From a young age Fazer was someone who has always been in the public eye, but it’s rare to see him participate such a thorough, deep conversation. Fear not, the NFTR team had the questions ready to get the answers we all wantm and Fazer didn’t hold back in explaining details of his personal life and key moments in his career. Kick back and pree the 11 things We learnt from Fazer’s NFTR.
1. He was influenced by old school garage
Fazer told NFTR that Garage MCs like as Bushkin and Fonty on old pirate radio stations inspired him to pick up the pen and write lyrics. As time progressed, Fazer and Dappy started rapping along to beats in his house for hours. Fazer said that they were attempting to imitate the old school garage MCs they heard on the radio to build their foundation.
2. Tulisa wasn’t the first singer Fazer and Dappy had in mind for joining Ndubz
Tulisa has become a familiar face to many Brits and has always of course been a key member of N-Dubz, so it’s understandable to assume that she was the first singer Fazer and Dappy had in mind for joining them. However, Fazer stated that actually another girl from his old secondary school was actually supposed to join the group. Unfortunately things didn’t go to plan, so Dappy suggested that they get his cousin Tulisa involved. Tulisa wanted to pursue a solo career, but luckily she changed her mind and the rest was history.

3. The late Darren Platt felt that N-Dubz had massive potential
When asked about N-Dubz’ connection with Channel AKA, Fazer stated that Darren Platt and their manager (Dappy’s dad) were good friends and had a close relationship. Fazer also said that Darren Platt was a big fan of what N-Dubz brought to the industry and felt that they were the right representatives of the scene. Darren Platt even brought them a publishing deal!
4. Fazer was not the 3rd wheel
Posty poked fun at Fazer for rapping verses which were short in comparison to Dappy and Tulisa’s verses, and asked what was the reasoning behind that. Although Posty was merely saying this in jest, he did say what bare of us thought. Fazer stated in tongue and cheek that he was busy enough, and that he didn’t want “no work on top of what [he was] doing”. He said he was perfectly content with spitting a few bars in videos because he wrote the lyrics and produced N-Dubz’s material.
5. He’s a selfless individual
Fazer stated that he didn’t mind not getting 50% of the profits he was entitled to as a producer because he viewed Tulisa and Dappy as siblings rather than friends. As a result of his selflessness everyone in the group earned an equal 33.3%. The North London rapper said, “We were like a tripod, if one of us falls then we all fall”. It’s clear that helping N-Dubz stay a strong unit meant a lot to him.
6. Having a child changed him hugely
You can see Fazer’s growth as an individual when he talks about fatherhood, telling the team, “it’s the most amazing experience you could ever imagine.” He told the hosts that before becoming a father he used to be reckless and live for himself, but his mentality completely changed after having his daughter as he realised that life didn’t revolve around him. He became more focused on providing the best for his child, adding that he’s so motivated “[he goes] supersaiyan”.

7. Fazer truly understands the art of producing music
At some point of the interview Fazer begins to elaborate on the differences between a beat maker and a record maker. According to Fazer a beat maker is one someone who creates instrumentals in their bedroom and sticks to one genre, while a record maker is someone who understands radio and knows the ingredients of making a hit song. Its clear to see how he managed to produce iconic hits for N-Dubz, as well as for big stars such as Jessie J, Rita Ora and Rihanna.
8. N-Dubz were betrayed by those closest to them
Fazer stated one of the disadvantages of being in N-Dubz was having to deal with dubious individuals within their circles. He explained how their own tour manager went behind the group’s back and sold numerous stories to newspapers, which revealed private discussions or incidents. Not cool.
9. Fazer has no problem with Dappy saying the “N” word
Unlike many who saw Dappy use the word, during the interview Fazer said that hearing Dappy drop the “N” did not actually bother him. The North London rapper explained that even though Dappy was the only white boy in his group of friends, no one was upset hearing him use the “N” word because he was viewed as one of them. Fazer even implied that Dappy may have only said the “N” word in order to stir some controversy.

10. Fazer is a big fan of the new school
In the middle of the interview Fazer said that he feels the scene is in a healthy position at the moment. He acknowledged artists who he feels are talented – 67, Section Boyz, AJ Tracey, Nafe Smallz, Krept and Konan and Stormzy in particular. As well as being a fan of the new upcoming artists, it’s clear Fazer still enjoys contributing and offering his expertise through taking part in a programme which supported gifted individuals who were overlooked. Fazer said that during that phase he learnt a lot from the young people he worked with.
11. Having integrity is important to him
Fazer said he turned down the opportunity to be on Big Brother even though they offered him half a million pounds. He said that it wasn’t worth losing his credibility and selling his soul when he could just make a decent amount of money through hard work.