Kano Live

KANO LIVE with special guests Wiley, Skepta, Tinchy Stryder, Neon Hitch and the Thirst

September 30th @ INDIGO 02, LONDON

“The neighbours aren’t happy,” Kano grins about the residents either side of ‘140 Grime St.’ “They’re pissed off with the loud music!” Despite disgruntled habitants at 138 and 142, Kane ‘Kano’ Robinson has returned to the residence of his musical conception. He describes his new album ‘140 Grime St’, as a return to his teenage bedroom where he would write lyrics and record them onto mixtapes while his brother DJ’d. “I’m going back to where I grew up.”

Raised in the golden era of pirate radio, Kane Robinson quickly found notoriety on the underground circuit as a lyrical leviathan. Sidestepping the pitfalls of his East London environment, he honed his delivery alongside the likes of Dizzee Rascal and Wiley, developing a confident poise absent anywhere else in the capital. Standing out from the rest of his peers, on his 18th birthday Robinson was offered the chance to make the leap from the underground to the mainstream in the form of a record contract with 679/Warner. Knocking back promising prospects in sport and academia, the young MC made the transition to an artist and accepted the proposal – and he has never looked back.

Released in 2005, Kano’s debut ‘Home Sweet Home’ was quickly heralded as an urban classic. With appearances from Mike Skinner, and production from himself, Mikey J and Fraser T Smith, Kano built an eclectic fanbase; a heartthrob and a hood hero both, singles like ‘Brown Eyes’ and ‘Nite Nite’ proved he could create chart hits with credibility. A MOBO performance of typical Me was pronounced by Public Enemy’s Chuck D as ‘The best performance,’ he had seen in a long time. However the standout track for many will be ‘P’s & Q’s’ – an underground anthem and a seminal grime classic.

The sophomore effort ‘London Town’ arrived in 2007 and offered an insight into London living. As well as further cementing his position as a commodifiable musician, the record featured noticeable musical contribution from Kate Nash, ex-Blur frontman and Gorillaz brainchild Damon Albarn who sang and produced on the single ‘Feel Free’, and UK garage/R&B poster boy Craig David with whom Kano released ‘This Is The Girl’. Both tracks hit the top 20. The album also showcased Kane’s Jamaican heritage, with a noticeable reggae influence most epitomised by the collaboration with dancehall superstar Vybz Kartel - ‘Buss It Up’ which fused dancehll and grime effortlessly.

As one of the few underground star’s to cross over to the mainstream, Kano has appeared in NME, i-D, RWD, Dazed & Confused (ETC ETC), been playlisted on Radio1, Choice, Galaxy and Kiss and has performed everywhere from Glastonbury to Jools Holland. Among the awards won, Kano was named Best Newcomer at the MOBO’s, Best UK artist at the BET awards and was nominated for a BRIT award.

After all the awards, accolades and acclaim, why is Kane revisiting the place where it all started? “You could say I’m going back there, but I’m going forward at the same time,” Kane states about ‘140 Grime St’, an album that represents the cycle of his career so far. “The album really tells a story. It begins with me in my bedroom wanting to get out, but the end is me after I’ve been through the whole industry scene and now I wanna do it my own way.”

Robinson is referring to his new independent status as label owner of BPM Recordings. Rising above label politics, Kano has taken the reigns to his career into his own hands after an amicable split from 679. Full creative control has allowed him to produce the most challenging project of his career whilst tackling what is probably the first fully conceptual grime album ever. “140 beats per minute is the tempo,’ Grime’ is the vibe and the community I come from and ‘Street’ is where we came up, and who the music appeals to,” says Kano of the album’s concept.

‘Hustler’ is the first single from the album, and it exemplifies the cyclic evolution of Kano as an artist with the first verse directing the listener with TomTom-like precision through the life of a pre-signed Kano whilst the second verse presents the mature MC who he is today. “It was the perfect single cos it explains so much,” he shares. What with the hefty horns and hypnotic hook, some have likened it to the classic ‘P’s & Q’s’. “Wow that’s a lot to live up to,” Kano smiles knowingly.

Grime legend Wiley provides the beat and a verse on ‘Anywhere We Go’ which sees the long awaited collaboration between the grime pioneers. “I respect Wiley as a producer and an MC,” Kano remarks. The two heavyweights throw respect for each other back and forth as they reference each other’s standout lyrics. “That’s a mutual respect thing. Wiley was one of the people I listened to on the radio coming up, I used to recite his lyrics in my bedroom.”

Another artist who has contributed a beat is Skepta from the highly lauded Boy Better Know collective, while DaVinChe, producer of ‘P’s & Q’s’ provides the soundtrack for ‘I Like It’ and ‘Don’t Come Around Here’. The latter is a forward-thinking song that relays street tales from the perspective of victims of crime. “It’s putting out a positive message without preaching,” Kano says. “ It’s doing it in a way that young people can connect with. It’s not one of those bohemian coffee house poetry corner protests. It’s a hard beat which kids can bop their head to, but if you really listen to the undercurrent of the track it’s a positive message I’m trying to get across and it relates to the time that we are living in.” What starts off as a dark foreboding song is soon flipped on its head by a clever twist as Kano addresses gun crime, single parent households and the lack of positive black role models. “It’s not gonna change the world - that’s a bigger job than any track,” he admits. “It’s just my way of addressing the kids.

As well as DaVinChe, Wiley and Skepta, the album also sees long-term collaborators Ghetto and Mikey J (who produced 9 of the LP’s 16 tracks). Completing the narrative, the album’s finale ‘Aim For The Sky’ sees Kano in a thoughtful mood as he analyses his progression from day one up until the present. Is he ready to be his own boss? “It’s going well so far,” he smirks before adding, “I haven’t had to fire myself like Alan Sugar!

The next step is to take the album on tour, with Kano planning a full-blown assault on venues in the UK as well as Europe. The tour, which will hit clubs as well as traditional venues may be as groundbreaking as the album with plans to involve all the album contributors along the way.

Also not wanting to disappoint fans who he has accumulated along the way, Kano is hoping to jump into the studio very soon to record a follow up album to be released early next year. “The next one I’m just gonna go crazy. Explore more genres. Work with artists outside of the scene and just make an international album that will put my name on the map.”

“What I wanted to get across with ‘140 Grime St’ was the vibe and the energy of the scene. I also wanted to cement the position I have, my situation and how I’m trying to move forward through the industry,” concludes Kano. “It’s just MY story.”

Posted by Anna Nathanson