REWD ADAMS: ONE OF UK HIP HOP’S BRIGHTEST NEW STARS
Fatherhood has not fettered the fire in rapper Rewd Adams. His latest offering, Hunger Pains 2, stands testimony to this. Inspired by real life and peppered with a theme of love, Hunger Pains 2 is more melodic and mellow than his previous releases, but by no means is it any less passionate. His lyrics, sometimes wise beyond their years, are punctuated by the sort of philosophy you find down the pub on a Friday night – he’s even made a video on a camera phone filming one such night for his track Hair of the Dog. But his lyrics – his first port of call when setting about making a track – are also punctuated with a Buddha-esque compassion that comes only from walking in well-worn shoes. Shoes that his previous, more venomous work, under the name Skandal, alludes to.
Fused caught up with the man to delve a little deeper…
Your new mix tape Hunger Pains 2 is very uplifting & melodic – intentional? What vibe were you going for?
I’ve always leant to the more melodic side of rap, I’m a believer that it keeps the listener engaged and that’s ultimately the aim for me as an artist. It was a conscious decision to base a lot of the songs around the theme of love, which is something I’ve not done before and it definitely made the project a more cohesive listen.
What came first in putting this mix tape together, writing? Can you explain how it got made?
Yeh. I normally start with writing, beats are an important factor because every beat will give me a different vibe and inspire different feelings and concepts. I wrote most of the demos at home and recorded the final versions at Kilamanjaro studios with Chemo (bad boy engineer).
You did an album about struggling to make ends meet (How Not to Make a Living) – does the internet hinder or help you from making a living?
Haha yeh I was pretty pissed off at the time. I don’t think anything or anybody hinders you making money other than yourself you know? There’s always ways to make money whether in music or not. The Internet is just a tool for artists to use for their benefit if they take the time to learn how to use it properly. Most of my sales have been digital so the Internet hasn’t hampered any of my revenue.
Biggest influences?
Life, my family, everyday people and conversations I have with like-minded individuals.
Do you work with any artists stateside? Are there any frustrations to being a “UK Rap Star” rather than one based somewhere else?
Thanks to the Internet yeh, I worked with a producer called Sinitus Tempo on the new project who blessed me with a great instrumental for the song ‘loyalty’. I’ve produced for a cat called Avatar Darko from Seattle as well. I’m slowly building up some contacts and I hope to continue to work with artists and producers all over the world.
Did you know in China they have a genre called C-Rap! What do you make of it?
No I haven’t heard of it, I’ll be sure to check it out…. Wait! C-Rap!? Doesn’t that spell crap?
Hunger Pains 2 features buses, hangovers, etc – inspiration from real life?
Haha 100% unless it’s a fictional character or I’m writing through the eyes of someone else all my music is in person. If I haven’t lived it I can’t really draw much inspiration from that situation. And I prefer to keep it as authentic as possible.
What’s next for you?
At the moment the plan is to keep promoting the new release, keep pumping out videos and do shows while pushing Hunger Pains 2 to as many people as possible.
Download Hunger Pains 2 on iTunes
Erica Crompton
