Sean Dean is a Hip Hop artist
from the UK, he lives in London (a mecca for many genres of music for several
decades). The UK has spawned many legends such as, the Beatles, the Clash, and
Led Zeppelin (to name a few). Very rarely do you hear of an artist out of the
UK doing Hip Hop with rock still spawning from the region as well as many
electronic music acts of various genres. It is safe to say that for the most
part, the UK kind of skipped the whole Hip Hop music era because of its
concentration on the electronic music movement.
The UK is a trend setter when it
comes to music, but it is safe to say that they had little influence on the
creation of Hip Hop music. Now that electronic music has flooded the music
scene, it appears that more people in the UK are taking to Hip Hop because in
many ways they are very similar but they are controlled by different vibes.
Electronic music is all about the club scene and people dancing and having a
good time, but Hip Hop is about real life (but it is also associated with its
own club atmosphere). Don't get Hip Hop confused ladies and gentleman, the new
school movement now-a-days is mostly about dancing, having a good time, and
boasting about how rich you are (which doesn't make sense to me because most
music listeners are not rich). It has moved away from the reality lyrics that
it once was.
Sean Dean is an artist that
brings it back to the old school, lyrics and reality. I think many people all
over the world can relate to what he is trying to do with his music, which is
to spit about his own views about what he sees in his life step by step.
According to Dean, getting into Hip Hop was a complete accident;
"One of my friends back in the day was
producing music and asked me to come and check it out so I went round with a
few other mates and they all started rapping. At the time it was not something
that entered my mind , but because they put me on the spot I started free
styling. I was terrible (he laughs as he thinks back) , but I loved it and so i
continued from there I guess."
I asked him why he got into Hip
Hop especially because electronic music was the thing in Europe and this is
what he told me:
"There has never really been
a specific element that I could say drew me to hip hop I just loved everything
about it. I recall back in the day staying up late to catch Trevor Nelson and
the late night hip hop videos that would get played afterwards. I found the
likes of Wu Tang, Method Man, Big Pun, Tupac, Snoop, BIG, and Bone Thugs are just
everyone so amazing that I wanted to be a part of it."
When I do interviews with Hip Hop
artists, I like to challenge their realism within their music because I think
it is particularly important in this style of music to stay real. I was happy
with his answer when I asked him, what are the life experiences that he draws
from when it comes to his music? This is what he replied with:
"I think right now as an
artist I am so comfortable in my zone of "self". I recognize that not
everyone is going to like me and I recognize that I am a little different to
the normal model of Hip Hop/ grime/ urban artist in the UK. I represent the
guys who are just everyday Joe's , never sold white, never been gangster and
never really been infamous for any sort of street activity. So the life
experiences, I pull out are be yourself and pursue your dreams the way you were
meant to do it."
Many Hip Hop artists are from the
streets and rap about the harsh realities of their life encounters, but Sean
Dean gives a more bird's eye view into a man that wasn't involved in street
thuggery and gangsterism (if you will). It is safe to say that this is
definitely different from the normal mold of Hip Hop artists, but at the same
time you can feel the same attitudes and confidence bleeding out of his music
as ones that grew up with a more street mentality.
I then went on to ask him what
type of beats that he prefers to give you more of an idea of what you can
expect when you listen to his brand of Hip Hop, this was his answer:
"Boy…. everyone knows I work
closely with Kbeeoriginal who is easily the best sampler I know in the UK,
period. Id say I'm a dude who loves that soul music, but nowadays I like them weird beats that not everyone is
necessarily prepared for, but overall soulful beats."
Usually artists have a direct
influence from the music they listen to, currently and in the past. I asked him
what music he is listening to now and this was what he said:
"At the moment I'm going
through the Kendrick Lamar stag. I hate to sound like everyone else, but the
kat has mad skills and I look to him for how I can deliver honesty and a sound
so unique and reflective of myself."
With that being said, it is on to
his influences. To me, influences are important, they are like your musical
parents. Here is who he gave his love to:
"My main influences go way
back to the 90's. I swear like every kat in that era in my opinion was like
mad, crazy dope. The list is gigantic to be honest but I'll cut it down to the
likes of Big Pun, Missy Elliott, Busta Rhymes, Method Man, All of Wu Tang,
Jay-Z , Scarface, Tupac, Nas, and DMX. These are the kats Id say made the
biggest impact on me musically. I take it seriously when trying to deliver a
message because these kats never flopped when it came to quality."
We can't forget their
performances, a lot of people learn about artists through performances.
Performances usually draw more followers or take them away. Dean talked about
shows in a light in which he seemed to wish that he has done more of them,
because in the recent months he hasn't performed too often. Dean promised
though in June that he'll be rockin' more shows in London and other places with
his new material.
I asked him to look back through
his performances and pick the one that stood out inside his mind,
"Definitely BBC introducing
just because of the reaction I received and the size of the stage in regards to
reputation."
Who are some of the people you
are currently working with?
"I'm making a mad effort to
collaborate with my fellow sound cloud family who have proven to be major
supporters of my music. Guys at the moment I'm working with are :
Kbeeoriginal
J1K
Mayheim
Calboy Keys
Saint Victory
Elliot Nizel
Khazmusic
Jack Light
Beats Daily
Kez
Foxaz beats
Dash the baptist
and he says there are loads more..."
What can we look forward to
coming out in the future from you?
"Future wise you can look
forward to so much more, as you can see I've taken the trouble to
getmrseandean.com set up as well as branding; these are all signs i am mad
serious. I just plan to keep pushing videos now man, new songs and new videos.
No eps, I just want to generate a true following and see where it takes me from
there and forward."
Well it was a pleasure doing this
interview with Sean Dean. I want to leave you with some of his works (youtube
videos) and his descriptions of them. Coming at you from the UK, Sean Dean, and
thanks for your time. Good luck in the future.
"Alcoholic" (produced
by J1K)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ips2cHaPuwU
(Preview)
"My most recent song and probably my favourite so far. Its just based on my love for 'Jack Daniels' the whiskey; when I drink that stuff all my worries disappear and for that moment I'm happy, assured and totally removed from reality. A thing you will learn about me is I have a dysfunctional side to my character and its perfectly revealed in the video."
"Thats the Way it goes"
ft Bex:
http://soundcloud.com/seandeanmusic/thats-the-way-it-goess-mp3
"My most commercial sounding song
up to date which is just a cover of Asher Roth's G.R.I.N.D funny enough but we
still doing a net video for it in a few weeks, hopefully. This song right here
represents the type of crap I've had to go through in life and summarises it all
with thats the way it goes."
"Everyday I Love"
(produced by Kbeeoriginal)
http://soundcloud.com/seandeanmusic/sean-dean-everyday-i-love
"A song just reflecting on some of
my episodes and relates them to the most important people in my life. Life is a
journey and as difficult as it can be, sometimes, I try to love everyday."
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