The Skinny on... MC Hammersmith
The world's leading rapper to emerge from the ghetto of middle class London, MC Hammersmith (aka Will Naameh) follows his sell-out Fringe run with a look back on the acoustic foam panelling that made him
What’s your favourite place to visit?
My recording studio, so I can drop fire bars. It's a cupboard in my flat I've converted into a recording booth. Every square inch of the walls and ceiling is entirely covered in foam panelling. Every time I step inside I basically hotbox myself with polyurethane. Great smell!
Favourite food?
12 Pack Set Acoustic Foam Panels, Studio Wedge Tiles, 2" x 12" x 12". Tastes like success in the rap game!
Favourite colour?
Black, like the acoustic foam panels that surround me when I rap. Who needs colour when you’ve got rows of pyramids which help break up sound waves, at 50/lbs per cubic yard?
Who was your hero growing up?
Otto Bayer, the German industrial chemist who first synthesised polyurethane. Thanks Otto!
Whose work inspires you now?
I love Autex! I’ve been following their work with intense interest for a number of years. Autex is a New Zealand-based company that specialises in producing eco-friendly acoustic products. They use recycled plastic materials in their products, making them an ideal choice for customers looking for an environmentally-friendly solution to their sound control needs.
What three people would you invite to your dinner party and what are you cooking?
Wallace Sabine, the architectural acoustician! Wouldn’t need any other guests, just me and him. And I’ll be cooking up some great conversation about the relationship between reverberation time and effective absorption area!
What’s your all time favourite album?
The Autex Catalogue; the laminated retail album through which I purchased my first set of 2" Acousti-Slabs! Changed my life!
What’s the worst film you’ve ever seen?
The Sound of Music. Had nothing to do with acoustics or mechanical waveforms. Complete false advertising. Worst 90 minutes of my life.
What book would you take to a desert island?
I’d be nowhere without my Autex Catalogue™️!
Who’s the worst?
Sound engineers who claim they can mix and master vocal stems improperly recorded in an echoey environment. Don’t fix it in post! Fix it in pre! Soundproof your walls, people!
When did you last cry?
Thinking about my answer to the previous question. Soundproof your walls, people!
What are you most scared of?
Spiders. I’m of course joking, I’m not twelve. I’m most scared of a recording environment without professionally-installed high-density isolation pads! Soundproof your walls, people!
When did you last vomit?
Thinking about my answer to the previous question. Soundproof your walls, people, or I’ll be sick in my hands again!
Tell us a secret?
Sometimes I just sit in the cupboard and smile.
Which celebrity could you take in a fight?
I tell you who I couldn’t take in a fight – Mark Robinson, the CEO of Autex. He’s a strong man who I admire with a healthy mixture of respect and worship!
If you could be reincarnated as an animal, which animal would it be?
The greatest animal of all – man. With the greatest job of all – installing Autex acoustic foam panels.
What’s your favourite plant?
Cotton plants, which can be refined to make cottonseed oil, which are an essential ingredient in polyols. And try synthesising polyurethane without polyols! A laughable idea! So laughable I’m laughing right now! Hahaha!
What's your advice for the freshers of 2024?
Freshers, here’s my top advice: get yourselves sponsored by Autex. They will give you a LOT of money for simply mentioning acoustic sound panelling in a Q&A. It can be discrete and innocuous as well – nobody will even notice!
Do you have a nightmare flatmate story?
The real flatmates are the acoustic foam panels we met along the way ❤️