Grinder is the next rock/pop/electro superstar – or maybe he is the first. He is an up and coming artist from North London, who at the age of 18, had performed in over 200 shows all over Europe. He exploded onto the music scene in 2007, and has since won over the hearts of many fans. He has sold over 5 million copies of his debut mixtape ‘The First Chapter’ in the past two years. He is currently working on his new mixtape, featuring collaborations with several well known artists such as Blade, Slice, Bouncer and several others. We are going to get a personal insight to the story of how Grinder established his name as one of the most successful artists in the history of hip-hop, and talk about his transition from ‘rags to riches’.

When did your career as a hip-hop artist begin and what was your inspiration?

Well I discovered my music talent at the age of 9. I was involved in a musical in my year 5 Christmas play. I seemed to wow the crowd and I ended up getting a standing ovation. The teachers and especially my parents knew I had a special gift inside of me. Since then I have had immense support from my parents, friends and teachers. They know I have a real passion for singing and are always there to support me. Ever since I was a child I grew up listening to artists such as Dr. Dre, Eminem, Wu-Tang Clan, Jay-Z and the other popular hip-hop artists around the mid 90’s era. These have really been my inspiration as these are the artists that I listened to during my childhood. It is through listening to these artists that my desire for being a hip-hop star began. I think the work of Jay Z is pure genius. No wonder he has been called one of the greatest rappers of all time. That is by no means an easy title to get. Jay Z has it all. The passion, the stage presence, the charisma. I hope my career in the music industry will also be very successful and hope to be an international celebrity one day.

So tell us the story of how you got signed?

I had put up a video of me performing up on the internet. It had become an instant hit and in one month it had gotten over 500,000 views. A few weeks later I had gotten an email from a record producer saying that he is impressed with my material and that he would like a few samples of more of my work. I was so excited and over the course of 2 days I had recorded five more demos of me singing. I immediately uploaded these up on the internet. I was anxiously waiting for a reply. Three days later I was told to record a CD with roughly ten tracks of all the best of my material. Over the next three months I was literally in the studio the 24/7. It was a tough job balancing school work and my studio work. However I was extremely dedicated and I got the job done. When I had completed my CD I had sent an email to the producer. He them informed me that I was going to be flown in to the USA. He was very impressed with my CD and he offered me a £5m record deal with Mad-Doe records.

Where waiting for your new album, when can we expect the release?

It’s actually almost done. This should be even better than my debut mixtape ‘The First Chapter’. This new mixtape that I am recording has collaborations with many artists such as Slice, Bouncer and several others. I have majorly raised the levels and it will definatly be another banger. This mixtape has been in the pipeline for around 8 months now and I have been putting all my time and effort to make it one of the best mixtapes of the year.

How was the experience of working overseas?

My trip to the US was absolutely amazing. Living in the UK you don’t really know how the rest of the world is like. Me personally coming from a not so well off household, I hadn’t really been out of the UK. I mean I had been to places like Wales and Ireland to visit family and friends, but I spent most of my life in London. Prior to me trip to the US, I hadn’t really had the experience of travelling overseas and experiencing different countries. My trip to the US, it was a very good experience. When I was there working with other artists, I also had the opportunity of becoming somewhat of a tourist. I travelled to many cities including California, New York, Washington and a few others. I had really been an enjoyable experience and I am hoping to go back in a few months.

What has all the fame and attention been like?

At first it took me time to get used to all the attention. I wasn’t used to getting all this attention and recognition. Everywhere I go people recognise me and ask for an autograph. At first it was an annoyance as I could go anywhere without someone asking for an autograph. But I guess its all part of the lifestyle of being in the music industry. I have now learned to enjoy all the fame and attention rather than disliking it, however everyone needs their privacy. I wouldn’t want my personal affairs to be made public on the news or in magazines. Although there hasn’t been a major incident like that, I hope it remains that way and that people respect my privacy.

So how is the future looking for you?

Well after I release my new album, I am going to focus on my education. I want to go university and hopefully do well in my studies. Although I probably won’t need this, I want to do it for myself, to prove to myself that I can be a complete human being. That I can be well educated as well as being a successful artist in the music industry. After university, I will focus full time on my music career and hopefully make good music for my fans. I will hopefully be making collaborations with some of the best in the business. When im gone I want to be remembered for being one of the best artists and I will always strive to make my music the best it possibly can. You should definatly expect to be seeing some really good music from me in the near future. Keep an eye out for my new album. Its coming very soon, so make sure you buy a copy and support me.

Thank you for this intuitive interview. This has defiantly been one of the most exciting interviews I have done. I think now the public and especially your fans will have a better understanding of where you came from to where you are now, and that it took extreme hard work and dedication. We hope to hear from you again in the near future.