LHHS

For those who don’t know, Tricksta (based in Wolverhampton AKA Wolftown) is one of the hardest working men in UK Hip-Hop with a strong independent ethos manifested through various projects, including the UK Runnings mixtape series and a regular show on HHB Radio Dot Com. I linked with him via e-mail and dropped a few questions in his direction so sit back, enjoy and gape in amazement as to what this guy fits into his sixteen-hour working day…

Hi Tricksta, how’s it going?
Busy as normal!  2007 has been the year the international Hip-Hop community titled me Mr. Never Sleep! Yeah man, so damn busy! Apart from that I’m loving life, and loving the Hip-Hop scene at the moment.
 

First off, can you tell us about Wolftown Committee -  how it started, what the idea behind it was and give us a quick run-down of the members of the crew?
Wolftown Committee was an album that LATE put together with all the original members of Wolftown Recordings back in 2001. The full line up for the Committee was LATE, Conman, 10Shott, Jai Boo, Size8, Big Wayne, High Timez, Lee Dee with Tricksta and Pez on the beats, and DJ Amo on the cutz. The Committee album was a one-off label project, and as a group all the members are now carving solo careers. We are doing a double album called ‘Metaphors & Verbs’ by Wolftown, which features fifty tracks from Wolftown UK artists, so Committee fans should def peep for that! 
 

Okay… now the scene in Wolverhampton and the Midlands in general, how do you think it compares to the rest of the country? 
Well club-wise Wolves unfortunately isn’t saying much due to the current violence & gun thing that always seems to pop-up everytime there’s a night. There’s a few R’n’B nights, but Hip-Hop wise it is kinda dead, although the Custard Factory in Brum have some good nights and good acts on. Radio-wise there’s some killer shows by peeps like Springa, Jamie Dred and DJ Silk on various Midlands based stations. I think Wolves is a cool place to be, a lot of talent. 
 

What stands out about the scene there and are there any other artists from the area who we ought to know about?
Well yeah man, there’s a few cats doing there thing now in Wolves which is cool. We put the city on the map back in 1999 when we released the Villains album, and now pretty much everyone is rappin! I think Wolftown Recordings showed a lot of people that Wolverhampton talent can bust through internationally. We had our fair share of haters, but for every hater there’s at least 20 people who love what we do. There is a great sense of togetherness with the artists we work with. 
The other thing you’re widely known for is the UK Runnings Mix CD series… how long have you been doing them?
I started UK Runnings back in 2001. I wanted to give something back to UK Hip-Hop as I have been into it from the first wave – Hijack, Duke, Demon Boyz, Einstein, Derek B etc. Since then I have released around 10 tapes, and are just about to launch www.ukrunnings.co.uk. Peep www.myspace.com/ukrunnings too! 
 

I know Supar Novar has been involved with UK Runnings, having also historically had links with Mud Fam.  How did the link-up happen?
I’d been a fan of Nova’s music for some time, and when I told him I was starting ‘Homegrown Heroes’, an artist based series he was more than happy to step-up and do it. I am also doing a mix with Conspicuous The Coroner, as well as being in talks with Skinnyman and Kyza.
 

Another thing I noticed was that (Wolftown/ UK Runnings MC) LATE has been linking with some US heads such as Chamillionaire.  Want to tell us a bit more about that?
Ha ha! You dun kno! LATE is like a marketing genius. I swear man, when I went to Houston with him last year I really saw how connected that cat is! We went to a club and like almost every rapper in there kept coming up to him! LATE is known overseas man, but that’s coz of his hard-work ethic. LATE started making music with overseas rappers back in 2002 when he started writing his ‘International Rhyme Spittin EP’. Since then he has done some big things featuring over 50 American releases. He is currently writing his new album which will be distributed in over 10 countries including America. 

I think now’s a good moment to mention HHBRadio as the show you do there goes out under the “UK Runnings” name.  What’s your experience of working with the lads there (Lunatrix and Vokal)?
Lunatrix and Vokal are some of the realest people in the UK game at the moment! Their whole vibe and ethic is kinda similar to mine and I really rate those peeps in business and on a personal level. I do a show on there every Thursday 8-9pm and also use OYM Media, their new video company for all visuals. They are chopping up the ‘Wreckless In Texas’ DVD at the moment, as well as scripting some videos for Wolftown artists.
Their label OYM Records is tight too – u heard that ‘UK State Of Mind CD’ yet? Ouch – it’s a killer!  Lunatrix has really got his shit together and I guarantee within a year that label will be doing some BIG things. I have actually hooked up with Lunatrix and we doing a HHRadio.Com & UK Runnings CD entitled ‘Flying The Flag’ which will be a double CD featuring 50 UK Hip-Hop anthems. 
 
 
You also run a PR company called Park Street PR.  Who do you currently represent?  
Previously I have worked with acts such as 2Pac, Akon, Chamillionaire, Papoose, Red Cafe, Layzie Bone/ Mo Thugs Records, Dino West (No Limit), DJ Vlad, Geolani, Trae (ABN), St. Laz, Big Skeem, K-Rino (SPC), The Jacka and many more.
I’m handling forthcoming projects by 40Glocc (G-Unit), Lil Flip,  J Hood (D’Block), Devin The Dude, Freeway, Synplife 354, Saigon, Sha Stimuli, Grandaddy Souf and many more.
On the UK side of things I have worked with OYM Records, Wolftown Recordings, Geebag, OC Jigga, UK Runnings, TheUrbanShop.Co.Uk, HHBRadio.Com, Alex Blood, Baby J, Supar Novar, Conspicuous and many more. 

Do you ever find that there’s a conflict of interest in terms of writing about artists in Rago Magazine that you also represent through Park Street PR?
Not really. Rago Magazine interviews everyone who is doing things, positive things in Hip-Hop music. Park Street is my company and so is Rago, so it’s obvious I am going to put interviews on Rago! Plus a lot of the people I work with I think are people that Hip-Hop fans would like to read about. 
 

So all in all a lot of different avenues you’re pursuing there… how do you deal with the conflicting demands on your time? 
I am a busy man! I work at least 16-18 hours a day just to try and make ends meet. I have a 4 year daughter too. It’s hard but I am used to hard work, I’m a Midlands boy, Wolverhampton born and bred! We work hard up here, it’s just how we do it man.
I normally collapse on a Sunday and sleep all day or eat bacon sandwiches watching Hollyoaks with the missus!!!!

Tricksta’s Hip-Hop CV:
Co-CEO of Wolftown Recordings with LATE – www.wolftownrecordings.com

Co-Editor of Rago Magazine with LATE – www.ragomagazine.com & www.myspace.com/parkstreetpr

CEO of UK Runnings Mixtapes – www.myspace.com/ukrunnings & www.ukrunings.co.uk

Wolftown Producer, Engineer, Mixtape DJ & occasional MC  www.myspace.com/trickstawolftown

Director of Park Street PR – www.myspace.com/parkstreetpr

Radio DJ on Hip-Hop Basement every Thursday 8-9pm – www.hhbradio.com

Mixtape DJ for Team AFFicial USA – www.myspace.com/teamafficial

Member of SPC UK – www.myspace.com/spcukwolftown

Interview by Analogue - 

www.straightoutleodis.blogspot.com

 [tags] Analogue, Tricksta, interview, hip hop, interviews, wolftown, uk runnings [/tags]

Some Other Posts You May Enjoy:

1. DJ Tricksta – UK Runnings The National Anthems Mixtape Part 2
2. How’s life in…Wolverhampton? LATE Interview