Hip Hop Producers - Haka Interview

"I want to take it back, back to when Hip Hop was at its realest, I want to see Hip Hop back the way its supposed to be, I’m not happy where it is right now..."

Haka, the producer who just dropped his first mixtape/album 'Underground Journeys', took a few minutes to answer my questions about him and his work. If you don't know, get to know:

Certified Banger: Haka, could you introduce yourselves to us a bit? Who are you? Where you’re from? What do you do?

Haka: I’m a producer, originally from Ladbroke Grove, West London. But I moved to South London when I was 17 and been in Battersea since.

CB: How long have you been producing for? How did you start out and what inspired you?

Haka: Only been producing tracks for about 6 months/a year, but been making beats for about 4 years. I started out just playing guitar in to Acid Pro and sequencing some simple beats. There wasn’t one thing that inspired me, it was everything - my surrounding, my boys, my older brothers playing Tribe Called Quest, De La Soul, Eric B & Rakim etc when growing up, I just grew a passion for the culture and music.

• Click here to read on
• Read my review of 'Underground Journeys' and listen to some tracks
  

'Underground Journeys' - Haka (album review)

Creating beats that defy logic can’t be simple but Haka makes it sound easy. The logic defied is that very musical beats can’t bang as hard as their grittier stripped back brothers. On ‘Underground Journeys’ Haka provides a range of subterranean UK MCs with instrumentals that marry the melodic (the strings and keys) and the mucky (the drums).

The more R’n’B tinged tracks really stand out here: both ‘Makes Me Say’ and ‘N.A.M.E.’ are songs about ladies and both feature rapper N/A – a name to watch, especially since Haka is producing on his forthcoming album. N/A also raps on ‘If Road’s Your Life’, a warning story of what happens when you live foul. ‘All Luv’ is all intertwined guitar and organ licks and Big Cakes, Logic and Kalldean provide fitting and positive vocals and ‘Make It’ has that 'No Woman No Cry' feel to it.

Elsewhere the competent cast of MCs, who sound better on a closer, second listen, rap about the standard fare. Most of the tracks here work well as stand alone tracks and as a collection of tunes that’s OK. A little more focus on compilation and a few more original lyrical concepts will see this producer go far – his beats are very high quality, some of the best on the scene.

'Underground Journeys' is available now for a very reasonable £5 from Haka's website.

Reviews Pending

As usual I've got a great big pile of CDs waiting to be reviewed, and as usual, I'll endeavour to write about them all. Just so you know, here's what's coming up whenever I get some time, in no particular order:

Joe Budden - 'Padded Room' (album)
Kyza - 'Love and Music' (single)
Haka Beats - 'Underground Journeys' (album)
Choong Family - 'Baptism of Fire' (pre-album)
Ghost - 'Freedom of Thought EP #1' (er....EP?)
Jyager - 'Encrypted Scriptures' (album)
Jack Flash - '4 Minute Warning' (single)
Asaviour & DJ IQ - 'The A Loop Theory' (album)
Tricksta & Lunatrix - VA - 'Flying the Flag' (double mixtape)
Big Narstie - 'The Big Man Returns' (album)
Two Fingers - 'Two Fingers' (album)
Modulok - 'Cities and Years' (album)
Knew Jeru'slum - 'Non Apologetix' ft. Manchild (single)
Mr Scruff - 'Nice Up The Function' ft. Roots Manuva (single)
Reachout - 'Fly Baby' (album)

I'll also be doing interviews with a number of UK Hip Hop artists including Ghost, Endemic, Knew Jeru'slum and Karl Hinds.