Prose Interview

After recently purchasing the brand new Prose album i thought it only fitting to have a
chat with Steady, one half of the South London duo.
Prose are Steady on the beats and Efeks on the mic. they have been working hard on
there craft for years and have recently released there Force Of Habit LP.

Flyspittin: So Steady,tell us a little bit about how prose came about and what your all about..

Steady: Me and efeks met through a mutual friend and realised we shared the same passion for
music and music making. We had both being doing our own thing but had become kind of jaded
by inconsistent people and long talking so we literally just started
putting rhymes to beats and found that
we had really good chemistry together and mutually appreciated each other’s
talents and styles.
I would say that first and foremost prose are about good honest hip hop music before anything else really.

Flyspittin: You recently supported DJ Premier, Royce Da 5'9 and Jedi Mind Tricks to name a few. How has it been sharing the stage with such big names and how did you go down with the crowd?

Steady: It's been great! I mean they are some of our favourite artists so it was an honour to be asked to do those shows. We went down well (i think! ha ha), we got a lot of positive reactions from people. Its always difficult being a UK support act to a big American act, i think sometimes the crowd expects that you are gonna be a certain way and a lot of people have got used to poor, un-organised performances from a lot of UK hip hop acts so i think that people appreciate the fact that we put the work in and try and represent the UK well.

Flyspittin: Yeah i think some groups need to put in alot more work on there live shows. I would be happy handing over money for a CD if i have just been entertained. Speaking of buying music, Your album - Force Of Habit is out now to buy, and over the last few years you have consistently put out great music, alot of which is free. How have you been received so far?

Steady: Again, we get a lot of positive feedback from our releases. Even if you don't really like what we do (which is fair enough) we are consistent and true to what we do and i think people can see that and hear that in our music. I believe in giving people value for money too, that's why some releases have been free. Times have changed dramatically and you also have to price your music (particularly if it is a digital release) realistically. We are lucky that we release through our own label, BBP, so there isn't a big fat cigar smoking dude taking a chunk out of our money! ha ha

Flyspittin: And do you think it is getting harder to get your music out there at the moment because of the watered down stuff our country is buying into?

Steady: Yes and no! What people seem to forget is that there has always been shit pop rap music as well as that real shit! it’s just that in the past the hip hop community wouldn't let is slide so much. You would be called out and ostracised for that whereas now it seems more acceptable to blatantly bite other people or throw together some half arsed catchy bullshit and try and go pop with it. If that's what's really in your heart and you can live with yourself doing that then all power to you but if it’s plastic and contrived people will see through that.

Flyspittin: Im with you on that one mate. now i want to know, if you could work with anyone in the world who would it be?

Steady: Wow! Erm,all the greats I suppose. Imagine like Chuck D, EPMD, Redman, Pete Rock, DJ Premier, Biz Markie. I'll get back to you when they are ready to do it! Ha!

Flyspittin: I think i would kill to get a Premo beat and have redman on it with me!! Now its fair to say that Prose are all about the boom bap. what is it that makes this type of music so appealing to you?

Steady: We always like to say we look back to go forward, you know? Our music is steeped in the traditions of real hip hop. We don’t know how to do anything else except what comes naturally to us. We don’t purposefully make ‘boom bap’ hip hop it just happens to turn out that way. Efeks writes rhymes that are true to himself and his life and i make beats that i feel from my soul through equipment that i feel comfortable using it just so happens that this is what our sound becomes and it just so happens that this is what the pioneers of this music did or do.

Flyspittin: Of the 18 tracks on the album, what are your favorites?

Steady: They are all our babies so its hard to pinpoint but Life Times seen as it is the lead single and we got to put a video together for the first time, Broke was a nice experience working with Reef The Lost Cauze, Late At Night was nice to do as I put the beat together a while back then revisited it and tweaked it then seeing how Efeks turned it into a story which is different from anything else on the album. They are all our favourites though really!

Flyspittin: Ahhh i thought you might say they all were! Mine is Raw Deal, it is TOO good.
Who are you listening to in the uk at the moment?

Steady: PROSE! Ahahaha! Nah, man, anything that is good! There is some really good stuff about man. Kashmere just dropped a dope album, Verb T did too, Jehst’s is on the way. I think 2011 will be a really good year for homegrown hip hop!

Flyspittin: Yeah i think it will be cus my album will be out then also haha! So whats next for prose?

Steady: Working on the next project, we have written most of it and most of the beats are done. We are just in the pre-production phase now with that. It’s gonna be a bit different for us (and i don’t mean it’s gonna be grime or dubstep! Ha ha). A little bit of a different slant on what we are about I guess. I feel it’s important to really put yourself into a project and have focus and a concept (even if it’s loose) otherwise it’s just a bunch of throw away MP3’s and viral clips and I don’t see the point of that, it doesn’t make a lasting mark. Making an album or a complete project is hard work but it shows your commitment and range as artists.

Flyspittin: Yeah i think the songs you remember the most are the ones that are great but also sound real and not like they were rushed and not mixed or mastered.
Finally is there anyone you want to shout out?

Steady: Shouts to all the BBP and Prose family. Anyone who has supported us, we truly appreciate it. And shouts to anyone that wants to book us for a show! Our fee is a bottle of Brandy and a bag of Skittles! Bring us to your Town, City or Village. Ha ha. Props to Spee 69 and all the T.W.O.Kers!

You can check out prose at there Facebook.
you can also buy there album and other releases directly from them at Prose Bandcamp or from Suspect Packages

There video Life Times Is HERE