Recently, Samiya from London had the pleasure of interviewing one of the best stars from the desi music scene, none other than the one and only 'MC Intensity.' She has done the question so I hope you like them!
|
Samiya: Well it's been a year since our last interview with you, for those out there that don't know about. How and when did you develop an interest in MC'ing? Was it a childhood ambition or did you have complete different ambitions?
Well, ever since a young age I'd always loved music. I remember being in school and scraping together my pocket money and going and trekking to town to buy the latest mainstream chart releases. An artist who heavily influenced me through his music was |
|
|
the almighty MJ - Michael Jackson. He was a complete entertainer. From a young age there was one thing I used to love doing and that was dancing, anywhere that there was an audience and MJ blasting from the speakers, Intenso used to get his groove on and love it at the same time. So I guess you could say I've loved entertaining since an early age and right up until I held a microphone in my hand I used to dance the night away and I still do sometimes so no doubt you will be seeing some of those moves in an up-coming video. As it relates to mc'ing being my childhood ambition, I can't say that it was. I wanted to be a pilot first, then I thought to myself, what else am I good. Then it hit me that I'm good at arguing. What profession can you argue the day away and never get sick of it and get paid mad dough at the same time - Law. Which is why I've got a Law degree under my belt now. Entertaining certainly was a heavy part of my life from that early age though. As I grew older and wiser and my perception to music changed where, as a teen I got hit by R'n'B and Hip-Hop - two music genres that I love, and I started listening heavily to 2 Pac (RIP). I thought it would be interesting to write my own lyrics. |
| I did that, developed my own style and as they say, the rest is history. I love mc'ing, I love singing, I love dancing and I love making music so you can see where my heart is. |
Samiya: Being Asian and in the public eye alot, do your parents ever get annoyed with your popularity and did they ever have other plans for you?
What you mean like marriage! Ha Ha. Well to tell you the truth, my parents are very cool with what I do. My dad did want me to pursue law but he is happy. There is a reason for him being happy though. Why? Well he once said to me "Puthar, once you get your degree you can do what the hell you want", which is what I'm doing. Not only this though they support me because they know I love doing what I do and they have faith in me. My mum does have one worry though and that is, in her words - "Eh kuriyan na piche lagjawan". So ladies hold it down or my mum will be after you with a juthi. Ha Ha. But seriously, as with anything, they want to see results though and they are getting a little more than they bargained for.
Samiya: Which bhangra or any other artist do you admire most and would consider collaborating with?
As it relates to the mainstream, I am looking forward to working with Romeo and some of the So Solid Crew as well as my bredrin MC Viper. Romeo has done really well as a solo artist and that should be a very enjoyable collaboration for myself cos I've known him for a very long time. There are alot of people I admire in the bhangra scene. Bally Sagoo and Taz, just to name a few. Rishi Rich is a huge talent and he has developed himself so much as a producer that he is working alongside talents like Mis-Teeq. There are alot of artists that have expressed an interest in working with me and with whom I will be working with in the near future such as Sahara and Taz himself also.
Samiya: Why do you think this is? I mean a year or two ago there were only three Mc's in the bhangra scene - Metz, Trix and you. Nowadays it seems as though every time you turn on the TV there's another MC on Zee Music that you've never seen before. What separates "Intenso" from the rest and do you think this is good or bad?
| Well, it can be good but it can also be very bad. Yeah there was only me, Metz and Trix that started out in the Asian scene originally and I think that says it all. |
|
You have never heard of Taz featuring other known MC's in the scene on his music but yet he expressed an interest in me, not to say I'm the best MC there is out there, there is always going to be someone better than you. What separates me from the rest? You sort of answered your own question by calling me "Intenso". There is no "MC" in the name "Intenso" - why? Because I'm not just an MC, I'm an entertainer, a complete entertainer and it's possible that, that is what people see in me. As long as you are good at what you do no one can hold you down, and not to mention any names - eh yo, some MC's just ruin it for everyone and when seeing these people on TV you end up thinking is that guy on something or what. I'm sure there were alot of people, guys especially, that thought that about me when they heard Akhiyan for the first time. What these "critics" if you wanna call them that, (I call them "Haterz"), fail to realize and understand is that sometimes there can be songs that are appealing to the opposite sex - like Akhiyan and then some that appeal to the guys - like "Soni Soni Kuri Kuri" where the |
|
| guys are talking about what the guys love best and that's the girls. Akhiyan was a very slow song and I feel I adapted myself to it although there were alot of people that said I can't MC - well for all you people out there that think that, you are entitled to your opinion and I am not gonna try and change it for you but I will let my music do the talking. |
Samiya: You have been referred to as a ladies MC and bhangra's version of LL Cool J. If luckily enough you are single (are you?), what do you look for in a lady, and who would be your ideal woman?
Ha Ha. I try and avoid questions like that usually. Being compared to LL is definitely a compliment; he is a legend within the Hip-Hop industry. When it comes to the ladies, I'm always searching for Miss Intenso. Hmmm let's see, my ideal woman eh? Well as it relates to personality, she needs to be kind, loving, generous and understand me, which is quite hard cos I know I'm not easy to understand. As for looks, a girls eyes and the way her hair looks is important to me. I like girls who take pride in them and have a goal in life. They need to know what the game of life is all about and most importantly know how to play it. As for my ideal woman as it relates to looks, the names Salma Hayek and Carmen Electra spring to mind. But I do love the girls and I think they all know that. I'm definitely a ladies MC as you put it but i know what the guys are all about and when da mandem want me to get deep, dark and underground, I think they all know there's much more to me than luvvy duvvy lyrics and by god's grace my appeal as an entertainer will become universal.
|
Samiya: What is the most funniest and worst rumour that you have heard about yourself?
Once, my cousin told me that when he was on the Internet and was talking on some message board, someone sparked a conversation about me and all hell broke loose. |
|
|
Playa Haterz crawled out of the woodwork. Apparently someone had said that Metz, Trix and myself had played at some gig and gone back to back with MC's Viper, B-Live & CKP, we had apparently been demolished by them in a "lyrical sound clash" and then when we came off stage we got battered by some Asian boys. When I got told that I never laughed so hard in my life. I thought it was amazing what some people would say to get noticed. CKP and B-live are probably the only two UK Garage MC's that I've never played with, although I've gone B2B with Viper on many occasions and on top of that, the last time |
| that Metz, Trix and myself had played together, other than on radio about a month ago, was last year at Eros in London. Other than that I hear loads of rumours about girls phoning me and talking to me, just the usual stuff. |
Samiya: Saying that then, what would you say "annoys" you the most as it relates to the industry as a whole, whether its to do with the industry directly or elements surrounding it?
As it relates to the industry directly, one thing that really gets to me is the "politics". To be perfectly honest, cos I usually am, there is absolutely no unity in the Asian music scene. There's so much backstabbing and conflicts that it hinders the progress of Bhangra becoming a universally recognized mainstream sound. Take a look at the Hip-Hop game for example. There are so many record labels making money and working together producing top quality songs that has led to modern America having to accept Black music as an integral part of their society now. With bhangra, it's our own people that are stopping the music from evolving. With certain record labels imposing their authority in the scene and not letting truly talented artists come to the forefront and instead concentrating on making money first. When you talk about elements surrounding the scene, one thing that I believe will never stop and something that I think is out of order is a thing called "Hating". There is a track on my album that I have produced dedicated solely to those "Internet Marks" & "Playa Hating Pu****es. It's called "Nafrat" - which I'm pretty sure all the fans out there know what it means. It goes back to your rumour question. I know there are people voicing their critical opinions and they are entitled to them, but trying to entertain people and giving everyone what they want from music is not easy. It's even harder when you slave away to produce something that will appeal to everyone and get kicked in the teeth by these envious and jealous people. It's all good though because those who are true to the game and come with a "saaf dil" understand and know the script.
|
Samiya: That was certainly truthful to say the least. Moving on to what makes you as an artist - your performances. Do you enjoy performing everywhere, or do you have a specific favourite venue where you just cherish the atmosphere?
Before I really hit the bhangra scene, I was heavily involved with UK Garage like i said in last year's interview. I had a residency at the top UKG club in Manchester every Friday. The sound system in that club totalled over 65K, which as you can imagine was unbelievable. When it comes to performances, I love performing at all the melas. The situation with mele is that they are very professionally put together most of the time, which leads to alot of expenditure on the promotional aspect of it. This leads to PA systems & sound systems being top-notch and usually of the best quality for a live performance. This is not the case with clubs up and down the UK, so from a performing viewpoint I definitely prefer the concert-enhanced mela performances. I was up and down the UK this summer at alot of the mele. The one that really stands out in my mind came a bit unexpectedly. It was a Sunday and I had left Manchester to go to perform at Slough Mela in London with Bobby. It was my first mela in London |
|
so I was looking forward to it. We performed mid-afternoon and got a great response from the London crew. As soon as we came off stage I got a phone call from DJ Fritz who was organizing the Manchester Mela where we had performed the day before. He said there were over 30,000 people in attendance waiting for Stereo Nation who was performing at 7:30 pm and that he wanted us to play a warm up set before they went on. We blazed it back to Manchester just in time but the best was yet to come. We drove into the park and parked at the back of the stage area. When I stepped out of the car, my back was towards the crowd. I'd been in the car for around 3 hours so I was stretching when I heard a deafening roar from the crowd. I thought Taz had turned up and when I turned around the whole of the crowd was going mental; it took me a few minutes to realize that they were actually going mental because I had turned up. With Manchester being my hometown, it felt great to get such a wicked response. It shocked me because it wasn't a crowd of a few thousand like the other mele or a few hundred like in clubs, there were |
|
| 30,000 people there including alot of my immediate family. It turned out in the end that i actually got a bigger response than Mr Stereo Nation himself - Taz - he only felt it right to come over and introduce himself to me and not the other way round because frankly I think he was surprised too. All in all it was a memorable day because of the ovation i got from the crowd, the atmosphere was just electrifying and it just pumped adrenaline through my veins and I felt my performance was wicked. The crowd certainly seemed to enjoy it. |
| |
|
Samiya: The singles you have contributed to become top ten successes with the "Soni Soni Kuri Kuri" track off the original Danger album going to no.1 in the singles charts all over the UK. We believe you are featured on Legacy's new album but do you intend to just continue to feature on other albums or can us MC Intensity fans expect a spectacular a sensational solo chart-topping album from yourself in the near future?
As people know, I am very closely associated with certain parties within the bhangra industry who I will continue to work with for as long as I feel I can. As it relates to featuring on other songs, that will never stop, because that is an integral part of music. The Legacy song is produced by Surinder "The Lick" Rattan and I believe it is |
|
|
called "Soni Lagdi". It will be released as part of their new album and I believe the top dogs over at Moviebox are close to deciding on whether to make a video for the song or not, so watch out for that one. Bobby(left) is releasing his debut album - "Inspiration" under the Supreme Dream Records Label quite soon and I am featured on there. His album is completely original with songs that can only be described as "beautiful" on there. Surinder is also releasing The Lick 2 towards the end of the year and I'm featured on there also. I am also going to be collaborating with Sahara for a tune on their next album which should released early next year plus I am going to be working alongside Tarli Digital in a song on his follow-up solo album which is gonna be called TD:2. So I guess you better watch |
| out for all that. As it relates to my own projects, I will be releasing my debut solo album next year entitled "Heartbreaka". It will be a unique and awesome blend of music and something that I believe will surprise alot of people out there. I think people are starting to forget that this is the "BHANGRA" industry, not the bhangra and garage industry. Personally I believe, I know it's weird cos I'm an MC, but there's too much fusion of bhangra and garage nowadays. The desi touch has been lost and you cannot kill the roots of something because everything that grows from there will die too. What I'm trying to prove to people is that, as an artist, the label of "MC" is too narrow. I have expanded my talent and without giving too much away, "Heartbreaka" will shock and rock you. As in relate to my album no expense has been spared, the level of bhangra videos nowadays is quite appalling. This is the reason why the video for the main track of my album will be shot in Mauritius this coming December, and it will be featuring Bobby. So watch out for that one, cuz the aim of it will be to take bhangra to a level, which it hasn't seen before. |
Samiya: Well you heard it here first people - "Heartbreaka" the debut album from MC Intensity, coming soon, but Intenso tell the fans whether there is any kind of message you want your album or music, perhaps through your lyrics, as a whole to portray?
One message that I really feel is important to portray is fun. Life is too short to think about hardships and stress in your life. Although it's hard not to think about those things, I want my music to captivate people's imagination and take their minds to a place where they want to be, where they can forget about life's pressures and enjoy the little time they have got. For example, everyone knows MC Metz does not drive a Lamborghini Diablo. Everyone knows I don't drive a Ferrari. But that is the whole fun aspect of this type of music. Everyone is happier when they fantasise, whether it's to be rich and famous with fast cars and big houses or whether it's to be with beautiful women or the best looking guys - it's all about feeling that sense of happiness. I still try and preach the fact that money does not buy happiness. You have to work for everything. Put your mind to it and you can be living whatever lifestyle you choose because money may not buy happiness but it gives you alot more choices in life, choices that let you live in whichever way you want to live.
Some people don't understand this and believe that in order for you to be a good MC or a wicked entertainer you need to chat about life on the streets, how it's all thugged out and all that. Well I'll tell you this, you are right, it's all good to chat about that but we don't need reminding how fu***d up the world is. We need to talk about how we can make things better and push things forward. That does not mean that this is the only message. My album will prove to people how diverse my style is. How religion is important in my life. There is alot of tension amongst Muslims, Sikhs & Hindus in certain areas of the UK nowadays and we need to stop all this drama. Bobby is singing a track on the album 'Sweet & Sexy' which will be on the 'Metro' label and is going to be called "Ludhiana," it's a similar mix to Kasanova's song and it features myself. When you hear that you will know what I mean just by the way I greet people with my first verse. And of course, there's always going to be the topic of ladies. Whether it is about love or whether it's about feelings. This kind of message will be portrayed in a similar way to songs such as, and one of my favourites right now, P. Daddy featuring Ginuwine & Loon - I need a girl - Part 1. Education is always the best way too. If i did not have my law degree I would have no security
Samiya: Well there certainly seems to be a variety of content there, which leads me to my next question. How would you feel if your album got into the mainstream album charts? No doubt it would be a definite boost to bhangra itself and open more doors for Asians. You only need to look at Addictive by Truth Hurts to prove what I'm saying.
It would definitely pave the way for bhangra to make a huge impact in the mainstream. Personally, I am very proud of my heritage and I want to make an impact within the bhangra industry before I hit the mainstream because that is my ultimate goal. The problems that I referred to earlier show that the Asian industry cannot compete with other mainstream music genres until people begin to act professionally. Saying that, it is very possible that if I produced the "right sound" in an important person's eyes who is part of the mainstream in a big way, that is all it would take. But like I said people really need to get their act together and push the level and standard of what is seen as "acceptable production" higher and just attempt to make sh**- hot tunes. I believe Surinder Rattan is a good example of this. He takes his time with his production and is somewhat of a perfectionist, which is the reason all of his tracks have been killer hits. You just have to strive to do the best you can and try and learn more and more each day. This is the only way you can open the doors for yourself as well as paving the way for others.
Samiya: Well it certainly will be interesting to see what you can offer us avid fans. We wish you the best of luck with everything and hopefully we can sit down the same time next year and see how your career has developed from this point on. Is there a final message you would like to leave for your legion of fans?
Patience is a virtue. All good things come to those who wait - so get ready, by god's grace we can take this s*** to a higher level. Peace and Nuff Love. X
Thats concludes the interview, but if you would like to contact MC Intesity personally or for booking him for an event then you can do by e-mailing him at mcintenso@hotmail.com NOW! So what are you waiting for? |
