17 year old Grime artist Isaiah Dreads is living a teenagers dream right now having performed at Glastonbury Festival, Been co-signed by Nicki Minaj as well as getting radio play from the best of the UK including DJ cameo, Annie Mac and MistaJam the Dorset MC has just dropped his debut mixtape ‘Nothin But A Mixtape’ ft a track produced by sought after producer Preditah, we sat down with him to find out how is enjoying his roller coaster of a musical journey.
How old were you when you first started rapping and if you can remember, what were your first lyrics about?
I was around 7 years old when I wrote my first rap. I don’t remember what it was about but I remember something about Superman being in there funnily enough!
You’re originally from Dorset. What was the music culture like where you were growing up? How did this impact on your Journey ?
it’s completely different…I grew up on loads of different kinds of music, Grime being one of them. No one in my school knew what Grime was so when I was uploading videos I think it was probably hard to understand the angle I was coming from. Now there’s a lot of people around my area appreciating Grime and Rap in general which is really good!. It affected me because I couldn’t write about growing up in somewhere like London or a city like most Grime artists…I couldn’t write about the things they were writing about which I only saw as a good thing, I had different experiences, so people can hear a different side when they hear my music.
You made a lot of headlines when Nicki Minaj saw a video of you and commented on how great you were via Social Media. What was that experience like and what impact did it have on your fanbase?
It was crazy, she called me cute and told everyone to check it out. I don’t think it really impacted my fanbase but I was still very grateful she took the time to do that. It was definitely something which gave me more drive to make more music.
What is it like being a 17 year old Music Artist that has the achievement of playing at both Bestival and Glastonbury alongside some big name acts under his belt?
It’s just really fun. I’m young and its always been my dream to give people good music and be known for making good Music so I just always enjoy everything that comes!
What has been the most rewarding venue you have performed at?
I think Glastonbury was a really rewarding performance for me as an artist. I was really unknown at that point so I didn’t have a massive crowd but it was the first proper festival I’d been to, so I got to see a load of artists I look up to perform. I learnt a lot from it and I was really inspired throughout.
What has been the most rewarding venue you have performed at?
I write all the time and when I did ‘Gimme Grime’ I was just letting out a load of lyrics I had in my head really. A lot of the bars I chose from my head were written the day before…being in the radio booth gives me so much energy, I love it. It’s different to performing on stage but I still treat it like I’m performing on stage because I feel that way I can get as much energy out as possible.
What do you do to prepare for performing on Radio platforms such as Gimme Grime with DJ Cameo and most recently For Mista Jam that is different to performing at festivals and on stage?
When I was working on the mixtape I didn’t treat it like I was working on a project, I wanted to just have fun completely with it and not overthink every little thing, because thats what I love about some of my favourite mixtapes. I wrote and recorded around 20 tracks and then me and my team narrowed it down to 10. It was a really fun thing to do and I’m currently working on the second mixtape so I can’t wait for everyone to hear that.
What Tracks on ‘Nothin’ but a Mixtape’ Standout for you as your best work?
As a piece of work I look at the mixtape as a whole but in terms of my favourite track on the mixtape it changes each time I go over it. Right now its ‘Working Hard’.
How did the collab with C4 and Preditah for ‘Foolish’ happen?
Preditah worked on a load of production at the xenomania house and one day I was flicking through beats and I heard Foolish, I instantly loved it and later down the line C4 came down to the studio to record the hook. It was a really great vibe in the process of making the song.
With people like yourself [from Dorset] and C4 [from Birmingham] and others from outside London gaining so much hype in Grime, do you think that there is a shift of focus away from the capital when it comes to Grime music?
I think when people from different areas get attention its really good. Living in a different location gives a writer different things to write about so maybe the focus on artists outside of London is because they are different. I definitely feel im different but I only like to use that to my advantage. C4 is really sick too, his style is so unique.
How does it feel gaining support from your peers in the Industry such as DJ Cameo, Annie Mac and Toddla T?
I feel really grateful to receive attention from big names like that. It only makes me want to work harder and make more music!
What’s your opinion on the Grime scene now?
I think the Grime scene is in a really good place right now. Theres so much energy and it seems like everybody is coming together regardless of beef. In one word its exciting!
Name three people that you would like to work with in the future ?
Stormzy, Ms Dynamite, Mumdance
With so much done in such a short space of time, what are the next steps for you? What would you like to say you’ve done by the end of 2015?
I don’t have any certain goals, I just want to keep working hard and make good music! I’ll be very grateful with whatever good things come with that.
If people want to hear more from you, where is the best place to find your stuff?
I’m on pretty much every social media platform and my name is always IsaiahDreads so just type that in on Instagram, twitter, snapchat, Facebook and you’ll find me!
Interview by: Nathan Tuft – @NatzAO
