As part of
my course, this year we have been focusing on Subcultures. After a lot of
research and debating, my group decided to pinpoint Grime as a subculture as
this is current, relatable and it is the one subculture that interests me. For
any project, I think that primary research is vital and I really enjoy meeting
new people so I did some digging to find some young talented individuals to
interview and find out what they thought about Grime. Khadejia Ghislanzoni was
my first victim! Myself and Hannah met Khadejia at Kemet FM in Nottingham, she was very
welcoming and we clicked straight away! Check out our interview below:
Chloe: Hey Khadejia, first of all tell us a bit about yourself?
Khadejia:
Well hi my name is Khadejiah, I go to college at the moment full time but on
the side I obviously do my radio work at Kemet FM and I also shadow Sian
Anderson on BBC Radio 1 extra, I’m her assistant so I go back and forth from
Nottingham to London probably about once every two weeks. I do blogging on the
side but I don’t really enjoy blogging as much as I used to, it the whole
writing thing, it’s not really me! But I do a bit of DJing as well which I
enjoy! My dad has a pair of decks at home so when I’m bored or have nothing to
do I just go round and play with the decks. Oh and I also do my vlog as well
which I have on my Youtube account, it’s not popular at the moment! But yeah I do
like my top 5 tracks of the month but yeah that is me!
Chloe: Wow
there’s a lot going on there! Do you know what you want to do when you are
older? DJing maybe?
Khadejia:
No! Don’t get me wrong, I love DJing but it’s not something I really want to go
down the path of, I mean I can DJ and don’t mind doing the offset here and
there of whatever but I’m really into presenting, it’s just trying to find out
what type of presenting I want to do! Whether its radio presenting, which I do
now, or TV presenting. So at the minute I’m just exploring my options of what
to do!
Chloe: Okay
cool! So how did you get to start working for Kemet FM?
Khadejia: My
dad used to work there actually! Years ago now, I used to be about 8 or 9 when
he worked there and I used to go in with him. He did a Wednesday show or a
Tuesday show until 8 o’clock and I used to beg to go with him and do my little
“You’re listening to DJ Jools” because that’s his DJ name and I don’t know why
but they kind of stuck with me. They knew my face so I was quite familiar
there! When I walked in it was this time last year actually and on New Year’s
Eve I asked if I could shadow one of the presenters on there and from there we
build a relationship so I kept going back every Thursday and then it became a
weekly thing and now it’s cool.
Chloe: So as a music lover in general, when I say the word Grime, what comes to mind?
Khadejia:
I think of your Kanos, Dizzee Rascals, I don’t really think of your new grime
artists, just the older ones that influenced the culture.
Chloe: What
about in terms of objects, for example headphones?
Khadejia:
Oooh erm, decks, your pioneers, your headphones, oo I don’t know what do I
think of!!
Chloe: Any
particular food?
Khadejia:
I’m trying to think! Oh magnums, definitely magnums! Cherry b’s and chicken and
chips!
Chloe: So
why is Grime personal to you and is there a story behind this?
Khadejia: It’s
100% personal. Music at the minute is literally my life! I always been brought
up with music around me, my dad was a DJ but when I was younger I didn’t know
about Grime at all, I had no clue. But when I went into school I was about
12/13 in year 8 and I started to listen to UK stuff and I don’t know If you
guys know of A9 (Aye Nizzy), he’s from Nottingham. When I saw people from
Nottingham on Youtube I thought it was sick and I wanted to do that! And I got
hooked on an MC called Mez and I watched
him grow from his little 15-year-old self to where he is now. So that’s how I
got into Grime, just watching people and watching videos which allowed me to
get the energy and the hype which I really enjoyed. One day I saw a poster on social media
of one of my favourite local artists performing (Mez) at the LOTM7 in
London at the o2 arena so I convinced my mum to take me and had the best time.
Chloe: Since
following Grime, is there anything that makes you angry about the culture? How
do the media portray it?
Khadejia:
The media try and commercialise it into something that it’s not, like for
instance they brand Krept and Konan as Grime and to me, Krept and Konan are not
grime, they’re UK rap.
Hannah: Do
you think Drake and Kanye are Grime?
Khadejia:
Noooo, what!?
Hannah:
Because we have been reading stuff online and journalists mention Drake and
Kanye as Grime artists. But the whole point of Grime was that it was an East
London thing! It used to be hip hop and garage but then that became mainstream
so they wanted something more underground and that’s where Grime came from.
Khadejia:
That is off key!!
Hannah: And
at the BRIT awards, Kanye brought on lots of Grime artist and MCs, Stormzy
being one of them and so ever since then, they say Kanye is turning more Grime.
Chloe: Yeah
they are starting to misinterpret Grime and its roots!
Khadejia:
No Kanye and Drake are not Grime at all! And what I like about Grime now is
that it’s more versatile so you got AJ Tracey and Snowy. Snowy is pure Grime,
he doesn’t do UK rap whereas AJ Tracey has just brought out a new song called
pastor which is more American with the visuals of the video and he can do both.
But I prefer hard core Grime but yeah they media is ridiculous, they say
something is grime when it’s not! Like Tinie Tempah… what?
Hannah: The
media kills most subcultures as well!
Khadejia:
Yeah, it’s ridiculous, the majority of black people or a different ethnic
background, they perceive it as violent and it’s not, that’s just the way they
express their feelings at that time.
Chloe: Yeah
we 100% agree with that! Have you heard of the 696 policy?
Khadejia: No! I’ve not
heard of that, what is it?
Chloe: It’s a risk
assessment form that is used by
the Metropolitan Police when trouble is expected at a gig or club and it’s been
happening a lot within Grime culture, some events haven’t even started and the
police are already there shutting it down, what do you think about this? Do you
think that is discriminating against Grime in particular or just coincidence?
Khadejia: I think a part of it
is discrimination but I get why they do that, I do but they just shouldn’t
stereotype because not all Grime gigs are like that. Like Giggs for example is
a UK rapper and his gigs get shut down a lot and there is no trouble. Skepta
did an Ally Pally (Alexandra Palace) event with around 10,000 people, sold out
and there was no trouble caused there. It shouldn’t be shut down! It’s
ridiculous. But I also do get why they do it to keep people safe but they need
to accept grime.
Chloe: What do you think about
women in the Grime scene?
Khadejia: I think they’re very
powerful, the main top woman to me is Sian Anderson, she is a really cool woman.
Chloe: Yes – as part of our
secondary research, we watched a documentary on photographers within Grime and
she was presenting it!
Khadejia: Yes, that was good –
Sian is the one person I have gravitated towards the most because she knows her
stuff!
Chloe: Do you think women are
overlooked? Or do you think it’s equal for men and women in this industry?
Khadejia: Ermmmm.. I’m not sure
Chloe: For example, in the media
we always hear about Stormzy and Skepta etc. but what do we know about the
women in grime?
Khadejia: I think they are
looked at as feminine and are restricted because they hear things such as ‘you
can’t do this because you’re a girl’ but I dunno, I like how you’ve got more
guys than you have girls but I see it as women are more powerful in that sense
because without your Sian Anderson there would be no AJ Tracy. This makes the
women in the Grime scene really unique which I like and think it should stay
that way!
Chloe: Out of culture, music and
fashion, what would you say best describes Grime?
Khadejia: Fashion! I’d say
tracksuits and trainers.
Hannah: What brands do you think
represent Grime?
Khadejia: Oo erm Adidas, Puma –
Puma is on job with everything right now!! Reebok is getting in there but not
as successful.
Chloe: Yes, think you’ve got
that spot on! Well thank you for taking the time to answer our questions, it
was lovely to meet you and you’ve been really helpful!
To find out more about Khadejia please visit: http://www.khadejiag.com
Photo Credit - Chloe Ferdinand
