I truly enjoyed this really open and laidback interview with Amplify Dot. She has an eclectic creative mind as well as a mature assured vibe in her musical journey. Her talent and personality are infectious and it’s easy to see why a major label like Virgin Records/EMI were happy to snap her up on their roster. As we had such a lovely chat which touched on various topics and surprising musical influences, I had to post the full unedited version to give you a more well-rounded view of A.Dot! A wonderfully attractive artist with a bright future! Enjoy! – Kamran Assadi
What made you get into music?
I was just a music fan first. I’ve been a music fan from really young. And I used to just copy everyone that I liked like Salt N Pepa, Left Eye, Missy (Elliott) – I used to channel them in the mirror and mimic what they did. And as I got older, I realised that I wanted to actually do my own versions of everybody that I was copying, and not just be in the mirror putting on an American accent. Yeah I just started to find my own voice. So yeah as I said, music fan first. Love music so much and then thought “I wanna be doing this”.
Who inspired you whilst growing up?
Growing up, I listened to a lot of Lauryn Hill and The Fugees. Before that, before the whole Lauryn Hill “phase”, I listened to a lot of Salt N Pepa. Salt N Pepa were one of the first rap groups I ever really listened to, and I listened to that when I was five. My uncle has a VHS and there was a Salt N Pepa video, and when he used to babysit me, that was his version of babysitting me like I will just put on the video and make her sit and watch it. But by the time I was six, you know when you learn all the words to a movie, when I was six, I knew all the words to Salt N Pepa songs. So they were a massive influence on me. But yeah Jay-Z, Lauryn Hill, even a lot of reggae music I listen to – Gregory Issacs and Freddie McGregor, all kinds of genres really. In my household, it was a lot of music, a lot of vinyl, I broke a lot of needles and got licks for it. But all kinds of music growing up back to reggae. Even The Carpenters, I rate the Carpenters.
Which artists do you look up to?
I don’t think I’ve ever looked at anybody in terms of “Can I be like them?”, but in terms of wordplay, Eminem. I was listening to Eminem when I was definitely too young to be listening to Eminem. Like The Slim Shady LP, I think I was about ten so I was really young to be listening to it. But even from listening to something like that, it was a different level of wordplay. I think he’s got storytelling and comedy on smash and not a lot of people can do it. In terms of wordplay, Eminem and Jay-Z are on top for me.
What inspires your creativity?
I’m inspired by all kinds of things. My music touches on a lot of different things. I hate repetitive music or you know MCs where you know they’re gonna be talking about their chains or bad bitches on a song. So I try to find inspiration in everything just to keep the topics as broad as possible.
What does success mean to you?
Success for me will be… what I really want is to have that seminal breakthrough album, that album that will stand the test of time. That’s what success is to me. When you’ve got that musically, that album that goes down as a masterpiece for you like Lauryn Hill had with The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill or Dizzee (Rascal) had with Boy In Da Corner. That album that stands the test of time and no matter how much music you release, if you release eight albums, that album that stood the test of time, that you’ll always remember and be known for. I’d love to have an album like that. Then I will feel like I’ve been successful.
How did it feel to sign to Virgin Records/EMI as a creative artist?
It was crazy! I’ve done music independently for quite a few years and I’m talking getting up, going to work doing a 9-5, 5pm go to studio, work through the night, and then go to work the next day and it’s really hard when you’re trying to, because a lot of people they do the music thing but realistically “are you getting paid off it?”. You’re kind of doing it, kind of plodding along, you’re getting money from shows and you’re doing it for the love of it but it’s not really a viable career choice when you’re really doing it underground. You’re doing it for the love of it, a lot of people don’t care to admit that but it comes down to “really though, is it paying your bills?”. So once I got a deal, it was like “wow this is my career” and that’s what was amazing to me. I don’t have to do these jobs no more. I’ve worked in Waitrose, I’ve worked in JD Sports, it’s like I don’t have to do that – my love is my job. What I love is what’s gonna pay my bills. And that was the most amazing thing. That side of things like I could actually say this is more than a hobby and it’s the most amazing feeling to get paid to do what you love. And when you’re independent, everything is on you – with the video, you need to work out how you’re gonna fund that video. Then you gotta get someone to shoot that video. Then if you want to promote it, you gotta promote it yourself. If you gotta press up CDs, you gotta press up CDs. You’ve gotta find artwork. When you’re independent, you’re your A&R or essentially your own manager, your own radio plugger, your own street team, you are the one-man band. No matter how many people you have helping you, when you’re underground – nobody is going to have the same passion about you that you have. So when you get a major label that says you know what, the passion you have about you do, we want to help you achieve your vision – it’s a crazy feeling, it’s still sinking in.
Tell us about current single Get Down?
Get Down isn’t really a single, it’s more a present to the fans and supporters. It’s free, it’s a free download as part of the Spare Parts mixtape. So I wouldn’t call it a single but it’s the first thing I’ve done in a while, it’s the first thing I’ve done since being signed. I think it’s the first proper music video I’ve put out this year, so I just wanted to remind people that I’m here. When you work on an album, you shut yourself away in the studio and you’re just constantly trying to make the best music – you live in this music-making bubble about the outside world. Even though your fans do accept that you are working to give them something, you do need to just keep that relationship going by saying you know what, here’s something.
What inspired the title and concept of your mixtape Spare Parts?
It was inspired by it being a collection of songs that didn’t make the first cut on the album. I’m quite deep into the album, I’m more than halfway in terms of tracks that have definitely made it. So we did a first cut, we sat down with the label every few weeks with music that I’d been recording, and they would say these are great songs but in terms of the other songs we have, these songs are right up here. These songs are probably better than anything I’ve done before but not where I’m gonna be when I’m putting the album out because I know how much strong material we’ve got, so these songs were the ones that weren’t album quality but they were songs that I didn’t want to just be unheard. Otherwise they would have been missing songs that no one would have never known about and you put a part of yourself in every song that you do, so effectively those twelve songs would have been twelve parts of me that I just would have lost forever. So I said to the label “Look, can I put a little free mixtape out? These are songs that you’ve got no use for. I’m not gonna do anything with them. I’m in the middle of recording an album, nothing’s going to happen with these songs. Instead of wasting them, can I give them out as a little thank you to my supporters who have helped me get to this point where I’m able to make an album?” And they were all for it. So yeah Spare Parts is exactly that, they’re the spare parts.
What can we expect from your major label debut?
Hopefully from listening to my mixtape, people will realise that by signing a major label deal didn’t make me do this complete 180 on my sound, it’s still very much the A.Dot that people have been listening to, I think now it’s just more polished, a more polished version of me. The production values just go up on everything. The videos are sicker, the producers you’re working with are sicker, but what I like is that I’m not changing who I am – it’s still going to be the same me but the context of it is going to change so I’m really looking forward to that. I’m really looking forward to not turning round and making pop music because a lot of people kinda go that way, they go and they make pop music – I wanna make my music popular and I’m hoping that’s what next year brings for me.
Which collaboration are you most proud of?
On a personal level, I’ve done a lot of collaborations. I’ve worked with pretty much all the other female MCs in the game in some form or another. I’ve worked with Kano, I’ve worked with Ms Dynamite, but I think for me the biggest personal achievement was – and it’s tough because Ms Dynamite and Kano were massive for me growing up so to be in a studio with people I used to watch on TV is crazy – but for me, my song with Gyptian from my first mixtape is special to me because one, we recorded it in Jamaica and it was nice to do something with a reggae artist I loved, and what I liked about that song is that it’s the only song that I can let my grandma listen to. Everything else is like I’d have to cover her ears for the whole song but that song is a song that all my family love, and it’s a reggae song with a reggae artist that I love. The only rapper that Gyptian had worked with before me was Nicki Minaj, so to be able to do that song with Gyptian when I was an unsigned artist coming through, it was a big moment for me. And to do it in Jamaica, it was just surreal. That was for me, my favourite collaboration but they’ve all been a pleasure.
Who would you love to collaborate with?
Loads of people I’d love to collaborate with. I’d love to work with Jay-Z one day. Lauryn Hill is just someone I just love, I’d love to work with someone like her, just timeless. Producer-wise, I’d love to work with Timbaland. I think he’s my favourite producer of all-time, so artists aside, he’s someone that I’d love to work with or get a chance to.
What has been your biggest achievement?
I think it would have to be signing my deal, it would have to be my biggest achievement. It’s something that, as an emerging artist, you kind of dream of and you think one day it could happen but in reality, you never think I’m gonna get signed one day. In reality, you think that the chances of it happening are like the lottery, because there’s so many artists, so many amazing artists. So to be almost picked out of this pond of amazing fish is an amazing feeling. So I think that’s my biggest achievement to date and will be the start of more achievements. Fingers crossed!
Which track was your favourite to record and write?
I’ve recorded so many, but I had so much fun recording Semantics featuring Kano and for a lot of people, it was the first thing that they’d seen me do. They’d seen me do things like Game Over – Female Takeover but this was the first time, it was like ok this is her song, her video. It’s kind of like for me, Semantics is one of my classic songs now. Like if I do a set, no matter how many things I’ve done since then, Semantics is what the people wanna hear and what people remember. It’s a sick beat, it’s a beat I made with, my best friend made the beat, a guy called Shay, so it was really personal, just a really nice moment for me because it was very early on and to get Kano on top of that, what more can you ask for.
What artists are you into currently?
I listen to a lot of Soul music. When you’re in the studio and you hear Rap beats all day, it’s nice when you can go home to take yourself away. So I listen to a singer named Jhene Aiko who I love, Miguel, Frank Ocean, I like stuff that I can just go to another place with. And that’s why I don’t listen to as much rap as everybody thinks. As much as I love it and love making it, in my own zone I like to just go to some place completely different.
Any other creative projects lined up?
Well, I have my clothing line that I started before I signed my deal called Quiffheads and it was t-shirts and jumpers, and it was one of the things that the label really liked which was the merchandise side of it. I’ve actually been working behind the scenes with the label now on a little rebrand of Quiffheads and we got a new logo that we’ve been looking through designs and stuff. That’s going to be an equally exciting thing for me next year is the Quiffheads clothing line. Yeah and EMI developed Disturbing London (Tinie Tempah’s clothing line) clothing side of things with Tinie so the fact that they’ve done that makes me excited about what they can do with Quiffheads.
What advice would you give to budding artists?
The best advice that I can give – which is the same advice that Ms Dynamite gave me – which was always be you. Don’t look at it like in order to be successful you have to do what this person’s doing or this sound is working for that person, I’m gonna try and emulate that sound. And you hear so much copycat music these days like if something does well, people just suddenly think I’m just gonna try and do that. And I think the best thing you can do, whether you’re starting out or have been doing it for years and are just trying to make a breakthrough is to keep doing you. It’s better really to fail being you than to be someone else.
Questions and Interview conducted by Kamran Assadi
Words by Amplify Dot
Kamran Assadi 