Back from his tour of America, Canada & Australia, we caught up with Dropzone Records very own Eastborn to ask him how it all went down! Images are in the middle of this interview.

First off let me say thanks for taking the time to do this interview for bringdaruckus.com.

You started your tour in New York where no sooner had you stepped off the plane you got pulled over by New York's finest. How did this come about?

Ah that wasent much mate, ha ha we ran a red light, I never actually even seen any traffic lights, in all truthfulness I think it was the police just being the police and generally just being arseholes. We actually got part of it on film... ha ha

Everyone knows the hip-hop scene in New York is a tough one. How did they warm to Scottish hip-hop?

Yeh well I know Rack-Lo and some of the other guys we were performing with so it was all good. I think underground Hip Hop heads are the same the world over, they recognise skills and they know what good Hip Hop is regardless to accents, borders and general geography. So yeh it went down well and we were made more than welcome. Skills are skills at the end of the day.

How long did you spend in New York? Did you have time to look around?

I was there for four days but its the 5th time Ive been to New York, I stayed just outside New York in 1994 for about nine months so I knew my way about, Psycho D hadn't been so it was cool to show him about.

You then moved onto Canada for gigs in Whistler and Vancouver.

Yeh man, the Swollen Members gig rocked, with Evil, this will be on the DVD, I was truly stunned at the amount of people who came along to show me love. We got a lot of it on film too, the Canadians really do have love for the UK and specifically to my stuff. I had sold quite a bit in Canada and I knew that I had radio play over there, but its good to see the results in person and really quite humbling.

Where you at the 'Cannibus Day' in Vancouver? If so, tell us a bit about that.

Hell no, I missed that, Psycho D was at it and never thought to call me up and tell me to come down town, I was working at the time, doing emails etc and sorting stuff for shows in Oz and then Psycho came in stoned as Mary Magdalen, which aint hard as he is a light weight... ha ha.

Yourself and Phycho D then jetted off to Australia for four gigs in Sydney, Brisbane, Katoomba and finally Melbourne where you performed alongside Atmosphere. First, what was performing in Australia like and second did you have much of a chance to hook up with Atmosphere?

Well firstly, Psycho D went home when we were in Canada, home sick or some shit?! He truly missed the best shows in my opinion! Not to mention all the other general carry on's. Playing in Australia was great. I have had good radio play and good distribution in Australia so I had a good crowd that knew my tunes and turned out to show love. As for Atmosphere, Im not really a fan, Im not not a fan, but I dont really listen to much US Hip Hop so I wasn't really interested in speaking to Atmosphere, Delta was there and I know him through Mark B so he and I chatted mostly. Delta has recorded with Skinnyman and Mark, so we really just chatted about that and other future releases.

When in Sydney you got yourself onto one of the main radio stations. How did this go down?

It was good, its like Australia's version of the BBC, its the main radio show, similar to the Westwood show if I had to draw an example. I mean 50 Cent was on it not that long back and Kanye West etc so it was good to get into the studio and do my thing. Maya Jupiter the presenter is cool as she has been playing my stuff anyway, so love to her for that.

We also heard you had a run-in with a Koala?

Ha ha, yeh well they are funny little dudes, he more ran to me when the rain came down as the rain was coming down on the roof where he was hiding and he got a fright and saw me as shelter, I had a green jacket on as did most of the keepers so I think he got me confused, those little dudes are heavy tho, two thumbed sharp clawed mad little buggers ha ha.

You've been filing the whole tour for a DVD. What can we expect to see from this?

Five weeks of madness, a Kanye West diss track from Rack-Lo, clips from all the shows and a lot of mad fun really, surfing, kangaroos, sun, women, stickers and yeh just a lot of madness.

When will the DVD be available?

When I get my finger out my arse really, sooner rather than later but there are a lot more important things to come from the label before hand tho, we got Loki's LP, Project Mayhem LP and EP, Scotland Yard Lp and some Eastborn joints to drop, that and a few other things.

What do you think of Scottish hip-hop today?

Truthfully, I think its the healthiest that its ever been, while at the same time I think there are too many people that are getting into Hip Hop for the wrong reasons, everyone wants to be an Emcee, and too may of them cant Emcee. Where have all the good DJ's gone? Where is the Raps that actually ment something? Where is the love for the Breakers? Graf seems to be pulling through but they aint getting the love they deserve, its united yet more disjointed than ever, know what I mean?

There seems to be a lack of respect for who came before and its a capitalist structure, all me me me, no fuck that! You should be helping others around you, supporting your local scene and local crews, not burning off disks for free, downloading for free, wanting massive guestlists etc you know? Go to a PCP show and show love, go to a Wanted Records night and show love, buy Grannies Records (if his get his finger out... ha ha) you know what Im saying. But sites like this are good as I think you will be in direct competition with Urban Scot, who in theory have a good idea for a site but in practice in my eyes its just not working.

Where do you see it going in the next few years?

Hopefully up, but I can see it killing itself like last time. Personally I just wanna do my thing and look after people on my label and promote good Hip Hop and help people along the way, thas all I can ask of myself. Im not responsible for the whole scene and dont wanna be, I just wanna see the same love that I show the scene.

Who do you think stands out in the scene at the moment?

Battle raps and clueless cats ha ha, I dont really like either. I have respect for battle Emcees and there's always time for a battle but its not all just about battling, Hip Hop was around before 8mile! Ever since that film it seems to be all about this battle and that battle, who is that elevating? I wanna be elevated and educated, informed and entertained. But hey thats just me and not everyone shares the same tastes as me so I understand that.

People people need to understand also that its not all just about battles and drunken ciphers in the street (however much fun they are). Also there are too many people that could name twenty US acts and go to all the shows when they come here but dont support their own, in fact they dont even know we are here! In wasent like that back in the day!

Finally, any big things in the pipeline for Eastborn and Dropzone Records?

Oh shit, erm Yeh, we have Eastborn vrs DJ Vadim, we have an Eastborn second album (long overdue) There is Loki's album and EP, Scotland Yard, Project Mayhem, more from Mantis Chapter and a shit load more. I am getting fair trade clothing done made from Hemp and I have some community workshops and charity events coming up, plus some work with the BBC and I am now starting a new radio show on Hip Hop Basement Radio (other presenters are Immortal Technique, Jeru the Damaja and more), a MUD Family mix CD with Skinnyman and the rest of the guys, so its all busy really. Im looking into a clothes line too, and I dont mean out your back yard! ha ha

Thanks again for your time Eastborn and I am sure everyone is with me in saying thanks for what you do for Scottish hip-hop.

Thanks man, thats well appreciated and never taken for granted, support in
my home country has always been the most important to me and will always
will be.

Peace and Love

EASTBORN - MUD Family

www.dropzonerecords.com

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