E-Own and Damian Marley
Interview with South London rapper/producer E-Own
When and what made you want to become an artist?
I’ve always been into music, and my dad Junia Walker’s an established artist so I’ve always had music around me growing up. I’d write poetry and stuff but never thought about music till the people around me started making instrumentals and I made the transition to rap roundabout September last year.
Who would you compare yourself to musically?
No one, that’s the beauty of it. I think I’m a bunch of artists rolled into one.
Where did the name E-Own come from and what does it mean?
Always get that question. It’s short for Aeonian which is a rock. It’s durable, permanent, unchangeable, I basically took those traits and applied it to myself, reminds me to stay true to myself and my beliefs.
Who are your musical influences?
Too many. Biggest one 2pac, work ethic was phenomenal , nowadays I tend to listen to Jay-Z most though ,and learn a lot from him, he’s the Blueprint right?
What are your biggest accomplishments as an artist so far?
Maybe the “Strictly for my THINKAZ” EP release on i-tunes, It’s a good feeling to know people are paying to hear you speak. I’m on the Jusic International label as well, that’s got me feeling accomplished.
How did you actually get to start producing your own beats and recording songs?
Thinks the beats just come from a desire to make music. One of the issues as an unsigned or underground artist a lot of the time is you don’t have a constant supply of beats coming your way, and producers want to charge you hundreds for an average beat. I basically bypassed that problem by making the beats myself now, and I have better creative control doing it that way. As for the recording part I got tired of paying for studio time, having to rush the end product, and dealing with the studio being fully booked when I wanted to record so I invested in a studio at my house. I taught myself how to mix and edit tracks too so I can spend unlimited time getting everything right.
Even though your into music you study journalism at uni why did you choose this as opposed to a music based course?
That phrase about putting all your eggs in one basket. I believe in my music but never wanted to put pressure on it as a way of making a living. I am on a music production course with artefacts entertainment though; it’s just a couple of hours a week and helps me work on the production side of things.
Do you sing as well?
I wish, that would be the one talent I’d want to have that I haven’t got, but I can let it go, no Auto-tune necessary.
What’s different about your music compared to other artist out there?
Think it’s not as materialistic as a lot of hip hop material out now, and I have a habit of talking sense. Think one of the issues is record labels and artists now have found conventions that mean that you can make a lot of money and they tend to stick to those conventions, I tend to break them.
Your music seems to have a positive vibe going on in general but hip hop often comes under scrutiny for being negative or violent. What is your take on rappers whose lyrics are negative or violent?
It comes under scrutiny then I have to defend it lol. There’s so many different angles to it, I tend to prefer rappers releasing their anger on record than out on the streets, but I do think some rappers go over board for shock value or to prove their the toughest of the tough. I personally don’t have a problem with it though as long as it’s the truth, think there’s many different side to human nature, negative and positive, and I think that should be reflected in the music.
What different or unique about your music compared to other artist?
I won’t do a song that’s already been done, there’s no enjoyment in that for me. If I feel a subject or topics already been used I leave it alone. Creativity’s important to me. One of the issues artists are struggling to get around is that they all work with the same producers because of their labels and such, at one point last year it seemed half the songs in the charts were by Timbaland so every artist just ended up sounding the same.
What would you say to other artist who want to get serious with music but don’t know where to start?
Start by perfecting what you’re already good at, and find someone who’s already made it that you can learn from. You’ve got to be a student of the game. Learn all of their strengths identify their weakness and stay true to yourself. We’ve already got a version of everyone else in the world we don’t already have a version of you so don’t be afraid to be you when everyone else is being them. And try not to rely on others as much as possible. More and more artists are going independent, Sway did, Akala did, Jay-Z definitely did.
