It wasn't even out yet, but Icie's freestyle 'Green With Envy' started - apparently - ruffling a few feathers...
I struggled to come up with a decent intro for this.
I know what I want to say: '...for goodness sake, people: lighten up.
It's a joke. Satire. Parody. Tongue-in-cheek stuff, you know...?
You're not supposed to take it seriously...'!
I'm getting ahead of myself. Sorry. Here's the back story:
Icie's new freestyle 'Green With Envy' is due to be released very soon (as in this
week or next), and he'd made a video advert to promote it. So far, so good.
However, the twist: he recorded the promo, mock-documentary style, in ironic
indignation that his group Commission (who've been around for a long time)
has been overlooked.
It was risky move in a scene that's sometimes accused of a sense of humour failure.
I decided to get to the bottom of things and have a chat with the Iceman himself...
I suppose it was inevitable. A few people got the wrong end of the stick straight off the bat when they saw the video. Or did they...?
The video was always prone to misintepretation - which I was fully aware of. I made sure we put certain signifiers in the video to point to it not being taken seriously, namely the 'ADVERTISEMENT' label in the top right hand corner.
Also the nature of it being a promo for the freestyle I thought would give it away... But I didn't mind the response.. Good or bad.
There are lots of other ways you could have gone about this. Why choose this...?
I think visual representations are always more effective when trying to convey a message...
I had something to say and felt video would be a good format in that it was more informal - as opposed to me doing a note on my blog.. LOL
So now we know what it isn't. In that case what exactly IS GWE about?
Green With Envy is about broadcasting on a more public scale a lesson that I had learnt in my private life. I have the hope that it would steer correctly those who may have been in the same position as me or even to people that could relate to it in some way.
Pride and envy are two killers that stunt the progression and growth of any individual, in any industry.
It's a brave move to share this publicly, though...
I believe that wisdom shared is wisdom gained. I learnt a life lesson through mistakes and felt it would be good to share those experiences for the benefit of others.
Christianity is a constant process of transitioning from DARK to LIGHT, being able to celebrate the mistakes as well as the victories.
I used to see the likes of Guvna B and Triple O as a threat when they starting coming up on the scene. I felt that ourselves - Commission and L'Dubzy - represented the Grime genre in gospel music for a long while from 2004.
However when the new wave of MCs began to rise up, pride and envy caused me to look at them as competition, rather than fellow brothers with the same purpose and vision. When Guvna B got signed to Black Grape Management and his first gig was at Hackney Empire, I was wrought with jealousy and pride, questioning why Comission had been overlooked. Why we hadn't had the opportunity to play at this venue?!!!l LOL!
I realised later on that the only way to counter
attack the envy was to serve, to wash the feet of
those I envied, to help progress their agendas
instead of my own (Luke 22: 24-27).
At [the Guvna B event in] Hackney showed I
sought to serve by making sure Guv was alright,
offerring my photography services and moral
support.
The second reason for the freestyle was that I
once heard one statement that said: 'The
antidote to PRIDE is HUMILIATION!"
With the success of Commission's songs and
presence in the scene my head began to swell.
Pride would make me go into events thinking ..."I'm sooo heavy...I am the GENERAL! Look at me, I'm in Commission!".
After performing I would purposely go to places where people could see me to congratulate me... Oh mannnn - how sad!!!!! LOL!
I realised that to be open and put this freestyle out, to be vulnerable in this way would battle my pride and cause some kind of humiliation which I felt I definitely needed.
I still don't understand the need to process this all in public. Surely it's just as easy to work through this kind of stuff privately..?
You know what..? I did it on such a level to tear down any kind of image or any pedastal people may put me on as a 'minister'.
Everything I am is by God's GRACE and so publicising my short comings only magnifies His strength and power in my life. When I'm weak He has to be STRONGER... Mannnn I love him!
People sometimes want fantasy over reality...
Especially in the scene we're in, there's a lot
of falsehood.
I want to lift the lid on certain things, tackle
hard topics, come clean and be a realist...
I want people to see the humanity in
Christianity... To see the way we are is
because of the power in Christ... Not in
ourselves.
So this attempts to break the barrier
between what we say and really think...?
More of an attempt to bring to the surface a common ill that lies within all men.
The grass always looks greener on the other side - which we can at times resent. I just chose to bring it to the forefront - call it my D.O.A!!! Hahaha!!
Ah. A Jay Z reference... You realise this could get peoples' backs up even further in some quarters... Explain.
Well... As in Jay-Z did that particular track [Death of Auto Tune] because it was an issue he had with the Hip-hop scene with artists overusing [vocal software] Auto Tune.
He felt it was time to talk about it on a public level, to force change. This is exactly the same here. I know jealousy and envy exists within the scene whether voiced or not, and so I took it upon myself to bring it to the forefront and at least offer some kind of guidance towards a solution.
And - finally - what's up with Commission at the moment?
We're putting in work for the album. But there will be NO leaks whatsoever.. So I can't say too much at the moment!! LOL
Hey Andrea!!
You're too kind. Got your email as well.
Will try and call you in the next few days to get the ball rolling.
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As regards your presence on this site: LOOOOONG over due!!
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You can also check out the blog for more frequent updates!
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Speak in the next few days...