Kano

Personally, I enjoyed school as much as the next kid. I was into art and every sport going from football to table tennis, so I kept busy. I never bunked a day off and left with 9 GCSEs, if I remember correctly.

There are too many kids who don't think they can make it to the top. They give up before they have even started, but in my eyes everyone can succeed and it's really important that young people believe in themselves.

American racism seems to be a lot more in the open. The U.K. is different but it obviously still exists.

Music changes every year, but some people are great at riding waves and then they're doing something different next year.

I think Mighty Moe really got me into a whole different style of MCing. There were a lot of people with simple lyrics and simple word play- he really pushed out the boat.

When we started out we didn't expect anything would come from it, definitely not money. We'd pay to go on pirate radio: twenty quid a month just to go on and spit for an hour.

I'm a big fan of D Double E who always used MCing styles that other people weren't.

You know, I was going to be a footballer at one stage, but... nah.

I think, generally, it is always good to be aware of what is going on.

For me, writing and creating music can be quite a solitary thing.

I can't say that I am not driven by success or have a fear of being successful. But for me, the ultimate thing is just about being good at what I do. Because if I made an album that I didn't really like and it was super successful then I wouldn't happy within. That's the kind of person I am.

Visible success is important. It's important to be able to look on the TV and see yourself, turn on the radio and hear yourself. To see people from where you're from actually becoming successful.