The Great Hip Hop Hoax Page #4

it's who you know.

Ultimately

I'm looking for that X factor

and you can't quantify what that

hidden gem of that person is.

It's just something that

jumps out at you. It could be...

It could be anything.

You can't quantify what

is going to make someone succeed.

They've got a degree of magic

about them.

What I remember is two dynamic

young people with a massive amount

of energy bounding into the office

like young puppies.

Yo, me and Sili been having

this drinking contest

Six months later and my head

is full of cobwebs...

He didn't get it.

He knew he didn't need to get it.

He knew that if JD gave him the nod,

then that was cool.

The moment we walked into Jonathan

Shalit's office, they were on us.

They couldn't believe their luck

in stumbling across these two

crazy Americans who were just wild.

I think he's seen us as a package,

which was perfect

cos that's what we wanted to be.

We didn't just want to be

two rappers making music,

we wanted to venture off into film.

We wanted to have our own TV shows,

we wanted to be everywhere.

My plan was to first of all

get the record deal.

No-one else was doing

what they were doing at that time.

It seemed, to us, people who could

electrify British clubs,

nightclubs and radio stations

up and down the country.

I said, like, "Jonathan,

we're not getting out of bed

"for anything less than 65,000."

He was like, "All right, cool.

OK, 70."

I'm, like, looking at Bill like,

"F***. " You know, 70 grand!

It was all happening faster

than our emotions could catch up.

They'd just come back from America

and they had no money

so we gave them financial advances.

They put us up in a house in London,

we got money every month

in our bank account,

all studio costs were paid for.

We paid for them

to have a place to rehearse,

we paid people to be in a band

for them, we paid for instruments.

Basically, financially

supported them completely

so they could concentrate without

worrying on developing their music.

Did you have any qualms

about taking his money?

No.

No.

First goal achieved, we're making

music, were getting paid

to do f*** all but make music.

You know, that's the life.

And now all we needed Jonathan to do

was to go back to Island Records,

sign the deal

and we had a record deal.

But Jonathan had other ideas.

He knew that if there was interest

from Island, there would be

interest elsewhere, so he began

to pimp us to the other labels.

Just creating this insane buzz.

I think Chris Rock was probably

a little bit pissed off

because they thought

it was just going to happen.

Essentially, your manager is

looking for the best deal.

Everyone is trying to get in

because you know,

as a management company, you're

going to get your little 20%

which, if they sell millions of

records is a large amount of money.

So, all the time, there is a lot

of back-stabbing, cut-throating.

A lot of talking,

people whispering in people's ears,

that's the music business.

What you do is you book a rehearsal

room with a light and sound system

and you create a mini stage,

and then invite the record label

down for a private performance.

It's a very cold environment

because there's no cheering

It's a very cold environment

because there's no cheering

and clapping, and whooping,

like in a concert,

so it's very hard for the act

to be dynamic

because they've got to

perform to nothing.

They perform to no reaction

apart from a...

Sony were really the front runners,

Sony US.

Senior members of Sony

flew in specially for them

when they heard the music.

We did a little showcase for them.

He was just full of questions,

like, "Why are you over here?"

You know, like, "When are your visas

going to run out?"

And stuff like that, you know, "Why

aren't you doing this back home?"

"Let's go. " You know,

he was really into it

and it seems like he really

wanted to make it happen.

We were just really worried

that, you know,

how do we go back to America?

How do we get into America now?

We'd be found out

as soon as we got to Customs

and we don't have

American passports.

So we thought that was

too tricky,

so I think Bill made up something

on the phone to Shalit about,

"No, we can't work with that guy,"

like, "He came on to me. "

Yeah, we just sabotaged that one.

So now we're turning down

record deals.

That just kind of kick-started

the Sony UK deal happening,

so if the US weren't going to have

this, Sony still wanted it.

They loved the music we had,

they were going to pay for us

to go back into the studio,

work with different producers

and get our first single,

get it ready,

get it printed up and get it out.

We believed, if we got found out,

that we'd have to pay

all the money back.

Well, obviously, we couldn't take it

to a lawyer and say,

"This is what we're doing. "

We didn't know if it was, you know,

if we'd go to jail for fraud.

Friday 13th April, 2004,

we signed to Sony.

Two singles and an album,

essentially.

So that's, like, I think,

50 grand and then,

when the album's ready, 100,000.

You don't think,

like, it's going to work.

You know deep down

you've got the talent

and you've got the drive to do it,

but you can't imagine that

things are just going to,

bam, bam, bam, then go, and go.

It got real at that point.

It got really real.

People over the world...

Every minute of every day,

are dreaming of signing a major

record deal with their music and...

We'd just done that.

We never really got into the music

for the glitz and the glam,

and all that fame

and celebrity stuff.

For us, it's always been about

keeping it real

and just having a good time,

travelling around with friends,

rocking out venues,

skating around the world and...

- Groupies.

No, I mean, seriously,

we're down-to-earth guys,

we like to stay grounded,

keeping it real

and all that kind of stuff...

What is this? -It's champagne!

It's not Cristal?

Get it out of here!

Sorry. -Stop breathing on me, you're

giving me a chill in my neck. Jesus!

The next stage was just pure fun

for us.

It was incredible, every morning,

waking up, hitting the studio,

making tracks.

That, for me, is incredible.

After the studio, we'd go to

an event, get drunk, get wasted,

go back to the studio,

in the morning, start again.

It was a marketeer's wet dream.

I just couldn't see

how it would fail.

The key aim was, it sounds silly,

but really, was to take over

the world.

It was infectious and you did kind of

get wrapped up in it yourself.

And it's very easy

after spending time with them

to think "we could do this,

we could take over the world. "

We will be the biggest band.

We gave people too much

to think about.

We needed them

not to ask certain questions, so...

If the conversation ever

got into anything serious,

we'd throw the head on tangents.

So, yes, it was always manic.

Going to celebrity parties,

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