Quick & Dirty - The Clown Prince
By: Cheryl Stornelli
Jan. 22, 2009 – London, UK
A pair of eccentrics making their mark in and out of the UK, The Clown Prince are no strangers to pounding out new beats that offer a refresher to the tired, typical hip hop song. Does the inspiration to try everything musically come from Russell Simmons? Their musical backgrounds? Or could it simply be an unfading ambition to always progress?
Their EP, Put Em Up, shows The Clown Prince clearly pushing forward and writing for a broader audience. Following the "less is more" point of view in terms of production, the EP is built around traditional drum, bass and guitar. Sure, producer Neel the Wiz throws in synth and effects to give each song colour and uniqueness, but the EP doesn't rely on those extras.
The gem on Put Em Up is clearly "Favourite Girl" – set for release in the spring of 2009. Though it's your usual "loved a girl and lost her" story, the vocals are smooth and soft overtop of familiar beats. It leaves you singing the chorus and feeling the story - minus the cheese and clichés we're used to hearing from this style of song.
"I wrote 'Favourite Girl' about a certain someone in my past. I just needed to give a subtle shout out to let them know it's all good," admits frontman CHiF, explaining that the EP was largely inspired by his becoming single and being out in the world. "My inspiration changes with where, what, how and why I am. I was inspired on this EP by my newfound freedom and the rekindling of old friendships. I hope it shows on this record that I learnt to write songs that impact everyone of every creed and colour."
And the end of a relationship isn't the only one of life's special moments that CHiF credits as having given him a new outlook on his music. Take, for example, the first time he met Russell Simmons, when he saw him waiting outside his hotel. Green with envy, he ran up to offer his CD and to ask for any advice the famed co-founder of Def Jam Recordings could offer someone trying to get into the game. "Brother," Simmons told him, "Get in where you fit in. Do it all, do it good, then do what you like." Still fine-tuning his sound and style, it's a piece of advice that directly impacted The Clown Prince and CHiF's music.
"That's how I look at my music. I've done a lot, but now I'm honing in on what I like to do," he says. "It comes second nature to me and I'm very lucky to have made a career out of it."
It's a career full of passion and learning. Having grown from the first time he met one of his musical idols, through his first recordings, CHiF also teaches music, passing on his knowledge to aspiring musicians. "I always start the first class by telling there are no rules in music. To show no fear in the studio. To aim beyond what they think they can accomplish as musicians," he explains. "If you want to write a verse, then write a song. If you want to make a song, let's make an EP; you want to make an EP, let's smash an album out."
Taking his own words of advice, CHiF is taking The Clown Prince's EP on the road. Keep your eye out for an upcoming tour that CHiF expects will have "Neel the Wiz spitting out sixteen bar a cappellas and lots of sweat, rock and energy."
Video: "Favourite Girl" by The Clown Prince
