AUDIO: Introducing Zillwood

Liz: Unsigned artist time on the line from Somerset now we have Zillwood. Hello Zillwood.
Zillwood: Hiya you all right?
Liz: Hey yeah very, very good.
Zillwood: Hiya Zillwood. My name’s Mat Fraser this is Liz. So Zillwood also known as Brent Mat is 18 years old and gained some media attention recently because of his amazing story. Basically he raps to control his Tourettes syndrome. So tell us please, Brent or Zillwood - what do you like to be called Brent or Zillwood?
Zillwood: Mainly my artist name’s Zillwood.
Mat: All right Zillwood. Tell us what Tourettes is for anybody who doesn’t know and how rapping helps.
Zillwood: All right. Well Tourettes Syndrome it’s a neurological brain disorder developed when you're a teenager really, sometimes when you're about eight, triggered off really... usually by stress and it’s compulsions not to do certain things like swearing, physical twitches and stuff like that.
Mat: Right. And in your case when you rap it stops that happening.
Zillwood: Yeah. It completely distracts the thoughts that come into my head that trigger off the outbursts of Tourettes.
Mat: So obviously as we’re talking to you throughout this interview you’re probably going to pop a few off and that’s fine, it’s a Tourettes thing. What we’re going to do being the BBC obviously we might have to bleep it or make it go backwards but listeners really we’re not fazed by it so don’t you be fazed by it okay. How did you find out about this?
Zillwood: About the Tourettes Syndrome or the...
Mat: No, no about the rapping stopping it.
Zillwood: I used to do a lot of poetry before the Tourettes kicked off and when my Tourettes was kicking off I started writing way more constantly. And I didn’t realise until later on that my Tourettes wasn’t coming out. And so I started rapping when I was stressed and stuff and touretting and it just completely stopped it so I thought I should carry on with this (****).
Mat: Right.
Liz: We were reading that you rap on the street to stop yourself saying in appropriate things if something comes in your head...
Zillwood: Yeah.
Liz: ... then you’ll actually start rapping. So I want you to tell us what happened at Alton Towers the other day?
Zillwood: Oh God yeah. I was waiting for this one ride and it was like 70 minutes and probably more than that and the whole 70 minutes it was in front of well ethnicities and stuff you know you shouldn’t say something racial and it’s a... and this woman she was stood in front of me and I didn’t want to come out with anything racial and I was there just rapping, free styling under my breath and holding my lips and pinching it.
Liz: And how long did this go on for?
Mat: Yeah go on how long was this for?
Zillwood: 70 minutes.
Liz: Of rapping.
Zillwood: Of rapping and lip holding and whispering.
Mat: Yeah trying to just keep it under control (*****).
Zillwood: Right.
Liz: So you know what’s inappro--... you know that swearing or saying anything racist or homophobic or whatever that that would be wrong or not acceptable so that’s when you feel more provoked or how does that work?
Zillwood: Well you know you shouldn’t say the words and you don’t want to say the words.
Mat: Is it all the things that you’ve been taught as a young person growing up in school and culture to not say anything about so you know like disabled people, old people, people of different religions is it the whole gambit or is it just one specific section of the community that provokes you to rapping shall we say?
Zillwood: Loads of things, I mean, physical things, I mean, because you was brought up to know these words weren’t acceptable so you just act like you want to... if you was brought up to know that words biscuit and jammy dodgers were not acceptable like you would be saying them instead.
Mat: Absolutely. I just wanted to make... I just wanted to alleviate the listeners’ potential concern about what provokes it. So you’ve got an amazing sound right we really like what you do. So how do you produce it and who do you work with?
Mat: Well AZ Stylebeats is a French producer based in France at the moment from Macedonia. He’s Muslim and he does these really new school hip hop style beats and stuff and I’ve been working with some other DJs which are much more well known in the industry such as DJ Snips, Wizard people like that. And just working with DJs and getting them to say my beat, sometimes I buy them.
Liz: And how did they hear about you? How have you got your stuff out there?
Zillwood: Well AZ, AZ Stylebeat see I did a track once for the war in Palestine and Gaza...
Mat: Wow!
Zillwood: ... called Cease Fire For Palestine and he’s Muslim and he heard that and he was really moved by it and decided I’m going to do you loads of instrumentals for free just because of that track.
Mat: That’s brilliant.
Liz: So you started working together. So what kind of you know you used to write poetry now you write in raps what kind of things inspire you, what do you write about?
Zillwood: Life experiences, my own personal views on things and stuff around me in my environment and stuff.
Liz: Yes and politics obviously, I mean, a bit of everything by the...
Zillwood: Yeah a lot of politics as well because it’s just personal views and stuff about...
Mat: It’s like one of the misnomers that older people have about today’s youth etc is that they’re not political, they don’t give a monkey’s about anything. And I’m constantly fighting that because I know a lot of... most of the young people I know care a lot about politics, have a real opinion about the Middle East and about Northern Ireland and about all the issues environmentalism and stuff, and it’s good to know that you’re like rapping it out there. I think it’s brilliant about AZ Beat I’d love to... have you got an album or something coming out?
Zillwood: I’ve already got a mixed tape here. I’m doing about three mixed tapes for promotional use and I’ve got my first mixed tape that’s out it’s called How To Change The World In 15 Beats.
Mat: Have you heard of KripHop?
Zillwood: KripHop?
Mat: Yeah.
Zillwood: I’ve heard to Trip Hop.
Mat: Okay, Trip Hop well KripHop is a bloke called Leroy Moore, disabled guy out of California, who puts together mixed tapes of rappers who’ve got different voices such as yourself. So maybe after this programme I can email you his details because it might be another outlet, get your stuff out in America.
Zillwood: Yeah that’ll be cool.
Mat: Because he has a radio show out there that they might play your stuff on, so that would be cool.
Liz: So Mat: what’s your ambitions for your music for yourself now? What’s next?
Zillwood: I’m going off to Plymouth University hoping to do a lot more people just to see more people and, you know, more shows get myself more connected like I have lately.
Mat: What course are you doing, what subject?
Zillwood: Film Arts I’m going to do my own music videos.
Mat: Hey brilliant.
Liz: Well look we’re going to play out with one of your tracks. But until then Mat: we’re going to listen to a track called Her Eyes is it or Your Eyes?
Zillwood: Her Eyes.
Mat: What inspired that song?
Zillwood: Well my girlfriend really. She’s been with me ever since before my Tourettes started and she’s stayed with me and she’s with me well up to now, and we’ve been together like two years and eight months something like that.
Mat: And that’s quite a long time when you're 18 I suppose isn’t it?
Zillwood: Yeah.
Mat: So how can people find out more about you Mat:?
Zillwood: Well go to www.myspace.com/zillwood and you can check my other websites from there as well.
Mat: Brilliant. All right well I think given that you’re an MC rapper and we’re just BBC presenters I think we should hand over the end of the show to you. So what I’d like you to do, Zillwood, is lean right into the mic so we get the sexy end of your voice and I...
Zillwood: All right.
Mat: ... want you to introduce the track that we’re going to play say, “Hi, my name’s Zillwood this is the BBC Ouch talk show and this song’s called...” and then we’ll play the track. And thanks very much Zillwood. Goodbye.
Liz: Thanks Mat:. Bye bye.
Zillwood: Okay. Hey my name’s Zillwood, this is the BBC Ouch talk show. This track is Her Eyes by Zillwood.
[Playing music]