Recognise Split Prophets. This UK Hip Hop collective have undeniable talent and a heavy work ethic, releasing numerous tracks that you have to wheel up. The last few years have seen Split Prophets take over the UK, headlining shows to supporting some of the biggest names in Hip Hop. 2012 was a huge year for Split Prophets, being voted the best group act of the year in the mighty Wordplay Magazine. 2013 will see them play at the UKs first Hip Hop festival Boom Bap for the second year running and will watch them travel overseas to Outlook Festival in Croatia. Heads are nodding here at Itch.FM so salute to these guys who kindly took the time to answer some questions for us. Keep the real sounds coming!
Bristol, stand up!
For the people that don’t know, describe Split Prophets, how did you all come together as a crew?
It all started off as a crew of mates who just hung out skating and cyphering among themselves doing a few open mics etc, but had no released material.
Then in 2009 Res and Upfront met Badhabitz, who had recently moved to Bristol and started going to his studio to lay down some tracks.
After a few link ups and introducing the rest of the crew, tracks started getting layed down and this was the start of Split Prophets!
A recent addition to the crew is our french connect Mr. Twotungs. Look out for him on the new material!
We often get asked who exactaly is in Split Prophets, so in no particular order its Res, Bil Next, Upfront, Datkid, Paro, Badhabitz, Flying Monk, Blanka and Twotungs.
Take us back to the first show you all played together.
The very first show we played as Split Prophets, was for a night called Rhyme & Reason in Bristol. We were supporting Stig of the Dump and Genesis Elijah.
It was a really really sick night!!
Loads of our mates came to show support and there had been a real lack of hip hop nights in bristol till then, so there was a lot of bris hip hop heads in attendance too.
It was live!!!!
What was the hip hop/music scene in Bristol like growing up?
Res – In all fairness it was pretty shit. I remember going to hip hop nights and a lot of the older heads didn’t want to show any sort of love.
It was all pretty clicky and grumpy to be honest, and dead.
The crew holding it down when I was growing up was Se fire. Sose, who is an ill producer and lyricist and Mistafire, who is also as ill, but is still more involved in the hip hop scene, making moves with us and about to drop his first EP.
Con Dem Nation War The Front Men, are probably the main reason I started writing bars. But, they would smash up a set. Regardless.
Other than that, there was no cyphers, no vids dropping and no real scene from where I could see.
Bil – I thought it was alright man. Like Res said, Se Fire, were smashing it at that time and Soses little brother is one of our good mates.We kinda got introduced to their music through him. That was definitely a massive influence.
But, also there was people like R.E, King Aggi, Sirplus an a few other man whose music we were listening to back then.
The reggae scene has always been strong in bristol as well. We used to go to dances in Cosies, Black Swan, Trinity Centre, them kinda places and that was a good grounding in music for me.
Blank – I was very vacant from the scene to begin with. Res, Paro and the Evermoor Sound Boys showed me the first tastes of bristol hip hop around 16/17. People like Sirplus, Se Fire, King Aggi & Souljah Clique.
But, I remember it being quite quiet with no credit where credit was due. Once I heard all these names, I was hooked! And it made me dig deeper into the underground because I could relate to a lot more than I could anything else.
Paro – As far as I can remember (not that far), Bristol has always had a good music scene and I’ve always heard hip hop being played out around the city. Although there never really used to be a huge amount of hip hop actually coming out of Bristol, bar a few heads who are mostly still about on the scene.
Badhabitz – I didn’t live in bristol till 2009. But, from an outsiders point of view, I did grow up listening to the d’n’b that was coming out of Briz in the mid-late 90’s, such as Roni Size, Die, Krust, etc.
Hip hop-wise, I was listening to the likes of Sir Beans OBE and Numbskulls.
Who Influenced you guys?
Res – All sorts of heads have influenced me over the years. I’ve been listening to hip hop since I was ten or eleven.
My influences stretch back to those times listening to Dr. Dre’s The Chronic and not understanding half the shit man was talking about hahaha.
But, really other than the Se Fire boys as a local influence, Task Force, where a big influence on me, as I felt I could relate to a lot of shit they were chatting about.
Return of the Drifter was an eye opener and so was a lot of the stuff I was hearing from Jehst.
By this time my taste had become very UK orientated and I was caught in the “fuck the U.S shit”, I love the real uk shit.
Trap which aint always true, every side of the pond makes dope hip hop you just have to find it.
But other influences are Skinnyman/ Mud fam, Big L/DITC Crew, Terra Firma and mainly Klashnekoff’s The Saga’s, Asaviour, Rawdog/ Louis Slipperz, Big Pun, Evil Ed, Tommy Evens, Eminem, Harry Love, Mystro, Ricochet/Mad Runningz, is still one of the best hip hop tracks in my eyes.
Phi Life Cypher/ Millennium Metaphors is one of the best hip hop albums ever. Ummmm.. shit there is a lot of music that has influenced me…
Wu Tang are a big influence. I kind of see Split Prophets are a bit like the UK Wu. We’re a very tight crew with mad different styles and we always keep it rugged.
To me, the biggest influences are the crew around me and everyone who’s fully pushing this with the right attitude. You could be the dopest rapper, but if your a dick, then thats you innit. I’m not going to rate you, you might have skill but you don’t influence me.
Bil – Thats a hard question man hahaha. Yeah all that 2000 era UK stuff was massive for me just in ways of thinkin “we could spit bars” and being something you feel you can relate to.
We would all sit around blazing all summer, listining to Cosmic Gypsys hahaha.
I used to listen to nuff K-lash, Terra Firma, Kyza, the Ten Pound Bag mixtapes, Jehst, Mystro, DBD and all that kinda shit.
Also I love the 80s dancehall stuff, Supercat, Nitty Gritty, brigadier Jerry, Nico Reckon. That was an influence even just flowwise. A lot of roots reggae an dubwise as well.
Blank –Lots and lots of different things to be honest.
At first, I was hooked on electronic music when Res played me ‘Haunted’ by Digital Mystics and then I started getting into ‘dubstep’. That was basically garage when it was quite dark & underground. People like Ed Case and El-b around 2004/5, going to a club for the first time at 15 and seeing Skream play was a changing point for me.
I always wanted to make beats and DJ from that day on…and the more I got into music, the more I learned and was influenced from different genre’s.
As for hip hop influences, I would say hearing Jnyce for the first time round Paro’s gave me the itch to start producing hip hop because all I ever really heard was the soulful chilled out stuff, which I like, but I was never that into making.
I’m a big fan of horror films, so as soon as I heard ‘Vaults of Horror’, I craved to make the most evil gut-wrenching beats possible.
Paro – There’s way too many names to list them all, so I’m just gunna name a few heads from Bristol that I used to listen to before I started writing. Se Fire (Sose & Mista Fire), Sirplus, Souljah Clique, Griz Bear and the rest of the artists who featured on the “Bagga Mics” mixtape, King Aggi, Buggsy, R.E, Big Ceaze and the rest of MTG, also a load more heads I’ve blatantly forgotten because my memories shot away.
Badhabitz– Wow to many to list. I guess producers such as Stoupe, Apollo Brown, Sir Beans, Daddy Skitz, Chemo etc. But, to be honest my biggest influence is my uncle Basil. From as young as I can remember, he always talked about music and used to tape me off all his blues and rock LP’s and post them to me. He got me hooked on music.
Favourite song to play live to a crowd
Res – I’m not sure really. They’re all pretty fun to play out.
Doing shows is a highlight for me. I fucking love doing shows, whether they’re dead or jam packed front to back. Maybe drop of poison. ‘cos I love that Tom Waits sample on the hook. But the newer stuff is more fun to do, ‘cos you’ve done the old tracks plenty of times innit.
One of the best shows was in Hereford. Shouts to all the heads up there. They show love.
No Mixer is always a mad one as well. I don’t even have a verse on the track, but it’s a live one with the fans.
Bil – Thats a hard one as well. Home by 8 always kicks off when datkid is sober enough to do it hahaha. Yeah, No Mixer is a joke one as well. Not the most lyrical track, but gets mad hype when everyones in the mood for it. I like doin new tracks live aswell and seeing the crowds reaction.
Blank – I would say for me at the moment it’s Big Spliff’s off Bil Next’s & Paro’s Weed Masons EP, because we’re all on it and Jman done some mad raga chorus on it! It’s one of my favourite beats I’ve made and it seems to go well with the crowd every time, even though no one apart from us has heard it properly.
Paro – Personally my favourite is “Big Spliffs” from myself and Bil Next’s Forthcoming “The Weed Masons E.P”, because it’s the only tune so far that we’ve all got a verse on. Also Jman Features with a beast of a chorus that always hypes the crowd up.
Badhabitz – I guess the tracks people know like 2kids, Home By 8, Drop Of Poison, as the crowd rap along and really interact and thats the best feeling.
Highlights for Split Prophets
Res – Collaborating with some of the people I grew up listening to is a highlight for me and being able to travel up and down the country doing what I love is a blessing.
Life is a highlight right now and I’m just enjoying it all before World War 3 hahahahaha.
I mean, to be honest, in the past two years since we started getting recognition, it’s gone from good to better to madness, and this hasn’t been without a lot of hard work and pushing. But, I still feel blessed everyday to be in the position I’m in.
Switzerland was a highlight because it was our first show abroad and we got treated real good thanks to Baldy Tavid and Jerome and that was all pretty surreal.
I think its just going to keep getting better as more projects are being dropped and more people around the world are switching on to hip hop, especially hip hop from the UK.
Bil – Brisfest was good man. One of my favorite gigs so far. I dunno man, more time alot of the highlights have been from traveling with good mates and just crackin joke.
Blank – Personally my biggest highlight is getting to speak to people in the scene. We played one of our first full group shows ages ago with Klashnekoff.
Chatting to him backstage and him rating what we were doing was kinda weird because I listened to his music so much over the years, I never expected things to actually start taking off and heads like him know who we are.
We chatted about while blazing in a park spitting bars over a beat on a phone hahaha!
Paro – Supporting Wu Tang, DJ Premier, RA The Rugged Man, Akil The MC and a load more heads I never thought I’d be playing at the same night as.
Badhabitz – For me personally it had to be playing the show in Switzerland, having a packed out crowd going nuts, it was an amazing feeling!!
But, my best moment will be when the vinyl for Res and Datkids LP comes. Breaking my vinyl virginity is a big moment for a vinyl head!
You played at the UKs First Hip Hop Festival, Boombap. How was that?
Res – Boombap was nuts, shouts to Ivan and everyone else involved in the setting up of that.
At first I was mad dubious about what it was going to be like. Can you imagine hundreds of Mc’s all in one field, all getting smashed? I don’t know I couldn’t. I was expecting a lot of egos and bullshit and I saw none.
It was like one big family all happy to be there for the same reason. It was pretty amazing to be honest and I can’t wait for this years.
Bil – Yeah that was nuts. Wicked vibe an everyone was proper sound. Probably one of the times I laughed the most in the last year or so, and thats always what I want.
That was another highlight for me actually one of the funniest sets I have ever done.
Datkid was in full rap Jesus mode, spreading the gospel hahahahaha. Throwing Upfronts hat into the crowd and that!
Blank – I fucking missed it! My boss was a twat and didn’t let me go. But, I hear nothing but good things.
Paro – Madness!
Badhabitz – Yeah, it was liiiiiiiiiiveeeeeeeeeee!!!! Such a good movement for the UK scene, defo. Big shouts to Ivan and his crew.
Long may it continue.
If you guys could feature on anyones track who would it be?
Res – That’s a hard one. Maybe Redman. Redmans the illest yoooo! Or maybe a Rza beat with the ghost of Big L hahahaha fuck it big L. BIg L is one of the most underrated rappers of all time.
Bil – R.A The Rugged Man, Heltah Skeltah, Terrafirma, Ghostface, Redman, Method Man and Split Prophets posse cut!
Blank – Alchemist hands down. The album that he did with Action Bronson was nuts, and The Cookie Monster beat is the best beat ever made. I swear!
Badhabitz – My own, ‘cos I’m a really good rapper!
Any Upcoming releases/Shows?
Res – The year is packed out with shows already and it hasn’t even started.
We’re doing a lot of festies this year, including Outlook, which is a big look for us and we’re all pretty hyped on that.
As for releases, me and Datkid are about to drop (might of dropped by the time your reading this in which case get your cash out and get onto www.splitprophets.co.uk and grab yourself a copy) Drugs, Booze and Dental Issues, a lively album with features from a variety of heads across the scene including Life Mc, Leaf, Lee Scott and more.
Then there’s Paro and Bil Next’s release, The Weedmasons EP. Which will be dropping after DBDI and after that TVision will be dropping a solo EP, and Split Prophets are working on the crew album as we speak as well as an EP with U.K hip hop legend/veteran Life Mc, which I’m fully hyped about.
I know that there is more in the pipeline as well, so be expecting a lot from us this year.
Blank – Release wise from me I’m gunna give away a free remix EP near the end of this month with hip hop version’s of tunes from other genre’s (like Skream’s Midnight Request Line for example), and show wise I’m waiting for the festival season!
Badhabitz – Only thing different from what Res said is I have an LP coming out very soon with Clarity & Crucifix, called S.A.M. Look out for that, and I have a new Krate Krusaders LP under construction.
Who do you rate that’s upcoming at the moment, UK based?
Res – There is a lot of talent coming up at the moment in the UK, not just from Mc’s but producers as well.
The first heads that comes to mind right now is Abes Oddysee, from Brum ways.
Oddysee is on a conscious vibe but not sounding like a lot of new comers who are jumping on the conscious vibe cos its cool. He’s got skills and the beats behind him are nice.
All the Concept of Thought boys are ill, the Brighton Skinny-Dipping crew hahaha I have love for those boys and their brighton like ways haha.
I don’t know, there was always talent at the cyphers I used to host and it was good to see kids coming through not much older than 10 getting on the mic!
There is a lot of talent coming up, but a lot of shit heads jumping on the bandwagon as well. That’s just life, real recognise real, I suppose.
Shouts to everyone in the hip hop scene around Europe and the world. Its not UK hip hop to me, its just hip hop. It’s a universal language that we all speak.
Much love to the legendary Itch Fm for getting us on here and showing love.
Peace yo!
Bil – Man there’s too much talent out here to name everyone, but I reckon I probably been listening to Trellion and Sniff more than anyone else at the moment. Apart from hip hop, Evermoor sound is the one for me! Check em out on their soundcloud or on youtube. Some dope dubwise artists producing their own tunes and playing all around the country.
We all grew up together so were like two different branches of the same crew if you know what I’m saying?
Blank – Rag & Bone man for sure. Been blasting his blues EP on repeat recently. Trellion and Sniff, along with Morriarchi, are a big one for me at the moment. Can’t honestly tell you how many times I’ve listened to ‘How Many Times’, instant classic!
Jman is gunna smash it up in a big way and I’m looking forward to working along side him more often in the future.
Squared Roots CEO Fingerfood, he’s got a E.P coming out that I know is gunna be fire and has made me want to pick my producing game up hard! To be honest, there’s too many to mention, but that’s what I’m loving the most about the UK scene at the moment. It seems to be growing bigger and bigger everyday and makes me happy to be a small part of it.
Badhabitz – All the RLD lads, Triple Dot Beast, Mo-Aik, Onoe Caponoe, Concept of Thought, Hozay, and every other head putting the work in. Too many to mention though really.
For more information check the Split Prophets Facebook Page and the Split Prophets Website.