Blade (rapper)

Blade (Born 2 August 1969) is a British rapper, born in the Armenian quarter of Iran and came to London when he was 7. His first single, Lyrical Maniac (Raw Bass) recorded in 1989, soon brought Blade to prominence in the fledgling British hip hop scene.

Early life

When he came to London at the age of 7, Blade quickly felt the effects of the Iranian Revolution: his family back home could no longer send money out of the country to support him. [1] He remained in London, schooled in Blackheath, and spent the summer holiday in Hove with his brother and cousins who were studying there. [2]

Blade started out as a break dancer and graffiti artist, going under the name Electron, before he was given his more familiar name by a friend. The friend was later killed whilst painting graffiti on the underground, and Blade kept the name he'd been given for the rest of his career as a mark of respect. [3] His first contact with hip hop came in 1979, when he began to write down the lyrics of the songs he heard and performed them back at his school. It was the release of the Wild Style film, however, that made him realize the extent of the influence hip hop could have, and made him determined to be a part of the lifestyle. [4]

In 1986, he moved to New Cross and being unable to afford furniture or much of a social life, he spent a lot of his time at home, writing lyrics and perfecting his style. It was during this time, that he wrote the track that became Lyrical Maniac [5]

Underground career

Blade's first moves into the music industry came when he first recorded the now seminal Lyrical Maniac in 1988. His initial efforts to sell the single did not meet with success: out of 300 of the original copies pressed, Blade didn't manage a single sale. In the end, he had to return the records to the manufacturer, claiming that they were faulty and keeping only 10 copies for himself. These copies were given to close friends, including his DJ, Renegade. [6]

Taking his own copy around local record shops, Blade attempted to get some advance orders before re-pressing more copies. However, when he visited Cavern Records in Lewisham he discovered that the owners were keen to start their own label, and wanted to use the single to kick start it. Blade agreed, and Lyrical Maniac eventually came out on Raw Bass records in 1989. [7]

Following this, rather than sign to any of the major UK hip hop record labels Blade began to record, promote and release his own material through his own 691 Influential label - often by stopping potential customers in the street, playing them the song on his walkman and selling them a copy from his bag. [8] A string of 12 inches followed, each becoming an underground hit - songs like Rough It Up, Mind of an Ordinary Citizen and You Better Go For Yours made Blade a name on the UK hip hop scene without the resources and publicity that a major label could provide. [9]

In 1992, Blade released the Survival of the Hardest Working EP (691 Influential) via mail order as an experiment in new ways of distributing his material. The experiment was a success, and in 1993 the double album The Lion Goes From Strength To Strength (No Compromise) (691 Influential) was released - funded partly by fans of Blade's music paying for their copies of the album in advance, in exchange for an exclusive 12 inch Clear the Way (691 Influential). Needing 200/300 preorders to have enough money to record and cut the record, Blade received 2000/3000. [10]

The recording of the album was a difficult time personally for Blade - his father died whilst visiting from Iran, and his girlfriend became pregnant with his son, but Blade managed to record the whole album in 16 days, writing his lyrics on the bus on the way to the studio. It is still highly regarded by fans to this day. [11] Following the release of the album, however, Blade had a period away from recording, concentrating on bringing up his son and getting over his father's death. [12]

Collaborations

Blade is one of British hip hop's most respected artists, and is often invited to guest on tracks by other artists such as The Herbaliser and The RZA, but in 1998 a team up with producer Mark B to record the Hitmen For Hire EP (Jazz Fudge)) led to one of the most high profile albums of Blade's career. 2000's The Unknown (Word Play) was a big hit, and a re-recorded version of the first single You Don't See the Signs (Word Play) made it into the Top 30 of the UK charts. The re-recording was done with the help of Grant Nicholas, frontman of the British rock band Feeder. [13]

At the beginning of the collaboration, Blade was not signed to the label as the record was seen as Mark B's (who was signed) project that Blade was simply a guest artist on. However, as Mark B and Blade started to achieve a measure of success, Blade was quickly signed up: the duo spent most of 2000 and 2001 touring the country to promote the record, even supporting Eminem on his 2001 tour. [14] However, the album had always been intended as a side project for both artists, and despite its success they went their separate ways to continue their solo careers. [15]

When Virgin decided to close Word Play down, Blade found himself moved to Virgin and almost immediately in conflict with the label[16]. Blade

"Basically eventually ended up having disputes with Virgin about my material, you know they wanted me to do things I didn’t necessarily feel were right, and I thought to be honest that if I’d gone the way they wanted my career would have been dead before it started, so eventually it got to a point where I asked to leave."

Ironically, the success of the Ya Don't See The Signs remix that eventually led to the end of Blade's time with Virgin: the label became more insistent that Blade record all rock tunes for his album, something which he felt would kill his career. [17] Instead, Blade returned to his roots as an independent artist.

Return to self-production

Following the split, Blade returned to producing and distributing his own music under the 691 Influential label, helped by his website. In 2004 he released the album Storms Are Brewing, which was hit by problems when the distribution company went bankrupt, owing Blade money and leaving him without a distribution deal for the album. This inevitably had an impact on the album's performance, although the album was well received by those who could get copies. [18]

A new album was released in 2006, produced by Baby J - who also produced some of the songs on Skinnyman's Council Estate of Mind album. The album, Guerilla Tactics (2006), is available direct from Blade's website, and has also received positive support from the media and public. The album came about following a meeting with Baby J, who admitted to being a fan of Blade's work and offered him and instrumental track to rap over. The one track blossomed into a whole album, which was launched at a massive event in February 2006: the launch party featured sets by Blade as well as other big names in the modern UK hip hop scene such as Phi Life Cypher and Jehst. A promotion tour quickly followed. [19]

Guerilla Tactics has subsequently become the final Blade album for the foreseeable future.

"Retirement"

Blade played his last ever UK gig at The Railway Inn in Winchester on 7 October 2006. He has chosen to retire from live performance and the music industry in general, saying[20]:

"Rest assured Blade will continue to make music, just without the unpredictability and lies of the music industry hanging over his head. Basically, he wishes to make music but strictly for the love of it without any material interest. If at any point this changes, you will find out first right here, but for now music for love it is . . . for now, I just really need some time to myself and away from an unpredictable industry I have no respect for and never have."

At present, any future music he intends to make will be released free of charge through his website.

Discography

As Blade

• Lyrical Maniac 12" Single (Raw Bass Records, 1989)
• Mind Of An Ordinary Citizen 12" Single (691 Influential)
• Survival of the hardest working EP (691 Influential, 1992)
• The Lion Goes From Strength To Strength (No Compromise) (691 Influential, 1993)
• Storms Are Brewing (691 Influential, 2004)
• Guerilla Tactics (691 Influential, 2006)

As Mark B and Blade

• The Unknown (Word Play, 2000)

External links

• Heroes Of UK Hip Hop Blade Page
• Blade's website and Forum
• Blade's myspace site