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Gorilla Sawnoff made headline news in October 2008 when he was stabbed repeatedly in front of a stunned crowd of afternoon shoppers in Birmingham city centre. Whilst the attack ‘terrified’ many of Birmingham’s journalists (well dats da way dey were goin on!), it only inspired Gorilla to get further on his grind. In his first interview since the attack Gorrilla speaks with Supatrax as it's the only media outlet to portrays the 'REAL shituation' in Birmingham.

Gorilla's gritty lyrics paint vivid images of a life that most only experience via their newspaper or behind the safe glass barrier of their TV and cinema screens. There are numerous Birmingham rappers that offer their listener’s quality lyrics, but most can’t express the feelings of pain and hunger as eloquently as Gorilla. The Handsworth rapper manages to capture the hardships of inner-city living as accurately as a photograph for a generation of Birmingham Black men that otherwise would have been lost in time (even though many still feel lost in this system).

Two years, one mixtape and numerous movie roles later after the infamous knife attack in Birmingham city centre (including an appearance in the Birmingham street tale ‘1Day’), Supatrax caught up with the Hoodlum Entertainment maestro. He kept us up to date with his long awaited mixtape ‘Flashing Lights’, talked of a possible collaboration with Giggs and spoke for the first time about his close encounter with death, in this exclusive Supatrax interview. Before you read the article - Watch the latest video release from Gorrilla below:

Supatrax: Gorrilla, its good to catch up wid you, we know ya busy right now, working hard making things happen ready for the new mixtape to touch road, but lets get a little background to the man dat's tearing the place right now. Give us an insight into what inspired you to start rapping?

Gorrilla Sawnoff:I grew up listening to my older brother and cousin’s rap. I had a cousin, 'Short Change' that was in one of the first rap groups out of Birmingham - 'Pentalk'. My older brother was in another group with some of my other cousins called 'Death Valley'. My brother then later went on to be in other groups called 'Montague' and 'Capulet'. Naturally I was inspired and began writing my own songs in secret. I was taking my brothers tapes and listing to them and that’s how my development began. Onyx, Wu Tang, Cypress Hill and M.O.P, I would be banging them in my walkman all day long! One day I finally felt ready and began recording my own project that would later go on to be my 2008/2009 debut mixtape entitled ‘The Hood Star’. Since then I’ve completed the recording of my follow up mixtape, ‘Flashing Lights’. Along with the second mixtape came some great opportunities to work with some of the best in the UK scene right now such as S.A.S, Page, Youngsta, Clue, Joe Black and PDC. I’m actually going to meet Blade Brown and Youngs Teflon this week to do some work together. Giggs and I have been planning a few tracks for a little while, my good friend Q hooked us up a little while back. Shout out to Q by the way should be back home real soon and we can put this Ghetto Superstarz project back on the map.

Supatrax:Yo Blud dat's a real talk, ya been on dis ting from way back. What's the current situation with Birmingham’s rap scene and what artist’s are you feeling?

Gorrilla Sawnoff:I’ll tell you the truth; a lot of it is politics. We haven’t allowed ourselves to build up a stable scene here in Birmingham and that’s down to the rivalries that have built up from years back before I was even old enough to be aware that there were rivalries. It’s just one of those bitter realities. That’s why I had to reach out for artists outside the city. Hopefully we can slowly build up a respectable scene in Birmingham with the help of guys like Grimeblog and Grime Watch UK - who are both putting in some great work at the moment. You also got DJ’s like Mega Stress and Noodles who are trying to build up our scene on the Radio. To be fair those guys have been on it for years. I was even talking to Mykal Million the other day and he said that it was Noodles that inspired him to become the respected DJ he is today. As for the artists I’m feeling from Birmingham that’s a tough one, I say that because I base my opinion on a ratio based on skill and work ethic, it’s no good having one without the other. It’s no good being the best rapper or grime mc in the midlands but only the guys in your bedroom or local studio know you. You have to put in that work, conversely, you can’t put in major work but you’re trash, that can’t work either. I could mention a whole bunch of guys from Birmingham that have mad skills, but you can’t find their work anywhere. That’s no help to their fans. But from the top of my head I can say Hitman and Vader got that correct ratio. Malik from Moorish Delta 7 has that correct ration too. Can’t forget Trilla he’s killing it right now.

Supatrax: Ya working with some big names, So what’s the deal with Hoodlum Entertainment and who is in it?

Gorrilla Sawnoff:Hoodlum Entertainment is an independent record label founded by myself and is managed and directed by my brother Mad Micky 2 Gunnz, he will oversee the projects that the label releases. Currently we have several official Hoodlum Entertainment artists. We have the first lady of Hoodlum ENT, Farah, she is doing her thing right now on the funky house circuit although she hasn’t officially released anything on Hoodlum Entertainment as of yet. You have Montana Bay otherwise known as M.B he will be releasing his debut project later on this year. Pyro is another artist that we have on Hoodlum ENT, he has made several guest appearances on Flashing Lights. And of course you have Gorrilla Sawnoff. We have affiliates that we are in discussions with like Murder, Tef, Twister Revren and Sneekz, but you can’t count your eggs before they’ve hatched so I’ll leave it there and just say that if anyone else becomes an official Hoodlum Entertainment artist the fans will be the first to know - and Supatrax we got you locked on dat! LOL!

Supatrax:You have a huge buzz right about now, when are you planning to release your mixtape and what can people expect from it?

Gorrilla Sawnoff:My next official mixtape is Flashing Lights. All I can say is that this project is going to be the bench mark that all other mixtapes from Birmingham will have to follow. I put my heart and soul into this one and I think that the fans deserve nothing less. It will feature some of the hottest artists in the UK underground circuit today. You got PDC, Page, Pyro, Farah, Frontlinerz, Twisted Revren, Sneekz, Downsidez, Fiasco, CBS and Youngsta all making special guest appearances and the whole mixtape is hosted by Mykal Million, probably the number one underground DJ at the moment. The whole project is executive produced by Mad Micky 2 Gunnz, who really kept the sound of the streets alive in the project but allowed room for diversity. We currently have three official videos posted on YouTube taken from Flashing Lights. You can check those out on www.youtube.com/gorrillatvukWe got plans for at least four more videos so keep posted for those - or off course you'll see dem on Supatrax first!. We got a couple of logistics to figure out but Flashing Lights should be released sometime in April and will be available for Download on iTunes, Amazon and Napster, hard copies will also be available in all good independent record shops. But for the fans as a taster AND as a big thank you for the support they have given me, there will be a free preview to Flashing Lights available to download very soon. You’ll have to buy the full version though... sorry guys.

Supatrax: Not so long ago you experienced a close encounter with death, how has that effected the life you’re living right now?

Gorrilla Sawnoff: If I’m truthful I haven’t spoken about this topic much. I’m the kind of guy that doesn’t dwell on the past. That doesn’t necessarily mean that I forget the past, it just means that I have to keep things moving - If I don’t then I risk exerting energy on the things that don’t deserve my attention. I was blessed with the gift of life, so I have to make the most of it - You'll only get one shot!. I know for a fact that I’m here for a greater purpose than being involved in street wars, that’s a chapter of my life that I’ve lived and now I’m living this new chapter and whatever this chapter may bring, I can tell you one thing, I’m definitely better prepared for it. It’s no secret that I’m from the streets and I pride myself on the fact that I’ve been able to live through it all and see the success that I have in such a short space of time and be able to reflect it all in my work. You have to make the most of a negative situation. Like I say in my song ‘Sippin da Henny’ ... I bounce back like springs in beds”.

I have to thank my loved ones and all those that cared enough to show any concern. Now thanks to them and God I can proceed with the dream that I have and nobody can stop that apart from me.

Supatrax: The videos are sharp, productions tight, Yo, tings are looking live for you right now. Thanks for the interview - we'll catch up soon.

Keep it locked to Supatrax for the latest on Gorrilla and Hoodlum Entertainment. More videos below: