The IRS have been round for a couple of years but have recently been picking up a head of steam. This is in part due to their recent success at the Indy Music Awards. Lil Miss Gee caught up with Ed Strong to find out what they’re all about. Look out for Kyza and The IRS coming to a town near you…

So for anyone that’s been catching way too many Z’s can you tell them a lil bit about The IRS? Who does the group consist of, what are your individual roles and when and how did you get together?

We’re a hip hop collective from South East London consisting of myself, (I rhyme ‘n’ make beats) then we got DV, King Kaiow and Superb on the mic and DJ Guide One holding down the ones & two’s.

We started out in 1998 officially, we all used to just link up and spit together at open mics and we used recorded mixtapes. The group’s kinda dwindled down to five solid hardcore members, but at one stage there was about ten heads in the group…we were South London’s answer to Wu Tang!

What does IRS stand for?

A whole heap of stuff….I rock shows, invisible rhyme styles, it’s really something, in record stores, I rhyme sublime or there’s I’m really sexy for gal dem haha…

I’ve heard you’re dubbed ‘political rappers’ what do you say to that and how would you describe your music?

I’ve only seen that a few times but I think that’s just down to bad journalism. We’ve got tracks that could be considered political, but hip hop is supposed to mirror the everyday, so in this present climate it’s obvious we’re going to talk politics. It don’t make us political though, we’re just speaking on society!

You recently won an Indy Award for Best Urban Act. How did you get involved with the Indy Awards and what do you hope will come from winning it?

We got nominated for that award by a pub called The Primrose in Leeds. We played a pretty good gig there so the organisers put us on a shortlist and we went up against a few hundred artists in the same category. Luckily we ended up getting to final four which were then put up to a panel of judges to decide the winner. It was definitely the biggest achievement of our career hands down, and to get some recognition was a good feeling!

We’ve had a few press things that’s came from it and it’s definitely going to get us further just having that moniker to wear.

What’s your local scene like and what do you think to the scene outside of London?

At the moment our local scene has been alright cos we’ve had Beer n Rap monthly in New Cross. We used to have Speakers Corner in Brixton, which was legendary! I think everyone in the scene knows about Speakers, pretty much everyone has played there…it’s a shame to see it go! Snuff, who organises the whole thing, is always putting on parties though, so there’s always something poppin’ off. He’s been running beach parties on the Thames and also End of the Weak and Peoples Army, so we aint starved for nights.

Out of London is hit and miss. When it’s good it’s very good. I think cos in the smaller towns they haven’t got so n so playin’ every weekend it’s more of a special occasion maybe?! We’ve had some sick shows out of London, but equally we’ve had shows that were miles away and were empty…they’re the ones that make you question why you do this music shit.

As for artists, there’s a lot of talented heads from our neck of the woods. Chain of Command, Mic Assassin, Skandal, NWO, Craftsmen, AMMO, Minority Report…boyyyyyy…there’s loads of artists in our area!! We’ve already had some legends come out of southeast in the form of Blade and Blak Twang, it’s nice to see they’re still doing their thing too.

Morley’s Chicken sponsorship? What’s that all about? Do you get chicken in the post or did they help to fund your album?

Nah, haha, anyone from South London has eaten in Morley’s at one stage of their lives! It’s the local man’s eatery to be proud of! It’s a franchise chicken shop and I know the dude who owns the name. He was a bit confused as to why I wanted to stick his logo on it but we love Morley’s THAT much and it gives a logo that South Londoner’s can relate to…we did get a few bits of free chicken too! haha

You produced your whole album except for a couple of tracks. Why did you make the decision to include other beatmakers rather than just keep it an exclusive IRS thing?

I knew c0mplex from the work he done with CLG (Chain of Command) for their ‘Time In Moments’ EP which was released on our label (Merciless). I was really feeling those beats so we hit him up and he done ‘Some MCs’ with DV. He’s actually doing some of King Kaiow’s solo stuff, which is crack!

Big Red, who produced ‘Wanna Act’ got in contact with us via Myspace. He sent me a few beats and they were really bangin’ so we had to bless one of them at least. To be honest, that track was written in an evening when me n Superb had quite a lot to drink! Turned out well though…I love the vibe on that beat!

You all live together in the same house. What’s it like living together as a group and do you think that helps your music come across better?

Me, Superb n Guide One live together. Our house is a studio, but honestly we take that for granted sometimes…we definitely don’t do as much work as we should do. But it definitely helps cos you can talk music a lot and it means I can keep an eye on em and make sure they written rhymes.

You all work 9-5’s (like 99% of UKHH artists) what are your views on the whole starving artist thing that goes on in this country and do you think it’ll ever change?

I think it’s healthy to get a slice of real life for an artist. When rappers blow they usually get boring cos they have nothing to talk about except for money n cars etc.

I don’t think UKHH is gonna change unless people start getting their business right - ourselves included. It’s just hard knowing at the back of your mind there’s a high chance that all this hard work isn’t gonna pay off…that’s why you gotta have a back up plan!

We also need to start expanding musically as a genre. I’ll be honest, I listen to a lot of UK stuff and I don’t see much originality or personality. It hasn’t evolved much in the last few years cos we’re all caught up in the mixtape culture, which is just dub after dub of rapping over other peoples beats. I understand that keeping up the profile with mixtapes is useful, but as artists we have to focus on creating good, original, music or it’s just gonna die! Right now there isn’t much material that has the substance or appeal to break into the mainstream.

Just to pick up on your job again…you teach? Is that a rewarding job? It’s something I’ve thought about doing for years!

I’m not a proper teacher - I’m a technician and trainer of music technology. I help out teaching the students different bits of studio equipment and show them production techniques, the fun stuff… I leave the boring paper work to the proper teachers. I’m looking to get a PGCE and get more teaching work, but right now I’m concentrating on the music.

It is good working with young people though…it keeps me in touch with the youth. I know what’s hot and what’s not, without having to go through the chore of watching Channel U.

So you play Jazz piano Ed?! Is that something you’ve always done and how do you or do you think it’s benefited your beatmaking skills? Or does it just help you with the women? Haha

I used to be a lot better, but I still know my scales, so it helps when I’m producing. I’ve got a few party pieces that I pull out for ladies - I’m not going to reveal the repertoire though…

Haha, you tease! Okay, down to the really important questions. What do you think to the recent decision to reclassify green?

No Comment…

Blondes or Brunettes?

Both.

Thong or French knickers? (Ok those two are for my personal curiosity)

French knickers. When thongs go wrong it aint pretty…plus French knickers hold a woman’s frame better.

What does it feel like to be producing on Doctor Freud’s debut album ‘Emerald City’ out in Australia and do you see down under a country you aim to crack? (Freud told me to ask that)

Death warmed up… nah shout to Freud, I’ll have that beat soon dunny!

So finally, where do you see UKHH being in 5 years time and what do you hope your part in that will be?

Who know?!?!?!? I might sell out and make pop music for a living.

The IRS will be performing for the first time in Oxford @ The Cellar Bar on Friday 25th July (supporting Kyza) so be sure to check that! You can also tune into The Phat Club (Kid Fury and Spex) on 107.9FM on Saturday 12th July between 7-10pm for live interview and freestyle ish…

The Album ‘The World is Theirs’ is available from the usual places…Suspect Packages/HMV or their myspace pages…or go cop it at the shows! There’s also a mixtape ‘The World is Almost Theirs’ available for free download on www.myspace.com/theirsonline. Also go check their individual myspacepages for more music!

• www.myspace.com/edstrong
• www.myspace.com/kingkaio
• wwww.myspace.com/superbare

Words: Lil Miss Cupcake