Roll Deep’s Trim has delighted Grime and Hip-Hop fans all over with his return to the game, and he recently spoke with Noisey on what the folks can expect. You can read it in full here; a few excerpts are below.
Noisey: You’ve said a few times that Crisis will have no features and no choruses. Is that you drawing a line in the sand between you and what other UK rappers tend to do when they make albums?
Trim: Yeah I’ve basically been pushed in a corner. And instead of being noticed for my actual skills, people have got a perception of me: that I’m difficult to work with, that I don’t love my job, that I haven’t worked or work hard enough. So I thought I’d give ‘em more reason to not care, by making an album they can’t sing along to, so they can only notice the skills. But I’m also releasing music in between singles to prove I can do choruses and features (Vol13, Vol14, and Nangest EP Part 2 with Roach are all out before my album)There’s been rumours over the last few years about when your record’s coming out and who’s releasing it. What went wrong with Rinse? And are you happy to now be doing it fully independently?
What happened at Rinse was that they’re just a small label and didn’t care about me enough. Certain acts pay the bills and to jeopardise that to take a chance on me wasn’t gonna happen. I wasn’t gonna wait for their acts to stop progressing for them to then use me. So we agreed to release me from the contract. I’ve currently started my own label, we’ll be bringing my singles and mixtape out on Secluded Area Of Music. I’m in talks with a couple of labels but doubt any will wanna release this album! So looks independent!When James Blake interviewed you on his Radio 1 show earlier this year, you described yourself as “a product that hasn’t been bought yet” – is Crisis going to be the most sellable version of Trim yet?
I dunno if it will be most sellable product, I hope it will be. But the album crisis is about me and how this game picks you up and puts you down, uses you, plays with you and your emotions. How the people in it always want you to think less of yourself, toying with us as we commit and put our life on the line.
