Have A Word: An Interview With Kid Acne

Kid Acne has been a prominent figure on the UK art scene for almost as long as I’ve had an interest in art. On top of that, he’s been making rap records for over 20 years, including his most recent effort, Hauntology Codes, alongside blog favourite, Spectacular Diagnostics. We both live in the same city now and I’ve been fortunate enough to hang out with him a couple of times, so I thought it might be a good idea to turn one of our chats into an interview.
So in what is my most expansive interview to date, we spoke about a diverse range of topics, including the new album, his artistic origin story, his relationship with Lex Records, the perils of keeping art and music separate, and doing magic mushrooms while travelling through a hail storm in a car with Quelle Chris.

Hauntology Codes is out now via Lex.

Photos by Rob Searle.

Dabbla ft. Rag’N’Bone Man: Tweeters

Dabbla ups the levels once again with the latest video from last year’s acclaimed Death Moves album. Ably assisted by Rag’N’Bone Man and backed up with some solid production from Foreign Beggars own, Dag Nabbit, Dabbla once again proves his worth on Tweeters. The video features some epic animation and CGI action from Pose Works. Death Moves is out now on Potent Funk.

Flying Lotus ft. Anderson .Paak: More

Another stellar video from Flying Lotus as he continues to build the hype for his forthcoming album. More sees him teaming up with genre spanning vocalist, Anderson Paak, accompanied by a visually stunning video from Shinichiro Watanabe, who enlists the help of some of Japan’s finest animé artists. Flamagra is due for release on 24 May on Warp.

MF DOOM: One Beer

It’s not like DOOM to be conventional, so that’s why it comes as no surprise that we are just being blessed with a video for his 2004 track, One Beer. The animation comes courtesy of Philly-based artist, Distortedd. MM.. Food is out now on Rhymesayers.

Hock Tu Down: Deus Ex Machina

Mad claymation video from the Blah camp, as Lee Scott and Reklews bless us with another one from their recent Hock Tu Down reunion album. Hock Tu 3 is available to buy now on all formats.

Jehst: Billy Green’s Theme

Good to see the release of a new video from Billy Green is Dead, Jehst’s most recent album. This time round it’s the self-produced Billy Green’s Theme, which features another great animated accompaniment from Monsta Animation. Jehst embarks on his UK tour this week, alongside Confucius MC and Pitch 92, as well as a live band. They kick off in Bristol tomorrow night. Billy Green is Dead is out now on YNR Productions.

Jean Grae & Quelle Chris: My Contribution To This Scam

A suitably dope video has emerged for one of the gems to be found on the recent album from Jean Grae and Quelle Chris. My Contribution To This Scam has been bolstered in its brilliance with a great animated video from Crankbunny. If you’re not familiar with Crankbunny’s work, go Google the name and find yourself in awe of their paper engineering skills. The track is lifted from Everything’s Fine, which is out now on Mello Music Group.

Evidence: The Factory

Evidence always seems intent on bettering himself at every possible opportunity, be it on the mic or behind the boards, or in this case with his videos. Weather or Not has already given us some stunning visuals, including a bouncy ball frenzy and seeing LA re-imagined as a ghost town.
Now he continues raising the bar with his latest video for The Factory. Jason Goldwatch is again the brains behind the project, having directed, shot and edited everything, culminating in a next-level found footage style visual, which wouldn’t have been out of place on 80’s MTV. You really need to watch it to get the full glory cos my description will never quite do it justice. The track was produced by Twiz the Beat Pro. Weather or Not is out now on Rhymesayers.

DJ Muggs & DOOM ft. Freddie Gibbs: Death Wish (Video)

Just the other day we were treated to new music from Muggs and DOOM, as they released their anticipated collaboration, featuring Freddie Gibbs and Kool G Rap. Now the duo are back with a new video for the Gibbs featured Death Wish. The animated video takes on a Sin City, neo-noir vibe thanks to the ample talents of Patric Magno and Edgar Nari. MUGGS X DOOM is out now via Soul Assassins.

Jean Grae & Quelle Chris: Zero

Second trip of the day to Mello Music Group, this time for the next excerpt from the upcoming Jean Grae & Quelle Chris album. Zero is an 8-bit extravaganza, complete with an animated video which Quelle also made. It clocks in at over 7 minutes long, which in itself is quite an audacious move in a world where a lot of art is consumed and spat out at an alarming rate, but then again neither of these two have ever really been artists who follow suit. And what’s more, it works. Everything’s Fine is due for release on 30 March.