Mykindofmusic Interview

Blazin' Squad are the ten-strong gang from North London who are about to take the charts by storm. We met up with Tommy B (Tom Beasley), Freek (Ollie Georgiou), Krazy (Lee Bailey), Reepa (Stuart Baker), Spike-e (Sam Foulkes) in their record company's offices on a hot summer's day as they prepared for fame fortune and GCSE results...

How did you get together?

Freek
We knew each other pretty much since we started Highams Park School, about five years ago. Three years ago we started MCing and that, and got into a couple of crews. There were two to start with, Blazin and The Incredible Crew, then we eventually joined up.

Tommy B
We were just making tapes in our bedrooms, listening to pirate radio stations.

Freek
That's how I got my name, from Freek FM, the pirate station. I ain't actually a freak or anything!

Were So Solid an inspiration, with there being so many of you?

Reepa
Yeah, they were one of our main inspirations. Proving they could do it helped us get focused and go for it.

And how did you get signed?

Krazy
We started working with a couple of local producers and made a demo. We released that underground, just letting DJs and other people pass it about amongst themselves and from there East West heard about it and signed us up.

Your first single Crossroads is a cover, how did that end up being your debut release?

Tommy B
I saw it on MTV. It's a Bone Thugs N Harmony song. It was a big hit in America but it never really worked here. I took it to the boys and they liked it as well. We decided to give it a UK vibe and break it to the UK.

Have you done an album?

Spike E
We're working on one just now. It'll be coming out at the start of next year. It's a wide mix of tunes. There's garage, R'n'B, pop, hip-hop, stuff like that.

You sat your GCSE's this summer, what's it like doing this now?

Reepa
Pretty mad. We finished our exams and we've just been promoting this since. We've been doing loads of roadshows up and down the country, interviews and that.

Tommy B
We've left school and are focussing on Blazin' now, though we get our results the week that Crossroads comes out so that's a pretty mental week, man.

Reepa
It could either be a really good or really bad week! We've got this now but it's still nervous waiting for your results.

What have the shows been like?

Freek
We played Party In The Park and that was something else. We were well nervous before that, playing to all those people. Some of the roadshows we've been doing have been to like 60,000 people. We've got used to playing big gigs now and it's a total buzz.

And how do you come up with songs. Do you all right them together or individually?

Krazy
We'll focus on a concept or a theme and start making up lyrics and doing MC spots and that. Then we'll work with our producers and start coming up with the music, laying some beats over what we've written.

Who you been listening to recently?

Freek
Eminem, Jah Rule, J-Lo, people like that. We're into UK acts to, supporting Heartless Crew, Pay As You Go, More Fire Crew.

It says in your biography you're all into video games.

Spike-E
Yeah yeah, we are. They're cool. Plus a lot of the time when your touring and doing shows, there's ages when you're sitting round doing nothing. We might be on stage for half an hour out of a whole day, so we take a Playstation 2 with us and play it in the hotels and wherever else.

Who would be your top celeb date?

Reepa
Christina Milian
Freek
Britney
Tommy B
J-Lo
Krazy
Britney
Spike-E
Sugababes

What's coming up?
Tommy B
We've got more shows to do, then we're doing the Smash Hits tour in October, more shows up until Christmas, and we'll be working on the album too, so that can get out at the start of 2003. Busy, always busy!