Interview: Cobane reaches his target

Cobane is part of The Colony – one of the UK’s foremost hip-hop crews. The MC has just released his new album “Target Reached” and caught up with somethingyousaid.com’s 25ThC for a chat:

Congratulations on the release of your new album “Target Reached” where you have worked with one producer – Kensee. Do you prefer working with one producer as opposed to a number of producers?
I think for me, making a project with one producer was well overdue. Kensee and I met years back and we created a few songs for his debut ‘Chameleon’ in 2010. So ‘Target Reached’ was always on the cards as we became better friends over the years. After the first time we performed the songs at a show we both felt that satisfaction from both the crowd reaction and the feedback.

Do you receive beats and then write and record later or any you involved at the beat-writing stage?
When I get a beat sent to me and I’m feeling it, I might wanna grab my pen instantly and drop whatever else I was up to that second. On the other hand, I might say to myself ‘this is a gem’ and when I’m either in the mood to write or just in the mood to escape what I’m doing, then I’d open it up and let loose.

What is it about particular beats that make you want to rhyme over them?
The sound that you hear from 0-3 seconds can’t often be enough for an MC to ask ‘what’s this’ even if they don’t ask out loud 😉 Personally the bass lines attract me most. But not every beat catches you in the first few seconds, so I guess it’s just what tickles the eardrums. Those who hear my music can see there’s a pattern even in contrasting genres.

I understand that you have performed a number of times there and are spending a few months in Vienna this year. What do you like about the city?
I like the music I hear coming from all over Austria and around Europe and when I found myself in Vienna, I realised how many amazing sounds were coming out of this city!

What is the hip-hop scene like and how does it compare/differ to the UK scene?
The scenes full of characters as per. But of course, real talent lies in every underground avenue for people from all over.

What local artists are you checking out at the moment?
The locals who create music are often very precise in their execution and bang on point with the technical side of things. Right now there’s so many musicians and artist that I like and enjoy listening to. I’m a big fan of Def Ill from Linz, who raps in Austrian dialect but I dig it yo! Love the music created by The Unused Word and I’m also digging the sounds coming from Space Echo. Also a producer named Nicole Jaey is making nothing but green butter. She sings too and making the most diverse sounds I wanna hear.

When we first met the thing that struck me was that you were constantly writing rhymes and able to perform them very quickly. Are you still as prolific on your writing?
I’m always coming up with stuff as I’m not really a believer in “writer’s block”, more a believer that everybody has to throw some stuff away 😉

What inspires you to write?
I’m inspired by everything. But when a great concept comes to the table then the brainstorming can become endless…

When did you first get into hip-hop and which artists influenced you back then and also now?
When I first heard hip-hop it must of been an MTV Raps ting, been on it ever since. I remember having some DMX Snoop and other G-rap. Then horror core stuff from Eminem was just off the hook for me. That’s when I started to check for lyrics and fell to the underground. Hitting up open mics and doing cyphers everywhere. Everywhere like shows, kebab shops, town centres. I find I like an artist like Kendrick say a year before they blow. Slaughter House are dope but for me good music’s good music and I like all sorts. I’m also a big fan of Nutty P, he’s got bars and beats that are off the scale. My next release has some flames from his bakery. The project ‘Monsters FairyTale’ already feels like something special for me, I thank Nutty for that.

You were a member of the Colony, one of the UK’s foremost hip hop crews. Tell us about your time in the group and will there be a reunion at some point?
The Colony only ‘took the foot off the gas’ is all… We made so many songs since I joined the crew but that’s literally been just crew stuff as most of us spent time working and refining our solo stuff. We chucked a few tunes on soundcloud as there’s a demand for fresh material from The Colony. With more in the pipeline, we don’t plan to disappoint.

“Target Reached” is out now and can be purchased from bandcamp.

Cobane interview by 25ThC.