Interview with 6.1.7
What does "617" mean?
'617' are all our names put together, multiplied by a number and divided by another number. I don't know why we chose to do it that way but it felt tike a good idea at the time
Who are the members of 617, and what are the roles ?
Bolistik (a.k.a Blu G) and D.R.A, are the main MC's, and myself , Accura, is the producer of the group, even though I do lend my vocals to the project.
How did you guys connect ?
Well, D.R.A is my brother,and I used to work with Bolistik in the I.T industry. I knew he was into music and visa versa. It would only me a matter of time before we would connect musically.
How do you guys differ ?
D.R.A is heavily into the Old Skool stuff, like A Tribe Called Quest and Big Daddy Kane, Bolistik used to be a Garage MC, and I just represent in all genre's of urban music. So you see, we are all different but everyone brings their own unique element to the table.
What's the reason behind the album title, The Vault" ?
It's like when you have jewels and treasures, you keep them in the most secure location, well on this album, the lyrical contents, lyrical flow, production, and not to mention the Guest performances were so precious, we felt there was no other place to secure this than in a vault. It's a shame it got broken into.
We did hear about the break in, what exactly happened ?
Well, sorry can't say. You'll have to check out the Intro of the album for that.
Now on the "Always", Tony Blair introduces the track why ?
Thought we would use a high profile personality who also has a musical background.
Tony Blair's current status as well as affiliation with his student days rock group "Ugly Rumours" , made him the obvious choice.
Is that actually Tony Blair on the track?
Yes. His voice has been manipulated slightly to get the sound that we wanted.
How difficult was it to convince Tony Blair to appear on the track?
The difficult part was getting to him and we finally managed it through The Guardian newspaper. They got hold of the track and contacted us and did a review of it. They then contacted Mr Blair's press office and asked them if they had heard it. They then got in touch with us. We explained what we wanted to do and how it would help bring UK hip-hop to the forefront of the music industry and they were fine with it.
Has he heard the finished version?
Yes he has. We're currently awaiting his comments but his press office has assured us that he has definitely heard it.
So how long did it take you to record the album ?
Six months straight, and that's from production to vocals.
Describe your style of Hip-hop ?
A mixture of Nu skool and old skool, Guaranteed to make the ladies Bounce , and the guy's Nod their Head.
Can UK hip-hop ever stand side by side with the US originators ?
No doubt, it always has, but just on a different platform...
Obviously, the stuff from the States has more money injected into the marketing and promotion, hence giving the impression that it is better. No, its just different.
Where will the album be available from?
A. The Vault is available at www.cd-wow.com on an international platform, as well as in all your record shops from February 2004.
So what's your next step?
To take over the world, naturally
Top 10
1. Gangstar - Moment of Truth
2. NAS - Illmatic
3. Charlie Parker -Yardbird Suite
4. Common - Like Water 4 Chocolate
5. 2 Pac - All Eyez On Me
6. Dr Dre - Chronic/ Chronic 2001
7. Jay Z - Reasonable Doubt
8. Talib Kwalib - Reflection Eternal
9. Mary J Blige - Share My World
10. Kane - Veterans Day
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