Rude Kid’s new instrumental EP ‘Monsters’ is a sonic testament of why he holds a key position at the heart of the UK Grime scene. We sat down at Relentless Records on a rainy afternoon in mid-July to chat about past, present and what the future holds in the cards for the British producer.
It’s been a busy 18 months for you… You’ve got #KissGrime every Sunday night, dropping ‘Banger after Banger’ with Ghetts, playing at SWSX with Kano & Friends, releasing your solo EP, hosting Bugsy Malone’s listening party…. And now smashing the festival season all over again! Do you ever stop?
All of these things are blessings. Everything that I’m doing now is what I always wanted to be doing and I’m doing them everyday. Having a radio show, being a DJ, being a producer… it’s hard, but it’s sick and I love it! I want my schedule to be even busier! Growing up as an artist when Grime was an underground culture and seeing it exploding the way it has…
I always wanted to be on radio, but I never thought it would be a big station like Kiss. You kinda get used to it, but when you think about it.. ‘Shit man, you’re on Kiss playing Grime!’
Is there a radio moment that you cherish the most?
There are two. The first one was with Newham Generals because it was the first radio show that I’ve done. The most memorable one was the Christmas set. There were like fifty MC’s in there. That was sick!
I’ve been looping your new EP ‘Monsters’ for the past couple of days. That ‘Bloody Hell’ track sounds like something straight out of a horror movie! Could you let us into the story behind the title?
All the tunes are monsters. I’ve created these monsters! Every time people heard those tunes, they were like ‘These are monsters man…’ so I decided to call the whole project ‘Monsters’.
The outer-space theme is reflected a lot in your sound. Is it a big source of inspiration for you?
It’s hard to describe. It’s like everything could be going around you, but you’re just focused on what you’re doing, I just feel like I go to a different world. I just listen to a lot of music; a lot of Grime and Garage… but what influenced me in making this EP, I wouldn’t even say music, I would just say life.
Do you have a favourite track? Have you performed many of the new tracks live?
I like ‘Bloody Hell’ and ‘Brain Freeze’. ‘Bloody Hell’ is the one though, its dark man! I played this at NASS Festival. We played on the Kurrupt FM stage on Friday and then we got called in to play the main stage on Saturday.
And you had a special guest as well…
Yeah, Ghetts! Sometimes I go out at his shows and then he owes me a favour and I’ll call him in to my shows and vice versa. We do things for each other that way. It was good, it was good vibes!
You played at SXSW earlier in the year and you’ve Outlook coming soon as well. Do you feel that people react to your music differently on international grounds?
From September onwards all of my shows are abroad, which is sick! You get to experience new people that know about your music in a new country, and they know so much about your music and you, its mad!
What can we expect from you after the festival season? More music?
I’m gonna put out another single, ‘Banger after banger’ did really well. I feel like it’s important to give people another one. I always want to do more things. I’m the type of person that if I want to get something or if I want to do something I’m gonna go out and do it. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I do like chilling as well, but I rather be active.
Words by Catarina Ramalho.
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