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Late 2003 and a video is blowing up Channel U, it features three MCs. The track is of Grime-Tempo but differs in lyrical content to your average London based Mc Track. The lyrics are gritty, straight to the point and parallel more to the mid 90s New York style of rapping than recent comparisons of this Genre to Crunk. Following the huge success of the tune, the tune got Radio 1 airplay and was play-listed by 1 Xtra, Choice FM and Kiss FM. It was even sampled by BBC News and Yahoo Mobile utilised it as a launch ring-tone. Plus one of the Unorthodox MCs has two solo tracks on 679s Run the Road Compilations and has appeared in various Magazine campaigns across Europe. If you thought they had been and gone, you would be more than wrong!Nu Shape The sound in which the group emerged have recently released a CD, which is out now at all good independents. The product features AngelsBy No Lay and On/Off by Nasty Jack and No Lay amongst many others.Also dont forget the Unorthodox Mix CD coming in early 2006. Pyro decided it was about time, somebody caught up with the crew to chat about their origins, their influences, plans for the future and much more.PYRO: How does the name (Unorthodox) reflect on your musical style?Silva: The music is Unorthodox
G-Kid: Its different
No Lay: Unorthodox like tracks as well innit, different ways, not just talking about one thing like a lot of people you see on the Grime scene talking about gun culture and this and that.PYRO: For the People that dont know introduce yourselves?No Lay: Im No Lay
Silva: My name is Silva B
G-Kid: G-KidPYRO: How do these names reflect on your style?S: I surf the beat, I am a beat surfer, give me a beat I will surf it, any tempo it dont matter
N: No Lay means loads of different things a old friend named me it, people say hurry up innit! Your on a lay-lay ting means your taking long, No Lay means just get to it! dont take nothing lying down it means so many things!
G: Kid thats passed on to me, means the youthfulness, cause Im young! G that stands for anything really..
N: Good! Great! Genuine! Gifted! Im just playing (Laughs)PYRO: Where are you all from?N: Im from South London, Croydon
S: Im from West London, Hammersmith
G: Im from West London, Sheperds BushPYRO: Who makes your beats?N: Mostly Silkie
S: Thats my brother, Silva and Silkie, Anti-socialPYRO: How do you classify your music?N: Unorthodox
S: It is what it is, the words say a lotPYRO: Who are Individual influences? Like British artists, American artists?N: Each other..
S: Yeah
N: I cant speak for them
G: It is
N: Lauryn Hill but a lot of her rap stuff aint even out now but I like her on MTV UnpluggedI also like Immortal Technique, Ras Kass theres loads of different ones
S: I get my influences from back in the day Ragga, Reggae, some of my mums stuff as well.
N: Influenced by everything around you, if you love music you take influences from everything, like I get influenced by Coldplay, I get influenced by loads of things. If its good and they are talking sense I am influenced by them.PYRO: Your lyrical style is more leaning towards Hip Hop than Grime, any plans to do any Rap?N: We got rap stuff already, we are working on that now.PYRO: With No help no handouts, what are you referring to, the music industry or people/MCs in general?S: BothPYRO: How/When did you all start MCing?N: Grime wise, I dont even call it Grime! I call it Garage still but Garage probably about 16, but I was writing Hip Hop way before then, I started writing to Drum and Bass when I was 12.
S: Same 16, writing Drum and Bass as well, and Garage, Hip Hop
G: I started with Garage, I call it Garage as well not Grime, I started around 99PYRO: Have you had any conflicts in the scene?N: NoPYRO: Like trying get yourselves up there?N: Tryin get yourselves up there how do ya mean? Do ya mean clashing and things like that?PYRO: Na just in generalS: Have we found it hard?PYRO: YeahN: Depends, theres always people that will try to stop your movement there not really feeling this Garage-Grime thing, so they are trying stop everybodys movement really and truly so its not just us.
S: Something so powerful you cant really stop it ya na I mean?.
N: By the listeners, we have been welcomed very much since the first video No Help no Handouts on Channel U its just gone crazy!.PYRO: It seems there is a lot of divide in the Grime scene, between areas of London (N,S,E,W) being from South, No Lay, and the rest from West, how do you perceive this divide? Do you think Grime represents a London thing or..?N: I think it represents an England thing to be quite honest.
S: For me personally it swings into an East London thing, but thats why its not Grime what we do, we can do Grime, if thats what they wanna call it.
N: But we dont just specifically do that.
S: We can do anything.
N: I think if you make it into something that belongs to a certain ends, it will stay in those ends, if youre just spitting, thats what I do I just spit I obviously get stick sometimes for spitting with people from West, but you look past that! If you allow it to be a problem it becomes a problem.PYRO: Are there any collaborations you would like to do within Hip Hop and Grime scene?N: Weve had a couple of people who want to, but because we are working on a lot of our stuff, coz if you think of how much stuff we have put out, its not quite enough, so we just wanna fill up the scene with a lot of our stuff.
S: Were working on us first.PYRO: Who should we look out for Producers/DJs/MCs?N: Silkie, and look out for Nu Shape
G: Anti-social label
S: Look out for Silkstar, Qwest, Smooth.
N: Turbulance from Garden of Becklow,
G: S.O.C, Nortz, Thin Line
N: Rapper Big Roe, Armstrong hes another singer
S: The Voice a Singer, Rappers ICX, Big Frizzle from White City Estate the BBC which we say stands for Burgundy Brick Children, Producers are coming, spitters are coming, all top quality musicians and artists and we are all coming through in 06.PYRO: Bare people!S: YeahPYRO: Do you see yourselves doing any raves like Sidewinder?N: Weve done Sidewinder
G: That was last year in Swindon
S: I wasnt there
S: Well do raves but well do PAs of tunes was well, thats our main thingPYRO: You wanna get your content across?N: We want people to be able to listen to our tunes in their bedrooms as well, be able to relate, rather than just rave, people cant really hear what you saying when their raving.PYRO: Any plans for tours in UK/Europe/USA?N: Weve been to Germany.
S: Were looking to go out to Atlanta.
N: Ive got a tune from some lady in Paris, so were gonna spit on that and then send that out there, we got a couple of beats from Atlanta as well.PYRO: Have you got an Album on the Way? Will it be on a label or independent?N: Were working on that now, I think its gonna be independent, with maybe a we will do some business with a label, An imprint would be good.PYRO: Leading on to my next question, How do you, perceive the state of the music industry ie. Creative control, publishing? Have you had any label offers?N: I think that one of the main reasons that I wouldnt want to sign to a major is, a lot of people who sign their music changes after that, so the reason they get picked up for, they dont carry that afterwards. Weve got labels floating around us, like Sony, Polydor, Atlantic, EMI .
S: We feel that we can do what the labels can do as well, we would like them to use them as a stepping stones thats how we see it.PYRO: Finally, any solo projects in the pipeline?S: Yep!
N: I brought out Unorthodox Daughter on 679s Run the Road, Unorthodox chick on the second Run the Road and Silkie made the beats for them and the High Contrast thing.
S: I got some solo things on Anti-social very soon.
G: Big Boi talk.
S: Videos coming as well.PYRO: Anything else you wanna add?S: Dont forget Murray, who couldnt be here today. Another Unorthodox MC.
Also D.O.X which stands for Documents Of Xtreme, Big up Thin Line Records, Anti Social and dont forget Nu Shape A new music GENRE .Interview by Jamie Ross-HulmeWatch out for these lot because Unorthodox are looking to be changing the lyrical landscape of UK rap!The Nu Shape Mix CD is available from:Darkncold.com
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