Last week started with a bang for Team ATL when, on our way into work on Monday morning, we were greeted with the, um, dulcet tones of Gerard Mc Daid from Strabane, aka hip hop wonderkid Gerard i2. Seems he made quite the splash in Derry the previous week, when he took to the stage for the third and final BBC Introducing gig at The Nerve Centre. We watched that show with a Radio 1 presenter who was more than a little impressed and, to his credit, clearly went back to the powers that be and insisted on a daytime play. And who'd have thought it, bass driven, grimey Tyrone hip hop actually sounds good on network radio at 11am...
Anyway, here's the man himself with a little guide to what has helped make him awesome!
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Can't remember the first record I ever bought myself but I remember the first ever one that I was given, it was a Ghostbusters cassette my dad bought for me and my brother, he owned the A side and I owned the B side. Bleak times.
The last records I bought was a stack of vinyls from a charity shop for sampling, the only one I can think of out of them is George and Gwen McCrea, really nice album and I've gotten more than a few samples from it, good buy!
I've been writing long before I was ever old enough to go to gigs so there was never really one particular gig that made me want to perform, it was always there, but every single gig I go to nowadays makes me really gratefull that I'm doing what I'm doing. But the one musician that actually made me want to perform was my da, he's a drummer so since I've been no age I always wanted to be a drummer in a band like him, little did I know I'd end up never playing drums and become a rapper... How'd that happen??
Me and Smokes (my drummer) are into pretty different kinds of music so we don't be at many of the same gigs apart from the ones we play, the last one was the BBC Introducing gig in Derry with Droids and Axis Of - two amazing bands.
One local act I'd happily share the stage with every night is Mr. Mills, I've shared the stage with him many many times and hopefully many more! But the one person I wish would join the group is Bill Murray.... Because he's the man!
I've never done cover versions of songs but I'd do the odd remix for the live show from time to time, the first remix I can think of (that was actually used) was Chase and Status' 'Eastern Jam', a remix I still use in most of my live shows to date.
Don't really have a guilty pleasure act, but an unlikely act I'm into as a rapper is Rammstein, I keep trying to make Rammestein style videos for my tracks but I keep being told to wise up its too weird, ha!!
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