Feature

Wretch 32: 32…1 Fire!

Wretch 32 shot to prominence on 2011 with the grime infused, beat driven banger "Traktor" - so raw and crisp where the lyrics, so sick and street was the MC who spat those lines that this UK rap pretender was crowned grime heavyweight champion virtually on the spot.

Staying with the boxing analogies Wretch himself is the first person to equate his fight to the top and the material on his soon to be released album ("still no title…untitled!") with that of a certain hungry boxer… "You know you can watch Rocky running up the stairs and you can think 'man he must be tired when he gets to the top!' Or you can watch him running up the stairs and think 'when he gets to the top he's gonna go up another flight!' …for ME, it's like, we ain't at the top of the stairs so I can't rap about 'yeah I'm cool…' So I can't, cos that's not the case, that wouldn't be real."

But when I suggest that some fans would think this is a modest statement, he HAD reached the top of those metaphorical steps and to his allegiance he IS Rocky Balboa…"For me it's about putting it out there in the right way…I wasn't on the escalator (laughs), I was running up and down those stairs in the rain, on roller-skates, with four people pulling me down and a bag on my back! It was a VERY hard run and it's my job to get that across so people FEEL the journey, d'ya know what I mean?"

This statement is further compounded with his reply when asked about new cut "Black Out" from his impending album featuring the unknown talents of Shakka…"D'ya know this is the funniest thing…he (Shakka) actually did a cover of my song "Don't Go." It's funny cos I always listen to everyone's covers of my songs in my spare time…I listen cos they took the time out to learn it and do it in their own style…and when I listened to what he had done, I was like 'this kid is CRAZY!' He had some MAD harmonies and he done shit SO different, I was like 'he's sick, I HAVE to work with him!' …So I'm like going on the internet still following what he's doing (Wretch, they call it stalking bruv!), he's doing a lot of the underground circuit, he's doing his thing and it's cool…so I met the kid, don't know him…you know, the odd Tweet here and there, you know how it is? Then the record comes about and I'm like 'lets send it to him, see if he likes it' - see what happens…"

What kind of material will the new album be made up and will he be turning the tables, will there be any guest artists appearing on HIS tracks…"Yeah there's a few collaborations on the new album, we've got like Angel on the album…I'm trying to keep it as current as possible, do ya know what I mean? I'm tweaking, I'm touching, I'm always like…the chicken is NEVER cooked. Like I'm always turning it over to cook up the other side a bit more…" Continuing, "Time is a beautiful thing man because lets just say for example, something dramatic happens today, like somebody passes away or something ridiculous happens and you're there to catch it and relay it on the album. So when it comes out it still feels current, cos everything I've been speaking about is about last year, the beginning of the year…as time goes on you know you kinda feel like, you know that topic is kinda old…" So one word to sum up the whole album and the Rocky road that's taken you to get where you are today…"GROWTH."

…Ooooo, now that sounds like a good name for an album Wretch!

Wretch 32's new single "Blackout" feat. Shakka is out now, new album TBC (soon) on Ministry of Sound/Levels Recordings.

Follow on Twitter @Wretch32

TO READ MORE FROM THIS INTERVIEW WITH WRETCH 32 CHECK OUT OUR PRINT ISSUE BY CLICKING BELOW OR DROP BY YOUR LOCAL REPUTABLE MAGAZINE OUTLET (inc: WH SMITH AND JOHN MENZIES)
Words LEE TYLER