Semtex Profile
A little bit about Semtex
Where were you born?
Don't waste opportunities, be all that you can be.Semtex
Manchester.
Your favourite hobby and/or present as a kid
Anything Star Wars-related.
How you got into being a DJ/presenter
Kid & Play. Work it out...
Your biggest influence(s)
Hip hop.
Biggest achievements
My biggest achievement is being able to tour the world with Dizzee Rascal. To be able to take our own sound to countries like Brazil and Japan and smash down shows... seemed like it was all a dream a few years ago.
Key tune that you love or inspired you
LL Cool J - I'm Bad. My brother got me into hip hop and he used to blaze this back in the day, he used to do all the skanks, the b-boy stance with the Kangol and stuff. That aside, this was LL at his best. The sinister music, the cutting, the samples... got me hooked... look at me now!!!!!
Favourite lyric
"I never sleep, cos sleep is the cousin of death." Nas - NY State of Mind. It's deep because it basically means get your life together, you can't waste time, don't waste opportunities, be all that you can be. If you don't you're mentally dead, a zombie, just living to pay bills. Nas is one of the sickest MC's ever, and this was taken from one of the most important albums in hip hop.
Your dream gig or collaboration
We need our artists like Dizzee or Sway to crack the US market. This is important for the individual artists, as well as our scene, but this is gonna take more collaborative productions to happen, like Dizzee working with Andre 3000 or Timbaland, or Sway working with Lupe Fiasco or Akon.
Interests / hobbies outside music
I'm deep with the graphic novels. Can't tell me nothing about the X-Men, Silver Surfer, The Preacher, Judge Dredd, etc.
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Three rules you live your life by
1. Aggressively pursue your dreams, don't let anyone tell you any different.
2. Do not sleep or hesitate on opportunities.
3. Spread love.
If you ran the country what would you change/initiate?
The school system. Elements of hip hop should be on the school curriculum. It's more educational than most business courses, and it is way more aspirational than the advice of any careers officer.
What's your weakness?
Sneakers. Worse than any drug known to mankind
Favourite piece of clothing and why?
Nike Air Jordon MK4. They are probably the most innovative shoe that Nike has ever put out. It's a classic, true hip hop shoe.
What has been your favourite year so far? And why?
2005. I did my show backstage at Live 8 in Philadelphia . I was given the honour of interviewing Stevie Wonder. When you can sit and talk with a living legend who has turned tragedy to triumph, someone who has changed the course of musical history, a living genius. That is one of the moments where you feel like you have done something with your life.
