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USG boss Squingy takes us from Suspect Entertainment to new solo projects
RnB/Hip Hop | Thursday 30th April 2015 | Christina
USG Entertainment’s main man Squingy helped to build the careers of the likes of Exo, Lefty and K Koke through his label, which was at the heart of social media and digital promotion back in 2005. Fast forward ten years, and Squingy is back to take the scene by storm with his new album Cloudy Skies. He caught up with us to chat about Suspect Entertainment, solo projects and behind-the-scenes business.
How’s life treating you?
Quite well at the moment thank you.
Your father Wrighty owned a soundsytem and played at lots of events, do you think growing up around music meant you were destined to get into the industry?
Well I would say that has played a major part in why I have chosen to pursue a musical career.
What led you to founding Suspect Entertainment back in 2004?
When we were coming up there was not much support for raw talent from the type of area and background myself and my peers came from, so we had to create our own lane or continue to be overlooked.
You’re back with ‘Hero’ featuring Geko, why did you decide to go with this as the first single from the new album Cloudy Skies?
I felt it had a nice vibe to kick off the whole Cloudy Skies campaign with, it’s got a nice up tempo beat and an encouraging, uplifting feel to it.
What was the inspiration behind that track?
I got the beat sent to my by the producer Redskull and it already had the hook laid down, so I wrote my verse to go with the words on the hook.
The video for ‘Hero’ is very cool, how involved were you with the concept?
I had the idea that I wanted to do the video as 3D animated; I asked my friend Q if he had any contacts to anybody who could do this. He sent me over a bunch of links and the one that stuck out to me was a guy named Davies Usher, so I contacted him and gave him a rough idea of what I was looking for and the type of concept and the ‘Hero’ video is what the outcome was.
You’re the director of USG Entertainment, do you enjoy the business side of your life as much as the music side?
Both sides have their special moments so I would say yeah I do. I’m the type of person that likes to know what’s going on with anything I’m doing and how things are working behind the scenes instead of just leaving it for someone else to take care of. Although I can say now I have a great team/new management working behind me so it is easier to take a step back and focus more on being an artist.
You run a USG Entertainment music development workshop for young people, how important is it for you to provide platforms and mentoring for the next generation?
It’s very important as were not going to be here for ever, so the next generation and the generation after that and so on are the ones to carry on what we have started, and I feel that will be possible if people like myself, USG and others in the industry pass on some guidance, especially to the youths from the more deprived and troubled backgrounds who often overlooked.
Can you give us more details about the UK tour with Giggs, K Koke, and Klashnekoff that’s on the horizon?
At the moment it’s still in construction stages; still confirming dates, venues, promoters etc. but we have reached out to Giggs, Klashnekoff and a few other well known artists and they’re all down for the idea, but for now just need to get the business side sorted then we can confirm who will be on the tour.
What other exciting projects or releases are coming up on USG Entertainment?
On the music front the label collective album should be dropping this year as well as mixtapes and EPs from the newly signed artists to USG Entertainment’s label, which you all will know about soon. As for myself on the solo front, I have already completed my next project after Cloudy Skies and am about to start working on the project after that, which I feel is going to be something special as it will be different from anything else I have done or anyone in general from the UK rap scene. My next two projects will be released in conjunction with US legend Kool G Rap’s independent label Full Mettle Ent.
What are you listening to at the moment?
On my iPad at the moment I’ve been listing to three albums CNN - The War Report 2, Ed Sheeran – X, and Kabaka Pyramid – Lead The Way.
What’s the first record you bought?
Bloody hell that’s a tough one. I think it was a Bounty Killer 7’ inch record called ‘Lodge’. All the ragga heads should know about that one.
If you could have any superpower, what would it be and why?
Errr, my super power would be to be able to fly cause immigration always seem to mess with me at customs.
If you could fill a swimming pool with anything, what would it be and why?
A whole load of fresh crispy 50 pound notes cause you can never have enough 50 pound notes.
Follow Squingy on Twitter.
