We caught up with producer and Powercut Productions owner Steg G and asked him about the state of Scottish Hip-Hop and turning down Lenny Kravitz!

You were brought up in Carnwadric in the south side of Glasgow. What was life like growing up there?

Im not gonna lie man times were hard down there, but at the same time it was always a bit of an adventure, hanging around the Tenements, playing Hide N Seek, and running from the glue sniffers and Police. My family never had much money so we got our entertainment anyway we could.

Carnwadric was known for its gang culture, were you pulled into this or did you manage to stay away from it?

You couldn’t really avoid it man, in fact it was kinda cool to be involved in the gangs, as there was a real sense of camaraderie, you knew they had your back, and for young dudes without any power or money, being in the gang made you feel connected and gave you respect and a value. The gang are just like an extended family man.

What was the initial spark that got you into hip-hop?

The first time I really clocked that we could be down with this is when the older dudes in the scheme took Hip Hop and really ran with it, I mean you couldn’t move in the streets for the break dancers, and the Graff artists were even more visible, they had the scheme on lock for a looong time.

Why did it change?

I guess it was a combination of crime and drugs like Heroin that got a grip of some of the people, see back then Hip Hop was regarded as a fad by the media so there was no outlets, no body was rapping up here, just people dancing and painting, and once the Plaza shut its doors to everyone, then Hip Hop in Glasgow had nowhere else to go to, so dudes just went back to the street.

How did you first come to meet Freestyle Master and Shoey shoo?

I’ve just really known them since I was born, in fact the links between us started even before that, with our parents who used to work as cleaners in the local schools.

The three of you formed Powermove. How did you go down with the growing Scottish Hip-Hop scene at the time?

We were revolutionary when we came out with Powermove man, In fact we were the first dudes that came out rapping in our own accent. We put a record out in 1993 called “But we’re different” which started a little buzz in Glasgow cause we were talking about shit on a record that the average guy in the Scheme could relate to. Everybody and I mean everybody else was still rapping with an American accent and slang. We realised real early that we had to be true to ourselves to get the support from our peers, there wasn’t really no scene back then, 2 Tone were around and that was it really.

Is it true you turned down Lenny Kravitz attempt to sign you and Freestyle Master?

Yeah that’s sorta true, an early tape got into his hands somehow and we were approached by his production company, they wanted to meet us in LA to discuss some shit then they found out that we were only 17 with no money, and most importantly no passports, so that kinda fell away quickly after that.

How hard was it to walk away from this?

We always believe things happen for bigger reasons, it came down to choices and we had no choice! I mean, we had to meet the dude halfway really, but unless we had somebody to help us at our end it wasn’t gonna happen.

Not too long ago you signed Cad, a young MC from Glasgow, and Edinburgh duo Dark Rumors. How are they settling in to Powercut?

Well Cad, he’s been down with us for a while now and he’s clocked up some serious miles on the road with us, he’s one of them dudes that just watches everyone, studies the game, and when its time to strike he strikes hard, when I first heard his shit I knew he was gonna be something heavy, Cad’s the future of this shit man, no question. And Dark Rumors, they’re the whole package man, what we like about them is their, originality and their work ethic man, those guys are always working, they’re evolving man, and I’m always feeling their songs, they’re bringing a fresh outlook to the table, and things are all coming together right now behind the scenes and it wont be too long before their album is out.

What Happened with Damaged Goodz? He recently left the label?

First up Beejay’s always gonna be one of my closest friends and allies, we always gonna watch his back no matter what, he’s a good dude, and secondly, he puts that much work in, that you gotta respect him no matter what. He’d be best answering this question man, but I’ll say this, he’s always welcome back.

You recently retuned from recording in New York. How did this go down?

Extremely well, I’ve been over a few times now man, just building and connecting and shit, I always have a good time over there man, in fact I get better results over there in 10 days than I do in ten years over here man, no kidding. Its just a whole bigger picture out there. As for the recording and shit, yeah I was out there working with a few people and peddling some heat, but I’m not gonna mention any names or anything right now, I guess you will all hear about it soon enough, let the music do the talking.

How is Scottish Hip-Hop perceived in New York?

They don’t think about it, there’s no such thing really, the way they see it is its either hot or its not, they aint giving a fuck about where you from, its about having skills man and about being relevant, being there and taking part in the game, not just on some esoteric shit.

Out-with Powercut, who do you consider as standout acts in Scottish Hip-Hop?

There’s a lot of talent out there man, but I look at people by their results, and I always felt that Loki was constantly dope on record, and also Respekt Ba is killing em on the battle circuit so I give them dudes due props.

Do you think Scottish hip-hop is in a good place right now or do you think it needs to move forward?

That shits stuck in a dead end right now man, people are making their wee songs, sticking them up on the internet sharing them with their mates and thinking that the jobs done. Where’s the progression in that? There’s no real quality control either, burning 100 CD-R’s with photocopy covers don’t make you a label CEO. And there’s so much backstabbing that goes on man, cunts should be proud of people like us who achieve certain benchmarks within the industry, but its not like that, people wanna knock you harder when you getting a little success.

What advice would you give to upcoming MC's & Beatmakers wishing to enter the scene?

Go for it man. Work hard, learn the ropes, do you, and don’t try to run before you can walk.

Your last album 'Natural Selection', acquired a lot of praise from the Scottish Press, how did it go down with the buying public?

We always go down real well with people who ain’t Hip Hoppers, people who just like good music, Natural Selection done real good for us in terms of sales and putting our names out there to a wider audience, over the summer we played to about 50,000 people up and down the country, and we tore every one of them stages up, selling more records is a by-product of that. The Hip Hop market makes up of about 25% of our total sales, but then who’s the Hip Hop market? I know people that don’t consider themselves Hip Hoppers, but if you looked closely at their CD collections you might think differently.

What's next for Steg G and Powercut Productions?

We got a lot of things coming off soon with the Label, we got the Dark Rumors album very soon, we got Cad’s record coming too, but that might take a little longer as he starts University this month, Freestyle Master’s been busy on a few things, there’s a Mosa Funk Club album featuring him coming early next year. I’ve just finished an EP with Kim Wilson that’s about to hit the streets, and ive got a few productions with some brand artists that should start coming out early in the new year. Oh yeah, and we just started recording this collaboration track with a band that your parents will remember, that’s gonna open doors for all us.

Any bigups or messages?

Big shout to all the real heads that support good music, and the whole PCP fam, especially all the behind the scenes cats that don’t do it for the glory, BRRRAAPPPPP!!! Sharon, Big Chivago, Paula, Crosby, K.P….ONE!

www.powercutproductions.com

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