Late and Tricksta are from Wolverhampton in the UK and together as the Wolftown Committee they have released a string of albums. They are making noise globally and also have a magazine called Rago which makes for a dope read. Peep the interview! Exclusive ish man!

First let me congratulate all of you on bringing out the fat 'Wolftown Committee' album "Legendary Status". Can you start off by telling us what Wolftown Recordings is all about?

Thanks a lot for the positive feedback and thanks for the love. Being independent is so hard in 2003 so any feedback is more than welcome! Wolftown Recordings is all about quality hip-hop and rap music. The idea for the label began in 1996 after Late & Tricksta had done radio shows, promoted nights, worked in record shops, graffiti etc. together. They started the label as a vehicle for their music and others around them that they feeling. It's a family vibe. About being real to yourself and going for ya goals. Nothing is impossible if you put your mind & your soul to it…. we are committed… full on.

Many (ignorant) people would expect all the best stuff to come from London but you guys really killed that myth by bringing the best ish from a place called Wolverhampton. Can you tell us what that place is like, what kind of place is it. Did you all grow up there?

In all fairness there a lot of good MC's from London but you never get to hear them because they get overshadowed by the 'flavour of the month MC's'. I mean there is talent like PQ, Valu and Thee Absent from Cafe Recordings, B Sharp, Daddy Ash and Da Essence that are on point and raw. Nuff skills – believe. What London brings is the advantages of being at the heart of where it all happens but the disadvantages are that you can easily get caught into a world where the 'Big Smoke' becomes the be all and end all! We like London don't get us wrong, but the artists from there do control 90% of the limited time that hip-hop gets played. But like how NWA rose from the West and Geto Boys did with the South, things can be achieved. We look at our market more as world-wide because of the style of music we make. It's universal. 

Wolverhampton got a made a city a few years ago but has always been a big town with a vibrant scene. We grew up there and have come up thru DJ'ing so we have been active in the town since 1989! We have some good pirate radio stations like Skyline FM, Frontline and such like, but the main lick is the newly opened "Profyle Urban Clothing" on Skinner Street! It sells all the clothes we all wear and stocks UK hip-hop CD's and mixed CD's from the UK and the States, as well as DVD's and videos. Their e-mail address is info@profyle.co.uk and their website is www.profyle.co.uk and their telephone number is +44 (0) 1902 311 321. Peeps should in touch and send them shit. They want stickers, snippet tapes, posters, flyers and promotional stuff that has got anything to do with hip-hop and rap music. Their address is Profyle Urban Clothing, 2 Skinner Street, Wolverhampton, WV1 4LD, England.

It's got some good DJ's too like Amo & Bluey, Springa, DJ Bullet, Shakka Tee, Miles Tumbo, Redz, DJ Maxx, One Step, Frikshun, Next Level and Soul Cartel. Yeah man Wolves is a good place to live but it's just full of trendy winebars y'know?!! The police are a little on top too, it's getting hot up in here but all good still! It's got it's fair share of problem's but then most cities in the UK have. Wolverhampton (which Wolftown is slang for) is a 30 minute drive to the second city Birmingham and a two hour drive to the capital London. It's in the county of the West Midlands in the heart of England, but it aint no country-side – believe. Big up all the Wolverhampton man doing their thing and respects for the support from all da people! We representing the WV1, the 01902 to the fullest. 

Some of the beats are very downsouth/bay area'ish. In terms of the production where does the influence come from?

Our production style is worldwide. That's because we listen to hip-hop from all over the world. A lot of the beats on the 'Legendary Status' album are actually inspired by the MC. We try and work with the rappers more and get a vibe off them. We done wid sampling riffs off old jazz and funk artists, we wanna play our own shit and have people sampling us in 10 years time! We got our methods and our way of doing things. We like our stuff to be mixed down properly and sound tight ya know. No dibby bullshit biznizz on Wolftown Recordings – just the cream! 

I must say that your artwork on your albums is dope, were you the first to take the formula made famous by Master P/Suave House etc and take to the UK market?

Most definitely. We brought that to the UK. Others since have had a go, but no one has that clarity that we bring! LATE has always been into that Pen & Pixel style design since the Geto Boys days, and wanted to do that vibe with his own idea's morphed in. It's a take on that style, no someone who has just 'taken' that style! 

You guys have quite a large crew, how do you manage all those artists, is it the kind of job that brings a lot of stress?

Yeah it's stressful, but it's kinda cool because we all roll with each other anyway. Everybody has got there heads down at the moment writing new material and getting ready for some UK gigs we got coming up. The only stress is that we cant record quick enough as the MC's are full of idea's, as are the producers!! It's what we do man, we live for Wolftown so its all good. 

Probably one of my favourite magazines, Murder Dog, had an interview with you guys, how did that all happen and secondly what's it like for that to have happened?

We had a copy sent over to England by an associate in San Francisco around 1996/7 and have been hooked ever since. We started sending music to the magazine when we released the music on CD and vinyl. They have a couple of writers in the UK and after we sent the 'Legendary Status' album they arranged for their UK journalists to hook up with us a do a feature. We gotta give maximum respect to Reemington steel & Fourth Boy for all the love in the articles! We thought we might get a page but when the UK special dropped we had 2 pages on Villains and 2 pages on Vicious Circle and then turned the page to see another 2 pages on the actual label! This is such a personal achievement, and to have the full page advert rocking in the magazine next to The Outlawz was real big for us too. It feels good to have achieved one of our life-time ambitions. Murder Dog is the bomb, period. It's not patronising to the acts in the label. We really want to get Wolftown Recordings distributed in the South because we love the attitude of the DJ's, Magazines, Rappers, Producers and Radio headz out there. Big up Murder Dog for the love and major props to Black Dog Bone & Matt Murder Dog. 

I heard Mr DOG and Bullet is on a track on an album coming out on your label. How did that all happen?

We hooked up with D.O.G and Bullet through our publication 'Rago Magazine' last year. They are both really talented artists, who like us are pushing their music on an independent level. We are really feeling the music on their labels, and a collaboration naturally happened as we networked. The track is called 'Open Mic Session' (The International Remix)', which also features other underground acts from all over the world. The track is the last track on LATE's forthcoming "International Rhyme Spittin" which drops summer 2003. 

In terms of underground artists, who you feeling right now?

Every single artist that has featured (or is going to feature) in RAGO Magazine and Murder Dog Magazine!!! Too many too mention we listen to all styles, all countries – we love all hip-hop.. we don't hate. To hear the acts we are feeling you can always check the AUDIO page on our website and listen to some our live DJ mixes www.wolftown.co.uk 

Which in your opinion is C-Bo's best album?

"Enemy Of The State" becuase that album took balls. Respects.

What do you guys do to relax?

Smoke, fuck, drink, listen to music… then write RAGO Magazine, make a beat, voice a tune or update the website! Don't get that much time to chill, on this shit 24 hours, 7 days a week, 365 days a year!!!

In terms of touring what areas are you hitting up?

We are getting a tour together for the UK at the moment for around April/May time. It's hard at the moment because there is not that many venues, but things are looking up. We got things bubbling down in Cambridge, Liverpool, Newcastle, Oxford and London. We are working on it man. It's tough. Any booking agents out there who wanna hook us up for international gigs should get in touch at info@wolftown.co.uk – make us come to your town and get live!!! 

Tell us a bit about Rago magazine, coz you sent me a copy and that's the shit I love. I mean I'd rather read Rago, Murder Dog and all that instead of reading the bullshit Source magazine. If people want to get Rago for themselves and they e.g. live in Afghanistan what would they need to do to get a copy?

The idea for the magazine was in place at the same time as the label back in 1996. It changed from a 'glorified flyer' into an A5 Magazine because we wanted to promote the music on our label and the independent world-wide magazine. LATE was the hip-hop editor at a magazine called Breakin Point Magazine and TRICKSTA was the hip-hop reviewer for Mixmag Update magazine, as well as us having radio shows on local pirate stations and doing the club circuit so we where getting sent a hell a lot of music. Some of the good independent stuff was NOT getting ANY press at all in the UK so we thought fuck this, and started the magazine. We give love to all the up & coming cats as well as peeps out there doing their thing. RAGO Magazine is Wolftown Recordings using their resources and energy to give back to the scene.

READ PART TWO HERE

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