Blak Twang: Voice of Xperience

Legend, pioneer, trendsetter. A few words used to describe UK hip-hop goliath Blak Twang, aka Tony Rotton. With a string of five albums dating back to 1995, you would be hard pressed to find another UK hip-hop artist with as much longevity and relevance as Tony Rotton. Having waved the British flag all over the world representing UK hip-hop, Rotton is the leading ambassador for a scene that is often overlooked on its very own own doorstep.

With the wave of chart-topping UK urban music following the success of Estelle, Wiley, T2 and DJ Ironik, it’s hard to believe that the politics of music still hasn’t changed. Each of the aforementioned artists represents the future direction of the urban music scene, and their success is to be applauded. “I think the UK music is still exciting and cutting edge with new talented artists coming out. I’m still not happy with the industry because I still don’t think we have the correct template here in the UK to enable real mainstream success,” explains Tony.

In truth, the template is one that has yet to be mastered by any genre. Musicians from all fields struggle to find mainstream success and it is a challenge to find the sound that strikes a chord with the gatekeepers in the industry. Mercury Award winners Elbow chased the glorious overground pastures for over a decade before they were recognised for their innovations. Hardly unique to UK hip-hop, the chase for attention from the masses is one that all musicians endure. Nevertheless, where Blak Twang and a select few other MCs differ is the fact that he remains relevant. Having had his greatest success in 2002 with his third album Kik Off, Rotton reflects on his achievements. “Kik Off has been my most successful album so far with smashes like So Rotton, Kik Off, Ain’t Done Too Bad and Trixsta…and releasing the album to critical acclaim and doing all the festivals in that year with Jahmali and Estelle were moments to remember,” he recalls.

Fast forward to 2008 and the title of his current album, Speaking from Xperience, rings clear. True to form, his music always conveys a message and at times tackles tricky topics, as he does on this release which is littered with messages that challenge social norms. “Listeners can expect clear and concise real life subject matters, drawing on a lot of my experiences from being in the game for over a decade now. Musically it’s very different to my previous albums, whilst maintaining my traditional hip-hop sound.”

With the shift of everyone’s attention to the world economy and the current political climate as of late, you have to question whether consumers will fork out their disposable income on music. “I think we’re in a very precarious economic situation at the moment, in my opinion brought on by greed and carelessness. Somebody somewhere is fattening their pocket on the back of ordinary people’s misery and misfortune. Governments exploit the people and created the mess and expect the people to now rescue them,” Rotton states with gusto. However, he does see change on the horizon. “As far as Barack Obama becoming the first black president of the USA, I think it is the greatest achievement for Africans in the diaspora; and as you can see it’s resonated all over the world with black people celebrating on different continents. I think it’s gonna do wonders for America, even though the country is in a difficult financial state at the moment - you couldn’t ask for a worse time to become president. Hopefully it will change the perception of how black people are viewed in the West.”

2009 will be no different for Blak Twang on the grind front. With an album to promote, and a younger hip-hop generation to educate, Tony Rotton is one man who stands to prove that anything is possible if you are dedicated, motivated and positive. Sound familiar?