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WORLD EXCLUSIVE

The Hip Hop Chronicle Interviews Jazzie B

Soul 2 Soul has its place in music history. Winning two Grammy, timeless hits and keys to several cities in the U.S., the UK Band are celebrating their 20th Anniversary of their first album release.

Jazzie B has not only produced a string of successful cuts for Soul II Soul, but hes also managed to produce and re-mix tracks for the likes of The Fine Young Cannibals, Incognito, Maxi Priest, Charlene Smith, James Brown, Kym Mazelle, Rose Windross, Family Stand, Cheryl Lynn, Public Enemy, J.T. Taylor, Johnny Gill, Charlotte, Caron Wheeler, Isaac Hayes, Sinead OConnor, Alison Williams, Teena Marie, Ziggy Marley, The Jones Girls, Nas, and Destiny’s Child. Somewhere along the line theres been the handshake with Prince Charles, and he even once shared a dressing room with the legendary Sammy Davis Jnr.

To date Soul II Soul have sold over 6.8 million albums in over 35 territories worldwide. Jazzie has accreditation on over 35 million albums in over 100 territories, Soul II Soul have product on over 200 compilation CDs. They have performed in over 20 countries, and appeared at some of the most famous venues in the world including Wembley and New Yorks Universal Ample Theatre.

Jazzie now runs a successful independent label called Soul II Soul Recordings, he has a state-of-the-art studio in London.

Soul 2 Soul and Jazzie B revolutionised music in the UK and took their unqiue sound and were embraced all over the globe.

The Hip Hop Chronicle has obtained a world exclusive interview with Soul 2 Soul frontman, Jazzie B, who today is going to be hon with an O.B.E. from the Queen of England. 

Everyone at The Hip Hop Chronicle would like to congratulate Jazzie on his O.B.E., its certainly been overdue.

In this world exclusive interview, Jazzie B talks about his musical influences, the new compliation he’s put together, the UK Hip-Hop and R&B scene and why the love from fans is more than enough recognition.

Readers can listen listen to the interview on the link below and you can also read the transcript of the interview.

Click Here (Audio) - The Hip Hop Chronicle Interview With Jazzie B (World Exclusive)

http://www.zshare.net/audio/12116296b5ca085b/

You can also download the interview HERE

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Transcript of Interview

HHC: Firstly I’d like to say thank you very much for taking the time to speak with The Hip Hop Chronicle. Im joined by the legendary Jazzie B, how you doing?

Jazzie B: Very well thank you, how are you?

HHC: Yea, very good, the first question I’d like to ask is: Soul 2 Soul is legendary, how does it feel that yourself and Soul 2 Soul have inspired so many to dance?

Jazzie B: Well…hypothetically that was always my soundsystem’s intention, you know, to express yourself. And its kinda interesting because if you listen to, in particularly Volume 1, it has alot of answers to questions that people are asking, so its quite ironic.

HHC: What inspired you to get into music? Were there specific artists that really inspired you because reading your biog, your brother was a big inspiration as well.

Jazzie B: Yeah I mean, just growing up in my household, there was so many different types of music … I was always into all forms of music … destined to do what i did, I dont know but it was always for me about my sound system growing up. I just wanted the best sound system in the world and I guess without music, its nothing, so to be influenced by so many different types of people and different musicians, which i’ve had the fortune to have met so many different artists and play their stuff as well…is a real blessing.

HHC: Speaking of when you were younger, you had a sound system called Jah Rico …

Jazzie B: Thats right.

HHC: … Could you explain to the readers and listeners, the genesis of Jah Rico and how it became Soul 2 Soul

Jazzie B: With Jah Rico, we were like the sons of my brother’s sound, my brother had a big sound crew called Rico and they kinda did their thing, their way and we wanted to do our way but the whole premise of the sound system was really us bringing the music to the people…its like a mobile radio show but as things evovled in terms of the club culture, it became … for us something quite iconic in regards to the previous question - making people dance, people expressing themselves by playing these different forms of music will let you losen your inhabitions some-what and let the music take you

HHC: I wanted to ask your thoughts on the UK Hip-Hop and R&B scene now. Are there any artists your feeling at the moment and where do you think its potential is going?

Jazzie B: Yeah, there’s lots of artists. Its interesting what Estelle went off and done and its really interesting looking at people from MC Melo to London Posse to ….people like Dizzee Rascal, Sway … so so many…Wiley … its fantastic. Finally we got a voice of our own. In the early days there werent much going on and when things did take off again, you gotta go through that process of elimination and now we’ve finally got our own little voice in various different corners and its interesting seeing the various mixings of cultures and what’s brought it right back to where we got an English sound definatively and with the advent of things like the internet, how broadly we can spread this wings…so its great

HHC: What do you think of online disturbution?

Jazzie B: Fantastic…love it. I love technology and I think anyone that doesnt embrace it … ignorance is only blindness to the facts … and technology is there to aid

HHC: Soul 2 Soul and yourself … 20 years ago, you release your first album, what are the good things and the bad things you’ve learnt about the music industry?

Jazzie B: That its great … its as mixed up and as hapharzard as it was when I started … (smiling) fantastic and noone actually has the answers to it … if they did, they you know, they’d be far then innit (laughs) … people have now derived different methods of extracting and making economics from it, which it was always like but…but the level of creativity and innovation is still there and its all part and parcel that goes along with the business, whether you’re being ripped off or ripped on … you know its all good.

HHC: Back in the day, you were a PE (Physical Education) Teacher is that right?

Jazzie B: No…I wanted to be a PE teacher.

HHC: Do you have a real big passion for sports?

Jazzie B: Yeah

HHC: What sports did you have a passion for?

Jazzie B: I used to be a footballer…I used to be a schoolboy footballer

HHC: Yeah? Did you play for any clubs?

Jazzie B: Couple of them … not to mention cause I didnt conclude (laughs)

HHC: (Laughing) I wanted to talk about the reggae and dub scene, its had seen some-what of a revival, with Junior Reid crossing over to Hip Hop and Horace Andy releasing a new album ‘On Tour’, what are your thoughts on it, do you still go to dances…

Jazzie B: Absoluetly…still go to dances, when dances happen now, I’ve been lucky enough to go to dances in different countries as well which has been really cool

HHC: Yeah…yeah

Jazzie B: Just travelling and stuff and hearing different sounds played…everyone from Mighty Crown all the way to One Love and all that lot, so its quite interesting.

HHC: I was watching a youtube clip of Jah Shaka in Japan, they love it there, you think we are used to it, we have grown up on it (reggae), all kinds of people from all backgrounds, you’d never thought it would go all the way to Japan

Jazzie B: You have to appreiate music is universal and that’s the beauty of it…it does go everywhere, so you know, as far as Japan, as far as Timbuktoo (smiling)

HHC: Your getting your OBE, congratulations on that

Jazzie B: Thank you

HHC: You’ve got alot of recognition in America, you’ve got keys to alot of cities including L.A. and New York and I understand you’ve got a Soul 2 Soul day there too.

Jazzie B: (Smiling) Well I havent personally but…

HHC: …not personally but the group

Jazzie B: The group… yeah

HHC: Do you feel you’ve got the right recognition in this country as opposed to the ones you’ve recieved abroad?

Jazzie B: It dont matter…I didnt go out to get any recognition on that level … being embraced by America … being embraced by someone … thats enough.

HHC: You have the album coming out, its called ‘School Days’, its ….

Jazzie B: Its a compliation album…yeah…that i’ve done and its taken from the Trojan (Records) Catalogue and these are alot of the songs that I grew up with and they tell a distinctive story about my evoloution as a school boy growing up. Its the cross section of some of the music, the reggae music…that part of my life, that was quite influencial via the Trojan Catalogue.

HHC: There’s so many greats artists on here…theres Horace Andy, there’s Jacob Miller, Inner Circle, Dennis Brown, so many….

Jazzie B: All of those people I grew up listening to and they were heavy influences on my life, so technically they are all favourites (smiling)

HHC: Do you still collect records?

Jazzie B: Abosolutely … always been a record collector and always will be.

HHC: Could you give me your top three albums of all time or your favourite of all time?

Jazzie B: Any Curtis Mayfield album, any Dennis Brown album and erm….Donny Hathaway and … Earth Wind And Fire

HHC: Would that be the same with your top artists as well

Jazzie B: If a was squashed into a corner, given two minutes to think about it (smiling)… yeah

HHC: (Laughing) And lastly is there anything you’d like to add?

Jazzie B: A happy face … a thumpin bass for love and race …. keep being creative…and innovative and lets keep on movin