新生代说唱歌手 Skepta 谈及 Dancehall 和 Grime 的共性以及与 Virgil Abloh 的合作

来自英格兰托特纳姆的新生代说唱歌手 Skepta，凭借其迷人的嗓音和出众的才华而备受关注，他不仅在今年伦敦时装周期间为设计师 Nasir Mazhar 的发布会打造了一首背景音乐，更在 Virgil Abloh, Diddy 和 A$AP Bari 等圈内好友的帮助下，进一步扩大了自己在美国市场的影响力。为了准备本月末在 Red Bull Culture Clash 上与 A$AP Mob, Rebel Sound, David Rodigan 和 Stone Love 等人的 Batte， Skepta 还特别与 Boy Better Know 一道前往牙买加，从那里的民俗音乐中汲取新鲜元素。

最近 HYPETRAK 也有幸遇见了这位冉冉升起的新星，并对他进行了深入的专访。不仅谈及了他在这次牙买加之行的收货，还聊到了他对于 Dancehall 和 Grime 音乐风格的看法，英美两国的 Hip-Hop 文化差异，以及与 Virgil Abloh 在巴黎时装周上的会面等等。下面便带来本次访谈的节选内容，也请期待 10 月 30 日举行的 Red Bull Culture Clash 演唱会。

What were your initial thoughts on Jamaica upon touch down?

You have to understand, with grime music, how we emcee, how we approach the music, how we rewind the track, the whole style comes from Jamaican dance culture. So we’ve grown up listening to all those kind of artists anyway. This trip was extra special for us because we were like “wow, we’re going to meet people that we’ve watched on YouTube for years.” Also, much of British youth culture, our slang and demeanor is inspired by Jamaican culture. It was an incredible experience going with Boy Better Know.

For a lot of British artists, “success” is determined by their popularity with the U.S. market? What do you think of this connotation?

“That’s Not Me” really blew up, it’s getting rewinds without me even being at raves. I’m getting drunk in London and my song is getting played in New York. So I’m wondering, what do these people see in grime? After catching some buzz in the U.K., a lot of rappers will move to the U.S. and embody the so-called “rapper lifestyle,” but the money they make is never that much so they end up looking stupid. The move to the U.S. is initiated because we grew up on Biggie, Tupac and so on. This is where we get lost training our fantasies. I fully know who I am in this world. When I’m in the States, I’m fully kitted in Air Maxs, tracksuits and a curved peak. I come through with my Sports Direct and JD Sports swag. I’m looking like some ASBO kid and shocking people.

I want to spread my culture and have people accept grime as just another form of hip-hop. In the U.S., people who live in the West Coast might not be into the same music as those in the Midwest as they’re from two different places with different accents. The commonality is the hardship they’re both facing, and they have both found ways to express that. London is another place with a similar story. I used to think we’re a defect in hip-hop with our different accents, but now people try and figure out what I’m saying, it intrigues them.

How did you meet Virgil Abloh?

A while back, someone tweeted saying “Oh Virgil’s biggin’ you up. He’s trying to jump on the grime hype” then Virgil retweeted with a blog link saying “been supporting since 2003/2005” or something like that, so grime isn’t a new thing to him. I looked at the link and was like “Rah! This guys actually knew about grime from back in the day.”

I met Virgil in Paris during Fashion Week. It took me ages to get into the party and I thought this is bullsh*t. Then when I finally got in, I saw A$AP Rocky, the DONDA crew wildin’ out on stage, and that’s not my style. I just stood in the corner of the club for three hours with one drink just observing. I only had one drink because it took me half an hour to get a drink from the bar! Then Virgil started DJing and played “German Whip.” I couldn’t believe it! I could see all these fashion heads losing their shit over my friend Meridian Dan’s song. Me and Virgil got chatting, and he was telling me about how I can bridge the gap between America and England, since our music is both at the same tempo. At the level he’s on, it was so positive and refreshing to talk music with him. He really powered me up and I walked away inspired by his words. I have a lot of respect for Virgil, he cares about the culture and enjoys discovering new sounds.