Brighton hip-hop duo Rizzle Kicks will arrive in Australia later this month to play Parklife around the country. We caught up with the pair to discuss their music, the tour and much more…
Your debut album Stereo Typical was released last year. Since then you’ve played numerous festivals and gigs across your native UK and released a couple of top singles including the catchy tune ‘Down With The Trumpets’. How did you get from making mix-tapes in your bedroom to where you are now?
We put ‘Down With the Trumpets’ up on youtube and it went from there. We had management, were lucky enough to choose the right label and formed a team around us. We then set about making the record we wanted to make and happily the public embraced us. With the internet things can move really quickly nowadays.
To anyone who hasn’t heard your music, how would you describe it?
Vibes and charisma. We love golden age hip hop (De La Soul, A Tribe Called Quest….) there is also a British wit to what we do.
A lot of your lyrics seem to be about dreaming big, having fun, being young and everything else that entails. Do you write about yourselves?
On our second album we have found ourselves writing a lot more about girls actually!
Norman Cook aka Fatboy Slim produced your single ‘Mama Do The Hump’. What was it like working with him?
An absolute dream come true, he a total legend! We grew up in Brighton and I think he has the key to the city!
Rizzle Kicks are about to play the Parklife festivals around Australia in October. What can the audience expect from your set on the day?
Hopefully a great time. We throw a lot of energy and fun into a fast paced show.
You guys are childhood friends who studied together at the Brit School (successful graduates included Adele and Amy Winehouse). You must know each other well and seem like you’d get up to some cheeky antics! What’s it like being on tour with each other?
We have a laugh! We have had our band with us for almost two years and so its 6 lads on tour; you can imagine…
You guys are still pretty young in both age and as a band in the music scene. How do you hope to develop in the future and where do you want to be in a few years?
I think as long as we are honest in our music; hopefully people will stick with us. Our next album is more mature but the Rizzle Kicks vibe is still very much there.
One of your songs ‘When I Was a Youngster’ is about what you wanted to be as a kid…so, what did you want to be (other than a musician)?
Harley wanted to be a motorcycle; the actual bike itself! Jordan was boring, he wanted to be a footballer.
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Rizzle Kicks playing Parklife 2012, visit http://www.parklife.com.au for tickets and info.
