‘What’s up with the beard?’ is the question probably most put to Bashy this year. That’s because if you’ve caught a glimpse of the rapper in the last six months, it wouldn’t have escaped your attention that he’s been rocking a very thick beard. No he didn’t turn into a black activist – in response to some of the internet rumors that were circulating – he just vowed not to cut his beard until his album was complete. Fast forward six months and a clean-shaven Bashy could be seen joking about said beard at his album launch party, finally the day had arrived.

It’s been a long time coming for the talented north-London MC. From the days of his breakthrough Chupa Chups and Your Mum mixtapes to becoming a social commentator for a so called lost generation- Bashy’s stock is rising quicker than anybody could have predicted.

Last year he enjoyed a phenomenal year, his anthem “Black Boys” became an instant street classic in the UK and beyond. His theme song to the hit Brit flick Adulthood entered the national singles chart and was also nominated for a Best Video MOBO award.

Now the 24-year-old rapper with the commanding voice is up against his biggest challenge: releasing his debut album.

Featuring production from Toddla T and long time collaborator Naughty Boy – Catch Me If You Can is Bashy’s official introduction to the world. AllHipHop caught up with him to talk about the new album, his clothing range and speaking his mind.

AllHipHop.com: Your album has just been released – how are you feeling about it?

Bashy: I’m excited; it’s good times for alot of UK acts right now. The scene has shifted a bit so the light is really being shone on UK acts. This is a great time to put out a album and just push it as hard as you can. The response to my album so far has been phenomenal, there’s alot of people talking about it. Sometimes you can make something which you think is banging and then you put it out and people aren’t feeling it but it’s like people are reading my mind on this album – the feedback from all around is so positive.

AllHipHop.com: The album has been a long time coming, why the delay?

Bashy: I just wanted to make sure I got it right, I didn’t want to rush it hence the beard (laughs). I felt that I was still developing as an artist – I’m still developing now. I’m still growing and I think that’s what it was – I needed to grow to a certain point before I could do it.

Bashy’s Beard

AllHipHop.com: Do you think your sound has changed over the years?

Bashy: I think my voice is my biggest sound, so in that sense it hasn’t really. I use the music as a score to the words that I’m saying but I have always spoke my mind, I always say what’s on my heart. I think the older I get and the more experience I acquire, gives me more confidence to do me.

AllHipHop.com: Do you think the music industry is in a good place right now?

Bashy: I think it’s very healthy at the moment and it’s only going to get better. We’re the new generation of artists coming through and I think we’re gonna do things that will change the face of British music.

AllHipHop.com: So do you think it will be easier for artists such as yourself do break through into the top ten?

Bashy: I don’t think it’s necessarily about your chart place anymore because chart success is not what the numbers are. Take N-Dubz, they’ve sold way over 400,000 copies of their album and they haven’t had a top five really. So I think it’s about selling albums, touring, clothing – making yourself a brand.

AllHipHop.com: Speaking of brands, tell me about your clothing label Bish Bash Bosh.

Bashy: Bish Bash Bosh is more than just a clothing label, it’s a lifestyle. We’ve got the first Bish Bash Bosh black limited edition range out now and the next line will follow later this year. It’s been getting a really good response; people keep telling me how much they like the design.

AllHipHop.com: You’re very open on your blog which has become extremely popular with industry heads – has this ever got you into trouble?

Bashy: Not trouble, I’m a grown man (laughs) but it has raised a few eyebrows and I’ve had a few conversations but it’s all good.

AllHipHop.com: Would you ever comment on another artist’s work and how would you feel if a fellow rapper commented on your music?

Bashy: I like feedback, it allows you to grow. When I finish a show I always ask people what they think, I mean what they really think. Personally I feel like I need to know, I want to know because I like honesty.

AllHipHop.com: The track “Black Boys” really opened doors for you – how has it changed your life?

Bashy: I think Black Boys was the beginning of the journey which has allowed me to end up where I am now. It did allow the doors to be opened a bit more, they’re still not fully open but we’re working on that. The track opened me up to a wider audience, it was a positive track and I think that’s why people liked it so much.

AllHipHop.com: What’s on your ipod at the moment?

Bashy: I’m listening to so much different stuff at the moment. I’ve been listening to Rick Ross’s new album Deeper Than Rap, I’ve also been listening to a lot of Drake. I’ve got a little funky house on here – I like a little bit of everything, whatever speaks to me.

AllHipHop.com: Your profile is rising very quickly – are you worried about becoming famous?

Bashy: I don’t know, I don’t really think I’m famous – I don’t know what other people think. To me, I’m still doing me – if you get me; not that much has changed. Yes, I do get recognised more and stopped on the street for autographs and pictures but it comes with it I guess. You either know how to deal with it or you don’t. I think the trick is not to pay too much attention to the ‘being famous’ part of the music game.

AllHipHop.com: Last year you missed out on being nominated for the BET Best UK Hip Hop Act Award – did that bother you?

Bashy: As long as the fans support me and like my music that’s the most important thing to me. Obviously it’s nice to get awards but the fans are the ones who put you where you are. I just want whatever I deserve and nothing more.

Bashy -“Ransom”

In the music business few are able to have careers that span 2 years, let alone 20 years. Super producer NO ID is a rarity in the music industry. With a career that has outlasted many of the different phases of hip hop, this Chicago bred music crafter’s contribution to music is hard to describe with just words. Aside from mentoring a young Kanye West, he has produced hits for such mega-stars as Alicia Keys, Jay-Z, and Janet Jackson.

Several weeks ago a new Jay-Z record surfaced on internet blog sites everywhere. The title of this record was “Death of The Autotune” and it was produced by none other than No ID himself, a longtime collaborator of Jay-Z’s. The title alone had people everywhere curious and after listening to the record, one could not help but ask questions. Fortunately NO ID has answers.

AllHipHop.com: Let’s talk about the D.O.A record, the Jay-Z record that everyone is talking about. What was the thought process behind the record? How did it come together?

NO ID: Actually we were all in Hawaii. It’s actually a pretty good story. There was a debate going on in the studio and some of the main components were Timbaland, Kanye, Jay, Guru, Don Chi, I was in there, and some others and there was a Dj in there. And we were just going over all the records and talking about the sonic direction of the project. And somehow it got to one of the Dj’s saying that Jay needed a record that can hit the kids like Soulja Boy does. And the conversation went a little further and then Don Chi was like..I don’t know about that. And Jay was even like he didn’t know about that. And in that climate I had that beat in my computer unfinished. So I just put my headphones on during the conversation and I finished making it. Then after awhile Kanye was like play what you got in your computer right there. So I played it and then he immediately walked over to Jay and gave him the concept and the chorus. And that’s pretty much exactly how it came about. He was like this song right here should be like dissing everything that is not real. Then Jay took it home that night and the next morning he had the song laid.

AllHipHop.com: It seems everyone has their own opinion about who they think he is going at or if he going at anybody. What do you think?

NO ID: I don’t think he’s going at anybody. I feel like when you really listen to the whole song, there are a lot of things he talks about in the song that don’t have nothing to do with autotune but its just themed “Death of the Autotune”. I would more so look at it as if he’s just taking a position that comes up every so often. The same position that maybe 50 Cent took when Ja Rule was making a lot of commercial music or throughout history its been times where certain aspects get attacked but it really just represents getting back in control and making music and trying to be dope and not just trying to sell records and be popular by imitating what’s selling. That’s my opinion of the record. Everyone else can take the “autotune” theme and run with it, but I look at hip-hop as the pursuit of dopeness. And when you get outside of trying to be dope and you are trying to make money only…that’s the thing he attacks in this whole song. Dealing with the way you dress, the way you act, and the final blow is to the autotune. I don’t really look at it like its coming at one person. I see it as him coming at all the things that he feels like are not pursuing dopeness.

AllHipHop.com: So you see the record as more of a general statement? Kind of like how Nas came out with Hip-Hop Is Dead?

NO ID: Exactly. Same exact underlying point. Except Jay honed in on something that everybody is doing. Hip Hop Is Dead was like a broad statement that didn’t exactly hone in on what people were doing at that time. That’s not an attack on individuals per say in my eyes. Its an attack on the idea of “Is it cool to just do anything if it sells?”. Is it cool to just say anything if it sells? Is it free reign to just say anything and nobody’s supposed to say nothing because it works? I think he was just like I don’t care if it works, this needs to stop.

MC Hammer Talks “D.O.A.”

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AllHipHop.com: This record really kick started the anticipation for Jay’s next album. Do you feel like this record represents where Jay is as an artist right now?

NO ID: I think at this moment. That’s where he is,but I also think he’s in a lot of places. And I feel like even up to this every minute he’s still recording and getting everything out of his mind. To try to box Jay into just one record is hard because he has way more depth to him as a person and as an artist. But I know he definitely felt like he had some things he needed to get off his chest. Even with the Soulja Boy thing. He was like “Yo What’s going on?” Why are you mentioning Jay in that light? “Like if BIG was here do you think he’d be cool with me trying to make a record for that crowd? Not to diss Soulja Boy or nothing because personally I like Soulja Boy. But I don’t want to see Jay do a record to try to get his crowd.

AllHipHop.com: You’ve been around for a minute and seen the different phases in rap kind of come and go.What do you think about the state of Hip-Hop right now and some of the things jay touched on in the record?

NO ID: I like it because for me rap is a contact sport. This is what it needs. It needs different opinions and different views. Like if I was an autotune rapper right now, I would jut go and try to kill the game with autotune. There’s no era or theory that embodies hip-hop more than another. Its about whoever wants to be dope and take it there. I like Hip-Hop right now because its wide open. Its a lot of space with the internet and dwindling amounts of record deals. Its getting back to where it was when I came in and it was like special to have a record deal. If you come out now its like you are doing something right. It got to a point where anybody could get a record deal and anybody could put a record out and move some units. I love whats going on right now because even the stuff I personally don’t like, it motivates me. I’m a fan of the music. I have 60,000 songs in my itunes and I’ve seen all of this happen before. My first record was in 92. I’ve seen these cycles occur in different ways. I’ve seen Big Daddy Kane dancing and being tough and dropping knowledge and I feel like we are putting the cap on this too much. I’ve seen Big Daddy Kane singing but still murdering people on the mic. It really just needs to get back to people being as dope as they can be without caring what people say.

AllHipHop.com: A little while ago Soulja Boy came under fire from Ice-T because he felt as though Soulja Boy was not living up to what Hip-Hop was “mean to be”. And other rappers have also been attacked by some of the older figures in hip hop for pretty much the same thing. What are your thoughts on that?

NO ID: I feel like I understand both sides. You can’t make somebody who wasn’t even born in that era stand up for what we know from being there. I’m sure Kurtis Blow and Melle Mel felt like people in the 80’s weren’t keeping it real because they weren’t in the park. Then people in the 80’s felt like people in the 90’s who were sampling weren’t keeping it real. Its always been this way. So when older cats say what they say, its valid. But younger cats only know what they come up in. So if you come up in something and this is what you’ve embraced and you don’t necessary know the full history, there’s really no way to learn without somebody putting you up on it. There’s a lot of people from my era who are stuck in what they did that they can’t make relevant records now.

AllHipHop.com: Musically what artists excite you right now? Or does anything excite you?

NO ID: In Hip-Hop I like what Drake is doing. But I really listen to a lot of old music because I really don’t like the way people put their albums together anymore. They put so many different producers on it that it just sounds like compilations to me. I like albums that really have one sound and one sonic direction and one purpose that why I really like most of the Kanye albums because they make sense when I play them all the way through.

AllHipHop.com: Where do you see music going from here in terms of the sound and the business end of it?

NO ID: It will probably just follow the cycle. It will eventually leave out of the dance music and pop/rock sound and head back in a soulful direction. And then go right back through the stages. Even in the 70’s it went from Soul to disco to pop/rock in the 80’s then it went through those cycles in hip-hop. It was soulful then Puff came. And honestly one of the reasons I started working heavily with Kanye on production is because I had a vision to put together like a real good team affect where music is going to go rather than predicting or watching. So we are in the final stages of finalizing me playing a heavier role in GOOD MUSIC to take some of the pressure off of him and also helping him develop a good sound and a label from what he already had. Going back in with Common and maybe John Legend and all the other artists and just get some new energy and hopefully that will be apart of where it goes. But music is really just going to go wherever the leaders take it. And right now I think the DOA record has some of the leaders re-thinking where they want to take it. Or maybe not. Maybe they just want to keep taking it where it’s going. I mean, I like what T-Pain did. But the question is after he heard DOA what does he want to do now?

AllHipHop.com: So 30 or 40 years from now if someone had to come up with one word to describe your body of work and your contribution to music, what would you want that one word to be?

NO ID: Consistency.

Forget blaming it on the auto-tune or whatever critics can muster, because for Hip-Hop is surely alive and now proven with a new face. This particular guy has been gaining a buzz with his sky-rising way he plays with words- demanding the attention of the Hip Hop masses. Previously working with the late Dilla, he has already gained the attention of Hip-Hop celestial bodies’ ranging from Sean Price to EPMD. Meet Gregory Skyler Taylor, otherwise known as Skyzoo and 9th Wonder’s new label signee. Incredible work ethic and true passion for music bound these two beings together- simply throwing down on some good, respectable Hip Hop music. Anticipating the release of his new album- The Salvation, Skyzoo gives AHH a good teaser of his art of storytelling and thoughts on current day Hip-Hop controversies.

AllHipHop.com: A lot of people do not know that you were the guy that was taken out by Jin on BET’s 106 & Park Freestyle Friday. Who would ever think you would have the buzz you have now? Was there any type of rapper’s detox that you went through to bounce back and be as successful as you are today?

Skyzoo: Naw, not at all because for one, with that, it was so long ago and two, it wasn’t really a big deal because at the end of the day, I refuse to let my career be dictated by one situation from 7 years ago. I make music, so regardless I was gonna get where I am now. After it all, Jin and I remained cool and he’s shown me nothing but respect as a lyricist, and vice versa. You can’t watch that battle and think that I got slaughtered or anything like that, and the fans have always argued over who had the one-up. It was fun and great for the sport, and we both walked away on our own paths. I actually ran into Jin in Hong Kong when I toured out there in 2008 and we hung out for awhile and kicked it.

AllHipHop.com: How did you use the advantage of growing up in Brooklyn to further your success- I guess at that time being an independent artist? Was there anything that you took full advantage of since you were in Hip Hop’s proclaimed birthplace?

Skyzoo: Just observing. Just growing up when Hip Hop was really coming into position and just observing what was around me, just taking it all in. Pretty much just being a sponge for everything that Hip Hop had to offer in New York coming up in the ’80s, the ’90s and everything.

AllHipHop.com: Before I ask you about the Cloud 9: The 3 Day High EP that you and 9th Wonder put together, I have to ask about the chemistry which you just touched on. You and 9th put that EP together in 3 days-literally. I can say the quality doesn’t sound any short of an EP that had more time spent on it. How was the process putting that project together?

Skyzoo: Well with 9th, I think we’re cut from the same cloth as far as music, as far as what we like and what we don’t like, and we came up on a lot of the same things. I grew up on everything from Kool G Rap and Big Daddy Kane and NWA to Kid n’ Play to Sade to Nirvana to John Coltrane and Miles Davis. I grew up on all different types of music, and it all shows. 9th is the same way, he has a love and appreciation for so many types of music. So we’re similar in that aspect and we just love dope music, dope Hip Hop, dope beats, rhymes, the whole deal. It just makes since when we get together as far as making records. With Cloud 9, I pretty much did the whole project on my own. The way that went down, I was in New York, and every time I see 9th he gives me a bunch of beat CDs.

So I have tons of beat CDs from 9th- tons of beats no one has ever heard. I was home one day and I pretty much was just bored with where music was at, you know, there wasn’t anything to listen to. There wasn’t any mixtapes, there wasn’t any albums out that were exciting and there wasn’t anything on the radio. I was like “You know what, I should just make something just to listen to, just to have something to ride around to.” So that’s how it came up and I just started making records and then I was like “You know, this is where I’m going to stop at, and I stopped at where I thought I had enough and I did about nine records in two days. Then I went to North Carolina a few days later, got with 9th and I gave him the CD- he didn’t even know I was putting it together. I gave him the CD and he loved it, he was like “Yo what do you want to do, like, we have to finish it. Whatever you want to do let’s do it because this is amazing.” We did three more records in a day and that’s how it came out to be 12 songs in 3 days. But I did the majority of it in my studio up here in NY with my engineer DJ Nyce.

AllHipHop.com: Jay-Z’s “Death of AutoTune”. Of course he addresses the artists that uses the autotune, but would you agree with the song? How do you feel about it because I personally feel like it was way over due and should have been put out a long time ago. What’s your feel on it?

Skyzoo: I feel like its dope. I feel like it’s a dope record- you know the beat is real dope, the rhymes are dope, the message is dope and everything like that. I see that he’s doing interviews and things like that where he’s talking about what he means by the record because a lot of people feel that it rubbed them the wrong way. I think at the end of the day his message was dope, I just hope that it pertains to everyone it’s suppose to pertain to. At the end of the day, a lot of his best friends are people who do all of that all day. I just hope the message pertains to everyone it’s suppose to pertain to.

SKYZOO – “Way To Go” Directed by: Laura Adibe

AllHipHop.com: How do you think 9th would feel if you came to him saying that you wanted to do a auto-tuned record?

Skyzoo: I mean he would look at me crazy, but he would try it. 9 out of 10, he wouldn’t put it out. He would try it just to see, but he wouldn’t put it out. He wouldn’t be with it if it wasn’t right. I’m 99 percent sure that he wouldn’t be with it because it wouldn’t be right. You know I’m not a singer. I don’t want to do any auto-tune on my record that I don’t have any goal, ambition or plans to do that what so ever.

AllHipHop.com: My favorite track on The Power of Words mixtape is “Fresh Fest” which features Wale. How do you personally maintain the lyricism without having to dumb down your style for a hit record?

Skyzoo: I think that’s apart of again what I grew up on- the music I grew up on. You had people like Jay-Z, Big, the whole Bad Boy era and all of that where they had lyricism and dope records that were hits as well. So it’s all a part of that. I think now in days, people look at it like it has to be one or the other like if your lyrical, you can’t have a hit record or you can’t have a great record out that people want to hear over and over again and if you have a hit record, you can’t have lyrics in it where people are like “Wow did you hear what he said?” People feel like it has to be one or the other and I’m not on that. I go all the way. So every time I get on the mic, it’s going to be lyric driven. Regardless if it’s a “hit” or anything else, it’s going to be lyric driven.

AllHipHop.com: Can you name the top 5 emcees who were the best storytellers?

Skyzoo: Definitely got BIG, Nas, Jay-Z- a lot of people over look Jay as a storyteller, but he was an incredible story teller- he is an incredible storyteller. But the difference with him being a storyteller, a lot of it is about himself, so he puts himself in 1st person. I think people get lost in that, they don’t really think it’s storytelling when you’re just talking about yourself and your life. But when you create characters, create scenery, and create times and different places- things like that where things are happening in the story- that’s when people look at it as a story. Like Nas- “I Gave You Power” and BIG’s “I Got A Story To Tell” or something like that. But when you just reciting the things that happened in your life, people over look it as storytelling. But Jay will definitely be a storyteller, Scarface, and if I had to name one more… I can definitely say Raekwon. You know, Only Built For Cuban Links- which is one of my favorite albums is also full of stories and things like that.

AllHipHop.com: Now, if you were Radio Raheem from the movie Do The Right Thing had your boom box walking down the street, What would you be blastin’? What would be on your radio?

Skyzoo: Right Now?

AllHipHop.com: Yes, right now. It doesn’t matter if it’s new or old.

Skyzoo: Besides my own stuff, I’m always interested in anything Jay’s putting out just because of his legacy and what he has done and what he does musically. What else am I listening to… I’m listening to The Clipse, my man Sandman from Philly. That whole Philly scene- Young Chris, Freeway, all of them. Young Chris is one of my dudes- that whole scene is just real dope out there in Philly. Definitely Wale, my man Torae and Stimuli and all that- all the Brooklyn hometown stuff. Jeezy’s always getting play, and you know things like that, things of that nature. It’s real different. I listen to things all across the board you know.

AllHipHop.com: Of course I have to ask about The Salvation, this is the album you’re working on currently. What’s the your mind state going through the structure of this album?

Skyzoo: Well with the album, it’s all the stuff that I ever wanted to say. It’s my debut. It’s my first child- it’s my first baby. So there’s a saying that when you make your first album, you take your whole life and put it together in your head. The minute you start rapping or singing or whatever it is, all you want to do is get an album out. It’s real conceptual, a lot of storytelling, real vivid as far as the music and the lyrics and what you see. Everything that I’m saying is what you can see and visualize.

AllHipHop.com: Before we go, I have to ask do you have any last words for Hip Hop?

Skyzoo: What I would say as far as Hip Hop and music in general, just keep being authentic and real. To anyone making music, just do it from the heart, do it because you love it no matter what type of music you’re making. I don’t think there’s a such thing of what you can or can’t classify as real Hip Hop. Hip Hop is anything that’s real to somebody. I think the music Jeezy makes is real Hip Hop because it’s real to him, that’s his life, that’s what he lives, that’s what he represents. I think what Murs does is real Hip Hop because that’s his life and what he represents and what’s real to him. So I don’t think you can say what’s real Hip Hop and what’s not. Just because something didn’t have a 808 or whatever it is, that it’s not real Hip Hop. What’s real to you and authentic to you is what it is. As long as you’re telling your story and everything isn’t just about popping a bottle or throwing money in the air. Everything is also not about trying to go back to ’94 and wearing backpacks all day and all that.

SKYZOO “The Necessary Evils” Directed by Tee Smif