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Fazer Interview
RnB/Hip Hop | Wednesday 31st August 2011 | Osh
N-Dubz Fazer
Hi man hows it going today?
All good and all the better for seeing you
How are you finding it being back in your home town.
It feel good man, you know better than ever man, feels great to be home because you don’t actually get to go out in public that much and when you actually get back to where you live and see your family its just like very overwhelming you know.
So what do you get up to if you are in London where do you go?
Yeh i go to Camden town, my local and i go to and i go down to my hood and go see my youngers, go see my friends, chalk farm and that's where i am man.
Has it changed much since you’ve been gone?
Not at all its exactly the same.
Good to come back?
Yeh it reminds me of my roots and where i have come from and keeps me level headed. Cos when i walk through the hood its like Fazer, superstar and I’m like nah i ain’t no superstar what star in the, hood yeh star in the hood, I’m like shut up man get out of my face, its all good and it keeps me level headed so i like to go back to where i come from.
What were your musical influences whilst you were growing up?
My mum used to listen to a lot of mo town sort of stuff and when i was like 8 years old i heard hip hop for the first time, that’s when i first heard swearing in music and i was like all my gosh, I’m hearing swearing in music i love this, oh my gosh. I grew up listening to Mobb Deep, Raekwon, Wu-tang, 36 Chambers and then started going onto Jay-Z and everyone. Also I had a very out of the box listening time as well, I used to listen to Freddie Mercury, Sting, Phil Collins, Genesis and Madonna and i still do, if you look at my Ipod its probably still the most predominant thing on my Ipod. &0s 80s music.
Do you feel you’ve incorporated those into your own music?
Yeh most definitely, cos we listen to those old songs and we think, you know what, people arn’t making songs like this anymore, all there is a loop chorus loop chorus where as back in the day there’s elements to the record that you cant explain, you have the intro to the record, then you have first verve and then you have a prechorus then you might have a little break down into a second verse then the second verse comes and that’s what we try to do is bring the same elements in the way that we structure the records.
Cool so you’ve probably been travelling load performing, been doing loads of festivals or anything like that?
Yeh we’ve just finished our tour, our Uk tour the arena tour which was actually sold out, thank you to everybody that came down, it was absolutely amazing, the atmosphere was absolutely crazy, its you know, one of those things you’ll never forget but yeh we’ve finished the tour now and we’ve come back form all round the uk, flew out to la recently, just shot a video for Dappys first solo single that me and him wrote and produced together, its called No Regrets and is going to radio this week and we’ve also been doing festivals as well.
So speaking of solo stuff are you thinking of doing anything?
People say solo but its not really solo.
What like a side project?
Its not solo because (Tulisa doing Ex Factor and its all promotion for N Dubz when Dappy does his stuff ill be producing it, ill be writing it with him. If Tulisa decides to do a solo thing then me and Dappy will in the studios writing with her, visa versa if me i feel like doing something then I’m gonna be doing that as well. Ive got session setup with Katy Perry and I’m 95% we've got Chirs Brown too.
Its all in the pipeline then?
Yeh its all in he pipeline but all it is is extra promotion N Dubz so we’ve the X Factor thing is finished we can get back to the N Dubs thing.
And your still working as a team?
Yeh that's it everybody has to chill out for the next 8 months will Tulisa doing X, we were all like no way, were gonna get bored were gonna get into trouble, put us in the studio just make sure were working man.
So what have you got planned for the rest of you week?
For the rest of my week, as soon as i leave you guys I’m heading straight back up to Oxford to the studio, I’ve got a couple of new sessions up there this week, (Mr Hundson?) and a new boy band (Deminigo?), very indie.
Thats nice thought that there’s a bit of versatility?
Yeh man you cant put N Dubz in the box were very versatile and people always say you know N Dubz records are very different form other records they’ve release because when were in the studio we don't wanna make the same record we made before and we actually think about it and think i produce the record this is the songs were gonna go, its not like we have an AnR artisti saying look these are the record weve got for you and you can sing on them, na ill produce the beat me and Dappy and Telisa will write everything, master it mix it put it our the label that’s it,
So you’ve got a new DVD coming out that everybody wants to hear about, so whats the deal with that?
Its this DVD here, its a tour DVD from the tour that we did and its called the Love Live Life DVD, its got the one from the O2 arena that we did, sold out, it was like 19,500 people there, my god, all my god that’s all I’m saying.
You guys were the the first people to sell out?
Yeh for our genre of music we were the first people to sell out at O2 Arena man, for us thats a monumental achievement, its a landmark in our career shall we say.
I imagine that is, how does that make you feel?
Like I’m bad man innit, straight up. I an’it gonna lie though when i went up on the stage there was one point when we came up in the lasers and we come from underneath the stage and we got these cones and lasers around us and we have to stand there still like this and i went up and i looked up and the amount of camera phones and light i just got goosebumps and i was like right lets do this show now. Its great cos we don't look out to the crowd until were on the stage so when you see it for the first time and you go out there in front of 20,000 people it like wow. Just to see 3 little rats like! Its nuts.
So when your out partying and your not working so much have you got a favourite spot?
Em we don’t really party man.
Do you get much time off?
No cos by the time you get some time off you just wanna sleep or go see you mumsie or pops or go eat some food go chill with the man dan whatever. Yeh you don't think about going out because you work in clubs and nightclubs so the last place you wanna go is a nightclub you know.
Yeh you just wanna have a break?
Yeh just chill
So we were trying to find you on twitter but we couldnt find you?
Yeh im actually run the N Dubs one but im not gonna do a phase of tweeting till next june until i start promoting the solo stuff andill get that up and running.
So we were looking up about loads of rappers from (mozart?) state in London and there just begining to get there stuff together and we were just wandering whether you think its as easier or more difficult for street rappers to become as successful as you have?
I don't know man, people always as me advise yeh, how to do it yeh but its like something happened to us and i haven't seen it happen to anyone since and i know, since so solid were the next one who came along, that actually had that whole hype. like when we brought out Better Not Waste my time people were like who’s these lot then we brought out I Swear and theres just became a hype like everyone had that on there phone if you didn’t have in on your phone you weren't down with the times and we just blew up on out own success man. So for me to just turn round to another artist and say yeh just put your video on tv and your gonna blow up its not like that bruv and touch wood we got lucky blud and here we are today.
So theres hope for everybody?
Yeh we used to be on the front line and now are were 3 albums deep 1.8 million records its crazy.
So we've got three very special Guestlist Network questions for you, if you could fill a swimming pool full of anything what would it be?
Probably girls, id just fill it with a whole lot of sexy girls (Laughs)
Good answer, and what would you do if you were invisible for a day?
If i was invisible for a day, id probably just go and see what the queen gets up to for a day, go down Buckingham palace like see whats going on, move a couple of things here and there just make peoples minds go crazy. I didnt put that there and that.
When i do party i party with the Guestlist Newtork, 1.8 million records sold, N Dubs, I’m Fazer and when i party, i party with the Guestlist |Network. innit, holding it down 24 7.
Hi man hows it going today?
All good and all the better for seeing you
How are you finding it being back in your home town.
It feel good man, you know better than ever man, feels great to be home because you don’t actually get to go out in public that much and when you actually get back to where you live and see your family its just like very overwhelming you know.
So what do you get up to if you are in London where do you go?
Yeh i go to Camden town, my local and i go to and i go down to my hood and go see my youngers, go see my friends, chalk farm and that's where i am man.
Has it changed much since you’ve been gone?
Not at all its exactly the same.
Good to come back?
Yeh it reminds me of my roots and where i have come from and keeps me level headed. Cos when i walk through the hood its like Fazer, superstar and I’m like nah i ain’t no superstar what star in the, hood yeh star in the hood, I’m like shut up man get out of my face, its all good and it keeps me level headed so i like to go back to where i come from.
What were your musical influences whilst you were growing up?
My mum used to listen to a lot of mo town sort of stuff and when i was like 8 years old i heard hip hop for the first time, that’s when i first heard swearing in music and i was like all my gosh, I’m hearing swearing in music i love this, oh my gosh. I grew up listening to Mobb Deep, Raekwon, Wu-tang, 36 Chambers and then started going onto Jay-Z and everyone. Also I had a very out of the box listening time as well, I used to listen to Freddie Mercury, Sting, Phil Collins, Genesis and Madonna and i still do, if you look at my Ipod its probably still the most predominant thing on my Ipod. &0s 80s music.
Do you feel you’ve incorporated those into your own music?
Yeh most definitely, cos we listen to those old songs and we think, you know what, people arn’t making songs like this anymore, all there is a loop chorus loop chorus where as back in the day there’s elements to the record that you cant explain, you have the intro to the record, then you have first verve and then you have a prechorus then you might have a little break down into a second verse then the second verse comes and that’s what we try to do is bring the same elements in the way that we structure the records.
Cool so you’ve probably been travelling load performing, been doing loads of festivals or anything like that?
Yeh we’ve just finished our tour, our Uk tour the arena tour which was actually sold out, thank you to everybody that came down, it was absolutely amazing, the atmosphere was absolutely crazy, its you know, one of those things you’ll never forget but yeh we’ve finished the tour now and we’ve come back form all round the uk, flew out to la recently, just shot a video for Dappys first solo single that me and him wrote and produced together, its called No Regrets and is going to radio this week and we’ve also been doing festivals as well.
So speaking of solo stuff are you thinking of doing anything?
People say solo but its not really solo.
What like a side project?
Its not solo because (Tulisa doing Ex Factor and its all promotion for N Dubz when Dappy does his stuff ill be producing it, ill be writing it with him. If Tulisa decides to do a solo thing then me and Dappy will in the studios writing with her, visa versa if me i feel like doing something then I’m gonna be doing that as well. Ive got session setup with Katy Perry and I’m 95% we've got Chirs Brown too.
Its all in the pipeline then?
Yeh its all in he pipeline but all it is is extra promotion N Dubz so we’ve the X Factor thing is finished we can get back to the N Dubs thing.
And your still working as a team?
Yeh that's it everybody has to chill out for the next 8 months will Tulisa doing X, we were all like no way, were gonna get bored were gonna get into trouble, put us in the studio just make sure were working man.
So what have you got planned for the rest of you week?
For the rest of my week, as soon as i leave you guys I’m heading straight back up to Oxford to the studio, I’ve got a couple of new sessions up there this week, (Mr Hundson?) and a new boy band (Deminigo?), very indie.
Thats nice thought that there’s a bit of versatility?
Yeh man you cant put N Dubz in the box were very versatile and people always say you know N Dubz records are very different form other records they’ve release because when were in the studio we don't wanna make the same record we made before and we actually think about it and think i produce the record this is the songs were gonna go, its not like we have an AnR artisti saying look these are the record weve got for you and you can sing on them, na ill produce the beat me and Dappy and Telisa will write everything, master it mix it put it our the label that’s it,
So you’ve got a new DVD coming out that everybody wants to hear about, so whats the deal with that?
Its this DVD here, its a tour DVD from the tour that we did and its called the Love Live Life DVD, its got the one from the O2 arena that we did, sold out, it was like 19,500 people there, my god, all my god that’s all I’m saying.
You guys were the the first people to sell out?
Yeh for our genre of music we were the first people to sell out at O2 Arena man, for us thats a monumental achievement, its a landmark in our career shall we say.
I imagine that is, how does that make you feel?
Like I’m bad man innit, straight up. I an’it gonna lie though when i went up on the stage there was one point when we came up in the lasers and we come from underneath the stage and we got these cones and lasers around us and we have to stand there still like this and i went up and i looked up and the amount of camera phones and light i just got goosebumps and i was like right lets do this show now. Its great cos we don't look out to the crowd until were on the stage so when you see it for the first time and you go out there in front of 20,000 people it like wow. Just to see 3 little rats like! Its nuts.
So when your out partying and your not working so much have you got a favourite spot?
Em we don’t really party man.
Do you get much time off?
No cos by the time you get some time off you just wanna sleep or go see you mumsie or pops or go eat some food go chill with the man dan whatever. Yeh you don't think about going out because you work in clubs and nightclubs so the last place you wanna go is a nightclub you know.
Yeh you just wanna have a break?
Yeh just chill
So we were trying to find you on twitter but we couldnt find you?
Yeh im actually run the N Dubs one but im not gonna do a phase of tweeting till next june until i start promoting the solo stuff andill get that up and running.
So we were looking up about loads of rappers from (mozart?) state in London and there just begining to get there stuff together and we were just wandering whether you think its as easier or more difficult for street rappers to become as successful as you have?
I don't know man, people always as me advise yeh, how to do it yeh but its like something happened to us and i haven't seen it happen to anyone since and i know, since so solid were the next one who came along, that actually had that whole hype. like when we brought out Better Not Waste my time people were like who’s these lot then we brought out I Swear and theres just became a hype like everyone had that on there phone if you didn’t have in on your phone you weren't down with the times and we just blew up on out own success man. So for me to just turn round to another artist and say yeh just put your video on tv and your gonna blow up its not like that bruv and touch wood we got lucky blud and here we are today.
So theres hope for everybody?
Yeh we used to be on the front line and now are were 3 albums deep 1.8 million records its crazy.
So we've got three very special Guestlist Network questions for you, if you could fill a swimming pool full of anything what would it be?
Probably girls, id just fill it with a whole lot of sexy girls (Laughs)
Good answer, and what would you do if you were invisible for a day?
If i was invisible for a day, id probably just go and see what the queen gets up to for a day, go down Buckingham palace like see whats going on, move a couple of things here and there just make peoples minds go crazy. I didnt put that there and that.
When i do party i party with the Guestlist Newtork, 1.8 million records sold, N Dubs, I’m Fazer and when i party, i party with the Guestlist |Network. innit, holding it down 24 7.
