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Doc Brown Interview
Other | Thursday 20th October 2011 | Osh
UK rapper-turned-funny man took five minutes out of his manic schedule to talk to us about acting, the Inbetweeners and his Hip-hop roots
“I wave the flag for Hip-hop all day long, but if you’re a creative person you can’t be bound by any genre or particular scene or style.”
Hey man it’s Osh from The Guestlist Network how you doing?
Yeah good, I’m in Manchester working up here for a few months.
Is it a solid show or are you doing a bit of a tour?
It’s a children’s series I’ve created, a tale of two brothers. The elder brother is played by me and he’s seen as a tearaway at school; he ends up getting kicked out and becomes a bit of a bum. Then he turns his life around and gets into teacher training and goes back to work at his old school, but now his little brother goes there and he’s becoming the tearaway that his big brother once was.
Nice, when will we be able to see this?
Oh it’ll be out in January. It’s a lot of work, there are 13 half hour episodes; it’s a three month shoot so we’re working everyday from like 7am til 7pm, it’s full on
Wow, so are you still getting the chance to do your stand up shows?
I’m on a little bit of a break at the moment naturally because I’m filming, but I’m doing a few festivals this summer. I did Latitude last week and I’m doing Dublin Festival this weekend in Northern Island and The Apple Cart in London. Festivals are wicked man, it’s just a totally different vibe from clubs; they’re more unpredictable, there’s a bit more of a rock‘n’roll vibe to them.
You still rap a lot in your comedy, is it because you can’t leave the rap scene behind?
Well rapping is a part of me; I just haven’t got the time to be in the rap game as such. Of course it’s what put me here so it’s a big part of me whether I’m rapping or not.
So are you still working with underprivileged kids?
Not really, no. I’m involved with a few different charities as more of a patron now. I just don’t have the time, it’s all taken up with writing and recording and performing and sometimes it’s a 24/7 job. I try to do something even if it’s just being a spokesman or promoting different charities or raising awareness, but I don’t have time to put the work in like I used to.
So I hear there was a little controversy over the ‘Mad World’ remix you did a while back?
Yeah, we’re talking about seven years ago now...I did an unofficial remix of a song from a movie; it was the Christmas number one that year so all of a sudden the spotlight was on me. It was quite dark and a bit socio-political a guess; it was controversial with the label but it was really my first proper record and it gave me the buzz and the boost I needed to get into the rap game for real.
Nice, and then you did some work with Lowkey right?
Yea, Lowkey is somebody I’m proud to say I discovered. I used to host a night in the record shop back in the day and we would do an open mic night every Friday. He was 16 and he was so hungry; the fire in his eyes was unbelievable. I remember one night another Lowkey turned up, and when little Lowkey found out someone else had his name he said, “Alright screw it, let’s battle for the name!”. They did it then and there in the shop and he ate him up! I just looked at him and thought, I need this kid on my side; he’s one of them dudes you don’t wanna be against.
Cool, what’s the best thing about the path you’ve taken now?
It’s fun! There’s this one element where I can just relax, mess around and show the other side of me, the vulnerability that is hard to show in rap because it’s so intrinsically linked to the streets and street culture. When I look back on my life in rap it was amazing, but at the same time there were a lot of negative experiences that I had; if you’re involved in street culture you’ve gotta be prepared to take everything that comes with that. I’ll respect Hip-hop forever because it’s what created the person that I am, but it can become tiresome you know? That’s the one thing I don’t miss. In comedy I don’t receive death threats; ‘You’re not funny’ is the worst thing that’s going to happen to me. No one’s gonna try and stab me, no one’s gonna try and rob my house. If you’re a creative person, trying to be creative 24 hours a day, determined to make a living off your imagination, you can’t be bound by any genre or particular scene or style. I’m a writer of words and a seller of ideas; my ideas pay the bills. I wave the flag for Hip-hop all day long, but to confine myself to rap would be a bit small minded. I love it though and I will always come back to it as long as it wants me, but there are other things I’m interested in.
How was working with the Inbetweeners?
It was awesome man. I did some stuff in the third series and all of this stuff is just a great experience for me. It’s new ground; I’m loving the acting and I’m loving the opportunity to see how the industry works. It’s really interesting and it’s something I feel I could spend my life doing. When I’m too ugly to be starring in stuff I’ll be writing instead [laughs]. I wouldn’t wanna be a middle aged rapper.
Who are your influences in comedy?
Wow there are so many, too many great comics on the circuit. There’s Daniel Kitson, Adam Bloom...they’ve been around for years but there are a number of young comics on the up at the moment worth checking out like Marlon Davies and Nathan Caton. Then there are like the greats, inspirational figures. I’ve been getting into Adam Buxton and Joe Cornish recently, they’ve got a radio show on BBC6 music they crack me up. Joe Cornish wrote a film and directed it as well, I did a bit of music for it actually.
So you’re still doing music as well?
Not really, I write music mainly for TV and film. I can’t write rap songs for myself any more; I’d love to but just haven’t got the time.
Tell me something positive about your life as a rapper?
There are so many positives, I can’t recommend it any higher. I came up at a time when the Internet hadn’t yet taken over; you couldn’t just exist on the net, you had to get out there and battle to prove yourself. All of that experience made me the person I am today; I wouldn’t be doing what I’m doing without Hip-hop. ‘Til the day I die I will love that music and I love the fact that I was a part of it...I always wanted to see the day when a kid would come up from London or Birmingham or Manchester and become a superstar and now look at Dappy, Tinie, Wiley, Example, Wretch...they’re proper superstars now, man!
I was talking to Fazer from N-Dubz yesterday, he’s working with Chris Brown and Rihanna nowadays it’s crazy!
I can’t think of anything more beautiful than that and the fact that I can look back and say I was a part of that, of the wave that helped that come about. I wouldn’t take credit for any ones career, but just being a part of the scene and it’s influence.
Your little brother’s also a rapper; is he one to look out for?
Yeah Luke Skyz, check him out. This guy’s the bomb, he’s coming out hard!
A couple of randoms now: if you had to take three people to a desert island with you, who would they be?
Well it would have to be people that have a lot of interesting stuff to talk about...I think I’d bring Richard Pryor; I read his biography and it was like reading the Bible, like how not to live your life. It was fascinating, I’d love to pick his brain. On a personal level I’d bring my dad. He passed away and I always feel like he had a whole life that I didn’t know much about and that I’d like to talk to him about. Also, Obama. I know he’s got the pressure on him right now but to get a sense of how he came from where he did to be where he’s at would be a fascinating conversation.
So it sounds like you’ll be soaking in some knowledge, man. Congratulations for all your success.
Thank you very much, man.
I see you’ve got a show coming to the UCL Bloomsbury theatre?
Yeah in October; we’re gonna shoot a DVD there as well so check that out.
Nice, well I’ll give you a shout towards October, good luck with everything.
Thank you very much.
Hey man it’s Osh from The Guestlist Network how you doing?
Yeah good, I’m in Manchester working up here for a few months.
Is it a solid show or are you doing a bit of a tour?
It’s a children’s series I’ve created, a tale of two brothers. The elder brother is played by me and he’s seen as a tearaway at school; he ends up getting kicked out and becomes a bit of a bum. Then he turns his life around and gets into teacher training and goes back to work at his old school, but now his little brother goes there and he’s becoming the tearaway that his big brother once was.
Nice, when will we be able to see this?
Oh it’ll be out in January. It’s a lot of work, there are 13 half hour episodes; it’s a three month shoot so we’re working everyday from like 7am til 7pm, it’s full on
Wow, so are you still getting the chance to do your stand up shows?
I’m on a little bit of a break at the moment naturally because I’m filming, but I’m doing a few festivals this summer. I did Latitude last week and I’m doing Dublin Festival this weekend in Northern Island and The Apple Cart in London. Festivals are wicked man, it’s just a totally different vibe from clubs; they’re more unpredictable, there’s a bit more of a rock‘n’roll vibe to them.
You still rap a lot in your comedy, is it because you can’t leave the rap scene behind?
Well rapping is a part of me; I just haven’t got the time to be in the rap game as such. Of course it’s what put me here so it’s a big part of me whether I’m rapping or not.
So are you still working with underprivileged kids?
Not really, no. I’m involved with a few different charities as more of a patron now. I just don’t have the time, it’s all taken up with writing and recording and performing and sometimes it’s a 24/7 job. I try to do something even if it’s just being a spokesman or promoting different charities or raising awareness, but I don’t have time to put the work in like I used to.
So I hear there was a little controversy over the ‘Mad World’ remix you did a while back?
Yeah, we’re talking about seven years ago now...I did an unofficial remix of a song from a movie; it was the Christmas number one that year so all of a sudden the spotlight was on me. It was quite dark and a bit socio-political a guess; it was controversial with the label but it was really my first proper record and it gave me the buzz and the boost I needed to get into the rap game for real.
Nice, and then you did some work with Lowkey right?
Yea, Lowkey is somebody I’m proud to say I discovered. I used to host a night in the record shop back in the day and we would do an open mic night every Friday. He was 16 and he was so hungry; the fire in his eyes was unbelievable. I remember one night another Lowkey turned up, and when little Lowkey found out someone else had his name he said, “Alright screw it, let’s battle for the name!”. They did it then and there in the shop and he ate him up! I just looked at him and thought, I need this kid on my side; he’s one of them dudes you don’t wanna be against.
Cool, what’s the best thing about the path you’ve taken now?
It’s fun! There’s this one element where I can just relax, mess around and show the other side of me, the vulnerability that is hard to show in rap because it’s so intrinsically linked to the streets and street culture. When I look back on my life in rap it was amazing, but at the same time there were a lot of negative experiences that I had; if you’re involved in street culture you’ve gotta be prepared to take everything that comes with that. I’ll respect Hip-hop forever because it’s what created the person that I am, but it can become tiresome you know? That’s the one thing I don’t miss. In comedy I don’t receive death threats; ‘You’re not funny’ is the worst thing that’s going to happen to me. No one’s gonna try and stab me, no one’s gonna try and rob my house. If you’re a creative person, trying to be creative 24 hours a day, determined to make a living off your imagination, you can’t be bound by any genre or particular scene or style. I’m a writer of words and a seller of ideas; my ideas pay the bills. I wave the flag for Hip-hop all day long, but to confine myself to rap would be a bit small minded. I love it though and I will always come back to it as long as it wants me, but there are other things I’m interested in.
How was working with the Inbetweeners?
It was awesome man. I did some stuff in the third series and all of this stuff is just a great experience for me. It’s new ground; I’m loving the acting and I’m loving the opportunity to see how the industry works. It’s really interesting and it’s something I feel I could spend my life doing. When I’m too ugly to be starring in stuff I’ll be writing instead [laughs]. I wouldn’t wanna be a middle aged rapper.
Who are your influences in comedy?
Wow there are so many, too many great comics on the circuit. There’s Daniel Kitson, Adam Bloom...they’ve been around for years but there are a number of young comics on the up at the moment worth checking out like Marlon Davies and Nathan Caton. Then there are like the greats, inspirational figures. I’ve been getting into Adam Buxton and Joe Cornish recently, they’ve got a radio show on BBC6 music they crack me up. Joe Cornish wrote a film and directed it as well, I did a bit of music for it actually.
So you’re still doing music as well?
Not really, I write music mainly for TV and film. I can’t write rap songs for myself any more; I’d love to but just haven’t got the time.
Tell me something positive about your life as a rapper?
There are so many positives, I can’t recommend it any higher. I came up at a time when the Internet hadn’t yet taken over; you couldn’t just exist on the net, you had to get out there and battle to prove yourself. All of that experience made me the person I am today; I wouldn’t be doing what I’m doing without Hip-hop. ‘Til the day I die I will love that music and I love the fact that I was a part of it...I always wanted to see the day when a kid would come up from London or Birmingham or Manchester and become a superstar and now look at Dappy, Tinie, Wiley, Example, Wretch...they’re proper superstars now, man!
I was talking to Fazer from N-Dubz yesterday, he’s working with Chris Brown and Rihanna nowadays it’s crazy!
I can’t think of anything more beautiful than that and the fact that I can look back and say I was a part of that, of the wave that helped that come about. I wouldn’t take credit for any ones career, but just being a part of the scene and it’s influence.
Your little brother’s also a rapper; is he one to look out for?
Yeah Luke Skyz, check him out. This guy’s the bomb, he’s coming out hard!
A couple of randoms now: if you had to take three people to a desert island with you, who would they be?
Well it would have to be people that have a lot of interesting stuff to talk about...I think I’d bring Richard Pryor; I read his biography and it was like reading the Bible, like how not to live your life. It was fascinating, I’d love to pick his brain. On a personal level I’d bring my dad. He passed away and I always feel like he had a whole life that I didn’t know much about and that I’d like to talk to him about. Also, Obama. I know he’s got the pressure on him right now but to get a sense of how he came from where he did to be where he’s at would be a fascinating conversation.
So it sounds like you’ll be soaking in some knowledge, man. Congratulations for all your success.
Thank you very much, man.
I see you’ve got a show coming to the UCL Bloomsbury theatre?
Yeah in October; we’re gonna shoot a DVD there as well so check that out.
Nice, well I’ll give you a shout towards October, good luck with everything.
Thank you very much.
