C-mone Interview

C-Mone spent 4 years in Nottingham's infamous OutDaVille crew alongside the likes of Lee Ramsay, Scorzayzee, Tempa, DJ Fever and many talented others. They eventually split in 2001 to pursue different musical directions.  

Since then, C-mone's excursion into solo femcee land has probably been the most successful of all her former bandmates. The release of her debut EP last year, might have been low profile, but it was heard in the right places and prompted a certain Mr Mike Skinner to call and ask her to feature on his next album.

Her appearance on The Streets' A Grand Don't Come For Free is brief but could be enough to push her into the realms of musical success that elude so many Nottingham musicians. I met C-mone in Big Trev's studios, just off Carlton Road after rehearsals. She was relaxed, but also lively and clearly excited by her music.

You still living in Notts?

Yeah of course. I'm still living here and working away at the community recording studios. It's still all about Nottingham. I don't see why I should move!!"

You've been recording lots of new stuff recently I hear?

"This is a bit of an exclusive for LeftLion, but there's going to be an album come out next year. It's going out on Son Records and it's going to drop sometime between February and April. I'm really excited! I got the chance to work with the P Brothers and Nick Stez (my producer from the OutDaVille days. There's also a couple of other collaborations on there that will surprise people."

Is that collaborations with Notts people or bigger national names?

"Both. Watch this space..."

Tell us a bit about the old days with OutDaVille...

"The most memorable thing for me was the beginning. I was sat there in the studio writing a rap and Big Trev called a meeting about the group he was putting together. He nudged me and told me I was in the group. That was my initiation, no warning or nothing.  I just fell into Big Trev's masterplan."

"I spent years with OutDaVille running up and down the country like a madwoman. It was a great learning experience. There were good points and there were bad points, but I've got a lot of good memories."

"When we recorded the first tunes we were so broke. There were no grants coming into the Community centre at that time at all. We had this battered Atari computer and Nick (Stez) was sampling on a broken Technics deck and we were in a shack because the studio had been flooded. I remember helping Trev to unplug all the equipment, with water everywhere. I could have got fried...it was properly messy!"

That carnage seems a long way from your success these days. How did you hook up with Mike Skinner?

"He heard my debut EP release on Son records and liked my accent, so I got called by his people to do a verse. Sometimes labels call you up and end up using your verse on a remix, so I thought I'd go down, make a little bit of money and that'd be it."

"When I got there I walked in the studio and Mike was sat there. His laptop was in front of him, all ready to go and he just really relaxed. He was really simple and down to earth. Afterwards he caught the tube back with us and then went off about his business..."

"A few months later when I heard a copy of the album I was well happy! It's out there. I do get people coming up to me asking me questions, telling me it's at number three in the album charts and stuff. It seems surreal, but at the end of the day it is a great thing for me. I've had feedback from America and Europe and elsewhere...

If you could make a track with anyone who would you choose?

"I've been asked this before and said Prince because I think together we could make something crazy. I'd like to work with Vadim, I like Phi Life Cypher, I'd also like to work with Rapper Ru from Smokes and Bluntz in Notts. I've tried to get him in the studio a lot and he keeps saying he's going to but he's really hard to pin down. "

What are your favourite places in Notts?

"The cashpoint!! No seriously, there's a Chinese restaurant in Hockley that I really like and there's always the studio. I used to go out clubbing all the time, but now I get really bored! I still like good hiphop nights tho. I go to the Bomb every now and then and I'm looking forward to seeing The Roots play at Rock City in November."

What UK acts are you particularly feeling at the moment?

"I like what Estelle is doing. I love Dizzee Rascal. I don't care what anyone wants to say, I love him and think his music is amazing. From Notts I love Mr 45, I think he's an amazing rapper. He's a timeless emcee. I think Lee Ramsay is really underrated. He's got so much skill it's scary. There's a load of new youths out there as well."

"Check out the dark whisper label coming out in 2005. It's my own label and there are going to be lots of new artists on there such as Smiley, Matic and Paris One ( female from Radford who's done some stuff with Sweet Dreams)."

Anything else you want to say..?

"Yes. Nottingham is not a massive city, but we got a lot of talent. The support we get is good and whenever I've gigged here it's always been love. Keep it up at LeftLion! All we need now is a decent legal radio station in the city that is prepared to play the kind of music that people around here are making..."

www.c-mone.co.uk

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