In light of the release of his fifth and final edition of the legendary Back 2 da Lab mixtapes, we sat down with Frisco to talk about his new project and hear whats new for the Boy Better Know starlet and grime originator from North London.
Hailing from Tottenham N15, Deshane Cornwall aka Frisco is one of the founding members of the infamous grime collective powerhouse Boy Better Know, known for his lyricism he has been a staple member of the grime scene known from soon after its inception. His debut project Back 2 da Lab Vol 1 came out way back in 2006, and with the addition of the new Back 2 Da Lab Vol 5, now means Frisco boasts 9 bodies of work excluding the BBK catalogue.
We caught up with Big Fris to talk about his latest project and to see generally wagwarn with the grime scene veteran. Firstly, we spoke about change since the original Back 2 da Lab and next about the differences in the creative processes of his 2016 album System Killer compared to the new mixtape.
“Well that was 12 years ago bro, a lot of things have changed since then. I think just me getting better as an artist. I’ve just improved lyrically, flow wise, content. Things have happened obviously I’ve lived 12 years since then, so I’ve gone through a lot of things, I know more stuff, I know the business more I’ve got to reap some of the benefits. I got a lot more things to speak about. I just think I’m more seasoned now. If you been in the game for that amount of time and you ain’t got better there’s problems, you know.”
“Yeah, System Killer took me a bit longer. I recorded System Killer in a few different places, in a few different countries. I recorded bits of it in Jamaica, and we also rented this studio in Oxford which was in the middle of nowhere, like you couldn’t get no reception on your phone, it’s just proper out the way you get what I’m saying? I was there for a couple weeks. So I recorded some of it there, and I just took in a lot of different vibes from different places, I was travelling a lot so that had an effect on me and on the music as well. Whereas Back 2 da Lab, I kinda recorded it in you could say like three months”.
In regards to the mixtape’s artwork Frisco commented: “I done it myself still. I’ve done almost all my artwork, System Killer, British Nights and Back 2 da Lab 5, I designed those. And with this one (Back 2 Da Lab 5) I just wanted to stick with the kinda of Back 2 Da Lab font like I’ve had on the rest of the mixtapes, and I just wanted it to be bold and plain”
“When it first dropped, the feedback that I got from it (Back 2 Da Lab Vol 5) was good man. When I recorded it there was a few songs that I ended up going back and changing the beat or changing things and refining things. I’m very particular with stuff, like I can’t if somethings not right I can’t just let it slide like that, it’s gonna bother me, so I have to, it has to be perfect, so its sick to know that the fans appreciated the craftsmanship”. I put a lot of time into it, even though I did it in three months there was a lot of backwards and forwards you get what I’m saying? Getting the mixes right, getting the masters right and all of that, so when it came back and people were saying how good they thought it was, they could listen to it from top to bottom, it mixes good, these are all the things I spent time on, so when people acknowledge it and appreciate it, it’s a good feeling”
You can definitely sense Frisco’s dedication and attention to detail both in his answers and in his music, with the next mixtape a dense eighteen tracks but no fillers, just straight fire. Moving onto some more general questions we talked whether he was a fan of Garage and Jungle, about the origins of the Grime scene, the role of the music industry, the uniqueness of British music culture and it’s inherent “gift and curse”.
“Both! Jungle, I was a kid dem times, I was in school. Garage as well, even though I was still in school; it definitely still influenced me. I remember Grime was next. In London and in the UK, this is probably the only place that we’ve got so many genres that come and go. Not even really go but they’re just not in the forefront but they’re still there.
We had Hardcore, we had Acid, you had all those types of music, then you had Drum and Bass, Jungle and then after Jungle you had Garage, and after Garage you had Grime, and after Grime you had Dubstep and Funky; it keeps on going you get what I mean? That’s one of the unique parts of our music culture, which can be a gift or a curse if you really check it deep.”
“Because when things ain’t hot or at the forefront, people don’t regard it as successful. When that’s not really the case, you get what I’m saying? There are people in Drum and Bass who are killing it, they’re still touring world-wide, doing shows all the time, but if you’re not aware, you just think I don’t really see them man. Because that’s not their lane no more, you get what I’m saying? “They had their time when they were at the forefront, or some people have never been at the forefront, but they got their crowd, they got their ting set, they got their agent, they get their manager, they do their shows, they make their money you know what I mean? Their music gets out there, they still got their fan base”
“Those type of artists are not in it for the industry, it doesn’t really matter to them, that’s why I say it’s a gift and a curse”
Watch the video for the second track of Back 2 da Lab 5, which premiered here on GRM.
We also had to ask Fris the age old question of who his favourite artist of all time is? We also made sure we got the lowdown on who was the first BBK member Fris met; and the current state of grime and does it needs more exposure?
“You know what it’s a hard one still, I could say Vybz Cartel you know! Vybz Cartel yeah. There’s a few though man, there’s a few but he’s one that springs to mind.”
“Obviously when we met there was no BBK, but who was the first person I met? I think it was Skeppy you know, I think it was Skeppy. Me, Skep or J, but it would have been Skep or J first. Yeah we were the first to link up and then Shorty after”
On Grime “Its good man. It just needs more platforms for people to hear it and for people to do their thing, and to be seen. Grime has got its exposure don’t get it twisted. I think it just needs more, more cause the artists are booming man if you really look at it”
“There’s a lot of good artists, but I think because there’s a new surge of the new style of music like the Afro Bashment kind of style”
We pressed Fris about whether he thought this undermines grime? “Not undermines, its just that’s what’s in right now, grime had its few years prior to that, it will be something else in a few years. That doesn’t mean that the artists now are not gonna be able to live in a few years, it just means that in this country it’s different, its not like you’ve got Hip-Hop that just goes on forever. We breed different styles of music every 3-4-5 years there’s a new style of music, and the new generation have got a lot to do with it as well”
Expanding on the strength of British music, its growth and its global influence; Frisco told me “Our stuff is very fresh and very influential, so when you hear a song and you think rah that sounds a bit like Skeppy’s tune or that sounds a bit like Frisco’s tune; or that sound sounds like something out of a Giggs’ tune. That’s not by coincidence, they’re definitely tuned in to what we’re doing.”
Frisco had some choice words to say about his favourite current UK artist: “I’d say my favourite new artist at the moment is Ambush, I’d say I like what Ambush is doing”.
We asked the Grime scene veteran if he had any collaborations on the horizon: “Right now you know I ain’t even thinking about collabing with anyone like that. Like I done a few collabs on my mixtape, on Back 2 da Lab 5, and anyone that I would have wanted to collab with would have been on that mixtape.”
When quizzed on which freestyle he has duppied the hardest he stated “I can’t really think of all the freestyles I’ve done! I can’t think, I’ve done so many! So many sets so many freestyles. I forget, I go on Youtube sometimes and see stuff and I think rah ‘what is that?’, and I click on it and think fucking ell! ‘How old is that?’ You get what I’m saying? I have to go by what I was wearing to kinda know what time it was”
“I look the same so it’s hard to tell when. I have to go by what I was wearing and the lyrics I’m spitting to tell what times it was.” Pree this old Frisco freestyle with his fellow BBK members a GRM original.
When asked about what his opinion is on linking up with artists from across the pond Frisco told us:
“Why would it be a bad thing? Linking up with anyone, to do music, from anywhere, unless you got a direct problem. Like what would be a bad thing about that? Of course it’s a good thing. Linking up with artists that are on a big platform that acknowledge what you do and appreciate what you do, rate what you do, and wanna be a part of it, wanna do music with you, why would that be a bad thing? Anyone that thinks that that’s anything other than a good thing. I dunno they’ve either got a personal problem with the artists or they’re just hating”
The eighth track on Skepta’s 2011 Community Payback mixtape, is a song called “Frisco” which also featured what we thought was a sample of some Frisco bars, we asked him how this came about.
“Yeah I actually spat the bars, it sounds like a sample but I actually MC’ed the bars on that track, and he obviously put the effect on it. Yeah, he knew what he wanted for that, when he was doing that album he called me to the studio and said I want you to do a lyric, I want it to be a hook, but I don’t want you to write a chorus, I want you to write a verse, yeah, so that chorus is not even a chorus it’s an actual verse”
Finally we asked him about the recent controversial removal of Drill music videos by Youtube, gentrification in Tottenham, and what content should grime newcomers check out to get into Frisco.
“Yeah I think it’s fucked up man. But it’s always been an ongoing fight with the feds. They tried to do it with grime and they’re gonna try and do it with anything new that’s coming out. So it’s no surprise that it includes music that the yutes are using or doing to get off the roads, so it’s like a cycle you get me?
“Yeah, definitely. The ends are changing man. But what can we do? It’s not even just Tottenham man, there’s bare places like that, there’s east London and there’s Brixton, mad bits are changing.”
“Back 2 da Lab volume 5! Listen to that, and it will make you wanna listen to everything else. You’ll think ‘fucking ell! What?! I don’t know about Frisco?’ Lemme listen, lemme go check out the back catalogue. Then you will listen to all the different volumes, System Killer, everyting”
Remember tickets are on sale for his headline show on the 31st of July at Omera, London, and you can grab them here, also be sure to follow him on twitter and instagram @BIGFRIS.
Listen to Frisco’s greazy new mixtape Back 2 d Lab vol 5 right here.