P’s and Views: Kano

What a year it’s been for young Kane Robinson – barely out of his teens, in little over 12 months Kano has got himself a hit album, nominations for every award going, and above all, a huge underground and mainstream fan-base. You’d think it’d be all smiles and jokes considering this massive success, but there’s something up today – “I just had to do Pop World’ moans Kane with furrowed brow, ‘they ask stupid fucking questions man!” Ah ha, right … as this Gigwise writer nervously removes all Simon Amstell-style inane questions from his list, Kano gets ready for a serious chat.    

Such a mental year has brought with it fame and recognition for Kano – “Sometimes it’s too much, and sometimes I like it; I wish I could just be famous on stage though and everyone know my tracks, and then go home where no one would recognise me.” An East Londoner through-and-through, Kane has kept his feet firmly on the ground, and an E3 postcode in his address – “I love it round there man, it can get a little crazy sometimes, in Tescos, or when college finishes, but I love it round there.”

Love it or hate it, Kano is mixing with a different crowd these days. Last month saw an inevitable Brit nomination for the British rapper, and despite his prediction on single ‘Typical Me’, Kane managed to refrain from getting thrown out! “Yeah I went to the Brits, I didn’t get kicked out. I could’ve though. Me and Craig David was gonna jump Lemar. I’m joking but … I could’ve”, he beams as we contemplate what could’ve, nay should’ve been. “Going to that kind of event, it’s alright, d’you get me, but sometimes I feel weird, like do I belong here? Then I go home to reality.”

And it’s this ability to return to the reality of the underground Hip Hop scene that has earned Kano a loyal following. Unlike the godfather of grime, Wiley (with Roll Deep), and one of his many disciples, Dizzee Rascal, rather than follow up the huge success of ‘Home Sweet Home’ with a second studio album, Kane finished 2005 with the limited release of mixtape ‘Beats and Bars’. Initially only available for sale at live shows or online, this offering has spawned furious arguments on message boards across the country: what’s better, a mainstream album, or an underground mixtape? “I always wanted to do a mixtape, but I was just being long about it. Obviously, the underground always want more material, they are never happy. And I do like recording albums but the mixtape brings me back to the times when there was no pressure and when it was a hobby, messing about. I enjoy that.”

Having seen Kano live, it’s obvious that this enjoyment and energy also emerges on stage – “Playing live, it’s just natural for me. I came up from a live environment, doing raves, pirate radio, clubs. I understand that doing the album can’t be the same, but on stage it’s like finding that energy again.” But unfortunately, not everyone shares this passion for live UK Hip Hop – Kano’s recent homecoming gig was marred by Police involvement. The gig was rescheduled amidst fears of gang violence, before Kane was told he could only perform with increased security and Police presence, a decision that he did not take lightly – “before the show, the papers were saying all sorts of shit about undesirable elements of my entourage, bare bullshit. They were just judging me before they have even come to the show. If they had done some proper research they would’ve seen there’s never any trouble at any of my raves.” But many would say security fears are almost inevitable in a music genre which often refers to and even promotes gang culture, gun crime and violence - should the artist take some responsibility for any trouble? “If I say get out your guns and bust two in the sky it don’t mean that everyone’s gonna do it! Kanye West is the perfect example - he sings ‘Jesus Walks’ and ‘good’ songs like that, but he had a concert in Birmingham last week and two people got shot! You can’t tell, that shit can still happen. It’s just music man, and if the people came to the shows they’d see it’s completely different to what they expected - people just come to enjoy themselves.”

As well as these troubled shows, Kano has spent recent months treating the French to a slice of raw British talent. “The first show I played in Paris, it was like how it used to be when we first started doing clubs. It was packed and ram, and there was loads of energy.” But now that the UK Hip Hop and Grime scene has blown up so much, could we have lost this underground energy forever? “I just think people have moved on innit. You’ve got artists like me, Lethal, Dizzee, and Wiley, and we’re moving on, but there’s no one new coming through behind us. I think there needs to be new talent.”