Scroobius Pip

As a teenager, Scroobius Pip was inspired by punk music to buy a guitar and form various bands with his friends. His musical tastes quickly grew to encompass genres including hip hop and jazz and he became interested in spoken word artists Gil Scott-Heron, Sage Francis and Saul Williams. This encouraged him to go solo; the idea of having no one to rely on or blame other than himself was an appealing challenge.[2]

He adopted his stage name from Edward Lear's poem "The Scroobious Pip". He later explained: "I loved the story. It's about a creature that doesn't know what it is ...By the end [of the poem] he realises that he is simply The Scroobious Pip. He doesn't fit into any one category and can just be his own creature."[3] In 2002 whilst working in an HMV store he made the decision to start saving his writing.

When he had written a full spoken word set and saved enough money to live for a year without income, he quit his job and toured the country in a 1987 Toyota Space Cruiser. Seeking out gig listings for each new town he visited, he turned up and performed his set to the fans queuing outside the venues, with mixed results. After a few months crossing the country, Scroobius Pip moved back home and decided to focus on London and Essex, attending four or five spoken word shows, open mic nights or poetry slams each week – anywhere that would let him perform. Various producers expressed a desire to work with him, but it was the beats of former HMV colleague Dan le Sac that captured his attention and led to the formation of Dan le Sac Vs Scroobius Pip.[2]

Dan le Sac Vs Scroobius Pip is a hip hop duo combining electronic beats with sung, spoken and rapped lyrics, their critically acclaimed debut album Angles became one of the leading independent releases of 2008.[4]

Despite growing up in the same Essex town Stanford-le-Hope, the duo's paths barely crossed until they shared a Christmas season working at the Lakeside branch of HMV. Dan Le Sac went on to book Scroobius Pip to play a gig he was promoting at the Fez Club (now Sakura) in Reading and around this time began remixing Scroobius Pip's debut solo album No Commercial Breaks.[2]

Their first collaboration resulted in the track "Thou Shalt Always Kill", a dissection of modern British culture and a call to arms for individualism. The track appealed to XFM's John Kennedy who aired it in demo form 24 hours after he had received the CD-R.[5] Pip set up a MySpace page with the solitary track, and the response was very favourable. The pair borrowed £200 to make the music video.

Shunning major label offers, Dan le Sac Vs Scroobius Pip signed to the independent Sunday Best Recordings for their UK releases and Strange Famous Records for the United States. Dan le Sac Vs Scroopius Pip have released three albums to date: Angles (2008), The Logic of Chance (2010) and Repent Replenish Repeat (2013). Since March 2007 they have undertaken multiple UK, US and European tours and have appeared at numerous festivals including Glastonbury, Reading and Leeds, Bestival, Coachella, Lowlands, Pukkelpop and Fuji Rock Festival.[4]

Speech Development Records is the independent label founded and run by Scroobius Pip. On the label's website, Scroobius Pip describes its 'sloppy’ formation: “In 2006 I (Scroobius Pip) had quit my job in HMV and had 1,000 copies of my debut album No Commercial Breaks pressed. The label name I put on them was 'Speech Development Records'. They had no barcodes. I made up a catalogue number... but it wasn't registered anywhere.” This changed for the 2011 release of his second solo album Distraction Pieces, resulting in the label's official formation.

He has since released a slow and steady stream of records by other artists, an eclectic mix of genres, each defined by his admiration for their work. These include:[6]

• Jackamo Brown – Oh No. The Drift of The World (2012)
• Polarbear – At Home With Polarbear (2012)
• warrenpeace – warrenpeace (2014)
• UK release of Sage Francis – Copper Gone (2014)

In April 2013, XFM announced Scroobius Pip was joining the station to host his own weekly show The Beatdown. This would be the alternative music station's first dedicated hip hop and spoken word programme. Speaking of the news, Pip commented: “The chance to work with XFM was one I couldn’t pass up. It’s the station that launched my career and, through amazing people like John Kennedy and Eddy Temple Morris, has always been at the forefront of giving exposure to new sounds. Hip-hop is such a deep genre and, through my show, I want to shine a light on some of the stuff that maybe doesn’t get enough of it.”[12]

The first episode of The Beatdown was broadcast on 27 April 2013 from midnight to 1 am with the following track list:[12]

1. Killer Mike – "R.A.P. Music"
2. B. Dolan – "Which Side Are You On? "
3. Ghostpoet – "Meltdown"
4. Sage Francis – "Mullet" (Spoken Word)
5. Macklemore & Ryan Lewis – "Thrift Shop "
6. Rap Battle Feature: Eminem vs Everlast
7. P.O.S – "Fuck Your Stuff"
8. Tim Dog and KRS-One – "I Get Wrecked "
9. Ratking – Piece of Shit
10. The Hood Internet – The XX Gon' Give It To Ya

On 12 May 2014, The Beatdown won 'Best Specialist Music Programme' at the 32nd annual Sony Radio Academy Awards. The most prestigious awards in the UK radio industry calendar, the show triumphed over tough competition from fellow nominees Zane Lowe, MistaJam, David Rodigan and Mark Radcliffe. The judges commented: "A maverick, nonlinear, nonconformist and radical triumph in every sense of the word. The Beatdown is a courageous endeavour that restores faith in the transformational power of radio with a unique presenter who sounds like no one else on British radio."[13]

The Beatdown was broadcast every Saturday night 12 am – 1 am on XFM, until August 2014.

In 2014, Scroobius Pip started a weekly podcast series called The Distraction Pieces Podcast. In each episode, he has held an in-depth interview with a range of comedians, actors, musicians and DJs. In the series so far he has interviewed, among others, Aisling Bea, Doc Brown, Goldie, Russell Brand, Josie Long, John Osborne, Paddy Considine, Frank Turner, Stewart Lee, Sara Pascoe, Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Zane Lowe, Eddie Izzard,[14] Kathy Burke, Richard Herring, Rufus Hound, Stephen Graham, Robin Ince, Wim Hof, James McAvoy, John Cooper-Clarke, Professor Green and Killer Mike.

• Official website
• Scroobius Pip at IMDb