Seanie T represents something for everyone
Nice Up! records have added the amazing Seanie T to their ever-growing roster of quality artists. 25ThC caught up with him for a chat about his new album, Jamaica, and performing at Glastonbury with the Dub Pistols:
You first started out as a dancehall jumper warming up the dance before the big artists came on. How did you get into that and how has it helped your career?
Yes, I got to warm up the dance by chatting on smaller sound systems – from that my name was in the streets as an up & coming MC. By going to all the big sound system dances like Saxon & Unity & standing at the front by the amps, the soundman get to know who you are and will eventually give you one chance – you better be good or you will never get another go on the mic. After that I just had to be at the dance when the doors open to get my opportunity because the big man don’t reach the dance until late.
Your family is from St Lucia and you also have family in Jamaica, from where you draw a lot of inspiration for your music. What is it about Jamaica that makes it so important to musical culture in general and in particular for hip hop?
It’s the culture of the country that reflects the music and gives it strength. As we know DJ Kool Herc and the founders of hip hop are from the Caribbean – Jamaica was the most rebellious country in the West Indies because that’s where the slave masters took the most rebellious slaves, sort of like a country prison so the constant fight for life has given Jamaica a strength that is different from the other islands. The energy from Jamaica is about a real sense of fighting for freedom which is what hip hop was always about. The spoken word of realness is what transpired through music. Just look at Peter Tosh or Bob Marley and great artists such as Wailing Souls or Burning Spear – the music is educational for a better life and awareness of ones self.
You call your style the W.I.L.D. style (West Indian London Dialect). How did you come up with this description and what does it represent?
The name W.I.L.D STYLER came from the hip hop movie Wildstyle – the acronym described my lyrical style perfectly!
Your new album “Ruff, Rugged and Smooth” is superb and I’ve been checking it since I got the promo. Can you tell us about some of the themes you deal with on the album?
To tell the truth, I was going through a lot of different life experiences while creating it. “The Bird” is a freestyle that became a song because one night the weather was so bad we couldn’t leave the studio, so me & Suro decided to fling on a riddim until the weather died down and that song was born. “More Of It” came about because I used to smoke nuff weed and Chezidek has the title for making the most weed songs in Jamaica so when we got together that’s what came to mind, although when the riddim was made I thought that Chezidek would be perfect for it. The concept of the album is just an expression of my life – I’m a man that believes in God so I had to make sure that was part of my album for the health of my sprit. Many songs just deal with the way I see life – “More To This” reflects the modern day way of being a bad bwoy through music & social media – the portrait some people paint on wax means snitching on yourself which is madness. In total I tried to represent a little something for everyone, hence the name Ruff, Rugged and Smooth – there’s some rough street tunes on there, some rugged club bangers and some more mellow smooth stuff too.
DJ Suro from Hamburg fully produced the album. How did you first meet and what is it about the productions that appealed to you?
I met Suro through my bredren Henning from Hamburg, he’s the guy that did all the artwork for the album and singles. I was over there doing a show and he said that Suro was a dope producer and I should hear some of his riddims. As soon as he played me some music I was in the booth vibing within minutes and the rest is history. He’s a real bad bwoy producer who’s love is real instrumentation. He believes in production, not just beat making, because there is a big difference. He’s a great great person with a musical heart of a lion and we live like brothers. My mum has literally adopted him – when he comes over he stays with our family. I just wanna say thank you Suro because your hard work has really pushed this project and helped to improve me as an artiste.
You have talked before about how some record labels expect artists to talk about people getting shot, stabbed or being gangster and that if you don’t fit it with their mould then they are not interested. How does that compare with your experience with NICE UP! and why did you choose them to release your album with?
I don’t mind badman lyrics or gangster talk on riddim, because it’s like a good film when you can paint pictures in your mind to the content, but it’s just not something that I go for personally. My children have to listen to my music and it will contradict me teaching them to be good and I’m preaching badness on record. Plus I’m not about to be a mp3 informer. The link up with NICE UP! was a natural one – I’ve known Shep for a minute and spoke about releasing some music – as soon as he heard it it was a done deal! They’re a label that releases hip hop, dancehall, jungle and all sorts – everything with a reggae vibe, so it felt like the perfect fit.
I DJ 45s and have been dropping the excellent “Warning” into my sets. When did you first meet Roots Manuva, how did this collaboration come about and will there be more 7” vinyl singles released off the album?
I first met Roots through my bredren Blak Twang back in the early 90’s. That was way before he was famous to the public like he is now. He was rolling with another group then and had the respect of the underground. We have always worked together since then and as you might be aware I’m on his first album plus various remixes and posse cuts. To tell the truth we have done about 20 or more songs together and he was my silent partner with Dark Horizons, hence the name Roots Tee promotions. As for doing more songs, we can only see what the future brings, because Roots is a true friend & not just someone I know through music.
There are a ton of other great artists that appear on the album. How did you go about choosing who to work with and can you tell us about the process?
The making of the song “Veterans” was very simple. I just called some of my good friends who have travelled the same musical journey with me to come and vibe on the album. Food, alcohol a bit of Dr Greenthumb and a banging riddim is all it took. As for the rest of the features, I hear certain riddims and straightaway I hear an artiste that would fit on it. Bless up Alex Prince, she was a joy to work with – her energy in the studio is on another level. Little Hero, PZ & Chezidek are my friends, so all I needed was to holla at them to connect the vibes. I must say bless up to them too, also my family Double G because him and Chezidek are close bredrens and that’s how we linked.
You rocked the Glade stage at Glastonbury 2019 with the Dub Pistols looking very dapper. How was the festival and what other live gigs have you got lined up?
Working with the mighty Dub Pistols is a real joy. Respect to Barry Ashworth and the rest of the Pistols gang. They really are a bunch of talented musicians. Dave Vader, who I call Iron Man, played the bass on “Veterans”. Jack on drums is the man that keeps the live show rolling on point and Tim Hutton on the brass section has written songs for The Prodigy & Groove Armada to name a few. Jonnie Rockstar is my good friend plus one of the original members of the band on guitar. Glastonbury as you know is a very special festival and to have performed there more than a few times is a honour. Because of the history of the place, the energy is second to none and I feel that injects a vibe into our show.
What other projects are you working on at the moment?
I have a couple of release parties coming up for the album. One is in Hamburg @ the Mojo Jazz Cafe in Hamburg on 16th August and the other release party is in London, but we are just finalising the date. I will be doing 2 types of shows, One is with a full band & the other is the original 2 turntables & a mic. Dub Pistols have another album coming later on this year and I’ve got a few songs on that. I have a reggae sound system called Stylee Media that I play out bare dub plates from some great artistes from The Mighty Diamonds to Busy Signal and Capleton. Also I’m part a musical DJ movement created by Serocee called Rum n Bass that runs events all over the world. I’m in a funk band called Kwadjo and the Beyond The Stars Band. I am also plotting a reggae album that is all live production. Apart from that I’m just raising my kids and enjoying life. My boys play football and when I’m not performing I spend my time watching them and also my little princess does her swimming and gymnastics that I take her to when I’m not working and that’s what makes me complete.
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The album is out on 19 July 2019 on Nice Up! Records. Click here to check it out https://fanlink.to/RuffRuggedSmooth
Interview by 25ThC.
