Sheffield finest MC and producer  Coco, new EP ‘No Rehearsal‘ is finally here. After a good couple of months waiting for the EP,  Coco has captured us with performances and radio appearances all in the lead up to the drop of the EP. . He was also featured on Sir Sypro’s  ‘#SoundsOfTheVerse‘ on BBC Radio 1Xtra.

I had to catch up with Coco on his journey so far and to speak to him on his new EP.

How do you choose your beats and producers ?

It all depends on the time and the vibe. I try to make a lot of songs not like the previous, I always try and experiment with different tempos and vibes. If I’m making the beat it’s easy because I know what I want and I can cater for myself. Usually I just get people to send me beats or I will have a session with someone and I will just adapt too it.

Do you contact them through Twitter ?

Yes, as you know social media is a serious tool these days, it can connect people from across the world, so usually 9/10 people do hit me up on Twitter or Toddla might know someone and pass them onto me.

You have worked with some influential people in the past like Shola Ama & Protoje, what made you make with one person on the EP (Lisa Mercedez) ?

I don’t think it was planned, I think it was just a case of the tracks that were on the EP, it just so happens that four of them didn’t have any features. The track with Lisa FIRE. I’m glad I put her on there, she did it justice.

How was working with her ?

We usually don’t do this but we didn’t work in the studio. I sent her the beat and I believe Stylo G recorded it and they sent the vocals over and Toddla mixed it. I’ve met her before, she’s a cool girl.

How do you mange your time between producing and rapping/spitting ?

It’s mad because everyday I’m always making music. 9/10 I’m making a beat. I have a mini studio in my house, if I’m not in the living room playing fortnite. I’ll just go to my room, (it’s quite therapeutic). I would set a tempo and then make a beat, so I usually tend to write bars when I’m making a track. I try and get into the habit of writing bars freely now but 9/10 it’s when I’m in studio. Because I am making beats at home, I think if I wanted to I could balance both as equally but I think sometimes I get stuck in beats a lot.

Which one do you prefer ?

Ohhh, I would say MC-ing because without that I wouldn’t even be here. MC-ing came before the beats and it’s something that I picked upon because I watched other people doing it as I was growing up and I thought I should try it and I want to kind of be self-worked rather than rely on people.

What was your thought process behind ‘Gimme The Mic‘ visuals ?

I just really wanted to give the essence of Grime, I’m spitting a lot of things to do with Grime and you see a little feature from a couple of other MCs. I also went back to Sheffield and shot some footage in rave that Toddla put on (I felt like that as very important) and I just wanted to capture the Grime image.

What is your relationship with Toddla like ?

He’s my bother, my mentor, some might call him my co manager. He picked me up when I came to London and shown me so many things that was not accessible to in sheffield, so when I moved here I felt like I known him for time because he is from sheffield too. I can only say good things about him. 

You recently tweeted you 100 percent have another EP on the way. 

What I mean is that I have enough tracks to make another EP ASAP, but saying that I think I have a good idea of what tracks I want to put on there, some of the tracks did make the current EP and some was made after the EP was done. I’ve got loads of music stacked.

What’s going to be different form the current one to the next one ?

It’s still early days, but like I said before I don’t want to give people the same thing and you might even hear me on some mad riddims that you’ve never heard Coco on. I’m always trying to surprise and shock people to demonstrate my versatility. Just more bangers are on the way.

Why ‘NO REHEARSAL’ what other titles did you have in mind ?

‘Gimme The Mic’ was the first single so I said to Toddla this should be the title, then Toddla was like “no”. The hardest thing is picking a title for a body of work! Then I listened to ‘Gimme The Mic’ and a bit like Dizzee Rascal and ‘Dirtee Stank’, he had Dirtee Stank as a lyric then made it a label name. So I was listened to the lyrics and No Rehearsal sounded sick. The meaning behind it, is like I’ve come to London (Where it’s all happening), I’m a country boy and you’ve just got to prove yourself and the work that I did has carried me through to where I am now and I just feel like that summary of that was No Rehearsal. 

How did you feel when you completed the EP ?

You know what it is, you lot think the pre order was long but making the EP, it was about 6 months. I’m a perfectionist but also I’m vey impatient so I’m saying to Toddla ‘I need to get some music out’ so when I finished it i was like ‘yes’ I just want people to hear my music and what I have been doing ?

What is your opinion on upcoming MCs ?

It’s just the same thing in when I came into the game, people may not have rated me but I just think the journey I have had to where I am now, as long as you keep going and consistent it’s going to happen. Believe in your thing and be original.

What was the favourite part about making the EP ?

The tracks I produced myself because I’ve made tracks over the years and being able to sit down and create a beat myself, spit on it and get it out to people who support me is a big thing to me and people know me as a MC and I think it’s important of showing people the other skill of producing and that I just spit. When I vocal them I feel proud.

What do you eat in the studio ?

I try not to eat to much junk but do you know when you just want junk so it’s just like deliveroo but 9/10 it’s just a packet of crisp, a bag of sweets and water. If the studio was in South I’d be about 25 stone because I know theres a Morleys and shops in south open until late.

Dream collaboration ?

Skepta because that’s the person musically who I listened to from the start from his lyrics to his beats. He just kept it 100 real 

Where are you performing this year ?

Steezey Wonderland – 19 of June 

Encore Ayia Napa – 5th of July 

Sequences – 21st of July

https://itunes.apple.com/gb/album/no-rehearsal-ep/1358646144

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