong Hip Hop shows.  I went to a Rage [of the Machines] show but I wasn’t going to Wu Tang shows or anything like that because my parents wouldn’t let me but I went to other shows… They weren’t that great as rap albums were the stuff you would listen to at home but rock was the opposite with not so good albums but the live shows were great. I always try and make my live shows a good experience, taking you through the peaks and valleys, starting with highs and then lows. The Camp Show takes place over a day of camping. It starts with setting up camp then it gets dark, gets crazy, then the sun comes back up. People who doubted me, people thinking this guy is just jerking off on stage, like when they see the show, they’re like they weren’t expecting that.

What about comparisons? Have you had any crazy ones yet?

I’ve had Odd Future, I’ve had Drake… Yeah Drake comparisons! It’s funny because you guys think differently. Over there, they have a huge comparison because he was a TV star too. It’s interesting. Over there, it’s funny, just something to grab on to.

Do you know of any artists this side of the pond? Tinie has been buzzing over there and obviously Adele.

Unfortunately I don’t know a lot… I know the big ones. I know Adele, I know Devlin. Josh Osho showed me Devlin and I was like… I was really… He destroyed a freestyle I saw. It made me feel the same way when I first saw Eminem with the anger. Dizzee, Amy [Winehouse] and who else? I don’t think he is big as he was but Mr. Hudson. He’s everywhere.

So before the album CAMP, what was you working on musically? Have you worked with any different producers? Artists? You mentioned you did some dates alongside Kendrick Lamar…

I am… It’s weird. One thing they brought up was that I don’t do a lot of collaborations and features, not because I think my stuff is better, I don’t, I just felt like I had to prove myself. I know a lot of people would think if I came out with an album with a load of features and a lot of producers, people will think ‘this guy needs help – obviously he can’t do it on his own’. I produced all the tracks myself but the next one will have features and I’ll do a mixtape before hand.

What sort of albums stood out for you when you were growing up and influence your music now?

I really liked The Cranberries when I was really young, how embarrassing. The Pharcyde stood out for me, Marshall Mathers, Life After Death from Biggie and erm… Those were the big ones. I use to listen to Anita Baker a lot. I didn’t realize how much Anita Baker, Funkadelic and Prince played a part in my childhood.

That’s a pretty eclectic mix do you think that’s why hip hop is changing so much and how do you think the sound is going to change?

I don’t know how it’s going to change necessarily but I think Hip Hop in general has become more ambient. Take Care for example. I didn’t put it in and was like ‘WHOA!’ but it was a grower and I think that’s what Hip Hop needed. It is a full album. Rock has that. You put on an Amimal Collective album to feel that way and then you may put in an Adele album to feel that way. Hip Hop never had that. I don’t know whether I want to keep playing into the ambient thing or do something different. I know I want to work with another producer on the next album like Missy Elliot. I haven’t heard tracks from her but she’s on Twitter (laughs).

Who else would you like to work with?

I love Missy Elliot, Fiona Apple – I guess I just grew up with her and she has that scary voice (laughs) I like scary voices. You don’t like scary voices!? It sounds creepy (laughs).

Make sure you follow @DonaldGlover on Twitter and go and cop CAMP

Last week we brought you DJ Target hyping up the about what the Roll Deep team are going to do at the upcoming #adislam event. If you thought that was bad then watch the video below to see just how gassed up SB.TV aka Secret Baller founder Jamal Edwards is…

We all know Chelsea Lately doesn’t hold back in her interviews, check out the opener in this Drake interview it’s too much, she goes innnnn…

drakechelsea by urbanmusicdirect

Emmanuel Ezugwu talks to Kelly Rowland about the X Factor comment controversy, wanting to collaborate with Harmony and Drake, her upcoming 1Xtra Live performance and more grown and sexy videos on the way…

Emmanuel Ezugwu talks to Kelly Rowland about the X Factor comment controversy, wanting to collaborate with Harmony and Drake, her upcoming 1Xtra Live performance and more grown and sexy videos on the way…

RWD meet Mancunian rapper Kapital KO to find out all about his rise into the UK’s rap scene, get introduced to his flow and hear what he has to say about the new Ecko Unltd. range available only at JD.

Make sure you check out the current issue of RWD to see the full Ecko Presents feature.

RWD meet Mancunian rapper Kapital KO to find out all about his rise into the UK’s budding rap scene, get introduced to his flow and hear what he has to say about the new Ecko Unltd. range available only at JD.

Make sure you check out the current issue of RWD to see the full Ecko Presents feature.

RWD chat to the soulful KOF about his new and ever evolving sound and also what to expect next as well as his thoughts on the new Ecko Unltd. range available only at JD.

Make sure you check out the current issue of RWD to see the full Ecko Presents feature.

RWD chat to the soulful KOF about his new and ever evolving sound and also what to expect next as well as his thoughts on the new Ecko Unltd. range available only at JD.

Make sure you check out the current issue of RWD to see the full Ecko Presents feature.

We grabbed south London rapper Dru Blu aka Don Strapzy away from the Ecko shoot briefly to talk about his forthcoming album, his signature flow which he puts into action and of course the new Ecko Unltd. range available only at JD which he was sporting.

Make sure you check out the current issue of RWD to see the full Ecko Presents feature.

We grabbed south London rapper Dru Blu aka Don Strapzy away from the Ecko shoot briefly to talk about his forthcoming album, his signature flow which he puts into action and of course the new Ecko Unltd. range available only at JD which he was sporting.

Make sure you check out the current issue of RWD to see the full Ecko Presents feature.

RWD catch up with the UK grime veteran Ghetts on the set of our exclusive Ecko shoot to talk about the state of grime and what he things about the new Ecko Unltd. range available only at JD.

Make sure you check out the current issue of RWD to see the full Ecko Presents feature.

RWD catch up with UK grime veteran Ghetts on the set of our exclusive Ecko shoot to talk about the state of grime and what he things about the new Ecko Unltd. range available only at JD.

Make sure you check out the current issue of RWD to see the full Ecko Presents feature.

RWD have been following this talented Stokie native for a while now, with his debut album Lonely Are the Brave wrapped and ready for its January release, Nardene Scott had a chat with the eclectic artist Maverick Sabre about new single I Need, Xmas plans, touring and future collabs.

Hey Mav! What are you up to at the moment?

Nothing much just come off tour and I’ve got a bit of a throat infection. I’m just maad busy I never get time off to fully recover so I’m always on the edge of illness.

How did the tour go?

It was fantastic it was a great experience.

Did you have any special guests along the tour?

Nah I didn’t have any. The only actual special guest I had was one of my Irish lads who I dragged out to join me on stage for Wonderwall he’s one of my oldest friends that was about as special as you’re gunna get off the tour.

So how did the collaboration with Benny Banks, Chipmunk and New Machines come about?

I was sent the beat my lads New Machine, a duo, I thought it was heavy and Chipmunk and Benny Banks came to mind. I always wanted to do something with Benny Banks and I heard Chipmunk’s new stuff and it was heavy, like I thought he was just coming out with the bangers. I wanted to show other people that might have thought differently about Chipmunk that like he needs to be respected because it’s only a matter of time before people see how good of an MC he is. So yeah I got the two of them on it and spat a little verse myself.

There’s been quite a lot of talk about that as well people have been liking you being back on the spitting vibe?

Yeah I enjoyed it myself! I write most of my songs in spitting form anyway and I’ve got loads of spitting songs ready but yeah it was good to get back on that tip really.

What about those spitting songs when are they going to get an airing?

Yeah trust me, you’ll hear them, you just have to wait and hear it.

What’s the plan now? You’ve just come off tour are you going to take a break or head back in the studio?

Not really I might take a calm period but I’m still going to be doing stuff in that period but hopefully I might do some more sessions and just keep writing music. You never know when your inspirations will stop or you might get a writing block for a year or two so you might as well keep writing whilst the inspiration is there. Maybe do some sessions with some other artists too.

Who would you like to work with then?

I’d like to do more stuff with Benny, I don’t really want to give away too much, when the tracks come out they come out. I don’t want to do things that people kind of expect you know what I mean. We’ll see what comes about.

It’s kind of hard to expect certain things from you when you go from working with Starkey to Redlight and then New Machine?

Yeah, yeah, I’m glad people don’t expect anything from me because it kind of gives me free rein to do what I want.

So I Need is out at the moment, what’s the next release coming up?

You know what I’ve been deliberating because I’ve got quite a few possible singles on my album and I kind of want to take it in another direction to shake people up again. I think Let Me Go came out and then I Need came out and they’re two different sounds but they’re got that soul element. I’m not really the best judgement of my own music because obviously I love every tune that I write so it’s just about sitting down and going through them. I put my heart and soul into my album so I want it to be well received. I want the next single to have a big impact so to me as long as I put out the music that I like, I’ll be happy with it.

So you’ve got 1Xtra live at the end of the month, who are you looking forward to seeing?

I’m looking forward to seeing J Cole you know, I’m not gunna say I’m a massive fan I haven’t heard any of his stuff to say I’m a fan but I judge, especially rappers, on seeing them live so I’ll try and go and see them live before I listen to their record.

Have you managed to get out there and see anyone else live recently?

I saw Delilah and Kings Of The City on tour and they were fantastic. I’m going to see Jill Scott soon. I probably have seen people but I have the worst memory you have ever come across.

We interviewed Delilah a month ago and she was hoping you guys would be working together on something whilst you were on tour, did that happen?

Yeah there’s still suttin’ in the pipeline but she got ill at the end of the tour and I was ill before the tour so it was all kind of like the illnesses taking control.

What’s the plan for Christmas are you going to get to go home?

I’m probably gunna go to Ireland and relax because I don’t get the chance to hang out there much. It gets me back into my old state of thinking where I wrote most of my old tunes. So I’m going to stay there for maybe two or three weeks and get back to my writing.

What have you been writing recently?

Well my debut album is finished so I’ve been writing a lot of choruses and to be honest I’ve been spitting a lot as well and getting people to send me beats. It’s just different situations that I’ve been going through lately and I needed to write them down just like diary entries but yeah it’s just kind of inspired me to write a bit more.

Any Last Words?

My album Lonely Are The Brave is out at the end of January, I remember hearing the title I think it must be from an old movie or something back in the day and I just really liked it. Like the reason I chose Sabre for the second part of my name is because it derives from the meaning of someone who puts on a hardened front to get through hard times. I feel like the phrase Lonely Are The Brave sums that us as well. Everyone has to be brave to get through loneliness you know at some point in your lives. It kind of matched the name and the emotion that I put into the album as loneliness is kind of like an underlying tone on the album.

Look out for Lonely Are The Brave and until then you can catch Maverick Sabre at 1Xtra Live and don’t forget to grab the new single I Need out now!!!