ITCH: SELF-DESCRIBED FERAL HIP HOP STREET KID

Self-described feral street kid iTCH, from the United Kingdom, made his way across the US, stopping briefly in Texas for South by Southwest, or SXSW, to give American audiences a more raw sound straight from London streets.

Before setting out on his own, for ten years, iTCH, AKA Johnny Fox, was the front man for King Blues, an UK band punk rock that fused ska, folk, and hardcore punk into their sound. His sound now is more hip-hop and less ska or funk, but has retained or even gained more hardcore edge.

“What I try to do is mix the lyricism and political bite of hip hop with the raw anger and energy of punk,” iTCH said. “This album is very much different than anything I’ve ever done before. It still has that political edge to it, but I’m allowing myself to be more vulnerable.”

iTCH was a true street kid growing up in the Hackney borough of London, or as he called it “the shitty bit.” He moved from abandoned building to abandoned building with other like-minded kids. He said his early childhood is reflected in his sound, but that wasn’t always the case.

“What I was scared of before was that I had a very unconventional childhood and I hid behind sloganeering in order for people not to find out about myself,” iTCH said. “I found that the more vulnerable I made myself, the more real I became and the more people actually took to it. It was a learning process.

“From the time I was 13 to 20 I lived in abandoned buildings with Spanish punk rockers that didn’t speak English, but took me under their wing. It shaped my political ideals and gave me an alternative lifestyle because I didn’t go to school or anything like that. I was learning how to survive. I gave me fighting experience and a real grounding so now I have these different experiences that I can share.”

He said growing up in the streets and hearing the different cultures and music also had a profound effect on him.

“It’s a massive part of it. There is so much pirate radio that when you tune your radio driving through certain cities, you can’t get the major radio stations,” iTCH said. “It’s just people plowing drums, grime and bass. It’s the real music that comes from the streets and it’s here and it quickly becomes your own music. It certainly shapes you. There are so many people from different parts of the world there and such a mishmash of different cultures with different lifestyles that it totally affects the music.”

Words / photography Jimmy Alford

The album Deep End is out now.

Listen to Itch & Dan The Automator mixtape here.