ManicFM

Anybody who’s ever watched Channel U will know that Tinchy Strider is one of the biggest MCs on road. Now it’s time to meet his crew; Ruff Sqwad. After the success of their first mix CD ‘Guns & Roses’, this collective aren’t backing down one little bit. MANICFM caught up with the collective to discuss Michael Jackson, trainers and girls…

How did you get into MCing?

We grew up listening to Pay As You Go, So Solid and Heartless Crew. From there we started making tapes, writing lyrics and more recently, making tunes. Music’s in all our families so it’s something we know a lot about. Once you start in this MC game you can’t stop! It’s such a rush and that’s why we’ve dedicated our lives to it.

Who are your inspirations?

Michael Jackson, The Fugees. MCing wise we look up to Wiley, Dizzee and Heartless Crew. Life is an inspiration in itself. We talk about everything in our tunes.

What other UK artists are you feeling at the moment?

Not many. It’s all about us innit. Ghetto’s pretty good!

If you could endorse any product, what would it be?

Nike. We’d like to design my own trainers in the future. Anything to do with crepes we love. Oh yeh, the G5 Mac as well. That’s a mean piece of equipment.

Who would you like to collaborate with?

Anyone who asks. Joss Stone, Terri Walker, Anastacia…they have to be good!

What do you do in your spare time?

Play football and check girls. We love girls! To be honest, we don’t get that much free time. It’s all about working hard right now innit. The minute you start to lose your focus, somebody else can take over. We are all at college learning about the industry so that takes up a lot of time. Just work, work, work innit.

What is your ultimate aim music-wise?

To be big all over the world. Our sound can especially do well over there cos we’re coming with something different to every other Grime producer. It’s a mix between Grime, Hip Hop and rock. Big believe!

Can grime be big in America?

Yeh definitely. We haven’t been over there yet but we are hearing good things. It’s an original, authentic sound so I can’t see why not. Everybody’s getting a bit bored with HipHop. It has sold out really. Grime’s gonna take over. This is music for the kids. It’s energetic and most importantly, real. The UK should be our main priority though. Let’s get the ball rolling here first.

Do you have any advice for MCs starting out?

Do your own thing and be yourself. Don’t listen to nobody. Use criticism to your benefit. This is a hard game and you have to be hard yourself to achieve success.