Interview: Danny Seth talks new mixtape, new movie, and taking America by storm

Danny Seth in the Studio

Danny Seth is a 22 year-old, self-signed UK rapper working on the release of his upcoming mixtape, Perception. RESPECT. caught up with him on the morning after seeing some good friends, The Neighborhood, perform in London. Seth is one of the biggest up and comers in the game, and has even moved to L.A. to continue to hone his craft in the style that he loves (Seth frequently sites American hip-hop and rap music as his biggest draws and inspiration). With a bunch of projects in the works and a ton of hype behind him, we touched base with the rapper to see if he really has what it takes to be one of the first UK rappers to break into the United States-dominated scene.

What have you been up to for the past few weeks?

Well besides the show last night, which was absolutely crazy man, I’m literally in here [the studio] 24/7. My producers are all over the place, MD$ lives in Finland. Zach lives in London. I’m in LA. Hard for us to all be in the same place at the same time. We’re making some really crazy music. The thing with perception is, I’m not gonna tell you it’s the greatest album of all time, even though i think it is. Everyone has their own perception. It’s about making music people connect to.

Where are you from originally?

I’m from a small town called Bushey on the edge of Watford, in London in the UK.

You were working as an intern at BMG Chrysalis when you first got the idea to start rapping. What inspired you? What pushed you to make the leap?

Well a friend of mine is from a band called Modestep. I remember hearing his music out there in the office. I thought, if he can make it from small town Bushey in the UK, so can I.

You say that your music caters to the American hip/hop scene. What does your music contribute to the industry that makes it specifically American?

I’m just making music people can relate to universally. I’m not a gangster, I’m not rapping about gangster stuff, I’m a white and Jewish guy from the UK. I love UK hip/hop. I love grime; but, I never grew up in a grime environment. growing up, LA hip/hop is what I loved to listen to so I guess that personal connection is what ties me to it.

A while ago you scrapped your original LP, Teaspliffs. Now, Perception is the tape you’re working on. Is November still the planned release month for Perception? Has a date been set yet?

I think might be pushed back slightly, I’m a super perfectionist so everything has to be in place; but it should be with you before the end of 2014!

What upcoming performances do you have in the upcoming weeks? Will you come to America soon?

I’m performing in Milan in 3 weeks then in Atlanta for the homie Atraks’ Fools Gold Day Off. Then my first debut headlining show in London is coming up, hosted by my mentor DJ Semtex.

What was it like to work with G-Eazy and A$AP Ferg on “Lotta That”?

Well, I first heard the track and I was like, I have to be on this. I literally went into the studio the next day, wrote the verse and sent it in. At first we weren’t sure if it was gonna go on, but it went through and that was that.

When anyone google’s your name, one of the first things that comes up is your clothing line, is that still a work in progress?

Yeah, well I had it all set up running to go last Summer, it’s called Boadicea. My partner Scary, he’s my graphic designer, you know he does all my artworks, all my album artwork. I’ve always been heavily into fashion. By accident, stupidly, I linked to my Instagram an image of the prints we were gonna do. We were gonna do accessories, it was gonna be boxes, and hats. This was back a year and a half ago before bucket hats were a big deal. Basically, my stuff got leaked and a month later it got copied a month before it was supposed to go out. Another clothing company copied it and it went viral and we were like, you know what we’re not gonna do this at the moment let’s concentrate on the music. Now I’ve re-launched my merchandise, I’m working on my own style. It’s not gonna be normal stuff. Once perception is launched, I’m really gonna get back into the brand.

You said this isn’t going to be “normal” stuff. You’ve also said in previous interviews that you hate being called a “hipster.” What really makes your style yours?

It’s not that I hate to be called a hipster, I hate to be like, labeled a hipster. My style is whatever. I take in so many influences. A friend of mine in L.A. runs a clothing company called Made By Us, him and so many others inspire me. I kindof take bits and pieces from everywhere. Im just very comfortable with myself, so I’m never shy to wear something different. That’s gonna reflect in the brand, the merch. You know, I just dress as Danny Seth. I don’t dress as anyone else.

Going back to Perception, besides trying to present listeners with a specific perception of you, what else really inspired the album? Which parts of you are really present in the music?

I think that you’re gonna see aside of Danny Seth you haven’t seen before. You know, there’s really fuckin, really emotional tracks. There’s one song on there, which is a letter between me and my old step mom who was like a mum to me. She cut me off four years ago, and this song is our final letter to each other. I’ve been releasing all the bangers on the soundcloud cause I know that’s what people want to hear right now, and I need to attract attention. But when it comes to the album, there are so many serious songs. I can rap, there ain’t no gimmick. I’m not no white, swag rapper. This is like, I’m Danny Seth, I can rap, this is me here to stay and if you’re fuckin with it, then let me move on to my album. I’m making this movie as well with Perception. I haven’t had a visual in two years so I needed to work on my music. You know, I’m only four five years deep into actually rapping. I’m studying it, I’m learning. I still need to be taught a lot of things. I’m learning new rhyme patterns and how to story tell. Storytelling is my favorite kind of shit. If I put that out right now, nobody will listen. I think that by the time Perception comes out people will be like, okay, Danny can actually rap.

You really seem to have a command of social media, and you really stress the importance of it. Tell me a little bit about your strategy, how you use soundcloud and Instagram to connect with your audience and brand yourself?

Obviously branding is so important nowadays. Me and my partner Scary just had to come up with my final logo. It looks like a little star, but it’s actually the British Flag without the borders. It’s in all of my artwork […] There’s all small little things that people are starting to notice. I think the main thing is never settle for yourself or for your fans. For me, the idea of fans is so crazy, that people are like fans of mine. That’s the homies. You tweet me, I’m gonna tweet you back. I’m not a dickhead. I want people to be able to talk to me cause that’s how I am as a person. You need your social media to reflect that. Instagram is such a strong thing nowadays. I don’t have any visuals out, and people want to see pictures of me and are wanting to know what I’m getting up to. It’s a great world we’re living in, it’s a space and time where social media runs the world. Everyone has their opinion—they can fire shots at you, they can tell you they love you. It’s a different ball game nowadays.

So you haven’t released visuals in two years, and people are pretty excited. What can fans expect from your upcoming video release for Perception? Is there anything you can talk about?

It’s exotic, for sure. Some of it was filmed on a crazy island. Right now we really want to just get people excited for it. I’m hoping the drops of [the album and the movie] will coincide with each other, but I think the film’s gonna take a little longer.

You’re involved with the art collective Last Night in Paris. How did you get started with them? What’s your role within the collective?

My producer in LA a few years ago found them on the net before they had any music. He fucked with them, I saw it and I was like ‘Yeah, I fuck with the visuals.’ We were all trying to go with the same aim. So we linked up, we clicked, now we all have our own separate things going right now. We’re a great group, we’re all creatives, you know we all come to collab sometimes and we have our own stuff too. I fuck with them, yeah.

So you’re now living in LA?

Well actually right at this second I’m standing in rainy London, but yeah I’m back and forth from LA.

How has the LA life been treating you?

I mean it’s crazy man. I do love it there. I’ve made some great family there. My manager Jesse lives out there, the boy’s put me on his couch for three years and has supported me every day for my hustle. You know, I’ve got family out there it’s been pretty crazy and I love it. I love London too, but I can’t complain about the weather in LA.

Have you been working with any artists recently?

I’ve been working with, and this is like the first time I’ve said this, but I’m working with this kid called Jimmy Johnson from OVO. Yeah, we just did a crazy track it will probably be one of the singles from Perception. But I’ve been trying to keep it in the team with me, I’m not trying to reach out, like I want to show off the people I fuck with on this tape. I don’t want to be like “oh, I’m working with this big person or this big person.” I wanna make a name for myself without any help.

Definitely, your music speaks for itself. What inspires you the most when writing your verses? What brings out the most in your raps?

I love the storytelling shit. I’m a massive Michael Jackson fan. My music spectrum varies so much, like the Gorillaz are my favorite. I draw my influences from so many people and places. I’m a massive Drake fan, you know, coming to America from Canada and being Jewish. Against all odds, kind of thing I really fuck with him. He’s one of the greats of our time. And there’s so many others. As far as my music’s inspiration, I’ve got so many stories to tell. Different things inspire me daily.

How does being Jewish play a role in the music-writing experience?

It doesn’t play a big role. For me, it’s just kindof like I want to be real with everyone from day one. If you don’t like that I’m white and Jewish, I mean that’s just who I am. I’m not ultra-religious, I just want to be open and honest from day one.

When did you relationship with hip/hop and rap music begin? How did you develop your voice when you first started rapping?

The first rap album I ever picked up was Lord Willin by The Clipse. I fell in love with the Pharell, the Neptune sound. I always used to dance when I was younger. When I was 16 or 17 I started DJing early dubstep. Then when I moved to LA, I got friendly with some rappers out there. I was always writing when I was in school, but where I was from it wasn’t a big thing. I just kept practicing by myself in my room. When I was with a friend in the studio, they said “you’re actually quite good, you’re not bad.” I’m learning, I’m still so young and hungry to learn more.

The King’s Speech you just dropped about two weeks ago. It’s obviously a really powerful track, where did the inspiration come from and what is the message behind the music that you’re trying to get across to your fans?

Well that’s just an interlude for another song. But the thing with the King’s Speech is, I like to say how I’m feeling. Like this is, hip/hop, not gangster rap. Just because I’m making this type of music doesn’t mean its me, but I want everyone to feel this type of song. I love goonies, guns, drugs & shit. I could sing it, but that don’t really mean I’m singin it. There’s not lots of people who can sing about that shit. With the King’s Speech, I wanted to make a banger in that style leading up to my shit. I don’t really want to drop any other tracks from the tape until the tape’s ready because there are so many other genre’s on there. People won’t understand until they have the whole tape.

What has it been like signed to yourself? How has The British are Coming experience gone?

I love it. It gives me the freedom to be me. The whole the british are coming thing, that’s not just for me, that’s for everyone in London. You know, I want everyone to be like “yeah the British, we can do that. Danny’s opened up so many doorways that we can go there now. The British are coming.” You know what One Direction has done, what Ed Sheeran has done. It’s time for an English rapper to do it too.

So you think there’s a strong market for UK rappers in the industry. What do you see or how do you see them breaking into the American rap game?

By adapting. You just gotta adapt, stay on point, and know what the listeners want to hear.