The Art of MCing with Harry Shotta

Photo: Harry Shotta

The iconic Hysteria drum n bass brand lands at Birmingham's Rainbow Venues this weekend, with one of the biggest drum n bass line ups we've encountered in a long time taking over three rooms equipped with heavyweight Martin Audio and Funktion One sound systems.

The likes of DC Breaks, the Shadow Demon Coalition, Grooverider, Junemiller and Majistrate appear alongside some of the most accomplished MCs on the circuit. One such MC comes in the shape of Harry Shotta, recent winner of best lyrical MC award at the National Drum n Bass Awards.

We caught up with him not long after his trailblazing appearance for Charlie Sloth's 'Fire In The Booth' to find out what he's got in store for Hysteria, what it takes to stand out in such a competitive scene, and a whole lot more.

You’re set to play at Hysteria’s End of Summer Slammer on September 5th, are you looking forward to it? How do you prepare for a gig of this size?

Yeah, I always look forward to playing at the bigger raves and Hysteria has always been a name that creates a lot of heat and excitement with the Drum N Bass crowd. I remember my mates playing me the old Hysteria tapes when I was in school and when I first started MCing to Drum N Bass it was a rave I was anxious to play at.

In terms of preparation I like to get hyped up for my sets by listening to a lot of high energy music on the way to the venue. I do listen to Drum N Bass but I also listen to a lot of Rap and Grime music like Giggs, Fekky and P Money. I just find it hypes me up a lot and gets the adrenalin flowing so when I hit the rave I’m gassed up and ready to fully go in.

I’m not known for holding back on my sets so I know they expect me to go all out on my sets and that’s what I’m looking forward to doing at the End of Summer Slammer at Hysteria.

You recently appeared on Charlie Sloth’s Fire in the Booth for a second time, your first as a Drum N Bass MC. How was the experience?

Well it was mad because I did my first Fire in the Booth about 18 months ago and I went all out to make an impact with it. It was received really well and now has over 300,000 views on You Tube. It’s one of those videos that people always hit me up about on line or talk about when I’m out in the clubs.

So when Charlie called me on the Monday saying that he wanted me to do the first ever Drum N Bass Fire in the Booth for his show on Radio 1 and 1Xtra that weekend I was proper excited. But at the same time the pressure was on. The first one was received so well and I knew this one would be judged against it.

Plus, there are a lot of misconceptions among people who don’t listen to DNB that all the MC’s do is chat a bunch of diggedy wiggedy nonsense on the mic and don’t make any sense or have any lyrical content. Now we know this isn’t true but I know it’s a common perception people outside of the Drum N Bass scene seem to have about DNB MC’s. 

So I wanted to go up there and show them that lyrically we can do this. I also wanted to come with a bunch of mad flows and try to deliver a flawless performance that even if you didn’t like DNB you couldn’t argue with. This meant me spending the whole week practising and working out what bars I wanted to spit on the show.

I picked beats I thought I could shine on and went to work. I actually wrote a load of new bars for the first section of the session and made it by task to perfect them in the short time I had. When it was time to hit the BBC studios I felt ready. As soon as I got into the performance Charlie was loving it so I really got into my stride and went as hard as I could.

The response since from people outside of the DNB scene like Giggs, Ms Dynamite and K Koke has been mental! Plus everyone in the DNB scene from a multitude of the sub genres have been really supportive, posting it on their pages and bigging it up. It was a great experience and is something to build on.

You've alluded to it slightly, but is there an extra pressure with it being recorded, filmed and broadcasted, or does that not bother you?

Yeah it definitely adds to the pressure and I still get an adrenalin rush when I do these kinds of things but I like challenges and like to make things difficult for myself anyway. I think the pressure and the expectancy all adds to a more highly charged performance. 

How different is it MCing over Drum N Bass compared to Hip Hop? What made you turn your attention to Drum N Bass in particular?

There are a lot of differences. I would say the main difference is you can’t beat the hype and energy you can bring to a Drum N Bass flow. You can spit double time over Hip Hop but that marriage of flows and 170bpm beats is something special which obviously is why so many come to the parties and love what we do in the Drum N Bass scene. It really connects with a lot of people. 

On the other hand Hip Hop is obviously slower so in terms of telling a story or expressing deep emotions on a record it’s better for that. If you prefer to kick back and listen rather than get on hype the hip hop edge might appeal to you more. I personally love both but what I’ve tried to do is fuse them in a sense. I try to bring hip hop content and style to my Drum N Bass Mcing but still keep the hype and energy that people love within the patterns.

I was raised on Hip Hop. Since I was six years old I’ve listened to it so it’s always going to be a huge part of me and will always influence my approach to writing bars. The thing with Drum N Bass and why I turned my attention to it was I have always loved quick fire flows.

Even in Hip Hop some of my favourite MC’s are people like Busta Rhymes, Jay Z and Ludacris who all can murder double time delivery. When I first heard Skibadee and Shabba going in on a Telepathy tape I was addicted to the style of DNB and used to go round my mates and record Drum N Bass mix tapes.

But those times it was all just for jokes and a bit of fun. I was too young to get in the raves when I first heard the tape with Skibz and Shabba but as soon as I was of age I went to a Jungle Fever night at Astoria and I was blown away by the energy of the scene.

I continued to write and make Hip Hop but every weekend I would be in the Drum N Bass raves, just skanking out, feeling the music. I was a fan of the DNB scene way before I ever thought about doing it as career so I always feel very blessed to be in the position I am. 

How did your love for Mcing begin?

From the moment I heard someone rapping I was into it. And I was only six years old at the time. If you read my book you’ll know I had a pretty mad childhood were I felt quite alone so Hip Hop and my love for MCing was the one thing that kept me going and kept me on a positive course.

I would use all my pocket money to buy Hip Hop records. I fully immersed myself in the whole culture of the music and I’m still as into it today, downloading all the latest mix tapes and albums. I’m honestly a big fan of the art of Mcing and I try to appreciate all styles whether it’s from the UK or US or whether its music made for the clubs or conscious music to make you think. 

People sometimes expect me to only like one style of MC but I really appreciate and listen to it all. From the man who are trying to make a change with their lyrics, to the MC’s who rep the street side of things to the guys who are just coming with a bunch of mad flows I honestly enjoy it all and try to learn from all the aspects of the art form.

What’s been the biggest challenge of your career so far?

I think the challenge for every artist that lasts for a decent amount of time is to stay relevant and keep with the times. I’m always looking at new ways to develop my style further rather than allow myself to get too comfortable, lay back and chill and let other people take over.

The MC game is very competitive. Everyone wants to take their talent as far as they can so you really have to be on point and be sharp and alert to changes in the music business so you can use the changes to your advantage. It’s not about playing catch up, it’s about being at the forefront of things and doing things first.

I am lucky in the way that I still love the competitive side of MCing. I’m not just in this for the money. If your only in it for the financial rewards then you’re going to find writing new bars, performing and the mad amount of hours on the road very hard. If however, you love it and are passionate about it you’re not going to be drained by it. You’re gonna be accelerated by it.

I always set myself new challenges and goals. I’ve never been the type to stand still and watch others. I always want to push myself to the absolute limits and be the best MC and performer that I can be. 

What advice would you give to any up and coming MCs?

First things first always try and be original. When you think of the MC’s that have broken through in any genre they always bring their own flows, a unique voice or are telling a unique story that we haven’t heard before. No one wants to listen to a bootleg version of an original artist when you can go to the original source.

The other thing I would encourage the youngsters to do is stay humble and understand that what you do off the mic and how you conduct yourself is just as important as what you’re doing lyrically. Being professional, turning up on time and doing a good job will get you further than you think. No matter how good you are, if you are a pain in the arse with a massive ego no one is gonna want to support you, book you or play your music.

MC’s need to know that things take time too. They seem to get frustrated if DJ’s don’t support straight away or if they have to do graveyard shifts or play in room 2. You’ve got to give promoters or DJ’s a reason to want you on their nights or play your tunes. Remember it is a business. No matter how good you are, if you haven’t got a buzz or anyone wanting to see you or hear your music the guy with all that going on who may not be as good as you will get the bring in. So think of a strategy to make yourself stand out from the rest, work as hard as you can and go all out to achieve your goals. Don’t watch what others are doing and get jealous if there doing better than you. Use that to inspire you to be better and never give up. 

We saw on your Facebook page that you were at the Notting Hill Carnival this year. Talk us through that. What did you get up to?

I’ve been going carnival ever since I was a little kid. I think I’ve only missed one year ever since I first went when I was 11. One year everyone flopped from going in so hard from the night before so I just went on my own. I used to go on the Sunday and the Monday but I’m working all weekend at the raves so I go on the Monday’s now. I’ve always enjoyed the whole vibe of carnival. 

Everyone’s on a good vibe and the sun is shining normally. This year it was raining all day though! But we didn’t let that stop us from going or getting into the spirit of things. I rolled up there with Skibadee and some other close friends and we ended up jumping on the Drum N Bass stage and rolling out some bars for the people. I had some curried goat, drunk a lot, skanked out a bit, lost everybody, came home and fell asleep! Same again next year. 

You’ve been nominated for the best live at the Bass Music Awards. How does that feel? Do you think you can win it?

It was wicked to see the Harry Shotta Show nominated for best live act in the Bass Music Awards. Recognition for all the hard work is always nice! In terms of winning it, there’s some incredible competition with some really mainstream artists in there but you never know! No one thought anyone apart from Skibadee or Eksman could win the best lyrical MC award but I won it at the National Drum N Bass Awards. Anything is possible so get voting!

Catch Harry Shotta doing his thing at Hysteria on September 5th by grabbing your tickets here.