WE GET DOWN N’ DIRTY WITH LUNAR C

Alongside puddings, tea and Dynamo, Lunar C is arguably one of the best things to come out of Yorkshire in recent years.

The rapper, real name Jake Brook, built a strong reputation as a battle rapper and gained notoriety via the UK’s largest league Don’t Flop, winning awards such as Performance of the Year and reaching over 5 million hits on YouTube.

After having appeared on Labrinth’s Atomic EP alongside Maxsta, and featuring artists such as Dot Rotten and JME on his latest mixtape SewerSideSex, the rapper now has a solid standing within the UK urban scene.

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I caught up with Lunar this week to find out about his new EP, his dream collaborations and the weirdest place he’s, um, done it.

Georgina: Hey Lunar. Let’s start with your mixtape, SewerSideSex. It’s a classic mixtape with some fresh original sounds, so did you feel any extra pressure when creating the album?

Lunar C: It’s not an album, it’s just an EP! I didn’t feel any pressure because of the mixtape because I am still improving as an artist, so I knew whatever I do, it would be better than the mixtape. There is always pressure from fans and from myself though because I wanted it to be my best work yet.

G: Ok, we stand corrected and you are releasing an EP. How will the EP differ to the mixtape?

LC: It’s completely different. The mixtape was mainly just me rapping on beats and I didn’t really focus on the overall sound of it. It’s a little bit rough in parts but that’s what mixtapes are for, just bars and beats. The EP is different; I actually made some songs and made sure everything was sounding exactly how I wanted it. I just took this project a lot more seriously I wanted to try a few things before I make my album.

G: Are there any collaborations on the new album?

LC: Yeah. I’ve got Mic Righteous and Scrufizzer on a track called Back On The Step and I’ve got Orifice Vulgatron from Foreign Beggars on a track called Dread. They are the only other MCs I’ve got on there. I worked with some sick producers like Raf Riley, DJ IQ, Pete Cannon, Preditah, Wizard, Hashfinger…

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G: Who would be your dream hip-hop collaboration, dead or alive?

LC: ODB, that would be fucked.

G: Do you feel it’s more challenging for a rapper from outside London, specifically the north of England, to do well in the UK hip-hop scene?

LC: No not really to be honest. I think it’s a good thing that I don’t sound like every other rapper. It hasn’t been a problem for me at all.

G: What advice would you have for a rising rapper from outside of London?

LC: Don’t compromise yourself to fit in with the rest of the ‘scene’ and don’t blame where you are from. Just go get it!

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G: What was all that with you and Maxsta on Twitter last week? Was there any catalyst or did it just come out of nowhere? More importantly, are you cool with each other now?

LC: Haha me and Maxsta are cool, it was just a misunderstanding on Twitter. It was during the ‘Wardub’ situation so I’m just gonna blame it on that haha.

G: Where’s the weirdest place you’ve done the deed? Down the side of a grimey sewer perhaps?

LC: In an arsehole (female).

G: Love the realness. We typed your name into this site and they say that when listening to Lunar C we should be drinking a lethal yet kinda fruity cocktail made with 12oz raspberry vodka and 12oz lemon juice. Does this sound like you or would you recommend a different drink (or indeed any other substance)?

LC: Nooooooo hahaha right now I drink Jägermeister.

G: Do you have any shows coming up we can catch you at and if not, when will you be touring?

LC: Yes I’ll have loooaaads of shows… I am just waiting on dates for my UK tour and I will be announcing them very soon!

SewerSideSex is available for free download here.