Music > Interviews

Professor Green

27/11/14

It’s one thing to be famous for making catchy, well worded pop/rap songs, but to marry into the Made in Chelsea world, get arrested and be in a serious accident all in one year is quite another. Meanwhile, people have been baying for a new album despite an honest admission that you suffer from anxiety. BUT. Professor Green is now back on track and ready for action with his new album Growing Up In Public.  I spoke to him about what the last couple of years have been like on his crazy rollercoaster ride.

It’s been a while since your last album, and a lot has happened to you. Can you fill me in on what’s been going on for you?

The last 18 months have been very turbulent; I got hit by a car and received a very heavy injury, I got married and I got arrested(for alleged drink driving). I think people are going to have a much better understanding of that situation when they are able to hear my side. It was kind of like trial by press; I wasn’t allowed to open my mouth and say anything so that was really frustrating, but we’re through all that now so there’s no point in dwelling on it. I feel better than I did before, so it’s helped me to grow and find happiness.

Have you experienced a lot of pressure to keep on top of your game and keep music coming out, going on tour etc?

There was definitely pressure, plus the pressure I put on myself. Two years between albums is not a long time at all but because I put a date on when the album would be released, and then it wasn’t out because of what reason or another….I really shouldn’t have put a date on it! Next time around the album will be finished and then I’ll give a release date. That’s the lesson I’ve learnt; people wouldn’t have been so disappointed that way, they would have just been pleased that a record was coming out. I don’t like letting people down and that’s why I put so much pressure on myself, but with everything going on it just wasn’t possible.

Do you still feel nervous of what kind of reaction you’ll get from the public?

Yeah ‘cos I’ve actually had time to worry about it which I didn’t have with the first two albums, so yeah I’m definitely apprehensive of the response. The reaction so far has been incredible though; I haven’t had such a good response since I was last at my peak, during the Read All About It time when people really seemed to identify with my music and loved it. Touch wood, the response to the new tracks have been really good. There haven’t been many people saying “I like this but I don’t like that”…people seem to like all the new tracks even though they are quite different to each other.

Your new album is called Growing Up in Public. It’s been six years since the battle rap that set it all off for you. How has life changed for you?

Six years?! Oh my god. Sometimes if I’m walking down the street people ask for my picture…it’s all nice things really. I have to be a little more careful about my behaviour in places where I might end up being pictured. I have to take time to do things privately…but I wouldn’t say there was anything really negative. It took me a little while to get used to it; I had my success before all the celebrity stuff kicked off when I started seeing Millie. It was a rough challenge and not something I took to like a duck to water but I’ve kind of learnt to understand it. If I get really annoyed that I don’t get as much privacy as I used to have that only affects me, I’m the one who’s angry. That’s not something I don’t want to waste my time on so I just embrace it now.

Does your level of fame distract you from making music?

I don’t think it distracts me; I think it can be a distraction for other people. The whole thing between this album and the last was I wanted to take a step back from everything but that was made impossible. The only I could do was just not give interviews; not in a rude manner, I just didn’t want to discuss my personal life. I wanted to wait until I had music to discuss.

Tell me about your new single Lullaby; why did you choose this song for your first single?

It was a majority decision really. I love it. There’s a few songs I would’ve been happy to have as the first single, but this felt like the right one coming out of summer and it definitely is an explanation of where I was prior to now. It touches on depression and anxiety as opposed to previous songs, which didn’t really go into that in any depth. Although the song is about depression, it’s nor depressing. It’s about coming out the other side of it. Even in my darkest times I’ve always held onto something that got me through.

You’ve said in the past that you suffer from insomnia and also from depression. I just wondered if and how you have found a way to get through the dark times?

I tried a few different things. I tried cognitive therapy, which didn’t really work for me. Talking to people is always a great help but you need to totally trust the person you talk to. Sometimes when there’s so much going around you and you’re so caught up in everything, the best thing to do is to stand still and let things go on around you and see things how they really are. Perspective, when you lose it, is dangerous, and very small issues become very large when you keep it all inside.

You’ve collaborated with many other musicians, Emile Sande, Lily Allen, etc. Who else would you like to work with?

I worked with Emile when she was relatively new on my first album. She’s someone I’d love to work with again. It normally works that when you see someone cool you think it would be good to work together, or you bump into someone when you’re out and you have a giggle together and even if your music is completely miles away, sometimes it’s worth going into the studio to try something. I bumped into Marcus Mumford after the Ivors and we had a great night out together. Who knows, there might be a Mumford & Sons and Professor Green record!

I Need Church is quite a rocky song from the new album about the fight between good and evil and how you decide on your lifestyle. You are also portrayed on your website with a halo and wings. Do your consider yourself a spiritual person?

It’s that desperation when you wake up and you’ve done god knows what the night before and church seems like the only avenue! I’m definitely more spiritual than religious. I think religion is dangerous. The cover from my album with the halo and wings was done by an amazing neon artist and the whole idea was me walking onto a set and I’m standing sheepishly in front of the wings and halo as if to say “Yeah, right!”

How has your songwriting process changed since you started making music?

I like to pace a lot. I tend to start with choruses now and then work backwards. It’s good to have a concept and an idea of where you’re going. People tend to think I start with the rapping, which I do sometimes, but now more often than not I start with the chorus. I don’t tend to put too much on paper which is a pain in the arse now that I’ve got very little time left to hand in all the lyrics to the label! I’ve got to spend a few hours trying to remember the lyrics and then get them down on paper. In a song there are only a few words so you have to be very careful with what you say, but with a rap you still want to say something poignant but you don’t want to fill it out with crap. You have more time so you have to spread it out a lot more.

Have you been to Norwich before?

I’ve played Norwich a few times. We always get a wicked crowd. I’ll be playing a good mixture of old and new tracks. The fortunate thing is that the way it’s worked out, people will have bought the new album and will know the songs ahead of the gigs. We’re going to freshen up some of the old stuff and we’ll be playing some of the new stuff as well. I wanted this album to be quite ‘up’, and it is very much an energetic album. The last album was much darker. I reckon we could perform every song from the new album, which will make it quite hard to put a set list together.

Have you fully healed from your car accident last year?

I had to do a lot of rehab. I did some warm up shows before Glastonbury, which I shouldn’t really have done.  There were pictures of my knee after the show and people saw it; all the fluid had seeped back into it. It was one step forward and ten steps back but I had to perform, I was getting sick on cancelling stuff. It took me a long time in rehab, having physio and going to the gym because there was so much wastage as I hadn’t used my leg in months so all my leg muscles had disappeared. It was really frustrating.

Are you tempted to use your real name as your sound matures?

People say to me, what shall we call you, Prof? Professor? and I say Steven! Maybe I should have had everyone call me Professor…apparently Meatloaf makes everyone call him Meat.

Professor Green plays at UEA on 7th December. Tickets available from www.ueaticketbookings.co.uk