Urban World

» Rhas Kwame speaks……

Rhas Kwame speaks about his new compilation Urban Goodies, urban music culture and his choice of music.

How did the idea of putting out a compilation come about?
Well the Urban Goodies concept was brought about by a burning desire I had to create a CD that represented what I’m about and broadcast on my 1Xtra and BBC radio shows. I really felt this year was the year I could do that due to the success of a lot of the music that I play. I felt like I had enough material and connections to create something that would really be giving us a sense of pride so I put together 40 tracks on 2 CDs that really represent homegrown culture.

There is a growing DIY mentality and more UK artists are setting up their own record labels. Why do you think that is?
UK acts have been making music outside the bubble of the major industry and there is a general sense of DIY in terms of how the urban music goes. Artists have gone through a long period of not having that helping hand from major record labels and have got the point where they have started doing it themselves. I think the market needed something more vibrant so we had the emergence of a bass line sound, the evolution of grime mc to artists have all added to what we have now. Independence is the cool thing whereas getting signed used to be the cool thing.

There’s a lot of debate around the term “urban“. Is it relevant?
I found doing my job that the word urban is a suitable descriptive title for the music I represent. It’s one that most people are comfortable with as the alternative is to call it black music which a lot of people find alienating as they presume that since it’s black music then it’s only meant for black people. This is not the case as there are a lot of people making that type of music that are black, white, Asian, or from wherever. For me it’s all about getting the music out and beyond what it is now and not keeping it inclusive and in a little box. If that’s the terminology that people can use to relate to this type of music and come towards it then that’s fantastic and I’ll call it urban all day.

Urban music has been associated with violence and the most recent Urban Music Awards is one example of that. What’s your perspective on this?
Well what happened at the Urban Music Awards was an unfortunate incident. It happened within the community. These things happen everyday but when it’s linked to music of a certain nature people seem to blow it out of proportion. I’m not trying to say that what went down doesn’t need to be talked about but incidents do happen regardless and it’s important to remember what events like that are supposed to be about and that’s positivity and celebrating the music we do and trying to push things forward. Yeah it’s a little bit disappointing what happened but that’s life and I hope we can work out a way within our community so that’s it doesn’t happen again and a celebration remains a celebration.

Which music stars are you a fan of?
I really hate it when people ask me that question because I don’t necessarily want to put one artist above another. But I would say I really like what Wiley is doing in terms of straddling the underground and the commercial. I’m a fan of a lot of the rap acts so Ghetto, Kano, Double S, Ice kid, Tinchy Stryder. In terms of new talent I’m a big fan of this girl called Alex Mills who’s a talent out of leads and is quite comfortable with bassline and neo-soul. On an alternative tip I’m a big fan of Mr Hudson and The Library. I’m a big fan of Zarif who has signed with RCA. Production wise there’s a producer called Dialtone that has a really big future. Anyone who you hear on my radio show I’m a really big fan off and Urban Goodies is packed full of things I do like and not music that’s just fill up the UK quota.

Do you think UK urban music can be as successful and lucrative as its US equivalent?
Yeah I’m a great believer that UK urban music can get as good as it’s US counterpart because the UK scene is in the same place as the US was maybe 10/15 years ago. I can see the evolution being the same but I think we’re in a much better position to do it musically.

What are the Maida Vale sessions?
BBC Maida Vale studio’s is where a lot of the BBC’s live music gets recorded. It’s a massive facility in Maida Vale and it’s the perfect place to record live music. Anything from backing track performances all the way through to big 60 piece orchestras. My Maida Vale sessions is all about giving artists from within the music is represent the opportunity to do their thing live. It gives the talent the opportunity to show of their music in a different way. I have lots of brand new and established talents and the list is truly endless. We’ve had grime crews like Aftershock all the way to Amy Winehouse.

What advice would you give to upcoming DJ’s and artists?
DJ’s its all about finding your own angle. For the artists it’s all about originally and self belief. It’s not an easy game by any stretch of the imagination and you have to be really on it and 110% want to make it work. There’s always room to improve and you have to be the best that you can be


Finally why should we pick up Urban Goodies?
Because it’s something fresh, imaginative and different from all the other compilations. Its home grown base and its not about me making a million out of it, its about all of the artists on the album making a little bit that contributes to what they do and to what I do. I just believe it’s a great representation of what I’m about musically. Its as diverse as you can get across the genres, and I think you’ll like it listening to it.

Urban Goodies is out 29 Dec

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