1. 24th November 2015 23
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By Callum Godfrey
@calgodfrey
W.B Yeats Bob Dylan
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Kristin Stewart
Ghostpoet
Bruce SpringsteenJohn Donne
CG: Thanks for taking the time to
chat to The Student, and congratula-
tions on your Mercury nomination,
that’s what – two weeks away, how
are you feeling about it?
OE: Yeah, I don’t know really – may-
be because I’ve done it before but I’m
kind of not really thinking about it. I’ve
got lots of other bits keeping me busy.
Yeah, you have your tour round the
corner as well.
Exactly, so it’s not that I don’t appre-
ciate it, it’s amazing, it’s just...
The butterflies aren’t there as much?
Yeah I think so, and it’s slightly later
on in my career now... It’ll be the week
of the Mercury Prize where I’ll be like
“oh shit...” just right now I’ve got so
many other bits at the forefront of my
mind keeping me busy.
That’s right you have your tour
right round the corner for your new
album, this one’s more band-centric...
Well I’ve always played with a band
on tour.
True, but your latest album seems
to have more of a classic band setup is
what I’m driving at, I was doing my
research and I read that Brian Eno
had a word with you about the whole
thing when you were in Mali?
That’s actually been mis-reported.
We had a general chat about music
and he said that sometimes it’s best
not to take forever to make a record
and that some of the best records are
done really quickly and move on. I just
kept that with me when I was thinking
of this record and it wasn’t said to me
directly but it just stuck with me and
struck a chord.
Okay, so your new album, Shedding
Skin, do you want have a quick word
on the artwork, the symbolism behind
it etc.? It’s your own skin cell on the
artwork, which I found really cool.
That’s correct yeah, the artwork idea
came soon after I’d thought of the al-
bum title, which is sort of a subcon-
scious album title – this idea of moving
on from things in your life and...iden-
tity is another concept that I wanted to
talk about in this album. That sense of
identity, partly the zeitgeist of the time,
you know? Where do we stand at the
moment, where are we going?
Would you agree your most recent
album’s more of an uplifting one?
Erm, I guess so. It’s not intentional.
Again, it’s just this subconscious thing.
I think I’m just in a happier place I
guess. I mean, not so much my per-
sonal life, but the world I’m living in,
the things that I see. That’s why it’s a
combination of things. It could be all
just happy - but that’s a bit boring. As
humans we’re not always one thing.
I wanted to talk about your track
Off Peak Dreams, do you want to talk
about what inspired you to make the
budget the average monthly wage for
a 9-5 job?
Well I wanted to make a video that
reflected what I was talking about,
which was the 9-5 grind, you know.
The hamster wheel situation where
you’re waking up, going to work, finish-
ing work, getting drunk, going home,
rinsing and repeating.
The routine of it all.
Exactly. And so, currently, I’ve
worked a 9-5 job more than I’ve
worked in music, so I feel I wasn’t being
patronising. I just wanted something
that was headline worthy, that people
would discuss and think about, you
know? Initally I wanted to do it as a
weekly wage but the production team
said that was ambitious. So we went
with a monthly wage and I’m really
happy with how it turned out, it’s one
of my favorite videos. Even though
on the surface it looks really shit, you
know what I mean, but it’s a reflection
of what I feel about life. It’s not always
hi-flight, it can be lo-flight, it can be
budget – and that’s what I wanted to
get across.
I always feel like with your music
it fits an ambience or a mood rather
than a genre, and I think there has
been a progression in your albums. Do
It has been clear for quite a while
now that Logic is equipped with su-
preme talent. Since the release of his
Young Sinatra mixtape trilogy in 2011,
fans have flocked to the 25-year-old’s
lyrical ability and story. He quickly gar-
nered recognition from industry leg-
ends such as Rick Rubin, Nas, and Big
Daddy Kane, en-route to amassing one
By Marissa Field
@EdStudentMusic
Logic
TheIncredibleTrueStory
of hip hop’s most dedicated fan bases.
However, despite the hype and the loy-
al following, it has not all gone uphill
from there.
Unfortunately, Logic seems to be
continually stuck on a tier below the
modern-day hip-hop greats. Artists
such as Drake, J. Cole, and Kendrick
Lamar simply have something that
Logic is missing. Under Pressure, his
last studio effort, had some enjoyable
tracks, but fell a bit flat with all but his
most loyal listeners, and The Incred-
ible True Story falls victim to similar
pitfalls, not to mention its criminally
cliche title.
It seems as though Logic’s quest to
reach the pinnacle of the rap industry
has been heavily influenced — per-
haps too much so — by those that are
already there. Songs like ‘Run It’ and
‘Like Whoa’, which aren’t bad both un-
necessarily employ catch phrases made
popular by both Cole and Drake’s re-
cent work, and the album opens with
a classic Kanye drum pattern. But the
most frustrating example comes with ‘I
Am the Greatest’, which is essentially a
terrible Drake song.
Logic’s talent and immense dedica-
tion still shine through on the album,
and in some cases more so than they
ever have. The album’s concept — a
narrative sci-fi story following charac-
ters Quentin Thomas and William Kai
on their journey through space to the
planet Paradise — is interesting, and
songs like ‘Innermission’ are indica-
tive of the type of artist Logic can be.
The production throughout the album
consistently amazes, with visionary in-
house producer 6ix and Logic himself
exhibiting undeniable improvement
over past work. As on ‘Innermission’,
Logic’s at his best when telling his sto-
ry and getting things off his chest. His
future is still bright, but if he wants to
transcend himself in an unforgiving
IMAGE:HIPHOPNMORE
The Mercury Prize nominee Obaro Ejimiwe speaks on his latest
album, his influences and where his music and his life intertwine
you have any plans to stick to the more
guitar-laden stuff that we’re seeing in
your most recent album with a more
classic band setup, moving away from
the electronic beats that gave your ear-
lier works that vacuous melancholy?
I don’t know. I feel like I’m happy
with where I am right now, musically.
Maybe I will try to develop the sound
I’ve created on this record, there’s al-
ways room for improvement. Dunno,
looking back on this record there are al-
ready things that I would do differently.
But yeah, I’ve enjoyed making this re-
cord and I’ve enjoyed the gigs that have
come from it so I don’t know, we’ll see.
And on that subject, what’s tour life
for you like?
I love it. It’s good fun. We’re a chilled
bunch. We do get on the drink a bit, it’s
not like Rolling Stones level. We re-
main disciplined, but we know how to
have fun.
And you’ve built a real family out of
it.
Yeah, that’s correct, and it really
helps because we all think the same
way, we all work as hard as each other
onstage and give the best show we can,
and the listener will bounce off that and
feel that and hopefully enjoy it.
So how’s life in London treating you?
Yeah well I was born and bred here,
London’s London – it’s good. Got my
dog. (He’s called Ghostdog fyi.) Noth-
ing special really, just soaking up life
and all that – taking in as much as I can
that London offers. I have definitely
come to realise how much of a cultural
mixing pot that London is.
Read the full interview at
studentnewspaper.org
To hear about what Ejimiwe’s been spinning, read the full interview online at studentnewspaper.org
industry, he must embrace the things
that make him unique, instead of trying
to emulate what has made others great.