London-born MC, aka 'ragga midget' Lady Sovereign, leaves the bright lights and big city behind to see whether Garage music can thrive in the countryside. From the highlands of Scotland to the valleys of Wales, the flats of East Anglia to the South West wash of Cornwall, Lady Sovereign goes off the underground map and deep into the countryside to meet the village-dwelling MCs hoping to make it in the garage scene.
Lady Sovereign:
"First stop Cornwall, never been there, don't actually know where it is. Couldn't find it on the map. Penzance sounds like a Spanish country or somethin'. Turns out you can get there by train and it is actually in the UK. I have actually got one fan there who turns out to be the only fan in the village."
V.E.G.A.S - MC, Girt Biggun:
"I represent where I come from. I come from Cornwall, that's why were called Girt Biggun - it's a twist on the word Great Britain. We're not trying to be urban, we're not trying to be street. We started off in the backs of pubs. There's definately a case of us not getting taken seriously."
"I grew up in Clapton in Hackney, now I live in Edmonton North London. Where I live now, it's like utopia, quiet, there's only a few neighbours that I say hello to. Police cars come through like one a month, but in Hackney they were on the hour every hour. There's not a lot around me that I can write about. Would I live in the sticks? I think, no."
Skitz - 1Xtra:
"I grew up in a hippie commune on the edge of Exmoor in the middle of nowhere. I used to go to Bristol and I was into punk rock, then reggae. Then I watched 'Wildstyle' in the city with a bunch of mates. My heart's in the country."
Rodney P - 1Xtra:
"For Londoners anywhere outside the M25 is country, that don't mean you can't make good music. Skinnyman is from Leeds, Braintax is from Leeds, Tommy Evans is from country. You got people in Manchester who do good stuff!"
Links:
www.ladysovereign.com
How to MC from 1Xtra
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