Bring the Noise caught up with Chip before his exclusive show to celebrate the new Adidas Hardcourt Hi trainers from Foot Locker. Have you got your pair?
Chip was also joined by Wizzy Wow to perform their track.
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Read the interview below;
So how did the collaboration with Adidas and Footlocker come about?
I’ve had a close relationship with Adidas since I was about sixteen. Foot Locker is somewhere where I always bought my trainers from. So when they said ‘Would you like to be the face of the Hard Court ad campaign?,’ I was like ‘Cool.’
Obviously, Foot Locker was affected by the riots. Coming from Tottenham, how did it feel seeing where you grew up go through that?
Anyone that lost their life, job—or had any form of loss—my condolences go out to you.
What’s next? You’ve got the October tour with Snoop Dogg, what else do you have coming up?
I’ve got my free mix tape on www.spazzz.com coming as soon as I finish it. I’ve got two more studio sessions and it should be done. I wanna live a little bit and find some more stuff to write about before I try to force an album. I would rather just live until the point that I have enough life experiences to turn into an audio CD than just make some singles and throw them out there.
So you are touring with Snoop, and you are friendly with Diddy. Are they some of your idols?
Diddy, definitely. I was subconsciously a fan of Snoop—you know you just couldn’t miss him. But, Diddy, oh yeah. Diddy and me. They were mad fly then. It don’t really get no flyer than that. They used to wear foil all in ones and stuff and flow in their videos with goggles on. They was fly man. Yeah it’s kind of weird. I been with Diddy a few times. I had a moment when I thought ‘this is mine.’ Obviously, I like to think I’m kind of young. It wasn’t that long ago when I used to sit and watch Diddy, and now I’m kind of working with him.
Does it feel very surreal to almost be catching them up, as the UK doesn’t really have anyone at that level?
Yeah. People forget besides So Solid and Dizzy Rascal, what you have to remember is that when Dizzy came, it was just him at that level. When So Solid were around, it was just them. This is about the first time when a collective of names from the underground scene have managed to get mainstream acceptance. We’re just at that stage. We’re the first ones that are coming. In ten years time, if I’m still going, Wretch32 is still going, Tinie Tempah is still going, Dappy’s still going, there’s going to be artists that are younger than us and probably just as good because of what we’ve done and what they’ve been fortunate enough to listen to. That’s when we might start to be at that entrepreneur/artist level. Right now we’re just artists and we’re trying to keep this thing going.
You have been involved with Orange Rock Corp and now you are part of this year’s Children in Need. How important do you think it is to give back?
I think ‘giving back’ is such a derogatory term. It’s just about being a good person. If I was to ask you ‘What should I give back,’ you would probably just reply ‘I don’t know.’ What should I ‘give back?’ Something that’s in my wardrobe? No, it’s be a good guy and help out where you can. I think it’s more about—if you’re in a position of high responsibility and high profile—it’s about making your good deeds be seen. There’s so much that I think artists do that goes unheard and unseen because you would think it’s meant to be the norm—like providing for a family and you don’t have kids. In terms of doing stuff for Children in Need, I would do it even if it was off camera. In terms of me being involved this year—which has been a big involvement—I’ve done some fashion designing for clothes that are gonna go on sale all across Debenham’s and all the proceeds go to Children in Need. These are things that the public don’t even get to see. I don’t call it charity work, I just call it good deeds.
Speaking of fashion, have you ever been tempted to design your own range of trainers? What’s your style?
One day, I would. I like high tops, and I like trainers that work with track suits and jeans—not all trainers do.
If you look at the journey so far, where do you see the journey ending?
Ending when I’m dead, man. That’s it. I’m working til I’m dead. I look at Diddy and see him still going. When I was with Diddy in Ibiza at his villa, he had a table with a load of potential designs for a coach to take his alcohol on tour. A tour for his drinks! So when he’s not performing, the drinks are on tour. I need to get there. The stage can get pretty tiring. I’d like to have my own drink that could just travel around the UK and people could see it on a bus. I think there’s so much more to be done. Some people might look at me and think I made it, but I look at myself and think ‘I’m just at the beginning.’
If you could go back in time to when you first became famous and got a lot of attention, would there be any advice that you would give to yourself?
That’s a good question. Yeah. Any information that people give you, put it in a sieve. Just take out all the crap, man. Some people kinda do steer you wrong. Don’t be gullible toward taking information from people that you believe will just tell you what you believe is the right path. Some people do actually steer you wrong.
Were there any artists that you met, where your opinions of them changed based on your experiences with them?
There’s no one that I met where my opinions changed. With artists, I just conceive them for their music and what they give to the public, because who am I to judge their personal life experiences that might have come out in the press? Everyone has been as cool as I thought they would be.
The press is always on the lookout for scandals. Do you mind the pressure? Do you feel like you have to behave, and does it bother you? Is it just part of the game?
I think different artists get away with different things. For instance, some artists get caught sniffing drugs and it’s like ‘Oh, you got caught sniffing? Haha.’ If I got caught, it would probably be the end. You have to know your jurisdictions. You have to know what is acceptable for you as an artist. Cause let’s be real, some people are getting away with murder, innit? It’s not me. But I just feel like the pressure is kind of like understanding that most people make their biggest mistakes coming out of their teens and between the age of 25. In understanding that, I kind of live my life in the public eye, and when I do make the biggest mistake of my life, everyone’s probably gonna know it. That’s a bit of pressure that makes me think ‘Don’t make no mistakes.’
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