Brad Knutson

Mike Skinner burst on to the scene as The Streets in 2002. Backed by a hot new style of English hip-hop known as grime, Skinner rapped about his everyman "geezer" lifestyle of drinking, smoking, playing video games and chasing girls. Or as he more eloquently called it, "sex, drugs and on the dole." Emerging as a cult figure and critical darling in the States and now a certifiable superstar in his home country, the Mike Skinner of 2006 is a very different bloke from the man who literally spent more time spitting beer on the crowd than actually spitting lyrics at his first Chicago show four years ago at Double Door.

These days, Skinner is alcohol-free, training for a marathon and even talking about making a country album. So has everyone's favorite geezer grown up? Newcity caught up with Skinner via phone at the beginning of his North American tour to find out more:

So, how did the first show of the tour go?

Good... Seattle is always a good one. I think it's probably the best one to start with.

Are you looking forward to getting to play a big festival like Intonation here in Chicago?

I'm disappointed I'm not going to get to do the Metro this time. I was chatting with our drummer the other day and we were rating our favorite venues in the world. Probably the top one is the Barrowlands in Glasgow, Scotland. But probably the second is the Metro. I've done it twice now and it's always really good fun. I think it's probably always the best on the American tour.

What is it about Metro that you like so much?

I think it was probably my first American crowd surf. Yeah, I always like to crowd surf at the Metro.

What kind of stage setup do you have this time?

The same as before really... drummer, bass player, keyboard player, singer and me. It's always been that and it works well.

What's the state of grime these days?

It's exciting musically. Financially, it's um... nothing happening. No one is selling any records. But I think that's a good thing in a way. You've got people like Sway who are really kind of making something happening out of nothing. Musically, for the first time ever, we've got a homegrown rap thing.

Does it still dominate pirate radio?

It's more about pirate TV now. You've got channels like Channel U and it's all about low-budget music videos. And that's just developed organically and there are now proper artists coming through.

For your next release, you were quoted as wanting to do a country album?

I'm kind of working my way around at the moment as to what the definition of that is. I suppose I'm getting a little bit kind of country in the sense of something that's kind of basic...and getting towards talking about nature and stuff like that.

You've also announced that you want to run the New York marathon this year. What inspired you to want to do this?

Well, I've been running quite a lot lately and it just seemed like a good idea. My dad passed away a few years ago and ever since then I've just been trying to live my life to the fullest. I've been on a safari in Kenya and I've gotten to visit a lot of places that I'd always wanted to visit. So I guess running a marathon would be one of those boxes that it would be nice to check.

In addition, you've decided to stop drinking?

Yeah, I just decided not to do that this year. Quite easy really.

You've made a career out of rapping about drinking and debauchery. How do you think your fans will respond?

Well, I'm still a pretty crazy party guy, no doubt about that. I was skipping in the street last night in Seattle, so don't worry about that.

Ha...well that's a good message for the kids. You can still have fun without the booze, right?

I'd [still] advise them to do the booze, to be honest.

What about drugs?

Yeah, do that [too]... kick that box.

(2006-06-13)

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