Burn FM’s Char Stape caught up with drill artist, Taze, to discuss how, despite government bans, his new track Head Shoulders is gripping the mainstream. Head Shoulders is a catchy tune with lively bars which, in turn, invites listeners to complete Taze’s social media challenge. Chatting about future plans, it is clear that we have a lot more to see from this rising star, including an upcoming collab with Pressa and maybe even a Head Shoulders Wiley remix. Be sure to keep an eye out for new releases of his coming your way this summer.
Hi everyone, I am Char Stape and today I’m chatting with the one and only Taze on behalf of Burn FM and the SRA. Hello…
Woi oi, you alright?
Yeah I’m good. How you doing?
Good still.
You been up to anything today or just been chilling?
2 2 tings but not really.
Now what do you get up to most days?
Most days? Just tied up, tied up. Got certain things I need to do, studio.
Busy at the moment?
Yeah.
Yeah I can imagine. So, for some of our listeners that haven’t heard about you, tell us a bit about Taze; your ends, where you’re from, what you get up to…
Yeah man. When I was young I grew up in Lewisham, went jail and when I came out of jail I had to live in South London, got moved over to West.
Do you have a preference?
Preference?
South/West? A lot of the music’s from down south isn’t it?
Yeah. I reckon it’s better living up in West though.
Yeah, I’m from North so completely different ends… You recently released Head Shoulders which is what we’re actually here today to talk about. I love it, it’s a very catchy tune.
Love.
So, what’s the idea behind it?
The idea? I just want everyone to be active while they’re listening to man’s music. So, I had to get something catchy in the chorus to keep them uno…
It’s a bop isn’t it. I wanted to know, have you taken any influence from K.I.G?
K.I.G?
You know, the UK Funky tune, Head, Shoulderz, Kneez and Toez?
Nah, they’re hard I used to listen to them back in the day.
It’s a tune but no influence from that.
Nah.
Alright then, is it your favourite release of yours so far?
Yeah. So far yeah.
What makes it different from your other tracks?
The reaction I got back from it is my favourite, really.
Have you had a lot of love from it so far then?
Yeah, yeah.
Nice. I saw on your Instagram and online that there’s a Head Shoulders Challenge.
Yeah, yeah.
For the listeners that don’t know what it is, can you explain a bit about it?
Really and truly it’s either you just show me your talent.
So it can be anything?
Anything. You could either go on an instrumental, you can dance over the song, you can do what you like.
And that’s how people can get involved? They just send a little video of themselves doing it…
Maximum 1 minute clip.
Send it to your what, Instagram?
Insta…anywhere you can get in contact.
What’s your @ name then?
@tazeagain
Alright, hit him up on that if you wanna get involved.
Yeah, woi oi.
So, it’s a viral dance which I see a lot of people doing at the moment, like NSG and, you’re mates with Russ, right?
Yeah.
You’re kinda getting involved with that?
It’s going off right now still, it’s going off.
Yeah, it’s nice. I was having a little look at the lyrics of Head Shoulders, have you got any meaning behind them or, you know, it’s just a bop?
It’s all entertainment.
One of the lyrics in particular that I picked up on, in that it says: ‘I heard drill’s gettin banned that’s bogus…UK charts just showed us’. What do you think about drill and the mainstream and the government at the moment?
Nah the government’s p**s right now… (Laughing) They’re p**s right now!
You think? It’s clearly not stopping the movement though.
No way. They just made it bigger, them tryna ban it just made it bigger.
Brings more attention to it, doesn’t it?
Yeah.
And it’s really gripping the mainstream.
For real, they should’ve just left us alone.
So, your thoughts on that is that it’s bad and they just need to back off?
Yeah man, they just need to go away.
Yeah. I was looking at the YouTube comments on your video for Head Shoulders; there were some funny comments actually. But, a few of the top ones…someone said, ‘Man turned a nursery rhyme into a drill song’…
(Laughs).
Cos obviously, Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes… Do you reckon you have to tone the themes of drill down a bit for the mainstream?
You know what it is, you do because if it’s too raw, they’re just gonna take it down anyway.
Yeah and one of my team at Burn FM has asked, ‘What goes into changing a children’s song into a drill beat and still making it sound cold?’
I don’t know you know, I dunno. It’s just rhythm, you could say anything really. You could say anything and make it sound cold.
Would you say it’s your rhymes, the beat?
It’s the way you pattern it really, mm.
So, what do you think the most important part of making a track is?
It needs to be catchy, there needs to be something for people to come back to.
Yeah. Someone else said, ‘Use me as a “Taze needs his time in the charts” button’…
(Laughs) For real.
So you seem to be getting a lot of love for it – that had a lot of likes as well, so well done for that.
Love.
The last comment I saw says that, ‘Taze is better than Russ, this is defo his best solo’. Do you enjoy the comparison between the two of you, or would you say it’s about working together?
Nah, it’s jarring cuh that’s my bredrin, I don’t compete with my bredrin.
Yeah definitely.
So, it anyone wants to ask me at the end of the day, I’d say he’s better than me cos I can’t be asked, it’s long.
You gotta be humble as well.
Yeah man.
But it’s about working together, init?
Yeah.
Moving on with the whole Russ theme, I saw that you were on his Gun Lean Remix, with a lot of other big names, so if you could get anyone on a Head Shoulders Remix, who would it be and why?
Urm, really and truly, it’d probably be some old school artists like, if I could, it’d be Wiley cos he’s a big ting in this. You know, he’s a BIG darg in this.
Wiley’s like the Father of Grime init.
Yeah like, you feel me. I used to listen to him on the up come.
Would you move more towards a bit of grime then, if you could?
Urm, nah not really, it’s not me init.
But you’d still get Wiley on the track.
Yeah that’d be hard.
I saw a few people saying Digga D. Do you rate him?
Course I do, that’s my guy!
Yeah, he’s sick.
Yeah yeah yeah.
Fair, and I saw you’re doing a Pressa collab. That’s mad.
Yeah man that’s due to be a big one, still.
Is that what we’ve got coming next?
I don’t know right now. I dunno.
So, could we see some other songs from you this summer?
Yeah 100%, 100%.
Big ups for that.
I’m gonna try and stay consistent this year.
Where do you wanna be by the end of this year, what are your goals?
By the end of this year, I need to be in the charts.
Number 1?
Hopefully, why not.
Is that the long-term goal, to get a Number 1?
That’s the long-term goal, but let’s go for Top 40 first.
(Laughs) Alright so we’ll place somewhere on the charts and then eventually, Taze will be the big name.
Hopefully, yeah.
Does a lot of work go into that, like big team, a lot of support?
Yeah man, I got a lot of people around me at the moment. Everyone supporting me so, it’s helping me init.
And are you enjoying it?
Loving it, loving it.
You’re just riding with it?
Yeah.
That’s what you gotta do init.
For real.
Alright calm, well thank you, that’s pretty much all my questions. This is for student radio so, if you were a student at Uni and you kinda wanted to get involved in the scene, any advice?
If you wanted to start rapping or something?
Yeah, start rapping.
Just go with your gut feeling and keep being you and you’re good. Eventually something will prevail.
Thank you. Obviously, if you’ve enjoyed this interview, be sure to check out Head Shoulders online.
Woi oi.
Or hit you up on Instagram and do a challenge.
@tazeagain, yeah yeah.
Written by Char Stape.
