Last week Bloc2Bloc caught up with the Manchester Hip Hop collective the 'Free Wize Men' at the studio to talk shows, future releases and chocolate bars.
Known for their musical and homegrown sound, the trio have been making some serious movements since their Room 2 Records debut release the 'Free Wizdom EP'. Members Blind Mic, Afro Sam and Kay Bey have made a big impression on the Manchester scene and beyond and their latest party jam 'Is Ya With Me?' has raised levels even higher.
How did the 'Free Wize Men' form as a music collective?
Kay Bey: Through School... well jumping out of school, I met Mike through my cousin Bysshe
Blind Mic: Yeah Shout out to Bysshe! I met Kiva when he was drinking Disaronno with an Innocent smoothie haha
KB: That was raw that.
BM: Musically though it was through spitting bars in the park
KB: Just had similar interests and that, Mike didn't go our school but obviously through smoking and that being on the park and being the only people spitting bars or spitting about similar things.....
Afro Sam: If we seen eachother like maybe once or twice every week or so we'd be like 'yo check what new bar I've got' and 'oh nah nah listen this, check what i've done'
BM: It was alot more competitive back then than now 'cos we had nothing to prove to anyone. So if it was among the three of us then we'd always be trying to write something new.
How would you describe your sound?
BM: Everchanging.
KB: Well the current stuff out there is quite boom-bap but yeah it is changing
What direction are you moving towards?
KB: It's more up-beat
BM: Yeah party stuff but I wouldn't say it was all going in one particular direction...
AS: We all have an individual sound
BM : Yeah so I think with each tune we do one of our sounds will come across more. I think we're changing one tune at a time at the moment.
Congrats on your new release 'Is Ya With Me?' you've previously said "It's our message to the scene that we're here and we're doing things differently". Can you expand on that, what is this new approach?
AS: It's like I said, as we all have our own indiviudal sound and we're not just MCs init because we produce aswell and we bring that to our music so there's no way you've gonna have heard our sound before. We're all skilled in our own ways.
BM: I'm approaching the production more organically. I'm sitting down playing the guitar and then structuring a whole song around that just making music. We've been writing without trying to fit a certain genre. It's not about trying be a rapper, or a producer or anything just whatever is working at the time then that's what you do.
So what's been going on in 2015 for you guys?
AS: It's been a pretty slow grind this year, next year is the one man.
BM: Yeah but I guess when you look back though to NYE we have done some pretty cool stuff like
KB: We've been working alot not necessarily putting it out but we've been working on what we've got and the support and love from the last video has shown me that it's deffo paying off
BM:Yeah there are ties that have been built this year from us working with other people and we may not have released much as a crew but we've been doing plenty of shows. Also we've all been working on stuff for ourselves so that when we've boxed off our own sounds and we do come together on a project it will sound a hell of a lot stronger than the last one.
FreeWize Men have been getting some big support gigs, who have you been playing alongside?
AS: KRS ONE!
BM: Me and Kiva (KB) played in the dam supporting The Bluntskins
KB: The Mouse Outfit .....Levelz....
Are you happy to continue supporting or will you be looking to headline more often in 2016?
BM: Whenever it comes to playing for a crowd I'm down. We've had a lot of fun supporting in the past but ideally we do want to be building our own name to do shows off and that's only gonna come through releases and videos rather than support slots.
What releases should we be expecting? Either solo or as a collective
BM: Bare Noise have released our 'Is Ya With Me?' single and I have a project coming out with them myself with RedEye Hifi and Ellipsis called 'Black Lagoon' which should feature these two a little. That release has like a strong jazz, funk, live element played by a band with different MCs and singers featuring. Thats out in March. I've just recorded with Sparkz on a Kydro beat and I've got a video with Dubbul O out on Room 2.
AS: Other than my Official Rogue EP which should be out ASAP I'm only waiting on 2 mixdowns I'm also working on a grime EP it's still untitled but the concept is that I'm trying to make the whole thing out of stock sounds on Reason take it back to 2005 and get some guys to shell off on it basically. That's where you see these different elements
Yeah Jazzy, Grimey...
AS: Then Kiva is like the Dub
Until now Lyricalligraphy aka MC Jon had been chillin up but he takes a sec to declare Kay Bey a 'Dub Raver Ancient Ghandi - the oldest in the group soul and soundwise'
KB: Rather than writing solo stuff I've been hosting at a lot of nights in Manchester and did a couple festivals like Beat-Herder & Gottwood over the summer. Next year I'm booked to be at Boomtown with RedEye Hifi too.
Who or what are your big current influences?
AS: 2005.
BM: Haitus kayote
Are there any particular producers you want to work with?
BM: We get a lot of support from the scene and that it will happen organically, if people wanna work then we're ready to work with.
So what is your process when you are approaching your projects?
KB: Sometimes it can just happen through jammin' because theres a little crew of us who get together
BM: Yeah me and Key have written a couple of songs that aren't necessarily rap tunes but are definitely proper pieces of music and yeah that comes from getting the guitars and the bongos and working alongside Mayo and Ollie. (Big shout out to them)
AS: I think though with the stuff that we've put out so far it's normally one persons initial spark which is then built on.
BM: Definitely, that's why our songs keep sounding different 'cos it comes from one person. We very rarely sit down and be like 'c'mon guys lets make a song today!'
AS: 'C'mon let's talk about social injustice we need to solve this!'
BM: 'Let's write about girls mayneee'
I wanted to ask you inparticular Mic about a track called 'People' ft Black Josh off your earlier release 'Blue Morning' which sounds like you felt a sense of injustice regarding promotors and the fact you are a young collective, do you feel the same or are things different now?
BM: I dunno, I think think maybe there's an element of self-entitlement there. We kind of came on the scene quite young and you're about alot of people you look at and you think wow, you're doing it properly.. making x amount of money on the weekends and living in your own place just doing music but that comes from years y'know and maybe that wasn't something I fully appreciated when I wrote that. BUT there's still been instances where...
AS: Promotors have been wet guys! So we need to be able to save our own P put on our own shows. All about independance really.
BM: But yeah the theme of the song was injustice really and when i wrote it that was just one of the situtations that came to mind.
Anyone you'd like to collaborate with? Any plans to branch from Manchester scene?
KB: Nah, now I'm sorry but Manchester is the best really
BM: I don't ever wanna leave for any reason...at all.
AS: These man can stay here I'm going Korea to make Trap init.
KB: I do really wanna make a tune with Ape Cult though, Lyricalligraphy especially....
AS: hahaa 'man's sat here yano but nah not him I'm set to get that MC Jon
BM: We'd deffo like to get it in Europe more. Tunes that are more musical rather than just bars cos it doesn't always translate
KB: That's another thing me and Mic have been talking about making some instrumental Eps.....
Anyone else you'd like to shout out?
BM: Everyone that's ever played my tune
KB: Or shared it. All of Manchester basically, the Levelz lot, DRS everyone!
BM: Everyone who is backin it!
And to finish... Favourite Chocolate bar?
BM: Mate! Them Marvellous Creation with the popping Candy
AS: I go hard yo I'm about that solid block of chocolate. A Yorkie yo.
BM: They had a genius marketing technique........
@FreeWize
@BlindMick
@AfroSamMCR
@KivaHulme
Artwork : Pete Obsolete
Blogger: @CJHamand
Blogger: @CJHamand
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