Words: Phoebe Lovatt
Hammersmith-born rapper Example has been making music since his days as a hyperactive West London schoolboy, but it’s only this year that his witty bars and electro-tinged beats have made the music industry properly sit up and take notice. With a new record deal under his belt and an upcoming album to promote, we sat down with Example to talk crazy women, growing up as a class clown and why he’ll never swap music for comedy…
Tell us about your new single ‘Won’t Go Quietly’. What’s it about?
It’s about a couple of ex-girlfriends of mine who I really fancied and found really sexy but they were mad. It’s about how once you go in there you’re hooked.
Mad in what sense?
Paranoid. Just nuts, really. Smoked too much. Drank too much. All my songs tell a bit of a story. A lot of rappers do songs where they’re just rapping about themselves. I like to do the whole story bit.
Your music definitely has an anecdotal quality to it. I heard that you’ve done stand-up comedy in the past…
Yeah, I did that twice. It was good fun, but it was too hard really. The first gig I did was in front of 80 people and I sort of fell flat on my face. The second gig was in front of 500 people at the Lyric Theatre in Hammersmith, supporting Richard Herring, Phil Jupitus and Harry Hill. I literally spent four weeks rehearsing all day every day for that. I got offered a few gigs after that, but I couldn’t bring myself to do it. It’s really terrifying.
Have you always been funny?
Yeah, I was completely a class clown at school. I was quite a funny looking kid. Imagine the size that my features are now, but on a smaller head! So I didn’t really have a choice [but to be funny], ‘cause people just laughed at my face.
And how did you get into music?
I got into rap first. I went to school in Wandsworth. Everything at my school was dominated by – I don’t want to use the word ‘urban’ music, 'cause I hate that –
Black music?
Yeah, it was black music. I was sh*t at football, sh*t at basketball. I suppose when you’re at school, you’re either good-looking or you’re really good at sport and that’s where you fit in. And I wasn’t really good at either of them, so I started rapping. I was also really disruptive, and I think once I started rapping it took my negative energy in a more positive direction.
Now you’ve channelled that energy into music, are you a bit calmer?
Much calmer. Although I have got a bit of a split personality sometimes. So I haven’t really got a leg to stand on talking about nuts women, have I?!
Not really. Your upcoming album is also called ‘Won’t Go Quietly’, is it not?
It is, although the song is about a woman but the album title is about me. With the demise of ‘The Beats’ label, the [last] album sort of flopped…So the album title is more a statement, like, no one was gonna get rid of me that easily.
Now you’re signed to Data Records, which is an imprint of Ministry of Sound. How does it differ from The Beats?
The Beats was very much like a little family. It was based in a shed. Literally, the merchandise was in the shed, the recording booth was in the shed, the meetings, the Playstation was in the shed…Now, in one day, I’ll chat to 15 people at Ministry. It’s like a major label, except I’m a priority artist.
So you feel like you’ve got the best of both worlds?
It’s amazing ‘cause I’m getting to make the album I want to make with their money and resources. You can do it independently really well, like Dizzee, but obviously you need a lot of money to get to that stage in the first place. You need a few number ones.
The stuff you’ve done in the past was a lot more Hip Hop than the new material, which has an electro sound…
Yeah. I was a massive Hip Hop fan and I still am, but I just don’t want to make the same album again. I used to be a garage MC, then I did Hip Hop, and then I did ‘Dirty Face’, which was the first time I ever rapped over electro. I loved it. I think with electro, you can say more with fewer lyrics.
Did you feel pressurised to adopt an electro-pop sound because that’s what so many UK urban artists have done in the past year?
No. UK Hip Hop tried to copy the Americans for so long, but we could never match up to them production-wise. Lyrically we could, but I just think the British accent carries so much more credibility over electro beats or dance beats. I think Dizzee’s voice on Bonkers is amazing, and I don’t think an American rapper could have done it as well as him. I think we understand dance music better than the Americans. They were always leading in terms of Hip Hop, but now they’re looking to us and our producers.
And you’re about to go on tour…
Yeah, I’m supporting Lily Allen in December and Tinchy Stryder in February.
Do you enjoy the touring process?
I love it. I did my 200th gig a few months ago at Hoxton Bar & Kitchen.
What’s the best audience you’ve played to?
Supporting Arrested Development was a highlight, but really this Lily tour is the biggest thing I’ve done. ‘Cause even my tour that we did in October, we’d do about 500 tickets regionally. With Lily, we’re playing to 80,000 people.
Do you covet fame?
No, no. But I do want to play to the biggest crowds, ‘cause I love performing and I love writing songs. That’s what this is all about.
Catch Example over at www.leadingbyexample.com
