We caught up with Killa P prior to his performance tomorrow at the Outlook Orchestra event at the Royal Festival Hall, Southbank Centre. Following what has been a big year for features and releases, including the likes of a collaboration with Distance on “Badman”, and a feature on Sir Spyro’s “Topper Top”, we spoke about the importance of family, the changing face of Brixton, and independence from music labels.
You’ve been making music with your distinctive style for over a decade and you’re undeniably a veteran. What have you seen change during your time in the scene?
“The fact that we no longer are working towards being signed by a label; the majority of artists are all doing it one-up – by one-up I mean independently – that’s the biggest change I’ve seen within the music industry itself right now. From those days to what we’re in now. Back then, we were all looking to be an XL [Records] member, or a Sony member – a part of a label.”
Do you think it’s good for artists’ creativity, that they’re in control of their own releases and publishing?
“Always, 100 percent, definitely. Without you being able to tap into that freedom or creativity, then you’re no longer the artist that you were when they first spotted you.”
Do you think that labels need to change in order to consider this, if they want to be signing more artists?
“Well, to be honest, we put the money in the label’s pockets, yet the labels are the ones that are ripping off all the artists – for them, if it’s not a 360 deal, it doesn’t really sound like a deal. To us as the artists, we’re rapidly realising that we no longer need a record label to do it, because we can sign ourselves up to bandcamp, and put up the release dates and everything ourselves, we don’t really need to be giving away percentages to labels no more. What are they coming with that is going to make us want to make us give away percentages? They’re going to have to raise the bar again, because we raised the bar ourselves to realise that self-reliance is better than relying on anyone else.”
“If he is a music man, make music, if he is a real skengman then use it…” What’s the message behind this bar?
“You see, if you look at the industry at the moment, even a lot of the labels are signing a lot of the… they call them “gangs”. They’re not even calling them artists, they’re calling them “gangs”, and they’re signing them. It’s become okay for you to be part of road activity and at the same time, bringing that same activity to the music. As bad as Killa P is as an artist, you’ve never heard that I’ve gone into a rave and … well a lot of rumours came up with regards to the Devilman clash which wasn’t true… in reality, I’ve never brought the road or my road issues into the music that I uphold. So, my point was, if you’re a roadman, then be a roadman 100% and stay away from the music. If you’re a music man, then do the music 100% and stay away from the road if you can. That way, you give yourself longevity in whatever you’re doing. If you’re a roadman, you can’t be on the stage performing can you? You’re going to have that risk of someone running up on you. So live your life accordingly to what you want to do – don’t mix it up, don’t make it messed up for us. We’re good over here with music, so just let us prosper here, and if you want to do that over there, then stay over there.”
Do you think that it’s discriminatory that labels say that they’re signing “gangs”?
“It definitely shouldn’t be happening. They should be taking the emcee or the artist that they’ve taken a liking to, away from that lifestyle. I believe that grime music should have a national Grime Day. Because grime music as a platform has taken me away from a lot of dark elements that could have still been lingering over my head now.”
Should music’s ability to take artists away from the road be appreciated more?
“100 percent. I think it should be acknowledged nationally and internationally, by all the majors.”
When you see people using music as an escape, is that respectable and admirable?
“If it’s positively used, like myself and the way that I’ve done it, and you’ve made it work for you, that’s a success story. We’re not hearing many success stories – this one gets signed, and then he goes jail … it’s like, we need to clean up a lot of what is going on. It’ll have longevity and be more fruitful, as we’d be planting the right seeds. At the moment it’s a free-for-all; those who’re doing it for the right reasons are just doing it, and those who’re just out doing things that are going to tarnish what we’re doing, are just doing that. We’ll find a balance and it’s just going to be that for a minute, but you know what, grime is a great platform, and we respect, appreciate and embrace it. We need to own it a bit more, and know that we’re the generals for it, because without us, the young kids are just going to be out doing whatever. All it needs is a little bit of order.”
I’ve heard that you’ve got big respect for Scratchy and Trim. Do you stay in contact with anyone from Roll Deep?
“I still stay in contact with Trim. I hear from Trim and call him every now and then, he’s like a little brother to me still. I was with Scratchy the other day, me Scratchy and Wiley. Flowdan was at my birthday too. Everyone’s got different angles at getting to the same crossroads. We just have to pick our roads, and you know that I’m in my own lane. We’ll collaborate soon, but at the moment, we’re just in our own lanes doing the work trying to get there.”
You’ve said before that you’re a family man, and that kids deserve the attention that is needed. How important is family to you, and should that be the same for everyone?
“Family’s the main backbone – I do what I do for my family, it’s not just for me. I’m not trying to be the guy that drives around in a Bentley in the ghetto, where nobody owns their own property as the prices are so high and nobody’s making that kind of money. I’m not that kinda guy. The kind of guy that I am, I see the sufferations; that’s what gives me the drive to do what I do, and that’s what gives me the stamina to do the amount of shows that I do, with the energy that I do them with. It’s real passion and it’s real pain when man’s performing, it’s not a joke: the shit that I’ve seen I wouldn’t want anyone to see. The things and scenarios I’ve been in, I wouldn’t want my kids to go through. I have to make sure that that doesn’t happen, and if it does, then I’ve failed as a parent. Parenting, and the family, and family structure, we’ve got to build that ourselves. That’s what it is, nothing more, nothing less.”
At what point did you realise that – did having kids change that?
“I was always a responsible person, and I was always that kind of guy. I had my first child early anyway, at the age of nineteen, and I was already grown in my mind. I wouldn’t really chill with younger people. I was always with older people than myself, and I learnt a lot of stuff early.”
Has Brixton changed for the better or worse over the past decade?
“The area’s changed for the worse – it looks nice and glamorous for those that don’t know the history of the Brixton, or for those that have money to spend in Brixton. But for those that live in Brixton that can’t afford to buy the property that they’re in, it’s not nice. A lot of people are getting pushed out.”
What do you think of the growth of Drill music, pushed by the popularity of groups such as 67?
“That’s what I’m saying – there’s so much good things going on. We just need to all link up and start making things happen so that people can see there’s unity within music, so that we can have unity in the streets.”
Is the lack of unity a major problem in the streets then?
“Well, there’s music coming from everywhere. Literally absolutely everywhere. But [the lack of unity] fuels the music that we’re hearing, the kind of music that we have today. If there was more positivity and more unity on the road, there’d be a bit more structure to the music that we’re hearing. At the moment, it’s the lifestyle, the groups, the life that individuals are experiencing, so people are going to write songs and make songs about that today. That’s why we have what we have at the moment, and why we’re listening to what we’re listening to.”
Tell me about forming “So What Crew” – is there anything you regret or would have done differently?
“No no no, never. Life is a lesson and I’m still learning. I haven’t perfected anything yet, I’m still learning how to be a better me.”
That sounds pretty humble – is humility necessary to be a better artist?
“Of course – you can’t just say “just because I’m Killa P I’m the hypest guy” … come on. Those that know me in my personal life know that there’s always a time and a place. If someone punches me in my face I’m not going to be talking to you like this, but my point is, there’s a time and a place to be that kind of guy. I want people to accept me for who I am. That means I want to be approachable. I don’t want you to see me with a hoodie on and be scared of me because 67 are round the corner, and when you see them they make you shit yourself. We have to deal with all sorts of people, so we can’t be roaring, even though we’re in the jungle.”
I saw your song “Badman” with Distance released on Tektonic, as well as your work with Sir Spyro. What can we expect in 2017 from Killa P?
“Oh there’s loads to come out, loads man. I’m gonna finish up an E.P. in a second, which should have been out years ago. I didn’t really like the sound of what I’ve recorded, so I’ve been back and forth. I’m a big critic of my own music – I want what comes out hereon forth to be top of the world kind of level, so yeah, Killin’ Time will be out shortly, I’ve got a lot of collaborations and singles dropping with different people. One’s called ‘which one of dem’, which is with my army [Killa’z Army] – Long Range and Aira are on that one, and the video’s dropping next month as well. I’ve got another video which I still need to shoot coming out soon, actually with Devilman, where we clash on a track. We gotta start teaching these people how to capitalise on these things rather than letting your life become an accessory to these things, you know what I mean?”
Let’s talk about this Outlook Orchestra event at the Southbank Centre. How did you get involved with that thing?
“Simon [Scott], he’s seen many of my performances now. Last year at Outlook I did like 14 shows in 4 days. He knew that I’m doing a lot of stuff at the moment. He’s always put me on that one, or this one. So when he called me up about this Orchestra thing, I said “I would never say no to what you’re saying right now…””
What do you think about Outlook’s growth, and the number of legendary artists involved with the festival now?
“It’s epic – there isn’t a greater word to describe the vibe of Outlook. It’s changed my way of thinking about festivals. I thought festivals were just Glastonbury and getting muddy, I didn’t know that festivals are all beach parties and boat parties… It changed my way of thinking straight away. I saw that and I thought “wow, yeah, I’m not missing this again”, yeah.”
Thanks a lot – is there anything else you’d like to mention?
“Big up GRM Daily and happy new year.”