Gemin1: Interview
Gemin1 is a rapper from West London, who has been making a lot of waves on the battle rap circuit and beyond. He is a part of the Don’t Flop family and his hunger on the mic is evident in every battle or track he is involved with. This week he dropped a new Brapp HD video and so I had a chat with him about his career, what he thinks about the relationship between battle rap and the UK scene as a whole, as well as his plans for the future.
Can you give us a little rundown of who you are and your journey in music so far?
Been called Gemini ever since I was about 15 years old. It’s a name thats stuck with me ever since I started off spitting, at around 10 in the playground and kept at it till now. By the time I was 16 I was performing in 18+ events all around London, on big stages and got recognition from well-known artists throughout my career; thats always given me the extra push I needed and the reassurance that I was good at what I was doing. Initially I started off just doing things with the other artists from West London and then branched out into working with people from all over. Started doing battle rap when I was 20 and came in making noise and eventually reached the top of the game, in most peoples’ opinion, with no loss on my record so far.
How would you best describe your sound?
I have a pretty all round sound with grime being the thing I started out with and still continue to do, but I do also do rap, hip hop, trap, garage… I love most styles of rapping so I always try to do a few, then I don’t get boxed into one thing specifically.
Its obviously a competitive scene out here, especially in battle rap, however supportive other artists might be. What do you do to try to give yourself that edge that others may be lacking?
I always try to do as much variation as I can so that way I can draw in the most possible fans and show my versaility as a rapper.
If you could work with any producer in the industry, who would it be?
If I could work with any producer in the industry it would have to be Mikey J as I feel his versatility is crazy!
There used to be quite a division between Don’t Flop and the rest of UKHH. You’re involved with both sides, would you say things have improved in that respect?
I think Don’t Flop has done well now to bridge the gap between the UKHH and grime scene more, as a lot of artists from within the scene have done battles and come to events. At my battle with Charlie Clips — although this wasn’t Don’t Flop — there were a lot of artists in the building such as Stormy, Cadet, Big Tobz, Blittz Gullyish and Donae’O and those are just the ones I knew were there. And Dont flop specifically has had a lot of artists come through such as Ghetts, Rival, Margz, Invasion Alert, Izzie Gibbs, Fangol and many more.
I know you’re a part-owner in a clothing company. Was that a dream you had before you started making music?
The CEO of the clothing label YNLC, was my oldest friend 2Deep and the reason I’m rapping to this day is he unfortunately fell victim to psychosis and has been inside a secure facility for over a year, so I brought back his clothing line in his honour and now proceeds go towards mental health charities.
You’ve hooked up with Squizzle on your Brapp video. Is that a one off or have you guys got anything else lined up?
Squizzle has been a well recognised producer around where I’m from for years, so was only right I used one of his beats. I haven’t got anything planned with him at the moment, but hopefully we get something done soon.
What’s your plan for the summer, you got any more battles or live shows lined up?
I have a battle on 2 June with Raptor Warhurst for a rematch, as we had a classic battle three years ago and now we going at it again. Then I have another one against someone who’s really established in Africa on 8 July which should hopefully gain me some new fans. Other then that I have a few singles I’m planning on releasing, after those battles have been pushed to the side.
What about projects you’re working, what can we expect to hear next from you?
Just expect to hear and see a lot more videos from me and hopefully an SBTV warm up session coming soon!
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Connect with Gemin1 at brapp.tv/gemin1
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