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.

Mongrels: Attack the Megalith

Last year’s Attack the Monolith album from Mongrels was a highlight among listeners and critics alike. Kid Acne and Benjamin brought their unique styles together to form an album that harked back to years gone by, while looking directly towards the future. Now we have Attack the Megalith, which is a remix project featuring some of the most exciting producers from UK hip hop and beyond. Hashfinger, Morriarchi, Third Person Lurkin, Sam Zircon, Charlie Dark, Midfield General, Juga-Naut and King Kashmere, all step up to the plate, with a fresh polish for eight of the album’s original gems. The EP is out today and you can buy your copy here.

Mongrels ft. Sebash & Lord Rao: You Dig Raps? Pt. 2 (Morriarchi Remix)

More remix madness from the excellent project which Mongrels dropped earlier in the year. You may remember me posting up a remix from Hashfinger a while back, well this time Kid Acne & Benjamin have drafted in Morriarchi to bring his trademark sound to the mix.

Mongrels: Full Moon/Half Moon

Been meaning to post something about Mongrels for a while because as far as collaborations go, this is pretty cool. Comprised of Benjamin the DJ and Kid Acne the MC, Mongrels are set to release their debut LP on 6 May on the Invisible Spies label. This is the first single, following on from an EP at the start of the year, which was well received by listeners and critics alike.