Homegrown rapper and rising hip hop star Mystro talks to Ras about keepin his accent, measuring his success and why he likes Pop Idol!
How do you determine success?
"Obviously being heard is definitely the main aspect but after you get heard, you want the ride that says you've been heard and that house that says you've been heard..."
On the label 'UK hip hop'
"I just say Homegrown now because you always get tomatoes thrown at you if you say UK hip hop."
How important is it to rap in your own accent?
"It took me about a year or two to get an English style that I thought people would listen to and not go, 'it sounds too Cockney' or 'it sounds too Yardie'... What's the point in doing it if you're not going to sound like yourself? ...I just think it's being lazy. It's easy to rap like an American."
Why hasn't the UK hip hop scene blown up?
"The reason why it hasn't blown before is because the wrong people have got signed and they haven't been developed properly. They drop them and go - 'UK hip hop can't go nowhere.'"
Mystro on Pop Idol
"Pop Idol is a good idea because they obviously get to see how many people like that person... you know they're gonna sell because they can sing..."
