UKM: Tell us about yourself
Ny: My name is NY and I’m a vocalist and a writer. I always wanted to sing from a young age - my house was very musical in a sense that my parents played a lot of music constantly. I would be woken up on a Sunday morning with reggae playing out of one room and classical out of another. How I got into it as an artist was probably from boredom in school. I hated my lessons, I enjoyed stuff like music, drama and English languages, I hated science and math’s. During school I would be listening to my walkman, freestyling over beats and listening to old school garage singing along to the melody and I would run into local studios and into all my friends houses who had mic’s set up in their homes. At the age of 13 I started working for an under eighteens rave company called ‘Bigga Fish’ mostly based in north and west London but I did behind the scenes and would run on and sing when I could. From there I got a lot of heat and people were starting to recognise my voice. My friend Excel Base, who passed away (RIP), took me to all the shows and got me on pirate radio - Freak fm singing jiggles. In 2005 I put out my own cd called Split Endz. I got a bunch of artist that I liked at the time like Plan B, Pirelli, Professor Green, Ribs and Sincere to appear on it.
UKM: How have you grown as an artist from Split Endz Volume 2?
Ny: I think writing, as you get older you change, everything changes. Volumes 1 to 2 are like transitions from a teenager to a young woman.
UKM: Have you had singing lessons?
Ny: As I said I hated school so I was a child that did bunk off most of the time. But I didn’t skip school and hang around and smoke and stuff I just walked out the lessons I didn’t like and booked my self into music courses with organizations like Roundhouse and Triangle Tree which are north London based, so I haven’t really had music lessons but I have been on courses.
UKM: What do you think of the grime scene on the whole?
Ny: I don’t think it gets enough recognition as it should because the media likes to have good headlines. They blame a lot of gang culture on music, especially grime, because its very youth centered.
UKM: What advice would you give to people who want to sing?
Ny: Make sure you have a strong sound what ever it is, make sure you think about what your target audience is, what market you’re heading into and make sure you have a good team around you and people that are efficient.
UKM: Would you say being original is the best thing to do when you’re coming out as a new artist?
Ny: I think it’s hard because if you look back through musical history everything has been done in a particular way, but I think that whatever you do as long as its part of your character, people would go for it.
UKM: What’s on Split Endz Volume 2?
Ny: I have 19 tracks plus a bonus track and it’s a mixture of different sounds because I wanted to incorporate my different musical influences. So I got a little bit of a reggae vibe, my vocals are very soulful, elements of hardcore grime and then I have sweeter, more R&B stuff. I look at the whole thing as one piece of artwork, so it’s like different splashes, different colours. I have some really good artists on there including Doctor, Maverick, Professor Green, Bruza, vocals from Tension and productions from Wiley and various other producers.
UKM: You appeared in a small film called One Arm Jack. Will you ever pursue career in acting?
Ny: Any successful artist can act naturally because you give your supporters what they want. It might not be your inner deepest personality but it’s you exaggerated, so yeah, I would love to get into acting.
UKM: What would you be doing if you weren’t in the music industry?
Ny: Probably something to do with animals. I’ve had loads of pets including rabbits, guinea pigs, fish, dogs, hamsters and cats and I started horse riding when I was five. My dog was stolen recently. She is a staff. There is a £1,500 reward for whoever finds her. Apparently she is in Corydon somewhere but she was taken in Stratham.
UKM: Has MySpace and Facebook helped you in anyway?
Ny: Yeah it lets you know where your fan base is and lets you be a bit more intimate with your supporters.
UKM: Who would you say your standout collaborations are with?
Ny: A guy called Johnny Ragga. I hooked up with him on his first album. He is very talented. I listen to a lot of reggae including Boris Hammond, Lucianno and Sizzla. I think the way they talk about things is beautiful and they are very honest - what you see is what you get - and vocally Mariah Carey, Lauryn Hill and Nelly Furtado.
UKM: What is your ethnic background?
Ny: My mum is black and my dad is white. They’ve got a lot of mixtures in them. I’ve always considered myself as a child of the world. I was fortunate I was someone who traveled from a young age. I didn’t really like school, my mum was one of those parents where education is the only way. She believes self-knowledge and self-awareness are more important than going to school and learning like this is this and that is that. I was taught at home until I was eight-years-old. That’s why I chose the album title Splits Endz – because I saw myself in two different cultures.
UKM: What’s your favourite place you have visited?
I love Ethiopia. The people are genuine. It’s a beautiful country. I love swimming in the lakes, you see crocodiles, hippos and monkeys.
Split Endz Volume 2 is out now!
Review by : Mervin Martin
 |
