Interview: Adian Coker, Natural Born Thriller

With the UK scene currently dominated by a fleet of squeaky-clean pop stars, the disturbance of the peace is long overdue. Adian Coker has appeared as a rap version of Muhammad Ali, using clever punch lines and a showman’s sense of timing and repartee that will leave you wanting more. In the last year or so, the South-East London MC has been making a name for himself, crafting the sort of underground experimental buzz that can be appreciated by hip-hop enthusiasts of all ages. The release of his new mixtape, Young World, will offer yet another inventive foray into his very creative mind. His flow is seamless and entrancing. He spits out rapid-fire verses, atop hybrid beats and turns wit and confidence into potential trends, while never losing his approach. The more murky his flow, the slicker he sounds. “I was an angry, insular kid, so Eminem was perfect for me,” he explains, adding, “I would sit there and listen to him and write verses to his songs.” Coker is gaining a high standing among critics and fans, but make no mistake, his ultimate goal is to ensure UK hip-hop is seen as an authentic art form. We spoke to the rapper about his introduction to music, creative direction, and his desire to ghostwrite for Dr Dre and Diddy.

RESPECT.: I want to talk you about growing up in South-East London. It is not exactly on the forefront of rap, but obviously, you really do love hip hop. How did you become interested in music? 

Aidan Coker: To be honest, I got into hip-hop pretty late, maybe early 2001. I would have been around 12-years-old. I just didn’t have the same appreciation for grime as I do now. My uncle had this “Wild Wild West” compilation album that was released with the film and it had a Dr Dre track on there. My friends and I would also pass CD’s around. I remember we had the “Harlem World” album, all of the old Bad Boy shit. We’d be banging “24hrs to Live” at 7 in the morning! I was into Biggie, Tupac, and early Jay Z. Then I got hooked on Eminem and would play him like everyday. Same with Nas and Big L. However, Main Source and Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth took it somewhere different for me. I responded to them because of the musicality, especially the chord progressions and arrangements. But I was also listening to jazz, pop and rock. My uncle introduced me to this jazz group called Spyro Gyra that I still listen to until this day. I started learning classical guitar when I was 7 years-old, so I’ve always been interested in melody, harmonies, progressions and layers, which is probably why I’m so heavily into Kanye West. For me, he changed the landscape of hip-hop music alongside Just Blaze.

So was there anything to do with the contrast between expressing yourself, or was it a deeper interest in exploring your inner-self?

It’s funny because I was just having this conversation just the other day. I was an angry, insular kid, so Eminem was perfect for me. I would sit there and listen to him and write verses to his songs. I started off rapping like him actually. Then I moved onto sounding like Nas. Then I went through a Fab period. But you definitely have to go through this process in order to find your voice so that you can truly express yourself. It’s the same with production. My beats started off sounding like The Neptunes, Kanye, all those guys, because I studied them, until I eventually found my sound. When I first started rapping I definitely explored more of my personal situations and feelings than I do now. But as I got older I got more guarded, more aware and you begin to critique yourself more. Do you want people to actually know all of this shit about you and, do people even give a shit? There’s a fine line, I was reading an article recently in which Eminem was discussing this and even he, one of the most open artists of our time, questioned whether he would share as much as he did on “The Marshall Mathers LP” now if he had the chance to do it over.

There had to have been reasons behind wanting to put parts of your life out there–do you know why that was or is?

It’s interesting because there are so many situations that I’ve been through in my life that I could write about that would be salacious or whatever, but, up until now, I’ve never once thought “I should write a song about that.” I’m quite a private person, but there’s a song on Young World called “Dream” that explores the relationship I had with my ex-girlfriend. It really breaks down a period that we were going through. Those kinds of situations are easier to write about as so many people can relate to being in love. They’re private but they’re not, if you know what I mean, because so many other people around the world are experiencing the same or similar relationship issues. Putting parts of your life out there that would be foreign to the majority of listeners takes a lot more and, if I am going to do it, I want to do it in the best way possible; the right beat, the best verses, all that.

What was the first hip-hop record that you ever heard that made you say, “I have to start making shit like this”?

Probably “My Way” off Kanye’s Freshman Adjustment mixtape. My cousin gave it to me like “Yo, don’t give this to anybody else, this is exclusive!” I went to school the next day and made a beat like it. The track’s called “Formalities.” Believe me, it’s never coming out.

On some of your songs, you get pretty angry as you’re rapping. Is that something you’re conscious of?

[Laughs] Yeah, for sure. On “Angels & Demons,” I sound pissed! I think on that whole CD I sound a bit edgy, a bit aggressive. I’d say it was a mix of hunger and frustration, you know. Like, I’ve been making all this music for like 10 years and still nobody’s listening. So, my mixtape Lights Fantastic was all about that and all of the struggles artists go through. I think I’ve calmed down on this CD. I vented enough on the last one.

I feel as though you’d make a great ghostwriter. Is there a rapper who you’d like to write for?

Pharoahe Monch?! Can I possibly ghostwrite for the ghostwriter? I’d like to write for Dr Dre because that’d mean I have made it. And Diddy also, because I’d make sure to put “take that” and “we won’t stop” in the actual verse not just wait for the ad libs.

In terms of your videos, I was impressed by your approach to “Suicide Drive.”

Thank you. It was definitely a collaborative effort between me and Drew Cox who directed the video. I approached the whole thing from a perspective of it potentially being the last thing I ever released or the first thing that people would hear, or see from me. Like, why would I want it not to be the best fucking introduction or exit possible? So, with that in mind, I tried and keep everything, the production, lyrics, mixes, videos, at the highest level possible.

“Suicide Drive” really straddles the lines of hip-hop and grime. Would you say that is your sound?

I guess it does, doesn’t it? You know what, every time I listen to my first verse my flow reminds me of something [UK grime MC] Skepta would do. His flow is impeccable, so I definitely just complimented myself. I guess the horns are dark and there’s that big synth bass that comes in and grimes it all up. But I don’t think I would call it my sound. I’m not even sure if I could tell you what my sound is.

How would you describe the concept of your EP, Young World?

Well the first track I wrote was “Cream.” The hook is like the quintessential statement of a hustler: “All around the world looking for the cream.” Every young person’s dream, well most, is to get money. I’m not saying it’s foreign to older folks–they wanna get rich too–but when you’re young, in my environment where you grow up having nothing, all you wanna do is get rich. Then, when I wrote other tracks, like “Vitriol,” “Human Nature,” and “Like Winter,” it became this exploration of life, but through the eyes of a younger me. Young Adian Coker’s World sounded shit, so I just called it Young World.

What are the main issues that you wanted to approach with this EP?

To be honest, I didn’t even have any. Coming off the last CD I was in a happier space so I wasn’t “angry rapping” anymore. I always say that in between projects I have to live. I don’t want to go into the next project being in the same space emotionally as I was on the last one. You just end up writing about the same shit. I didn’t agonize over it or overthink it. I just wrote the songs and this is what I emerged with. The title came after I had finished it.

Tell me a little bit about the concept of “Vitrol.“

I’ve always tried to stay away from talking about the streets or what not, like, “Yo, me and my mans in the den still plotting, couple mans posted on the block still shotting,” or something like that. If you know what I mean? Like, I have those experiences but it’s too easy to write about stuff like that. So conceptually, I wanted to finally do a track that touched on these things and explored this part of my psyche. So you tell a story. Beat, the guy I mentioned in the track, is a real dude. He actually passed away a couple of years back. We really were always at the flower shop all day, everyday and if the elder’s called you over you’d be fucking nervous. It’s something that people with the same experiences can relate to but if you haven’t you can still understand the message, which is, “Yeah this shit happens, but I ain’t glorifying it.” It’s interesting though, because I’ve noticed that people call me conscious a lot. I don’t mind it at all but I think I’m far from it. I guess it comes from the fact that I don’t rap about drug dealing or shooting.

Is there an artist you’d like to emulate career-wise?

Thinking about the most successful artists to date, in hip-hop and beyond and that’s who? Kanye, purely because of how he changed the landscape and pushed the culture so dramatically and still continues to do so.

You seem very bold on a lot of your records. Do you have a vulnerable side?

Anybody that follows me on Twitter knows I’m emo with this shit. Like, I came out of the closet and just said it straight up. I remember on my first CD people said I was uncompromising with my lyrics. I rap about what I wanna rap about and I don’t have any endorsements to get dropped from yet, so now’s the time to say all the controversial shit. Musically, I try and push. Not as far as Yeezus, but as far as my budget allows.

Is it difficult for you as a rapper to be who you are in an era with so much twerking?

No, not really. There’s music for different times. You can’t disregard an artist because he makes music for the club or that people wanna twerk to. It’s all part of the culture. Plus that’s his message, that’s his lane. As a matter of fact, I never set out to be thoughtful. I just write my reality. I’m not out here with these women who are twerking, man. That’s not my reality. If it was, I’d be writing about it, I’d probably be a millionaire by now.

I’m sure, you’re nowhere near being finished. What’s next in the works for you?

I’m just going to be working on pushing this EP as far as possible. I’ll be doing shows and, hopefully, a tour soon. I’m pretty much done with my next CD so I’ll be working on that for the a little bit until I get it to where I want it to be. And watching the final season of Mad Men. That’s high on my list of priorities right now.

Young World is out now. For more on Aidan, click here.

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