Ah, the good old garage days. I remember them well. DJ Luck and MC Neat were blasting from my soft top. Then there was jungle, hip hop and grime. Pirate radio stations filled our ears with breakbeats and rural shed-like venues served as after-club pill parties.
As we entered the 2000s, commercial radio began to follow the flow. Grime music exploded as So Solid Crew introduced a darker sound to the garage genre, paving the way for future stars to emerge with MC-oriented beats.
It’s a sound that stayed strong and at the helm sits Manchester-born superstar, Bugzy Malone, famed for putting Manc on the music map. “When I was first coming through music in the north of England, there was no other rapper making proper money or competing at the top of the game,” says Bugzy as we settle in for a chat at his impressive rural home. “I was the first one to break through in a major way, and that comes with a lot of responsibility. I made a lot of sacrifices and that's why I'm so proud.”
Bugzy’s upbringing doesn’t paint a pretty picture, but witnessing his uncle’s murder and a stint behind bars served as ammunition in a relentless battle for success. “I've been through some stuff, and I've managed to use it as motivation,” he says. “This is the result of just trying hard and not giving up.” He’s referring to the sick looking lambo sat in his bat cave, the indoor pool adorned with his logo, the home gym fit for a king and a myriad of other fucking insane features that make up his personal shrine.
Sharing his childhood struggles through lyrics is what Bugzy refers to as his ‘purpose’ in life. “When I’m talking about my childhood, I can empathize with a certain type of individual who’s been born into a difficult situation,” he says. “I feel that by sharing my stories through my music I can help guide them into creating a better life for themselves.
“I come from the bottom, and I wouldn't like to go back there. I stay busy. It keeps me out of trouble. I'm single. I've been single for three years. I get a lot of offers that I feel would send me back off track and I'm not interested. A lot of great individuals rise and fall, and I’m not interested in falling.”
Lyrics come naturally to Bugzy, but he can’t choose a time and place. “You might spot me and think I'm mad as I'm strolling past the cereals and I'm flipping and spitting lyrics in my phone,” he says. “But whenever something pops up in my head, I just record it so I don't forget. My gift is words. I'm interested in language, interested in communication and stories just seem to grab my attention. I do the things that come naturally to me and outsource the things that don’t to other people.”
Bugzy says he’s telling a story through music, which unfolds in real time. “The reason you see Batman influence things is because it’s a brand that I've followed and studied,” he says. “I almost tell my story in comic book form. It’s these nuances and details that can change the whole context of a story. It’s about the deeper meaning behind why people do what they do. A man might say someone came at him and he flipped out, but it’s about the deeper meaning behind why he flipped. That’s what I tell.
“I’m still learning about myself and what triggers me in certain situations and every time there's a development in that area, I take that information and try and tell the story in more graphic detail. I’ve never spoken openly like this before and truth be told, I feel very insecure talking about these kinds of things. It’s not until you've healed from certain events that you understand it's fine to speak about it. And that's what you’ll discover with my music moving forwards. A lot of stories have almost been too painful to reiterate and speak about up until now, but it’s the insecure version of me I've wanted to touch on.
“I’m always looking for ways to better myself. I was sat in the sauna listening to Beethoven last night. I've met a lot of influencer type people who are very motivational and inspirational on the page and then behind closed doors, their life doesn't stack up. That's not what I've got going on. I don't claim to be perfect, but I do good. I’ve made serious progress in terms of positivity and building good habits. I train every day. I eat well and I sleep well. I've eradicated negative people in my life. I've looked at myself in the mirror and had difficult conversations with myself and now I’m moving forwards.
“At least three times a week I get up at six o’clock and run a boiling hot bath, ‘cos I’m usually aching from training the day before. I like to warm up the muscles and avoid injury. I run 5K run before breakfast. I always try to beat my previous time. Then I have a light breakfast of oats, nuts and yogurt.” We pause and Bugzy cracks a soft smile. “I feel fucking stupid talking about this,” he says. I push. We continue. “Then I sit and go through my emails, which I find tedious. After that, I relax and try and do silence for a little bit. At nine o'clock I start training in my home gym. I'll do either boxing or strength and conditioning. I finish training at 11 o'clock. I have lunch and then from there on, it’s meetings for the rest of the day, or studio time. I eat again at around four o’clock and at seven or eight. I try not to eat after half eight. I go to bed early and listen to audio books or watch a film. I watch videos on psychology and Stoicism throughout the day too.”
I question Bugzy abut life outside of the rails.
“When I flip it, I flip it,” he says. “I know how to have a good party. I espresso my martinis that’s all I’m sayin’.”
Bugzy recently launched a fragrance, Fortitude, under the brand House of Vision, named one of the best men’s scents by British Vogue.
“I was at an awards show the other day and people were coming up to me saying ‘I’ve got your fragrance on’, the kinda people you wouldn’t expect to be wearing it. It made me so proud,” he says. “You can get into the way it smells, but it’s actually about the way it makes you feel. There’s a sophistication going on with this. I feel as if my outfit is complete once I spray it on. During my early career, I made tracksuits that weren’t always cut from my favourite material. Sometimes I’d wear them for photoshoots, and I started to get bored of the same outfits. I had a Louis Vuitton fragrance I couldn't stop wearing and then I understood, ‘Okay, there's an art to getting this right and making something that people can wear all the time and actually never get bored of’. That's what I've got going on now with Fortitude.”
In addition to Fortitude, Bugzy continues to work on his well-established clothing brand, B.Malone.
“I’m inspired by Tinker Hatfield who designed the Jordan trainer in collaboration with Nike x Michael Jordan,” he says. “After watching the Netflix doc, I was blown away by the creativity. If I'm enjoying something, I'll lock onto it like a pit bull with lock jaw.
“I was brought up in the nineties when there were still real gangsters and a real gangster with money is something to behold. “If I'm going to be in a tracksuit, I like it gangster. I saw the way they dressed and grew up trying to dress like that myself. Fashion goes full circle, so to be able to bring some of those designs back and then to be able to design fresh new trainers too is amazing. My shoes are in JD and I was once the kid window shopping in JD. That's how I intend to motivate people, not just through talking too much.”
Bugzy called out Mayweather on the gram, posting ‘@floydmayweather heard you wanna fight’, and says he’d consider putting the gloves on for dough.
“I box three times a week and I wouldn’t rule out going pro,” he says. “It’d need a lot of deep thought though. Let’s face it, to box, you need to be hungry. The things boxers go through to prep for a fight, most people can't begin to imagine. They look at these fighters and think, ‘nah, he's a boxer, it's easy for him’. But that boxer still has the doubts, he still has the sleepless nights going into a fight. He still has to train into injury and then maintain the injury and then be prepared for fight night. I have huge respect for boxers. They put their lives on the line to entertain us. We just sit with popcorn and watch the fight. I've had offers, but nothing that’s interested me enough. That said, I take all offers seriously. If something interesting enough drops on my desk, I’ll consider it.”
I question Bugzy over the impending Tyson x Paul bout; the subject of widespread media speculation.
“For me that fight is difficult to call,” he says. “Jake Paul's not the most technically sound boxer in the world. He's just getting his experience. He's not had a proper amateur career and I think he's getting his experience in real time in front of people. That said, if you go back to the beginning, you can see Jake fighting some YouTuber and he's clearly got power. A boxer with power isn't to be taken lightly. I’d argue the areas in which he's not necessarily technically sound, the things the flipping boxing purist and the professional boxers will be banging on about, he kind of makes up for in the fact that if he catches you clean, you've got problems. Doesn't matter who you are. Therefore, that makes him a threat.
“Then you've got Mike Tyson. He’s 57. He’s been an athlete all his life. He’s also been out of shape at times. But technically, he’s one of the best boxers we've ever seen. When you think how much Tyson studied the sport of boxing, Jake Paul can't hope to replicate that. Tyson’s got experience that would take years and years to catch up on. Veteran boxers are not to be taken lightly. We’ve got an interesting fight on our hands.
“I’d like to see Tyson win. But you can't underestimate anybody. What do we expect from Jake on the night? Who knows? What do we expect from Mike on the night? Who knows? I can’t call it.”
