Celebrating One Year At Beats 1: Charlie Sloth interviewed
"You have to be able to rap!"
*Charlie Sloth* is more than just a DJ; he’s an ambassador for UK music.
After spending around 10 years at Radio 1, he’s currently celebrating one year in his new role at Beats 1 and Apple Music. Not only did he take his love for music over to his new gig, but also brought over his iconic Fire In The Booth.
While at Beats 1, Charlie Sloth has added more vigour to the Fire In The Booth brand, making it bigger and better. In recent months the platform has expanded far and wide to showcase not only the best of the UK’s rap scene with rappers such as Dig Dat but also some of North America’s most exciting talents such as Pop Smoke.
We caught up with the man himself to discuss his one-year anniversary at Beats 1, Fire in the Booth and elevating UK music.
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*You recently attended the Roc Nation brunch which was attended by many UK celebrities and artists. Do you think this is a turning point for the UK scene and its recognition stateside?*
Oh for sure. I've been in the industry for a while now, and UK music has always been something that I've held close to my heart. Just seeing the growth of UK music on an international scale over the last five years, it's been incredible. And I do believe this year or within the next 18 months, we'll see the first international British rap star. Just watching how that’s coming to be is just super exciting.
*It’s been one year since you started at Beats 1, how has your first year been? Was it quite a transition for you?*
Not really. To be fair it wasn’t. Apple is the biggest company in the world. The team at Beats were just so welcoming and it felt like we slotted straight in. And obviously, with it being such a big company, we pretty much spent the last year getting to know everybody, getting to know what everybody does.
But the level of creativity and the amount of incredible talent that are on Beats 1, it just makes you up your game. For me, I'm always looking to challenge myself and make myself better. So to be with the elite, it's made me step up my game. And if you look at Fire in the Booth and watch the production value, it has increased over the last year. It's actually quite amazing.
So it's not been a struggle for me at all. It has been an absolute pleasure. Just looking at the future and the potential, and all of the things that we're able to do, being on a global platform, it just excites me.
*Speaking about the Roc Nation brunch and the status of the UK music scene, do you think your presence on Beats 1 has helped propel UK music?*
Oh, for sure. I never personally like to take responsibility for it, but I know that me being on a global platform, I’m showcasing these artists to the world. One thing that has become evident to me over the last year is how many artists around the world are aware of the Fire in the Booth brand and the Charlie Sloth brand and how much exposure that gives the artists that we showcase on our platform.
The level of artists that approach me now for Fire in the Booth from around the world just creates a level playing field for artists globally. And that's something that this year we're really going to focus on - making it more of an international platform, so everybody from around the world can get that look. It's a great mirror for British culture so it's exciting.
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*How have you ensured that Fire In The Booth has kept its authenticity on Beats 1?*
I think a big part of that is, me making sure that the artists that are showcased on the platform represent the culture in the best way possible. It's not a platform that just anyone can get on. Anytime we decide on the artists we want to feature, there's a lot of research and preparation that goes into that. I think if it’s a newer artist, we have to ask questions as to why we think it’s this artist we’re showcasing.
Especially the way the Fire in the Booth is now before it would just go out on a radio show and it would be on YouTube, whereas now, there's a streaming asset that’s been created. It gets populated into some of the biggest playlists in the world, and it's available on Apple Music, the video and the streaming asset whenever you like. And you still have the presence on YouTube as well. So the amount of eyeballs and the amount of people that listen to Fire in the Booth now is actually pretty insane.
It's absolutely mind-blowing. So we have a great responsibility to make sure that we are delivering the best level of content possible, for the whole audience, and the fan base of the culture out there.
*Recently you’ve had new and upcoming rappers, like Dig Dat and then at the other end of the spectrum, someone like Fabulous – what’s the criteria for getting on Fire in the Booth?*
You have to be able to rap! If you look at both of those artists you mentioned, Fabolous, in my opinion, is one of the greatest rappers of all time, the guy can rap. And then you look at Dig Dat like you said, he's young, he's excitable.
I think he does a great job of reflecting and providing the social commentary element. His art is incredible. And most importantly, he can really rap. A lot of people, they're like, Charlie, ‘You’re always gassed, you’re always excited, you’re always saying that was a sick Fire in the Booth. You're always pushing your sound effects’. That's because everybody who features on Fire in the Booth I rate.
There's probably been over a hundred Fire in the Booths in the last 10 years that have not made it… probably more than that, that have not been aired because they weren't good enough. So there is a high level of quality control that goes into Fire in the Booth.
There have been over a hundred occasions where an artist has delivered their Fire in the Booth and I've just felt that the quality wasn't high enough for it to be seen by the public. In some cases, the artist will thank me, because they then will come back at a later time and they were a lot more prepared and their Fire in the Booth has done a lot more.
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*I'm sure a lot of people don't even know that as well. You’ve had a range of artists on the show in the last year. Tell us your most memorable Fire in the Booth from 2019.*
There was actually quite a few. The Megan the Stallion one, just because at the time she was relatively unknown. In the wider global scheme of things, she wasn't the superstar that she is now and I feel like, she has so often said it and her team have said it, that it was a real tipping point in her becoming the international rap star that she is today. So that was a real special moment.
M Huncho’s Fire in the Booth as well as, that was a Fire in the Booth I've was trying to make happen for a long time. It's a testament to M Huncho as an artist. He was like, ‘When the time's right. It's right. And we'll know when it's right’. And when the time was right we made it happen.
Another artist who I just think is incredible and since his Fire in the Booth, he's gone on to do some great things. He's going to have an exciting 2020 - Northside Benji from Canada. I just think he's an incredible artist and a great person as well.
Giggs’ Fire in the Booth. There's so many…Digga D’s, Dig Dat’s, Mic Righteous part 4. At the end of the year when I sat down and looked back over the Fire in the Booths we'd recorded in 2019 it's like, ‘Wow’. Again, it goes back to upping your game.
We delivered 48 Fire in the Booths in 2019 which is crazy. That’s pretty much once a week, minus four. So the level has gone up and this year we stepped it up. I was spending a lot of time travelling around the world, just trying to make sure that I'm networking with artists.
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*So who can we expect to see on Fire in the Booth in 2020?*
(Laughs) You're going to see some superstars, some superstars in the making, and a real variation of talent from around the world. We've already recorded 26 Fire in the Booths this year, which is pretty insane.
I'm going to tell you one that we've got coming, as an exclusive. Nobody knows this yet. I literally recorded this one last night. I actually recorded six last night. This one for me was something that really excited me. I’ve been a massive fan of his for years, the level of credibility and authenticity that this artist brings to the table, and just how diverse they are as an artist blew my mind and inspired me.
And, it's *Kevin Gates* and his Fire in the Booth is pretty wild. I was like, ‘Whoa’. I was left speechless. And that doesn't really happen to me. It only happens every once in a while because everyone knows I have a big mouth and have a lot to say, but I was actually left speechless.
Last night we recorded quite a few legendary Fire in the Booths, that I know are going to have a huge impact when they released this quarter of the year. There's one that nobody knows about. It’s going to be released in the next four to five weeks, which I promise you, is like wow.
*What else is coming up for you this year?*
I've got my festival again, Fire in the Park. We'll be announcing more details on that in quarter two of the year. I'm really, really trying to concentrate and focus on Fire in the Booth this year and just elevate it to the next level. We celebrate 10 years of Fire in the Booth this year, in May. And for me, it's just taking the brand to the next level. It’s a very well established and respected brand and it's about growing that.
With the partnership that we have with Apple Music and Beats 1, I feel like we found the perfect partner to do so. There are so many exciting things happening. I don't ever like talking about things until they’re happening. I’m not really a talker, I’m a doer. But there are so many things that are happening that its kind of like, ‘Wow’. I'm still waking up and pinching myself every day.
*You’ve got your finger in many pies, such as your clubs as well.*
We've got quite a few clubs we bought. We've got more that we'll be opening throughout the year. I've got my finger in so many pies, but that's like a different part of the Charlie Sloth brand. Obviously, I enjoy doing business, but it's the music side of things that I’m most driven and passionate by. The club side of things, again, it kind of falls back into that because I felt that the club scene in the UK was moving into a space that I didn't feel represented the culture in the way that it has done previously.
I don’t think the clubs are there anymore to have a platform for these artists to showcase their talents. We said to ourselves, right, we want to open 10 clubs in the next 18 months where these artists can have a place to come and hone in on their skills. A lot of these artists, they don't have much experience when it comes to the live element of their artistry, that whole chapter gets missed out. They put a record out, it’s hot and they’re straight on the festival circuit. They’ve missed out the club circuit.
In terms of growing your artistry, your live game has to be on point. Hopefully, we'll have almost a practice ground for these artists to come and do their thing in the clubs as they’re sharpening their tools.
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Listen to the Charlie Sloth Rap Show on Apple Music’s Beats 1 every Saturday at 8pm and on-demand via *apple.co/Charlie*
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