Stories about London, Culture & Creativity

Hello and welcome back to the F24 Podcast, my name is David and as often as possible I invite a creative around to my studio in North Acton to talk about their lives and interactions with London, culture and creativity.
Sorry about the wait for the first of 2019, I have been incredibly busy on a couple projects, one of which will have me in Dublin for a few weeks split over two trips so I have been lining up interviews with some Irish creatives to record whilst I’m there, looking forward to those.

So here we are… I missed this, its only been a few weeks but its dope getting time like this with people. This week we have UK Culture OG Kish Kash. I have only hung out with Kish on a couple of occasions but his name came before him and I’ve known about him, seen him in places and photos and have some of the same acquaintances to be one of those times where it feels like you been down for years.

Kish isn’t from London, he’s grew up just outside and it was one of those places that bred some serious people in the Hip Hop Scene in the UK in the early days and Kish fills us in on all that and the people he grew up with. He talks about funding his passion through work which eventually lead to his first job working in the culture. He knows a million people, has pulled off and been part of some amazing parts of UK Hip Hop History, represented, introduced, DJed, interviewd and linked up all the while looking so so so fresh.. His style is untouchable, he’s a gent and lucky for us has a great memory.. go check him on @kishkash1 on instagram whilst you listen.. Enjoy, this is Kish Kash’s London, Culture and Creativity story..

This is the 39th recording, oh and I’ll be 39 on New Year’s Day. nice.. anyway the 39th recording is the last of the year and this week we have PIC WRH.. another London OG who has been styling on us since 84′, I was 4 then but you know what I mean. P’s a true soldier of the culture, relentless, aggressive with it at times through the last 35 years, never stopping.. I spotted some bits local after he’d visited.. He’s not on this side of town much so did what he does so well. P brings us on his journey from being a Publicans kid and growing up in those surroundings, what Camden was like in the 80’s and 90’s and his first interactions with the graffiti even before it was here and how he got the name PIC… We chat about great times with the WRH squad and his adventures with King Robbo running about the city, the amazing friendships he built and a passion for a culture that has never dwindled. We chat about loads of bits throughout and also, I tell him about the first time I met him in 96/97 which was an eye opener to what a real bomber was about.
P’s a legend.. Another superhero and the truest of gents.. Enjoy..

From London’s most notorious graffiti crews along with many others. His impact on our culture has been felt for two decades, we’ve seen the amazing panels running through the city, one of the flyest tags hitting the streets in his distinct styles, character full throw ups and legendary stories about him and his crew… what a treat.

I’ve known T for many years, we met through a shared acquaintance when I opened my shop in 2003 and over the years we’ve got to know each other quiet well but not as much as the last few months. We’ve been hanging out loads and getting to know each other properly. I didn’t want to be greedy with that privilege, so it took a while, but I got him behind a mic. And what a chat we have. The lives of writers hey! Who’da thought it.. they end up everywhere. I have an amazing chat with T about growing up in West London, his full-on home life, pressure in school and his reasons to start writing. He tells us an amazing story about his first train mission and how he moved on through the scene. We go into his further education, travels, the meanings of writing and everything in-between.
Dope having King Teach round… As I said we’ve been hanging so I’ve been able to see what’s coming to Soho next Thursday. it’s a first and its amazing.. go check @teachdds whilst your listening.. enjoy,

This week we’ve got the culture fuelled, creatively striving, spiritual hunting, hustler minded, dope lyricist label owner, Fliptrix. Watching this guy. He used to come down to the shop in Brighton and cop some records and paint every now and then, I also snapped him on polaroid for my collection of friends and visitors to the shop. What he’s done since then, loving and respecting a culture, working hard at his game, taking advice and great advice at that from Kings in the UK Hip Hop world like Jehst and proving he can hold his own on stage, corner and meeting rooms. Along the way he may take a psychedelic to keep him clear on his spiritual path and his ferocious nature of putting out albums will have you chilling, amped, questioning and jumping on each go round. His new albums just dropped yesterday the 23rd Aug, go get it it’s called Inexhale all digital outlets and tangible pieces from high-focus.com.

If you ain’t heard him before, you’ll be intrigued by this interview and go check him after. In the meantime, enjoy and maybe check him and his squad out at @mrfliptrix and @highfocusrecords on Instagram.

Enjoy!

This week on F24 we have Sophynails aka So Fly. We had a great chat a couple weeks ago, just before she was off to Bristol. Soph’s got a great story and has been really productive in her culture since a teenager, from Soho records shops to record labels, Miami tracksides to Jams at Stockwell hall of fame and not forgetting her on-going nail career.

We chat about her experiences over the years and how its been painting graffiti in London, the social media world and taking on and dealing with life’s dramas. A dope honest chat, it was great having her over, enjoy.

This weeks interview is with artist Bill Daggs. Bill has just finished his BA in fine art and had his first  show since graduation, I went.. It was dope and you’ll hear us talk about that.

Really great having him coming over as we have been in the same circles for 20 odd years from Kilburn, graffiti and hip hop but never really got to meet properly. He went under the name Pryme / PrymeSource with the Def Defiers and Underground Alliance. I’m sure he rapped at the shop with Undali I know for sure Doobie ‘ Lucid Mover’ introduced me to his music and with his ear I knew I’d be onto a good thing, that was years ago, Bill cracked on and went in, we have a great conversation about his influences in music, living in London and honest chats about thraphy and growing and his art.. The music in the background, its his.. check his Soundcloud and his art @billdaggs on Instagram.

Enjoy..

This weeks interview is with Britain’s very own TY, a musician from Brixton. I found TY’s music early on in moving to Brighton, I was in HMV on western rd. with my best mate Nick and we heard some amazing sounds over the stores speakers, I asked what it was and copped the vinyl straight away. It became one of the larger parts of the soundtrack for that time in my life and it was also one of the first UK Hip Hop albums I bought a culture that would become incredibly important to me over the following years, not a bad intro huh Amazing to have him round, a real pleasure. Enjoy!

This week’s chat is with Novar FLIP a rapper, journalist and host of The Flip Life Show on Pyro Radio. We’ve known each other for years but really got to know each other alongside another good friend, Snail when we were all in Brighton and I had the Shop. We have loads of mutual friends including North London’s much beloved Mud Family, and I’ll never forget that he got me on one of his record covers with Old School Don Crymien. He did a dope illustration, I crowed it with a hand style. It was great catching up and talking with him this week, this is his experience with London, culture and creativity. enjoy.

This weeks chat is with Micall Parknsun, Husband, Father, lyricist and producer.
Parky is from Kilburn, North West London, where I’m from. We’re the same age and know the same people but didn’t meet until the mid 2000’s when he walked into my shop in Brighton. It was dope chatting about the manor and hearing about his experiences. He’s been at the game a long time and worked with a wide array of rappers and producers. We talk about the early days and meeting his to-be wife. Travelling, late nights and good times with friends. This is his London, Culture and Creativity story.

This weeks conversation is with Mr Met, the Mayor of Shepherds Bush.

Mr. Met is a legend in West London. There are not many people I meet in the or on the peripheries of hip hop, graffiti and London underground culture that haven’t heard of or don’t know of this man. This is an amazing story, Met’s journey is one of many struggles and adventures but he’s a strong minded and family orientated person and he brings us through a load of crazy events and how and he is The Mayor of Shepherds Bush. Enjoy!