The early part of 2012 has seen a lot of mcs suddenly thrown into the limelight thanks to the recent Lord Of The Mics dvd hitting the shelves and generally being the talk of the scene, the likes of Sox, Jammin, Hypes and Tez Kidd have all found themselves thrust into the publics eye but today we catch up with an mc who has been there done that and worn the proverbial T-Shirt when it comes to grime, an mc who in my humble opinion is one of the scenes most under-ratred and an mc who plans to make 2012 and the forthcoming years his very own….Im obviously talking about Clipson who you may have known as Clipper from Fire Camp back in the day but is now carving a huge name for himself amongst the scene as Clipson, part of the ABTM crew and part of grimes bright future.

We know Clipson has some big releases dropping so we sat down with him and got information on those and spoke on many more subjects and you can read below!!!

Interview

MOG: You’re about to drop the ‘MindOfAGrimeStar’ mixtape, can you give us and more information on this?

Clipson: Mind Of A Grimestar is the first release since my feature on ‘Lord of the Mics3’ scheduled to land on March 5th.

The cd is energy packed grime with various different styles as well as a very much matured sound and lyrical delivery since my last grime mixtape.

I have productions from the likes of G Tank, Wiley and Biggaman to name a few so expect to hear a great release.

MOG: What are your hoping to achieve with the release?

Clipson: Well I was in a situation in which I needed to create a buzz and gain more awareness and supporters of my music so putting this ‘free’ cd together was the perfect way for me to achieve this.

With it being free nobody has an excuse not to download it and give it a listen plus its the type of mixtape the grime scene has been missing.

MOG: In what way is MindOfAGrimeStar a step-up form your previous releases?

Clipson: As I now have a management team working really hard the promotional side of this has been maximised a great deal more than my previous releases.

A lot more planning and thought has gone into what we wanted put out and also virally we have executed methods that I was unable to previously.

MOG: After your recent clash with Jammin on Lotm3 your name is carrying a huge buzz, what mindstate are you in now as opposed to before Lord Of The Mics?

Clipson: Lord Of the Mics was always part of my plans prior to actually doing it so I was very prepared and confident about the reaction I would get once it was released.

It was a great platform for me to start building a buzz and i’m extremely grateful for the opportunity I was given.

The positive support and love that has been sent to me is a blessing
and it has made me 100 times more hungry to go and achieve more.

MOG: Were you surprised by the reaction you got from the clash?

Clipson: I wasn’t too surprised to be honest because I was more than ready for anyone who stepped up to the plate but my opponent wasn’t a walk over so I knew there would be mixed opinions about the overall winner.

MOG: Was it always a plan to drop a mixtape on the back off Lord Of The Mics 3?

Clipson: Yes that was definitely the plan, we knew the hype the dvd would cause would be an excellent platform to release a mixtape and grasp all the viewers into my music.

MOG: Talking of viewers, Did you find it hard to make a name for yourself as Clipson and not ‘Clipper the ex Fire Camp member’.

Clipson: It was a little bit hard because ‘Clipper’ was a well established fire camp member for 4yrs and once i’ve left and changed the name people were a little confused.

My situation of leaving fire camp wasn’t publicised at all really so people didn’t actually know what the name switch was all about.

I left them in 2008 and its taken till 2011 for people to really become accustom to the name Clipson.

MOG: Since leaving Fure Camp you’ve became part of the ABTM crew, What are the plans for ABTM?

Clipson: We currently have a batch of street mixtapes readying for release in which all the artists and producers get their chance to showcase their talents.

Mainly Hip Hop but my grime influences are strongly involved
too so expect some seriously big music following up from my solo release.

MOG: What else do you have planned for 2012?

Clipson: For me 2012 is really about expanding and branching my music out to create a steady fanbase so i’ll be recording with a lot of artists and making the most of the opportunities i’m working really hard for.

I do have plans for the next Clipson project after ‘Mind Of A Grimestar’ which i’ve already started working on so there’s lots to come from me.

MOG: You’ve been in the grime scene a while now, how has the scene changed from your perspective?

Clipson: Firsty the internet has practically taken over the main source of where you market and sell your music.

There is a load of new faces in the game creating healthy competition which has generally raised the level to a more professional and marketable stage.

The music has been evolving a great deal recently so there’s been a wide scale change in the sounds a what people class as grime now.
Back in the day not a lot of artists had management or a street team pushing them out there but now this is a neccessity if you want to get heard and established.

MOG: Grime had a good year in 2011 but what can we do to really push the scene even further?

Clipson: Genuine Unity and support for your fellow artists.

Talking of unity, if you could work with anyone in the scene, be it an mc or producer who would it be?

Clipson: There’s too many names to mention, the scene is very healthy and really I just want to work with the artists that are good spirited, have similiar ambitions as myself and most importantly can make great music.

On the flipside any producers looking to work with me are welcome to contact me.

MOG: Finally any shout outs and info you wanna give?

Clipson: Firstly i’d like to big up Terrance from MindOfGrime, NBTMedia, Digital Dan & LordOfTheMics! My ABTM family including my managers AJ and Dwaine, last but not least all of the Clipson followers that have been patient and overwhelmingly
supportive thus far. Thank you

There you have it, im sure like me you managed to get a feel of what Clipson is about and how he views things and I for one am hoping Clipsons hits those heights his talent deserves, Big up Clipson each n every time for taking the time out and remember people MINDOFAGRIMESTAR out March 5th!!