Scott Burns has been quietly plying his craft amidst the Sydney scene for quite some time now. The 24 year-old’s debut album Day 1 is a worthy exponent of patience with the emcee choosing to get the order right; maturing as an artist before making a definitive offering. This vital process is evident in the strength of Day 1. It’s certainly an album that displays the talent present in the city of Sydney.
Is there a particular personal philosophy behind the album title Day 1?
If there is-I think it’s explained a bit on the last track of the album The End (Day 1). It’s a new start, a fresh beginning, the end of something else and the entrance into something new. I’m not one for over-explaining metaphors and things, there is a philosophy there though.
Do you feel that the release of your album is part of a wider process of consolidating LookUP as a vital component of Hip Hop in Sydney?
Regardless of Sydney, it’s definitely a vital component of LookUP, the recorded music is finally seeing the light of day. Now it’s going to start flowing more constantly. We had the parties and events happening but that’s just one part of the bigger vision of the movement that is LookUP. Now we’ve got the two official releases and the mixtape behind us in 2008, we’ll have another two or three releases in the first half of 2009-some stuff from Bingethinkers, That’s Them, maybe DJ Mathmatics. After that, there are more facets of LookUP to reveal too. Shit’s going to get even more interesting!
The album has a really consistent, solid sound to it that would seem to translate well in the live arena, has this held true so far?
Yeah I’ve been happy with how the live shows have been going, we’ve had some real crazy ones. It’s enhanced a lot by having DJ Mathmatics to perform with, he gets busy on the turntables and gets his breakdance on at most shows too. A lot of the beats bang well on the big PA’s so it’s always a pleasure to get up and bang ‘em out.
Were you aiming for this sort of atmosphere during the recording of the album?
I wasn’t aiming for a live/party feel to the album as a conscious decision, no. It was only when the album was almost finished that I realised there were not many slower, introspective, moody tracks on there. I played with the idea of including some in order to give the album a bigger range of moods but at the end of the day though that I could maybe save some of those other tracks for a later date.
The first single off the album, Still Time, has a real class about it, something that does Sydney hip hop proud. Is this something you were also trying to capture with the video?
Cheers mate. The video was done by my close mates Suki and Tanya(as well as a few of their comrades), they pretty much do all the LookUP video stuff. It was filmed just outside my apartment in Sydney so it fit the personal nature of the track I guess.
“…I remember reading some bullshit that someone said in a street press about Sydney being crap and things like that, you forget who says it pretty quickly but then it just makes you rep your city harder…”
Is this strong sense of local representation something you were also trying to capture on Big City Music?
Yeah I came up in the community at a time when lots of people where hating on Sydney and didn’t want to know about it. I remember reading some bullshit that someone said in a street press about Sydney being crap and things like that, you forget who says it pretty quickly but then it just makes you rep your city harder. So when I was writing these songs I had a lot of that in mind about wanting to see Sydney back firing again and showing the rest of the country what we’re capable of. Now look what’s happening! That said, these days I’m more keen to travel more and understand how things operate in Melbourne, Brizzy, etc. I really enjoy doing shows in the other states and meeting new people again.
You drop your fair share of geographical references on Day 1.What does living and producing hip hop in the city of Sydney mean to you?
Well we are the biggest city in the country and with that comes some great things and some not-so-great things. They all inspire the music. Another advantage of having such a big city is more people and more people making hip hop. Lots of different styles, that’s exactly what it’s all about.
There is a definite contrast between the sparkling horn sections and dirtier drum pattern on The Sound. Was it this musical dichotomy that compelled you to use it on the album? Or was it something else?
The Sound is my cover version of KRS-1’s Sound Of The Police. It’s a heavy, angry track. I’ve had police lie against me in court, shut down a heap of my parties in violent ways and the list goes on – everyone has their problems with them and their mentality. Some choose to avoid them, some choose to smash the crap out of them and I chose to write a song about it. It’s an important song on the album.
Lyrically, is Something To Write Home About a means of taking stock and evaluating the purpose of this rap caper you persevere at?
Ah sorta. It’s A-Love and me just reminiscing about some of the good times we’ve had on tour-playing dope shows, crap shows, meeting legends and gronks…it’s all character-building stuff!
There’s no doubting you’re a key figure in Sydney’s live hip hop scene. Do you feel as if you are a facilitator or ambassador for the scene?
I just do what I can man. I have lots of things I want to do and some of those things are going to reach people way outside of our little hip hop community. Some of those things are just going to be for the community, or for the LookUP family, or for myself. If I can help out other people on the way that’s all I good but I’m no holy samaritan. More of an ambassador than a facilitator though, especially now we’ve got LookUP-it’s about building on what’s already there rather than worrying too much about what’s already there.
Is avoiding the hallmarks of battling such as: self-proclamation, cursing and an abundance of punchlines an important part of this process for you?
No not necessarily. Look at someone like Sean Price-he ticks those boxes but I’ll still bump his songs from time to time. What is a song? Sean Price’s P-Body is just as much a song as Prince’s Purple Rain. I’ll listen to both of those at different times. Doesn’t need to be deep to be a song. That said, when you freestyle(especially if you’re not very good) you can tend to rely on gimmicks and pretty shallow things that don’t have a great deal of replay value-that’s the stuff I reckon you want to avoid in your songs, that’s what I will avoid.
There is a wonderful array of local talent that features on Day 1. Was there a particular basis upon which you selected these individuals? Or is it more crew and those who are making noise you enjoy?
It’s almost all close crew on Day 1 in both production and guest vocals. That’s the best way to get this thing kick started.
