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By Jeevan
Panesar
Sean
‘Bruza’ Barker appears relatively calm considering he
has just driven to Walthamstow Central station to meet me amidst the afternoon
rush hour. I’m expecting a character as cocky and aggressive as the lyrically
astute ‘Bruza’ on his singles ‘Get Me’ and ‘Doin’ Me’. The intelligence
and confidence is undoubtedly present when we meet, but it arrives with
lots of charm and a smile.
Not that
you’d expect anything less; the cockney East Ender has a lot to be smiling
about. He is a key member of East London’s Aftershock Records collection
alongside renowned producer Terror Danjah
and his distinctive, boisterous delivery has gained appearances on Sway’s
‘Up Your Speed’ remix and Mike Skinner’s
‘Get Out My House’, with both artists being affirmed in the Bruza fan
club.
Yet, he has
not just been pricking the ears of those on the grime scene. In February,
the 23-year-old appeared alongside fellow rappers Tor,
Pace and Purple,
and beat boxer Faith FX
in Urban Classic with the BBC Concert Orchestra; an unprecedented fusion
of the classically trained with the street trained. The result was a sold
out, high impact show at the Hackney Empire, which was broadcast on both
BBC Radio 3 and BBC 1Xtra, realising the vision of non-profit organisers,
Bigga Fish.
Collectively, this is a CV to be proud of, but high ambition
and self assurance is driving Bruza on for more. With his single ‘So Real’
heading the same way as previous successes, and an album in the works,
Bruza has set himself higher goals to get him ‘out of Walthamstow and
into a big house in Chigwell’. And after speaking with him, you get the
feeling he’s going to reach them…
How
and when did you start out doing your thing?
I started a while ago… I’d say doing it as a hobby and just messing around
since my school days. I got into it listening to jungle and bass tapes
in the Nineties. It was slow progression... I used to just MC to my mates.
I never paid attention in school… Obviously my mum wanted me to be a doctor
or lawyer, but I think everyone has their own root in life.
When
did you realise it was something you wanted to pursue full time and as
a profession?
Well I just started getting a good response from people… I got into it
more and more and then the demand increased. I did ‘Get Me’ and then another
couple of tunes from there and then it just started to get more serious
for me. It wasn’t a planned thing. I didn’t get up one day and say: ‘I’m
gonna be an MC’. It just happened.
So
did you just start up on the live circuit?
Yeah I’d go to raves and mob sets – when I say mob sets I mean go as an
uninvited guest – and radio do pirate radio shows. It just evolved from
there really.
What
do you think you’d be doing if you weren’t into music?
I’d probably be up to no good!
What
are you working on at the moment?
I’m just recording my album ‘Tales of the Underdog’ and doing live PA
s across the country. It’s scheduled for an early 2007 release. So keep
your ears peeled for that.
I’m going to Germany during the World Cup in June and
also to Norway. I’m just going around promoting the sound. It’s not big
in Europe but people are slowly getting to grips with it. When I went
out in 2005, I found people singing along to the tunes and that… and they’re
German too! And we’re speaking slang, so for them to be spitting our lyrics
is amazing. Bizarre, really!
I’m also working on a youth project with the London Symphony
Orchestra – they’re trying to get local school kids involved in doing
a show and I’m just helping out – helping the kids writing lyrics, clarity,
stage presence…
What
kind of music has influenced your sound?
I’d say a lot of jungle, bashment, reggae… I used to watch a lot of sound
clashes and stage shows in Jamaica. People like Ninja
Man, Buju Banton,
Bounty Killa, Sizzla,
Elephant Man… along with
the jungle MCs and DJs – they’ve all been big influences. You can’t really
label my sound. I’ve tried to but it doesn’t really do it much justice.
I’d say it’s just UK home grown music.
How
do you feel with the successes of your career so far and the positive
reaction to your music?
I feel satisfaction. I Googled my name the other day and thousands and
thousands of things came up – a lot more than I thought. I’ve put in a
lot of work – bent backwards to get my sound out there.
What
kind of stuff does that involve?
I’ve got my own independent label. No major backing or money. Everything
that you’ve seen Bruza do has been done independently. We put the money
from our records into something else – I don’t really spend my profit
– I put it into promotion or funding a video. Obviously I’ve come from
the underground scene, so it’s a lot of hard work.
How
have your family and friends responded to your work?
They’re all very supportive. My parents came to the Hackney Empire show
when we done Urban Classic and they loved it. They were asking me when’s
the next one! The music has done a lot of good stuff for me – I’m not
loafin’ around or nothing.
Moving
on to Urban Classic in February. How did that come about?
A promotional agency approached us and said they wanted to do an orchestra/grime
thing – this was a year before the show. They were trying to get together
sponsors and stuff but because it wasn’t something that had been done
before, it generated a lot of interest. I couldn’t imagine it at first…
I couldn’t see it happening but it turned out brilliant.
Yeah
it was quite unique. Did you learn anything from the experience?
It was definitely an advantage. If someone asked me to listen to classical
music before I would have been like ‘What?!’ But it definitely made me
more open-minded to different genres of music and you get to meet a lot
of different people from different backgrounds, so it has definitely taught
me a lot. And the exposure has been amazing… I’ve been in The Independent,
The Guardian, and The Voice… I’ve even been on London Tonight! So it’s
been brilliant exposure – and also for grime in general and I’m glad that
they recognised our skill. There are a lot of people who class grime as
just talking about negative and violent stuff when there’s more to it.
Have
you used much classical influence on your album?
There are a lot of orchestral sounds in grime anyway. I’ve used some string
samples… bits and pieces. I don’t produce my stuff, but I work closely
with the producers while I’m writing my tracks.
How
do you feel about the success of MCs coming out of the UK, London in particular,
over the last couple of years?
Well there aren’t many people to come out of Walthamstow except for Lethal
B! It has definitely made me think that I can do it too.
I don’t really compare myself to anyone but obviously when you see the
likes of Dizzie Rascal on
MTV, when you’ve been listening to him on pirate radio back in the day…
it is an inspiration.
What
are you listening to at the moment?
I’m just listening to a lot of different mixtapes that are out on the
streets at the moment – just seeing what else is out there. There were
hardly any a couple of years ago – back then it was all about pirate radio
to get your sound heard. There is no feeling like pirate radio – nothing
can beat it – the needles might not be working, cigarette butts all over
the place; you just make do with what you got. It would go out to the
local area and the next day kids will be playing your stuff to their friends
at school. But things like 1Xtra have given us more exposure so it’s a
good thing.
What’s
next for Bruza?
More promotion. There are always new ears for the music and I want to
take it to all corners of the world. The kids love it. There isn’t really
music for the local music that is also British. We don’t usually get a
chance to say how we feel and with grime – anything goes. It is totally
UK and when we learn to be more proud of ourselves we will take it to
the next level and get respected for it.
Look out for Bruza’s debut album, ‘Tales of the
Underdog’, on Aftershock in early 2007.
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Listen
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Real ' 