Music
Captain Kamakaze talks clashing and putting his city on the map. “This time I’m coming direct.”
Kamakaze
© Israel Peters
Leicester’s clash with Sheffield was one of the closest matches of the quarter-finals, and right up until the last hours of the public vote it could have gone either way. But in the end it was Kamakaze, Jafro and Skeez who shaded it for Leicester.
Will they go all the way like LCFC – or will an overhauled London crew stop them in their tracks? RedBull.com finds out.
MORE: Meet Kamakaze, the grime footballer
How have you found Grime-A-Side so far?
Kamakaze: It’s been a good experience. Obviously I’ve been involved with Red Bull for a little while now, since we did the EP Mind The Gap, and I’ve been recording here as well. Red Bull came to me with the idea and obviously Leicester grime is not particularly known, so I thought it was a chance to get more than just myself out there on the map.
Your quarter final felt pretty close – it could have gone either way.
Yeah.
Did you have the city behind you?
Yeah. Obviously because it’s based on votes, it’s not just about who spins who. It is to an extent – because if you’re wack, you’re wack innit. No-one in the clash was wack. But obviously some man were more direct than others. I don’t know what percentage we came through in the end, but even small margins make a difference. Leicester’s not that big a place as it is, so it just shows the city was down.
Leicester (L-R Skeez, Kamakaze, Jafro)
© Israel Peters
Are you confident about the semis?
More confident than I was last round still. Their team has changed the line-up. It’s been hard preparing for it, because I didn’t know who we were clashing until last Friday. But you’ve just got to adapt, go out ready for whoever you’re in front of. My team’s done that. I reckon we’ll go through.
Leicester’s not that big a place, so it just shows the city was down
Any of the other matches you enjoyed?
I liked Derby vs Birmingham the best. In the first round people were still feeling out the format – is it a cypher, is it a clash? But Derby and Birmingham really came at each other. Nottingham vs Manchester was good too, there was a bit of tension there. Some of the things that got said probably shouldn’t have got said. But the aggression of the clash was there, it was evident.
You said you haven't really clashed before…
I’ve not clashed anyone because no one has sent for me innit. Me personally, the purpose of trying to take another man’s rep by clashing him – build your own innit, that’s my philosophy. But that’s not to say that if someone sent for me I wouldn’t come back, because you have to. I’ve approached this one different. Before I was just spitting bars innit. But this time I’m coming direct.
Grime-A-Side: Leicester vs London goes live at 2pm on Saturday November 5 on RedBull.com. Watch all the matches so far at RedBull.co.uk/grimeaside
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