First Draft
Rap music is changing. Styles are being invented almost as quickly as they are
going out of fashion. Fans of the genre are now constantly seeking out the
freshest and most innovative sounds and looks more-so than ever. This means
fierce competition between the flag-bearers of such movements as they jostle
for popularity and cult followings. One of these flag-bearers is the originator
of an exploding phenomenon which is taking the hip-hop world by storm, and
shows no signs of stopping. His name? Moon Man. His game? Fringe Rap (so-called
after the distinguishable hair of the genre's main asset). He sat down with 4E
to answer the questions on everyone’s lips.
4E:
So, please explain, what is Fringe Rap?
MM:
Fringe Rap is a movement, a collection of like-minded people who got fed up of
the way rap music was heading, so decided to go out and change it for
themselves rather than sit around and complain.
4E:
What would you say are the main characteristics of the genre?
MM:
A mixture of live instruments and zoned-out synths, and, of course, dope
rhymes. Oh, and a fringe, you've got to have a fringe, the fringe is vital
(laughs). I'm joking, any hair is fine, so long as you can say some good things
on a mic.
4E:
Yeah about that… Who came up with the name?
MM:
Me and a few friends were just sitting in the studio one day, and they were
laughing at how whenever I recorded, I had to flick my hair to see my lyrics,
so they started calling me the 'fringe rapper', and it just took off from
there, just some childish banter between a few mates, and now it's a whole
movement.
4E:
When did you decide on this being the genre for you?
MM:
I guess I realised something had to be done. Like a lot of kids from my
hometown, my favourite two styles of music were pop-punk, so people like Sum 41
and Blink-182, and hip-hop, people like Jay-Z and Eminem. One day I was
listening to some music from around 2000, then, because my playlist was on
shuffle, some newer stuff came on, and I realised, the pop-punk artists weren't
making pop-punk anymore, and the hip-hop artists weren't really making hip-hop
anymore, or at least not like they used to, not in a way that appealed to me.
This made me think that a lot of kids like me felt the same way, so I thought
I'd bring back what we loved and just run with it.
4E:
It definitely worked, your mixtapes have been a huge hit on the internet for
the past year, how much would you say they've contributed to your success?
MM:
Massively. I remember when 'Tape One' got 1000 downloads within the first week
of release in January, then by February it had nearly 100k, I thought that was
crazy, but then when 'Tape Three' got put out in October and got half a million
downloads in two weeks, I was like "wow, we really have something here"
and it was just because I was reaching out to people like me, each project I
was just talking about what I wanted to talk about, and people loved it, but
the fact I put out three mixtapes in ten months let them see a lot of me, and
the consistency of the work rate paid off in a big way.
4E:
Your debut album 'Bright Lights and Odd Patterns' is scheduled for release in
the summer, what can we expect from you in an album format?
MM:
Bigger and better. That's all I'll say. The mixtapes were done on a
ridiculously low budget, literally just me, my band and a studio. This time we
have collaborations, we have producers, and we have the means to make
everything insane, I am very excited to work on the album. We achieved so much
with quite little, so I can't wait to see what we do with a lot.
4E:
Any word on any of those collaborations or producers?
MM:
(laughs) no, that would be telling, I don't want to spoil the surprise.
4E:
Fair enough, any final words?
MM:
Yes, thank you all, fringe rap until death!
Second Draft
Rap music is changing. Styles are being invented almost as quickly as they are going out of fashion. Fans of the genre are now constantly seeking out the freshest and most innovative sounds and looks more-so than ever. This means fierce competition between the flag-bearers of such movements as they jostle for popularity and cult followings. One of these flag-bearers is the originator of an exploding phenomenon which is taking the hip-hop world by storm, and shows no signs of stopping. His name? Moon Man. His game? Fringe Rap (so-called after the distinguishable hair of the genre's main asset).
In his own words, Fringe Rap is "a movement, a collection of like-minded people who got fed up of the way rap music was heading, so decided to go out and change it for themselves rather than sit around and complain." Sounds legit, but what can the public expect when listening to a fringe record? Well, if you like a mixture of live instruments and zoned-out synths accompanying some dope rhymes attached to some chilled out delivery, then this is the sub-genre for you. The unusual name comes from "just sitting in the studio one day" according to Moon Man "My mates were laughing at how whenever I recorded, I had to flick my hair to see my lyrics, so they started calling me the 'fringe rapper', and it just took off from there, just some childish banter between a few mates, and now it's a whole movement."
Moon Man had a very successful 2011, attributed to the fact that "each project I was just talking about what I wanted to talk about, and people loved it, but the fact I put out three mixtapes in ten months let them see a lot of me, and the consistency of the work rate paid off in a big way."
His rise to fame can be seen through examining the success of those 3 mixtapes. The first, inventively named 'Tape One' received just over 1000 downloads in it's first week of release in January, and had over 100 times that by the following month. Just 9 months later, the third instalment of the series, 'Tape Three' was downloaded over half a million times in two weeks. "I was like "wow, we really have something here" and it was just because I was reaching out to people like me" he explains, seeming incredibly level-headed for a 17 year-old with music videos that get consistently over a million views.
So what is next for the young MC? An album, apparently. "Bright Lights and Odd Patterns coming out this summer! I'm so excited for it, the mixtapes were cool, but this album is just bigger and better in every sense. I can't wait" However, he is keeping his cards close to his chest when it comes to revealing any more details, "I can say there will be big producers, and big features, but I don't want to ruin the surprise, you'll see" as the words fall from his mouth, a mischievous smile is casted on his face, signalling that 2011 was just the beginning, and this year, no one is safe from Fringe Rap… No one.
