Miss Kezzo: Interview

Miss Kezzo, a former "DJ/MC Tutor" at Get Sorted, interviewed by Arya Yuyutsu in an article taken from Miss Kezzo’s website! Also available are a series of videos of the interview!

To begin with, what got you into music: Marshall Mathers - the LP! A friend of mine had borrowed me the album. It was the first time I had ever heard of a white hip hop rapper. I was into pop bands at the time, such as, 5ive and The Spice Girls, so hip hop was something totally new to me. Being a young teenager at the time with discipline and anger issues didn't really mix very well when listening to his music. My parents didn’t agree with me listening to such explicit music and I was sent to anger management classes. Although, my first vinyl was one of David Bowies' singles and this got me into the dj’ing side of the music.

You’re a woman doing rap, how has it been being a rare unique person in the rap scene: It's not being a woman that makes me unique. There is quite a few female rap artist's on the underground scene that people aren't aware of. The thing that makes me unique is my image. People either love me or hate me. A lot of my competition is the men in the music scene. They, for some reason, see me as a threat. As the saying goes 'you should never judge a book by its cover'.

How did you start off?  I mean once you had a few songs and knew that you wanted to be a singer, what did you do: I actually have a song that answers this questions really well, you should check it out (click on the 'Bio' tab to listen to the song -), 'I Remember Those Days’ featuring Ali Heath Cook. I started recording my songs on a cassette player and to make the instrumentals, I used some PC Software called, E Jay. I got a few of my friends and my younger sister (Lady E) involved and then we started going to watch rappers at local battles and festivals. From then on, I landed a job in Rotherham at Get Sorted Academy of Music as a DJ/MC Tutor. I started going on social networking sites to promote myself and before I knew it, I’d done tons of gigs, collaborated with other unsigned artists, went in and out of crews and released a few mixtapes.

You've already found a niche for yourself, being a woman rapper.  How important is it to be different? To find a niche? To essentially, have a musical identity: It is very important to have your own identity, whether your a rap artist, student or a sales person working in the likes of Primark.  But it is important to me because of what genre of music I am doing. I'm trying to push the boundaries, open people’s eyes that there is more to a person than just image and it no longer matters what you look like in the music industry.  As long as you make good music that people can relate too.

Is there pressure to maintain it now you have chose this genre: It is totally the opposite. But, this is me and this is my everyday image. I don't do this to make a point and stand out. It’s just who I am, on stage and off! It's how I feel comfortable. Noone should be told how to look and dress. When that happens, your taking away their identity and stripping their personality.

Where do publicity and social commitments come in and how much do they effect the singer: Have you ever heard of the saying, 'sell you soul to the devil'? That pretty much sums it up. Once signed and mainstreamed you are public property. Many artists go off the rail because of this reason. I do think you have to be mentally fit because of the work load, but when there is free time, it makes you appreciate the simple things in life. The media tends to gloss the music business up but, really its one of the hardest jobs to go for that is mentally draining and without being in the right frame of mind, its a no go!

In the music scene, as it is today, do you think that singers coming through now are more 'celebrity' and unapproachable stars as compared to a couple of years ago when you could bump into some bands jamming at local pubs. How does this change the music scene: It's usually down to the agents discreition if the star is interactive or not. I think it goes on how successful the artist is as well, and the genre has something to do with it. It's all about protecting the artist nowadays', so it depends on how you look at it. I don't think it's a bad thing, after all, an artist purpose is to entertain. Does this make the artist look ignorant/arrogant? I guess in a certain way it does. But times change and society is no longer the same to what it was decades ago. The newer generation will not know no different and the older generation are dying out, Circle of life.

How do you cope with the business aspect of the whole prefession: To admit, it was a little hard to take in at first. There’s so much to learn. And I'm still learning. I take every day as it comes and I never run before I can walk. It's great to know I've got such a supportive team behind me. If I'm unsure about the slightest thing, I can just ask someone without worrying if I sound stupid. But my agent is there to deal with the business side of things so I don't really have to worry. This doesn’t mean I’ve got it plain sailing though.

Who were the big influences in your interest in music and had any present singer (I know you've opened up for a few famous singers already) given you some insight into what's ahead: Eminem was the first one, Jurassic 5, Skinnyman, Shystie, Lady Sovereign, N-Dubz, Tinnie tempah. They all played a big part in how I write songs today. I've only ever been given pointers by other unsigned artists and the majority said 'change your image', so I've learnt on my own by experimenting and learning from my mistakes.

Arya Yuyutsu