Skepta: 'My dad used to DJ when I was younger, so it's kind of all I've ever known'

Ebro sits down with UK grime MC and rapper Skepta to discuss his musical journey, from DJing in his youth to becoming a grime MC, as well as his latest collaboration with Flo Milli. He also talks about his influences from hip-hop legends like Busta Rhymes and Missy Elliott, and reveals details about his upcoming album featuring Project Pat.

Skepta tells Apple Music how DJing was his first true passion

Ebro Darden: I was privy to you being a DJ first, your love for just music and playing music for people and bringing people together, culturally together, whether you're playing dance hall, whether you're playing house records, whether you're playing hip hop records. That was your original love, right?

Skepta: Yeah, for sure. My dad used to DJ when I was younger, so it's kind of all I've ever known, bass music in the house. Even when I'm sleeping at night, I'll just always hear bass through the walls and stuff. So I feel like as an extension of that, I remember my dad had this karaoke ... It was a tape player, but it was a karaoke. But you could adjust the speed on it, and I had another turntable where you could adjust the speed. So I would always try and mix when I was young, young, young. I'm trying to mix in the house. Then just music Music 2000 on PlayStation, making this. I was listening to garage music, house, speed garage, all the early dance music.

Then I think slowly, how the grime scene formed was us. We was always looking for the breaks on these vocal tracks to MC. So after the singing's done, you'd find a little bit, and then you'd MC there and stop when the singing comes. So I think after a while of finding those breaks, we just started on these programs like Music 2000. I think I was working on Cubase at the time as well. We just started making our own beats. Yeah, I think it's the blessing of being from London. Everybody's so mixed.

Skepta tells Apple Music about being inspired by other rappers such as Busta Rhymes and Missy Elliot

Ebro Darden: We came up at a time where there weren't really boundaries on what a rapper could do or where hip hop could go. You even talk when you talk about grime, when you're talking about finding the break in garage records, that's the same thing they was doing in the Bronx when they was trying to figure out how to rock parties, was finding breaks.

Skepta: Yeah. Because I kind of know that without all of this stuff, deep down, I am an artist. You know what I mean? Even in my worst times, I'm going to create the best art. But I just know that I'm really blessed and I need to keep being the example for that young girl or boy who's sitting in their room one day, thinking, man, how do I break out of this frequency?

Ebro Darden: Or even break out of these silos and these boxes that everybody puts you in. Oh, because you come from this neighborhood, you got to be like this, or because you look like this, you got to be like this.

Skepta: Because I used to think like that, but it's because of the frequency that I was in, and it was me looking at Biggie. You know what I mean? It was me seeing Busta in the 'Gimme Some More' video. It was me seeing Missy Elliott. They don't know how much they inspire. I'm sitting here right now because of these people. You know what I mean? And they never told me how to do it. They just were embodying it, and it was just for me to find time. There's this quote that I love. It says, "When a student is ready, the teacher will appear." Because they just have to keep doing that, and when I'm ready, I will find the lesson in that person. So yeah, I'm just on a real shooting start mission, man, until I burn out.

Skepta tells Apple Music about his song with Flo Milli, 'Why Lie?'

Ebro Darden: Let's get to that Flo Milli, 'Why Lie?' I like how you don't rap until the end of the record. You kind of give the ladies something in the beginning. You know what I'm saying? But then you get to the bars at the end. I like that.

Skepta: Bro, I keep it 100. I wasn't even supposed to do that second verse, but Flo's verse was so crazy.

Ebro Darden: You was like, "I got to get something."

Skepta: Yeah, verse was so crazy. When she hits the, "True Religion greedy. Heart cold, I think I need" ... that, when it starts going, it started getting crazy. Then I was like, "Bro, wait. I need to do something." But yeah, man, it feels good to be back. I feel like a lot more people are in tune to what I'm doing right now. It feels like I'm at home now when I'm in the States.

Skepta tells Apple Music that Project Pat is featured on his next album

Skepta: Three 6 on "Ain't Safe," so over time when I come, especially if it's not a grime track like these tracks I've just mentioned, if it's not a grime track, I will always make sure I'm paying homage to the genre that I'm stepping into, to the arena that I'm stepping into. I know where I'm coming into, not that I'm just going to always take someone's flow for a rap record, but I will always have little nuances in my bars where people will know. Yeah, this guy knows what he's doing.

This is a leak, but I have Project Pat on my next album. Yeah, yeah, yeah, and it was a long time coming, because I'm sure he's heard "No Security." He's heard "Ain't Safe." He's heard "Greaze Mode." All these tracks is Three 6 bounce and flow. You know what I mean? Actually, I made the track and I sent it to him. He hit me back and he said, "I'm going to flame-throw this record." I remember just sitting there. Like I said, I don't have no number ones. I don't have no Brit Awards. I don't have that kind of stuff. You know what I mean? I don't have no Grammy or nothing.