Artists in Urban Music 2012
This page is part of the urban music section
This page profiles the artists that stand out for us in Leicester's
urban music scene in 2012
On this page: | Jamstar |
5th May
Nico Chambers (EndOne)
Nico Chambers is a Leicester born Urban Artist; we met up
with him to find out more about his work. We loved his tracks - check the links
on SoundCloud below.
ArtsIn: Hi Nico. Tell us about yourself. When did you first start to get interested in music?
Nico: What happening people. Well as you
know my name's Nico Chambers. I go by the stage name of Endone, although
most people, a couple of years back, would have known me by the name of BOMMER.
I'm 21 years old and currently a serving soldier in the British Army. Well, where
to start?
I began playing about with music instruments before I can
even remember and seem to pick things up quite fast. When it comes to lyrics
I was always messin' about with rhymes since the age of about eight or nine but
got more serious when I started secondary school (English Martyrs). The first
time I can remember hearing grime was a week in school of year seven. Me and
my best friend, at the time, started skipping registration n first lesson to
go down to the shops n chill with the older kidz. It was Kyle Jarvis, who's also
known as K.Y, and Tyrie Carr-Brown. I heard spittin' barz first. All
I thought to myself was, 'THIS IS SIKK.'
I hadn't heard nothing like it before
and that same night I went home and started writing lyrics. I would be sitting
there for hours with pages upon pages of bars, so I started to showcase my talents,
to show people what I've got. I got a good response 'n seemed to stand out for
someone my age at the time.
It's funny, 'cause I look back now and cringe at some
of the lyrics I used to spit hahaha, but I'm sure that's the same in most cases
with other artists. I started to get a name for myself and started up a crew
with my best mate, who went by the name of Sonik, called S
- I - K. We both moved
on then to a few different crews like Blitz and 2Hectik.
ArtsIn: When did you do your first public performance?
Nico: I did a few open mic sort of things
when I was younger, kinda hard to remember really. But as far as proper performances,
it would have to have been an Army talent contest when I was in training.
Artsin: How did it go?
Nico: Really good actually. I performed
a song I wrote just before I joined the Army called Eyes Closed. I
wasn't expecting such a good response, with one judge being an Army Colonel,
one being and an American actress and the other a world strongest man. I really
didn't think they would enjoy it.
I got to the final two in the contest. We had
to give a believable sob story. Mine was more funny than anything but in the
end I lost out to a well deserving winner.
ArtsIn: Would you say you are more of a recording artist
than a live performer, or a bit of both?
Nico: Definitely at this moment in time more of a recording
artist.
Artsin: Which do you enjoy most? Studio or live?
Nico: I'd say the studio. I enjoy getting
creative with music and then hearing the final product at the end of it.
ArtsIn: What other artists have most inspired or influenced
you?
Nico: I grew up listening to people like
Kano, Lethal b, Ears and Crazy t, but the most influence came from other artist
in Leicester and around me.
ArtsIn: What is your ambition as an singer? Where would
you most like to be in say five years time?
Nico: You know what, my biggest ambition
is not for fame and money - this might sound a bit of a cliche - but it's to
move people by my music. I get such a buzz when someone comes to me and says, "uno
what I can relate to that" or "yh man that
songs a banger". Don't get me wrong, if you can make money as well then
that's always a bonus but for me at this moment in time and the near future I
gonna write songs for the pure passion of music.
Find out more: Nico
Chambers on Facebook | Listen to EndOne on Soundcloud
11th February
Jamstar
Jermaine Jones is one of a group of Leicester artists who
are prominent on the Urban Music Scene. We caught up with him to ask him about
how he has been getting on with his music.
ArtsIn: Tell us about your
career in music. How
did you start and what have you been doing?
Jermaine:
Well, it all started back in 1991 when i was six years old. I started to
really understand that music was something I was interested in. My Pops had
reggae flowing through the house everyday and I knew from then that I wanted
to be on records, so that others could one-day listen to me in their house or
cars and even at clubs.
I wrote my first song at the age of nine, in the style of
reggae called I
love you, which my family enjoyed a lot. Since then I've sung at a lot of
karaoke bars both here and abroad on family holidays and winning a lot of prizes
for my covers of Luther Vandross, Marvin Gaye, Usher , Craig David tracks etc.
But
by the age of 16, I decided I wanted to start to do poetry, as writing is a passion
of mine, as it helps realise emotions that others can relate to . So now I incorporate
both my singing and rapping into my songs and have been doing it along time
before Drake even entered the scene (who I'm a big fan of).
I've wrote and produced
my own tracks with help from ColdFever , TcT &and Yard26 and I've now got
three mixtapes that are doing very well with the downloads mounting up.
ArtsIn: What are the best things
that have happened to you as an artist so far?
Jermaine:
Well, since starting my music career I've been invited to a number of events
to perform and showcase my material at such place as The ACC, Caribbean Carnival,
Leicester City Centre, Leicester College, The NEC, SoundHouse, The Music Cafe,
Lock42 , Peepul Centre .. etc. and also I have been on numerous radio stations
- Radio Leicester, Takeover DemonFm and Inspiration Fm (in Northampton.)
Which I appreciate more than you can imagine as I've been able to perform with
some of Leicester's finest artists such as Curtis, Chaser, Matthew R, TCT, FeevaDan
MC, XYZ , Offbeat Reprobates, etc. It gives me a platform to be heard. I also
entered into the NxLevel competition, where I have made it through to the live
shows.
ArtsIn: So, you went in for the NxLevel
competition. How have you got on?
Jermaine: Yeah, I was in the NxLevel competition
and managed to get to the semi finals. I performed to the three judges and a
live audience. I was given three 'yeses' from the judges and was put through,
but as eight acts were through, there was a knock-out round to eliminate. This
was done via a noise metre, as only five could go through. I was unlucky as I
didn't get through but the NxLevel was never a competition, for me to go
in and win. To me it was a great opportunity to meet new artists that I could
work with in the future . So, to me, the NxLevel was a great way to get heard,
showcase my music and be a part of something epic.
ArtsIn: Have you brought out any new tracks
recently?
Jermaine: Yeah, I'm forever with my pad
and pen and constantly recording to stay ahead of the game. I've also just finished
my E.P. Back 2 back, which is me along with
Kenny Con and is becoming massively popular. The song that seems to have everyone
locked in is called Skys of blue - the song has a very powerful message
within itself. where the lyrical content is about never getting enough time in
the day to spend time with love ones, as we have to work rather than claim benefits.
The song can be found via my YouTube account by searching Jamstarartist.
Check out JamStar Artist's channel on YouTube
Listen to JamStaR's tracks on SoundCloud
Hook up with Jamstar on Facebook
Jamstar at the NxLevel on 25th January
Jamstar on our page about Urban Music in 2011
Other pages you might like:
Singers
- our list of all Leicester's singers and solo artists
