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SWAY chats to I Like Music

Age 16 Sway got into the grand final of an open mic session at London's Dingwalls despite being too young to even be in the club and came second to Chester P of Task Force and the bug had set in. But he soon tired of battling and decided to start making songs between working at a part-time retail job, studying at college and composing ring tones for a company, so he began putting together his own studio in his bedroom.

After having one of his first solo tracks on the A-list upon the launch of 1Xtra, and producing half of his Mobo Unsung nominee's One's album, which was soon being played by DJ Tim Westwood & 1Xtra's DJ Semtex, Sway decided to focus on himself and began jumping on mixtapes all over London. In 2004 he set up his own a totally self-run production company and label Dcypha which would be the independent outlet for Sway's first trilogy of releases 'This Is My Promo, Volume 1', 'This Is My Promo, Volume 2', and 'This Is My Demo'. Sway's aim with this hat-trick of releases was to express and establish himself as an artist before signing to a label.

Now he's proof that, to suceed, as long as you have the talent, dedication and skills, you don't even need to be signed to another label if you can secure a major distributor deal.

Fast forward to 2006 and Sway's This Is My Demo album, for which Sway produced half of the 14 tracks himself, was one of 12 nominated for the highly credible Nationwide Mercury Music Prize and last year Sway beat 50 Cent to a MOBO.

We caught up with SWAY to find out more about his involvement in Hugo Urban Rules, a new initiative to showcase and train future talent, and discuss his music, his DIY ethic and how it feels to beat the likes of 50 Cent to a MOBO while unsigned.

"I like music because… it's gonna make me rich one day!"
SWAY

ILM: You're involved in Hugo Urban Rules, which is a such a brilliant initiative, educating and showcasing future talent with these workshops. And the winner gets to perform in stage with you and Sway among others and record a track. How did you get involved?

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Related links:

1. Hugo Urban Rules
2. Nationwide Mercury Prize Album
3. Sway - Products
4. Sway - This Is My Demo