In a chart full of pop/rap/rock stars ‘keeping it real’ from their Chelsea Maisonettes and Hollywood Mansions, it’s great to see (and hear) someone who is actually the REAL thing.
Born in Nigeria but now living in Hackney London,Teef was a Pirate Radio DJ on the legendary Itch FM at 18. His life is his music and his latest track ‘Rush’ has a raw energy that grabs your ears by the throat and doesn’t let go.
Who or what made you want to start rapping?
Who knows man.. it was a natural urge from a young age, but as I get to progress more in life I understand it’s probably a mixture of me wanting to emulate the people I enjoyed listening to or looking at pictures in a magazines or MTV when I was younger you know, and the other part being using it as therapy for myself.
With all the problems you encounter growing up in this world, like there’s a beneficial reason for I as an entity to do this, channeling an energy that feels good, like I’m reaching out to something that’s not in this world as a way to deal with this world.
I guess I could keep it real simple or get all mystical with it.
What do you like using equipment wise in the studio?
Man… I’m the least techy-est of people when it comes to recording, I got my 2 mics, SE X1condenser for recording demos and my trusty Shure 565SD dynamic for practice and being able to travel with it. I mainly vocal but I tailor the songs to my fit with a producer if it’s my music I’m making for my project as I’m very specific in what my vocals sit on….
… I make demos on Pro Tools for myself and the producer I’m working with, but that’s just so we can have a guideline for the track I intend to create. I would never call myself a producer at the moment, I play around with instruments, like I was practicing on the drums for a while, but that got destroyed in the ‘Rush’ video (see below), honestly I feel my voice is the main instrument I want to completely harness first before I go crazy on anything else.
How do you make things work live, do you have a DJ?
Depends what kind of gig, if it’s party type thing, I probably rock the DJ flex and host the night, but I prefer actually gigging, performing my actual songs rather than just spitting your whole back catalogue in 45 minutes whilst a DJ plays other people beats that have nothing to do with you. That’s what I used to do on Pirate Radio, fuck all that now.
So now I’d generally rock with a drummer, me and a controller/DJ/synth, so that’s the minimal 3 man set and we add anyone else to that if need be…. there’s something about having a live drummer that just adds the energy to my performance… ahhhhh, love that shit.
What have you got planned for the rest of the year?
Ah, glad you ask, I’m just about wrapping up my debut album…it sounds silly saying that because I’ve recorded so much in the past, but apart from my ‘[untitled]’ LP you’ll just have to find the other stuff on the net somewhere haha, but this one will be proper.
So stay tuned bitches.
For more info on Teef visit www.teef.bandcamp.com
Pics by Bruno Londinese